Wonder Woman: See the moment Gal Gadot's Diana becomes a hero

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Becoming a superhero is no easy feat. It takes patience, a bit of circumstance, and more than a dash of wisdom. Such is the case with Princess Diana (Gal Gadot), who must first leave her idyllic homeland of Themyscira, gain an understanding of mankind in war-torn 1918 Europe, and discover her true power before she can truly become Wonder Woman. That sequence — shown in the concept art above — occurs about halfway through director Patty Jenkins’ highly anticipated DC Comics standalone (due out June 2), in the grim no-man’s-land between English and German battlefield trenches.

Though Diana has been told she can’t cross it and must play by man’s rules, she takes it upon herself to save women and children threatened by the Germans. “It’s a very powerful moment,” Gadot says. “We have a character committing to her true self, doing what she believes needs to be done.”

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Diana is thrust toward her destiny after American intelligence officer Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crashes near her island, pursued by the German army. Trevor has discovered that German general Erich Ludendorff (Danny Huston) has plans to release a chemical super weapon, potentially killing millions. Diana wants to help — convinced that this evil could only be the work of Ares, the God of War.

Trevor escorts Diana to England, where she catches her first glimpse of industrialized London, or Man’s Land, a world she doesn’t quite understand, specifically the era’s antiquated gender and social norms. But it’s this battlefield scene that marks the first time Diana reveals her iconic garb — a moment that Jenkins (Monster) equates to Superman ripping apart his dress shirt to unveil the S across his chest: “It’s when she says, ‘Enough is enough.’”

Executive producer and chief creative officer of DC Entertainment Geoff Johns goes a step further with the Superman analogy. “[This scene] reminds me of when Superman caught Lois and caught the helicopter [in the 1978 movie],” he says. “But this one is even more visceral.”

And more beautiful.