Themyscira has produced mighty warriors who have fought gods, conquered death, and stood against the evils of men’s world, and Wonder Woman isn’t the only powerful warrior to come out of this land. The Amazons in DC Comics have strong ties to the Olympian-based Greek gods, as they are often heroes and villains who gained powers through divine heritage and supernatural means. There are also more Olympian-blessed Amazons, such as Diana and Hippolyta, who can even stand up against the gods themselves. While most DC readers might always list Wonder Woman as the most powerful of the Amazons, the gap is narrower than many might expect, as several Amazons have matched or briefly surpassed her in combat.
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From the legendary Amazon warriors to some surprising later-era entries who challenge what it means to be a powerful warrior, here are the seven most powerful Amazons, ranked.
7) Artemis
Artemis debuted in Wonder Woman #90 (1994) by William Messner-Loebs and Mike Deodato. She was a member of the Egyptian tribe of Bana-Mighdall. They were Amazons who separated from Themyscira after choosing revenge against the survivors of Heracles’s attack on their people. That choice cost them their immortality but hardened them into some of the most dangerous warriors alive. Unlike the Themysciran Amazons, the Bana-Mighdall trained in real-world military environments and fought alongside mortal armies across centuries.
This gave Artemis combat experience that emphasizes adaptability and brutality over the Olympian-granted gifts that Diana relies on. In Wonder Woman #90-100 (1994-1995). Hippolyta created a tournament to select a new Wonder Woman, and Artemis won, before dying in battle. However, Artemis became even more powerful after that, spending time in Hell and then being resurrected with a power upgrade that included limited sorcery and access to the flaming magical Bow of Ra. She has since been a regular part of the Bat-family of comics as one of DC’s most capable fighters.
6) Cassie Sandsmark
Cassie Sandsmark was one of the characters who took on the identity of Wonder Girl in DC Comics. She first appeared in Wonder Woman #105 (1996) by John Byrne, the daughter of Dr. Helena Sandsmark and the Olympian god Zeus. As a demigoddess, she has a power level higher than most Amazon-trained warriors. However, early on, her main powers were borrowed, as she stole magical artifacts belonging to Wonder Woman to fight alongside her in an emergency. This impressed Zeus enough to activate her permanent powers early.
Zeus also gave her a lasso of her own that is an offensive weapon that fires bolts of Zeus’s lightning when used in anger. She has been part of the Teen Titans, and even served as their leader, and she is strong enough to battle Superboy-Prime. Cassie’s origin changed in the New 52, with the Zeus connection removed, but DC Rebirth tried to merge the two origins into her current tale. Her divine history makes her a threat, but her inexperience means she has been defeated more times than people above her.
5) Hippolyta
Hippolyta debuted in All Star Comics #8 (1941) by William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter. This was the first appearance of Wonder Woman in DC Comics as well. She is the Queen of the Amazons and one of the oldest continuously published female characters in American superhero comics. As an Amazon blessed directly by six Olympians (Artemis, Athena, Hestia, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hermes), Hippolyta possesses superhuman strength, speed, durability, enhanced senses, a healing factor, and agility granted by divine gift.
She once traveled back in time to fight as Wonder Woman alongside the Justice Society in World War II, which proved her field abilities in battle as well. When looking at her power levels, she has personally defeated Heracles, the demigod son of Zeus, whose original attack on the Amazons is the inciting trauma of their entire civilization. In post-Crisis, she was shown to be the founding member of the entire Themysciran civilization and the source from which all other Amazons derive. “Infinite Frontier” also revealed she is the patron goddess of the Amazons, putting her above all mortal Amazons in raw power terms.
4) Donna Troy
Donna Troy was the first Wonder Girl in DC Comics, debuting in The Brave and the Bold #60 (1965) by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani. Four years later, she was identified as Wonder Woman’s adopted younger sister in Teen Titans #22 (1969), when Diana rescued her and brought her to Paradise Island as a baby. However, that was her original origin, and she has had her actual origin story retconned several times throughout her time in DC Comics.
Donna has been a magical reflection of Diana, a Titan of myth, a New Cronus experiment, and an orphaned human raised by Amazons across different eras. DC’s “Infinite Frontier” era re-established the orphan-rescued-by-Diana origin as canonical, bringing her full circle back to the start. Donna possesses effectively the same power set as Wonder Woman, including superhuman strength, speed, flight, durability, and truth-coaxing presence. She ranks high thanks to her power level approaching that of Wonder Woman, plus her years of experience on different DC teams.
3) Nubia
Nubia first appeared in Wonder Woman #204 (1973) by Robert Kanigher and Don Heck. She is widely considered DC Comics’ first Black female superhero, one of the royal twins of Themyscira molded from darker clay by Hippolyta just before Diana. This makes her Diana’s older twin, and the first true heir to the Amazons’ legacy. However, Ares kidnapped her at birth. She spent centuries as Ares’ pawn before escaping. Nubia developed combat skills across both mortal and supernatural battlefields, a different martial education than the Olympian-trained Diana, which makes her techniques less predictable.
In the DC Infinite Frontier era, Nubia was appointed Queen of Themyscira following Hippolyta’s abdication, making her the current ruler and official champion of the Amazons. Nubia was a Wonder Woman before Diana was even born as the Guardian of Doom’s Doorway. She spent millennia protecting the entrance to Tartarus against every threat that attempted to breach it. Her power set is comparable to Wonder Woman’s by divine Amazon grant, but fighting creatures from Tartarus gives her a combat experience base that Diana simply doesn’t have.
2) Grail
Grail made her full debut appearance in Justice League #40 (2015) by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok. Grail is the daughter of Darkseid and the Amazon assassin Myrina, a hybrid of two of the most powerful bloodlines in the DC universe. Since she is the daughter of a New God and an Amazon, she inherited powers from both lineages. She has Amazon-level strength and combat training combined with the Omega Effect, which is capable of destroying the indestructible bracelets that Wonder Woman has worn since her first appearance.
In her first storyline, she proved her power by beating both Batman and Wonder Woman in hand-to-hand combat, establishing her personal combat ceiling as above Diana’s in a direct fight. Since Wonder Woman can go toe-to-toe with Superman, that is an impressive feat. Her primary mission in the “Darkseid War” storyline (2015-2016) was to summon the Anti-Monitor to fight her father. While her power ceiling may technically be higher than Diana’s, the full extent of Grail’s abilities has never been pushed to their limit in the comics, and Wonder Woman has a vastly superior set of achievements in battle.
1) Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman debuted in All Star Comics #8 (1941) by William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter and starred in her own title beginning with Wonder Woman #1 (1942). Diana is the most powerful Amazon in DC Comics, as the comic storylines have shown she is the most powerful woman in the universe alongside Supergirl. Her powers come from divine blessing across multiple Olympian goddesses and, in some continuities, from being the daughter of Zeus himself.
In “JLA: League of One” (2000), Diana single-handedly incapacitated every member of the Justice League because she knew the upcoming threat would kill them, and she preferred to face it alone. In Wonder Woman #212 (1974), while completely blind, Diana tracked and defeated Flash, Plastic Man, Black Canary, and Martian Manhunter simultaneously when they attacked her all at once. In DC vs. Marvel (1996), Diana lifted Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir. Wonder Woman is the most powerful Amazon because the comics have tested her against every kind of threat, including cosmic beings, gods, other Justice League members, and reality-warping entities, and she wins consistently.
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