#billy barty

This is my take on the Villainy Inc. in what could have been a Wonder Woman movie in the early 80s following the success of Superman: The Movie, starring Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman and co-starring Lyle Waggoner as Steve Trevor.

This picture shows the villains that I feel could have worked in the context of the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman universe, with contemporary actors and inspired by the Bronze Age of comics and the Wonder Woman '77 comic.

James Olson as The God of War

In the Wonder Woman show he played the top Nazi agent called Wotan, which Diana points out is the name of the God of War in German mythology. So what if he WAS the God of War all along? He was definitely cunning and strong. This design was inspired by Ares' design in his first appearance in the Golden Age and his appearance in the Bronze Age. Pre-Crisis, he was referred to as Mars. So I just used the title "The God of War" so he can be Ares/Mars/Wotan.

Aleshia Brevard as Giganta

She played Giganta in the infamous comedy special "Legend of the Superheroes" in 1979, being the only actress to have ever played the character in live action, and I definitely think she looked the part and could have been Giganta in a proper adaptation. Fun fact: she was the first transgender woman to play a DC character. I kept the design as close as possible to the original Golden Age look and her own appearance in the TV special, but with realistic giraffe hide clothes.

Morgan Fairchild as Cheetah

If you think "high class" in the 80s, you think of Morgan Fairchild. Her striking looks and demeanor with a touch of femme fatale makes her perfect to play the Priscilla Rich version of Cheetah. Plus she wore Cheetah print clothes in real life all the time, so it had to be her! Of course, around this time DC was introducing the second Cheetah, her niece Deborah Domaine. So this design is heavily inspired by the Bronze Age Cheetah, but I feel Priscilla Rich deserved to be the one to don the catsuit.

Billy Barty as Doctor Psycho

Billy Barty was a pioneer for little people in Hollywood and could do both comedy and drama amazingly well. And in his parody of Liberace in The Spike Jones show he looks exactly like Pre-Crisis Doctor Psycho, it's uncanny. Doctor Psycho is one of the most enduring Wonder Woman villains, being in fact the villain with most appearances during Marston's original run. The design I used was directly lifted from the Golden Age, and it works perfectly.

Farrah Fawcett as Silver Swan

Silver Swan had only been recently introduced around this time but quickly became one of Wonder Woman's most recognizable foes, and Farrah's dazzling looks and iconic feathered hair makes her perfect to play this character whose beauty is only second to Wonder Woman herself. This design was based directly on her disco singer appearance in the Wonder Woman '77 comic, designed by Drew Johnson.

Jessica Walter as Doctor Cyber

Doctor Cyber was one of the main villains of Wonder Woman in the Bronze Age, appearing in numerous issues and even taking on other superheroes. Her backstory of being disfigured while fighting Wonder Woman and swearing revenge fit perfectly for the secondary villain Gloria Marquez in the first episode of Wonder Woman in the modern 70s era, played to perfection by Jessica Walter with all the pomposity the character requires, and linked to cyber and robotic technology. Writer Andy Mangels expertly saw the parallels and made her become Doctor Cyber for the Wonder Woman '77 meets Bionic Woman crossover comic. This design is directly based on her appearance in the comic, illustrated by Judit Tondora.

The Wonder Woman logo was briefly used in 1982 and replaced by another in 1983, but it's my favorite Wonder Woman logo of all time so I definitely had to use it. The style of the logo resembles the iconic Superman logo for his movie, shiny and elegant.

Textless version:

Willow (1988, Ron Howard)

Legend