Wonder Woman is one of the most iconic and powerful DC superheroes of all time. As a result, it would be understandable to think almost no one can defeat her. However, that's not quite the case, since Diana has faced some truly dangerous villains over the years. Sometimes her victory was doubtful, and sometimes, she downright lost.

Wonder Woman has many iconic enemies, as well as some that flew under the radar. But her most popular villains are here to stay. Many have their own sets of special, powers but whether they're gods or humans, they all have one thing in common: they're both dangerous and brilliant.

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Updated June 20, 2022 by Melody MacReady: After over 80 years worth of comics, television shows, and even movies, Wonder Woman has fought a plethora of enemies. Some of them originate from Greek mythology, others stem from DC's Earth, and others come from other dimensions such as Apokolips. Many of them have been rebooted and revamped as Wonder Woman's mythology has evolved with the times.

They may not be as famous as other supervillain rosters belonging to Batman or The Flash but Wonder Woman's rogues have their cemented place in the wide DC universe. Some of risen more in popularity due to their inclusions in different media such as the Wonder Woman movies starring Gal Gadot and the many DC animated projects such as the Harley Quinn animated series. With the Wonder Woman game by Monolith Productions coming soon, fans will likely see many of Wonder Woman's villains get the chance to shine in video game form.

13 Doctor Psycho

Doctor Psycho in Wonder Woman comics

Originally, Doctor Psycho as a villain was so ridiculous that he fell under the "so bad he's entertaining" kind of fame. Over the years, he has evolved into an iconic foe due to being one of the first villains in Wonder Woman's rogue gallery that was even created by Wonder Woman's creator: William Moulton Marston.

His misogynistic personality combined with his psychic abilities has made him the total opposite of Wonder Woman in every way. Also, the many decades of evolution from writers of DC have led to Doctor Psycho becoming more complex and a genuine threat.

12 Doctor Poison

Doctor Poison grinning manically in Wonder Woman comics

Like many of the best Wonder Woman villains, Doctor Poison made it into the live-action DCEU movies. Though Doctor Poison isn't as physically powerful as many of Wonder Woman's other enemies, she presents a threat because she has no moral qualms about killing people and poisoning innocents.

To protect everyone from Doctor Poison, Wonder Woman sometimes has to be almost in two places at once. Even then, it's difficult to stop Doctor Poison once and for all because she can virtually excrete poison via her skin.

11 Devastation

Devastation taunting Wonder-Woman in Wonder-Woman #143

Also known as Deva, she is the anti-Wonder Woman created to be the dark mirror of the Amazon princess and destroy her. This leads to her having her own conflict about following the purpose of her creation or following what she personally wants to do with her life.

Her tragic nature combined with her powers being a dark echo of Diana's results in Deva being one of the more intriguing villains. Sometimes she's a straight-up villain while in other instances, she's more of an anti-hero.

10 Giganta

Wonder Woman Giganta fight

While not as strong and successful in (occasionally) defeating Wonder Woman as other villains have been, Giganta still deserves more attention since her powers are so impressive to look at. As her name suggests, she has the power to grow to a monstrous height, which led to some visually bombastic battles between her and Wonder Woman in the comics.

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Just like some of the best villains, Giganta has a personal reason for hating Wonder Woman. Diana crashed into the scene while Giganta was trying to cure her blood disease, and was responsible for her transformation in the first place.

9 Genocide

Genocide surviving an explosion in Wonder-Woman comics

Forged from the body of Wonder Woman of the future, Genocide is the ultimate weapon against Diana that is designed to destroy her. In a way, she is similar to Doomsday of the Superman mythos; being a deformed and powerful creature designed by other Wonder Woman villains.

Not only is she invulnerable to most powers and attacks by Wonder Woman, but she is also immune to her Lasso Of Truth due to her body's origins. It makes her a formidable and nearly unstoppable threat that even Wonder Woman struggles to fight both physically and mentally.

8 Veronica Cale

veronic cale and her guard dogs

Some of the best villains are those who have no special powers, despite the fact that they regularly face superheroes. Veronica Cale is to Wonder Woman what Lex Luthor is to Superman. Cale is a brilliant, intelligent businesswoman who uses her influence to get what she wants.

To say that Cale isn't that fond of Wonder Woman would be an understatement. She believes that Diana got her powers and never had to work hard to get where she is, and thus resents her. There have been moments in the comics when the two worked together, but most of the time, they're enemies. And though Cale is only human, she's smart enough to represent a threat to Diana.

7 Silver Swan

Silver Swan Wonder Woman fight

Just like another Wonder Woman well-known villain, Cheetah, the young Silver Swan has a strong personal connection to Diana. In one story, she's a young girl named Vanessa whom Diana saves, and the two become the best of friends — or so Silver Swan believes.

Wonder Woman goes on to save many more people, and after Vanessa's mother dies and leaves her alone, Vanessa descends into madness and decides to kill those whom Wonder Woman protected. What makes this villain especially compelling is how civil she is at the core. Deep inside, Silver Swan is just a broken little girl who feels betrayed by the whole world, and by Wonder Woman as well.

6 Circe

Wonder Woman Circe fight

One powerful aspect of Wonder Woman's villains is the way they demonstrate that women don't have to be scared and timid as so many people believed in the past. Circe, whose origins lie in Greek mythology, is anything but scared and timid. She's an immortal witch who can slow down time and do many extra things.

Dealing with her has never been easy for Wonder Woman, whether it's in the comics or in the DC Animated Universe. The only reason Circe doesn't rank higher is that she isn't quite as iconic as other villains the Amazon princess has faced over the years.

5 Medusa

Wonder Woman kills Medusa

Medusa isn't the only mythology-derived villain who faced Wonder Woman. She doesn't appear in the comics as often as other Wonder Woman enemies but is still impressive simply because she's frightening.

At one point during a fight Wonder Woman actually gouges her own eyes out to make sure she'll be able to avoid being petrified and defeat Medusa. It's moments like these in the comics that make Medusa one of the best Wonder Woman villains.

4 Maxwell Lord

Maxwell Lord in front of a cracked screen of Wonder Woman

Maxwell Lord shares many similarities with Veronica Cale. He's highly intelligent, has his own business, and starts out with no powers (though that changes later on). He's different in Wonder Woman 1984 and in the comics, but his ability to manipulate Wonder Woman remains the same. What makes Maxwell Lord even more impressive is his ability to control superheroes, including the heaviest hitters, such as Superman.

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In the comics, Wonder Woman ends up killing him at one point, but Lord gets his last word. He makes sure all the world sees Wonder Woman's actions, which cause many people to turn against her.

3 Grail

Wonder Woman Grail

Grail is one of the newer villains, but she has already managed to leave an impression. She's inhumanly strong, fast, and brutal, so she presents a real challenge for Diana in the fight. She almost succeeds in her plans more than once. For example, she manages to get into Themyscira in the comics and attack the Amazons while Wonder Woman herself is unable to return to her home.

Grail is Darkseid's daughter, which would make her dangerous enough on its own, but she's also determined to save her father and hates Diana passionately. What's more, she has a multitude of additional powers, including the ability to manipulate energy and teleport.

2 Ares

Wonder Woman Ares

Ares is by far one of Wonder Woman's most dangerous and iconic enemies, being one of the Greek gods as well as her brother. He also happens to be her half-brother, which makes the enmity between him and Diana all that more complicated. Just like Wonder Woman, Ares can control thunderbolts and has supernatural strength and speed. Any time these two fight it out, it's often a truly close match.

Ares is also manipulative and often hides in the background before he decides it's time to step out and show his hand. Combined with the fact he's a literal god of war, Ares is simply one of Diana's most powerful and most memorable foes.

1 Cheetah

Kristen Wiig as Cheetah

Cheetah is Wonder Woman's biggest rival, with the most iconic version of her, Doctor Barbara Ann Minerva, starting out as Wonder Woman's friend. However, she eventually grows to hate her after her transformation into Cheetah, because she blames Diana for not saving her.

The strong personal connection between the two women makes the tension-filled relationship between them even more fascinating. Cheetah is also fast, strong, and ruthless, which gives her a slight edge over Diana. What's more Wonder Woman doesn't really want to hurt her former friend, so she often holds her strength back.

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