Wonder Woman is one of DC's greatest heroes. She's also one of the strongest.
Diana, Princess of Themyscira, is a battle-tested warrior who has been at the heart of some of the most iconic comic book storylines. She's also gone toe-to-toe with some of the most powerful forces in all the world, galaxy, and indeed, multiverse. Yes, that includes Superman, as well as the likes of Aquaman, The Flash, Cheetah, and even Ares, the God of War.
Wonder Woman is a timeless figure who has transcended her genre to become a pop-culture phenomenon. This was down to the success of the classic TV series led by Lynda Carter, which launched the character into the mainstream. Since then, she's been a powerful presence in animation, video games, and finally movies.
We've had more live-action adaptations of the Amazonian warrior than you might think. Some are beloved, some are not, and some are entirely forgotten about. But which of these Wonder Women stand out as the strongest of them all? Who captured Diana's enduring, fighting spirit the best?
Let's find out, as we take a look back all of the previous movie and TV versions of Wonder Woman and rank them based on their strength.
5. The first ever live-action Wonder Woman
The unsold 1967 Wonder Woman pilot is undoubtedly one of the strangest chapters in superhero television history. Titled Who's Afraid of Diana Prince, it was crafted by William Dozier, who had successfully brought Batman to the small screen in the '60s. He didn't have the same success with Wonder Woman, and if you watch the pilot you'll see why.
It feels strange to even rank this iteration of the character on a list about strength because we never even saw her in action. Heck, she isn't even really Wonder Woman.
The pilot sees a quiet Diana Prince (played by Ellie Wood Walker) who would prefer to spend her life being a superhero instead of adhering to her mother's wishes of getting married. However, when she transformed into Wonder Woman (now played by Linda Harrison), she just admired herself in the mirror instead of saving people. And it wasn't a normal kind of admiring her beauty, either; it was over-the-top, dramatic, and portrayed to be really quite shallow. Honestly, it was offensive to the character.
Needless to say this iteration of Wonder Woman ranks at the bottom. We don't know what kind of strength she possessed, and something tells us that it wouldn't have been of the same levels of the others on this list.
4. Cathy Lee Crosby's superspy Wonder Woman
The classic Lynda Carter series was not the first attempt ABC made at bringing Wonder Woman to the small screen. In fact, the year before the series came to fruition, a pilot for a very different television show was made, starring Cathy Lee Crosby in the title role.
This version of the character differed greatly from the original source material as she was not an ageless warrior from Paradise Island, but a superspy without any super-powers who had to use her wits and combat skills to save the day. While Crosby did a great job with the role, it didn't appeal to audiences as much as the original version of the Wonder Woman character did; as demonstrated by how the 1975 pilot was far more successful.
The fact that this version of Wonder Woman didn't have any kind of superpowers or super-strength unfortunately means that she can't rank higher on this list. That said, as we actually get to see her employ her skills throughout a pretty solid movie, we're ranking her higher than the Who's Afraid of Diana Prince version for that - as well as on the basis that she's just a much stronger character.
3. Adrianne Palicki's short-lived Wonder Woman
The era of the 2011 NBC Wonder Woman pilot is a strange one to look back on. For a hot minute, everyone was talking about this pilot due to its very bizarre, very shiny, very lycra suit, and then the moment NBC passed on it, it was almost instantly forgotten - like a fever dream you're not really sure was real or not.
But it was real, very real in fact, and so was the strength of the Wonder Woman that headlined it. There was some dodgy writing around the character that we won't get into, but Adrianne Palicki certainly looked convincing as the hero (who was now known as Diana Themyscira). And those fight scenes were jaw-dropping.
This Wonder Woman had physical strength in spades, as she was seen throwing an abundance of henchmen around her with ease. She could also move shipping containers with even more ease and didn't seem too bothered about any deaths she could cause doing so; which made her a lot more relentless than you'd expect any version of Diana to be.
As far as other strengths go, she could also jump really high and sprint super fast. And it felt like they were only beginning to scratch the surface of what this very unique iteration of the Wonder Woman character was capable of. That's the biggest shame about the pilot not going forward to series.
2. Lynda Carter's classic Wonder Woman
There is a reason that Lynda Carter's portrayal of Wonder Woman is considered the most definitive of them all. The legendary TV series was the first truly comic-accurate adaptation and her performance was nothing short of divine, capturing the essence of Diana and everything that made her who she was.
Speaking of who she was, Wonder Woman was as powerful as you would expect, as she could defeat much larger opponents with ease, stop large vehicles, and take down anyone that came her way. She was also a master combatant who could outmaneuver opponents in battle - something that the show didn't always showcase enough. And whenever those opponents were further away, she could use her own tiara like a boomerang, throwing it long distances with incredibly accurate aim.
Other powers she possessed was the ability to mimic the voices of anyone she came into contact with and the ability to communicate with animals. She also had her trusty bullet-deflecting bracelets at her disposal, the Golden Lasso of Truth, which could compel anyone to tell the truth, and she was an accomplished fencer too. If that wasn't enough, the second and third seasons introduced a special aquatic suit for swimming (which was also modified into a motorsports suit whenever she needed to ride a motorcycle).
The only weakness she was ever shown to possess was in the first season when it was revealed that she would lose her powers if her magical belt was taken away from her, but that was dropped in the second and third seasons, suggesting that she had gotten even more powerful between 1945 and 1975.
A character who truly had it all, it an exhilarating experience to watch this classic Wonder Woman in action.
1. The DCEU Wonder Woman
"I've killed things from other worlds before," said Wonder Woman during her first major appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice right before she went into battle with none other than freakin' Doomsday.
The DC Extended Universe version of Wonder Woman is the perfect blend between the classic warm and heartfelt character and the more modern, hardened warrior she has become. That much has been clear from Gal Gadot's journey as the character throughout the various DCEU movies she has appeared in - all of which have showcased her strength in some form or another. And what a showcase it has been.
Diana had the most success of the DC trinty when she, Batman, and Superman squared off against Doomsday, injuring him with her sword and subsequently holding him in place with her lasso. She then held her own against a super-charged Superman in Justice League before playing an important role in taking down Steppenwolf. Her greatest success, however, was in 2017's Wonder Woman when she single-handedly defeated her brother Ares, the God of War.
The DCEU iteration of Wonder Woman is literally a god and that makes her power-levels infinite. She's strong, fast, durable, and efficient just like all of her predecessors, but the sheer force she creates whenever she clashes her gauntlets together is unlike anything in any DC lore ever. She's so incredibly powerful, capable of stopping all kinds of threats and one of the most unstoppable entities to ever grace the big screen. Oh yeah, and she learned to fly, too.
This is an all-powerful God whose story was only just beginning when the DCEU came to an end. Here's hoping she's allowed to continue that story in the DC Universe.