10 Most Powerful Sorcerers In DC Comics

First appearing in 1940 as the archenemy of Doctor Fate, Wotan was a green-skinned, body-hopping, reincarnated sorcerer from the Stone Age.

Originally a Stone Age woman who had trained in black magic to start a war with God, she learned to jump between bodies and appear as male or female throughout their battles with nemesis Doctor Fate and the Justice Society of America.

In their first magical battle, Doctor Fate rescued his wife Inza Cramer from the male Wotan's clutches and proceeded to knock him from his Tower. Fate believed that his enemy had been slain, but this would be the first of many near-death experiences the seemingly immortal Wotan would face.

Allying with Per Degaton in WWII, Wotan helped to capture the Justice Society in a magical aura and attempted to change history - by helping the Axis forces invade the US after the events of Pearl Harbour. Defeated by Doctor Fate, the All-Star Squadron, and the Spectre, Wotan would return over the years to battle their sworn enemies. A run-in with the magician Zatanna also went awry, but Wotan has proved they're capable as a powerful sorcerer since.

In 2012's New 52 Earth 2 run, Wotan returned as a deadly female sorceress in this reimagined timeline. Kidnapping Jay Garrick's mother, Karel Wotan attempted to enter Doctor Fate's Tower and steal his powers. Now the reincarnation of a Viking goddess, this Wotan proved to be a worthy adversary of the new Doctor Fate, Khalid Ben-Hassin.

One of DC's oldest magical supervillains and the foil to one of its greatest magical heroes, Wotan holds a high place as a consistent supernatural threat to the DC Universe, and the Joker to Doctor Fate's Batman.