Wonder Woman lacks a no-kill rule in the DC Extended Universe, so what are all of her instances of using lethal force against her adversaries?

Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman does not always resort to lethal force in the DC Extended Universe films, but there are several instances when she kills her adversaries. Superheroes killing their enemies is a subject of debate and controversy in both comic books and their adaptations, with Superman and Batman’s DCEU iterations dividing viewers in their inconsistent use of lethal force. For Superman, the desperate act of killing General Zod led to him adopting his no-kill rule, while Batman usually doesn’t kill criminals outside of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Wonder Woman, like her comic counterpart, lacks a no-kill rule but nevertheless only uses lethal force in specific situations.

Wonder Woman’s stance on killing is comparable to those of Captain America and Iron Man in their respective comics and MCU films. When in a war zone or battling terrorists, Wonder Woman will kill her opponents, and she has no qualms about killing supervillains who threaten Earth itself. As shown in Wonder Woman 1984, Wonder Woman does not kill or permanently injure conventional criminals or Egyptian and American soldiers who have fallen under the control of Maxwell Lord. While Batman and Superman have character arc-specific reasons for their kills, Wonder Woman never had a no-kill rule to begin with. Here are the instances when Wonder Woman has killed in the DCEU.

10The Invasion of Themyscira (German Soldiers)

Wonder Woman’s first canonical kills occur during World War 1, in which she fights alongside American spy Steve Trevor in the hopes of ending the war by killing Ares. 2017’s Wonder Woman adapts part of the classic Wonder Woman origin story by having Trevor crash land in Themysciran territory, where he encounters Diana, who had previously never met a mortal man. In the film, their meeting is soon interrupted by a contingent of Imperial German soldiers in pursuit of Trevor, but they are repelled by the Amazons. The battle, which tragically costs the lives of numerous Amazons, such as Antiope, sees Diana taking up arms against and killing several soldiers.

9The Battle of Veld (German Soldiers)

In one of the many highlights of 2017’s Wonder Woman, Diana unveils her iconic armor and walks into No Man’s Land, drawing the fire of German soldiers and creating an opening for the Allied forces before leading them into the Belgian town of Veld. Here, she uses her superhuman powers, her arsenal of divine weaponry, and millennia of combat training to make short work of the German force. While not all of Wonder Woman’s moves are blatantly lethal, she is in a war zone once again, and with comparable strength to Superman, it is safe to assume that Wonder Woman kills most, if not all the soldiers she fights.

8Belgian Airfield Battle (German Soldiers)

Wonder Woman kills more German soldiers on her way to a German airfield to assassinate General Ludendorff, who she believes is the God of War Ares in disguise. During her battle with the real Ares, Wonder Woman unleashes the full divine power of her Old God and Amazonian heritage, becoming all but invincible and slaying numerous German soldiers, and nearly brutally executing Doctor Poison before remembering Steve Trevor’s final words. With this, Wonder Woman reduces her strength to its more subdued levels and resumes her fight with Ares.

7General Erich Ludendorff

Throughout 2017’s Wonder Woman, Diana (and viewers) are led to believe that the German General Erich Ludendorff is merely a disguised Ares who is orchestrating the First World War from the shadows. While Wonder Woman‘s controversial ending confirms Ares is indeed stoking the fires of the war, the real-world causes of the war still apply to the DCEU’s alternate history. The real Erich Ludendorff survived World War 1, but the DCEU’s iteration is killed by Wonder Woman at the end of the war. Despite Ludendorff’s superhuman physical abilities afforded by Doctor Poison’s performance-enhancing vapors, he proves no match for Wonder Woman, who impales him with her sword.

6Ares

Shortly after killing Ludendorff, Wonder Woman discovers that the real Ares was indeed disguising himself as a human: Sir Patrick Morgan. In Wonder Woman’s ensuing battle with her half-brother, she finds herself outmatched until she unleashes the full might of her Old God and Amazon abilities. As Ares finds himself unable to convince Diana to join his apocalyptic cause, he summons lightning and hurls the bolts at Wonder Woman, who uses her Amazonian bracelets to catch the bolts and her Old God powers to send them back at Ares, killing him.

5Black Clad Terrorists

Early on in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, a terrorist group known as the Black Clad storms the Old Baily Courthouse in London, kills several security guards, and takes its occupants hostage. As the terrorists activate a timebomb, Wonder Woman enters the courthouse and swiftly defeats the terrorists. While one Black Clad member was most likely taken alive (after Wonder Woman questions him using the Lasso of Truth), the rest are taken out with lethal force. Wonder Woman uses her super strength to punch and kick the terrorists across the courthouse before creating a shockwave with her bracelets that obliterates the terrorist leader.

4Gotham Harbor Skirmish (Parademons)

The DCEU’s Parademons, like their DC Comics counterparts, are not truly sapient beings. The natives of worlds that Darkseid and his subordinates conquer are transformed into mindless drones, loyal only to Darkseid and his Apokoliptian underlings. While mindless, Parademons are, nevertheless, living beings, and the Justice League’s members, including Wonder Woman, employ lethal force against them throughout Zack Snyder’s Justice League. In her first encounter with Steppenwolf underneath Gotham Harbor, Wonder Woman kills numerous Parademons, despite their superhuman physical abilities and futuristic weaponry.

3Pozharnov Battle (Parademons)

Wonder Woman and the rest of the Justice League travel to Pozharnov, Russia to prevent Steppenwolf from terraforming Earth. The Justice League launched a coordinated attack on Steppenwolf’s army of Parademons, fighting their way through the ghost town. Using her superpowers and superlative fighting skills, Wonder Woman dispatches numerous Parademons, using lethal force once again.

2Steppenwolf

With the help of a resurrected Superman, the now-complete Justice League works together to defeat Steppenwolf and prevent the Unity. While Cyborg, Batman, and The Flash stop the Unity (with The Flash altering time to undo Steppenwolf’s victory), Wonder Woman, Superman, and Aquaman overpower Steppenwolf. Bludgeoned by Superman’s blows and impaled by Aquaman’s trident, Steppenwolf is finished off by Wonder Woman, who decapitates him, sending his body through a Boom-Tube to Apokolips.

1Wonder Woman’s Implied DCEU Kills

Not all of Wonder Woman’s kills in the DCEU are shown, with many being referenced or strongly implied. Between 1918 and 2015, Wonder Woman continued to fight crime, save lives, and battle supervillains, all while remaining out of the public eye. According to Wonder Woman 1984: The Junior Novel, by Calliope Glass, Wonder Woman fought in World War II, where it is safe to assume that she killed many Axis soldiers. Dawn of Justice reveals that, at some point before her battle with Doomsday, Wonder Woman killed adversaries from other planets hinting at her many untold adventures in the DCEU.