The DCEU added a powerful new trio of villains in 2023’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The Daughters of Atlas quickly took down the Shazam Family, showcasing their incredible strength and magical abilities. Of course, they aren’t the only DCEU villains who have displayed incredible levels of strength and power over the years.

RELATED: 8 Characters DCEU Actors Should Play In The DCU

General Zod brought Kryptonian power down on Earth, while Ocean Master used his strength to nearly start a war with the surface world. Steppenwolf took on entire armies of Amazons and Atlanteans, while Doomsday killed one of the DCEU’s most powerful heroes. Each villain proved to be more powerful than the last, which stacked the DCEU with deadly threats.

10 Dr. Sivana

Shazam! (2019)

Dr Thaddeus Sivana using magic from the Staff of Gods in the Shazam movie

The Wizard’s hunt for a pure soul in 2019’s Shazam! Inadvertently created one of the DCEU’s most powerful villains. Dr. Thaddeus Sivana failed his test with the Wizard as a child, though he secretly passed his audition with the Seven Sins of Man. Sivana then spent his life trying to find the Rock of Eternity once again.

When he did, the Seven Sins of Man empowered him with their strength and abilities through a mystical orb that replaced his eye. Sivana had the strength and speed needed to take on some of DC's most powerful magic users like Shazam. Unfortunately, the Seven Sins of Man abandoned Sivana and left him powerless after Shazam defeated them.

9 Cheetah

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Cheetah ripping open a door from Wonder Woman 1984

Dr. Barbara Minerva was an associate of Diana Prince in Wonder Woman 1984. She gained incredible powers from Maxwell Lord’s wish-granting Dreamstone. She first wished to be as attractive and powerful as her friend Diana, which gave her incredible strength. However, she later modified her wish to become an apex predator and one of Wonder Woman's greatest enemies.

Her wish completed Minerva's transformation into her feline Cheetah form. As Cheetah, Minerva’s speed and strength increased exponentially, and her claws were able to slash through Wonder Woman’s golden armor of Asteria. Cheetah eventually lost her enhanced abilities when the world renounced the Dreamstone’s wishes.

8 Starro

The Suicide Squad (2021)

Starro lords over their army in DC's The Suicide Squad movie

While both rosters of Task Force X that appeared in the DCEU featured powerful villains, they faced even more dangerous threats. 2021’s The Suicide Squad pitted DC’s favorite villains against a powerful intergalactic threat known as Starro the Conqueror.

RELATED: 10 DCEU Characters We're Going To Miss Most

Starro was a massive alien starfish that could take control of other living organisms with smaller versions of itself. The Suicide Squad accidentally unleashed Starro on the nation of Corto Maltese, which it quickly took over with its mind-controlling starfish. It was ultimately Harley Quinn’s borrowed javelin and Ratcatcher’s army of rats that surprisingly ended the powerful threat of Starro.

7 Ocean Master

Aquaman (2018)

Patrick Wilson as Ocean Master in Aquaman in the DCEU

Arthur Curry showcased his incredible strength as Aquaman alongside other members of the Justice League. Aquaman's Atlantean strength makes him one of the strongest DC heroes, and his younger brother Orm has the same, if not greater, levels of strength.

Orm united the underwater kingdoms against the surface world to become the Ocean Master. He defeated his half-brother in their first battle by breaking his trident in half with brute strength. While Aquaman eventually defeated his younger brother with additional power from the Trident of Atlan, Ocean Master remained a deadly and powerful threat in the DCEU.

6 General Zod

Man of Steel (2013)

General Zod in full armor, standing with a blinding light behind him

The first film of the DCEU was 2013’s Man of Steel. Superman’s debut as a hero on Earth only came after the powerful General Zod arrived and threatened the entire planet with his army of Kryptonians and their advanced technology.

As a Kryptonian, exposure to Earth’s yellow sun strengthened General Zod. While he didn’t have as much time to soak up the radiation as Kal-El, Zod displayed a unique understanding of their new abilities that allowed him to match Superman’s strength. Zod was born to be a warrior, and his threat continues across the multiverse in the upcoming The Flash solo film.

5 Doomsday

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Doomsday from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in the DCEU

Lex Luthor used Zod’s Kryptonian ship to create one of the DCEU’s most dangerous threats. He mixed human blood with the Kryptonian ship’s genetic birthing matrix, creating a monstrous abomination that became known as Doomsday. It wasn't a perfect adaptation, but the DCEU's Doomsday still brought one of Superman's most iconic villains to the big screen for the first time.

The DCEU’s Trinity united to face Doomsday in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The creature had the same incredible strength as a Kryptonian, though Doomsday’s ability to absorb and rechannel energy into explosive blasts further amplified its power. Superman sacrificed himself to stop Doomsday with a Kryptonite spear, ending the seemingly unstoppable threat

4 Sabbac

Black Adam (2022)

Sabbac emerges from Hell in Black Adam (2022)

One of the more recent DCEU villains to showcase their power was Sabbac, the transformed demonic being who threatened the world in 2022’s Black Adam. Ishmael Gregor was the descendant of an ancient Kanhdaqian king who created the Crown of Sabbac.

RELATED: 8 Most Underrated DCEU Movies

Black Adam killed Gregor shortly after he claimed the Crown of Sabbac, though that was just the beginning. His death unlocked the power of the Crown of Sabbac, which resurrected him in a powerful new demonic form. As Sabbac, Gregor could stand up to the powerful Justice Society thanks to his own pantheon of evil demons, though Black Adam ultimately ripped him in half.

3 Daughters Of Atlas

Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)

The Daughters of Atlas on the poster for Shazam Fury of the Gods

The DCEU welcomed a few new original characters in 2023’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The Daughters of Atlas were powerful mythological figures who arrived on Earth to reclaim their father’s magic contained within the Staff of Gods. Hespera led her sisters Kalypso and Anthea on their mission to rebuild the God’s Realm.

Shazam's Daughters of Atlas had incredible magical powers, which included mastery of the elements, the ability to manipulate the minds of others, and even reality warping. The Daughters of Atlas also had a terrifying dragon at their disposal, which allowed them to easily take on the Shazam Family.

2 Ares

Wonder Woman (2017)

Ares surrounded by fire from the Wonder Woman movie

Diana Prince first left Themyscira to explore “Man’s World” in 2017’s Wonder Woman. She left to help during World War I, though she encountered more death and tragedy than she could have imagined. Wonder Woman eventually learned that Ares was the mastermind behind the evil she had seen.

As the God of War, Ares worked behind the scenes to disrupt political matters while pushing villains further in their nefarious plans. Ares proved to be powerful in his manipulations, but also as a physically dominating threat. He helped fight back Darkseid’s first invasion of Earth in the past and easily stood up to the might of Wonder Woman until his defeat.

1 Steppenwolf

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)

Steppenwolf fights the heroes in Zack Snyder's Justice League

While the character of Steppenwolf technically first appeared in the theatrical cut of Justice League, that wasn’t the best version of the Apokoliptian war general. A much deadlier take on Steppenwolf appeared in HBO Max’s incredibly rewatchable Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

The updated version of Steppenwolf had the same incredible strength as the theatrical version, though his armor was greatly enhanced. The spiked armor automatically reconfigured during battle to both protect Steppenwolf and injure his enemies. He was ruthless and used Apokoliptian technology to his benefit, though even he couldn’t stand up to the returned power of Superman.

NEXT: 10 Best Performances In The DCEU (So Far)