Editorial: 4 Villains Wonder Woman Hasn’t Fought Yet (In Animation)

Wonder Woman has battled several opponents, both costumed or gimmick super-villains, as well as actual characters from Greek mythology (or loosely based on mythological concepts). While Diana’s rogues gallery might not be as infamous as Batman’s or Superman’s, she does have her fair share of unique and dangerous adversaries. Ares, the God of War is perhaps her most powerful nemesis, and he has appeared in both animation and live-action. As far as “regular” villains, the likes of Cheetah and Giganta are probably the most commonly used, followed by others including Circe, or Doctor Poison to name a few. This is not counting the few villains from other heroes rogues galleries that might have opposed Diana at times (i.e., Darkseid); similar to Superman, considering their power levels it stands to reason there are occasions when more members of the Justice League would have to fight one of those. Then, there are the real world evils Diana has fought against in her earlier comics, considering she was supposed to have helped out during World War II.

Something that needs to be addressed right off the bat is that sadly Wonder Woman still doesn’t have her own animated series. Sure, she had a pretty long-running live-action series, and has obviously appeared as a main recurring character in projects like Super Friends, the two versions of DC Super Hero Girls, and of course Justice League/Unlimited (as well as any other big show focusing on the Justice League). But as opposed to Batman and Superman, Wonder Woman didn’t get the same treatment. This might explain why some of her weirder foes have not shown up yet, and in a way was a big help in creating this article. Some of her rogues have made it into those ensemble shows, and in some cases other heroes than Diana got to fight them (for example, the Creature Commandos versus Circe in a recent cartoon).

But as was the case with other superheroes, there are still a few characters that haven’t appeared yet in animation, or have appeared briefly, and I just feel like they could provide a few more decent and entertaining stories that haven’t been adapted yet. Below is a list of four villains that I think fit these conditions. As in my previous similar articles, they are listed in alphabetical order; this is not supposed to be a “Top 4” list, just a rundown of characters who haven’t had the chance to fight Wonder Woman in a cartoon as of the time of this writing.

1. Angle-Man. Created by Robert Kanigher and Harry G. Peter. Originally envisioned as an unsuccessful criminal obsessed with setting up crimes with “unbeatable angles”. With time he managed to develop increasingly difficult and weird traps for Wonder Woman. Acquiring a reality-warping device known as the Angler, he became a more credible threat and also joined the Secret Society of Super Villains.

As far as animation goes, Angle-Man had a few somewhat notable cameos on the Justice League Unlimited series, as a member of Gorilla Grodd’s Legion of Doom. However he’s usually seen in group shots, rarely during battles and I don’t believe he was shown going up against Wonder Woman. Granted Angle-Man isn’t the most well known or interesting character out there but I think he could work as a recurring foe for Diana. A non-powered criminal who “knows all the angles” would be a neat idea if done well, but shouldn’t be over used either. His Angler device could additionally bring some interesting perspectives and create fun visuals during an action scene.

2. Blue Snowman. Created by William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter. Byrna Brilyant wore the Blue Snowman armor and used various Blue Snow powered gadgets to start a life of crime. She fought Wonder Woman a few times and also was a member of the first roster of Villainy Inc.

Blue Snowman has shown up in a couple of animated series at this point, like Harley Quinn alongside other ice themed supervillains (including Minister Blizzard, who is another character I considered including in this article) and more recently on My Adventures With Superman although only as Byrna, without the whole Snowman get-up. I think Byrna could work well as part of a few Wonder Woman stories, with her real identity being a secret and not exactly a suspect considering she posed as a Snowman, not a Snow-woman while committing crimes. Plus, Batman has Mr. Freeze, Flash has Captain Cold – and I am sure there are other examples out there – so why shouldn’t Wonder Woman have her own ice themed villain in animation?

3. Cheetah (the Deborah Domaine version). Created by Gerry Conway and Jose Delbo. Deborah was the niece of Priscilla Rich, the original Cheetah. She only had a short career in the comics which really started when she was forced by the Kobra Cult to become the new Cheetah and battle Wonder Woman.

Cheetah, as one of Wonder Woman’s most iconic rogues, has appeared in several projects over the years. Usually it’s only Priscilla Rich or Barbara Minerva. I picked Deborah for this list, although there’s really not a lot to differentiate her from Priscilla, because of her connection to Kobra which I think could lead to some decent and interesting stories, if she were to appear in a potential Wonder Woman animated series. It could even work similar to the comics, with her being a legacy character and only introduced after Priscilla appears a few times and is repeatedly defeated by Wonder Woman. That said, the Kobra Cult could be tied into the origin of any other Cheetah I suppose, and they could also work on their own as decent recurring adversaries. I suppose the Kobra Cult itself would likewise be a nice candidate for this list of underused villains, but I was trying to focus more on Diana’s actual rogues gallery.

4. Duke of Deception. Created by William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter. Based on Dolos, the Roman mythological deity of deceit and lies, he was initially presented as an operative for Ares the God of War, but over the years he has become a villain in his own right and has confronted Wonder Woman several times. Sometimes assisted by his minions, Count of Conquest and the Earl of Greed whose names should tell you just about all you need to know about them.

I believe the closest the Duke has shown up anywhere was a brief mention in the Wonder Woman 1984 live-action movie from a few years ago. He’d make for a pretty good adversary and would work with the whole theme of ancient gods manipulating mortals into doing their bidding, something Wonder Woman has fought against a few times during her career. One idea I had was to include the Duke, alongside his cohorts in a story arc similar to the one from Justice League Action, where they had to fight the Djinn Brothers (including the Demons Three from the comics), one per episode, culminating in a big fight with Black Adam. Just replace the “minor” foes with Duke, Count and Earl, and the “big bad” with Ares, and there you go.

This editorial covers just a few somewhat notable omissions in regards to which Wonder Woman villains haven’t had their fair share of animated appearances. There are probably more out there (i.e., Egg Fu, who I don’t really see headlining an animated project anytime soon), so comment below with any other suggestions I might have overlooked – either more villains, or other ideas of how to use the guys listed above.