The big bad of Zack Snyder’s Justice League is Darkseid, one of the most powerful DC supervillains in the comic books. He’s also one of the most successful DC villains, bringing death and destruction to numerous universes and realities from his historic introduction in Forever People #1 in February 1971.
Darkseid has become the primary nemesis of the Justice League in the comic books in the last fifty years, supplanting the likes of Lex Luthor and The Joker as a truly cosmic threat worthy of the combined power and courage of the greatest heroes on any world.
10 Child Of Apokolips
Darkseid was created by the legendary Jack Kirby, who left Marvel in the early 70s to work for DC Comics. There, he developed his massive Fourth World mythology which told the story of the New Gods.
Darkseid was originally Uxas, the son of King Yuga Khan and Queen Heggra and the second in line to the throne of Apokolips. He pushed his older brother out of the line of succession and then through a series of political power moves the great houses of Game Of Thrones would blanch at, he became the tyrannical ruler of the planet.
9 Unimaginable Powers
Darkseid is so terrifying because he has vast, unimaginable powers. He is one of the most powerful beings in the entire DC universe and only seeks to become more so. His primary power is the Omega Effect, which allows him to shoot laser beams from his eyes. Unlike Superman, these beams can go in virtually any direction.
He is supremely strong, durable, and fast. If that weren’t enough, he is also a telepath and telekinetic. At times, Darkseid has also shown a range of greater cosmic powers, like moving planets out of their orbits.
8 Fatal Prophecy
The mythology of the New Gods is built on classic myth and legend, and one major element it borrows is a chilling prophecy. Darkseid became aware of a prophecy that his second son, Orion, would kill him in battle by ripping his heart out.
Perhaps to avoid it, Darkseid trades Orion for the son of the Highfather of New Genesis, ostensibly in a bid for a truce between the warring planets. Orion would later fulfill the prophecy in Countdown To Final Crisis #2. The saga of the New Gods is set to be explored in an upcoming movie, directed by Ava du Vernay and written by Tom King.
7 Darkseid Killed His Own Mother
The family drama isn’t limited to Orion. Darkseid came to power by eliminating his brother, Drax (not to be confused with the Guardians Of The Galaxy character) and then conspiring to murder his own mother. He ordered his lieutenant, Desaad, to poison her in retaliation for the earlier death of Darkseid’s first wife, Suli.
With his mother out of the way, Darkseid cemented his rule of Apokoplips and began his conquest of other worlds, fueled by his desire for even more power.
6 The Anti-Life Equation
Darkseid’s primary ambition in the comics, and in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, is the Anti-Life Equation. This mysterious formula gives its user complete control over the thoughts and emotions of all living beings in the universe. Darkseid seeks nothing more than absolute dominance of the entire cosmos.
The pursuit of the equation has taken some strange turns. At one point, Darkseid thought a businessman named Billion-Dollar Bates had it. Darkseid ultimately obtained it in the Final Crisis storyline from clones of Bates.
5 Nearly Destroyed By Doomsday
Darkseid is one of the most powerful beings in existence, but he very nearly met his match against another insanely powerful DC villain – Doomsday. Doomsday was the culprit behind the devastating death of Superman in the landmark early 90s comic event. He very nearly destroyed Doomsday, though this event took place almost 250,000 years prior.
Darkseid encountered Doomsday on the planet of Bylan 5. He thought he could defeat the monster through sheer force of will, but couldn’t. If not for the intervention of his minion Steppenwolf, Darkseid might have died right then and there.
4 The Great Darkness Saga
Initially, Jack Kirby’s Fourth World saga wasn’t successful. DC scrapped the line after about a year when sales didn’t meet expectations. It wasn’t until The Great Darkness Saga, a five-issue event in 1982, that Darkseid emerged as the ultimate threat he was always intended to be.
This story pits the Legion Of Super-Heroes against Darkseid and his array of servants when Darkseid transposes the planets of Apokolips and Daxam. This puts Daxam around a yellow sun, increasing their powers like Superman. Darkseid then enthralls the entire population, turning them into an army.
3 Final Crisis
Final Crisis was, as the title suggests, meant to be the final chapter in the ongoing series of comic events about DC continuity that began with 1985’s Crisis On Infinite Earths. That hasn’t quite worked out, but it was arguably the ultimate showcase for Darkseid and his power.
In Final Crisis, Darkseid takes over the Earth and begins his ultimate conquest of the universe. He is eventually felled by the Justice League, in particular Batman, who shoots him with a radion bullet Darkseid had used to kill his son, Orion.
2 Reborn
Darkseid is destroyed in Final Crisis, but as an immortal, his deaths are never permanent. Star Wars fans might be in love with the idea of a baby Yoda in Grogu, but DC fans likely didn’t find a baby Darkseid as cuddly.
Darkseid was reincarnated by his daughter Grail, and the child Darkseid quickly acquires the powers of those around him. Grail realizes her mistake too late and tries to kill him, but baby Darkseid eventually grows into the adult version, setting the cycle in motion again.
1 The Thanos Connection
Fans may have noticed a slight similarity between Darkseid and another major cosmic villain, Thanos. That’s because there is a direct link.
Artist Jim Starlin acknowledged that Thanos visually owes a debt to Darkseid, though initially, the idea was to base him more off of another New God, Metron. Both Thanos and Darkseid took long, winding paths to the top of the supervillain heap in their respective universes, but both have become king of the hill in the comics and movies.
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