[Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for Wonder Woman 1984.]

Yes, Virginia, that is Lynda Carter returning to the world of Wonder Woman!

For those of you unfamiliar with your superhero television history, Carter first played the role of Wonder Woman in an iconic ABC/CBS television series from 1975-1979 (please listen to the 70s-tastic theme song immediately). Her portrayal of Diana Prince was beloved, becoming a pop culture phenomenon, with many facets of her take on the character reverberating throughout superhero cinema culture since (her spinning transformation and costume style have showed up in animated projects since, the series was recently put on HBO Max in celebration of this new film, and there’s even a new comic book series called Wonder Woman ‘77 that takes place in her continuity). Carter herself has recently rejoined the DC television family, playing President Olivia Marsdin in the CW’s Supergirl.

But here, in the credits stinger of Wonder Woman 1984, Carter shows up explicitly within the text of a Wonder Woman property again! This meta-textual surprise provoked two reactions in me. One: Boy howdy, they sure are pandering directly to the fans with no pretense, down to the splashy “Lynda Carter” title card that happens immediately after! And two: Boy howdy, does this excite the heck out of me and put a giant smile on my face regardless! It’s the kind of credits-stinger that feels right in place with the rest of the tone of Wonder Woman 1984. Is it flawed, obvious, ham-fisted? Surely. But is it joyful, optimistic, and completely earnest in its cheese? Surely. If you’re willing to get onto its wavelength, you’ll be cheering for this as loudly as you did for Nick Fury showing up at the end of The Avengers.

Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman
Image via Warner Bros.

Now, let’s unpack this scene beyond its metatextual reunion joys. Carter is not playing another version of Diana Prince or Wonder Woman; we’re not setting up a Wonder-multi-verse, as delightful as that sounds. Instead, Carter introduces herself as Asteria, who, canonically, is a powerful Amazonian warrior created by Zeus, the inspiration for the introductory Olympic-style games on the island of Themyscira, and the owner of that dope-ass golden armor Diana finds in Washington DC and sports in the film’s climactic action sequence. Furthermore, Asteria seems to be slipping herself into modern society just like Diana, potentially setting up a sequel where they meet ("Wonder Woman 1994," anyone? Grunge, g-funk, and golden lassos?).

This moment raises some new questions and contradicts some of the facts we thought we knew from the film — didn’t Diana explicitly say she died? What does it mean now that there are two powerful Amazonian superheroes running around America? Are we actually setting up a Wonder-multi-verse? — while also patiently, and quite refreshingly to my eye, avoiding setting up some kind of explicit DCEU-Flashpoint-Snyder Cut crossover. I dig Wonder Woman 1984’s self-contained purview (beyond its relationship to the first film, of course) and its narrow focus on smaller-stakes character arcs and resolutions; a fancy way of saying “it’s nice that the third act doesn’t involve a CGI monstrosity appearing from a portal”. This credits stinger keeps it focused within the Wonder Woman film universe while also paying tribute to wondrous women of previous eras. It’s nice even though, and maybe because, it’s so unabashedly pandering — and if it’s setting up a movie where Gal Gadot and Lynda Carter solve crimes together, sign me up for 12 more sequels.

Wonder Woman 1984 is playing in select theaters and streaming on HBO Max.