Dr. Poison wears a creepy World War I era reconstructive surgery mask to hide her disfigured face. It's creepy enough as it is because it looks like a slab of broken porcelain, but the movie keeps us in suspense wondering just what is underneath.
The Reveal at the film's climax does not disappoint: her nose is warped and melted into an almost porcine snout, whilst the crack-like design in the mask is repeated in a great, teeth-baring rent across Dr. Poison's cheek. Worse, you can tell it was inflicted by a chemical weapon; the edges look melted. According to Word of God, those scars were self-inflicted when Maru tested her corrosive gas on herself to see how effective it worked.
It makes the scene where she and Ludendorff kill the German Generals even worse. She obsessively looks through the window as the gas kills the generals, cooing and marveling at her Deadly Gas. Ludendorff actually has to pull her away from the window when it starts to crack.
We first see Dr. Poison in Steve's flashback when he's forced to recount how he ended up on Themyscira. He was undercover to find evidence that the Germans were breaking the rules of war and had a new weapon. Then he saw her experimenting on a chained-up, Bound and Gagged soldier, exposing him to gas while he's wearing a mask and screaming through it. Steve goes Oh, Crap! as the soldier writhes. After he steals the notebook, Ludendorff finally gives the man a Mercy Kill by removing the mask. When you realize their battalion was composed of teenagers, that only adds to the horror, and Steve's reaction makes more sense.
After Dr. Poison perfects her new super-weapon, General Ludendorff tries to convince other members of German High Command that they can still win the war by using it. When they dismiss him and insist the armistice will take place, Ludendorff and Dr. Poison lob a gas grenade containing her new concoction into the room with them and then seal them inside. Though not before Ludendorff flings in a (useless) gas mask as a final act of cruelty.
When Poison points out the mask won't work against her new gas, Ludendorff replies "they don't know that." The two then actually giggle at this, more like a couple of psychotic children than high-ranking military leaders and personnel. And there's no hint that Ares was behind this particular behavior, so this is all them. Worse still, is the idea that world political and military leaders might be, deep down, no better than sociopathic children. Which is, distressingly, Truth in Television.
At first, Steve screams in terror for Diana when she enters No Man's Land. As he told her, no one could cross it because the soldiers on the other side would mow her or anyone else down. All he can do is watch as she faces the bullets, and only realizes she's fine when her gauntlets deflect the bullets with ease. It's not until the Germans release a freaking machine gun on her that he realizes that they can help her, and leads his crew to provide assistance.
Despite the fact that General Ludendorff may not be Ares, but he is a freaking threat. He at first matches Diana blow-for-blow, and while impressed by the fact that she's a Worthy Opponent, soon becomes entirely focused on killing her.
Ares's first on-screen appearance as a god. He appears out of thin air, completely at ease, and speaks to Diana from behind a window. Diana walks around the window to face him, and suddenly he's on the OTHER side of the window. Up to this point, there has been a legitimate question over whether or not Ares is real, with the audience generally believing Diana that he is, but in this brief moment, a sliver of a doubt is introduced, as he appears like a figment of her imagination. It's a very simple effect, but in a matter of seconds he becomes more disturbing than the DCEU's versions of the Joker and Lex Luthor.
Ares then shows off his sheer power, and it becomes clear humanity is lucky he wants to have humanity destroy themselves rather than just wipe them out by himself. Ares punches in the same weight class as Wonder Woman (who recall, is able to trade punches with Doomsday), can manipulate the weather at will, and literally tears the entire area out apart with his mind to throw at Diana, all without showing any sign of effort. A gigantic point blank explosion doesn't even scratch him. Ares isn't just called a god, he's literally a god. A few other movies asked what would happen if someone in Superman's weight class was against humanity, Ares does a good job of showing it, and the reaction of Steve's team conveys exactly how outclassed humanity would be.
Charlie: (looking at the battle through his scope in horror) Oh my god! What are we going to do?!
Steve: There’s not much we can do if that’s who I think it is.
Steve referring to World War I by its original name, The War To End All Wars. Any reference to it by that name will always be a small but chilling reminder not only of what a blood bath the war was in hindsight but much more devastating the concept of industrialized war seemed when it was actually happening for the first time in history, so much so that nobody believed a worse war could break out. Diana's horror at the mere fraction of the war she sees would be appropriate for anyone who actually saw just how inhumane the so-called "Great" War really was. It's scary to think of how she (along with everyone else) would react to it not ending all wars after all, something Steve and Sameer see direct evidence of themselves.
Sameer:(upon seeing a plane loaded with gas bombs) What is it?
