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Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
AKA: Princess Diana of Themyscira / Diana Prince
"If it means interfering in an ensconced, outdated system, to help just one woman, man or child... I'm willing to accept the consequences."
Created for her mother with the wisdom of Athena, the strength of Demeter, the speed of Hermes, the beauty and loving heart of Aphrodite, the sisterhood with fire of Hestia and the hunters skill of Artemis, Princess Diana of the Amazons was sent to Patriarch's World to defeat Ares, and afterward stayed to deliver her message of love and peace.
- Abandoned Catchphrase: In the old days, Wonder Woman would say "Suffering Sappho!" This was writer Charles Moulton's tongue-in-cheek Take That to Moral Guardians who claimed she was secretly a lesbian, and it fell out of use when Moulton left the book. She had about a half dozen similar exclamations that lasted her throughout the Silver Age, though, including "Great Hera!", "Thunderbolts of Jove!", "Neptune's Trident!", and "Shades of Pluto!" Nowadays she is more likely to say "Great Hera!" or "Holy Hera!"
- Action Girl: The archetypical comic book Action Girl, created for just that purpose in 1941. Not the first female superhero, but a true cultural icon and never out of print in 67 years. (Since until recently, if DC didn't keep making it they would lose ownership).
- All-Loving Hero: Pre-New 52, it was emphasized in her Blackest Night tie in, where even decapitating an enemy, the only emotion within her was love. In the New-52, where Diana is a much harder person, she still tells Hades that she really did love him after the forced marriage deal he put her through, because:Wonder Woman: "Hell . . . I Love. Everyone."
- Amazonian Beauty: She is a literal Amazon and she is definitely beautiful. Even when she's portrayed as possessing a very muscular yet voluptuous figure.
- The Ageless: Due to her demi-divine origin.
- Ambadassador: Ambassador of Themyscira.
- Ambiguously Bi: Depending on the Writer. After all, she grew up in a Lady Land called Paradise Island.
- Author Appeal: With the bondage.
- Badass Cape: Part of her royal regalia/battle armor. Serves a dual purpose as diplomatic garb.
- Badass Princess: She's a princess who happens to be a member of the Justice League.
- Bad Liar: To the surprise of nobody, the Spirit of Truth sucks at lying.
- Bash Brothers: With Donna and Cassie. Sometimes written as such with Batman and Superman as well.
- Battle Couple: With Superman as of the New 52.
- Bi the Way: Issue 2 of Wonder Woman DC Rebirth implies Diana was The Casanova during her life on Paradise Island. (Or to be more accurate, some gossiping Amazons speculate that she is.) It is canonized that she was closer than friends with at least one peer.
- Bling of War: Sported a gold suit of Greek-style armor in a few stories.
- Blood Knight: She shows this tendency in the New 52 Universe, mostly in the Justice League title.
- The Chick: In the 1950s and 1960s, she was this for the Justice League.
- Combat Stilettos: Her boots are generally heeled.
- Cool Plane: The Invisible Jet. Nowadays, it's only used if she needs stealth or to carry passengers or loads.
- Determinator: Other more powerful members of her team may decide to step back or retreat in order to strategize a solution. Wonder Woman's plan is to plow headfirst into the situation and kick the living shit out of it.
- Flanderization: Pre-New 52, Diana was fairly unique amongst DC's heroes in that she was willing to kill enemies, but only when absolutely necessary and when there is zero other options available. As of the New 52, this has been exaggerated into her ruthlessly killing any villain she confronts, which makes it pretty hard to believe that the other heroes would want anything to do with her. Her pre-New 52 willingness to kill is also an example of this, if a more gradual one. Originally she was the one of DC's Big Three who would not kill. She made an exception when it came to gods, because (as she herself pointed out) during Marston's run all gods had Resurrective Immortality. When the Silver Age came around she kept her no-killing rule as Batman and Superman also jumped on that train. When George Perez rebooted her after Crisis on Infinite Earths he brought back her willingness to kill gods (and expanded it to include other supernatural creatures as well), but never addressed whether they were still immortal. Later this was rationalized as her being willing to kill "when it was absolutely necessary". Then that was expanded to hypothetically include humans as well as non-humans. Then she snapped Maxwell Lord's neck and the rest is history.
- Flying Brick: Slowly evolved into this from Lightning Bruiser.
- Friend to All Living Things: One of her least utilized powers is the ability to communicate empathically with animals.
- Good Is Not Soft: She has always been an icon of kindness and nobility, preferring peace and diplomacy to war and aggression. Yet, of all of the members of the Justice League of America, she alone has never hesitated to use lethal force when it was needed, reminding everyone the Amazons are, at heart, still a Proud Warrior Race.
- Heroic Bastard: In the New 52, she's the result of Hippolyta's affair with Zeus.
- Honor Before Reason: One of her vices is that she absolutely refuses to retreat or surrender, and a big enough Zerg Rush could occupy her until she collapses from exhaustion.
- Hot Librarian: Poses as one occasionally.
- Immune to Mind Control: Sometimes among her or the Lasso of Truth's powers, Depending on the Writer.
- Lady of War: Some of her incarnations. She is a master of many forms of combat and stated by Batman to be the best melee combatant in the world. She uses her bulletproof bracelets and Lasso of Truth to great effect and, while unarmed, graceful maneuvers and powerful blows, all while having a regal demeanor as princess of the Amazons.
- Leotard of Power: She is the classic example, which is lampshaded in Justice League, where Gordon Godfrey snarkingly compares her to a showgirl. Also played with in the movie, when Steve Trevor says "Let's get you into an outfit that doesn't get me arrested for solicitation."
- Lightning Bruiser: Not as durable as Superman, but just as dangerous to take on in a fight thanks to her near-unparalleled combat skills.
- Living Lie Detector: Thanks to her enchanted lasso, is probably one of the most well-known examples. The Lasso is able to force people to tell the truth - it takes godlike willpower to prevent this, and the subject will not be able to lie, only avoid saying anything at all.
- As she is the living embodiment of truth, being around Wonder Woman at all makes people slightly more truthful but this effect is easier to resist than being in contact with her lasso.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: In the New 52 Universe, it's revealed by Eris in issue #2 and later confirmed by Hippolyta in the next issue than Diana is the daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus.
- Made of Indestructium: Not even Superman or Captain Marvel can break her lasso. Her bracelets can withstand even Darkseid's Omega Beam, which is one of the few things that can harm Superman.
- Her bracelets are ineffective against Eros' guns.
- More Deadly Than the Male: Unlike her male colleagues Superman and Batman, she lacks a no-kill policy, which leads to much conflict between her and the other two.
- More Hero Than Thou: On one occasion, after hearing a prophecy that said the entire JLA would perish while fighting an ancient evil, Diana decided to decommission the League (by force) and fight the monster solo, as a League of One, reasoning that her one death was preferable to the death of every one of her teammates.
- Most Common Superpower: Depending on the Artist, Diana's breasts can rival Power Girl.
- Ms. Fanservice: She is a beautiful amazon (or the most beautiful woman in America) that wears outfits that emphasize her huge breasts, strong toned muscles, sizeable backside and long toned legs.
- Nice Gal: She was designed to be an embodiment of love and peace in The Golden Age of Comic Books who first tried finding peaceful solutions and reforming her enemies compared to the more aggressive methods of her male counterparts. Most incarnations since have followed suit by making her surprisingly humble and an All-Loving Hero that can find compassion even for the most vile of her enemies.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: Though not to the same level as Superman, which is why she has those wristbands.
- No Sell: In the New 52, she is immune to Eros's bullets because she already loves everyone.
- One Woman Army: Can and has taken on whole armies and superhero teams single-handed.
- Painted-On Pants: During the J. Michael Straczynski run. She soon went back to the Leotard of Power. This was also planned for the New 52, but was ultimately scrapped for another version of the Leotard of Power. Certain covers and promotional images were even released with "pants" and "no pants" versions.
- Politically Active Princess: Themiscyra's ambassador to Man's World.
- Power Limiter: Diana's bracelets in the New 52.
- Pride: Part of her Royal Heritage, and a strength and weakness in one.
- Primary-Color Champion: A red and blue Leotard of Power, blue on bottom, red on top, yellow accents such as the WW logo, belt and golden lasso. Her New 52 design replaced the yellow accents with silver ones, but the red and blue (being the primary component of the trope) still stayed.
- Proud Warrior Race Gal: A Themysciarian warrior.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: She's a princess and her people's champion.
- Safe, Sane and Consensual: Diana has swung totally across the spectrum on this Depending on the Writer. Her creator and other writers like Grant Morrison favor her explicitly being a very happy BDSM enthusiast, whereas other writers omit that character trait entirely. Most Stories will include subtle visual references to this at least: what with her classic metal bracelets and collars/chokers appearing fairly often in her costume designs.
- She's Got Legs: Since Wonder Woman is usually drawn with a very muscular yet voluptuous build for her body, She also wears a leotard that shows off her legs which (in terms of being very leggy) are shown to be very muscular yet voluptuous just like the rest of her body.
- Ship Tease: With Superman, Batman and Aquaman at various times.
- Relationship Upgrade: With Superman since Justice League #12 in the New 52
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: Speechifies quite often to villains in an attempt to make them see the error of their ways. Unfortunately, due to the nature of superhero comics, this rarely works.
- Sibling Team: With Donna Troy
- Sleeves Are for Wimps: Seldom wears sleeves and hardly needs them.
- Smash Sisters: With Donna Troy. They sure do kick ass together.
- The Social Expert: Being a diplomat, she's very good at getting to know the languages and customs of various groups she deals with.
- Statuesque Stunner: Depends on the artist, but she is often portrayed in this way.
- Straw Feminist: If written badly, Diana can become this. Sometimes, though, it's used to explore values dissonance or as a foundation for character development, such as with Diana's origin story.
- Super Reflexes: How else can she deflect machine gun fire with only her bracelets?
- Super Speed: Not to the same level as The Flash, though she does still run much faster than normal humans.
- Super Strength: Granted by Demeter (Goddess of the Earth). Diana is literally as strong as the Earth because of her link to the planet granted to her by Demeter. She is said to be "stronger than Hercules". Wonder Woman is as strong as Superman himself and able to physically outmatch other beings such as Supergirl.
- Technical Pacifist: Pre-Crisis. These days, not.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: Justified since she's the Action Girl of the DCU.
- In the New 52, she's this even with Superman!
- Will Not Tell a Lie: Former Goddess of Truth, y'all.
- World's Most Beautiful Woman: She is canonically supposed to be this, having been blessed at birth by the goddess Aphrodite.
- World's Strongest Woman: She is generally portrayed as the strongest woman in the DC universe. Depending on who's writing her, she's sometimes described as second only to Superman in terms of strength.
- Wrestler in All of Us: She tends to pull out a lot of wrestling moves in adaptations. She is ancient Greek, after all.
- Xenafication: Currently, but has gone through periods of chickification and this trope Depending on the Writer.
The Amazons"We are indeed a race of wonder women."Reincarnations of abused women given incredible strength, the Amazons were charged to lead Ancient Greece into a better way of life. Unfortunately, when the Amazons were captured and violated by Heracles' tribe, they grew vengeful in their payback. The Gods charged them to keep guard of the demon Cottus on Themyscira as restitution. The Amazons are a race of warrior women, but they are very diverse and generally compassionate. The Egyptian sect, the Bana-Mighdall, was much more misandrist and kill-happy. Now that the Amazons are free from Cottus, they act as their own sovereign nation.
- Ambiguously Gay: Some (Io) more than others.
- Nothing ambiguous about it, it's canon that the majority if not all of the Amazons are either lesbian or bisexual and that Io was in love with Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman's own bisexuality has only been hinted at though, at least so far
- Lady Land: Whether men are even allowed on the island is a question that is answered in different ways over the years. (The typical answer is "No, unless Wonder Woman invites them"; however, unlike the page image they will usually let a drowned, starving man into their hospital before deporting him). Also, there are occasional jokes about what the Amazons do for fun on an island inhabited only by women...
- Straw Feminist: In a few stories, much to the annoyance of the fans... don't even mention Amazons Attack.
Artemis / Wonder Woman II
Artemis was raised by the Bana-Mighdall, a rough and misandrist Egyptian sect of Amazons. She briefly took Diana's place as Wonder Woman, and was promptly killed. She got better, and despite her disdain towards men and warrior attitude, she's become a close and loyal ally of Diana's and a true hero. She eventually becomes one of two leaders of Themyscrira alongside Philippus as the Polemarch (military leader).
- Action Girl: She is an Amazon after all.
- Ambiguously Brown: Her exact ethnicity is never specified.
- Archer Archetype: Well known for using a bow and arrow in combat.
- Anti-Hero Substitute: Took over as Wonder Woman for a brief time during The '90s.
- Black Magic: Has some working knowledge of demonic sorcery after her time in Hell.
- Demon Lordsand Archdevils: After dying and ending up in Hell, she briefly serves as a general/fiance of a demon lord named Dalkriig-Hath. Diana convinces her to quit and return to Earth.
- Does Not Like Men: One of the more vocally misandrist Amazons, though she gets over it soon enough.
- Escaped from Hell: Basically resurrected herself by escaping Hell and crawling out of her own grave, also rescuing an unconscious Diana in the process.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: The general public does not take kindly to this more vicious and abrasive Wonder Woman.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Aretmis is brash, violent, and spiteful. Even so, she still cares about defending innocents and takes her short tenure as Wonder Woman seriously.
- Nineties Antihero: Is much more violent and brooding than Diana, and very quick to use lethal force. Bonus points for being introduced during the 90s run.
- Noble Bigot: Her dislike of men doesn't stop her from saving them from danger.
- Nothing but Skulls: Has a prominent skull motif.
- Rapunzel Hair: To a ridiculous extent, almost to Starfire levels in some panels.
- Spin-Off: Had her own six issue miniseries called Artemis: REQUIEM.
- Spikes of Villainy: Her costume is decorated with spikes. Subverted, as she's not evil.
- Stripperiffic: Her outfits tend to be quite a bit skimpier than Diana's.
- Token Heroic Orc: One of the only Bana characters to ever be portrayed positively.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Eventually becomes this with Diana.
- Unexpected Successor: Eventually becomes Polemarch (leader of the military, essentially), one of two joint leaders of Themyscira after Hippolyta steps down and dissolves the monarchy.
Etta Candy
Etta Candy is Diana's best friend and plucky sidekick. Pre-Crisis, she was a college student who led the Holiday Girls, a sorority devoted to Wonder Woman. Post-Crisis, she is married to Steve Trevor and is a snarky Air Force lieutenant colonel.
- Action Girl: During the Golden Age she was this, being possibly the most capable non-superpowered fighter of Wonder Woman's supporting cast. When Robert Kanigher took over as writer he gradually turned her into a Damsel in Distress instead. Other elements of this Chickification was later reverted Post-Crisis, but her Action Girl status never truly returned.
- Ambiguously Gay: Pre-Crisis.
- Badass Normal: When Simone is writing her. She manages to effectively blackmail Director Steel with his substance abuse habits in one of her first appearances.
- Boisterous Bruiser: During the Golden Age. Combining a extroverted personality, comic relief and brawls.
- Catch Phrase: "Woo woo!"
- Chickification: When Robert Kanigher took over as writer after Marston's death a lot of her "non womanly" strengths were either downplayed or portrayed as flaws. When H. G. Peter died too Kanigher took the chance to retool Wonder Woman entirely (into what became her Earth-1 incarnation) and made Etta a conventionally 50's feminine (in both appearance and mannerism) Damsel in Distress whose only remaining character trait was liking candy.
- Depending on the Artist: Etta's hair color has shifted back and forth from being red and blonde in her various (Pre-Flashpoint) appearances, while her height and weight are also subject to vary.
- Fat Best Friend: She was originally introduced as a Type A sidekick during the 1940s-1950s. She became more a Type B in the Silver Age, but has mostly been restored to her original personality in modern comics, where she is Wonder Woman's best friend and Steve Trevor's new Love Interest.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: During the Golden Age. She was about half Wonder Woman's height, but could knock out groups of armed criminals/nazis with just her fists.
- Race Lift: Post-Flashpoint, she was redesigned to be a thinner, black woman and modeled after Traci Thoms' appearance in the rejected pilot for NBC.
- Sudden Name Change: Has had her middle name vary from being "Marie" to "Olive".
Hippolyta / Wonder Woman III
The Queen of the Amazons always longed for a child, because out of the Amazons, it was she who was reincarnated from a pregnant woman. In reward for her service and leadership, the Gods gifted her with Diana. Hippolyta is a stern leader, but she is also a nurturer who loves her daughter.
- Action Mom: Never mind the fact that Diana is an adult...
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Was originally black-haired like her daughter in the Golden Age, then blonde after the Silver Age reboot in the 1950's, then became black-haired again after the Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot in the 1980s, and is back to blonde again after the New 52 reboot. Was blonde in Justice League but dark-haired in the direct-to-video movie.
- An Axe to Grind: Most often uses a great axe in battle.
- All Amazons Want Hercules: In her case The King of the Gods, Zeus.
- And I Must Scream: Her destiny and the destiny of her amazons after Hera's punishment: she is turned into stone and her amazons are turned into snakes.
- The Atoner: Hippolyta's stint as her daughter's replacement was part of her penance for inadvertently causing Diana's death in the first place. (She had an Amazon sorceress cast a spell to transfer some of Diana's power to Artemis, and never had the spell reversed.) She later started to enjoy the role.
- Ax-Crazy: When she's written badly, most famously in Amazons Attack.
- Bi the Way: Hippolyta is canonically bisexual, having been in love with both men (Wildcat of the JSA) and women (Phillipus).
- I Want Grandkids: Occasionally shows this inclination around Diana. Especally when Diana was in a relationship with Nemesis.
- Legacy Character: After Diana died and ascended to godhood, Hippolyta became Wonder Woman in her place. She travelled back in time to fight alongside the Justice Society, long before Diana's time, making her kind of the first Wonder Woman.
- Mama Bear: When she's written right. She presented a deconstruction of the trope when she manipulated Wonder Woman into giving up her title and sacrificing an unknowing Artemis to prevent a prophecy about her daughter's death as Wonder Woman from coming true.
- My Secret Pregnancy: In the New 52, Hippolyta made up the "clay" story to cover the fact that she'd gotten pregnant from Zeus.
- Parents as People: She was very obstinate when asked to give up the mantle of Wonder Woman by her daughter since she enjoyed the freedom and adventure that she experienced and wanted to follow her dreams instead of being tied down as a queen and mother.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: She isn't above getting her hands dirty (and, in one bit of comics continuity, was Wonder Woman during World War II).
The Amazon Guard Captain, military leader of Themyscira, and Hippolyta's lover. Something of a second mother to the Princess, Philippus took an active role in raising Diana, most notably teaching her an early lesson in using one's wits instead of strength alone. Eventually becomes one of the two leaders of Themyscira alongside Artemis as both Chancellor and Archon Eponymous (head of civic affairs).
- Determinator: Getting an arrow through the chest doesn't stop her from saving her Queen from The Circle's treachery.
- Lady of War: Not quite as regal or graceful as Hippolyta, but still shows shades of this.
- Dreadlock Warrior: Most often seen with dreads.
- Like a Daughter to Me: Phillppus took an active role in raising Diana, essentially serving as a second mother to her.
- Interservice Rivalry: Head of the General Guard, harbored (warranted) suspicions toward Hippolyta's personal bodyguards, The Circle.
- The Good Chancellor: Eventually becomes one of two joint leaders of Themyscira after Hippolyta steps down and dissolves the monarchy.
- Token Black: Not the only black Amazon, but is the only one with any significant paneltime.
MenalippeHigh Priestess and oracle of the Amazons. Frequently predicts disaster and very rarely foresees any good news.
- Crisis of Faith: Of all the Amazons, it is she who most deeply worries that the gods may have forsaken them. Fortunately, they haven't.
- Dumb Blonde: She's not the sharpest tool in the shed...
- Heroic Sacrifice: Gives her life to save Hippolyta from Circe's attack during War of the Gods.
- Infallible Babble: Sometimes. Accompanied by Throat Light and Glowing Eyes of Doom.
- Lipstick Lesbian: Same as her girlfriend, Penelope.
- Mad Oracle: Seeing the future is not good for her sanity.
- Mystical Waif: Oddly scrawny for an Amazon, and gifted with magical powers.
An Amazon blacksmith with a huge crush on Diana.
- All Love Is Unrequited: She's got it bad for the princess. Diana seems to notice, but simply isn't interested.
- Cannot Spit It Out: She'd like to confess her feelings to the princess, but she's too nervous to do it.
- Forging Scene: Creates a suit of armor for her princess.
- Gentle Giant: Huge even for an Amazon, but she's a total sweetheart.
- It's What I Do: During a time where the gods forbade the presence of weapons on Paradise Island, Io persisted in crafting blades knowing they would instantly disappear upon completion. Why? Because it's her job.
- Please Don't Leave Me: It pains Io to watch Diana go off to face Medousa.
- Shrinking Violet: She's fairly shy and reserved.
AKA: Tom TresserFormer vigilante and member of the Suicide Squad. Diana's coworker in Washington DC. He eventually learned her secret and became her lover. Holds the honor of being the only man to be officially inducted as an Amazon, with the title: Sir Thomas of Cleveland.
- Agent Provocateur: His job as a master spy and instigator via disguises makes him this.
- Anti-Hero: Admits he's killed his share of people in his pursuit of supposedly benevolent missions.
- Better as Friends: He broke up with Wonder Woman when he found out that she never truly loved him and only wanted him to have a kid.
- Defector from Decadence: His past as a member of the Suicide Squad.
Steve Trevor
Pre-Crisis, Steve was Diana's love interest, and Diana decided to stay in America after delivering him back from crashing near her island. After years of dodging his advances (she'd only marry him when she got rid of all evil in the world, y'see) she eventually did get married to him.Post-Crisis, Steve crash landed on Themyscira thanks to the machinations of Ares, and when Diana's mission was both to go to America to fight Ares, and deliver Steve to the hospital. Though initially distrustful, she struck up a close friendship with the older man, and he came to regard her as like a sister.
- The Ace: Steve is a high-flying, death-defying manly manbut unlike many other such characters, who are often womanizing pigs, he has the utmost respect for Wonder Woman and consistently defers to her.
- Big Brother Mentor: Post-Crisis to Diana.
- Distressed Dude: His defining trait.
- Love Interest: Pre-Crisis and in the New 52 Universe.
- First Love: In the New 52 Universe.
- Working with the Ex: In the Justice League in the New 52 Universe.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: He could be a pretty good Action Hero of his own, but he just happens to have what might be the most powerful Action Girlfriend in the entire DC Universe.
Wonder Girl I / Troia / Wonder Woman IV
AKA: Donna Troy
Donna Troy's past is... complicated. But basically, she's Diana's sister. She is known for being a sweet woman and a good listener, but she's faced much tragedy and a tangled past in her life. She was originally Wonder Girl of the Teen Titans, and now she forges her own path as simply Donna Troy. Comes equipped with the same bracelets as her sister, and a lasso that can override the mind of its victim, provided that Donna's will is stronger than their own.
- Action Girl: Most of the time.
- Adaptational Villainy: In the New 52 she was created in-universe to be a replacement for Diana by Amazons who disliked their new Queen's decision to allow their Amazon brothers to live amongst them. An issue of Wonder Woman had her leading a cohort of Amazons in slaughtering many of them.
- Badass Princess: As Diana's little sister, Donna's also a Princess of Themyscira, and follows in her big sister's footsteps when it comes to asskicking.
- Bash Brothers: With Diana, Cassie, and in a cross-gender example, Dick Grayson.
- Bling of War: Sported a silver suit of Greek-style armor in one arc, and has silver markings on her Troia costume.
- Boobs of Steel: She's just as stacked, and just as strong, as Dianna.
- The Chew Toy: She's doomed to suffer in her Post-Crisis incarnation.
- The Chick: Of the Teen Titans, especially in the first incarnation.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Has to wear a significantly different uniform from Diana, in order to differentiate them as adults (physically they're twins). During one story arc, when all three Wonder Women donned full Amazonian armor, Diana's was gold, Donna's silver, and Cassie's pink.
- Death Is Cheap: Died and came back, much like half the heroes out there.
- Determinator: Which is really bad news for anybody caught in her lasso. Chances are guys, that Donna's will is stronger than yours.
- Flying Brick: Like Wonder Woman
- Like Brother and Sister: She and Dick Grayson are often written this way. Given that he's the DCU Chick Magnet and she looks like Wonder Woman this is somewhat surprising, but he really prefers redheads.
- Made of Indestructium: Her bracelets and lasso.
- Platonic Life Partners: With Dick Grayson (Robin I/Nightwing/Batman III). Considering she gets away with greeting ''Batman'' with a brofist◊, may also count as One of the Boys.
- The Pollyanna: Nothing can dent Donna's optimism
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: She's the first Wonder Girl (now Troia).
- Sidekick—>Sidekick Graduations Stick: Whether as Troia, Wonder Woman IV, or plain old Donna Troy, Donna's been a superheroine in her own right for years.
- Star-Spangled Spandex: One of the few constants among Donna's costume is that it will have stars on it somewhere.
- Statuesque Stunner: Given that she's built exactly like her sister, this isn't surprising.
- Super Reflexes: Like her sister she can deflect machine gun fire with only her bracelets.
- Super Speed: Much faster than normal humans.
- Super Strength: One of the strongest heroines around, in the same category as Diana, Supergirl, and Power Girl.
- Team Mom: For the Titans, growing more mom-like with each generation of the team that she mentors. It's even lampshaded a few times.
Wonder Girl II
AKA: Cassandra Sandsmark
Cassie Sandsmark was the president of the Wonder Woman fan club in Gateway City. When she actually met Wonder Woman, she was so enthusiastic that she took artifacts from her mother's museum to help Wonder Woman fight. Impressed with her bravery, the Gods granted her powers of her own. Cassie became leader of Young Justice and the Teen Titans, and she eventually discovered that Zeus was her father.
- Action Girl: When at her best. Later writers have waffled between this and putting her as a Faux Action Girl.
- Bare Your Midriff: Sometimes. Cassie's costume is subject to change.
- Bling of War: Sported a pink suit of bejeweled armor at one point, in contrast to Diana's gold one and Donna's silver one.
- Chickification: Mostly due to Geoff Johns's influence in Teen Titans, where she went from a smart, cool nerd to a bland, moody prom-queen.
- Civvie Spandex: One of the few constants in her always-changing wardrobe is plain blue jeans.
- Divine Parentage: She's the daughter of a human woman and Zeus
- Dysfunctional Family: With Zeus for a father and a mother who disapproves of your superhero career, it's understandable.
- Headbutting Heroes: With Ravager on the Teen Titans, complete with Teeth-Clenched Teamwork.
- Heroic Bastard: She's Zeus' daughter in Post-Crisis continuity, and Lennox's daughter(himself an example of this) in the New 52.
- Morality Pet: For Ares and Hercules. Though with Ares it's debatable whether he has any REAL affection for her or if he just sees her as someone incredibly powerful that he can use.
- Must Not Die a Virgin: She and Conner Kent had Their First Time in an effort to avert this, during Infinite Crisis. Given what was going on at the time, pretty understandable.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: Being a demigoddess has its advantages.
- Official Couple: With Conner Kent aka Superboy II most of the time.
- Plucky Girl: When she was first introduced. She's since wavered between the Alpha Bitch and merely bland.
- Painted-On Pants: Traditionally wears these.
- Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: With Supergirl. They nearly kissed in the story Supergirl: Identity.
- Shock and Awe: Her lasso can electrocute those it ties up.
- Tank-Top Tomboy: After Superboy's death, she adopted his style (shirt and jeans) with a WW-themed tank top.
- Tsundere: Mostly in Sean McKeever's Teen Titans run.
A member of The Circle, Hippolyta's elite blood-sworn bodyguards, and a former weapons master. Alkyone calls Diana "The Dragon" and was convinced that she would destroy Themiscyra, and tried to kill the infant, resulting in her imprisonment with the other members of The Circle.
- Black Eyes of Evil: After taking some of Genocide's powers, along with Red Eyes, Take Warning. For extra emphasis on "evil", her pupils now look like skulls
- Bodyguard Betrayal: Betrays Hippolyta by trying to kill her daughter.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Hinted to be a major reason she despises Diana. Upon being defeated by Diana the first time, her words were "You could have been mine."
- I Did What I Had to Do: Her justification for killing the Amazon Gennes after she went mad and thought a doll was her child.
- Immortal Procreation Clause: A major source of angst not just for Alkyone, but all the Amazons, since none are able to have children.
- Interservice Rivalry: Was frequently at odds with Philippus, Captain of the General Guard.
- Knight Templar: The Circle was well-known for being overzealous about protecting Hippolyta. Alkyone takes it even further with her obsession with defending what she sees as proper Amazon culture.
- Necessarily Evil: How Alkyone views her own actions.
- Never Found the Body: Meaning she comes back.
- Praetorian Guard: She leads Queen Hippolyta's bodyguard, and like the real Praetorian Guard, ultimately betrays the person she is supposed to protect.
- Psycho Lesbian: Sadly, the first in Amazon history.
- Straw Feminist: Takes her misandry far further than even most other Amazons.
- Would Hurt a Child: Would try to kill a baby actually.
Angle Man
AKA:Angelo BendOriginally an Italian conman and master thief obsessed with knowing all the angles, Angelo Bend later gained a magic Penrose triangle that enabled him to warp space time, manipulating geometry to his advantage. He has fought Diana, Donna, and Cassie at various points in his career, and has a bit of a crush on Donna.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: Post-Crisis he did most of his crimes in a suit and tie, though he did eventually redon his Pre-Crisis green and orange tights.
- Killed Off for Real: The original Angle Man died in the first "Crisis", apparently as a result of attempting to use his Angler during the massive dimensional upheavals caused by that event.
- Reality Warper: His magic angle can warp geometry.
- Rogues-Gallery Transplant: Became more associated with Catwoman for a time after Donna's death, before returning to Wonder Woman's rogues.
- Steven Ulysses Perhero: "Angelo Bend"? Seriously?
- Villain Team-Up: Headed the Secret Society, and was a member of Circe's massive collective of Wonder Woman villains.
- Villainous Crush: He was caught by Donna Troy while trying to steal an ancient artifact from a museum. Despite this, Angle Man formed a bit of a crush on the Amazon. He became so enamored with her that he instinctively transported himself to Themyscira seeking Donna's help when he was savagely attacked by a Fury possessed Barbara Minerva.
Blue Snowman
AKA:Byrna BrilyantA foe of the Golden Age Wonder Woman, crossdressing mad scientist Byrna Brilyant used her father's invention of "blue snow" to paralyze an entire farming community in exchange for a ransom. She later joined Villainy Incorporated.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: When she first appears, Byrna is acting as a secretary at the Fair Weather Valley town meeting and voices her disgust at how childish the people are acting. Then she's revealed as the Blue Snowman.
- C-List Fodder: Her official Post-Crisis debut in Power Girl #7 lasted long enough for her to be eaten alive. She's actually listed as being cannon fodder with a life expectancy of a few pages.
- Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: Subverted. Her father was a scientist and she's beautiful, but she's a mad scientist in her own right.
- Non-Action Guy: Once the battle came down to her, Wonder Woman, and their respective fists it was a dead issue.
- Sadist Teacher: Subverted. She used to be a school teacher but she's never shown acting malicious to her students.
- Took a Level in Badass: Subverted. She's redesigned with a suit of robotic armor and a pipe that fires icicles but she's still taken down by Power Girl and Dr. Mid-Nite, and then eaten alive.
- Villain Team-Up: Served as a founding member of Villainy Inc.
- Villainous Crossdresser: Created a masculine supervillain persona. She's listed in Power Girl as "C-List Wonder Woman villain with gender issues."
Cheetah I
AKA:Priscilla Rich
A wealthy, but troubled socialite with a Split Personality, Priscilla Rich donned a form fitting Cheetah costume to become a frequent foe of Hippolyta, the Golden Age Wonder Woman in both Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis continuity. She eventually retired from supervillainy, and let go of her grudge against Wonder Woman. She was killed by Barbara Minerva in her old age, as the latter sought to make herself the only Cheetah.
- Badass Normal: Managed to take on the Golden Age Wonder Woman with only her gymnastics skills.
- Dance Battler: Priscilla was a skilled dancer, and this translated into remarkable agility in combat.
- Driven by Envy: Her entire grudge against Wonder Woman goes back to the superheroine upstaging her at a party.
- Femme Fatalons: Sometimes pictured with these (as in the page image), sometimes not.
- Inferiority Superiority Complex: Needed to feel superior to everyone else, because deep down she hated herself. Wonder Woman upstaging her at a party was what prompted her to develop her alternate personality and become a supervillain.
- It's All About Me: When you become a major supervillain because another woman got more attention than you did at a party, you are definitely a little on the self-centered side.
- Killed Off for Real: In her old age by Barbara Minerva
- The Mentally Disturbed: In addition to being a pretty obvious narcissist, Priscilla suffered from dissociative episodes, psychotic breakdowns, and a split personality. Not a mentally well woman.
- Narcissist: A fairly obvious one at that. Priscilla's need to dominate the room would brook no rivals, which is why Hippolyta's being the centre of attention was enough to trigger the psychotic break that transformed her into the Cheetah.
- Retgone: Tricky example. Pre-Crisis there were two versions of Priscilla—one, the active villain on Earth-2 who remained a foe of that world's Wonder Woman, and two, the retired villainess on Earth-1, whose niece became a foe of the Silver Age Wonder Woman. The Crisis combined these two versions of Priscilla into a single retired supervillainess and former foe of the Golden Age Wonder Woman, who was killed by Barbara Minerva. Then Flashpoint erased her completely, reducing her to nothing more than an alias of Barbara's.
- Retired Outlaw: Comes off like this in her old age
- Villain Team-Up: Was a member of the original Villainy Incorporated, both Pre-and-Post-Crisis.
Cheetah II (Pre-Crisis)
AKA:Deborah "Debbie" Domaine
The niece of Priscilla Rich, the Golden Age Cheetah, Deborah Domaine was kidnapped by the supervillain Kobra, and brainwashed into becoming the second Cheetah. Driven insane, and equipped with a more lethal version of her aunt's costume, Deborah proved to be a formidable foe of the Silver Age and Bronze Age Wonder Woman, Diana Prince. She was retconned out of existence following the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
- Absolute Cleavage: Deborah's costume leaves little to the imagination.
- Antivillain: Debbie had no desire to be evil, but was forced into against her will, and later driven mad.
- Badass Normal: Like her aunt, Deborah had no superpowers, beyond her athletic ability and her rampant insanity.
- The Berserker: Could descend into an almost mindless rage, during which her strength would increase to near superhuman levels, making her one of the rare female berserkers.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Courtesy of Kobra
- Femme Fatalons: Her costume came equipped with chrome talons that could rend through steel.
- In the Blood: Kobra believed this was true, which was why he had Debbie turned into the new Cheetah.
- Legacy Character: Forced into taking up her aunt's identity as the Cheetah.
- The Mentally Disturbed: Deborah was declared unfit to stand trial, and remanded to Arkham Asylum upon her defeat. Given her fragile mental state, emotional instability, and bouts of berserk rage, this is not surprising.
- Tragic Villain: Debbie should never have been a supervillain in the first place, and wouldn't have been if it weren't for Kobra's meddling in her life. The entire affair is just sad.
- Unstoppable Rage: When Deborah berserks, few can stand in her way.
The Cheetah II (Post-Crisis)
AKA: Barbara Minerva
Barbara Minerva was an archeologist who ran across an ancient ritual that gave her power, speed and immortality as the Cheetah, an avatar of Urtzkartaga's will. This had a price—because she was not a virgin as the god Urtzkartaga required, her body was frail and painful when not in Cheetah form. Her interest in rare artifacts caused her to clash with Diana when she tried to steal the magic lasso... the rest is history.
- Adventurer Archaeologist: Only an evil one.
- Archenemy: Competes with Ares and Circe for this title, having been one of Diana's most persistent foes since her introduction.
- Attempted Rape: When she teamed up with Zoom to defeat Flash and Wonder Woman, Cheetah tried to rape Flash. Luckily she failed.
- Barbie Doll Anatomy: When she goes unclothed.
- Beastess: Normally something of a Cute Monster Girl, the Cheetah can easily become this at her most bestial.
- Blood Magic: Her transformation is fueled by drinking blood.
- Cult: Heavily associated with cult activity.
- Post-Crisis, she stumbled across the Cult of Urtzkartaga
- In the Nu 52, she was raised by a cult that worships the goddess Artemis.
- Dark Action Girl: You've got to be one of these to take on Wonder Woman.
- Depending on the Writer: How evil she is, how animalistic she is, her exact power set, if she wears clothes, whether or not she's a Friendly Enemy, and whether she's The Vamp.
- Even Evil Has Standards: She absolutely despises rapists. Doctor Light found this out the hard way.
- Evil Redhead: Another one. Diana's rogues gallery contains a lot of these.
- Fighting a Shadow: She is the avatar of the plant god Urtzkartaga.
- Hypocrite: As stated above she hates Doctor Light for being a rapist but she herself attempted it on Flash when she teamed up with Zoom to defeat Wonder Woman and Flash. She stabbed Flash in the spine and tried to mount him while he laid on his back.
- I'm a Humanitarian: At her very, very worst.
- Legacy Character: Was the second person to bear the title of Cheetah in Post-Crisis continuity, and the third character to use the identity overall. Post-Flashpoint she is the only villain to have ever been called Cheetah.
- Power at a Price: Suffers severe pain when in human form.
- Religion of Evil: She and Chuma are the last worshipers of Urtzkartaga, though Barbara herself is only in it for the power being the god's avatar provides.
- In the Nu 52, she was raised in an evil cult.
- Retcon: As of the New 52, Barbara has become the only person to ever bear the title of Cheetah, with Priscilla Rich, Deborah Domaine, and "Sabrina" (rather than Sebastian) Ballesteros all being aliases she has employed.
- Ritual Magic: Barbara must undergo a dark ritual involving human sacrifice to become the Cheetah. The ritual was no longer necessary after Circe made the transformation permanent.
- Super Speed: She's called The Cheetah after all. She got even faster after Flash adversary Hunter Zolomon/Zoom taught her how to siphon off the power of the Speed Force.
- Super Strength: The fact that she can even injure Wonder Woman is proof of this.
- Would Hurt a Child: Claims to have eaten them in fact.
The Cheetah III
AKA: Sebastian Ballesteros
Sebastian Ballesteros was a corporate raider who learned early on that true power inevitably trumps riches. Making a deal with Urtzkartaga, he had the powers of the Cheetah transferred from Barbara Minerva to himself. He later cut a deal with Circe, and had one of Diana's closest friends transformed into the third Silver Swan. Easily overpowering Minerva when she tried to regain the Cheetah powers from him, he was eventually killed by her while in human form.
- Beast Man: Consistently became a hideous mix of human and animal.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Head of the Ballesteros Corporation, and a true robber baron in the 1800s mold.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: Killed off-panel by Minerva, while in human form. After having had a run as a pretty intimidating villain, this feels rather anticlimactic.
- He-Man Woman Hater: He faked this in order to win over Urtzkartaga.
- Legacy Character: The second Cheetah to be powered by Urtzkartaga, the third to bear the name Post-Crisis, and the fourth overall, Ballesteros arrived to the party very late indeed.
- Lightning Bruiser: Six and a half feet tall, super fast, and very, very strong.
- The One Guy: The only male Cheetah (and one of the few male villains in Wonder Woman's Rogues Gallery period).
- Retgone: As of Flashpoint "Sabrina Ballesteros" is just another one of Barbara's aliases.
Of all of Diana's mortal enemies, Circe is the most persistent and dangerous. The ancient Greek sorceress had a mad on for Diana thanks to an ancient prophecy. This hatred only got worse when Diana actually made Circe see the goodness inside her when Circe went into deep infiltration mode and became Diana's friend.
- Absolute Cleavage: Some of her costumes have featured this look.
- Archenemy: She, Ares, and the various incarnations of The Cheetah, are the three contenders for this title, as Diana's longest-running, most consistently dangerous, and deeply personal adversaries. When Luthor assembled the first Injustice Gang, Post-Crisis, he wanted it to include the worst enemies of every Justice League member, and chose Circe to fill that spot for Wonder Woman.
- Bad Boss: Treats her Bestiamorphs like crap.
- Baleful Polymorph: Does this to most people, and especially men, turning them into the animal she feels they most resemble.
- Barrier Warrior: Often creates shields in combat, once erecting one around a city.
- Becoming the Mask: When disguising herself as Donna Milton, the spell works a bit too well, and she comes to be Dianas's good friend.
- Big Bad: If somebody is screwing with Diana's life it will be one of Ares, Cheetah II, or Circe. She's been the mastermind behind Amazons Attack, War of the Gods, and more than a few other ugly little plots.
- Boobs of Steel: Incredibly powerful, and as stacked as Wonder Woman.
- The Chessmaster: She orchestrated Amazons Attack by mind-controlling Hippolyta and usually plans her attacks out well in advance.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Her daughter, Lyta, is the only person that Circe genuinely cares about.
- Evil Counterpart: Wonder Woman loves everyone. Circe hates everyone (except for Lyta).
- Eviler Than Thou: Has clashed with other Wonder Woman villains, and with the likes of Lex Luthor and The Joker on occasion.
- Evil Parents Want Good Kids: She goes out of her way to keep Lyta away from her villainous activities.
- Foil: Circe's attitudes towards men and the world are played in a deliberate contrast to Diana's more humanistic view. Really exemplified after Circe briefly stole Diana's powers and became an Evil Counterpart to Wonder Woman.
- In her first Post-Crisis story, she herself points it out. Much like her, she too came to be to fullfil a mission from god-Hecate, who wished to punish humanity for her mistreatment, which Circe did by driving divide between men and women further.
- Friendly Enemy: Sometimes behaves this way towards Diana. Like many other things about Circe, this is dependent upon the writer.
- Gendercide: Not the first Wonder Woman antagonist to try this, and she won't be the last either.
- Go-Karting with Bowser: She was one of Diana's best friends once, in disguise.
- Hero Killer: Actually manages to kill Wonder Woman during War of the Gods by using a spell designed to revert her into clay.
- Hypocrite: Her misandry hasn't stopped her from conducting affairs with Hercules, Ares, and Ballesteros.
- Immortality Immorality: Circe is one of the oldest humans in the DC Universe, and is among the most dangerous.
- Lady of Black Magic: Villainous version. Circe packs enough power to level cities and effect hundreds of people at once with her transformation curses.
- Misanthrope Supreme: Believes that all humans are beasts at their core and should be treated as such.
- Mooks: The Beastiamorphs serve as Circe's monstrous minions.
- Motive Decay Okay so... why is she still trying to kill Wonder Woman? Sometimes it's because she hates the world of peace and equality that Diana wants to create, sometimes it's because of prophecy, sometimes it's because she thinks the Amazons stole her daughter, sometimes it's because she thinks that Wonder Woman doesn't do enough to stop the oppression of women despite the fact that directly contradicts one of the main reasons she gave for hating Wonder Woman's message of peace and tolerance during one of her Motive Rants.
- Public Domain Character: Modeled the sorceress who sought to bewitch Odysseus' crew in The Odyssey. Since the original Circe is one of the oldest characters in fiction, she's well into the public domain.
- Really 700 Years Old: Dates back to 1200 BC.
- Stripperiffic: Frequently dresses this way.
- Troll: Enjoys dicking with people, especially Diana.
- Unholy Matrimony: With Ares, Hercules, and Sebastian Ballesteros on occasion.
- Unlimited Wardrobe: Circe's costumes are subject to change.
- The Vamp: Not afraid to use her sex appeal to get what she wants, at one point trying to seduce Green Arrow II on Luthor's orders.
- Villain Team-Up: Led a Legion of Doom made up of Wonder Woman's enemies, all of whom she empowered. She's been romantically involved with Sebastian Ballesteros as well, with the two of them acting as a Big Bad Duumvirate, and has allied herself with the likes of Luthor's Injustice Gang in order to take on the Justice League.
- Wicked Witch: One of the wickedest witches in comic books in fact.
- Wizards Live Longer: Circe is several thousand years old.
- You Gotta Have Purple Hair
- You Have Failed Me: One of Circe's Bestiamorphs failed to accomplish his assignment. What does Circe do? She turns him into a chicken dinner and eats him.
One of the Hekatonkheires (Hundred-Handed Ones) of ancient Greek myth, Cottus was sealed under Themyscira long ago, and watched over by the Amazons in case he ever escaped, which he has a few times. If both he and Alkyone are to be believed, he is Wonder Woman's father (the clay she was created from came from he).
- Historical Villain Upgrade: He and his brothers were actually on the Gods' side during the Titanomachy and served as the Titans' jailers in Tartarus.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: The clay that was used to create Wonder Woman came from his imprisoned body.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Is made of nothing but arms.
- Person of Mass Destruction: He and his brothers were Anthropomorphic Personification(s) of natural disasters.
Dark Angel
AKA: Donna Troy of Earth-7
A psychotic witch/a wandering, demonic spirit who's got it out for Donna Troy, Dark Angel first appeared to vex the Golden Age Wonder Woman Hippolyta after being summoned by Paula von Gunther. She returned years later to try getting revenge on Hippolyta by cursing her daughter to live an infinite amount of lives, all ending in tragedy. She snatched her daughter's doppelganger, Donna Troy by mistake. Dark Angel had now made it her life's effort to make Donna as miserable as possible, either as revenge or just for the hell of it. Last seen under the employ of the Monitors. It turned out she's really the Donna Troy of Earth-7, from the Multiverse that was destroyed in Crisis on Infinite Earths. The Anti-Monitor saved her in order to make her his own harbinger, but she was too difficult to control and fled.
- Aborted Arc: It was implied at some point during Countdown she was going to find Donna's group and fight her, but the confrontation never happened.
- Arch-Enemy: To Donna Troy. She wants nothing more than to see Donna squirm.
- Captain Ersatz: It was very likely this wasn't intentional, but Dark Angel racks up a lot of comparison points with Queen Nehellenia from Sailor Moon. She considers herself the dark to Donna's light and the way she says it mirrors a similar conversation Nehellenia had with Queen Serenity in the manga. Like Nehellenia sought to hurt Queen Serenity through her daughter, Dark Angel sought revenge on Hippolyta by cursing her daughter Diana. She operates out of an otherworldly dimension she has total control over like Nehellenia, and it's reached the point that she wants to make Donna suffer for no reason other than she enjoys it, just as Nehellenia wants Sailor Moon to suffer. What further strengthens this is that Donna is linked to the moon, and was at one point the literal goddess of the moon.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Was last seen escaping from Earth-33 in Countdown to Adventure #4. At this point, we've no idea what her status is now that the Monitors are gone, but does manage to come back no matter what happens to her...
- Dark Action Girl: She's an insanely powerful witch capable of using advanced spells and disguises, but she's also willing to get her hands dirty and physically engage her foes.
- Demonic Possession: First manifested on Earth by possessing Paula von Gunther's body.
- The Determinator: It's possible to incapacitate her and even kill her, but she'll always get back up for more. The only way the Titans were able to stop her second attempt on Donna's existence was by sealing her inside Nightstar's "tree house" dimension.
- Doppelgänger Attack: In Teen Titans, she was able to make five alternate copies of herself to go into different points in Donna Troy's lifetime and kill her, including a cyborg, an old woman, a bat-like demon, a glam punk, and a teenage girl.
- The Dragon: Was this for Adolf Hitler, currently for the Monitors. The Anti-Monitor groomed her to be this, but she escaped into the time stream.
- Even Evil Has Standards: She made it clear that, while she was occupying the body of Paula von Gunther and under Hitler's control, she did not share in his Nazi dogma. Subverted as, while she has no racial beliefs personally, she'll personally engage the genocide of an entire race if ordered to do so. Just ask the Forerunners-oh wait.
- Evil Albino: Her skin is completely bone white.
- Evil Counterpart: She was supposed to be one to Harbinger, under the Anti-Monitor's control, but she escaped before it happened.
- Evil Twin: To Donna Troy. She's really the Donna of a destroyed parallel Earth.
- For the Evulz: It isn't clear if what she's doing to Donna Troy is simple revenge, because she likes screwing with her, or because she's jealous that Donna is living a life she could have had if not for the Anti-Monitor kidnapping her.
- Hot Witch: Although a temporal doppelganger of herself was a white haired hag.
- New Powers as the Plot Demands: In Countdown to Adventure #4, she could grow to giant size. This was the first and last time she ever demonstrated this power. She also demonstrated the power to bring the dead back to life in Supergirl.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Wiped out the entire Forerunner race of Earth-48 with the shadow demons, then gloated to Viza Aziv that she enjoyed watching them die.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Her eyes shift from black with red pupils, to black with white pupils.
- Ret Gone: She did this twice to Donna Troy. The first time, when she still believed Donna was really Diana and subjected her to a multitude of lives ending in tragedy. The second time, as revenge for killing her, she erased the memory of Donna from everyone in the DCU, but did so to every other version of Donna before the one in the main DC timelines. However, the trick doesn't work on time travelers because it means they're outside of the revisions when they occur.
- Secret Test of Character: In Supergirl, she was ordered by the Monitors to test the current Kara Zor-El to see if she deserved the right to exist in the current DC Universe. She didn't take Kara passing the test with grace.
- Unexplained Recovery: There's been no explanation offered as to how she came back after Donna Troy killed her in Wonder Woman.
- Would Hurt a Child: Was more than willing to harm Donna Troy when she was a young girl. It's implied that she was responsible for the crash that killed Donna's ex-husband, her son, and stepdaughter.
AKA:DevaA clay golem brought to life by the Titan Cronus, Devastation is effectively an evil Wonder Woman, possessing all of her powers and more, and none of her morality. Realising that Diana would be too difficult to defeat on her own, Devastation has repeatedly tried to strike at her through Cassie Sandsmark.
- Enfant Terrible: Often takes this form, though she can be as old as she wants.
- Evil Counterpart: To Diana, having been created by Cronus in the same way that she was created by Zeus. They even share DNA.
- The Man Behind the Man: To Doctor Poison II during the latter's first appearance.
- Super Power Lottery: A major winner. She has:
Doctor Cyber
AKA: Cylvia Cyber
A scientist turned crime boss, Doctor Cyber replaced parts of her body with cybernetic implants and donned a power suit to battle Wonder Woman. A major enemy during the Bronze Age, she's faded from the public eye since then, battling Wonder Woman only once in Post-Crisis continuity. Most of her plots revolve around global conquest and large-scale extortion schemes.
- Cyborg: The Post-Crisis Doctor Cyber had cybernetic implants, as opposed to the Pre-Crisis version, who only had her Powered Armor.
- Dark Action Girl: One whose cybernetic enhancements let her be a physical threat to Wonder Woman.
- Deflector Shields: Built into her armored suit Pre-Crisis.
- Diabolical Mastermind: Pre-Crisis, when she ran an international criminal syndicate dedicated to world domination.
- Genius Bruiser: A mad genius and inventor, whose superhuman strength and durability matches that of Wonder Woman, thanks to the armor she wears, and her willingness to transform herself into a cyborg.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Had her face mangled during her first conflict with Wonder Woman.
- Invisibility Cloak: Her power armour contains a device that turns her invisible.
- Powered Armor: Pre-Crisis, Cyber wore a suit of armor equipped with lasers and an invisibility screen. Post-Crisis, she donned a similar suit on top of her mechanical enhancements.
- Revenge: After her disfigurement, Cyber's plans turned from World Domination to revenge on Wonder Woman.
- Robot Master: Has armies of robots under her command.
- Statuesque Stunner: Pre-disfigurement the 6 foot 2 inch tall Cyber was quite the looker.
- Steven Ulysses Perhero: Her real name is "Cylvia Cyber".
- Super Reflexes: Cyber's robotic adjustments to her body included ones that increased her reflexes and reaction time to superhuman levels.
- Super Speed: Courtesy of her armor
- Super Strength: Her armor and cybernetic enhancements allow her to fight Wonder Woman evenly.
Doctor Poison I & II
AKA: Maru, Unknown
An outcast member of the Japanese imperial family, Doctor Poison is a diabolical genius who specializes in toxins and disease. The first Doctor Poison, alias Princess Maru, fought Hippolyta, the Golden Age Wonder Woman, during World War II, both on her own, and as part of Villainy, Incorporated. Decades later, her as yet unnamed grandchild would take on the identity of Doctor Poison to battle Diana.
- Ambiguous Gender: Both Dr. Poisons have used bulky clothing and masks to conceal their genders from the world. The original Dr. Poison was eventually revealed as a woman, the second one's gender has never been confirmed either way, though most people assume that it is female.
- Badass Longcoat: Wrapped head to foot in a concealing greatcoat.
- Badass Normal: Both Poisons to be a reasonably competent threat, despite lacking any innate superpowers, or even advanced combat training.
- Badass Princess: The original Dr. Poison, alias Princess Maru of Imperial Japan.
- Blue Blood: The original Doctor Poison was an Imperial Japanese princess. While Doctor Poison II is not a member of the royal family, their blood still flows in her veins.
- Breath Weapon: Doctor Poison II is able to exhale Deadly Gas, thanks to modifications to her own saliva.
- Cool Mask: The leather mask sported by Doctor Poison II.
- Deadly Gas: A fan of them.
- Diabolical Mastermind: The first Doctor Poison was an archetypal diabolical mastermind, operating at the top of a network of spies. Her successor also shares her penchant for operating through henchmen, though typically does so at the behest of others.
- Domino Mask: Worn by Doctor Poison I.
- Evil Genius
- The Evil Princess: The original Doctor Poison was a member of the Japanese Imperial family during WWII. While the entire family was, in some ways, complicit in Japan's actions, Maru's willingness to personally participate in experimentation on human beings, coupled with her own ambitions, marked her as the most evil of the lot.
- Evilutionary Biologist: Doctor Poison II is an arcanobiologist, devoted to the study of the biology of demigods, techno-organic beings, etc. This has led her to mutate humans into monsters using the DNA of supernatural or otherworldly beings, and to derive toxins and diseases from the genetics of such beings.
- For Science!: Doctor Poison II is far more interested in the results of her experiments than she is in ideology.
- Hypocrite: As a strong-willed, independent woman fighting for a regime that valued subservience in women (even members of the royal family), Doctor Poison I is inherently hypocritical.
- Karmic Death: Maru was killed by her own concoction, Reverso, which aged her down to a fetus, then out of existence all together.
- Legacy Character: The original Dr. Poison's grandchild has taken over the role in the modern era.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: In the modern era she's become a Distaff Counterpart to real life Japanese war criminal Ishii Shiro, who experimented on Chinese civilians with bubonic plague, smallpox, anthrax, and other biological and chemical agents.
- No Name Given: The second Dr. Poison's name has never been revealed.
- Poisonous Person: Doctor Poison II can excrete poisons from her skin and saliva, thanks to modifications she made to herself.
- Psycho for Hire: Doctor Poison II, who has hired out his/her services to other members of Wonder Woman's rogues gallery.
- Retcon: Much of what Doctor Poison II talks about, and various flashbacks would indicate that Doctor Poison I, originally a fairly standard Golden Age villain whose plans involved stopping plane engines and reverting people to infancy, has been retconned into having been as vile as her grandchild.
- Samus Is a Girl: Done with the first Doctor Poison, who was outed as a woman at the end of her first story, after having been assumed to be a man.
- Slasher Smile: Doctor Poison II uses a drug to lock her face in this position so that nobody can read her expression.
- Villain Team-Up: The first Doctor Poison was a founding member of Villainy Incorporated. The second Doctor Poison joined the Secret Society of Supervillains and aided in the creation of Genocide, in addition to joining Queen Clea's second Villainy Inc.
- Weapon of Mass Destruction: Her entire motif involves chemical and biological weaponry, two of the three weapons types classed as WMDs.
- Yellow Peril: In her Golden Age appearances (later revealed to have been the modern Dr. Poison's grandmother).
Doctor Psycho
AKA: Edgar Cizko
Diana's most disgusting and diminutive foe can control people's minds and broadcast illusions. He's a misogynistic sadist with serious problems when it comes to interacting with women... and it doesn't help that he has a creepy crush on Wonder Woman.
- Ax-Crazy: A completely unhinged monster. Looks the part too
- Bald of Evil: In the mid-2000s. He grew his hair back in time for The Odyssey.
- Beard of Evil: Most modern depictions of Psycho feature this look.
- Berserk Button: Being embarrassed in any way will set Psycho off. Commenting on his height, or lack thereof, will do it even faster.
- Card-Carrying Villain: He once went on a rampage because a woman called him "normal". He loves being a villain.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Of the psychological variety, mostly, but he doesn't exactly shy away from the physical variety either. He once threatened to use his psychic powers to force Catman to eat his own intestines.
- Defiant to the End: Averted at the last second. When Psycho was about to be killed by The Morrigan, a pair of goddesses who had already captured and tortured him, he used what he thought would be his last seconds to laugh in their faces and tell them that Wonder Woman was coming for them.
- Depending on the Artist: How disfigured he is varies. Sometimes he's a twisted little troll of a man, as in the page image. Other times he's still a dwarf, with short legs and an outsized head, but is more or less good looking, as in this link here.
- Depending on the Writer: Whether his Freudian Excuse is given any play or not, and if his crush on Diana is a redeeming quality or just makes him worse.
- Depraved Dwarf: Stunted and twisted in both body and spirit summarizes Doctor Psycho pretty well.
- Enemy Mine: Actually aids Wonder Woman during Odyssey because he hates the new timeline as much as she does.
- Frame-Up: In the Golden Age he was framed for theft by a college rival, who subsequently stole Psycho's fiancé while he was in prison.
- Freudian Excuse: Has a lifetime of rejection and mistreatment behind him, though whether this is played for sympathy at all depends upon the writer.
- Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: His are grotesquely wide and constantly bulging almost clear out of his head.
- He-Man Woman Hater: Without the he-man part.
- I'm a Humanitarian: In Secret Six, they find out they're eating Solomon Grundy. Cheshire throws up. Psycho asks for more.
- Kick the Dog: He does this a LOT.
- Kick the Son of a Bitch: His execution of one of The Morrigan is this during Odyssey.
- Little People Are Surreal: Invoked by Psycho's mental powers and penchant for making people live through what essentially qualifies as an acid trip.
- Man of Wealth and Taste: Usually dressed in a suit Post-Crisis.
- Mass Hypnosis: One of his main super powers.
- Master of Illusion: Another major super power.
- Messy Hair: Pre-Crisis. Today he's more likely to have it slicked back.
- Mind Rape: He's a fan. Especially the rape part.
- Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: The very name says it all.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Would you trust in an explicitly-psycho doctor?
- The Napoleon: Hates being reminded of how small he is.
- Nightmare Fetishist: In one infamous incident, he used More Than Mind Control to enslave multiple people and turned them on each other in a frenzy of cannibalism. He got sexually aroused from watching this! And he broadcast his sexual pleasure from the act into the minds of all his victims, resulting in a case of serious Mind Rape in those who survived.
- Pet the Dog: During his Enemy Mine with Wonder Woman in the altered timeline of Odyssey he not only helps restore Diana's memories of the regular timeline, but gives a long speech on how much she means to the world, and how much he admires her personally and wants to be a part of her life. His freeing Ajax later in the same arc may also qualify, even if it was in his best interests to do so.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: One of the premiere examples in comics. He dates back to the Golden Age, where misogyny was his primary reason for becoming a supervillain, and it still forms a cornerstone of his persona.
- Psychic Powers: Astral projection, ectoplasmic conjurations, Mind Control via hypnosis and illusions...
- Mind over Matter: Averted, actually. For all his nasty power over the human mind, Cizko cannot affect the physical world with his powers.
- Psycho for Hire: When employed by The Duke of Deception, Circe, Veronica Cale, Alexander Luthor Jr, or any of the other masterminds who have used his services.
- Red Right Hand: Psycho's dwarfism is played this way.
- The Resenter: Resents normal sized men and women alike.
- Sinister Shades: A part of his costume in the mid-2000s.
- Slasher Smile: Sports it more than once.
- The Sociopath: Under some writers he's played as an absolute psychopath.
- Stalker with a Crush: To Diana.
- Underestimating Badassery: Heroes and villains alike are prone to doing this to Psycho on account of his small size. It rarely ends well for them.
- Villainous Crush: Often written as having one on Wonder Woman. During The Odyssey he comes to her assistance because he can't stand living in a world where he isn't a part of her life.
Drakul Karfang
AKA: Drakul Karfang Drankoni SerpenteThe main antagonist of the graphic novel League of One. An ancient dragon queen prophesied by the Oracle of Delphi to slaughter the Justice League should they face her in battle. Learning of this, Wonder Woman decides to disable the team to face the dragon herself. She goes on a rampage across Switzerland, killing many people and turning neighbors against each other out of both revenge for the destruction of her kind, and out of sadism.
- Bad Boss: Treats her gnome servants like crap, having no regard whatsoever for their well being.
- Breath Weapon: Three different ones. Fire, magic Mook Maker fire, and poison gas.
- Consummate Liar: Knows of the prophecy, and temporarily convinces Diana that she misinterpreted it. She didn't. Is also just dishonest in general.
- Corrupt the Cutie: Well, "cutie" is pushing it, but the main reason she's so evil is because the gold she ate to become strong was tainted with the essence of its wicked former owners.
- Hate Plague: Her mere presence instills paranoia and hatred within people.
- Fatal Flaw: Sees everyone as beneath her, and thus fatally underestimates Diana.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: The Queen of the Dragons is evil to the core.
- I Know Your True Name: If she knows a person's real name, she can push their mind into believing lies. If her own full name is revealed, she becomes weakened.
- I Surrender, Suckers: Offers to allow Wonder Woman to keep her heart for insurance that she will no longer cause trouble. It's a ploy of course, and leads directly to Karfang's death.
- Mook Maker: Can turn gnomes into monstrous Drakugnomes.
- Our Dragons Are Different: A classic western style six-limbed dragon. Breathes two kinds of fire, one semi-normal flame, and a magic green flame which creates monsters. Collects gold to use as a bed, and also consumes it to strengthen outer armor, but this gold is tainted by the spirit of its owners, influencing the dragon in question.
- Smug Snake: Arrogant and self-centered.
- Soul Jar: A dragon is invincible unless their heart is destroyed.
- Technicolor Fire: Has a special green fire which forcibly transforms gnomes into Drakugnome minions.
- The Dreaded: Feared by all who know of her, and for good reason.
- The Power of Hate: Her flames are instilled with the power of pure hatred, which takes the fear and hatred within a person's soul and uses it to burn them from within. This is how Diana is ultimately able to defeat her. Wonder Woman has no hatred to speak of.
- Thematic Rogues Gallery: A villain themed around deception and lies. Fitting for the Spirit of Truth.
- This Looks Like A Job For Wonder Woman: Ultimately, Diana was really the only person who could've stopped her.
Duke of DeceptionThe Duke of Deception is Ares' right hand man and most trusted disciple. He has the ability to create illusions.
- The Starscream: Perhaps unsurprisingly, he's repeatedly attempted to betray Ares.
Egg Fu
AKA:Chang TzuDebuting in the Silver Age; Egg Fu was a Chinese Communist agent (and horrible racial stereotype) who inexplicably took the form of an egg the size of a house, and used his Fu Manchu moustache as a weapon. Post-Crisis, Egg Fu was reimagined first as an Apokoliptian super computer, and then as a centuries old criminal mastermind and mad scientist named Chang Tzu.
- Body Horror: His physical condition was played for full horror in the Chang Tzu version.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Chang Tzu puts Sasha Bordeaux and Captain Boomerang through excruciating torture in order to understand their abilities.
- Diabolical Mastermind: Both in the Silver Age and the Modern Age.
- Immortality Immorality: The Chang Tzu version, who regenerates after every death.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: The original Egg Fu actually killed Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor, requiring Hippolyta to use a special machine to resurrect them.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: The Chang Tzu version.
- Robotic Psychopath: The version that was an Apokoliptian supercomputer.
- Rogues-Gallery Transplant: The Chang Tzu incarnation fought the Outsiders and Checkmate, not Wonder Woman.
- Yellow Peril: One of the most racist villains of the 1960s, no way around that.
AKA: Princess Diana of Themyscira/Wonder Woman from the future (reanimated corpse)
Created by the Secret Society of Super Villains from the soil of the sites of the world's worst atrocities, using them to empower a corpse of Wonder Woman from the future, Genocide has the strength of a god and nothing even resembling human compassion.
- Anthropomorphic Personification: Of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and mass murder.
- Came Back Wrong: She's Diana's own corpse resurrected into genocide incarnate.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Poor, poor Etta, though at least she got better.
- Cool Mask: As seen in the picture.
- The Corrupter: Can infuse its hate into other beings.
- Dark Action Girl: Genocide is physically female, very dark, and can take down Amazons with ease.
- Emotion Bomb: One of her powers, which she uses to turn Donna against Diana.
- Enemy to All Living Things: Genocide kills anything that crosses her path indiscriminately.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Causes this reaction even among the Secret Society of Super Villains, especially with Dr. Morrow who reveals that being of Polish descent means that he can't stomach having anything to do with Genocide.
- Evil Me Scares Me: Genocide was created from the corpse of the future Wonder Woman.
- Evil Redhead: She is a redhead Anthropomorphic Personification of genocide.
- Expy: Not dissimilar to Doomsday, being a largely mute Enemy to All Living Things with a complicated origin and little personality beyond the desire—and power—to kill the hero.
- Final Solution: The anthropomorphic personification of it.
- Hero Killer: Brutalises Diana in their first battle, and subsequently takes on a good portion of the JLA and Teen Titans, beating down Wonder Woman, Troia, and Wonder Girl, before at last going down.
- Hulk Speak: At first. She grows a little more verbose as time goes along.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: The personification of this idea.
- Implacable Man: Very Terminator-esque in her style and approach.
- Lack of Empathy: The ability to identify with others was not part of Genocide's programming.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: And she makes a point of saying that it's not just her name, it's what she does.
- Never Found the Body: Because Ares took it.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: She's not easy to beat.
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: An undead Amazon corpse from the future infused with the souls of victims of genocide and ethnic cleansing, and reinforced with Felix Faust's enchantments, Dr. T.O. Morrow's cybernetics, and Ares' blessings. What exactly do you call her at this point?
- The Power of Hate: Powered by genocidal hate.
- Spikes of Villainy: Has them on her face mask.
- Super Reflexes: Very fast reflexes.
- Super Speed: She's very fast.
- Super Strength: Much stronger than Wonder Woman, with power comparable to that of a god.
- The Undead: Part of why it's so hard to kill.
- Would Hurt a Child: Would hurt anyone, in fact.
AKA: Doris Zeul
Exceptionally strong even at her normal height of 7 feet, Giganta has the power to grow to over 50 feet tall.Pre-Crisis, Giganta was a gorilla who was transformed into a human by a well-intentioned Mad Scientist only to go on a rampage.Post-Crisis, Giganta is Doctor Doris Zeul, a mousy scientist who was dying from a fatal disease. After trying and failing to place her mind in Wonder Woman's body, Dr. Zeul instead switched bodies with a circus strongwoman who just happened to have mystical size-changing powers. In addition to her feud with Wonder Woman, Giganta is also a long-time member of the Secret Society of Super-Villains and Injustice League and has a crush on her one-time colleague Ryan Choi, the fourth Atom.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Attack Of the 50 Foot Woman, actually. Though in truth she can get much, much larger than that, reaching heights in excess of several hundred feet.
- Amazonian Beauty: Is often depicted as being quite muscular, although how attractive she is depends on the artist. The pre-Crisis version was mostly a Brawn Hilda.
- The Brute: Often plays this role in team ups, especially when she's stupid.
- Dark Action Girl: Giganta's a capable enough fighter at her regular height. When she grows to full size she becomes an even more formidable adversary, with strength on par with Wonder Woman's.
- Dating Catwoman: She's the Catwoman in this case; she was once involved with Ryan Choi, the fourth Atom. In a bit of irony, their powers are opposite.
- Deal with the Devil: Cut a deal with Circe that allowed her to keep her intelligence when she grew.
- Dumb Muscle: Back when she lost IQ points for every foot she grew, Giganta often ended up in this role.
- Genius Bruiser: Minus the bit described in Weaksauce Weakness below, there's a reason she's Dr. Doris Zeul.
- Giant Woman: She certainly lives up to her name.
- Go-Karting with Bowser: She went on a few dates with the Atom even after they found out each others' identities.
- She is perfectly willing to just sit down and chat with Wonder Woman when they've both had a crummy day.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: To a degree. She's definitely not a good person, but she's not very good at being a supervillain.
- Kick the Son of a Bitch: She tortured and crippled the supervillain Dwarfstar after he killed her boyfriend.
- Mad Scientist: Though this has more to do with her origins than how she currently operates.
- Punch Clock Villain: Is more of a mercenary than diabolical supervillain.
- Rogues-Gallery Transplant: She was portrayed as Apache Chief's foe in Superfriends.
- Sizeshifter: Bigger than normal only.
- Statuesque Stunner: Even at her shortest, Giganta is still six and a half to seven feet tall (Depending on the Writer). And there is no doubt that she is a good looking woman.
- Super Strength: Big and strong in her normal form, Giganta's strength increases exponentially when she grows, giving her muscular power far in excess of her already considerable size.
- Stern Teacher: Sometimes has a legitimate job as a very strict college professor.
- They Call Me Dr. Zeul
- Weaksauce Weakness: Originally, the bigger Giganta got, the stupider she became, making her easier to defeat. She lost this problem thanks to Circe (and got a more sensible outfit out of the deal).
Queen of the Valkyries, and one of the Norse gods' representatives on Earth, Gundra was summoned by Adolf Hitler to do battle with the Golden Age Wonder Woman. They clashed several times, most notably during Gundra's assassination attempt on President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She's been seen a few times since, and has come to blows with the modern Wonder Woman on occasion.
- Blade on a Stick: Possesses a magic lance that can kill with a touch.
- Boobs of Steel: As stacked as Wonder Woman, and every bit as strong.
- The Champion: Was originally the champion of Wotan/Odin. Later could be said to be the champion of Adolf Hitler.
- Dark Action Girl: The Valkyries, like the Amazons, are a race of warrior women. So when one goes bad, you get this trope.
- Demoted to Extra: Pre-Crisis Gundra was a major enemy of the 1940s Wonder Woman. Post-Crisis she's appeared only once in the modern era, as part of Circe's vast collective of Wonder Woman villains.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: In Young All-Stars she falls in love with Ubermensch, convincing Iron Munro to spare him in exchange for reviving recently slain Tigress. Gundra explains that she views Ubermensch as the Teutonic warrior befitting a Valkyrie such as herself.
- Evil Counterpart: As a Valkyrie who fought for the Nazis during WWII, Gundra makes for a solid Evil Counterpart of Hippolyta, the Golden Age Wonder Woman, who was an Amazon who fought for the Americans and the British. When Axis Amerika formed their first lineup, she was even brought in to serve as their equivalent of Wonder Woman.
- The Exile: Exiled from Valhalla for allying with the Nazis.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: When portrayed as the (former) Queen of the Valkyries.
- I Have You Now, My Pretty: Pre-Crisis Gundra tried this on Steve Trevor after stealing his soul and taking it back to Valhalla with her.
- Master Swordsman: One of the best swordfighters associated with the Norse pantheon.
- Necromancer: Can raise the dead to do her bidding.
- Pegasus: Has a winged horse named Stormwind.
- Sadly Mythtaken: In-universe. Gundra sees the Nazi neo-Norse Wotan worship as being a valid expression of the religion she represents. Her own gods would disagree.
- Spell My Name with an "S": Has been Gundra and Gudra depending upon the writer.
- Statuesque Stunner: Over six feet tall, very good-looking.
- Super Reflexes: Agile enough to dodge bullets or deflect them with her sword.
- Super Speed: Much faster than normal humans.
- Super Strength: Her strength is comparable to Wonder Woman's.
- Those Wacky Nazis: Was originally summoned by the Nazis, and continues to espouse their ideals long after the end of WWII (which caused Odin to disown her).
- Unholy Matrimony: Developed a crush on Ubermensch, the leader of Axis Amerika.
- Valkyries: Depending on the Writer she may in fact be their Queen.
- Villain Team-Up: Has been a member of both Axis Amerika and Circe's collective of Wonder Woman villains.
- Villainous Crush: Pre-Crisis Gundra had one on Steve Trevor.
- Your Soul Is Mine: Can steal the souls of those she kills.
Paula von GuntherAn enemy of Queen Hippolyta when she went back in time to World War II, Baroness Paula von Gunther was a Nazi spymaster whose plots to undermine America were constantly defeated by the queen and her allies in the JSA. Finally, though, von Gunther was shown the error of her ways and became Hippolyta's closest friend and ally. She retired to Themyscira, where she became an honorary Amazon and created the healing Purple Ray. At one point, she was the host of the evil spirit Dark Angel.
- Anti-Villain: She only worked for the Nazis because they were holding her daughter Gerta hostage. Once the girl was rescued, Paula defected to Paradise Island with Gerta in tow.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Her daughter, Gerta.
HypnotaA magician and hypnotist who hides behind a male disguise. Hypnota was accidentally shot in the head by her assistant and twin sister Serva and received an experimental brain surgery to save her life. The surgery unlocked the ability to release a "blue hypnotic ray" from within her brain which she used on her sister and unsuspecting thousands to steal military secrets and sell people into slavery. She later joined Villainy Inc..
- Beard of Evil: It's fake, but even after her gender is exposed she keeps it included in her costume.
- Freudian Excuse: She turned bad after she was shot in the face and believed Serva had legitimately tried to kill her.
- Hypnotic Eyes: Her Blue Hypnotic Ray can be projected from her eyes and hands.
- Manipulative Bitch: She tried to instigate a war between Earth and Saturn.
- Mass Hypnosis: Though Wonder Woman is strong enough to resist Hypnota's power.
- Twin Switch: With Serva. Originally it was part of their magic act, but later used her power to make Serva forgot they were twins to further conceal herself whenever they switch places.
- Villainous Crossdresser: She wears fake facial hair and dons a phony French accent to pass herself off as a man. In the Post-Crisis stories, this aspect was dropped and she's referred to as Hypnotic Woman.
Minister BlizzardAn ice-themed villain who debuted in the Golden Age as the Prime Minister of Iceberg Land, he was reimagined Post-Crisis as a radical environmental terrorist with ambitions of creating a new ice age. He wields both a cold-gun, and a climate change machine.
- Evil Chancellor: In his first appearances he was an archetypal one.
- Pungeon Master: As seems to be the rule for all ice-themed villains at DC.
- Villain Team-Up: With Mister Freeze, Captain Cold, Killer Frost, and a number of other ice-themed villains.
Queen Clea
A foe of the Golden Age Wonder Woman, and the Post-Crisis founder of the original Villainy Incorporated, Clea is an Atlantean Queen who stole the Trident of Poseidon as the first step in her plans for conquering all of Atlantis. She has faced the modern Wonder Woman as well, both with a new Villainy Incorporated, and on behalf of Circe.
- Big Bad: Of both versions of Villainy Incorporated (though in the Pre-Crisis timeline she was actually The Dragon to Saturnian villain Eviless).
- Dark Action Girl: As an Atlantean, Clea has most of the same powers as the likes of Aquaman and Mera, and can consequently get physical with the best of them.
- Demoted to Extra: In the Post-Crisis world, where she faced Wonder Woman only twice, once as the leader of a new Villainy Incorporated, and once as part of Circe's massive supervillain collective.
- Evil Matriarch: Her daughter Ptra is one of her enemies, and teams with Wonder Woman to bring Clea down.
- The Exile: Exiled from the Atlantean continent following her invasion of Aurania.
- Flying Brick: Circe grants Clea the power to fly, which when coupled with her Atlantean superstrength and durability transforms her into one of these.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: The outpost city of Venturia essentially fell apart during Clea's reign, prompting her attack on nearby Aurania. Later exiled from Venturia, she tried to become Queen of Skartaris, nearly destroying that country in the process.
- The Leader: Of two versions of Villainy Incorporated, Post-Crisis. She's a combo Type I and IV.
- Making a Splash: Holding Poseidon's trident enables Clea to manipulate the ocean.
- Prongs of Poseidon: Wielded Poseidon's own trident briefly.
- Retcon: The disappearance of Eviless from the timeline after the Crisis resulted in Clea, and not her, being the leader of the original Villainy Incorporated.
- Statuesque Stunner: Clea stands six feet five inches, making her taller than the likes of Superman and Batman.
- Stripperiffic: Her costume is barely there.
- Super Speed: Both on land and in the water.
- Super Strength: Comparable to that of Wonder Woman or Aquaman.
- Take Over the World: Aims to conquer Atlantis and then the surface world.
- Villain Team-Up: Clearly has a thing for these Post-Crisis, having led two versions of Villainy Incorporated. The first one was made up of Cheetah I, Zara, Doctor Poison I, Hypnotic Woman, and herself, the second of Cyborgirl, Doctor Poison II, Giganta, Jinx, and Trinity. She's also been a member of Circe's collective, and Pre-Crisis, joined Eviless' Villainy Inc.
The Queen of Fables
AKA: Tsaritsa
Tsaritsa was the actual evil queen from "Snow White". Awakening in modern times, this cruel tyrant hopes to reawaken her empire.
- Mage in Manhattan: She can conjure up any storybook creature or prop to do her bidding. She can also trap people inside fairy tale worlds.
- Refugee from TV Land: She could manifest any fictional character into the real world. She also came out of a story book.
- She started off as an evil sorceress who got Trapped in TV Land (a magical story book). This, we are told, made her fictional, and since fictional things are per definition not true, her reign of terror in Dung Ages Europe never happened.
- Rogues-Gallery Transplant: She occasionally harasses Superman, trying to force "Prince Charming" to marry her.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: She was once defeated by being trapped in a U.S. Tax Records book.
- Thoroughly Mistaken Identity: She thinks Wonder Woman is Snow White and Superman is Prince Charming. Nothing can convince her that she is mistaken, not their powers, not the fact that the story of Snow White happened hundreds of years ago, nothing.
OsiraAn alien with mind control powers, Osira crash landed in Ancient Egypt, where she used her powers to gain control of the country, before being sealed away by a priest. She was released during WWII, and fought the Golden Age Wonder Woman; she later came into conflict with Diana Prince and Donna Troy in the modern era.
- Evil Is Not Pacifist: Averted. While Osira is certainly willing to use violence to achieve her ends, those ends are a peaceful world.
- The Evils of Free Will: Blames violence on free will.
- A God Am I: A self-proclaimed goddess.
- Psychic Powers: A powerful telepath who was able to use her abilities to keep a nation under her control.
- Utopia Justifies the Means: Is willing to use violence and mind control to achieve a peaceful world.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Honestly believes that she was doing the right thing by bringing peace to the world.
Red Panzer (I-IV)
AKA: Helmut Streicher (1st); unknown (2nd and 3rd); Justin (4th, last name unknown)
Originally a Nazi general, and a foe of the Golden Age Wonder Woman, the Red Panzer's legacy has long survived his death, and the fall of the Third Reich, being adopted by various Neo-Nazis and fanatics. All of them have, at some point, come into conflict with Wonder Woman and Donna.
- Avenging the Villain: Red Panzer III sought to avenge his father, Red Panzer II.
- Boomerang Bigot: The third Red Panzer had African-American ancestry. He was aware of this, and loathed himself for it.
- Captain Ersatz: While the individual Red Panzer's have been original characters, the concept, of a red suit of armor associated with a particular ideology, and handed down from successor to successor, is very similar to that of the Crimson Dynamo, a long-running Iron Man villain.
- Four-Star Badass: Red Panzer I was an actual Nazi general, and a capable fighter. The later versions have been Neo-Nazi thugs.
- Freudian Excuse: Red Panzer III watched his father kill his mother over supposed imperfections in her bloodstream. This screwed him up pretty badly to say the least.
- Gratuitous German: The name. It should either be "Rote Panzer", or "Red Armor," not the mishmash that is "Red Panzer."
- Handicapped Badass: Streicher had a cataract in one eye. This didn't stop him from being able to take on two Wonder Women at once. Similarly, Red Panzer III had a missing arm, but could still face off against Diana and Donna.
- Law of Chromatic Superiority: Red Panzer.
- Legacy Character: Four men have worn the Red Panzer's armor: Nazi General Helmut von Streicher (I), an unrevealed father (II) and son (III) and teenage Justin (IV).
- Mad Scientist: Helmut Streicher not only wore the Red Panzer armor, he designed it, along with much of his time travel equipment.
- Made of Indestructium: The metal alloy that forms the armor is one of Streicher's own design. It can take hits from anything.
- No Name Given: Red Panzers II and III.
- Only One Name: Red Panzer IV is known only as Justin.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: I, II, and III are all Nazis, and IV has to pay the idea lipservice.
- Powered Armor: The Red Panzer armor is the one consistent thing about the men who have taken its name. It grants Super Strength, Nigh-Invulnerability, and the ability to fire concussive blasts.
- Straw Hypocrite: Red Panzer IV, who doesn't believe in Nazism at all, but wears the Red Panzer armor because Vandal Savage told him to.
- Stupid Jetpack Hitler: Where'd he get Powered Armor in 1940?
- Tank Goodness: Panzer is German for armor; it's also short for Panzerkampfwagen, aka "Armoured War Vehicle", aka the tank.
- Teens Are Monsters: Teenage anarchist Justin was recruited by Vandal Savage to become the fourth Red Panzer.
- Time Travel: Helmut Streicher first encountered Diana courtesy of one of his time travel jaunts. This ultimately resulted in a clash between him, Diana, and Hippolyta.
- Villain Team-Up: III and IV are part of Vandal Savage's Tartarus organization.
- Wearing a Flag on Your Head: All the Panzers have had the swastika on their armor somewhere, typically in the middle of the helmet.
- "Well Done, Son!" Guy: Serious elements of this with Red Panzer III towards Red Panzer II.
Silver Swan
AKA: Helen Alexandros (1st); Valerie Beaudry (2nd); Vanessa Kapatelis (3rd), Uknown (4th)There have been four of these of these so far. They pack metallic armor and wings, and a powerful scream. They each have a Freudian Excuse to fight Wonder Woman, except for the fourth who didn't even get an origin story. Although it's believed the fourth might have been a reintroduced Helen Alexandros, who had been put in comic book limbo after the first Crisis.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Helen Alexandros made herself Diana and Etta Candy's roommate to get closer to Wonder Woman.
- Charm Person: Helen had a version of this ability that worked on men.
- Closer to Earth: Before being turned into Silver Swan, George Perez wrote and illustrated Vanessa as a realistic teenage girl.
- Deal with the Devil: Helen Alexandros made a deal with Ares to become the first Silver Swan. She regained her talent as a ballet dancer; in exchange Ares would use her as a weapon against Wonder Woman.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Vanessa's story was finished in Wonder Woman #600 at her graduation, having completely recovered from her time as a cyborg and grown as a person.
- Freudian Excuse: Helen became Ares' weapon against Wonder Woman out of frustration for having been born with sub-par looks in a world that values beauty over everything else.
- HeelFace Turn: Valerie and Vanessa. Valerie actually kept the Silver Swan name for a while and acted as a member of the superhero team called the Captains of Industry, as well as the Suicide Squad.
- I Just Want to Be You: Helen's story was continued thirty years later in DC's Retroactive line via the Wonder Woman - The 80s issue, which had Dr. Psycho using his powers to make Helen into Wonder Woman, albeit temporarily. Psycho stated he would make her Wonder Woman forever if she brought him the real Wonder Woman. The story ended with Helen's transformation being undone and falling to her death.
- Legacy Character: The Silver Swans, like the Cheetahs and the Red Panzers apparently come in fours.
- Loves My Alter Ego: Helen fell in love with Dr. Psycho's projection Captain Wonder, and Psycho fell in love with Helen's Silver Swan form.
- More Than Mind Control: In Vanessa's case. Circe and Dr. Psycho played on her feelings of resentment and abandonment towards Wonder Woman in order to turn her into the third Swan.
- Ret Gone: Helen Alexandros after Crisis on Infinite Earths, with Valerie Beaudry becoming the first Silver Swan in-universe even if she was the second version of the character.
- Tagalong Kid: Vanessa used to be this when she was younger for Wonder Woman.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Collectively, the Silver Swans after Helen Alexandros were much more sympathetic, tragic, and ultimately turned out to not be so villainous.
- Tragic Villain: Valerie and Vanessa. Helen, on the other hand, may have a sympathetic back story, but is committed to taking Wonder Woman down in her role as the villain.
- Unwitting Pawn: Vanessa was a victim of Circe, Doctor Psycho, and Sebastian Ballesteros, who manipulated her into becoming the third Silver Swan.
An evil Amazon from an alternate universe. There have been two main versions.Pre-Crisis Superwoman was renegade Amazon from Earth-3 who was exiled from her people, and cursed with aging. Turning criminal, she founded the Crime Syndicate of America, alongside Ultraman, Owlman, Johnny Quick, and Power Ring, and proceeded to terrorize the people of the American Empire for years, before being imprisoned by first the Justice League of Earth-1, and then Alexander Luthor Senior. She, alongside her teammates, died defending Earth-3 against the Anti-Monitor.Post-Crisis Superwoman hailed from an Antimatter Universe. She was an Amazon who lived undercover as her world's Lois Lane, before joining up with the Crime Syndicate of Amerika, and conquering the world. A dominatrix who maintained a harem for her personal amusement, she was married to Ultraman but maintained numerous affairs with both her victims and teammate Owlman, and was essentially every "bad woman" stereotype rolled into one.The New 52 introduced a version of the character very similar to the Post-Crisis one, though with the added detail that she was constantly seeking a strong man to father children upon her.
- Dark Chick: In all three versions of the Crime Syndicate
- Designated Girl Fight: Pre-Crisis. While the rest of the Crime Syndicate and the Justice League mixed it up in their first clash (Superman facing Power Ring, and The Flash, Ultraman, etc), Superwoman fought Wonder Woman, then Black Canary of the JSA, then Wonder Woman again.
- Evil Counterpart: To Wonder Woman, complete with lariat. Not an Evil Twin however; she is explicitly not Diana of Themyscira in either version.
- Evil Matriarch: In the New 52 she's obsessed with having children.
- Eviler Than Thou: Pre-Crisis with the Anti-Monitor and Post-Crisis with Antimatter Universe Brainiac. The New 52 version ends up freeing Alexander Luthor and turning on the entire Crime Syndicate because he is "stronger than they are".
- Eye Beams: Post-Crisis Superwoman has these for some reason.
- Really Gets Around: Post-Crisis, where she has a harem of mind controlled men to "service" her. In the New 52, she'll sleep with anybody she thinks is "strong" including Owlman, Ultraman, and Alexander Luthor.
- Skunk Stripe: Pre-Crisis Superwoman developed one as proof that her immortality had been lost.
- Super Speed: Not to the same level as Johnny Quick or Ultraman, though she does still run much faster than normal humans.
- Unholy Matrimony: With Ultraman Post-Crisis. Neither of them is happy with it.
- Villainous Friendship: Pre-Crisis, when she and the other members of the Syndicate were genuinely friends and would try to help one another.
- Your Cheating Heart: Post-Crisis where she constantly cheats on Ultraman with Owlman and various others. In the New 52 she's capable of loyalty only so until she meets somebody stronger.
THEM!A trio of depraved lesbians led by Top Hat, the bizarre group known as THEM fought against Wonder Woman during her non-powered mod days. With Moose Mama and Pinto by Top Hat's side, THEM began a campaign of harassment against Diana for harboring a young woman they used as a slave. They only made one memorable appearance before disappearing completely after being arrested.
- Cowboy: Pinto is dressed as one.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: Moose Mama is very mannish in appearance and stature, and is implied to be a Drag Queen.
- Fairy Tale Motifs: Cathy, the young girl they mistreated, is seen as Cinderella while THEM are seen as the evil stepmother and stepsisters and Diana as the Fairy Godmother.
- Parasol of Pain: Top Hat wields one.
- Psycho Lesbian: All three of them are implied to be this, especially Top Hat.
- Slave Collar: They make Cathy wear a dog collar around her neck and regularly used to beat her.
- Terrible Trio: Wonder Woman dealt with them during her days as a non-powered boutique owner in the 1960s. They started harassing Diana when she began sheltering a young woman they had been keeping as a slave. THEM were stopped by the combining efforts of Tony Petrucci, a young man living in the same neighborhood, and Diana who had taken on Top Hat by herself after the other two and their brutish henchmen were taken care of. They were about as bizarre as Wonder Woman's villains could get, but only made one appearance.
Veronica Cale
A billionaire perfume magnate that just happens to also be an Omnidisciplinary Scientist, Veronica Cale worked her way up from poor beginnings to become one of the richest women in the world. On account of this, she loathes Wonder Woman, whom she sees as a far inferior icon of female empowerment when compared to herself. She is currently the leader of Oolong Island, a commune of Mad Scientists in the Yellow Sea off the coast of China.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Veronica has aspirations towards being the Lex Luthor to Diana's Superman, but her lack of combat skill or any real superhuman leverage, and her less than stellar planning skills tend to leave her at the mercy of more powerful villains like Circe, the Gorgons, and Dr. Psycho. She's still a very dangerous threat, but tends to find herself sidelined as soon as somebody worse shows up.
- Disappeared Dad: He vanished after getting her mother pregnant. He appeared again when she tracked him down and blackmailed him into ggiving her money.
- Distaff Counterpart: To Lex Luthor.
- Driven by Envy: Much as Luthor wants to be Superman, so too does Cale want to be Wonder Woman, claiming that if a Wonder Woman exists, it has to be her, and not Diana.
- Even Evil Has Standards: She's committed murder purely to discredit Wonder Woman. Even she's disgusted by the actions of the Four Horsemen, and the carnage that their actions indirectly caused. She's also very specific about Medusa staying away from the President when she attacks Wonder Woman at the White House because she 'loves her country', and finds Dr. Psycho revolting.
- Expy: She's effectively Wonder Woman's version of Lex Luthor, with similar resources and motivations.
- Freudian Excuse: Grew up as poor white trash, with a stripper mom.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Her motivation for loathing Wonder Woman is essentially this—Wonder Woman is an immortal superpowerful princess who can talk to animals while Veronica had to work her way up from being white trash.
- Hypocrite: Rails about female empowerment. Employs Dr. Psycho, a convicted rapist. Bashes Wonder Woman for promoting "perverse sexuality". Sleeps with a Senator in order to get her way.
- It's All About Me: Veronica is willing to try killing one of the world's greatest superheroes, endangering thousands in the process, just to make sure that the media talk about her when they think of powerful women.
- Mad Scientist: Heads up a conglomerate of them.
- Ms. Fanservice: Rocks extremely stylish business wear and an immaculate manicure, is pictured on one cover leading a guy on a leash and has the attitude to match. She also seems to get tied up by other villains enough to make William Moulton Marsden proud.
- My God, What Have I Done?: She came to really regret her part in the construction of the Four Horsemen of Apokolips, enough to attempt a Suicide by Cop.
- Non-Action Big Bad: Cale's not a fighter, which is why she employs others to do it for her. Given what the rest of Wonder Woman's rogues are like, this is often a problem for her.
- Omnidisciplinary Scientist
- President Evil: Of Oolong Island, post-52.
- Propaganda Machine: Tried to turn the media against Wonder Woman on several occasions.
- Rags to Riches: A villainous version.
- The Resenter: Believes herself to be a far better female role model than Wonder Woman is, and deeply resents Diana for being the one that women the world over idolize.
- Self-Made Man: Cale got where she was under her own efforts, a fact that she'll never let anybody forget.
- Single Mom Stripper: Has this for a backstory
- Sophisticated as Hell: Her speech is still peppered with "ain'ts" and other mannerisms that betray her poorer origins.
- Southern-Fried Genius: Veronica hails from Texas and still has the accent to prove it.
- Tragic Keepsake: That rope of green pearls was her mother's costume jewelry; she's been wearing them since she was fourteen and her mother died when she was sixteen.
- Unwitting Pawn: Despite her undoubted brains, Veronica's alliances with the likes of Dr. Psycho, Ares, and Circe tend to see her forced into this role, fulfilling their agendas instead of her own.
- The Vamp: Sleeps with a Senator to manipulate him into going along with her agenda. She also has sex with a couple of scientists (Will Magnus and Baron Bug) to manipulate them into sharing their scientific designs for her own purposes.
- Villain Team-Up: Has aligned herself with the likes of Doctor Psycho and Circe, even briefly acting as the legal guardian for Circe's daughter, Lyta. These team ups never end well.
- Villainous Crush: On Will Magnus of the Metal Men.
- You Go, Girl!: Clearly thinks she's the heroine of one of these sorts of stories, when she's actually the villain in a comic book.
ZaraHigh Priestess of the Cult of the Hidden Flame, Zara harbors a burning hatred for humanity, having been sold into slavery as a child. She clashed with the Golden Age Wonder Woman on a few occasions, and was a founding member of Villainy Incorporated.
- Cult: Leads one
- Evil Redhead: Pre-Crisis. Post-Crisis she's Arabic, and consequently dark haired.
- Freudian Excuse: Sold into slavery as a child.
- Humans Are Bastards: Her philosophy
- Misanthrope Supreme: Hates all of humanity after being sold into slavery.
- Playing with Fire: Both Pre-Crisis, when it was done with pyrotechnics, and Post-Crisis when she seems to have been a genuine pyrokinetic.
- Villain Team-Up: A founding member of Villainy Incorporated in both the Pre-and-Post-Crisis worlds.
The Gods
The OlympiansThe Greek Gods from myth, who created the Amazons and Diana (well, only the female gods and Hermes, but Zeus liked to pretend it was his idea afterward).
- Cerebus Retcon: The Wonder Woman Rebirth issue implies the New 52 Greek Gods are impostors when Diana easily crushes Ares' helmet, something which should be impossible. This gets strengthened when she heads to Olympus and discovers it's not only deserted, but falling apart.
- Does Not Like Shoes: In the New 52, none of the gods wear shoes, not even Apollo, who otherwise wears a suit.
- Dysfunctional Family/Big Screwed-Up Family/Royally Screwed Up: Inevitably, but it's actually a plot point in the New 52.
- Jerkass Gods: Typical of the Greek Pantheon sadly, and in ways like you wouldn't believe in comics specially the New 52. Most of their decrees range from disproportionate to downright nonsensical but are handwaved as acceptable due to being gods.
Arguably Wonder Woman's archnemesis, Ares, the God of War, is a cunning schemer who thrives on conflict and seeks to perpetuate endless war. Despite his bloodthirsty nature, Ares is a genius tactician and master manipulator.
- Adaptational Badass: Ares in Greek Mythology was a Dumb Muscle bruiser who left the thinking to Athena, and occasionally got his rear handed to him by mortals. This version, on the other hand, is bright, motivated, and extremely dangerous.
- Adaptational Heroism: Although neutral, he's much more of an ally than an enemy in New 52.
- Archenemy: One of the top three classic contenders for the title, alongside Circe and the various incarnations of The Cheetah. Of the three of them, he's easily the most powerful, with the furthest reaching plans. This makes his Post-Crisis relationship with Diana not unlike that of R'as Al-Ghul and Batman—he's not her most frequent adversary, but when he does show up it's on a whole other scale.
- Not so much anymore in New 52.
- Ax-Crazy: But slightly less ax crazy, since Wonder Woman pointed out to him that destroying the human race, including his own worshipers, would effectively lead to his own disappearance. Now instead of trying to start World War III, Ares sticks to smaller goals such as trying to overthrow his fellow gods on Mount Olympus.
- Big Bad: The biggest bad in the pre-New 52 comics, and the man behind more than a few major arcs.
- Consummate Liar: Wonder Woman calls him the Deceiver for a reason.
- Cynical Mentor: In the New 52, he was one to Diana when she was younger, but not for that long, kicking her out when she refused to kill someone.
- Evil Old Folks: In the New 52 Universe.
- Grandpa God: In the New 52 he's an old man with a long white beard.
- Hijacked by Jesus: In George Perez's run Ares plays The Devil—a diabolical figure with his own domain called the Areopagus, and a powerful threat to his sibling Olympians.
- Kill All Humans: Came within a few minutes of starting a world-ending nuclear war before Diana pointed out the flaws in that plan. Did it again years later when he didn't need to worry about running out of people to worship him.
- Necromancer: Pre-New 52, after killing Hades and inheriting his powers. This has been taken away post New 52, where Hades is alive again.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: What Diana does after the whole Genocide affair by grabbing a battle axe and splitting his head open.
- Pet the Dog:
- When Cassie lost her powers, Ares offered to restore them. Instead of a Deal with the Devil, all he wanted in return was for her to call him brother and to say "I love you" to him. Though this was kind of subverted when it turned out that his powers were driving her crazy. Though he may not have known that, so it could still count.
- In the New 52 after helping Diana rescue Zola's baby he leaves, making it seem like he had kidnapped the kid for his own purposes, but it turns out he went straight back to Zola to give the kid back.
- Pragmatic Villainy: With a little help from Wonder Woman, he realized that, thanks to nukes, starting World War III would destroy the world and leave no one left to fight his wars. He eventually focused his efforts to becoming the God of Conflict, making him more powerful and more dangerous than before.
- Sadly Mythtaken / I Have No Father: In the New 52 he makes comments that suggest he's either not Zeus' son or doesn't consider himself as such. It's kind of unclear which it is, but Apollo at least refers to Zeus as "our" father when speaking to Ares, so it might just be Ares disowning Zeus.
- Smug Snake: In Rucka's run.
- The Strategist: Oddly a twist on the original myth, since Ares was said to encompass brute force and untempered violence.
- Tin Tyrant: Has frequently adopted this look.
- The Unfavorite: Just like in the original Greek myths, Ares isn't favored by Zeus or Hera. This actually doesn't faze him that much, maybe because neither are presented as exactly being parents of the year.Hera: Of all my children, you're my least favorite.
- Villains Blend in Better: Unlike most of the other Gods, he has quickly adjusted to the modern world and is comfortable with wearing modern clothing if the situation calls for it.
- War God: His actual portfolio is war, though you could be forgiven for thinking he was the God of Evil.
AthenaDiana's patron goddess is Athena, the daughter of Zeus and goddess of wisdom, skill, and military strategy. She's as wise and warlike as in myth, and even once dethroned her father and took over Olympus.
- Animal Eye Spy: Her unnamed pet owl.
- Batman Gambit: Her plan to usurp the throne of Olympus depends largely on her knowledge of how Wonder Woman will react to certain situations.
- Benevolent Boss: Sort of. Despite crassly manipulating her, Athena does treat her champion well enough. She did grant her the resurrection of a murdered child as a reward for defeating Hades on her behalf. Then she gave Diana her lost eyesight back, just to be nice.
- Big Good: As Diana's main patron.
- Disney Death: Supposedly dies, but keeps appearing by possessing random people.
- Gray Eyes: Frequent attention is called to her grey eyes, which see all.
- Jerkass Gods: One of the more benevolent members of the pantheon. She's still a jerk though.
- Lady of War: One of the original Ladies Of War. In Greek Myth, Athena represented the positive aspects of warfare, like courage and military strategy.
- Manipulative Bitch: Tends to use Diana and other mortals as pawns in her schemes.
- The Chessmaster: Traditionally known as the more strategically minded of the Greek war gods, and does not disappoint here.
- The High Queen: She is a far more kindly ruler than her father.
- The Mentor: Athena is one of the five deities who created the Amazons and bestowed upon them part of her wisdom and strategic thinking.
- The Owl-Knowing One: Owls, of course, are the emblem of Athena.
- The Usurper: Takes over Olympus with the (reluctant) aid of Wonder Woman, her champion.
- War God: Just like her brother, Ares.
Generally leader of the gods, and he acts just like in myth, complete with the jerkass tendencies and the Attempted Rape. Even so, he's among the most powerful beings in the cosmos and commands the respect (if not the admiration) of every pantheon of gods, even Darkseid. He's spawned countless offspring over the ages, including the gods Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus; and the demigods Hercules and Cassandra Sandsmark (the second Wonder Girl) and Diana in the New 52. Just as the goddesses of Olympus lend their powers to Diana, Zeus has also empowered other heroes, such as the Olympian and Captain Marvel.
- Abusive Parents: His treatment of his kids varies from bragging about them, to not caring (or knowing) about them, to being an outright dick depending on how he feels that day.
- Apollo: I have some surprising news about our father.Ares: That he loves us?Apollo: I said surprising, not shocking.
- His treatment of the First Born in the new 52 makes him the embodiment of this trope.
- Aesop Amnesia: He never learns from a lesson in benevolence for long, and is quit to revert right back to his jerkass self in his next appearance.
- Animal Motifs: While he doesn't appear often, the New 52 version of him has an Eagle motif.
- Attempted Rape: He was going to try this on WONDER WOMAN of all people.
- Have You Seen My God?: In the New 52 continuity Zeus has gone missing.
- Jerkass: Even when he acts nice it ends up being a Double Subversion as his jerkassness comes back tenfold whenever he doesn't get what he considers to be the proper gratitude for his "gifts", which have included the chance to be impregnated with yet another one of his illegitimate children, or having your society be pushed aside to make way for his newest favorites.
- Really his only redeeming trait is that he does at least sometimes learn from his mistakes and eventually accepts that his daughter has taken over from him when he realizes that she deserves it more than he does.
- Really Gets Around: It wouldn't be Zeus if he didn't. The New 52 has Diana teaming up with a bunch of his illegitimate children and Diana herself being one.
- Truly Single Parent: Zeus gave birth to Athena by himself.
Achilles Warkiller
- Adaptational Heroism: Achilles is trying his hardest to be a hero in the modern sense of the word, and has little in common with the narcissistic Straw Nihilist of the original myths.
- Back from the Dead: Resurrected by Zeus to be the leader of his new anti-war mission.
- Big Damn Heroes: Against the Citizenry's snake.
- Cool Pet: What else do you call an elephant that flies and has two trunks?
- Flight: Achilles can fly, though he seems to like riding Mysia.
- HeelFace Turn: Abandons his mission from Zeus to side with Wonder Woman.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: By Alkyone. Luckily, Achilles had the heart of a God and healed from it.
- Public Domain Character: He's from The Iliad. It doesn't get much more public domain than that.
- Spear Counterpart: To Wonder Woman. Both created by Gods? Check. Both attempting to stop conflict, despite different methods? Check. Both the rulers of one gender races? Also check. You see where I'm going with this.
- Straight Gay: You wouldn't know it from the way he looks or acts, but Achilles is this. His marriage to Alkyone was merely a political one and he later hooks up with his realtor, Patrick Cleese, who turns out to be the reincarnation of Patroclus.
- Super Strength: On par with Wonder Woman.
- Unwitting Pawn: Of Alkyone. He figures it out and eventually kicks her ass.
The son of Zeus, now an immortal himself with powers on par with Wonder Woman's. In ancient times, Hercules seduced and raped Diana's mother, Queen Hippolyta, a source of constant enmity between the Amazons and this brute. Over the centuries, Hercules has become slightly nobler, but his rash nature and love of violence make him a frequent thorn in Wonder Woman's side.
- Adaptational Villainy: Sometimes. Generally Heracles' is simply a case of Deliberate Values Dissonance, but at times—such as during Amazons Attack he acts as a straight up villain, a very different role from that of the mythical character.
- The Atoner: Typically displays this attitude when in heroic mode, and finished the Post-Crisis, Pre-New 52 run this way.
- Brother-Sister Incest: When Zeus and the other gods were abducted by Darkseid's minions, he suggested to his sister Cassandra that they might have to start a new pantheon themselves.
- Cool Helmet: Sometimes uses the head of the Nemean Lion as such.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: In the Greece of the 1200s BC, Heracles would have been a genuine hero. He hasn't evolved much, however, and this makes him a pretty dark character by modern standards.
- Dumb Muscle: Not dumb, per se, but Herc rarely thinks before he swings his fists.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: He truly cares about his mother, Alcmene, and his sister, Cassie Sandsmark. A little TOO much in Cassie's case. Squick.
- FaceHeel Turn: Was revealed to be working with Circe in a plot to conquer the entire world. And then tried to rape Circe and Wonder Woman. And worst of all seems to have got a Karma Houdini as he's never actually faced justice for anything he did
- HeelFace Revolving Door: Heracles is trapped in a cycle of transgression and repentance, making him sometimes a hero, and sometimes a villain.
- HeelFace Turn: Hippolyta forgave him in the end for what he did and he was actually a (sort of) hero for a little bit. Until... well, see above.
- Iconic Item: The skin of the Nemean Lion, slung about his shoulders.
- Unscrupulous Hero: He tries to be heroic, but this is hampered by Deliberate Values Dissonance.
- Politically Incorrect Hero/Politically Incorrect Villain: Has been both. He's not a misogynist like some of Wonder Woman's adversaries, but he does display a large degree of casual and ingrained disrespect for the female gender.
- Sadly Mythtaken: A large part of Hercules' Adaptational Villainy comes from changes in the myth of his ninth labor which was to retrive Hippolyta's girdle. In myth, Hercules and Hippolyta got along until Hera instigated the Amazons into attacking leading him to kill Hippolyta in the battle. In the Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis, Ares convinces Hercules into attacking the Amazons leading to the bad blood between the Amazons and him.
- Super Strength: He's Hercules. This is to be expected.
- Ungrateful Bastard: He elbowed Superman in the face for saving him from Gog, the Godslayer.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Hercules delivered one to Wonder Woman during One Year Later after he found out that she had run away from her duties as a superhero and left Donna, Cassie and himself to do all the work.
- Wrestler in All of Us: A skilled Greco-Roman style wrestler actually.
- And Now You Must Marry Me: His Pre-New 52 self once tried to do this to Aquaman's wife Mera.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: How he is first introduced.
- Eldritch Abomination: In the New 52 Universe, where he looks like a Mix-and-Match Critter of various sea animals.
- Graceful Loser: His reaction to being manipulated by Wonder Woman in a plan to outsmart Hera is to laugh and congratulate her, even stating she will fit right in the family.
- Just Eat Him: At one point, he swallows the First Born whole
- Making a Splash: Obviously, being the God of the Sea.
- Sea Monster: His New 52 Incarnation definitely has this esthetic.
- Size Shifter: The first time he appears in the New 52, he is gigantic. When he shows up again later to take part in the Olympians' reunion, he assumes a more human size.
- And Now You Must Marry Me: Tries to pull this on Wonder Woman, of all people, in the New 52.
- Creepy Child: In the New 52 Universe.
- Dark Is Not Evil/Dark Is Evil: Depending on the Writer and on the situation. His Pre-Crisis incarnation started out as an ally of Ares against the other gods, but ended up pulling a HeelFace Turn after his relationship with Persephone improved, while both his Post-Crisis and New 52 selves are despicted as morally ambiguous, but not actively evil.
- Everybody Hates Hades: Notably averted; in contrast to his Marvel counterpart Pluto, DC's Hades is sometimes depicted as morally ambiguous and feared by mortals, but rarely as truly malevolent and almost never as a Satanic Archetype, since that role usually goes to Ares. Also wonderfully deconstructed in the New 52 Universe. Hades hates himself more than anyone hates him, and more or less sabotages his relationships and alliances as a result.
- Necromancer: Well, he is the ruler of the underworld.
- Big Damn Heroes: When the First Born takes over Olympus, she is given her powers back by Apollo, allowing her to come to the rescue of Wonder Woman.
- Break the Haughty: What happens to her after Apollo de-powered her.
- Brought Down to Normal: Apollo eventually banishes her from Olympus, turning her into a mortal in the process. his last action when he is about to die at the hands of the First Born is to restaure her powers an position.
- Disproportionate Retribution: She turns Hippolyta into a stone statues and the other Amazons into snakes after learning Zeus cheated on her with the former (Which to be fair is in line with her classic mythology counterpart). she reverts them back to normal after her HeelFace Turn and recovery of her powers.
- Evil Matriarch: In the New 52 Universe, unlike her previous incarnations.
- Subverted: She eventually warms up to the rest of Diana's Party and was against the exile of her First Born
- Stripperiffic: Wears a peacock feather cloak and nothing else.
- Yandere: To the point she keeps trying to kill the children her husband fathered with other women, even after said husband is presumed dead.
The Goddess of Retribution. Nemesis was driven mad by the cries of the unjustly slain, while simultaneously being empowered by them. Every murder, and every casualty of war made her stronger and more fanatical, until she was strong enough to drive all other gods out of reality itself. Seeing Diana as the last obstacle to her own domination, Nemesis sought to remove her by any means necessary.
- Affably Evil: In the New 52 Universe, although she is more Affably Amoral.
- Artifact of Doom: The Flashing Blade, created by the Titans to kill gods themselves. It's a semi-sentient sword that longs to punish murderers and warmongers.
- Big Bad: Of the Odyssey arc.
- Demonic Possession: To the Wonder Woman of Earth-0, or most of her, anyway.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: She couldn't exist without it.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Since humanity is the source of murder, Nemesis reasoned that she could only fulfill her purpose by destroying them entirely.
- Suicide by Cop: Her ultimate goal. She considers allowing Diana to kill her and become the new Nemesis to be her ultimate victory.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: With every unjust death, her power grew until she could reign alone out of all the gods. It also drove her completely mad.
- Xanatos Gambit: Either Diana joins her as part of the Morrigan, allowing Nemesis to Kill 'em All, or Diana kills her and is forced into the position herself. Either way Nemesis gets what she wants.
Blacksmith of the gods.
- A Father to His Men: He rescues the male children born to Amazons when they would otherwise be put to death and puts them to work in his forge. Wonder Woman initially believes he has them as slaves but when she tries to "free" them, they ask her to release Hephaestus because of all he's done for them.
- Bald of Awesome: His New 52 lacks any form of hair.
- Gonk: Hephaestus is consistantly described as ugly in greek mythology, but his New 52 incarnation flat-out looks like an Orc/Troll-like creature.
- Goggles Do Nothing: Averted; he actually uses them to cover his eyes when he is blacksmithing.
- Pet the Dog: Two particularly notable ones.
- As mentioned above, he agreed to take the male children born to Amazons as workers in his forge, thus saving them from death, and treats them well enough for them to genuinely care about him.
- When explaining how Eros' guns work, he snarks that "Nobody loves Eros more than himself". When Eros tries to protest, he promptly had the following line with a smile:
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: The ugly husband of the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite.
- Ultimate Blacksmith: As usual. He is the one who built Wonder Woman's invisible jet and magic lasso, amongst other things.
God of the sun. becomes King of the gods after Zeus' disappearance and Hera's banishment, until he is dies fighting the First Born.
- Depending on the Artist: He appears in Superman/Wonder Woman wearing loafers.
- Hypocrite: In the New 52, claims he wants Olympus to enter a new age of enlightenment free of the bloodshed and family feuding of the past. Yet he waste no time in trying to kill family members he deems a threat and going so far as to torture and cannibalize parts of the First Born.
- Playing with Fire: God of the sun naturally.
- Power Of The Sun: Fittingly for the sun god, whether he is burning hot or cool depends on whether the sun is out and his preferred attack is to incinerate his targets with solar blasts. Doesn't work out too well against Superman becomes stronger by absorbing the blast.
- Pun: Holds the insulting title 'Bastard Sun' in the New 52 series.
- Jerkass: He was less than impressed when he first met 'Diana's new conquest' in Kal-El, stating he wasn't even human; just some thing who came from the stars, even going so far as to insult her par of choice by not caring for whom she sluts around with. When Superman called him out on being a dick to his girlfriend he even smacked him into Hephaestus' forge.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Que supes rising out of the molten lava pit as Strife gloatingly demeaned him in front of Diana and knocking his ass to the ground. A royally pissed Bastard Sun snaps at Clark blasting him with concentrated solar rays, resulting in the presently overcharged kryptonian proceeding to grab him by his shirt scruff belting him right out of the smith gods mountain and into upper orbit.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Always wears a suit (sans shoes).
- Too Dumb to Live: Refuses to execute or permanently imprison the First Born despite the prophecy stating the latter will kill the king of Olympus. Instead, he tries to torture him into obedience. The First Born escapes and quickly exacts his revenge.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: The only real reason he opposes Wonder Woman is because he heard a prophecy that one of Zeus' children (which he believes to be Zola's baby) would one day kill one of their family.
The First Born
In the New 52, Zeus and Hera's first born child. Foretold to one day rule Olympus on his own, Zeus deemed the child a threat and ordered the witch who delivered him (and the prophecy) to kill him. Hera's pleading led the witch to abandon the child in the wilderness. The child grew up and eventually challenged Zeus only to be buried in the center of the Earth where he spend the last seven thousand years digging his way out. Now, desires to claim the throne of Olympus and destroy everything else out of hatred.
- Ax-Crazy: His life has made him insane to the point he wants to kill everything and nothing will stop him.
- The Beast Master: Having had a way with the feral beasts of ancient Africa since his birth to adulthood.
- Bestiality Is Depraved: He even went so far as to mate with the animals who took him in and raised him, spawning for himself a cadre of demi-god hyena-men to serve as his soldiers in the various armies he would raise throughout history.
- Expy: Has more than a few similarities to Kratos.
- Foil: Oddly enough, to Wonder Woman of all people. She even lampshades this fact when she states while both possess a broiling fire within; Diana clarifies her torch flame aspires to inspire undying love for any and all things, while the First Born's Firepit seeks only to consume and destroy whatever comes in contact with it.
- Humanoid Abomination: After his grueling battle with Apollo over the throne of Olympus The First Born had most of his flesh incinerated by the sun god's wrath. He got better; sort of, having embraced his own philosophy of nothingness had left him an exposed hunk of cardiovascular flesh heaping with bits and pieces of still evident charred skin bits, eventually growing out a flowing cape composed of veins and arteries from his own body. While Finally entering the last stages of his evolution he became covered in the ashes of his own seared off skin while growing a bloody crown of horns and antlers out of his head to give himself a much more horrific appearance.
- Love Craftian Superpower: As the newly christened God of Oblivion, First Born gains a slew of new abominable divine abilities at his command, controlling his own flesh to channel his foul magics and the new flesh-like appearance of Olympus under his reign is just the start.
- Implacable Man: Determined to become the king of Olympus even if he must spend 7,000 years digging his way out from the Earth and climbing over the corpses of anyone who would try and stop him.
- The Juggernaut: Everything Wonder Woman, Orion, and Apollo throws at him barely slows him down including having most of his flesh burned off.
- Made of Diamond: Takes the best shots from Wonder Woman and Orion barely flinching.
- Omnicidal Maniac: So full of hate he desires to destroy everyone and everything leaving nothing but ash.
- The Power of Hate: The only emotion he feels any more and what gives him the strength to overcome nearly anything.
- Super Strength: A good deal stronger than Wonder Woman or New God Orion.
- Straw Nihilist: Due to the utter dickishness of his own father and being left to die in the middle of a harsh Sahara environment surrounded by predators. The First Born grew into an apathetic, abysmal and utterly amoral mindset that life was cruelty and decadence which only served to eat itself out of existence in the long run. Putting it simply, not only were abstracts such as love, compassion, kindness and all around common decency foreign to him; but he was so utterly warped and twisted that he rebuffed such notions as a platitudinous redundancy.
- Villainous Crush: He even went so far as to try and take Wonder Woman as his new mate due to the odd contradictory similarities they share, as seen above.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Yeah, he wants to destroy everything and has no understanding of compassion or mercy, but given how Zeus and life in general has treated him its easy to understand where he comes from and hard not to pity the guy.
TezcatlipocaThe trickster god of the Aztecs, Tezcatlipoca faced Wonder Woman during her intervention in the South American republic of Tropidor.
- I Have Many Names: Says this word for word during his first meeting with Wonder Woman.