If DC Comics has a boogeyman, it's Darkseid. Darkseid commands a vast army of Parademons, Female Furies, and a group of elite generals. He maintains a single-minded pursuit of the Anti-Life Equation, a formula that will allow him to dominate every person on Earth.
Jack Kirby created Darkseid as the villain of his New Gods epic, a project second only to Kirby's work co-creating the Marvel Universe. Darkseid quickly became one of the most dangerous conquerors in the multiverse. His legacy of evil carried into the 30th century when only by the combined effort of the Legion of Super-Heroes could stop the ruler of Apokolips.
10 Final Crisis Depicted What Happened When Darkseid Won
With Final Crisis, Grant Morrison coordinated the tale of evil finally triumphing in the DC Universe. The New Gods of New Genesis and Apokolips possessed people on Earth, carrying their war to an epic conclusion. When Darkseid implemented the Anti-Life Equation, Earth fell under his control. Only a few heroes remained uncorrupted.
Even Darkseid's defeat couldn't save a reality damaged beyond repair. Superman provided the key to survival by constructing the Miracle Machine from memory. The Man of Steel defeated Darkseid by singing the conqueror into oblivion and wishing the universe back to life.
9 Super Powers Was A Toy Tie-In With Remarkable Appeal
In 1984, Kenner produced the superb Super Powers toy line, with DC Comics publishing a miniseries to coincide with it. In the narrative, there was an unknown mastermind behind the villains who wasn't revealed until the end of the story. Darkseid announced himself as the orchestrator of an invasion from Apokolips.
The Super Powers story sat outside of continuity, allowing Jack Kirby, who wrote the series with Joey Cavalieri, to invoke the spirit of the characters. Kirby also drew a special final issue, inked by Greg Theakston and colored by Carl Gafford. Gafford also colored the previous four installments, each drawn by Adrian Gonzales, Alan Kupperberg, and Pablo Marcos. The entire first series boasted Darkseid's power while showing how amazing a tie-in comic could be.
8 In The New 52, Darkseid Was Responsible For the Justice League's Origin
The first title from the New 52 was Justice League, by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee. Darkseid's invasion of Earth brought together the greatest heroes in the first six issues. The League's cause was almost lost until they started working together. Executing their plan, Superman threw Darkseid back to Apokolips, and Cyborg closed his portal.
The addition to the traditional Justice League line-up had Cyborg's origin tied to the battle. Vic Stone nearly died in the initial attack, but his father saved his life by turning him into a cyborg. The new team was honored by the President following Darkseid's defeat and named by a young writer who chronicled the invasion.
7 Darkseid Invoked Time Travel In The Legion: Foundations
In The Legion: Foundations, the 31st century's heroes fought Darkseid and encountered a new threat. Darkseid had taken a young Clark Kent as one of his servants. The Legion rescued Superboy Conner Kent when they found him left to die in space, mistaking him for Clark Kent.
Crafted by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Chris Batista, and many other talented artists, the epic story spanned from The Legion #25-30 and detailed Darkseid's plan to use time travel to steal power from his younger self. The Legion used the Boom Tubes and Kid Quantum's time-related powers to stop Darkseid, then the Legion returned young Clark Kent to his own time with no memory of the future. Conner Kent joined the Legion of Super-Heroes until they could return him to his proper place in history.
6 Darkseid Vs. Galactus: The Hunger Was An Epic Crossover Clash
In Darkseid vs Galactus: The Hunger, John Byrne, with colorist Rick Taylor, created a crossover based on the premise of Galactus coming to Apokolips. The Devourer of Worlds found Darkseid a persistent opponent. Yet, Galactus swats away every attempt with ease. Even Darkseid's Omega Beams were no match for Galactus.
Darkseid tried to turn the Silver Surfer against Galactus, restoring the herald's memories. Galactus didn't hesitate to stop the Surfer, resurrecting him without his memories. Galactus spared Apokolips after realizing it's barren. Darkseid's past abuse of the planet had left Galactus with nothing to feed. As such, Galactus moved on, leaving a humbled Darkseid to contemplate the events.
5 The Uncanny X-Men And New Teen Titans Stopped Darkseid From Resurrecting Dark Phoenix
In 1982, Chris Claremont, Walt Simonson, Terry Austin, and Glynis Wein brought DC and Marvel's best-selling teams together. The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans portrayed Darkseid wanting to harness the power of the Phoenix Force from the X-Men's memories, using it to transform Earth into a second Apokolips. The Teen Titans' Starfire knew of the death Dark Phoenix wrought, leading them to pursue the galactic villain.
Pursuing separate leads, the Teen Titans and X-Men crossed paths and coordinated their efforts. In the end, the two teams stopped Darkseid by pouring the love of the X-Men into Dark Phoenix. Unable to sustain her resurrected form from memories, Dark Phoenix turned on Darkseid and imprisoned him in the Source Wall. Interestingly, this crossover featured the Source Wall's first appearance.
4 Legends Showed Darkseid Turning The Public Against Superheroes
In the six-issue DC Comics Event Legends, the core story by John Ostrander, Len Wein, John Byrne, and Karl Kesel had Darkseid using his agent Glorious Godfrey. Godfrey's powers turned the public against superheroes to the point where mobs began attacking them. The event brought about the end of the Justice League of America and the birth of the new Suicide Squad.
Doctor Fate gathered the heroes into what would become a new Justice League. Meanwhile, the young Robin rallied children to challenge Godfrey. After Godfrey struck a girl, his control over the public vanished. Darkseid left frustrated, enduring the Phantom Stranger's chastisement.
3 Cosmic Odyssey Had Darkseid Work With Heroes
Jim Starlin, Mike Mignola, Carlos Garzon, and Steve Oliff crafted the four-issue Cosmic Odyssey, a Darkseid story worthy of its prestige. When the Anti-Life Equation gained sentience, it threatened everything by destroying key planets. In response, Darkseid and Highfather gathered several heroes to stop the Anti-Life Equation.
Things grew grim when an overconfident John Stewart failed to save the Xanshi. Darkseid found himself humbled by the battle with the Anti-Life Equation. The battled was finally won when Dr. Fate channeled Darkseid and Etrigan's power to trap the Anti-Life Equation in another dimension. Initially furious, Darkseid apologizes and left with only a fragment of the Anti-Life Equation.
2 The Great Darkness Saga Established Darkseid As A Major Threat
In 1982, The Legion of Super-Heroes took on an unknown villain. Through Legion of Super-Heroes # 290-294, the foe attacked the 30th century through mysterious "Servants of Darkness," stealing mystic power. It wasn't until this villain used stolen power to switch his planet with Daxam that creators Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen revealed his identity. Without knowing it, the Legion was attempting to stop Darkseid.
With Daxam, Darkseid took control of its three billion inhabitants, each possessing the powers of Superman. The Legion called in all its reserves, battling Darkseid on Apokolips. Darkseid's curse on the Legion sent one of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl's children back in time and transformed him into Validus of the Fatal Five. Raising the stakes higher than before, this epic tale established Darkseid as a cosmic threat.
1 New Gods Is The Original Vision For Darkseid
Sometimes the original vision is best. Jack Kirby created his "Fourth World" around a primary villain, Darkseid. Through the initial runs of Forever People, Mister Miracle, and New Gods, Darkseid coordinated other villains, but the legendary story came back to him. Kirby often held Darkseid back, letting him orchestrate events but not taking an active role.
Darkseid's Apokolips was a dark mirror of the heroes' home of New Genesis. Among the planets' war with each other, Darkseid even traded his son Orion in an effort at a truce. Kirby intended Orion to be Darkseid's undoing. Legend had it that Darkseid would meet his end while battling Orion in Apokolips' fire pits, but this end never came since Jack Kirby left DC Comics before finishing his planned story.