WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Justice League: Last Ride #5, available now from DC Comics.
Justice League: Last Ride has been building up to a last hurrah for the Justice League against some of their premiere foes, with beings such as Darkseid being imminent threats against the figurehead DC team. Another somewhat similar and powerful villain who's also played a part in the story is Mongul. A massively mighty warlord of Warworld, Mongul has been one of Superman's most powerful opponents since the Bronze Age.
As immensely tough as usual, Mongul's eventual defeat comes not at the hands of Superman, but instead Wonder Woman. This was after a grueling battle in which the Amazon had to give her all just to keep up. Here's how she finally defeated the villain and his history as one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe.
How Wonder Woman Defeats Mongul
The issue has a battle between a winged Wonder Woman and Mongul set in space, with Mongul breathing and moving in the environment by way of a special suit that's outfitted with a jetpack. Though she tries to fight as valiantly as she can, Wonder Woman receives an absolutely brutal beating from Mongul, who outclasses her both in strength and definitely in size.
She's helped out when John Stewart appears, using his constructs to soften Mongul up. Wonder Woman takes advantage of the distraction and slashes at Mongul's back with her sword, destroying the jetpack part of his suit. When he turns around to face her, she promptly kicks him in the chest, sending him flying. Without the aid of his jetpack and unable to natural fly, Mongul is sent helplessly hurtling through space.
Mongul's Powerful History
Mongul was introduced in the Bronze Age as a way to give Superman an especially challenging enemy, as his strength not only matched the Man of Steel's, but was many times written as dwarfing it. The Pre-Crisis incarnation of Wonder Woman also fought Mongul in the iconic story "For the Man Who Has Everything." This version of Wonder Woman was much weaker than her later variants, and Mongul threw her around like a ragdoll with ease.
The Post-Crisis Mongul had his power dampened, as did Superman, but he was still portrayed as being a foe who was in the same weight class as Superman. Even though Wonder Woman was herself now stronger, that wouldn't make a battle with Mongul a cakewalk. Mongul and his son have also been established as Green Lantern foes, which makes John Stewart's presence here all the more logical.
Even in today's comics, Mongul retains his place as one of DC's top villains. The new villain Synmar was recently compared by Superman himself ato the tyrant of Warworld. In other words, it makes sense that even Wonder Woman had to utilize tactics and trickery in order to beat the villain, who's now experiencing his own last ride through the vacuum of space.