The Lasso of Truth may seem like a straightforward tool in Diana Prince's belt, but Wonder Woman's latest DCEU movie, Diana uses the Lasso of Truth to show villain Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) the effects of his actions on the world and what his wish is costing him.
The Lasso of Truth made an early appearance in DC's 2017 reboot of the ending of Wonder Woman. The lasso becomes an even more important instrument in Wonder Woman 1984 when Diana uses it to defeat Lord. As Diana tells Steve, "The lasso does more than just make you tell the truth. It can make you see it, too."
Diana uses the lasso in the final scene of the movie to show people around the world the truth of the Dreamstone — that each wish comes at the cost of their most valuable possession. By wrapping the lasso around Lord's ankle, she's able to reach out to the millions of people he's influencing worldwide. Diana also uses the lasso on Max himself, reminding him of his troubled childhood and showing him that his wish for power is costing him his relationship with his son, Alistair. The truth alone is a powerful force. With Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth, Diana can wield pure truth as a tool, destroying Lord's denials, delusions, and deceptions.
In Wonder Woman 1984, Diana first uses the Lasso of Truth's new powers on Steve to show him the truth of events centuries past. With the lasso, Diana is able to literally show Steve a vision of Asteria's final battle against mankind, unveiling a truth that might otherwise be forgotten or buried. As any good historian knows, stories of the past are often twisted or rewritten to suit the teller. Diana's Lasso of Truth can cut through distortions and mental roadblocks, showing the real events of the past or present as they happened. That knowledge of the truth can change people, giving them a new perspective on events or setting them on a new path. As Diana says, the lasso can make people see the truth, forcing them into personal revelations.
Diana later uses that power against Maxwell Lord's own powers, forcing him to face his selfish motives. Under the power of the Lasso of Truth, Lord sees visions of his early childhood, a dark time in which he was abused by his father and ostracized by his peers. It was those experiences that drove Lord to single-mindedly pursue riches and professional success, the montage reveals. Lord's vision continues as he sees the fallout his power-hoarding has had on the world and he eventually realizes he is repeating the mistakes of his father. In trying to make his son proud of him, Lord is losing him as well as putting him in danger.
The powerful history of the Lasso of Truth in this moment is limitless. In mankind's own history, humans have found (unreliable) ways to force others to speak the truth. But few have ever found a way to force others to realize the truth about themselves. Humanity's capacity for self-delusion and rationalization is endless, as people twist facts and memories to suit an argument. In this case, Diana's lasso cuts through all of that, leaving people with only the truth, an ephemeral and elusive concept.
