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Darkseid
From X-Men/New Teen Titans. Art by Walt Simonson
Publisher DC Comics First appearance Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 (November 1970) Created by Jack Kirby (writer & artist)
Characteristics Alter ego Uxas Species New God, from Apokolips Team affiliations Darkseid's Elite Secret Society of Super Villains Notable aliases Dark Side Abilities The Omega Effect Superhuman strength, stamina, durability, and intellect Immortality Regenerative healing factor

Darkseid is a fictional character, an extraterrestrial supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. Created by Jack Kirby as part of the Fourth World series of comic books in the early 1970s. Darkseid first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 (November 1970).

Contents 1 Publication history 2 Fictional character biography 2.1 Origin 2.2 Superman/Batman and The Death of the New Gods 3 Powers and abilities 4 Other versions 4.1 Seven Soldiers 4.2 The Great Darkness Saga 4.3 X-Men/New Teen Titans 4.4 The Hunger 4.5 Kingdom Come 4.6 DC One Million 4.7 Superman: Red Son 4.8 Rock of Ages 5 In other media 5.1 Television 5.2 Video games 5.3 Other Appearances 6 Footnotes 7 External links

According to writer Mark Evanier, Jack Kirby modeled Darkseid physically on actor Jack Palance, while "the style and substance of this master antagonist were based on just about every power-mad tyrant Kirby had ever met or observed, with a special emphasis on Richard Milhous Nixon."^[1]

As with gods in other mythologies, Darkseid is incredibly powerful, but cannot escape his ultimate destiny; it has been foretold that Darkseid will meet his final defeat at the hands of his son, Orion, in a cataclysmic battle in the fiery Armaghetto of Apokolips. Presumably this outcome would occur at the climax of the New Gods series, but the title's unforeseen cancellation instead brought Darkseid's story arc to an unceremonious end, as Jack Kirby moved on to other project, and both Darkseid and Orion were brought into the mainstream DC Universe. Darkseid has risen in popularity, and become one of the most powerful and well-known villains in comics. He has appeared all over the DC universe, battling Superman and the Justice League several times.

Born under the name of Uxas, Darkseid (a play on the phrase "dark side") is son of Yuga Khan and Heggra. He is the ruler of the planet Apokolips, a post he obtained after assassinating his mother. He is obsessed with finding the Anti-Life Equation in order to use it to rule the universe; this goal also includes conquering his rival planet, New Genesis, ruled by the Highfather. A destructive war between the two worlds was stopped only with a diplomatic exchange of the sons of Highfather and Darkseid. Darkseid's second born son Orion from his wife Tigra is surrendered to Highfather, while Darkseid receives Scott Free, who later becomes the master escape artist Mister Miracle. This eventually turns out to be a setback for Darkseid, with his biological son growing up to value and defend the ideals of New Genesis in opposition to his father. Darkseid's first born son is Kalibak the Cruel, and his third born son is Grayven. Drax, Darkseid's brother, also became the Infinity-Man.

Darkseid's greatest ambition is to eliminate all freewill from the universe and re-shape it into his own image. To this end, he seeks to unravel the mysterious Anti-Life Equation, which will allow him to control completely the thoughts and emotions of all living beings in the universe. The Anti-Life Equation has often been portrayed as a quasi-mystical power that forces a listener to agree with whatever the wielder says, while other times, it is portrayed as a comprehensive scientific theory on how to dominate any living mind, whatever its nature may be.

While he has yet to obtain a complete working copy of the Anti-Life Equation, Darkseid has tried on several other occasions to achieve dominance of the universe through other methods. He has a special interest in Earth, as he believes humans possess collectively within their minds most, if not all, fragments of the Anti-Life Equation. Darkseid intends to probe the minds of every human in order to piece together the Equation.

Seeing other gods as a threat, Darkseid invaded the island of Themyscira in order to discover the secret location of the Olympian gods. He planned to overthrow the Olympians and steal their power. Refusing to aid Darkseid in his mad quest the Amazons battled his parademon troops, causing half of the Amazon population's death. ^[2] During the Our Worlds at War storyline it is explained that Wonder Woman was able to gain her revenge against Darkseid for killing so many of her sisters by placing a portion of her own soul into Darkseid. This supposedly weakened the god's power as he lost a portion of his dark edge. ^[3]

Darkseid attempted to attack Earth by kidnapping Supergirl. He had used Black Kryptonite to brainwash Supergirl, thus providing him with a leader for his Female Furies, as well as a warrior on par with Superman. However, Batman Wonder Woman and Superman were able to save Supergirl. This set forward a plan of revenge by Darkseid to destroy Supergirl; this plan also fails as Supergirl is teleported out at the last minute. Superman is set into an unparalleled fit of rage as he hurls Darkseid into the sun where they attempted to destroy each other. Superman beats Darkseid unconscious enough to throw him into the Source Wall, where Superman declares that, "For years and years, you've tried to learn the secrets of ultimate power from the other side. But you will never get the answers—just like the others who are entombed here. This is where you belong. Along with all the other failures in the universe." The mysterious appearance of the Maximums in the next story arc (see below) has been linked to Darkseid. During the Superman/Batman story arc "With a Vengeance" (issues 20-25), the Joker attempted to control Darkseid when the Clown Prince of Crime gained powers similar to Mister Mxyzptlk. It was later revealed that Bat-Mite was inside the Joker the whole time. (Bat-Mite literally crawled out of his mouth). Darkseid actually attempted to vaporize the Joker with his Omega Beam, but failed to hit his target. To pay a debt incurred to an alternate reality Darkseid and in order to realign the timeline, Superman recently freed Darkseid from his entombment in the Source Wall. In Superman/Batman #25, Mister Mxyzptlk revealed that Darkseid's destiny was yet to be written and that their futures were tied together via the cryptic statement "From the fourth world into the fifth dimension. Kinda like the ring tone of that, Big D." In #40, it has been revealed that Darkseid has been drained of his omega powers when he was imprisoned in the Source Wall. Desaad used a mind-controlled Superman to retrieve Highfather's staff from the Source Wall, and use it as a conduit to recharge Darkseid's energies, via a portal to the Omega Realm.

Meanwhile, during this time Darkseid orchestrated events to his liking, observing what was happening across the universe as the death of the Fourth World drew near, plotting to remake the universe in his own image. As New Gods were killed across the galaxy, Darkseid marshalled his forces on Apokolips, even resurrecting Virman Vundabar despite his earlier attempt to assassinate Darkseid- notably putting his forces in defensive deployments. In conversation with Metron, he then indicated that he knew more than his fellow New God about what was transpiring with the mysterious God-killer, which he refused to share, content in knowing more than Metron for once. What exactly he knows about the death of the New Gods and how he plan to take advantage of it have yet to be revealed.

Darkseid possesses tremendous physical strength, stamina, and durability that rival the corresponding traits of Superman, including immortality and a regenerative healing factor, which are common among the more advanced beings of the Fourth World. His main power is the Omega Effect, a devastating form of energy that he fires from his eyes, able to disperse the molecules of most objects or organisms, effectively erasing them from existence. Targets can also be reformed. The beams are also capable of teleporting a target to any location Darkseid chooses, then recall it later. Darkseid has pinpoint control over his Omega Beams, and his unerring aim allows them to travel in straight lines, bend, twist, or curve around corners, and can pass through matter and energy, though, Wonder Woman has deflected the energy with her bracelets. In addition, Doomsday and Superman have both survived the Omega Beams, as has the Spectre.

Darkseid is at times depicted as possessing god-like powers; he has demonstrated an ability of turning the Secret from a spirit into a living girl. During the Great Darkness Saga, after Darkseid had absorbed the energies from certain mystical artifacts, as well as from Legion of Super-Heroes enemies Mordru and the Time Trapper to restore his old power (although he later mused that he may not be what he once had been), he mentally dominated nearly three billion Daxamites simultaneously, displayed limited reality-manipulation to defeat the Legion of Super Heroes, and turned the Daxamite warrior Ol-Vir into dust. It should also be noted however that this occurred in an alternate future continuity, which has been rendered moot due to the Crisis on Infinite Earths and Zero Hour reboots. Darkseid is able to levitate himself through means of telekinesis.

Additionally, Darkseid is superhumanly intelligent; he is a master planner and strategist. He has access to the full technological resources of Apokolips, among other things enabling him to imbue an unnamed Earth woman with great power, remaking her as Stayne, created as a rival for Takion. In the Seven Soldiers story arc, Darkseid also catches Mister Miracle in a nearly inescapable sentient "Omega Sanction" subspace trap. Darkseid can also travel through time and between dimensions through the use of boom tubes.

In Grant Morrison's 2005 Mister Miracle miniseries, it was revealed that Darkseid finally discovered the Anti-Life Equation, which he then used to destroy the Fourth World altogether. The New Gods fled to Earth, where they hid: Highfather and his followers are now a group of homeless people, Metron is an epileptic, the Black Racer is an old white man in a wheelchair, Desaad is an evil psychiatrist, Granny Goodness is a pimp for the Female Furies, and Darkseid himself is now an evil businessman who is referred to only as "Dark Side". It is revealed in Seven Soldiers #1 that Darkseid actually gave the Sheeda North America in return for Aurakles, Earth's first superhero. This is, in turn, purely in order for Darkseid to get Shilo Norman, whom he considers the "Avatar of Freedom," in his clutches so that he can eventually destroy the New Gods. How much of this change is actual, or how much a re-imagining of the New Gods as archetypes of the real world is unclear. As it stands though, the series ended with Darkseid in his current form as "Dark Side" claiming the beginning of the "Dark Era." While its place in mainstream DCU continuity has not yet been confirmed, Darkseid in the current DCU exists in his Darksied form, and has appeared several times in Countdown, as well as Countdown to Mystery and Superman/Batman leaving the issue of Dark Side and how much, if any, of the Seven Soldiers events occurred somewhat unclear.

In the 1982 storyline from Legion of Super-Heroes entitled "The Great Darkness Saga", Darkseid survived into the 30th century. Having been forgotten by almost everyone, he defeated the era's two most powerful villains (Mordru and the Time Trapper) and absorbed their powers, subsequently using those abilities to enslave the entire population of the planet Daxam. Commanding an army of billions of Daxamites (each with the same powers as Superman), as well as "dark" clones of Superman and other super powered beings, he launched a full-scale assault on the United Planets. Only the efforts of the Legion of Super-Heroes and its allies were able to prevent him from conquering the entire known universe. As a result of his defeat by the Legion, Darkseid sought revenge against Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl. When Saturn Girl was in labor, Darkseid stole one of her twin children, warped him into the monstrous Validus and sent him into the Legion's past, where he became one of the Legion's deadliest foes as a member of the Fatal Five. Later, when his ploy was discovered, he restored Validus to his original form.

After the events of the Zero Hour miniseries in 1994, this storyline and all other previous Legion stories were removed from continuity. However, a new incarnation of the Legion was introduced in 2007, in "The Lightning Saga" storyline in the Justice League of America and Justice Society of America titles. Geoff Johns, one of DC Comics' key writers, has stated that this incarnation of the Legion shares the same history as the original Legion up to the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths.^[4] Since "The Great Darkness Saga" occurred prior to Crisis, it is possible that Darkseid's battles with the Legion have been restored to continuity.

Darkseid was one of the featured villains in the (non-continuity) crossover of the Teen Titans and Marvel Comics' X-Men. In it, he seeks to resurrect the power of Dark Phoenix, using Deathstroke the Terminator to aid him in resurrecting a copy of Dark Phoenix. Thanks to the actions of the two teams, Darkseid's attempt to use Dark Phoenix to turn Earth into a new Apokalips fails when Phoenix is injured by the combined powers of Raven and Professor X, forcing her to briefly transfer her energies into Cyclops, who convinces her to turn against Darkseid. In the DC/Marvel crossover, Darkseid's counterpart in the Marvel Universe was shown to be Thanos, the two facing off in a prolonged battle. During the same fight, Darkseid attempts to use the Omega Beams against Thor, but Thor is able to deflect the beams with Mjolnir.

Darkseid also faced off against Galactus in another intercompany crossover written and drawn by John Byrne. Set before the destruction of New Genesis, Galactus attempted to drain Apokolips, but failed because there was no true life force in the planet. However, as Galactus departed, both he and Darkseid acknowledged that they were both prisoners of their own natures; Galactus ate planets because he was what he was, and Darkseid fought for Apokalips for no other reason than that it was his.

In the miniseries Kingdom Come, Orion has now deposed Darkseid, fulfilling the prophecy, and is ruler of Apokolips. However, the changes that he wished to make (democracy, freedom) quickly failed, making him bitter and cynical. Superman is disappointed in Orion's progress and says his new demeanor is more like Darkseid than ever.

A very distant possible future of the DC Universe was shown in DC's 1998 line-wide crossover event DC One Million. Here, in the one-shot Martian Manhunter #1,000,000, it is shown that by the year 85,271, Darkseid had long since died in a final battle with Martian Manhunter (which cost the Martian his physical form, causing him to be merged with Mars).

In Superman: Red Son, a statue of Darkseid is visible within Superman's Fortress of Solitude.

A much closer alternate future was seen during Rock of Ages, a JLA story written by Grant Morrison. Here, in a story roughly fifteen years from the "present day," Darkseid has found the Anti-Life Equation and become absolute ruler of Earth. Darkseid is rendered into a vegetative state at hands of Green Arrow and the Atom, before the universe is reduced to energy by Orion to remove Darkseid's influence.

• Darkseid appeared in Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians. He would frequently combine the villainous agenda of the episode with the scheme of forcing Wonder Woman to marry him. He was voiced by Frank Welker, with the same throaty growl that Welker had given Inspector Gadget villain Dr. Claw (and the Dino-Riders villain Krulos). Jack Kirby said that the network executives tried to go behind his back and call the character "Darkside" for the Super Powers TV show, but Kirby was adamant about the name staying the same. An action figure of Darkseid was also made around this time, as part of the Super Powers Collection.

• Darkseid appears most prominently in Bruce Timm's DC Animated Universe, where he is voiced by Michael Ironside. Timm explained that Darkseid was brought into the series in an effort to boost Superman's rogues gallery and give him a more powerful villain with whom to contend. In this version, Darkseids powers vary from series to series. In Superman: The Animated Series, he's more powerful then Superman, but in Justice League, he appears to be as strong at the most, or slightly weaker. After making a series of brief "teaser" appearances throughout Superman: The Animated Series, Darkseid was featured prominently in a pair of popular two-part episodes. "Apokolips...Now!" shows Darkseid leading his forces in an invasion of Earth. Darkseid confronts Superman and offers him a place at his side, but Superman rejects the offer, leading Darkseid to declare: "If you will not be my knight, you will be my pawn." Although Superman is outmatched, Darkseid's plan is foiled by the appearance of armies from New Genesis, the leaders of which declare Earth to be under Highfather's protection. Just as Darkseid leaves, though, in one of the most shocking moments of the series, he tells Superman that no victory comes without a price, and before he steps through the portal to Apokolips, uses his Omega Beams to vaporize Dan Turpin, a hard-boiled police officer who had been Superman's friend, whom Bruce Timm had based on Darkseid's creator Jack Kirby. In the audio commentary for this episode, Timm explains that Turpin's funeral was intended as a tribute to his death, going so far as to hire a real-life rabbi to deliver the fictional flatfoot's eulogy. Later, in "Legacy," the two-part series finale for Superman: The Animated Series, Darkseid makes good on his promise of making Superman his pawn. He captures the Man of Steel and brainwashes him into thinking that he is Darkseid's adopted son. Darkseid sends Superman on several conquests throughout the galaxy before sending him to invade Earth. When Superman regains his memory, he finds that he has destroyed parts of Metropolis, nearly killed Supergirl, and lost the world's trust. Traveling to Apokolips, Superman seeks revenge on Darkseid and engages him in a brutal fistfight. This is the only time Darkseid engages in a direct fight throughout the show. Darkseid quickly proves too powerful for Superman, and almost kills him, but just as he's about to finish off Superman with his Omega beams, he covers Darkseid's eyes, causing as massive explosion that severely damages Superman and almost kills Darkseid. Superman then tosses a battered Darkseid to his slaves. To his shock and disgust, the slaves pick up Darkseid and carry him away, promising to help him. Darkseid tells Superman that "I am many things, Kal-El... but here, I am God."

• Darkseid later returned in the Justice League episode "Twilight," Using a Boom Tube transport device, he appears in the Justice League's watch tower unannounced. Now harboring a severe hatred towards Darkseid, Superman initially attacked him when he arrived but is restrained by his colleagues. Darkseid proceeds to tell them that the android Brainiac has come to Apokolips and is attempting to assimilate the planet then destroy it. He asks for Superman's help in stopping him. Much to the shock of the others JLA members Superman refused to aid him, justifying his behavior by claiming that Darkseid was only setting up the League to betray them (and stating that Apokolips deserved its impending destruction). But Batman, who does not buy Superman's uncharacteristic cold attitude, impunes him to agree to help Darksied. The JLA travels to Apokolips and initially seems able to successfully beat back Brainiac's assault, pursuing him to an asteroid. But the Asteroid turns out to be a trap and Brainiac captures Superman, Hawkgirl and The Martian Manhunter with the help of Darkseid who, as Superman suspected, double crosses the JLA. But Brainiac's triumph is short lived when Darksied manages to slip a Mother Box computer onto Brainiac's main systems while the latter was distracted torturing Superman. The Mother box quickly takes over Brainiac's primary system and puts him under Darkseid's control who attempts to use Brainiac's computing power and capabilities as well as those of the still-plugged-in brain of Superman to finally gain knowledge of anti-life equation. This, however, is interrupted when Batman and Wonder Woman (who had been unsuccessfully dispatched to seek help from New Genesis) as well as the rest of the JLA arrive in time to destabilize Brainiac's power systems. With Brainiac and the asteroid they are on about to explode the JLA attempts to make their get away, except for the now free Superman who makes a point of tracking down Darkseid and seeking a final confrontation with him. What follows is a particularly brutal confrontation between Superman and Darkseid which was surely to end with both dead when Brainiac's power core blows. Batman, annoyed at Superman's seeming short sightedness, interrupts the fight and pulls Superman out via a boom tube just as the asteroid explodes. Following the explosion of Brainiac's asteroid, Darkseid disappeared for a time, evidently believed dead. In a few later Justice League Unlimited episodes, it is shown that a civil war had broken out on Apokolips between mainly Granny Goodness and Virman Vunderbarr in an attempt to fill the vacuum left by his absence, which the Justice League makes an effort to ensure keeps going so that neither of them threaten Earth.

• In the two-part series finale of Justice League Unlimited, Lex Luthor, obsessed with resurrecting Brainiac, commands the members of the Legion of Doom to transform their base into a spacecraft which he uses to travel with them to the location of the now-destroyed Brainiac Asteroid. Not seeing the wisdom of such a fool's errand, some members stage a mutiny under the command of Tala's and Gorilla Grodd whom Luthor had deposed before and imprisoned. The attempted coup to retake control of the Legion leads to a battle between members loyal to Grodd and Luthor. In the end, Luthor defeats Grodd and disposes of those loyal to him. When the Legion reaches the location, Luthor uses Tala's power as a magic conduit to restore Brainiac, but instead he ends up resurrecting what looks like a Darkseid now infused with the essence of Brainiac making him far more powerful than ever before. In a DVD commentary on the episode Alive!, producer Dwayne McDuffie mentions that he imagined Tala resurrecting Darkseid instead of Brainiac intentionally, as "her final 'screw you' to Luthor." Darkseid rewards Luthor for his help by giving him and the Legion a quick death. The remnants of the Legion soon appear alive and well back on Earth, having been saved by a force field created by Sinestro and Star Sapphire, and go to the Justice League to warn them of Darkseid. Darkseid makes his way to Earth, sending his forces around the globe with drilling machines to make it like Apokolips. Darkseid himself eventually engages Superman in a lengthy battle across Metropolis. The battle at first leans towards Darkseid's favor until Superman finally decides to "cut loose" with everything he has after witnessing Batman's valiant attempt to fight Darkseid himself. Superman's injuries up until that point appearing to now be little more than cosmetic damage, Superman punches Darkseid into the sky with ease and through several buildings before hammering him down into the streets below. Despite the hits taken, Darkseid gets to his feet and appears unharmed by any significant margin thus far, though frustrated at his inability to defeat Superman. Just as Superman is about to begin another attack, Darkseid uses the Agony Matrix, a pain induction weapon, against Superman, describing its effects: "Direct neuro-stimulation of pain receptors - all of them. Imagine the worst pain you have ever felt in your life, times a thousand. Now imagine that pain continuing forever. Oh, that's right... you don't have to imagine." Darkseid is about to cut out Superman's heart with a Kryptonite knife (which he intend to keep as a trophy) when Lex Luthor appears and presents him with the recently acquired Anti-Life Equation, which he attained with the aid of the New God Metron. Although Luthor seemingly perishes with Darkseid in an explosion of light, Batman remarks that they will likely see the two again.

• Darkseid is a playable character in Justice League Task Force.
• Darkseid appears as the primary villain in the video game Justice League Heroes voiced by David Sobolov.

- Darkseid makes a cameo appearance in the 3 part South Park episode Imaginationland as one of the villains.

• Darkseid article at DC Database Project
• Darkseid at the DC Animated Universe Wiki
• Index to the Earth-1 Fourth World stories
• Darkseid respect thread

v • d • e New Gods
Creators:	Jack Kirby
New Genesis:	Highfather • Orion • Mister Miracle • Lightray • Forever People
Apokolips:	Darkseid • Kalibak • Desaad • Granny Goodness • Parademon • Steppenwolf • Doctor Bedlam • Virman Vundabar • Female Furies • Lashina • Devilance the Pursuer
Other Characters:	Metron • Black Racer • Forager • Big Barda • Mantis • Himon • Infinity-Man
Concepts and Items:	The Source • Source Wall • Anti-Life Equation • Mother Box • Boom Tube
Major Storylines:	Jack Kirby's Fourth World • Legends • Cosmic Odyssey • Genesis • Death of the New Gods

v • d • e Superman
Creators	Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
Characters	Superman (Clark Kent) · Lois Lane · Jimmy Olsen · Perry White · Jor-El and Lara · Ma and Pa Kent · Lana Lang · Pete Ross · Steel · Superboy (Kal-El; Kon-El) · Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) · Krypto · Eradicator · Chris Kent
Villains	Bizarro · Brainiac · Cyborg Superman · Darkseid · Doomsday · General Zod · Lex Luthor · Livewire · Metallo · Mongul · Mr. Mxyzptlk · Parasite · Prankster · Toyman  · Ultra-Humanite · Intergang · Phantom Zone villains  · Ultraman
Locations	Daily Planet · Fortress of Solitude · Krypton · Metropolis · Smallville
History and themes	Origin · History of Superman · Symbol · Powers · Kryptonite · Character and cast · Relationship of Clark Kent and Lois Lane
Miscellanea	Publications · Storylines · Alternate versions · Superman in popular culture