As an Amazon warrior princess drawing heavily from Ancient Greek mythology, Wonder Woman has a whole arsenal of mythical weapons and tools at her disposal. From her golden Lasso of Truth to her Bracelets of Submission, all of those tools are empowered by the gods to make her one of the most formidable superheroes in the DC Universe.
The cinematic incarnation of the iconic superhero, portrayed masterfully by Gal Gadot across three films with a fourth starring role in Wonder Woman 1984 next year, employs even more weapons than her comic book counterpart who largely stuck to her bracers and lasso until her revival following the Crisis of Infinite Earths in the 1980s. One of the most striking weapons used by Gadot's Wonder Woman is a circular shield, prominently seen in all three appearances by the character in battle. However, the Amazon actually uses two visibly different shields during her time in the DC Extended Universe and here is a background on both and how they compare to the even more iconic shield used by a certain Star-Spangled Avenger.
WONDER WOMAN'S ORIGINAL SHIELD
Obtained directly from the Amazons of Themyscira and her mother Queen Hippolyta, the first shield Diana is seen wielding chronologically is in her 2017 solo film, as Wonder Woman leaves her home to face Ares during World War I. As with all of Wonder Woman's shields, this one is circular in design and large enough to protect her entire torso.
More ornately decorated than its modern counterpart, the original shield bears the same golden eagle design that adorns Wonder Woman's main outfit with similar color accents and star pattern in its center. A powerful defensive tool, the shield offers Diana considerably more protection than her bracers as she takes the Ares-influenced German military head-on during the war.
WONDER WOMAN'S MODERN SHIELD
When she is first seen in the DCEU in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman is sporting a different shield. Visibly less decorated, the shield eschews the accents and ornate design of its predecessor entirely with the only decoration being script inspired by Ancient Greek along the rim that occasionally glows bright orange when the Amazonian magic imbuing the shield that heightens its defensive capabilities is utilized.
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Proving invaluable during Wonder Woman's fight with Doomsday, Diana also used this version of the shield in Justice League when she fought against Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons in Gotham City and Russia in the film's climax.
HOW STRONG ARE WONDER WOMAN'S SHIELDS?
Diana's original shield, while still arguably weaker than its modern counterpart given the feats seen in Wonder Woman, is still capable of great defensive abilities. In the instantly iconic "no man's land" sequence, Diana uses the shield to deflect heavy machine-gun fire and mortar rounds as she single-handedly leads the Allies to storm a key German position. By contrast, her modern shield endures the full-force of Doomsday's heat vision during Batman v. Superman and laser blasts from Apokolips' Parademons in Justice League.
This puts Wonder Woman's modern shield roughly on par with, if not a bit stronger than, Captain America's vibranium shield from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While purists may argue that the vibranium shield is actually stronger, it is important to remember that the shield was visibly damaged by Black Panther's claws in Captain America: Civil War and a vision by Tony Stark in Avengers: Age of Ultron saw the shield completely shattered which may or may not come to pass during Avengers: Endgame.
With Diana Prince coming back in a big way in next year's Wonder Woman 1984, fans will hopefully get to see more incredible feats with the Amazon warrior's shield including a possible origin for her modern version of the weapon.