Zack Snyder's Justice League might have saved the DCEU's future and with that, it also dropped a megaton of information regarding the franchise's future. What appears to be the most immediate of those plans is finally introducing a big bad meanie to the universe in the form of Darkseid. He's one of the most cunning and notorious enemies of the Justice League.
Well, "enemy," is putting it lightly. Darkseid is actually the biggest threat in the DCEU right now, not unlike his comic book counterpart. He doesn't exactly say much in the Snyder cut enough to introduce him well. That's why for many, he seems more like a stiff and bland conqueror. Get to know him better though and he might just give MCU's Thanos a run for his gems. Here's what to know about Darkseid in preparation for his next outing in the DCEU.
10 He's a God
As if it wasn't clear enough already after watching Zack Snyder's Justice League, Darkseid is a god. Steppenwolf and many others rightfully worship him. What godly powers does he have though? Well, DC was intent on giving him almost everything.
He has super-strength, speed, durability, stamina, endurance, is functionally immortal, shoots laser beams out of his eyes, is a supergenius, has telekinesis, has telepathy, can teleport, and can send other beings to a prison dimension of his own making. He's omnipotent that's for sure; at least that's the case in the comic books.
9 He Hails From Apokolips
Darkseid's homeworld and planet is called Apokolips. Each and every world he conquers, he turns into a spitting image of his homeworld. Apokolips is a fiery hellscape of industry where Darkseid manufactures his army and trains them too.
That's bad news for Earth since Darkseid wants to also turn it into something like Apokolips. That pretty much makes Darkseid a textbook dark lord who turns everything to ashes and rules over mindless or neutered servants.
8 His Retinue Is More Powerful Than The Justice League
Not all of Darkseid's servants are brainless Parademons though. His most trusted lieutenants and elite warriors have the strength, skill, and cunning to match or even exceed that of the Justice League's. The Furies alone, his elite female warriors trained by Granny Goodness (one of his lieutenants) each has the capability to go toe-to-toe with Wonder Woman.
Granny Goodness, Desaad, and even Steppenwolf can then prove to be handfuls to the Justice League. Even defeating Steppenwolf required Superman and it's safe to say that the Justice League wouldn't have been able to handle that one without a Kryptonian. What more the rest of Darkseid's elite?
7 Mother Boxes Are His Favorite Tools
Justice League, both the original and the Snyder cut made a huge deal about Mother Boxes which are essentially the most advanced devices in the DCEU. Darkseid loves these things for many reasons but he mostly uses them to open up Boom Tubes or portals that can transport him and his army to another world.
Apart from that, he can also use the Mother Boxes to cleanse and terraform a whole planet into something like Apokolips. Hence, Darkseid, tends to lead his invasions with these Mother Boxes.
6 He's After The Anti-Life Equation
What does Darkseid want? Dominion, more than anything. He wants to subdue all lifeforms and for them to serve him. He's not that stupid though and has realized that there will always be those who oppose him out of their own will.
So, to make things a breeze, Darkseid is after the Anti-Life Equation. It's a mathematical formula that allows its beholder to dominate the will of any sentient race. If Darkseid gets it, it's game over for any life form in the universe. It just so happens that the Anti-Life Equation is on Earth.
5 He Conquers Planets On A Daily Basis
Since Darkseid badly wants to dominate everyone but can't get his hands on the Anti-Life Equation yet, he mostly uses the old-fashioned way: invading a whole planet and turning it into his own hellscape. He apparently does this on a daily basis.
Each and every lieutenant he has is also tasked with their own quota of worlds. Steppenwolf, for example, owed Darkseid around 50,000 worlds to conquer presumably for some of his past failures. It's a miracle they haven't conquered the known universe yet by the current timeline of the DCEU.
4 He Can One-Shot Anyone, Supposedly
As powerful in strength Darkseid is, he mostly prefers to avoid fisticuffs. Since he's a god, he thinks such a brutish way to fight is beneath him. He certainly has more class than that. Hence, most of the time, his go-to ability in the comic books is his Omega Beam or the homing laser beams he shoots out of his eyes.
It's not your ordinary laser beam either. The Omega Beam can obliterate any target or send them to Darkseid's pocket dimension. Supposedly, the only members in the Justice League who can avoid it are Superman and The Flash since it's supposed to move rapidly towards its target. It's not clear yet whether his film version will resort to the same tactics.
3 He's More Powerful Than Superman
Even without his Omega Beam, Darkseid has proven many times over in the comic books that he's more powerful than Earth's resident Kryptonian. He's physically bigger and stronger than Superman.
He also has more skills than him and has lived longer as a god. Still, Darkseid sees Superman's potential; in many iterations of the comic books or DC's animated series, he wanted the blue boy scout to become his son and successor. That probably explains Batman's nightmare at the end of Zack Snyder's Justice League.
2 His Physical Form Is Only An Avatar
Here's proof that Darkseid is more cunning than he looks. Since he's a god, he mostly exists as avatars of himself. These avatars interact with the world and his true form is hidden somewhere else. He can also manifest these avatars with varying strength.
That's how he is in the comic books. It's not clear yet whether the films will follow the same path. It was even shown that Darkseid was somewhat worried about his physical body in the Snyder cut after his Parademons rescued him from Zeus and Ares.
1 Thanos Is His Derivative
So who came first? Marvel's purple conqueror or Darkseid? It's Darkseid since he came out in 1970. Thanos came after three years later. Thanos' creator even stated himself that the purple alien was a derivative of Darkseid. Marvel's own version.
It's also pretty clear in the comic books of both studios that Darkseid is more powerful. Thanos simply had the luxury and privilege of appearing first on the silver screen.