As important as female superheroes are, female villains are just as significant: they're strong and have interesting and powerful backstories of their own. And when they fight, they're ruthless and they don't hold back, making them tremendously powerful in their own right.

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They're not just comparable to their male counterparts; they're often much better. So without further delay, let's meet the female villains who make being bad look really good. Here are the fifteen best female supervillains in DC Comics, ranked.

Updated December 15th, 2020 by Theo Kogod. There have been some really interesting developments in DC properties lately. Over the past year, the company has brought back many classic characters from the past, while also expanding the lore of others. There are new female villains too, such as Joker’s new girlfriend, Punchline (not that she has been around long enough to make this list). But the biggest reason to update this topic is the release of Wonder Woman 1984, which is finally out this December after being delayed due to Covid. The film’s main antagonist, Cheetah, is one of DC’s greatest female villains, which means she should be given her proper due— as should a handful of other impressive female villains.

15 Amanda Waller

Amanda Waller

Amanda Waller does not have powers, because she does not need any. She is a power unto herself. Nicknamed “the Wall,” she is a government official who will do anything, kill anyone, and break every rule in the name of national security.

She is the commander of Taskforce X, otherwise known as the Suicide Squad, a group of supervillains who perform black ops missions for her in order to earn years off their sentences (and because she will kill them if they don’t obey). In addition to being ruthless and disciplined, she is a brilliant strategist. She even figured out Batman's secret identity.

14 Talia Al Ghul

talia al ghul sitting on her throne

As the daughter of Ras al Ghul, Talia has more than surpassed her father in every way. She is a skilled leader who has commanded the forces of both the League of Assassins and the splinter group known as Leviathan.

Talia and Batman are ex-lovers who had a son together, Damian Wayne. However, when her son opposed her, Talia did not hesitate to order Damien to be killed. Like Amanda Waller, Talia does not need superpowers, as she is a ruthless and intelligent strategist. In fact, when Lex Luthor let go of his properties after becoming president, he trusted Talia to run them for him.

13 Granny Goodness

Granny Goodness

Granny Goodness is one of the New Gods of Apokolips, tasked with training others to serve the will of Darkseid. She is a genuinely terrifying character, playing on people’s emotions and doting on them in a grandmotherly way— then punishing them with sadistic torments for displeasing her.

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There is something uncanny about how sweet she is. While she has all the strength and power of a god, it is her manipulative psychological abuse that makes her such an effective villain.

12 Cheetah

Cheetah

There have been a few versions of Cheetah over the years, but the most famous— and most interesting— is Dr. Barbara Ann Minerva, a skilled archaeologist and linguist interested in the lost Amazon culture. She has undergone numerous reinventions over the years, but in her current continuity, she helped Wonder Woman learn English when the Amazon Princess came to the United States.

Later, Dr. Minerva made a pact with the god Urzkartaga, transforming her into Cheetah by giving her superhuman strength and speed, as well as deadly feline attributes. Unfortunately, she also lives with the predatory fury and drives of her namesake animal. What makes Cheetah both interesting and tragic is that she hates Wonder Woman because they were friends, and Wonder Woman failed to save her from the cruel favors of Urzkartaga.

11 Lady Shiva

Lady Shiva Batman

Lady Shiva is arguably the most skilled martial artist in the entire DC Universe. An entire religious cult developed out of adoration for her fighting prowess, though she naturally disdains such lowly hangers-on.

Shiva has a long history with Ras al Ghul’s League of Assassins, though she parted from them a while back and now leads her own group of assassins, the League of Shadows. She also had a daughter, Cassandra Cain, who may be the only person capable of beating her in a fight. Since Cassandra has allied with Batman and other heroes, their mother-daughter relationship is quite complicated.

10 Giganta

Giganta is the nemesis of Wonder Woman, Batman, and Flash. With the ability to enlarge her height and her body mass (from a normal 6'6 to a colossal size, towering hundreds of feet tall), Giganta can stand against any superpowered opponent and give them a run for their money.

When she's back to her default 6'6, she is still trained in hand-to-hand combat and wears a bulletproof flexible suit that grows with her. This means that not even Wonder Woman can face her without having a real fight on her hands.

9 Knockout

Knockout, a former member of Female Furies, is known for, among other things, flirting with and giving a beatdown to Superboy shortly after he moved to Hawaii. Her cover is a stripper with superhuman strength who worked at the BoomBoom Room.

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She was also asked to be part of Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad, to fight an international crime ring, and during that time she worked alongside Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Sidearm, and King Shark. She is a trained warrior and a hand-to-hand combat master. Her superhuman strength and energy make her formidable opponent to anyone who crosses her path.

8 Silver Banshee

Silver Banshee screaming menacingly towards her foe

Technically, there are two Silver Banshees in existence, both of whom are known for being enemies of Superman. Both Silver Banshee's embodiments have superhuman strength, resistance to injury, and have held their own in fights against Superman and Supergirl.

Silver Banshee's greatest strength is her sonic scream otherwise known as "The Death Wail," which can kill anyone provided that she knows her target's real name. In a very literal sense, her scream takes the life right out of her enemies. The second Silver Banshee has the added benefit of being able to speak any language as soon as she hears it. That, and she can communicate with animals too.

7 Blackfire

Blackfire is best known as being both a recurring antagonist of the Teen Titans and the older sister of Teen Titan member Starfire. Blackfire has the power to absorb ultraviolet radiation, transforming them into deadly bolts which she calls "Blackbolts." She can change radiation to energy, and that gives her superhuman strength, power, and endurance.

RELATED: Starfire Vs. Cyborg: Who Would Win?

Not only that, but Blackfires' combat skills are solid (better than Starfire, in fact, who she has overcome in battle) and she can go without food and drink for a long time unless she needs serious replenishment.

6 Faora

Faora Is Evenly Matched With Superman

The Kryptonian Faora has the usual Kryptonian powers (not unlike Superman himself) such as superhuman strength, the ability to crush solid objects with her bare hands, superhuman speed and endurance. She also has x-ray, telescopic, and microscopic vision, the power to freeze things with her breath, and the ability to fly.

What makes her stand out is that she is also a skilled Kryptonian martial artist and one of the deadliest Kryptonians alive. She has given Superman a real fight every time their paths have crossed.

5 Jinx

Jinx is the head of the Fearsome Five and a powerful sorceress who draws power from the ground. She needs to be barefoot, and have both her feet on the bare ground at all times, to use the full extent of her powers.

When she is at full strength, she can release strong wind blasts, draw out emerald flames, disintegrate solid objects, create earthquakes, illusions, and know when she's in danger. Jinx has fought the Teen Titans on several occasions and has proven to be a strong adversary to them.

4 Enchantress

Enchantress is a mighty sorceress who can manipulate energy and use it in a variety of ways. She can walk through solid objects and she can use energy to heal and teleport from one place to the next. In the past, Enchantress took down Wonder Woman, Cyborg, and Superman all at once and she's defeated other female villains too.

Although her powers have become erratic since her split from June Moone, she's still number four on this list because her past exploits and raw power have been memorable.

3 Livewire

Livewire looking at an actor from DC comics.

Before she began her career of villainy, Livewire was Leslie Willis, a radio host and DJ who enjoyed trashing Superman on the airwaves, much to the delight of Lex Luthor. She became Livewire when she insisted on performing for a crowd during a thunderstorm and touched a wire on stage that electrified her body and turned her into a metahuman.

Her powers include the ability to control electricity and make her body a conductor of electricity. She can generate lightning blasts and can move through anything that carries an electric current. Not only are her powers cool, but she wields them with attitude.

2 Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy is a plant-obsessed villainess with a strong affinity for nature and the earth.  As the Archnemesis of Batman, she's faced off against him many times and has given him a dynamic fight.  Her powers include the ability to control all plant life, willing them to respond to her demands.

As a botanist and biologist, Ivy has developed mutant plants that are deadly and can summon plant roots to come out of the ground and choke the life out of her victims. She has exceptional hand-to-hand combat skills and has used those skills against Batman and others.

1 Killer Frost

Taking the number one spot on this list, Killer Frost is actually three different women: Crystal Frost, Louise Lincoln, and Caitlin Snow. Crystal Frost came first:  Her ability was to take heat from humans and project cold and ice. She went on a killing spree after gaining her powers and eventually died (after absorbing too much power from Firestorm).

Louise Lincoln, Killer Frost number two, was a friend and work colleague to Crystal Frost (a scientist). She was just as ruthless as Crystal Frost and blamed Firestorm for Crystal's death, and sold her soul for more power.

Caitlin Snow, Killer Frost number three, took on the mantle after she was called to investigate a "suicide" which was a trap by the H.I.V.E  agents who tried to kill her. Every incarnation of Killer Frost has been as iconic as the woman before her, and that's why Killer Frost tops this list.

NEXT: The New 52: 5 DC Heroes Who Were Better In This Era (& 5 Who Weren't)