Wonder Woman 1984 finally gave one of Diana's longest-running villains, Dr. Barbara Ann Minerva, aka Cheetah, her live-action debut, but the film omitted the most interesting and tragic part about Cheetah from the comics.
Just as Wonder Woman received her powers from the Olympian gods, Cheetah was empowered by Urzkartaga, one of the most sadistic deities in the DC Universe. Through his twisted gifts, Dr. Minerva was changed from a brilliant compassionate scholar into a feral predator, having her very humanity stripped away.
Artist H. G. Peter and Wonder Woman's creator, William Moulton Marston, designed the original Cheetah, but as is often the case with comics, there have been numerous people who have used the name "Cheetah" over the years. The most famous example, Dr. Minerva, did not appear until 1987, and was created by Len Wein and George Perez. Perez famously rebooted Wonder Woman as part of the post-Crisis DC Universe. After failing to con Wonder Woman, Dr. Minerva transformed herself into the Cheetah through a magical ritual honoring the blood-drinking African plant-god Urzkartaga. The deity, who embodied the feral wilderness, gave Dr. Minerva the unrelenting bloodthirsty powers of a predator.
Contrast this with Wonder Woman: 1984, where Dr. Minerva was depicted as a brilliant but underappreciated scholar given powers by the Dreamstone, a magical item the film attributed to the Greek god Dolos. This seems to be based on her depiction in Wonder Woman: Rebirth, by Greg Rucka, Liam Sharp, Nicola Scott, and Bilquis Everly, which reintroduced the Amazon's origin story and contemporary narrative.
After Diana arrived in man's world, Dr. Minerva -- now seen as a gifted archaeologist and linguist -- reconstructed enough of the ancient Amazonian language to establish communication. The two women became friends, and Dr. Minerva entered into a romantic relationship with another ally of Wonder Woman's, Etta Candy. Just as Marston created Wonder Woman in the '40s to represent female empowerment, transgressive sexuality, and the pursuit of suppressed truth, Rucka explored similar feminist themes in Rebirth. His depiction of Diana's polyamorous same-sex relationships with other Amazons received attention, but just as important was his decision to portray Dr. Minerva as an unappreciated genius whose theories were dismissed by the chauvinism within academia.
In Wonder Woman: The Lies, Diana partnered with Cheetah to stop Urzkartaga. The god had stolen Cheetah's former identity and forced her to commit cannibalism after making her his bride, even deforming her body as punishment for having previous lovers. He was also responsible for abducting and caging women who would be sacrificed or forced into a similar marriage.
The god's plantlike appearance took on skeletal demonic traits, and Diana's long-time partner Steve Trevor noted that Urzkartaga exhibited an entitled sense of toxic masculinity. They eventually defeated the god, and Barbara Ann regained her old body, but the emotional scars remained. Cheetah is as much a victim as a villain. She lost her humanity and everyone she loved, all stolen from her by Urzkartaga.