Here are my picks for the top five most iconic covers featuring Darkseid (with iconic being determined by what covers are most established and most recognized when it comes to Darkseid, with a preference towards covers that are homaged a lot). This is not a BEST cover list and due to the very nature of icons, very few (if any) recent covers will be on the list. A notable exception to the rules is that I don't count covers from a character's first appearance (which isn't applicable to all characters, of course, just those who appeared on the cover of the comic they debuted in), as those tend to be automatically iconic so they're boring. Here's a list of all characters featured so far.
Enjoy!
5.
For the fifth spot, I was going to go with the Hunger Dogs graphic novel by Jack Kirby, but there were enough decent choices out there that I figured it only fair to let you folks pick the fifth cover!
So your decision was...
Artist: John Byrne
4.
Artist: J.G. Jones
Perhaps the most recent cover on any of these lists, but Darkseid really doesn't have as many "iconic" covers as you might think, and this cover is pretty darn iconic.
3.
Artist: Jim Starlin
This is the storyline that really introduced Darkseid into the DC Universe proper, and if you're not going to have Kirby draw Darkseid, Starlin is certainly no slouch, as clearly he has a great affinity for the character.
2.
Artist: Keith Giffen
One of the most memorable moments of a memorable creative run of Keith Giffen and Paul Levitz...
1.
Artist: Jack Kirby
The first cover appearance of Darkseid!
This set the tone right off the bat on how to depict Darkseid - floating head!