Wonder Woman proved to be the very first universally praised film of the DCEU, and that’s because it successfully combined the seriousness with which Patty Jenkins approached the character, with a genuinely empathetic film that touched on multiple emotional levels.
Wonder Woman was brave yet uniquely vulnerable, she was a hero to root for, and a hero that many people could see shades of themselves in. Patty Jenkins proved she could tell a beautiful story while sticking true to what makes Diana so intriguing.
One of the weaker aspects of the great film was the villain, and his entrance into the third act of the film. What Wonder Woman 2 has going for it, is that Diana has already been set up and explored, so the sequel can spend time building a truly terrifying and deep antagonist who opposes Diana on a deeper level, in accordance with physicality.
Wonder Woman has been around for 76 years, and many comic book writers and artists have shaped her mythology, and with that comes a bounty of villains.
This list is analyzing her most beloved and feared villains, so without further ado, here are 15 Villains We Could See In Wonder Woman 2.
15. Doctor Cyber
Doctor Cyber is a pretty obscure villain to cast in a sequel to a large movie, but it’s exciting to introduce a villain that many movie-goers aren’t familiar with, because it allows the filmmakers the opportunity to define him/her totally.
Doctor Cyber originally appeared in 1968 as the head of a global terrorist conglomerate, and as time went on she became more and more mystical. She eventually was given a full body exoskeleton suit enhanced with cybernetics that gave her increased strength, as well as the ability to absorb and repel bursts of energy.
Her altered appearance affected her on a deeper level, and the remainder of her time was spent attempting to reclaim the beauty she once had. Her comics generally consist of her attempting to take Wonder Woman’s body from her.
14. Angle Man
Angle Man is perhaps the strangest Wonder Woman villain, mainly because he went from a pretty normal adversary to a truly strange and mystical being (generally the opposite happens).
The Angle Man started out as a villain who could figure out the necessary steps to any sort of heist or plan. This already sounds like a pretty intriguing foe for Wonder Woman, considering that he doesn’t necessarily have any powers. But later, Angle Man was reimagined during the Bronze Age of comics, and here he wielded a weapon known as “the angler” which warped spatial dimensions, was able to teleport both people and objects, and could shift dimensions.
It seems that Wonder Woman proved that a practical third act fight was probably the way to go, rather than a CGI brawl, so perhaps more magic is not the way to go. Still, the original version of Angle Man could work wonderfully.
13. Medusa
Medusa is based on the Greek mythological character of the same name, and she’s been an adversary of Wonder Woman for quite a while.
In the post-Crisis age of comics, Medusa is one of three daughters who are referred to as the Gorgons. She was the most fair and beautiful of all her sisters, as she was also mortal. Eventually she caught the attention of Poseidon, which angered Athena. Athena then cursed Medusa, turning her hair to snakes, and giving her the powerful gaze that she is known for, which turns anyone who looks into her eyes to stone.
In the New 52, Medusa is considered to be the queen of monsters, and has fought against both Wonder Woman and Batwoman, who joined forces to take her down. Medusa would connect well to the already established Greek pantheon in the DCEU, and she also wouldn’t require too many computer-generated effects.
12. Queen Clea
Queen Clea is a ferocious dictator who rules over the land of Venturia, a remote kingdom on the continent of Atlantis. In the post-Crisis age of comics, Queen Clea stole the trident of Poseidon, to attempt to make herself unstoppable.
What’s interesting about Queen Clea specifically, is that she fought Diana’s mother, Queen Hipployta when she was acting as Wonder Woman, which would help to continue the DCEU’s thread of lineage playing such an important role in their storytelling.
Ever since Man of Steel, the films have dealt with our heroes, who are defined partially by their direct relationship to those who came before them, and are trying to come into their own as separate people. Wonder Woman was able to show the world, and her fellow Amazons, that she needed to help mankind. Her following in her mother’s footsteps would be an intriguing direction for her next film.
11. Maxwell Lord
Maxwell Lord is an incredibly well-known villain in the history of DC Comics. He has frequently proved himself to be a nuisance to the entire Justice League, but he’s not afraid to go after Wonder Woman directly from time to time.
Maxwell Lord has, on numerous occasions, been introduced as a character with telepathic abilities, and he uses these powers to influence those around him. He’s even gotten to the point where he could possess and control Superman. Maxwell Lord would be an interesting villain because he uses the people around him like chess pieces. He is calculated, and not just another brute for Wonder Woman to pummel. It would be great to see Wonder Woman use her brain, as well as her brawn, to take down a new enemy.
10. Duke Of Deception
The Duke of Deception is a constant nemesis for Wonder Woman, and is usually presented as an accomplice to Ares. The Duke is a demigod, and is sometimes even working for the lord of the underworld, Hades. The scene that helps explain the origin for Ares in Wonder Woman is one of the most revolutionary scenes in the film-- it also manages to follow a similar scene presented in Man of Steel, when Jor-El is explaining Krypton and Zod to Kal. It would be great to delve deeper into the Greek mythology that makes up Diana’s mythology.
The Duke creates illusions in the minds of his victims, which he can use to alter the way he appears physically, as well as bend the wills of others to his own. This would be yet another case of Wonder Woman having to use her intellect to defeat her opponent.
9. First Born
First Born adds some very interesting details to the commonly known element of the Greek mythology. First Born is technically the first born child of Zeus and Hera who was kept in secret, because a prophecy fortold that one day he would sit upon the throne of his father, with the corpses of his siblings stacked around him. Zeus wanted to avoid this at all costs, and arranged for his son’s death, but of course this death sentence didn’t take.
Zeus did damage his son, though, and for the rest of his life, he walked the Earth, trying to gain his strength back to either defeat his father, or win back his affection. First Born has a particular hatred for Wonder Woman too, as she’s also the daughter of Zeus, and it would be a real spectacle to see brother and sister fight on-screen.
8. Doctor Psycho
Doctor Psycho would be a great villain to introduce to Gadot’s Wonder Woman. He is a telepath, like others on this list, but he’s consistently been shown as misogynistic, which would certainly not fly with our beloved heroine.
Doctor Psycho has been shown in the past to have different quantities of mental illness, and this illness is what leads to his powers and his villainous side. He would be a pretty wacky villain to throw into the DCEU, a universe that prides itself on taking its source material seriously. This tone stayed true to course even throughout Wonder Woman, which presented a heartfelt, and at times laugh-out-loud adventure story.
Doctor Psycho would definitely lighten up the tone of the sequel, but liberties could also be taken with him to help him better fit in with the villains we’ve already seen in this universe.
7. Apollo
Apollo is the God of the sun in the DC Comics universe, and he’s been opposing Diana for quite some time. He actually sought the throne that his father commanded, and for a brief time in the comics, was actually successful in overthrowing his father and defeating his legions, and banishing his mother to Earth.
Apollo is extremely powerful, and the only way Wonder Woman was able to defeat him was be threatening his twin sister, Artemis. Apollo has a great deal of love for his sister, and when Wonder Woman threatened to put an end to her life, the sun god was not pleased. Wonder Woman has never shied away from taking the life of a villain, so this was no empty threat.
6. Giganta
Giganta would definitely be a difficult villain to pull off in the DCEU, mainly because she would require vast amounts of CGI to bring her to life. Giganta can, of course, increase her physical size and mass at will, and always proves to be a physically imposing villain for the Amazon warrior.
Giganta is usually working with a comrade who serves as a strategist for her. She is definitely more of a physical threat than an intellectual one, which might not be the best addition to the next film, if she is indeed working alone. But pair Giganta with someone who works off strategy alone, and you offer a dangerous combination for Diana.
Wonder Woman was able to pull off having two main villains in the first movie, which some superhero films have struggled with, so there’s no doubt Patty Jenkins could pull it off again.
5. Silver Swan
The Silver Swan is a long-time enemy of Wonder Woman, and her background is pretty interesting. She was born Valerie Beaudry, and was exposed to nuclear radiation in the womb, which caused her horrific deformities. Valerie was brought under the wing of Henry Armbruster, who transformed her into the Silver Swan, a beautiful metahuman with supersonic powers.
Visually it would be incredible to see Wonder Woman face off against the Silver Swan, not to mention it would be great to see a female villain in Wonder Woman 2. We’ve seen some incredible female villains portayed on screen recently, and we’re going to be seeing Cate Blanchett play Hela in the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok film.We'd love to see Wonder Woman square off against a female adversary next.
4. Grail
Grail is fiercely intimidating, and the fact she’s the daughter of the most dangerous villain in DC Comics doesn’t help. Grail is the daughter of Darkseid, ruler of Apokolips, and she’s always trying to help her Dad find the coveted anti-life equation.
She was actually born at the exact same time as Diana on Themiscyra, and her mother, Myrina, gave birth to her in secret without Darkseid knowing. Grail was protected by her mother when the Amazons found out of the prophecy of her disastrous future. Her mother took her and fled, becoming the only Amazons to escape from Themiscrya.
This would be such an amazing opening to a sequel, and with Darkseid’s general, Steppenwolf, appearing in Justice League, it would be the perfect way to tie in the entire DCEU to the follow-up.
3. Strife
Strife, or Eris, is often identified as the daughter of Ares. She just so happened to fall at the hands of Wonder Woman in her first solo outing. In the comics, Eris was the one who caused the Trojan War by using one of her golden apples, which cause chaos and destruction. She also used one of these apples in the post-Crisis era to damage the initial encounter between the Amazons and man.
During this confrontation, Eris kidnapped Diana and sent a clone of her out to create even more devastation. Lois Lane was also invited to cover the event, and was almost killed in the ongoing battle. It would be incredible to see this recreated in the DCEU, if only to give us an excuse for more Amy Adams in the future. Strife is an agent of chaos, and having Wonder Woman’s empathetic hero face off against evil incarnate would make for a fascinating story.
2. Circe
Circe is one of the most evil characters who exists within the DC comics canon. Wonder Woman fights for all of mankind, but Circe fights only for herself. She is a powerful sorceress who can challenge even Diana when it comes to true power.
In the New 52, Circe held quite the grudge against Hippolyta, and even managed to control Superman and force him to fight Wonder Woman. Of course, Wonder Woman was able to eventually break Circe’s spell, and the two teamed up to take her down.
In the Rebirth line of comics, Circe has a slightly altered backstory, as she is actually summoned to Earth in order to wage war against the Gods. Circe is definitely a fan-favorite villain among Wonder Woman’s rogues gallery, and once again it would introduce an interesting dichotomy between a truly righteous woman, and one seeking only gratification and power.
1. Cheetah
For this list, we’ll be referring to the Barbara Ann Minerva version of Cheetah, who was introduced post-Crisis and currently holds the mantle. Cheetah is definitely the most intriguing Wonder Woman villain, mainly because her origin is so innately tragic. She was an archeologist who had a real thirst to discover a female warrior and guardian who was worshipped by a distinct African tribe.
Barbara sought the powers of the guardian, and the tribespeople allowed her to take the place of their coveted hero. However, the powers of the Cheetah were supposed to be granted to a virgin, which Barbara wasn’t, and thus she was both cursed and gifted with the Cheetah’s powers. She is in constant pain while in her human form, and she is bloodthirsty while in her Cheetah form.
Having a complicated villain like this would definitely be a welcome addition to the upcoming Wonder Woman sequel, as well as the DCEU as a whole.
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Are there any villains particular that you’d like to see introduced in Wonder Woman 2? Were there any we forgot? Let us know in the comments below.