Who is Wonder Woman's Arch-Nemesis?

[Dr. Poison]

Over the years, several villains have been thought of as Wonder Woman's arch-nemesis: Ares, Circe, Cheetah, and the First Born. Who takes the prize in your eyes and why?

[Gaelforce]

Prior to Azzarello, I've always seen her true 'arch nemesis' as Ares, who in both the original and the Perez origins was the driving force behind her leaving Themyscira. He was the representative of war while she was the ambassador of peace, and as such was set up to be her true, long-term opposition.

[Dr. Poison]

I went with Cheetah. She has been a recurring threat to Diana since the Golden Age, matches her in power and speed, is a dark mirror reflection of Diana's compassion and generosity, and knows how to to push Diana's buttons to send her into a state of rage at times. At the same time, she is more down to earth than the other 3 candidates and can walk side by side with the likes of Luthor, the Joker, Sinestro, Black Manta, and Captain Cold. As much as I like Ares and Circe, when they are part of a group of villains, it's like Darkseid or the Anti-Monitor joining the Legion of Doom - out of place IMO.

[Darius]

I was tempted to say she doesn't have one, but Ares/Mars is probably the closest so he got my vote.

[Nyssane]

As I've always said, Cheetah is her arch-nemesis. She was the one they used in Superfriends, she's the one they use in an "Evil Trinity," and she's the one that almost all outside media uses as Wonder Woman's primary foe. Even in the recent DC Chess game, Cheetah was chosen as the Black Queen to mirror Wonder Woman who was the White Queen. And in Lego Batman: Beyond Gotham, Cheetah is one of the main characters and is very clearly Diana's arch-nemesis. All the recent stuff wouldn't have Cheetah as the main enemy if public perception wasn't that she is the main enemy.

Circe's certainly out of the running now... she hasn't appeared in a Wonder Woman comic since, what... Amazons Attack? Although she did have that brief appearance in Sensation Comics not too long ago, and she was the main enemy for the DC Universe Online game (though when they used a playable Wonder Woman villain for the other mode, they chose Cheetah).

Ares is her "big bad," which isn't synonymous with arch-nemesis. He is her Darkseid, her Thanos... a supreme evil that she more often than not can't deal with just physically. Of course, he's out of the running in the comics now too as he's a frail old man who died to give Diana his power. And before that, he was a character who was shady but never really completely evil, as in Rucka's run he would walk around and chat with Diana at his leisure.

The First Born was never even in the running. He hasn't the longevity nor the appeal of the rest of her rogues, most of whom have been around since the 40's.

[wagthedog]

As I've always said, Cheetah is her arch-nemesis. She was the one they used in Superfriends, she's the one they use in an "Evil Trinity," and she's the one that almost all outside media uses as Wonder Woman's primary foe. Even in the recent DC Chess game, Cheetah was chosen as the Black Queen to mirror Wonder Woman who was the White Queen. And in Lego Batman: Beyond Gotham, Cheetah is one of the main characters and is very clearly Diana's arch-nemesis. All the recent stuff wouldn't have Cheetah as the main enemy if public perception wasn't that she is the main enemy.

Circe's certainly out of the running now... she hasn't appeared in a Wonder Woman comic since, what... Amazons Attack? Although she did have that brief appearance in Sensation Comics not too long ago, and she was the main enemy for the DC Universe Online game (though when they used a playable Wonder Woman villain for the other mode, they chose Cheetah).

Ares is her "big bad," which isn't synonymous with arch-nemesis. He is her Darkseid, her Thanos... a supreme evil that she more often than not can't deal with just physically. Of course, he's out of the running in the comics now too as he's a frail old man who died to give Diana his power. And before that, he was a character who was shady but never really completely evil, as in Rucka's run he would walk around and chat with Diana at his leisure.

The First Born was never even in the running. He hasn't the longevity nor the appeal of the rest of her rogues, most of whom have been around since the 40's.

Wasn't Circe back when Heinberg took over? That was after Amazons Attack.

[Dr. Poison]

Wasn't Circe back when Heinberg took over? That was after Amazons Attack.

Circe was in Heinberg's run but Amazons Attack came after that during Jodi Picout's(sp?) run.

[wagthedog]

Circe was in Heinberg's run but Amazons Attack came after that during Jodi Picout's(sp?) run.

That sounds right. My apologies then. Did Gail Simone use Circe at any point in her story arcs? Or for that matter, the JMS 12 issue series?

[Nyssane]

That sounds right. My apologies then. Did Gail Simone use Circe at any point in her story arcs? Or for that matter, the JMS 12 issue series?

I know she didn't appear in JMS's run, and I don't remember her in Gail's run but maybe she had a small role somewhere.

[SiegePerilous02]

I went with Cheetah. I know, what a shock.

The other media appearances is what seals the deal. Cheetah owes her iconic status almost entirely to Superfriends, but that isn't unusual with these characters. Lex Luthor would have remained a generic one-off mad scientist if the Superman cartoons in the 40s hadn't used him. And the major Bat-Villains owe their household name status entirely to Adam West. Film and TV appearances from these characters have a way bigger impact on pop culture than the actual comics. Superfriends isn't much, and she's still a pretty obscure character compared to the others I've listed, but people probably have a vague recollection of WW tying up a crazy lady in cheetah print pajamas before they would associate her with someone like Circe. Seriously, NOBODY but comic readers knows that WW vs. Circe (or Ares, or any Greek god) is actually a thing.

Every writer who comes on board thinks they can make a better arch nemesis, but those characters fade into obscurity pretty fast while Cheetah is still around. People don't have to like her, but they need to accept that we're pretty much stuck with her.

[Step]

As I've always said, Cheetah is her arch-nemesis. She was the one they used in Superfriends, she's the one they use in an "Evil Trinity," and she's the one that almost all outside media uses as Wonder Woman's primary foe. Even in the recent DC Chess game, Cheetah was chosen as the Black Queen to mirror Wonder Woman who was the White Queen. And in Lego Batman: Beyond Gotham, Cheetah is one of the main characters and is very clearly Diana's arch-nemesis. All the recent stuff wouldn't have Cheetah as the main enemy if public perception wasn't that she is the main enemy.

Circe's certainly out of the running now... she hasn't appeared in a Wonder Woman comic since, what... Amazons Attack? Although she did have that brief appearance in Sensation Comics not too long ago, and she was the main enemy for the DC Universe Online game (though when they used a playable Wonder Woman villain for the other mode, they chose Cheetah).

Ares is her "big bad," which isn't synonymous with arch-nemesis. He is her Darkseid, her Thanos... a supreme evil that she more often than not can't deal with just physically. Of course, he's out of the running in the comics now too as he's a frail old man who died to give Diana his power. And before that, he was a character who was shady but never really completely evil, as in Rucka's run he would walk around and chat with Diana at his leisure.

The First Born was never even in the running. He hasn't the longevity nor the appeal of the rest of her rogues, most of whom have been around since the 40's.

Funnily enough, I always thought of Circle as her big bad, maybe because she was the head of Wonder Woman's only two DC events, but I always thought that when she came into the picture, stuff went DOWN.

But yeah, it was between her and Ares, but, I guess with Ares being good now, she's the front-runner.

Arch-nemesis I always thought was Cheetah, one of her most recurring villians, who can always give her a run for her money (when she's written well)

[brettc1]

I voted other - terrible, terrible writing.

[Mel Dyer]

Wonder Woman needs an arch-nemesis with whom she can duke it out, occasionally. I would also prefer that particular supervillain to be a woman and, while magical or myth-inspired, ..NOT a classical Greek god.

Cassandra the Mad, Silver Swan or the Cheetah are great examples of this. Cassandra the Mad, for my money, combines the best qualities of the Cheetah and Doctor Cyber.

[SiegePerilous02]

I voted other - terrible, terrible writing.

This is probably right on the money, sadly.

[Dr. Poison]

I voted other - terrible, terrible writing.

Well, New 52 WAres was modeled after Azzarello so does that count?