With a universe populated by heroes both smart (like Batman) and powerful (like Superman), it's only fitting that DC also has some of the most powerful comic book villains of all-time. Unfortunately for our favorite heroes, these villains are often a great combination of brain and brawn, and that allows them to threaten not just the world, but the universe at large. These guys may not be the most evil and diabolical, but they are definitely the most well-equipped to face off against our heroes and defeat those who stand in their way.

You better call the Justice League because here is Screen Rant’s 15 Most Powerful Villains In The DC Universe!

Doomsday

Starting off our list is the one and only Doomsday! The creature who killed the Man of Steel, it obviously packs quite the punch. Doomsday, befitting its name, has the potential to destroy anything in its path. It also gets stronger with each fight.

Doomsday was created by an ancient alien named Bertron. His creator subjected him to cloning and DNA alteration that eventually made him immune to whatever caused his previous demise. Also, Bertron figured out how to alter Doomsday’s DNA so that the creature would revive himself rather than having to be resuscitated. This combination of constant regeneration and evolution makes Doomsday into one of the universe’s most incredible killing machines. He has killed beings previously thought to be immortal and destroyed entire planets’ populations.

His constant prodding to kill living things has prompted a deep-seeded hatred of all living things and that now guides Doomsday’s rampage across the galaxy.

Mongul Sr.

 

The first ruler of Warworld, Mongul Sr. was a tactful and vicious leader. A longtime adversary of Superman, he has also fought other Justice League members. He possesses powers similar to Darkseid, and - even if he's not quite as powerful - is still a lot to handle.

Mongul is described as having physical strength that can outmatch Superman, and has defeated other powerful heroes with ease. However, his strength is not his only asset. Mongul’s ability to kill with no remorse and lead those who will submit to his will has allowed him to gain a lot of power. Every time he is exiled from Earth or teleported somewhere new, he finds a way to kill those who are in power and make those weaker than him bend their knees.

Being the leader of a planet-sized war machine also helps in his battle against heroes of the galaxy, but his most dangerous power might be his mind. Mongul Sr. is extremely intelligent; a master at reading not only his opponent, but the environment as well. Mongul is able to manipulate the minds of those he battles, giving himself an enormous advantage.

Parallax

One of the seven imprisoned "emotional entities" that the Guardians of the Universe kept hidden from the galaxy, Parallax is the embodiment of pure fear. It’s ability to inhabit the bodies of those who we consider to be strongest beings in the universe makes Parallax a petrifying enemy. The most notable example of Parallax’s power comes during the storyline "Emerald Twilight,” in which the parasite possesses Green Lantern Hal Jordan. Once bonded with Hal, Parallax goes on a murderous rampage, killing multiple heroes. Parallax’s power is so strong that it’s abilities have been harvested by multiple people, including Sinestro himself, in order to combat other larger threats. However, the monster is so corrupting that it often escapes the hold of those trying to contain it.

Parallax, while being strong, immortal, and able to possess, also has an oft-overlooked power: the ability to manipulate time and reality. If given enough time and power, Parallax can actually reshape reality to suit its needs and desires. Although these powers haven’t been explored at length, they do increase the level of terror that Parallax poses to the DC universe.

Brainiac

One of the oldest beings in the galaxy, Brainiac conquers civilizations, shrinks them, bottles them, and then adds them to his massive collection. He spans the universe doing this over and over again in order to amass more and more knowledge and technology. Looking for the Last Son of Krypton, Brainiac sets his sights upon Earth in order to capture Superman.

Brainiac’s advanced technology and physiology make him a formidable opponent. He has millions of probes that he can use to fight his battles and kill those in his way. With Brainiac sometimes being shown to be an AI rather than physical being, he is able to infect both biological beings and robots. These are then the bodies that hold his consciousness.

Brainiac also has a large array of powers. After years of learning from all of the civilizations that he’s collected, he has gained a "level 12 intellect," in contrast to a human race that has a combined intellect of 1 and therefore remain extremely outmatched. Along with his mind, Brainiac possesses: telepathy, force fields, longevity, super strength, super speed, adaptation, and dozens of other powers.

Reverse Flash

Some might question the placement of Reverse Flash on this list, but the villain also known as Professor Zoom and Eobard Thawne is in fact a force to be reckoned with. Like his main foe The Flash, Professor Zoom possesses the ability to travel at speeds imperceptible by regular men. However, Zoom is also able to travel through time, which is a power that can be devastating powers if used by the wrong people. 

Eobard’s most impressive achievement is probably the creation of the Flashpoint universe through his time-traveling power, which ultimately resulted the New 52 DC timeline. In the Flashpoint universe, the world is torn apart by his actions. Almost every hero and villain dies in some gruesome death thanks to the circumstances of this new universe.

Superboy Prime

The one who began the “Infinite Crisis,” Superboy Prime, also known as Connor Kent, has proven to be a deadly force of nature. A version of Kal-El who exists in a universe without superheroes (Earth-Prime), he is recruited to help stop the “Crisis On Infinite Earths” by Superman of Earth-One, which destroyed the universe he came from. After, he goes to the "paradise" dimension, where he grew angry and insane. He was able to observe the world he protected becoming worse and worse. Finally he decided the heroes were not enough and broke free of the "paradise" dimension to hand out his form of justice.

He begins by dispatching Connor Kent, the current Earth-One Superboy, and proceeds to battle and defeat many heroes, including dozens of Green Lanterns. Eventually, it took the combined power of Earth-One Superman and Earth-Two Superman to finally stop him, even though Earth-Two Superman died during the altercation.

Larfleeze

The single sole bearer of the Orange Lantern, Larfleeze is a being who is billions of years old. Controlling the entire power of the Orange Lantern Core of avarice, Larfleeze has a tremendous amount of power that he uses to wreak havoc across the universe. Known as Agent Orange, Larfleeze is able to use hard-light constructs in the shape of the people he’s killed over the years. Being in possession of all these souls, he is able to create an army of "constructs" to do his bidding.

Larfleeze has been able to go up against not just Green Lanterns but the Guardians of the Universe as well. His knack for destruction is so extreme that the Guardians couldn't defeat him; they had to make a deal with him instead, forming a treaty that hopefully ends his path of destruction for many years to come.

Trigon

A god of pure evil, Trigon has become one of the strongest beings in the New 52. The father of Teen Titan, Raven, and many other children from the worlds he has conquered, Trigon wants not only to create living hells out of the worlds he vanquishes, but also to find women who can bear him supernaturally powerful children. Trigon feeds on evil and disparity he causes in the galaxies that he conquers. Trigon’s powers are incredible, but thanks to the efforts of various DC heroes, his true powers have not yet been unleashed.

Trigon's daughter, Raven, has captured a glimpse of his true capabilities. In an alternate reality, Raven was shown Trigon sitting atop a throne of skulls and bodies of the greatest heroes who ever lived dead at his feet. He is also a top-tier demon who has not only incomprehensible demonic powers, but also divine/godly capabilities as well. Although we haven’t truly seen his powers unleashed at full potential, he is absolutely one of the strongest villains in the entire DC universe.

Eclipso

A being who is immortal like most others on this list, Eclipso is a villain you may not know much about. His soul is encapsulated within the Heart of Darkness, and each shard of the diamond Heart possesses his soul. These shards can infect, and have infected, numerous people with the malevolent spirit of Eclipso over the centuries. 

Like most other god-like beings in the DC universe, Eclipso harbors an array of abilities. For instance, he is able to possess those who come in contact with a shard of The Heart of Darkness. He can also manipulate his size to appear larger and even smaller. Eclipso has superhuman strength and speed, the ability to fly, and can shoot energy blasts from his hands. He may not be the strongest on this list, but Eclipso is not to be trifled with.

Nekron

Nekron is the original Guardian of the universe and has remained so even after the rise of the Guardians of the Universe. He was put in place to guard the darkness that existed long before life arose. Although Nekron is unable to enter our realm and must have a link in order to act in this realm, he is still a villain with enough power to cause huge ripples in our universe.

Nekron’s most famous storyline, “Blackest Night,” reveals his ability to create an army of the undead, called the Black Lanterns. These zombies are not just undead souls trapped in his realm, but sometimes the souls of the heroes who are killed. Nekron has created Black Lanterns from heroes such as Firestorm, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Dr. Light, Superman, Green Arrow, and Wonder Woman, along with many others.

Even though Nekron can’t act alone in this realm, he still has deadly powers. For instance, a single touch can kill any mortal being. He is able to bring any soul back from the dead in order to serve him. Nekron can never be killed, only simply defeated and returned to his realm. Although he doesn’t often fight, he does have dark lightning that has proven to be extremely powerful. So, despite not being able to enter our realm, Nekron has shown beyond a reasonable doubt, that he is a villain with some serious abilities. He will be around forever and can simply wait for another moment to strike against humanity and the realm of the living.

Krona

Krona is a Maltusian, a race of immortals who become the Guardians of the Universe, and Krona’s role among them was to oversee the imprisonment of the emotional entities. He is also responsible for creating the first prototype of the Green Lantern ring, due to his interest in controlling emotion. Krona became obsessed with understanding how the universe began and began tinkering with the underlying structure, inadvertently creating not only evil itself, the antimatter universe, but also the multiverse.

After the other Maltusians reduce him to nothing but dust, he roams the the multiverse looking for a chance to reform himself. Once he does this, he becomes obsessed with capturing all the emotional entities. Being a Maltusian, Krona is invulnerable and immortal. He has divine knowledge that surpasses the other Maltusians. His understanding of the emotional spectrum makes him capable of taking on all different colors of the Lanterns. Powerful, indeed.

Darkseid

One of the most renowned villains in the entire DC Multiverse, Darkseid is the ruler of the planet Apokolips. Darkseid is known for his strength, intellect, leadership, and his crusade for the Anti-Life Equation. Darkseid is obsessed with not just ruling the universe but recreating it in his likeness. He is not just an enemy of the Justice League, but of the other New Gods who live on New Genesis. Being a New God himself, he possesses some of the most powerful abilities in all of the Multiverse.

Darkseid has basically every super-power that exists in the DC Universe. Paired with his obsession for ruling, this makes him an adversary that the entire multiverse should be scared of. Not only is he ridiculously strong, but he commands an entire planet full of parademons ready to die for his cause. As if that wasn’t enough, he also has children and accomplices called The Darkseid Elite. Each member is powerful in their own right, and together they all serve Darkseid.

The Anti-Monitor

The Anti-Monitor was the cause of the original “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” He has caused more death and destruction than any other villain in the multiverse and has absorbed countless universes. When he tore a hole from the antimatter universe into the positive-matter universe, he jeopardized reality itself. Of course The Anti-Monitor has all of the standard abilities that you’d expect from a villain as powerful, but he works on a scale larger than most others.

Created at the beginning of all existence, The Anti-Monitor is the counterpart to The Monitor. Both inhabit separate universes, but The Anti-Monitor conquered his entire antimatter universe and hungered for more. This is when he discovered the Multiverse. He has also been the source of other cosmic catastrophes and once served as the sole Guardian of the Sinestro Corps. Here he commanded some of the strongest beings in the galaxy, all doing his will and wreaking havoc on DC's heroes.

Imperiex-Prime

A being that withholds the power of the Big Bang sounds pretty powerful. Well, that's exactly the kind of power Imperiex-Prime contains. Imperiex is so deadly that he is said to not just instill fear in beings like Mongul, but is also able to take out others like Doomsday with a single hit of his energy blast. His whole directive is to span the universe, killing everything in his path so that he may restart the universe with the power within him.

As said before, Imperiex-Prime is intensely terrifying. When he reaches Earth, Mongul forms an alliance with Superman and all the other heroes and villains of the DC Universe to stop him. Incredibly, they are unable to defeat by any other method than returning him in time to the Big Bang, which kills him.

Mr. Mxyzptlk

Mr. Mxyzptlk is a 5th dimensional imp whose power is incomprehensible. He is capable of destroying the entire multiverse at will if he so chooses to. He has created and destroyed galaxies before, just because he can. Luckily, Mr. Mxyzptlk is more concerned with having fun than killing, but his games can cause a lot of damage.

Mr. Mxyzptlk has spent most of his time being a nuisance for Superman, but has also used his vast powers to cause harm. One of his most amazing abilities is his being impervious to time alteration. As stated previously, time-travel is extremely useful, but Mr. Mxyzptlk simply does not become afflicted by it since he exists beyond time and space. If he were to ever become enraged or decide to conquer or kill everything in existence, he simply could will it and it would be done. Apart from a few other figures in the universe, almost no one can match the power that Mr. Mxyzptlk wields.

Conclusion

Although some are more powerful than others, each of these 15 villains pose immense threats to our favorite heroes in the DC Universe. Hopefully you learned a few new things about some of these villains. Thanks for reading, and be sure to let us know what you think of these 15 powerful DC villains in the comments below!