The DCEU has only been around for about seven years, yet it has produced some pretty powerful villains. Sure, we've yet to see the likes of Darkseid or Brainiac make an appearance, but a lot of the big bad's of DC's Cinematic Universe is more than enough to give the Justice League a run for their money.
We've seen them destroy cities, paint the sky red, and nearly destroy the world. So, we'll be taking a look at some of the most powerful villains in the DCEU, but also looking at those villains that are pretty weak. We're not basing them on how good of a villain they are but on how much physical abuse they give to the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman.
10 Strongest: Black Manta
While Ocean Master was the mastermind in 2018's Aquaman, Black Manta was the muscle of the two. While he started as a would-be pirate, David Kane becomes a force to be reckoned with when he's given some powerful Atlantian tech.
This gives Aquaman a real challenge when the two meet up in Italy. Along with enhanced strength, Black Manta's knives can cut through Aquaman's skin, and his laser was able to send our hero flying miles away. Arthur Curry was able to win the day, but Black Manta was still able to come out of their fight alive.
9 Weakest: Black Mask
To be fair, Black Mask is a villain whose power doesn't come from strength, but from intimidation. By the time Harley Quinn rolls back in Gotham, Black Mask has ruled a large portion of the criminal underbelly of Gotham.
He's able to get by with a mix of his flamboyant outer-appearance and his more "eccentric" personality. When the time comes to throw down, Mask summons a small personal army of crooks to take out Harley and her pals. Too bad that when the chips are down, Roman Sionis is just a lonely little thug.
8 Strongest: Steppenwolf
Steppenwolf was a pretty generic villain, as the first bad guy that made the DC heroes team-up to fight together. When compared to the more charismatic Loki from Avengers, Steppenwolf is just another CGI effect. But, you wouldn't want the two in a room together, unless you want to see Loki get tossed around like a Ragdoll again.
Even though powerhouse players, like Wonder Woman and Aquaman, are powerful on their own, they're mere speedbumps in Steppenwolf's path. The fact that it took Superman coming back from the dead to stand a chance says it all. We can only imagine how much stronger Darkseid will be in the inevitable sequel.
7 Weakest: Enchantress
At first glance, Enchantress seems like a pretty powerful villain. She's able to turn the citizens of Midway city into minions, calls upon her brother to help her, and even has the power to teleport in hand-to-hand combat.
But, then you remember that she's defeated by an army guy, Will Smith, A boomerang dude, a half-crocodile man, and a skinny psycho girl with a baseball bat. Yeah, not a powerful foe that could take on the likes of Superman or Wonder Woman.
6 Strongest: Ares
You know that you're villain is mighty when he's the literal God of War. When Wonder Woman thinks she's taken out Ares by killing Erich Ludendorff, it turns out that her old acquaintance, Sir Patrick Morgan, was the real Ares this whole time.
When the time comes to throw down, Morgan isn't as frail and weak as his appearance makes him out to be. With his God Powers, he uses telepathy to throw large chunks of the ground and nearby grenades at Wonder Woman. If that doesn't stop you, he then dons his iconic armor and can even forge weapons whenever he wants.
5 Weakest: Erich Ludendorff and Doctor Poison
The Real-life Erich Ludendorff was a pretty appalling guy in real-life, but his fictional counterpart wasn't so. While we got to see Danny Huston semi-redeem himself in the eyes of comic book fans, after starring in X-Men Origins, his version of the WWI General was pretty one-note.
He was just evil for the sake of being evil, and his partner in crime, Doctor Poison, was equally so. While someone like Roman Sionis was able to show-off his intimidation tactics and his army of thugs, Ludendorff just came off as an evil cartoon character, and Doctor Poison was pretty wasted in the first film. Here's hoping she shows up in the sequel.
4 Strongest: General Zod/Doomsday
Zod was already powerful when we first met him in Man of Steel. As the general of a group of soldiers, he stages an uprising against the counsel of Krypton and manages to kill a few of them. By the time he gets to earth, he slowly begins to gain the same powers that Superman has.
Sure, he doesn't quite know how to use them, but he slowly begins to adapt and use his advanced CQC skills in conjunction with his newfound strength. If that's not strong, then wait till you see what he does as Doomsday.
3 Weakest: Ocean Master
This was a pretty hard one to rank. On the one hand, Ocean Master is exceptionally skilled in fighting underwater and has the same enhanced strength as his older brother, Aquaman. However, we rarely get to see him use his increased power. Sure, he won in his fight with Aquaman when fighting in Atlantis, but that was more of a duel of skill than of physical advantage.
Even in their last showdown, Ocean Master comes off like a scrawny rich-kid than an Atlantian super-human. Maybe in the sequel, we'll get to see him do more, but we won't be surprised if Black Manta becomes the lead antagonist.
2 Strongest: Doctor Sivana and the Seven Deadly Sins
On his own, Doctor Sivana is just your everyday bad guy with family issues. However, when he gains the power of the Seven Deadly Sins, you don't want to mess with him. Not only does he have enhanced strength and the ability to fly, but he can also summon the physical manifestations of the Deadly Sins.
As long as one of the sins is in him, Sivana can take on Shazam in battle. It takes Billy Batson having to share his powers with his foster family, which allowed our hero to lure the final sin out of Sivana that ultimately leads to the villain's defeat. If that didn't happen, Sivana would probably have defeated Shazam, and Superman doesn't do so well with Magic.
1 Weakest: Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor just sucks. He's a cringy, annoying guy that walks around making Mickey Mouse noises. He has one of the most convoluted plans to kill Superman for no reason outside of "hey, I'm crazy," and it mostly succeeds based on sheer luck and assumptions on that Superman and Batman will eventually try to kill one another.
Sure, Luthor isn't that strong in the comics, but he's been able to use his diabolical intellect to build several different devices to fight against Superman. We're surprised this Luthor was able to run his own company at all, let alone trying to take Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman down for the count.