Fans of comics know that DC Comics has its fair share of extremely powerful beings - some that even the Justice League couldn’t hope to combat. One such being is Lucifer Morningstar, the rebellious archangel who has decided ruling Hell isn’t exactly for him. And as custodian of Hell, Lucifer is crazy powerful, being a nigh-omnipotent being who could very well do anything imaginable. In DC Comics, a conflict once had Lucifer create a universe and rule it in his own image, with boredom being the only thing that stops him from being a full-blown villain.
Thing is, despite Lucifer’s seemingly unstoppable nature, there are other beings in the DC Universe that can stand up to the likes of fallen archangels. And while Tom Ellis and Gwendoline Christie portrayed Lucifer excellently in their respective appearances, their depictions of Lucifer may not be able to contend with these other DC Universe beings.
Updated on February 21, 2023, by Rhenn Taguiam: With James Gun just having launched his rebrand of DC Comics’s film slate via his own DC Universe, fans might be surprised to see the acclaimed creator planning on exploring the Swamp Thing’s dark origins in tandem with films of icons such as Superman and Supergirl, as well as Batman and Robin. With Swamp Thing sharing almost the same power level as Lucifer Morningstar, fans might see the former as a peek into the deeper cosmos of the DC Comics Universe. And with Tom Ellis’s stint as Lucifer Morningstar ending in 2021’s Lucifer finale and Gwendolyn Christie offering her own interpretation of the role as Lucifer in the ongoing The Sandman, fans might wonder whether these two (2) cosmic giants would ever interact. After all, they are a few steps closer to some of DC Comics’s most powerful entities - including observers of timelines, creators of the Multiverse, and even the wife of creation herself.
13 Swamp Thing
Although primarily serving as the elemental Avatar of the Green, the Swamp Thing is by no means “just” the protector of all plant life in the DC Multiverse. Despite the Swamp Thing’s penchant for plant control, his connection with the Green makes the Swamp Thing a pseudo-primordial being. For as long as plant life existed somewhere in the DC Multiverse, the Swamp Thing has potentially a means to manifest itself.
Not only that, but the Swamp Thing in his earliest appearances is as crazily ambiguously powerful as the classic Doctor Strange. On one such occasion, the Swamp Thing was able to “unify” all the elements of the world and effectively transformed it into a dystopia where he ruled as his version of god. This threatened the Presence enough that he sent the Word to deal with the Swamp Thing, an effort that was unsuccessful. At some point, the Swamp Thing was able to achieve omnipresence, practically “at one” with everything that existed. Such was his feat that other primordial beings were being indoctrinated by the Swamp Thing at the Parliament of Worlds, a location where gods seemingly inhabit.
12 The Quintessence
When Perpetua resurfaced to reveal herself as a critical threat to the DC Multiverse, another group of individuals was already aware of her existence. They were called the Quintessence, comprised of some of the most powerful individuals in DC Comics: the Spectre, the Phantom Stranger, Highfather (of the New Gods), Hera (of the Greek Pantheon), Ganthet (creator of the Green Lantern), and the Wizard (bestowing the power of Shazam). They revealed to the Justice League that their main task was to observe events in the Multiverse, but never to interfere. The only instance of this ever happening was when they saved the Justice League from Perpetua’s final attack, as they believed the Justice League still had a shot at saving the world.
Granted, most members of the Quintessence couldn’t lift a finger against Lucifer when fighting alone. However, when they proved capable of interfering against a multiversal-level threat, their combined abilities may be capable of besting Morningstar. For instance, the Spectre may have been beaten by Lucifer despite being the personification of God’s Vengeance. Not to mention, the potentially angelic nature of the Phantom Stranger may not hold a candle against God’s most powerful archangel. However, their powers combined with Ganthet’s access to the Emotional Spectrum, the Wizard’s access to the godly powers of pantheons, and even Highfather’s close connection to the Source may overwhelm Lucifer.
11 Mister Mxyzptlk
Perhaps the “OG” reality warper in DC Comics, it’s Mister Mxyzptlk that often comes to mind when it comes to various shenanigans. Although more of a comedic villain than anything else, Mister Mxyzptlk can become deadly when provoked. As a Fifth Diemsnion being, Mister Mxyzptlk can practically do “anything” he wants, to the point of being able to break the Fourth Wall and periodically talk to the reader.
Not only that, but Mister Mxyzptlk has a habit of manipulating the fundamentals of everything on a multiversal level, allowing him to create lifeforms by pure thought and in turn eliminate them on a whim. Unfortunately, it’s his self-made restrictions such as his 90-day minimum stay in the Fifth Dimension before returning to Earth, that limit the full usage of his abilities.
10 Michael Demiurgos
When it comes to beings potentially powerful enough to outmatch Lucifer in terms of both abilities and powers, it would be none other than his brother and rival, Michael Demiurgos. Such is his might that he was tasked to lead the angels when Lucifer started his rebellion in Heaven. Regarding power scaling alone, it is said that Michael is "equal" to Lucifer in power, with both being the second-most powerful beings in the universe behind their father.
However, where Michael trumps Lucifer is in his possession of special traits. For instance, Michael is the bearer of the Dunamis Demiurgos, a power connected to the Presence itself. It's said that Michael can potentially wipe out all life in the universe should this power be released, and it's during his first "death" that Lucifer acquired this power and used it to create his own universe. It's also said that, should he have willed it, Michael could've ended Lucifer's rebellion in heaven with a gesture.
9 The Word
When the Presence first spoke, so too did the Word spring into creation. Seemingly the equivalent of the Metatron or the Voice of God, the Word’s only appearance is in “Swamp Thing Vol. 2 #147,” wherein its mission is to destroy anything that may be a threat to the Presence’s power. At the time, this target was currently the Swamp Thing, and only Tefe Holland was able to repel the Word by “mimicking” the Presence’s Voice.
Despite his rather short stint, the Word’s role in the DC Universe. Being the “physical” embodiment of the Presence’s actual Words, the Word should be powerful enough to potentially combat anything that could soon threaten the Presence. This means the Word immediately possesses nigh-omnipotence and nigh-omnipresence, seeing as the Word was able to “sense” the Swamp Thing’s developing powers and was powerful enough to go toe to toe with him.
8 Darkest Knight
When the Batman Who Laughs stole the powers of Doctor Manhattan after his brain was transplanted into a Bruce Wayne corpse that formerly possessed those abilities, he transformed into an extremely powerful being. After a wild act of absorbing Crisis Energies from all of DC Universe’s Crises, the Batman Who Laughs practically became the Darkest Knight. Such was this newfound power that augmented Doctor Manhattan’s that his nigh-omnipotence was enough to almost ruin Hypertime, the realm where all possibilities within possibilities existed.
It doesn’t help that the madness of the Darknest Knight also meant he was practically unpredictable. Such was his strength that he was able to contain Perpetua within the Source Wall, practically destroying her existence. It was only through the efforts of Wonder Woman augmented by the powers of the Multiverse-creating World Forge that the Darkest Knight was destroyed once and for all.
7 The Endless
Beginning with Dream who quite literally embodied both the dreams and nightmares of every being in the Multiverse, he and his siblings were part of the Endless - basically manifestations of the most fundamental concepts of the DC Multiverse. Comprised of Dream, Death, Delirium, Desire, Despair, Destiny, and Destruction, the Endless are expected to act within their agency in order to maintain order in the Multiverse. It’s in The Sandman comics that Dream awakens from his slumber and slowly reaffirms his place in the greater DC Universe cosmology.
However, aside from the Endless primarily sticking to their respective “realms of governance,” each of their respective domains makes them the most powerful in their respective tasks. Destiny, for example, is aware of the sum of all existence. Likewise, Death embodies the act of blinking out of existence itself. Although Lucifer demonstrates to Dream how they can be of even match in The Sandman, Dream at his most powerful wouldn’t have allowed Lucifer to even try and lay a finger on him.
6 Kismet
Originally a Lord of Order designated to restrain the Lords of Chaos from laying waste to the Multiverse, Ahti was chosen to become Kismet, quite literally the embodiment of time across the Omniverse. While her activity in the DC Multiverse remained ambiguous at best, Kismet is known to give her power over time to Superman in order to defeat Imperiex, a being so powerful he was able to choose Earth in his quest to eradicate the entire universe. It was also Kismet that was captured by Krona who, alongside her Marvel counterpart Eternity, would’ve been able to help Krona survive the destruction of their respective universes and become the supreme ruler of the one that came after it.
Aside from these instances, Kismet is being the literal embodiment of time means she can practically choose realities where everything is to her benefit. This gives her a limited degree of nigh-omnipotence and reality manipulation, allowing her version of events to persist regardless of the situation. Being a literal embodiment of a concept that governs the movement of all beings puts Kismet in a class greater than most omnipotent beings in the DC Universe, including Lucifer himself.
5 The Great Darkness
It’s said that the Great Darkness retreated when the Presence created Light and has since been trying to wake and exert its influence on the world. When the Crisis on Infinite Earths caused the Great Darkness to once again awaken, none of the current heroes of the DC Universe was able to stop it. It took the Swamp Thing’s convincing to remind the Great Darkness that it cannot exist without its “light” counterpart. And when the Great Darkness reached into the Heavens, the Heavens reached back and invited the Great Darkness into an embrace that would lock them into a truce.
Being the “other half” of the Presence, the Darkness is extremely powerful. It can virtually become anything it exists and can manifest through various avatars. Perhaps its only weakness is being prone to the influence of others, as evidenced by beings such as Darkseid and the Pariah being able to “infect” the Great Darkness to do their bidding.
4 Perpetua
As a member of the Hands, Perpetua was originally designated to create Multiverses within the newly-created Omniverse as directed by the Presence and return to it afterward. A rogue Hand known as Perpetua didn’t like the idea of being thrust out of existence, and as such betrayed her kind. Although sealed by the Cosmic Raptor, modern events had Perpetua become supercharged with Crisis Energies that she’s been able to create Multiverses of her own.
Although ultimately destroyed by the Darkest Knight that sent her into the Source Wall, Perpetua was once a nigh-omnipotent individual capable of wielding creation herself. Such was her power that Perpetua actually caused the “spark” that triggered the Big Bang, facilitating the Presence’s arrival in the current Multiverse. Due to her sheer power, Perpetua can not only rewrite reality to her wishes, but she can also create and destroy the universe with it.
3 The Hands
When Perpetua of the Hands created the Multiverse, she refused the directive for all other Hands to reunite their essences with the Source of All Things after completing their respective Multiverses. In Perpetua’s eyes, she wanted to live forever through a Multiverse that loops endlessly through various crises and rebirths. Not only was she responsible for the current Multiverse of DC Comics, but she was also the influence that directed the likes of Mobius to cause all current Crises in history.
As a member of the Hands, she and her siblings were tasked by the Source to create Multiverses across the greater Omniverse. Categorized as super-celestials, they’re the only ones before the Presence shown capable of manipulating Anti-Crisis Energy (an embodiment of the forces of justice and peace) to create Multiverses in an otherwise empty void. Aside from being virtually immortal, their natural abilities of reality manipulation can affect things on a Multiversal scale. This potentially means any of the Hands can come to blows against Lucifer and force Morningstar to concede, especially when the Hands themselves were made in charge of creating the Multiverse where Lucifer is operating.
2 Mother Entity
One of the most interesting beings in the DC Multiverse would probably be Mother Entity, especially when she’s not a prominent member of the higher celestial entities in DC Comics. Introduced in 2018 in “Bug! The Adventures of Forager,” it’s revealed that Mother Entity is the source of energy that all Mother Boxes of New Genesis tap into. While her powers are mysterious by nature, looking into the Mother Boxes gives readers a look into Mother Entity’s abilities. As fans know, Mother Boxes have various abilities, such as access to dimension-hopping Boom-Tubes, omniscience, energy transference, and even matter manipulation.
However, the closest hint readers have to Mother Entity’s true powers lies in her nature as the “wife” of the Source. Nothing is known about her true history, except for the fact that she became bonded with the Source or the Presence at some point. This makes Mother Entity almost equal regarding shared abilities, such as omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. This easily makes Mother Entity capable of curb-stomping Lucifer when needed, and may theoretically allow a properly-configured Mother Box to fight the archangel.
1 The Presence
Despite the presence of a Multiverse and a much-greater Omniverse, the DC Universe still has a being located at the highest echelons of existence. Known only as the Presence, this being is considered as the ultimate creator of all things. The Presence is often presented as a counterpart to the “God” of the Catholic faith, although in the context of the DC Universe existing as a much higher presence compared to its many pantheons.
Being an omnipresent being, the Presence takes numerous forms throughout the timeline of the DC Omniverse. These include being the Big Bang itself, or even becoming the much-revered Source Wall that “contains” the present Multiverse. The Presence easily tops Lucifer, especially due to the fact that the Presence doesn’t have an “actual” manifestation. It can become anything it wishes, on top of its everlasting presence and influence on all things.
The Sandman premiered last August 2022, while Lucifer began airing last January 2016.
