The following contains spoilers for The Woman King, now playing in theaters.

One of the most engaging aspects of The Woman King is Viola Davis as Nanisca, leader of the all-female Agojie tribe in the Western African kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s. Initially, the film teased a Black Panther meets Wonder Woman aesthetic, but it soon reveals nuance, with Nanisca teaching her own king in Ghezo that slavery and oppression are wrong. And Nanisca also has to contend with a long-lost daughter, Nawi, and her resilient apprentice, Izogie, getting captured by European slavers. However, what's also worth noting is, as Davis puts on a tour de force performance, The Woman King highlights how underutilized she is in the DC Extended Universe.

The Woman King's Nanisca Is as Much Brain as She Is Brawn

Viola Davis defends her clan in The Woman King

Now, Davis has a knack for emotive performances, mixing in drama, light humor and such. But she also has immense range, which is why she won Best Actress in a Supporting Role for 2016's Fences. Still, most folks don't associate her with physical roles, even though Widows already had her as a bank robber trying to make a big score with an all-female crew. However, Nanisca allows Davis to show that extra-dimension as this intimidating, muscular leader slicing up enemies from all walks of life. And Davis clearly trained hard to become this soldier, and The Woman King shows that the work paid off.

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The DCEU Should Use More of Viola Davis' Versatility

Amanda Waller commands the DCEU Suicide Squad

Unfortunately, the DCEU has put Davis into a box in the Suicide Squad and Peacemaker properties, where she barks orders from the Task Force X headquarters. Apart from when she met Bruce Wayne and came off as quite scary, this Waller's nothing more than a corporate shill for the government. Instead, it'd have been nice to see her beating down traitors in her own unit or assaulting disobedient Suicide Squad members.

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Sending these messages illustrates a different side of the boss, reiterating she's not to be trifled with. And for anyone who doubts Waller could be that badass, The Woman King's Nanisca begs to differ, with Davis' cutting stares and showing how good she is at fight choreography. And since Peacemaker exposed Waller's team to the world, there is hope she could return to the field to show her doubters what she can do. It would subvert the Waller seen in cartoons, comics, games and TV shows while allowing Davis to flex her might again.

To see Davis' Nanisca show how deadly Waller can be, The Woman King is now in theaters.