Superman: 10 Best Female Villains

Superman has a lot of prominent supervillains, including Lex Luthor and Doomsday, but most of them are men. Comic book fans know that many of the Man of Steel’s most challenging adversaries are women. Female supervillains may be outnumbered in Superman’s rogues’ gallery, but they’re not outmatched.

Whether he’s fighting them solo or with the Justice League, or in one universe or another, female villains often make life hard for Superman. Some of the comics’ biggest female villains aren’t necessarily his villains at all, but associated with other major characters that nevertheless made a lasting impression with Superman and his fans.

10 Superwoman

One of Superman’s most evil villains is also one of the most dangerous variants of Wonder Woman in DC Comics. Superwoman hails from Earth-Three, where the Justice League of America is an evil organization known as the Criminal Syndicate of America.

Superwoman possesses all of Wonder Woman’s strength and stamina, making her nearly the equal of the Man of Steel. Her Lasso of Truth can also change shape to virtually anything she wants, a valuable weapon against major foes like Superman and the Justice League.

9 Knockout

Knockout is more a villain of Superboy in the comics, first appearing in the first issue of his 1994 series, but given he’s a clone of Superman, she counts.

Knockout is a powerhouse in every sense of the word. She comes from Apokalips, the throneworld of Darkseid, and has all the strength, durability, and power of a New God. She’s essentially immortal, meaning she’s also very difficult to get rid of. Her healing factor trumps most advantages Superboy and other heroes have, and she is a close match to him in power and ability.

8 Silver Banshee

Silver Banshee is a supervillain with extraordinary power. Not only is the Irish villain super strong, fast, and durable, she can move at the speed of sound.

Silver Banshee can also generate and manipulate sonic waves, some of which can become truly destructive as Superman has found out in some of their battles. Her high-pitched screeches and screams can shatter glass and blow out eardrums. Only someone as powerful as Superman can even get close to her and even then, it’s been no easy task, as seen in some of the best episodes of Justice League Unlimited.

7 The Insect Queen

There have been a few versions of the Insect Queen in Superman comics, but the most recent is by far the most powerful. An alien from another world, the insect-like queen took on the guise of Lana Lang to manipulate Superman. She can also command armies of insects both native to Earth and otherwise.

The Insect Queen can also take possession of another person’s body by infecting them with insectoids, acquiring their DNA in an attempt to create new insect hybrids that are even more powerful.

6 Livewire

Livewire is one of the best villains in Superman: The Animated Series and an original creation for the cartoon. She crossed over into the comics in the ’90s and immediately started making life hard for Superman.

Somewhat like the Marvel villain, Electro, Livewire can generate and control deadly bolts of electricity. As a living being of electricity, she can also travel along electric lines and also enter machines, using them to do her bidding. She can fly, create electric forcefields, and more, but she does require a charge or she loses power.

5 Queen Of Fables

The Queen of Fables has been a powerful villain of both Superman and the Justice League of America since her first appearance in 2000. She is one of the most powerful magicians in the DC Universe, immortal and capable of altering reality.

She once turned Manhattan into an enchanted forest out of a children’s story, trapping the Justice League inside a fantasy they could barely comprehend. Thanks to her powerful command over magic, she can conjure any number of spells or creatures to make things even harder on her enemies.

4 Granny Goodness

As a major member of Darkseid’s Elite and the leader of the Female Furies, Granny Goodness has come into conflict with Superman when Darkseid’s ambitions have reached Earth.

She is a formidable opponent in her own right, with superhuman strength and endurance. She’s also immortal, like most natives of Apokalips, meaning she is virtually impossible to defeat in battle. She uses a mega-rod as her primary weapon, but she really doesn’t need it, as she’s one of the best hand-to-hand fighters in DC Comics. She has trained many of Darkseid’s forces over the years.

3 Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy is well-known as one of the best Batman villains, but she has also tangled with Superman. In the early 2000s storyline “Hush,” Poison Ivy infected Superman and controlled him as her Kryptonian soldier for a time. She sent him into battle against Batman, who only defeated Superman, thanks to a Kryptonite ring.

Poison Ivy also later tries to use Superman and his power to open a gateway to White Mercy, a plant-like entity from another dimension that she feels a particular affection for.

2 Faora

Faora has been a consistent and dangerous villain of Superman through many phases of DC Comics continuity. Through most of the reboots and retcons, she has been a Kryptonian and accomplice of General Zod. Thanks to her Kryptonian physiology, she has all the powers Superman has, including flight, superhuman strength, and X-ray vision.

What sets her apart is that she is a trained warrior and expert in many forms of armed combat, something that Superman never really had to invest in. Powerful, brilliant, and cruel, she is one of his strongest enemies.

1 Maxima

Maxima is an alien princess of extraordinary ability. Not only is she a physical match for Superman with her superhuman strength, stamina, and speed, but she’s also a supremely powerful psionic. Maxima is both telepathic and telekinetic and can control other people’s minds, including Superman’s.

Beyond even that, she can teleport and generate energy beams. She might be Superman’s most powerful adversary, but her ambitions have never been to defeat him, but actually to marry him. She initially hoped to bear a child with him, thinking they would be all-powerful.

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