SPOILER ALERT: This article contains mild SPOILERS for Wonder Woman 1984, so proceed with caution.
The future of the DC Cinematic Universe may have been in question, what with Warner Brothers rebooting Batman in Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman, which, in all likelihood, will not connect to the existing franchise. But the latest DC movie, Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 1984 is set firmly within the DC Universe, with several Easter Eggs referencing the larger picture.
One such Easter Egg potentially sets up the introduction of another DC superhero. In the film, Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) seizes control of his business, Black Gold, from his partner, Simon Stagg (Oliver Cotton).
In the comics, Simon Stagg is an antagonist and major supporting character of Metamorpho, the Element Man. He is the wealthy CEO of Stagg Enterprises, who is notable for having a Neanderthal named Java as his assistant. Enraged that adventurer Rex Mason had begun dating his daughter, Sapphire, Simon hired Rex to journey to Egypt to obtain a relic called the Orb of Ra. But secretly, Simon sent Java to ambush and kill Rex. Rex survived however and his exposure to the Orb of Ra turned him into the bizarre Element Man, who can transform his body into any substance imaginable. While Stagg is sinister, he is rarely depicted as being outright evil.
It’s possible that in the film, Simon Stagg was used simply because they needed a corporate executive and decided to pluck a name from the comics. His role is fairly small– he is just there so that Max can claim power from a business partner.
But perhaps, after losing Black Gold, Stagg will go on to found Stagg Enterprises. He’ll somehow gain a caveman assistant and his daughter will fall in love with an adventurer and we’ll all get to see the exploits of Metamorpho brought to life onscreen.
For now, however, Wonder Woman 1984 is currently in theaters and available to stream on HBO Max.
