All 7 Wonder Woman actresses ranked from worst to best

6. Adrianne Palicki

Appeared in: Wonder Woman (2011 NBC pilot)

Oh Adrianne Palicki, what an amazing Wonder Woman you could have been.

If you were keeping up with the comic book world in 2011, you were probably super excited about the Wonder Woman series in development for NBC. This was right after Smallville had finished up and before the Arrowverse brought superheroes back to the small screen, so it was a quiet time for DC fans. So the idea of Wonder Woman back on TV where she belonged was incredibly exciting.

When the first photos of Palicki suited up as the Themysciran warrior leaked online, they divided fans because of the drastic changes to the suit and its shiny lycra-like texture. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning of its downfall as NBC ultimately passed on the pilot before it leaked online.

The show reimagines Diana Prince as CEO of Themyscira Industries, doesn’t acknowledge her Amazonian origins, focuses much less on her hopeful nature and tries to make her more human. But it just didn’t work, instead offering up an adaptation that felt like it belonged in the wrong decade. This was just before comic book TV returned with a vengeance, embracing its comic book roots in the process. Wonder Woman‘s attempt to move away from everything the character was was its downfall.

Palicki looks incredible as Wonder Woman, and she does what she can with a very questionable pilot. Her performance in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD is proof that she’s perfect for the superhero genre. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be here.