Top 10 Female Villains in DC (Comics & Movies)

The world of DC is full of some of the strongest and most iconic villains ever created. Most of these villains are known for being downright evil to the core, but some are quite complex to the point that you can’t help but sympathize with them regarding how they ended up becoming villains. And many of these villains are female characters that have become iconic in their own right.

Like any other fictional universe, female characters can also be evil and villainous in the world of DC, and that’s why many female DC characters have played the role of the supervillain a few times. Still, it can be difficult to weed out the truly great ones in terms of how iconic and powerful they are. That’s why we are here to look at the top female villains in DC.

10. Harley Quinn

We can never have a list without arguably the most iconic female villain in DC, as Harley Quinn finds herself starting off this list. Unlike some of the characters on this list, Harley is unique because she started in Batman: The Animated Series instead of the comic books. Eventually, she became so popular that she became a comic book character that became quite complex despite starting out as a comic relief in an animated TV series.

Though Harley is still a comic relief as the Joker’s sidekick and lover, she is a very capable character in her combat abilities. It is the fact that she is nuts and crazy that makes her dangerous, as this has been proven a few times in her clashes with Batman and the other superheroes of DC. And it was during her time with the Suicide Squad that her true potential as a character came out.

9. Grail

While Grail may not be the most popular female villain in DC, we know that she is incredibly powerful due to her connection with one of the most powerful characters in DC—Darkseid. The fact that she is the daughter of Darkseid is enough for anyone to understand how and why she is incredibly powerful, and the thing is that she was someone who was prophesized to bring about ultimate destruction.

In the event of the Darkseid War, Grail helped the Anti-Monitor find a way to wage war on Darkseid himself. Even after her father died and a new Darkseid was born, Grail made sure to raise the new version of her father into someone who was more sadistic than he already was in the past. And this was because Grail wanted to bring about the end of all gods.

8. Blackfire

As the sister of Starfire, Blackfire is a powerful character with abilities similar to the ones displayed by her sister. That means that she is almost as powerful as Starfire, but the fact that Starfire had the ability to fly made Blackfire jealous of her sister. This was why they were at odds with one another and why Blackfire launched a coup that forced Starfire to leave their home planet.

In that regard, Blackfire has always been portrayed as a recurring antagonist to the Teen Titans, who adopted Starfire and made her family. The fact that she can absorb ultraviolet radiation and use this energy to fire black bolts or strengthen her body makes her an incredibly dangerous opponent that often requires all members of the Titans to work together to defeat her.

7. Faora

Even though she was always portrayed as a lackey or a sidekick to General Zod, we can’t help but forget that Faora has always been a Kryptonian, which means that she has all of the standard superhuman powers and abilities that Zod and Superman have. In that regard, she is a force to be reckoned with all on her own and is almost as powerful as Superman despite lacking the same kind of experience with her powers as the Man of Steel.

Nevertheless, every time Faora appears, she gives Superman an incredibly tough fight because of her superior combat skills. Like Zod, she is an extremist that wants to bring about the dawn of a new Krypton on Earth, and it is her unwavering belief in her cause makes her just as dangerous and iconic as any other female villain in DC.

6. Livewire

Born Leslie Willis, a girl that worked as a radio host and DJ that loved talking smack about Superman in her program, Livewire became a favored celebrity in the eyes of Lex Luthor, who we know hates Superman just about as much as any other villain. However, during a thunderstorm, Livewire insisted on performing live for a crow, and that was when she touched a wire on stage and became a powerful metahuman.

In that regard, she obtained the ability to control electricity and make her entire body a conductor. This allows her to generate powerful blasts of lightning. On top of that, she can move through anything that carries electricity, allowing her to become a very elusive villain. There is no denying that she is a badass character with a powerful ability and a tough attitude.

5. Talia Al Ghul

Very few people can put Batman under their influence, but Talia Al Ghul is one of them. Even though she doesn’t have the crazy superpowers that some of the other characters on this list have, she possesses incredible persuasive abilities that allow her to get what she wants regardless of who she needs to persuade. This includes Batman, who knows that Talia is no good but can still fall for her charms. And she was persuasive and charming enough to even “convince” Batman to sire her son, who became Damian Wayne.

On top of her ability to persuade just about anyone, Talia is known as a master assassin trained by the League of Assassins. She has the skills and intellect of her father and has a large network of people working under her due to her status as one of the leaders of the League of Assassins. In that regard, while she has no superpowers, she is one of the most dangerous DC characters due to her combination of skills, resources, and intellect.

4. Killer Frost

The character of Killer Frost is three different women who have taken up that moniker throughout the decades. These women are Crystal Frost, Louise Lincoln, and Caitlin Snow, all with unique background stories.

Crystal, the first of the three, could take heat from humans and use her abilities to create cold and ice. She eventually died after taking too much heat from Firestorm. Louise Lincoln, the second of the three, was a friend of Crystal Frost and wanted to take revenge on Firestorm for the death of her friend as she sold her soul for power. On the other hand, Caitlin Snow became who she was when she was called to investigate a mysterious suicide that turned out to be a trap of HIVE agents that tried to kill her.

All these three women have complex storylines and powerful abilities that make them iconic characters in DC. And that’s why they belong on one of the top four spots of this list.

3. Enchantress

Even though many people were disappointed by the Enchantress they saw in the DCEU film, Enchantress is an iconic and powerful character that has always been one of the most dangerous villains in DC. She has the incredible ability to manipulate and use energy in many different ways. She can heal, teleport, and perform feats of strong magic to bring down characters like Superman and Wonder Woman.

In that regard, Enchantress is as powerful as any female sorcerer in DC, as she has incredible magical abilities that are difficult to top for any character. This allows her to land a good spot on this list, as she has raw power and crazy exploits that not many female supervillains can contend with.

2. Poison Ivy

As one of the most complex supervillains in DC, Poison Ivy belongs on this list due to her obsession with protecting plant life, even if it meant killing humans. Her actions have always been for the betterment of the Green and of nature as a whole, and that meant that she would stop at nothing to ensure that she protected what matters the most to her. And because of that, she became an extremist that did horrible villainous acts for the sake of the Green.

The thing that makes Poison Ivy so powerful is that she has complete control over plant life, and that means that she can do what she wants with any plant that is within her vicinity. This allows her to use plant life to grapple enemies using vines, create man-eating plants large enough to swallow humans whole, and grow flowers that can produce toxins enough to kill an entire population.

1. Superwoman

Even though she has a name that resembles the one that the most iconic superhero in DC carries, the thing is that Superwoman is not Kryptonian. Superwoman is a different version of Wonder Woman from a different universe, which is Earth-3. And while Wonder Woman is a hero, Superwoman is anything but heroic in her universe as she is an incredibly evil person who is a Crime Syndicate member. 

In that regard, Superwoman has all of the standard abilities of Wonder Woman but with a heart that lacks empathy and morality. This makes her dangerous because she doesn’t hold back and is willing to kill anyone that gets in her way. As such, she is at the top of this list due to her combination of powers and ruthlessness.

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