Justice League: Darkseid is Creating a Death Star-like Apokolips

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Justice League Odyssey #5 and Justice League Annual #1.

Darkseid is one of those iconic DC villains who's never short on ideas for conquering the galaxy. At the core of the vast majority of his plans is the Anti-Life Equation, either as something he's searching for or wields in these missions of domination. But in Justice League Odyssey, he's been a borderline hero, helping Cyborg, Azrael and Starfire navigate the Ghost Sector in order to save the very fabric of reality.

The latest issue, however, reveals Darkseid's full plan, and as expected, it's far from heroic. This time, the Lord of Apokolips has found the key to enslaving not just the entire DC Universe, but the multiverse, by creating his own version of Warworld.

When Colu was destroyed in Justice League: No Justice, the worlds its inhabitants had stolen and hidden away were scattered across this forbidden zone. As Jessica Cruz guided her fellow heroes through the Ghost Sector, they learned that they're all considered Old Gods, with various planets worshipping them as such. However, Darkseid made it clear they needed to work together... just before he left them for a secret mission of his own.

Cut to the present, and the villain is now promising Starfire's sister, Blackfire, free rule of her homeworld, Tamaran once she lets him into the planet's royal tomb. She abides, which allows him to access the key known as the Other Box, a device he hid eons ago as part of a map to saving the world and stopping some war he thinks will tear the multiverse apart.

With Darkseid otherwise occupied, Cyborg discovers the villain's true intentions. When the Justice Leaguer's followers on one of the Machine Worlds reveals a giant Mother Box that has been built so they can all turn into machine hybrids like Cyborg, Vic plugs himself in to investigate. It doesn't go according to plan, and he taps into technology that hid Darkseid's big plot. Apparently, every that was stolen and hidden by Colu is a building block for Darkseid to assimilate into a massive Warworld, similar to what we've seen Mongol wield in the past, but much larger and more deadly.

Once he gets all his components, Darkseid would be able to create a New Apokolips, one even more destructive than the current planet, and populated with an all-new army. There'll be no dissidents and none of the baggage New Genesis offers, essentially giving him a roving Death Star.

It's interesting that he seems to genuinely think this will save the multiverse, because Cyborg and Co. believe he's going to use it to continue his tyrannical ways. But if he does hold true to his word, he might be going on the offensive, either against the rebels in the Ghost Sector such as Rapture and his Azrael-worshipping army, or maybe against Perpetua, DC's latest cosmic villain and a potential rival to Darkseid's future plans.

In Justice League Annual #1, with the Source Wall completely destroyed, Lex Luthor, Brainiac and the Legion of Doom kidnap her for study. Lex indicates they're doing so to get ready for all-out war, so there's a possibility he'll be clashing with Darkseid as well. But it's worth noting Perpetua was the creator of the last multiverse, so once she awakens, it's highly likely she'll be looking to take revenge and destroy this current reality that has replaced her creation. Yeah, we know, there are a lot of factions that are poised to do battle, and we haven't even included the Justice League yet.

That said, with the Wall gone, Apokolips and New Genesis have vanished from the current DCU, leaving us wondering if they were destroyed. It's possible Darkseid somehow brought them to the Ghost Sector to start building his New Apokolips, or perhaps he accessed Colu's technology and hid both away for preservation. Only time will tell, but right now, Darkseid is getting ready for war, and someone -- or something -- is clearly in his sights.

CBR

Darkseid Is Creating His Own Version of a Classic DC Weapon of Mass Destruction