WARNING: The following article contains spoilers from "Epilogue" in Infinite Frontier #0 by Joshua Williamson, John Romita Jr., Klaus Janson, Brad Anderson and ALW's Troy Peteri, on sale now.
For the last few years, the DC Universe has been primarily menaced by two relatively new faces: Perpetua and the Batman Who Laughs. Together, they nearly wiped out the multiverse and remake it in their own twisted images before DC's heroes dealt with them once and for all.
But after Infinite Frontier #0, the DC Universe finds itself dealing with a more classic threat. Now, Darkseid is poised to wipe out all of existence using his most powerful form ever.
After being sent into the Sphere of the Gods, Wonder Woman could sense that there was a new threat on the horizon. It was something she could not place her finger on, but regardless, she knew it was there. After a quick tour from the Quintessence of the new Infinite Frontier she had helped to usher in, Wonder Woman was satisfied that the threat she felt, if it did exist, was not ready to make its move yet. With the immediate concern past, she decided to blaze a new trail for the gods on her own, leaving the Quintessence behind.
It's then revealed that the Quintessence, despite trying to dissuade her from the notion that there was a threat, had in fact found and trapped the threat already. They tried imprisoning it on Earth Omega, a new version of Earth where even gods could die, but they underestimated Darkseid's strength -- and they wouldn't live long enough to regret it. Darkseid made his new terrifying debut, killing the Quintessence in a matter of seconds before boasting that he had merged with every version of himself throughout the timeline and now represents the end of all things.
Darkseid was always powerful. In nearly every appearance of the villain, it takes the entire Justice League to even match him at his old power levels. That's part of what makes his claim that all of his past aspects have merged to further empower him is terrifying. By killing the Quintessence, beings who either are gods or have demi-god abilities, Darkseid has unmistakably demonstrated the incredible power he now possesses.
Putting aside the terror of this new level of power, there is also the psychological aspects to consider here. Every past version of him, the original, Boss Dark Side, and the New 52 version have all been exceptionally evil. If they have all compounded into a single entity, then it's entirely possible that Darkseid is now more evil than ever before. There may be no limits to what he's willing to do to achieve his goal.
And his goal has changed it seems. In every past incarnation, he wanted ultimate power and control through the Anti-Life Equation. Events such as Final Crisis revealed what it would look like if Darkseid got his hands on it. But this new form is something else. Clearly, Darkseid underestimated what true power is and how it would change him. Now more powerful than ever before, Darkseid does not seek to control the multiverse, but to destroy it.