With multiple franchises based on DC comics happening at once, there's bound to be a little overlap. One thing that stuck out to me during the "greatest gladiator match in history" is that it seems as if Batman v Superman refers to Wonder Woman as a metahuman. Is that true; is Diana Prince a metahuman? Fans of The Flash on The CW certainly have a specific definition of the term, and it doesn't seem to fit her origin story.
In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Lex Luthor sends Bruce Wayne an email with four attachments, which he then forwards to Diana Prince. Each attached file details a metahuman: The Flash (Barry Allen), Aquaman (Arthur Curry), Cyborg (Victor Stone), and Wonder Woman — with a bonus photo cameo from Chris Pine as Steve Trevor. Lex and Diana were both investigating metahumans in Batman v Superman, individually and independently. On the previously most recent version of The Flash, metahumans are people who received superpowers when a particle accelerator exploded, releasing black matter into the vicinity.
That said, not everyone watched The Flash, and it does share source material with Batman v Superman. In DC Comics, the term metahuman simply means a human being with superpowers. There are studies in the comics as to whether or not this is a genetic condition, as powers can manifest at birth and/or later on. So technically, both Wonder Woman and Superman do not fit that description, because they are not human. Diana Prince joins the Department of Metahumans and uses it to spy on herself. This organization, like Lex Luthor, classified Wonder Woman as a metahuman. However, she wasn't struck by a particle accelerator or a bolt of lightening. Her powers were granted by various Greek Gods and Goddesses after she was sculpted from clay.
Sometimes, DC Comics will refer to Wonder Woman as a metahuman, as well as characters like Superman, Martian Manhunter, and Aquaman (who is technically an Atlantian). Has Lex Luthor made a mistake? Is he just lumping her in with other like-powered individuals? Perhaps the Justice League franchise is redefining the term to mean something broader. It's not the most consistent term, so until we learn more in a subsequent film, I think I'm just going to say "why not" to the whole thing.
Images: Giphy; Warner Bros.
