The Flash will soon be host to an exclusive crossover event called "Armageddon," which is seemingly based around a DC Comics storyline. Central to this crossover will be the villainous Despero, a powerful alien who's one of the fiercest foes in all of the DC Universe. This event will mark the villain's first appearance in live-action, but he's had quite a storied history in the decades prior.
Despero's role in the story involves him trying to invade Earth, forcing The Flash and his allies to team up with a host of other heroes in order to stop him. Described as a telepathic alien, comics Despero boasts a litany of abilities, but has suffered almost as many defeats. Before he invades the Arrowverse, here's a primer on who the villain is and what he can do.
Despero Is a Telepathic Alien With Vast Mental Powers
Created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky, Despero debuted in the first ever issue of Justice League of America. The ruthless ruler of the alien world of Kalanor, Despero's beefy physique is bolstered by equally as vast mental powers. These include telepathy, telekinesis, mind control and illusions. In fact, long before he gained his more well-known muscular form, he was far more reliant upon his mental powers.
These mental abilities are believed to surpass even the psychic powers of Martian Manhunter himself. For this and several other reasons, Despero is usually portrayed as chiefly a rival of Martian Manhunter, and a staunch member of his rogues gallery. This is all thanks to his third eye, which is the source of his powers. From it he can shoot out mental blasts of energy as a sort of psychic equivalent to heat vision.
Despero Possesses Superhuman Strength, Speed & Stamina
Eventually, Despero came into contact with the Flame of Py'tar, which was actually the origin source of his species. This vastly upgraded his physique, giving him super strength, speed, durability and agility. This allows him to not only take hits from people such as Superman, Wonder Woman and his rival Martian Manhunter, but also dish damage back out. It's this form and power level that the villain has become most defined by over the years, with his massive purple frame being almost more well known than his mental powers.
Despero Also Has a Vast Array of Other Powers in the Comics
Despero also has other abilities not directly related to his physic powers or superhuman physical attributes. He has the power to teleport and fly, as well as project a protective force field around himself for when he doesn't want to be physically bothered by attacks. The Flame of Py'Tar also briefly gave him more mystical abilities such as astral projection, allowing him to separate his spirit from his physical body.
Though not quite a Martian shapeshifer, Despero has supreme control over his own body, able to reconstitute his form to a molecular level, even after being destroyed. This and other transformations tend to match Despero's attitude at the time, which explains why he's only gotten bulkier and angrier looking.
Despite His Abilities, Despero Has Been Defeated Time & Again
Even with all of these powers, Despero is many times no match for the combined might of the Justice League. His earliest defeats involved having his own psychic games turned back on him, and given that he lacked his other iconic abilities at the time, the jig was up. Other times, he has quickly taken as much damage as he caused, once being removed from the battlefield by Guy Gardner soon after beating up on Martian Manhunter.
The somewhat disliked Justice League member Vibe was at one time crucial in stopping Despero and saving all of Gotham City, extinguishing the Flame of Py'tar and disabling Despero's changes to the world. Another interesting defeat had Martian Manhunter mentally giving Despero his greatest desires, which had the villain imagining that he had successfully killed the Justice League. This bliss saw him randomly revert to a fetus, only being restored to adulthood long afterward. The version in the upcoming "Armageddon" crossover seems to be the initial version that had only psychic powers, so it remains to be seen just how bad his ambitions and eventual defeat will be on The Flash.