Darkseid is the greatest supervillain in DC universe and god of evil. He’s Superman’s greatest adversary, and according to the Justice League, he's the probably the only irredeemable supervillain that must die.
When he first arrives to the planet, all of Earth heroes-- depending on which multiverse they're from-- band together in order to stop him no matter what it takes. No one fights alone, and any superhero who believes that they can face him head-on is asking for a fate worst than death.
As a god, he doesn’t flex his muscles on the battlefield. Rather, Darkseid plans his work and prefers not waste his breath on weak warriors. He gets up off from his chair and fights his enemies only when his plans go awry.
Darkseid is eons old, invulnerable, and a competent leader who's capable of enslaving nations. He can wave off enemy attacks with a flick of a wrist, and his signature move-- the Omega beam-- can hit and vaporize any target.
He also has the ability to revive the dead. He is DC's ultimate villain, and was built to be so power, in fact, that the New 52 had to de-power him a bit so that our heroes could stand a fighting chance against such a strong and evil god.
There are a few superheroes who managed to corner and defeat him, however. These heroes managed to face Darkseid's full wrath and also stop him in his tracks.
So get ready to learn about some real heroes, because here are the 15 Superheroes Darkseid Has Never Defeated.
15. Batman
Gotham's cape crusader is the only mortal human who managed to avoid the Omega Beam and survive the laser blast, which makes him the only mortal who lived to tell the tale.
However, it’s not just by physical prowess alone, Batman managed to beat Darkseid at his own mind game. In Final Crisis, Batman realized that Darkseid’s weakness was a rare substance known as Radion.
The single Radion shot mortally wounded Darkseid, prompting him to shoot Batman with an Omega Beam, which made it seems he was killed.
However, we learn that it just sent Batman back in time, and Darkseid forced him to travel through different points until he finally gathered enough omega energy to implode once he reached present time.
Luckily, Batman figured this out and set up countermeasures with the help of the Justice League.
Additionally, in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, Batman reprogrammed the spores on Apocalypse to destroy all of the living souls which forced Darkseid to surrender Kara Zor-El.
This, of course, infuriated Darkseid, but even he begrudgingly respects Batman, commenting that only a few could have bested him.
On both accounts, Darkseid never truly defeated Batman in combat, though it’s mainly because Batman never faced him on a full frontal assault.
14. Highfather
Technically, Highfather is presented as a neutral entity, but he has battled against Darkseid on a number of occasions.
Their brother rivalry goes back to the age of gods. Depending on which origin, Highfather is either Izaya, warrior of New Genesis, or Izaya, the brother of Uxas. Both rulers neither won or defeated the other.
Their fight raged on, often ended in stalemates. Highfather and Darkseid exchanged their sons as a peace treaty but even that wasn't enough to stop Darkseid’s ulterior motives.
The New Earth Highfather was the typical Odin/Zeus wise ruler who oppose Darkseid’s rule. He indirectly won against Darkseid by converting Darkseid’s son Orion to the side of good.
The New 52 version, on the other hand, did something different. In the Earth 2 comics, he allowed Darkseid to conquer Earth, and have it as his domain.
The New 52 tries something different and compares Highfather’s rule to Darkseid’s. The new Izaya is willing to push his authority onto his subjects, subsequently becoming a tyrannical ruler, which was displayed when he handled the Green Lantern Corps.
13. Superman
Superman is Darkseid’s greatest adversary, and probably the only superhero he would want to fight head on.
Since he’s probably the only one who he deems as a major threat, Darkseid would usually separate him from the core JLA members in battle in order to conquer Earth-0.
Darkseid is arguably more power than the Kryptonian, but most of their battles have been conflicts of interests. Sometimes Darkseid even sided with the Justice League or worked with Lex Luthor to stop a greater threat.
Among their various encounters, Superman is usually working together with the JLA to bring Darkseid down. This happened in Final Crisis and the Darkseid War from the New 52.
At one point they settled a one-on-one combat, so Superman could free John Henry Irons. Superman emerged victorious from the fight, and was thus capable of fighting Darkseid solo.
12. Mister Miracle
Like Orion, Mister Miracle was traded to Darkseid in order to maintain peace between two warring nations. However, this didn’t last too long since Darkseid doesn’t keep peace treaties and prefers playing sinister games.
Darkseid underestimated Scott Free’s willpower and his nephew resisted the temptations to be a ruler like him, though. Scott learned how to master the miracle box, which allowed him to escape Apokolips.
Since then, he has never directly confronted his uncle, and normally avoided any battles, knowing full well that his uncle was impossible to defeat solo.
He eventually died, but not by the hands of Darkseid. In New 52, his role was more of the same, and he uses his powers for fleeing, rather for confrontation.
It’s important to note that Scott can harness the Alpha Effect-- the antithetical of Darkseid’s Omega Beam. He mastered the Anti-life equation, something that Darkseid desired for a long time.
11. Green Arrow
Depending on which multiverse viewers read, there are instances where the Green Arrow sided with the JLA to stop Darkseid in Earth 2.
As for Rock of Ages, this story arc focused on the JLA and their battle with Darkseid in an alternate future, which houses the Injustice League and the mystic Philosophers Stone.
Initially, it started as a search for the Philosophers, but the plot leads them to a dystopian future where Darkseid is the ruler of Metropolis.
When Aquaman returns to Metropolis, he arrives to learn that 15 years have passed, and Darkseid has taken their world and New Genesis. Of course, this takeover is an alternate future, and is thus not fully in effect yet.
The JLA in this universe band together and Green Arrow teams with the Atom to take down the Apokolips leader.
Green Arrow fires an arrow at Darkseid, which Atom hops onto. This allows Atom to enter Darkseid’s brain and implode Darkseid’s mind. However, since this Darkseid is just one of the many versions, there’s no way that he is actually dead.
10. Big Barda
Big Barda served as Darkseid’s personal guard, the Furies, and was Apokolips’ finest warriors.
As a seasoned fighter, Barda was a force to be reckoned, and it wasn’t until she met Scott Free (Mister Miracle) and Himon, who were leading a rebellion, that she changed sides.
After witnessing Himon and Auralie’s death, she decides to help Scott escape from Apokolips. The two were successful, and later were married and adjusted to a normal life on Earth.
The transition for her was strange -- since all she knew was how to be a warrior she was awful at cooking. Though the highlight of her Earth experience was learning how to play the Pokemon Trading Card game, to which she proclaimed it as a "warrior's game."
In the New 52, she appeared in Earth 2's plot and fought as one of Darkseid's Furies. After a humiliating defeat by one of the commanders, she decided to forgo the invasion and disguise as a human refugee to escape the conflict.
Despite her numerous attempts at aiding his enemies, Darkseid has never laser beamed her, which is kind of a win, considering the fact that she was able to leave Apokolips and settle on Earth.
9. Question
In Batman: Brave and the Bold series, Darkseid teleported to Earth and planned his great invasion with his band of minions.
Batman noticed this and began implementing countermeasures, and a the whole slew of Golden Age superheroes joined with him, including Question.
Question assisted the JLA in reversing the boom tubes, which reversed the rifts portals and sent Darkseid back to Apokolips. With the combined efforts of Question and the Justice League, they managed to avoid a full-on Darkseid battle.
the Brave and the Bold series is aimed at younger kids, however, Michael-Leon Wooley’ chilling voice brings us back to the original Darkseid from the Silver Age, which is Kirby’s best creation in animation.
He’s one of the few villains who is truly terrifying in the show, and his invasion is a serious threat. Not to mention, this version of Darkseid stopped the JLA’s attacks with a single wave of his hand and nearly killed Batman were it not for the reverse boom tube.
8. Atom
The Atom had the pleasure of stopping Darkseid twice. While other superheroes were often faced the first round of defeat, Atom used his powers to his advantage.
The first time around was in the Rock of Ages arc, while the second encounter was during the Identity Crisis and Final Crisis arc. The Source Wall spoke to Ray Palmer, telling him that he was the key in stopping the imminent doom.
Both villains and heroes scoured across the multiple universes searching Ray. They finally found him in a utopia where superheroes had eradicated all evil.
Eventually, Ray is persuaded to leave and encounters Jimmy Olsen, who has been taken over by Darkseid. Ray decides to do whatever he must to help Jimmy.
Darkseid tries to take over Jimmy’s powers, which were affecting him. Ray shrinks down to atom sized and dismantles the “battery” containing the New Gods’ energies.
The battery’s destruction manages to release Jimmy from the powers.
7. Aquaman
In the New 52, the JLA faced a Darkseid invasion. (Apparently, Prime Earth is the go-to place for conquest by megalomaniacs.)
In this storyline, Aquaman managed to skewer his spear into one of Darkseid’s eyes. It was a bloody ordeal, but it could have been worse-- like Flash shish-kabobing Darkseid’s eye with a wrench in Justice League: War.
(Fun fact, the animated adaptation had to switch out Aquaman with Shazam, due to publishing concerns. Hence, Flash was also given Aquaman’s role.)
The New 52 Darkseid is not everyone’s favorite version of the villain. The original Darkseid was cold and calculative, and turned every loss to his advantage.
Here, he’s brought down to like a giant world boss that heroes have to face in a Final Fantasy-like showdown, which cheapens the fight.
Aquaman's --as well as Wonder Woman’s-- contribution in the battle played out as if they were two teammates subduing a Behemoth.
6. Black Racer (Final Crisis)
Black Racer is probably one of the only heroes that Darkseid has a problem with, since he's basically the embodiment of death. Although he’s not aligned with the heroes, he’s still a worthy adversary of Darkseid.
During Final Crisis, Black Racer was busy chasing down the Flash, and during this pursuit, the two encountered Wally West, who was surprised to find Barry is alive.
The superheroes has previously presumed that Barry Allen was dead after he sacrificed his life to save the remaining realities. Barry was revived him, however, and suspected that an unknown force had brought him back, which may have angered the Black Racer.
Flash and Wally decided to lead Black Racer to Darkseid, hoping that he would take the villain’s life instead of Flash's.
Although Black Racer was duped into it, he didn’t mind taking Darkseid down. Black Racer couldn’t manage to destroy Darkseid, but he was able to injure him enough so the rest of the Justice League could finish him off.
5. Flash (Final Crisis)
Barry Allen has contributed a lot to the Flashpoint arcs, time travel adventures, and multiverse shenanigans. So, when it came to Darkseid’s never-ending invasions, he was there, yet again, to support the team.
Barry Allen brought Black Racer to Darkseid, but while the villains began to fight, Barry's real mission was to try to stop the Radion bullet from reaching new god Orion.
Darkseid had intended to shoot the Radion into the past in order to kill his son. In both Infinite Crisis and Darkseid War, he was stopped, and during both times, Barry managed to escape alive and out of harms way.
If anyone who could outspeed death, it’s Barry Allen. In addition to his superspeed, he also has incredible durability, which makes him resistant to Darkseid’s Omega Beams.
4. Wonder Woman
Like Aquaman and Flash, Wonder Woman also managed to take down Darkseid-- and destroy his other eye-- but her history with Darkseid goes farther than that.
Darkseid ruined Olympus, which forced the Gods to leave Earth and seek a new land. He also had his eyes set on Themyscira and intended to eliminate the island's entire population.
The plan was a success and he invaded, but he wasn't able to kill Wonder Woman on the spot. Instead, he left her alive and later used her as an enforcer after Mary Marvel plagued her with a mind control virus.
However, Dr. Frankenstein is able to free her and she uses her Lasso of Truth to pin Darkseid down and let Superman deal a finishing blow.
Additionally, in New 52, she played a major role in the Darkseid's War. She learns about an Amazonian who gave birth to Darkseid's daughter. It was prophecized that she would defeat him.
The daughter turns out to be Grail, and in the end, Wonder Woman had to decide whether to let Grail kill Darkseid, or stop the Grail's plan.
She eventually lets Grail and the Anti-Monitor destroy Darkseid, but killing him results in a massive outpour of energy, which affects the superheroes.
3. Santa Claus
Technically, this is non-canon, though we can safely say that Darkseid has never defeated Santa Claus. Afterall, where else is he going to get his annual lump of coal from?
In a Christmas special, Santa Claus rides all around the universe to deliver his gifts, and our fellow superhero friends rejoice with a day of downtime.
Santa delivers gifts to everyone, good or bad. So it shouldn’t be a shock that Santa manages to bypass Apokolips' top notch security in order to deliver coal to Darkseid-- a reminder of what a naughty man he is.
Santa Claus’ origin is elaborated in the comics. We learn that he was indeed the original Saint Nick and that, despite his body perishing, Santa Claus remains immortal. It would explain why Darkseid can never catch or kill him.
2. Cyborg (New 52)
In New 52, Cyborg played a big role in stopping Darkseid’s invasion.
Before he became Cyborg, Victor was a football athelte. Silas Stone, Victor’s father, worked in S.T.A.R Labs and was working on the motherbox-- the device that Superman recovered during his missions.
The box explodes and Victor gets caught in the explosion, so his father and his scientist colleges decide to rebuild him as the Cyborg we know and love today.
Victor inherits the motherbox data library from his father and learns about Darkseid’s invasions plans.
With the newfound information, Victor decides to help the Justice League’s battle against Darkseid. He finds a way to program the boom devices, which would teleport the Apokolips invaders and Darkseid back to their home planet.
Although this took a huge toll on his body since he had to completely reprogram the boom tube technology, his efforts saved Earth 0.
1. Squirrel Girl
Ok, this one is a bit of a cheat, and we know that Squirrel Girl isn’t part of the DC universe, but we couldn’t pass up her win against Thanos–- Marvel’s equivalent of Darkseid.
Heck, Thanos was originally inspired by Darkseid, and Jim Starlin subtly used some of Jack Kirby’s ideas to create the megavillain known as Thanos. Like Darkseid, he’s a chessmaster in the Marvel universe and frequently slouches on his throne plotting his next move.
Although Thanos may not have the Omega Beam, his ability to travel across multiverses and nigh invulnerability, makes him a worthy adversary. Odin even had trouble fighting him, and Galactus couldn’t even defeat Thanos.
However, Squirrel Girl managed to do so, but given her record for defeating Doctor Doom and Deadpool, it wasn’t a shock that she defeated him. We’re just curious about how she defeated him.
Facing Darkseid would be Thanos 2.0 fight or worse, she could talk him out of world domination like Galactus. Her preferred method fighting is curb stomping the high-and-mighty and kicking their egos down a notch by using her wit– and squirrels.
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Can you think of any other heroes who have defeated Darkseid? Or at least a version similar to him? Let us know in the comments!