Wonder Woman's first feature film releases today, so I thought it would be a good time to revisit Wonder Woman's Top 10 Villains! My original list was made in 2011, but plenty has happened in that time and many of Wonder Woman's villains have been revitalized during the current Rebirth era. So let us delve further into my most recent picks for Wonder Woman's Top 10 Villains!
10. Queen Clea
At first glance, many might think Queen Clea should be an Aquaman foe rather than a Wonder Woman one. But Clea is such a fantastic dark parallel of Diana. Clea despises men and believes they should serve women as slaves. As an Atlantean, she also possesses physical attributes that rival Wonder Woman's amazonian powers, particularly when Clea wields the Trident of Poseidon (which she's rarely seen without). Queen Clea is most notable in the Wonder Woman mythos for forming and leading the second Villainy, Inc., though in the Post-Crisis universe, she actually founded the group back in the 1940's instead of Eviless.
9. Veronica Cale
Greg Rucka's pet character, Veronica Cale, was a bit lackluster during her first encounters with Wonder Woman back in the early 2000's, but when Rucka returned to the series in 2016 for Rebirth, he breathed new life into this supposed "female Lex Luthor." Veronica has been fully realized as a character during Rebirth, despising Wonder Woman for making it seem "easy" to be a successful woman. Not only that, but she needs the answer to the location of Themyscira so that she can get the soul of her daughter back from the evil gods Deimos and Phobos. She is instrumental in Barbara Ann's transformation into the Cheetah, sabotaging the archaeologist when she needed her best friend Wonder Woman most of all. These moments have cemented Veronica Cale as a major foe for Wonder Woman, and going forward it will be very interesting to see if she plays a long-lasting role with Greg Rucka gone.
8. Medusa
Wonder Woman's greatest enemies have always been women who have been scorned in some way or another. Medusa is a perfect example of this: cursed by the very gods that Wonder Woman worships and protects, particularly Athena, who is often Wonder Woman's patron deity. While Medusa hasn't been seen as frequently as some of the other villains on this list, when she does appear... it's pretty major. Probably Medusa's biggest encounter with Wonder Woman was during the storyline Eyes of the Gorgon, where Medusa planned to turn millions of people to stone through a television broadcast. The resulting battle with Wonder Woman left the villainess destroyed, but at the cost of Wonder Woman's sight as the amazon had to blind herself to win. Although I would personally love to see a story that showcases a more sympathetic version of Medusa, one that Wonder Woman is possibly able to win over with compassion.
7. Doctor Poison
Have you ever wanted to see Wonder Woman fight Doctor Mengele? Well, she basically has a female version in her rogues gallery: Doctor Poison. This demented scientist delights in dissecting creatures and finding out what makes them tick. But her specialty, of course, is poison. The villainess first appeared in the 40's as an ally to the Nazis. In fact, she was the first villain Wonder Woman ever fought! She wasn't used after Marston's death until writer Eric Luke brought her back in his run, possibly even more sick than before. The character was also recently revived by Greg Rucka during Rebirth, working as a mercenary for Veronica Cale alongside her agents in Team Poison. But her biggest claim to fame has to be her role in the Wonder Woman film where she plays one of the main villains.
6. Silver Swan
Three women have taken the Silver Swan codename. The first (and arguably best) was Helen Alexandros, a homely young ballet dancer who was filled with rage for the way society had treated her. She prayed to the god Ares, which granted her great powers in exchange for her loyalty, as well as a mission to kill Wonder Woman. The second was Valerie Beaudry, a disfigured woman who was surgically made beautiful by her husband, only for him to use her as a weapon in his exploits. The third was Vanessa Kapatelis, one of Wonder Woman's closest friends who had felt abandoned by the amazon after she had moved away for several years. Each of the Silver Swans possessed flight, superhuman strength and durability that rivaled Wonder Woman's own, as well as a piercing sonic shriek. The character is one of the few villains not created by the original Wonder Woman writer, William Moulton Marston, that continues to be used today. Her most recent appearance was in the series Wonder Woman '77, based on the 70's television series.
5. Doctor Psycho
One of the scariest villains Wonder Woman has faced, Doctor Psycho is arguably more frightening than Doctor Poison. He utterly despises women for the way they have rejected him for his height, so naturally he wants nothing more than to humiliate, degrade, and kill Wonder Woman. His ability to create illusions hasn't always worked against Wonder Woman, but he often uses these horrifying nightmares to torment her friends and allies. In some incarnations of the character, it is explained that his obsession with Wonder Woman is because of a deep love he feels for the amazon, which makes it all the more creepy.
4. Giganta
After Cheetah, Giganta is the most iconic of all of Wonder Woman's rogues. The animated series Challenge of the Superfriends is largely responsible for this. But sadly, Giganta doesn't have as fleshed out motivations as many of the other villains on the list. But despite this, it's always a good time to see Wonder Woman duking it out with Giganta when the giantess is the size of a skyscraper. This bruiser has been around since the 40's, and was considered by creator Marston to be one of her core rogues, including her in the group Villainy, Inc. Like the majority of Wonder Woman's foes, Giganta disappeared for several years until she was brought back by John Byrne, and later fleshed out by Phil Jimenez. Unfortunately, we still have yet to see a defining Giganta story, but I feel like it's coming. She's too iconic of a villain for it not to be.
3. Ares
Wonder Woman's top three villains are often debated upon; here, I have placed Ares, the god of war. Many fans believe Ares to be her arch-foe, but the source material just doesn't back that claim. Ares is rarely a straight-up villain, and I think he's a better villain for that reason. Greg Rucka's first depiction of Ares was sly and manipulative, pulling the strings of those around him. That depiction works best for me, but there are other writers who make him a hulking bruiser, or even not an enemy whatsoever (such as in the New 52). Regardless, Ares has been around since the 40's (then called Mars), and his ideology is the polar opposite of Wonder Woman's peace-driven ways. As with all of Wonder Woman's rogues, Ares needs a lot of work, and I'm sure with his prevalence in the Wonder Woman film, there will be a push to elevate his villain stature in the comics. I consider Ares to be Wonder Woman's Darkseid, Thanos, or Apocalypse.
2. Circe
Unlike the other villains on this list, Circe has accomplished some extraordinary feats over the years. She is responsible for both the War of the Gods and Amazons Attack (both critical bombs in terms of fan reception, but major storylines nonetheless). None of Wonder Woman's other rogues have reached that level of mass villainy, not even Ares. While Circe's motivations haven't always been as clear or as interesting as they could be, she controls the powers of Hecate, goddess of witchcraft, and is notable for being one of DC's most powerful female villains. Let's just hope that DC never undermines her powers as they did in the 90's, where she joined Lex Luthor's Injustice Gang. That was just bad. But in many ways, Circe is Wonder Woman's Brainiac, Ra's al Ghul, or Loki.
1. Cheetah
The number one spot once again belongs to Cheetah. As if having the most outside media appearances wasn't enough, Rebirth has given Barbara Ann Minerva a huge push as a character, reintroducing the character as Diana's best friend when she travels to "man's world." This brings a brand new level of personal interaction between the two characters. Ann blames Diana for what had happened to her (unbeknownst to her, it was Veronica Cale who sabotaged her mission). The recent years have also been kind to Cheetah with her role in the fighting game Injustice 2 as a playable character. I could rattle off all of her media accomplishments, but you might as well just check out her Wikipedia page. Cheetah is the personal connection villain akin to Joker (or Two-Face), Lex Luthor, or Magneto.
Honorable Mentions
Those who just barely missed the list: Doctor Cyber, the Duke of Deception, Baroness von Gunther, Deimos, Phobos, Eris, Angle Man, and Devastation.
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