Superhero movies tend to deal with ‘saving the world’ somewhat superficially; the stakes are often too foreign to reality to instill recognition, or crisis is confined to too small a space.  But in Wonder Woman, the war is massive in scope: it’s a war for our own humanity — a humanity that can be too easily forgotten.

Wonder Woman herself has always been an Amazon, but she’s also always been an undeniably American superhero: she wears a white, red and blue outfit with stars. However, her movie surprisingly steers clear of making any sort of patriotic statement. Instead, it reaches out to embrace the full scope of what its story means.

Diana’s own journey begins with her leaving Themyscira, leaving behind the Amazons that will not become involved in someone else’s war. Diana doesn’t join mankind to save her own people: she does it to save a population she has never even met. Technically, she doesn’t need to be in the war at all; and yet she abandons the comforts of her own country in favor of the planet.

Such an altruistic decision on her part isn’t unexpected, coming from Wonder Woman, but it is rather rare in film in general. We love to write stories about heroes who are spurred on by personal tragedy; who leave their home in search of a cure for it. But although the loss of Antiope is a heartbreaking moment, it is not ultimately what makes Diana decide to leave the island. She leaves because she sees a world in need.

The only American we see is Steve Trevor, and yet he’s reporting back to the British. While his inspiring remarks about doing nothing or doing something, and believing, not deserving, definitely make him something of an ‘American hero’ supported by ‘American’ values like freedom, courage and leadership… there’s hardly any talk about specific countries at all. Steve’s perspective goes far beyond mere patriotism — he’s focused on the suffering of the entire world, and what his role is in alleviating it.

Pairing two characters with such a purely altruistic perspective of their roles in crisis, and having them carry the film, makes for a subtle but powerful message. This is not a story that limits itself; it is not a story about a specific city or country, but a story about the world.

Even more impressive are the interesting bits of dialogue that DC chose to include in Wonder Woman; insights so rare in Hollywood blockbusters that it left some of us reeling from the magnitude of the statements they make.

Chief’s remark is by far one of the most important moment in the film — and one that really hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves. When asked by Diana why he isn’t taking a side in the war, he explains that his people already lost everything. Diana asks who did that to them. Chief nods towards Steve. “His people,” he says.

It’s an incredibly important moment, and one that gives Diana a glimpse at what a war-torn place the world really is; the strange, twisted mystery of what makes a group of people destroy another, and replicates itself throughout history, even as its victims and its privileged mingle and find friendship in one another, only to be plunged into a new battle.

Chief’s tone is calm, even when he refers to his war-torn past, shedding some light onto the heartbreaking resignation war brings. Steve alludes to a period of apathy in his life, eventually abandoned in favor of courage. Charlie shows us the profound psychological toll war has on soldiers. Sameer’s dreams have been stolen by deployment — and yet he was robbed of that future a long time ago anyway, because of the color of his skin.

These issues — despair, apathy, trauma and oppression — are symptoms of the tendency humanity has to lift one part of its population at the expense of another. Very often, they flourish under blind, toxic patriotism.

All of this takes place against the backdrop of a World War, in which we see a great number of countries, and a great number of ethnicities are showcased (finally, a historically accurate representation of the diversity in the army!). We even hear a multitude of languages, all spoken by Diana herself — a strength and a tool in bringing people together.

It’s no accident that Wonder Woman tackled the issue of politicians turning a blind eye to suffering populations in pursuit of their own agenda; or that it showcased war-torn cities gassed to the ground, women and children and all. This is a world that we recognize: we know it from the news, from social media, sometimes from our very homes. And it’s a world that, despite all its horrors and injustices, we can’t help but love.

While heroes like Captain America are excellent in their own right, because of their potential to make us examine the values and responsibilities of a nation, it’s a relief to see a film so clearly highlight the global consequences of war, and the inherent interconnectedness of all its players.

In a globalized world, we can no longer have the luxury of turning a blind eye to the pain of those around us. And when the world is watching Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman looks right back at it, and refuses to look away.

So despite the insistence of others to focus on only one problem — despite our tendency to narrow a struggle down to a specific nation — Diana dons her shining armor, and marches straight into the battlefield… in the name of all humankind.