Ever since he made his debut, Darkseid of Apokolips has been one of the most powerful evil forces in all of comics. No matter what the Justice League does to push against the villain, he always seems to come back with a plan far more devastating than the last.
Over the years, Darkseid has done a lot to earn his reputation as one of the biggest bad guys in the entire DC universe. However, given his extensive history, certain aspects of the character can be a bit harder to grasp. Looking at some key moments from throughout his time in comics, here is our list of the 10 most important Darkseid stories yet.
10 Forever People #1
While many likely haven’t even heard of the Forever People, their very first issue is still an important milestone not only for Darkseid, but for the entire DC universe. In this issue, Darkseid made his first official debut, laying the groundwork for everything his character would become in due time.
Though Darkseid had cameoed in another issue prior to this one, this issue is still one of the most important in the character’s history. Likewise, with the incredible Jack Kirby at the helm, this issue alone marks one of the most important moments in all of DC history.
9 Mister Miracle
Despite the fact that Darkseid himself isn’t seen too much in the recent Mister Miracle maxiseries, it is still a rather important chapter in the characters history. Furthermore, though Scott Free remains the central focus of the book, Darkseid is still the main source of the external conflict of the narrative.
Likewise, given how the series ends, Darkseid’s future is definitely called into question. At the moment readers have yet to see the aftermath of the series, but author Tom King has said that it will come back a little later down the line. While there are still plenty of other more important Darkseid stories, this is still one of the strongest to feature the character, and is also a great example of just how evil he can really be.
8 Superman/Batman #8-13
When author Jeph Loeb decided to establish Kara Zor-El as part of the main DC universe, Darkseid ended up playing a major role in the process. Shortly after Kara is discovered by Batman and Superman, Darkseid kidnaps her with the hope of gaining a Kryptonian on his army.
Because of this, DC’s Trinity heads to Apokolips in order to get her back, fighting all sorts of other dangerous villains in the process. Not only is Darkseid a great villain in this arc that, by the end, the character finds himself as part of the source wall, a barrier marking the physical limits of the DC universe. While some have since forgotten about this story, it is still a great read and certainly influenced Darkseid’s character going forward.
7 Crisis Between Two Earths
In a story involving two separate leagues of heroes, Darkseid really takes center stage as the villain of this story. In an effort to enslave the gods of New Genesis, both the Justice League and Justice Society are needed in order to set them free.
Between DC’s other Crisis events, this one always seems to get overshadowed, but that doesn’t change the overall quality of the story, even years after its original publication. Furthermore, this story is a great example of just how powerful Darkseid can become, especially when left to his own devices. Thankfully, the Justice League has been there to stop him at every turn, but the villain can still accomplish some rather frightening feats.
6 Rock Of Ages
To this day, JLA: Rock of Ages is considered to be one of the best Justice League stories of all time. The story itself explores what the future of the DC universe would look like, but a future in which Darkseid obtains the Anti-life Equation.
Of course, the present team is able to take measures to ensure that this doesn’t happen, but it still showcases just how much potential Darkseid truly has. Given just how dark and twisted this future is, “Rock of Ages” does a great job of emphasizing Darkseid as the embodiment of evil. Before this point, the character was still a bit campy. Fortunately, after this, Darkseid would become a far greater and more threatening presence for the DC universe.
5 Justice League #1
At the start of DC’s New 52 era, Darkseid played a major role as the main villain to assemble the Justice League for the first time. Originally, Darkseid actually had nothing to do with the formation of the League, but this story rewrote the canon to include the villain.
In an attempt to invade and enslave Earth, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Flash, Green Lantern and Aquaman must come together in order to take down a threat so massive. While Darkseid himself has had a far greater impact on the Earth both before and after this story, it is still important in how it set up the new continuity. Considering how many Earth-shattering events Darkseid has been responsible for over the years, effectively forming the Justice League has to be one of the more important things he’s done.
4 New Gods #18-20
These three issues of the original New Gods series are relatively crucial to Darkseid’s history as they are the first time readers are given the character’s origin. Before this, very little was actually known about Darkseid aside from the fact that he was one of the most powerful evil forces in existence.
Likewise, this arc would also lay the groundwork for the character going forward, allowing other creators to expand upon this already twisted tale. It also gives readers a bit more info on the character while still keeping a lot of mystery about him, solidifying its place as one of the most important Darkseid stories yet.
3 Darkseid War
As one of the most recent events centered on the villain, Justice League: Darkseid War is actually far more important to the rest of the DC universe rather than Darkseid himself. Of course, this story still made some rather significant changes to the iconic DC villain, but it also set up several different plot points within DC’s Rebirth relaunch.
For such a massive story, author Geoff Johns still managed to keep things relatively clear and concise. Furthermore, given how much this story alone sets up, it is a true testament to John’s writing abilities. While still not the most important Darkseid story ever, this is still essential reading for any fan of the character.
2 New Gods #7
New Gods #7 goes into great detail in regards to the conflict between the New Gods. While readers don’t quite get Darkseid’s origin in this issue, they do get to see the role he played in the character’s lives that brought the cast to this point.
Once again, this story isn’t so much important to Darkseid as it is the overall DC universe. However, readers really get to see just how evil the character can be, especially considering everything he did after the fact. Likewise, considering the impact the New Gods have had on the overall DC universe, this is easily one of the more important issues in their overall history.
1 Final Crisis
Of all other stories to feature the iconic villain, few are as important as Final Crisis. Not only was this an event of insanely massive scale, but it continues to influence certain events in DC Comics today, even after going through a series of reboots.
Not only did Darkseid influence the universe during and after this story, but Dark Nights: Metal has also referenced this series. Furthermore, few other stories have shown just how truly evil the character really is, along with how powerful he can be with the addition of the Anti-Life Equation. In terms of quality and importance to the character, Final Crisis is easily the top Darkseid story to date.