Darkseid

The Old Ways With the New Gods

When the Old Gods fell in Ragnarok, the New Gods filled the void. But this was a cycle, and the power, methodology and ultimate fate of the Old Gods remained within the New Gods.

All that is Darkseid's has been taken by him through blood and force. It is unsure how Uxas evolved into an embodiment of evil that he is now. But it is known is that two key events propelled him on his path. First, Uxas killed his mother, Heggra, to wrest control of Apokolips from her after Yuga Khan, his father, was trapped on the Source Wall in his attempt to unlock the secret of The Source. Then Desaad betrayed Drax, Uxas' brother, as he was trying to master the Omega Effect. Uxas then killed his brother, rightful heir to the Omega Effect. With power, a following, and a drive to accomplish his goals without regret or remorse, Uxas took up his God Name: Darkseid.

Now Darkseid

Darkseid and the Forever People

While on Earth the Forever People disrupted the evil plans of Darkseid. This was not the kind of attention Mark wanted, During there visit Beautiful Dreamer was kidnapped, Mark was not impressed. Due to the Fact they had stumbled across an intergalactic war. New-Genesis and Apokolis Had got themselves into a war while they were vacant from supertown, Mark blamed Sarifan for the situation they were in. They had to rescue Dreamer. Darkseid was the leader of the Apokolis. He was about to test the Non-Violent Group to there fullest.The war was the fault of a maniac partner of Darkseid known as Devilance, They both partnered up to destroy the peaceful place of New Genesis, they waged war on all that was peaceful, and earth was where he chose his HQ.

The Dark Era

With a planet under his iron rule, Darkseid began to create a war machine with a capability to wage war that outstrips that of whole galaxies. Soldiers, weapons, armaments, and other instruments of war at his disposal. Most of these are to wage a war with his fellow New Gods on New Genesis. Unlike Apokolips, New Genesis is a lush, idyllic planet populated by just or righteous Gods. Much to Darkseid's chagrin the New Genesis is more advanced since free will and creativity are encouraged there.

Darkseid's greatest ambition is to eliminate all free will from the universe and reshape it into his own image. To this end, he seeks to unravel the mysterious Anti-Life Equation, which will give him complete control over the thoughts and emotions of all living beings in the universe. While he has yet to obtain a 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. During his efforts to secure the Equation, he encountered and battled many of Earth's superheroes, chief among them Superman, a relationship which bordered on outright hatred on the Man of Steel's part.

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. 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.

The end of a Rivalry

Later 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 time line, Superman recently freed Darkseid from his entombment in the Source Wall. 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." It has been revealed that Darkseid had 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 marshaled 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 Gods about what was transpiring with the mysterious God-killer, which he refused to share, content in knowing more than Metron for once. It has since been revealed that Darkseid appears to be manipulating almost all the key characters in Countdown to Final Crisis on a giant cosmic chess board. He has given his protection to Jimmy Olsen, vaporizing a parademon for attacking him, and he has ensured that Karate Kid, carrier of the Morticoccus virus, survives. His reasons for both these are unknown. Later he attempts to recruit Mary Marvel as his sorceress using his pawn Eclipso, but she turns on him and escapes. He has also assigned Desaad to ensure the "Great Disaster" comes about, and assigned Granny Goodness to recruit new Female Furies from Earth in the guise of Athena. It has been indicated Darkseid seeks the rise of the "Fifth World", possibly on Earth, and is harnessing the Great Disaster and the Death of the New Gods to bring this about. Additionally, Darkseid has been manipulating the monitor Solomon to bring about a war between the Monitors and Monarch for the fate of the Multiverse.

Death of the Fourth World

It is later revealed that Darkseid had turned Jimmy Olsen into a container for the powers of the New Gods. He sends Mary Marvel, whom he had coerced into taking back her dark powers, to capture him. Superman comes to Jimmy's aid, only for Darkseid to take control of Jimmy's powers, making him radiate Kryptonite. Ray Palmer manages to shut off Darkseid's control, and the villain is confronted by a gigantic turtle-like Jimmy. After battling Jimmy across the Metropolis landscape, Darkseid moves in for the kill only to witness The Atom emerge from Jimmy's head. Palmer quickly destroys the vessel of the New Gods' powers freeing them into the void. Enraged, Darkseid is taken by surprise when a Boom Tube opens above the skies of Metropolis. His scion and son Orion emerges from the tube, having managed to escape being murdered by the Infinity Man. Orion and Darkseid battle, and after a furious exchange, at the end of it all, Darkseid realizes it was not meant to be and his heart is ripped from his chest by his own son.

Boss Dark Side

Powers

Darkseid Reborn

With the Omega Effect at his command, Darkseid is able to bring an end to anything he sees. He unleashes this awesome energy through Omega Beams from his eyes. These beams are controlled with fearsome precision. They can bend, twist, turn, pass through matter and energy to reach Darkseid's target. The Omega Beams are not just heat or destructive energy, though he could incinerate enemies and destroy worlds with them. With the Omega Effect, Darkseid can teleport targets anywhere he desires, or transform them into creatures at his bidding. He can set off all the pain receptors in a target, or erase a being from existence. For the latter, Darkseid rarely uses this, easily the most unnerving, aspect of the Omega Effect. For if an opponent would be worthy enough to face this final punishment, Darkseid would prefer to crush their spirit and force them to pledge their obedience. It has also been noted that a few beings are key to the stability of reality are immune to the Omega Effect. With the Omega effect, Darkseid is also capable of raising the dead.

Another ability at his command is the Omega Sanction. With it, he can trap a target in an alternate reality and force him to experience a succession of lives, each worse than the previous one.

Darkseid himself stands nearly 8 feet tall. He possesses unimaginable strength, stamina and durability befitting his role as a god. He can easily go toe to toe with Superman on strength alone. He can heal at an incredible rate from the most grievous of wounds, and is of course immortal. He can create minions and can transform beings into creatures at his command. He also has psionic abilities that include mind control, telepathy and telekinesis. As strong as he is, Darkseid is even more cunning. He relishes in manipulating people and events. His military strategy and planning rival that of any God of Wars. Surprisingly, or not considering his ego and raw power, Darkseid has a an almost noble sense of honor. He is good to his word, and craves opponents worthy of his time. Though that doesn't mean he won't twist the words of an agreement. He is a Dark God after all.

The Pact and the Prophecy

It was not known what occurred in the first few millennia of his rule. But eventually a war was waged (most likely instigated by Darkseid) between Apokolips and New Genesis. To stop this war that would surely have exterminated the New Gods, a pact was made between New Genesis and Apokolips. The terms of the pact were that Scott Free (Mister Miracle), the son of the leader of New Genesis Highfather Izaya, would be traded for the son of Darkseid,Orion. This trade would seem an odd move for the cunning Darkseid, as it has been foretold that Orion would be the one that slays him. But Darkseid knew the fires that raged within his son were hotter than the fires that raged from the pits of Apokolips, and that when the fury of Orion was loosed all the New Gods would tremble. All except Darkseid. And when the time came, Orion would slay his father, and end his tyrannical rule.

In issue #2 of Countdown to Final Crisis, it is done. Orion rips his father's heart out. The once powerful and mighty Darkseid has died.

The Anti-Life Equation

Like all Dark Gods, Darkseid long sought the means to rule everything in creation. He realized that despite his vast power, his enemy was choice. It was free will that kept Scott Free strong despite the years of punishment. It was free will that quelled Orion's fiery heart, who chose to protect the ways of New Genesis and focused his rage on Darkseid. Yes, free will, choice, is an enemy. When Darkseid discovered that there was an Anti-Life Equation, a formula that would stamp out free will and allow him to mold and rule the universe at his whims as he ruled and molded despair ridden Apokolips, he essentially dedicated his life to uncovering the equation.

Characteristics

Height- 8'9"

Weight- 1815lbs

Eyes- Red

Hair- None

Characteristics- Great size, rock like skin

Appearances in other media

Darkseid has to date made appearances in two television shows and two video games.

Television

He has first appeared in the 1970s Super friends show, "Super Friends: Legendary Super Powers Show", in which he frequently made various villainous schemes and constantly tried to force Wonder Woman to marry him. Darkseid also appeared in "The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians", in which he was the main villain, along with his son Kalibak, and the torturer, Desaad.

Bruce Timm animated production

But Darkseid is not out for good, as he son brainwashes Superman, makes him his pawn and sets him loose upon Earth. When he is finally freed from the brainwash, seeing the horrors he has done and that he has lost the world's trust, Superman, enraged, seeks revenge on Darkseid. In the only instance where he directly engages in battle, Darkseid quickly overpowers and subdues Superman, but when moves to finish him with his omega beams, Superman moves quickly and cover his eyes. The resulting explosion injures them both, but Darkseid is far worse off. Superman then throws him to his slaves, telling them to do whatever they want with him. To his surprise and disgust, they pick Darkseid up and carry him to safety. Darkseid's last words in the series: "I am many things, Kal-El... but here, I am God."

Darkseid is later seen in the Justice League cartoon, where, with his force decimated by New Genesis, he finds himself unable to defend against Brainiac. Despite Superman's objections, the League and Darkseid form an uneasy alliance to defeat the cosmic menace. This however is a ruse, as Darkseid delivers the League to Brainiac in exchange for leaving his planet safe. However, Darkseid being Darkseid, he betrays Brainiac and takes control of him, at which point the league, with Orion's help, manage to free themselves. As Brainiac's base is about to explode, Superman Orion and Darkseid engage in a brutal battle. In the end, Superman and Orion are pulled out by Batman, and Darkseid remains alone in the catastrophic explosion.

In the 12th episode of the 5th season of Justice League Unlimited, Lex Luthor attempts to bring Brainiac back to life, but instead brings back Darkseid. Darkseid has obviously been affected by Brainiac, as his physical appearance has changed to incorporate aspects of Brainiac. This "new" Darkseid has been dubbed by some people as "Brainseid". Brainseid retains Darkseid's motives to conquer Earth and obtain the Anti-Life equation, but is considerably stronger than before. After giving his "thanks" to the villains who freed him, he promptly reestablishes order on Apokolips and once again invade Earth. This time Superman finally cuts loose and overpowers him, until Darkseid uses his brainiac given abilities, quickly taking the hero out. He is ultimately stopped when Lex Luthor gives him the Anti-Life equation. They both disappear afterwards.

Games