DC Comics has given readers some of the greatest supervillains ever. The best DC villains have become household names, with villains like Lex Luthor and the Joker becoming two of the most popular villains ever. With the rise of superhero media, more people care about these kinds of characters than ever, and there has been a lot of attention put on other villains in the DC Multiverse. One who has always played a big role in DC superhero adaptations, and has become more popular over the decades, turns 55 today, having first debuted on this day in 1970 in Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #134. Who debuted in this Silver Age DC classic, you might be asking? None other than DC’s most feared villain: Darkseid.
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Darkseid is one of the most dangerous villains in the DC Multiverse. Darkseid is the God of Evil, a force of entropy that is the embodiment of all of the worst parts of the human soul. The story of Darkseid’s beginnings is one of the most interesting in the history of DC Comics and has led readers down roads that they never would have gone down with him. Darkseid has been integral to DC in comics, TV, animated movies, video games, and movies, and has gotten more important recently, being the heart of the Absolute DC Universe. The character has had quite a ride over the last 55 years and has earned his spot as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, villains in all of comics.
Darkseid Is the Brainchild of Comics’ Greatest Talent
Jack Kirby is the greatest writer/artist ever. Kirby co-created most of the best classic Marvel characters along with Stan Lee. While Lee has been given most of the credit, Kirby did the vast majority of the work, and Lee’s showman ways and credit-hogging angered Kirby so much that he left Marvel and went to DC Comics. Jack Kirby grew up poor and didn’t believe in taking a job away from anyone, so when he went to DC, he asked which book had a creator leaving, thereby avoiding the possibility of taking another creator’s job (Lee would never do so). He was given Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen, and that led to the dawning of the Fourth World.
Kirby’s work at Marvel and DC reveals a man who was deeply interested in mythology and creating new worlds. The Fourth World was both of these things in a nutshell. Kirby created a new cosmology for the DC Multiverse, introducing readers to the New Gods — Orion, Mister Miracle, Izaya the Highfather, Big Barda, and many more. The New Gods were a pagan myth viewed through the lens of Jack Kirby’s creativity, and each character represented a distinct aspect of humanity. Darkseid was the sum totality of evil in the heart of humanity.
Kirby called Darkseid “the tiger force at the heart of creation”, the dark predatory heart of sentient life. Kirby made Darkseid into the ultimate fascist, a god obsessed with control. Darkseid held his subjects on the burning hellscape of Apokolips in an iron grip, trying to find the Anti-Life Equation, which would allow him to control the minds of all living things. Darkseid was an insidious monster; he was cruel to his enemies and servants, and believed himself to be the only being that mattered in the entire multiverse. Kirby created the perfect villain for the post-WWII world, and that creation has paid dividends.
The Fourth World was never as popular as Kirby’s creations at Marvel with readers, but they’re hugely influential, especially Darkseid. His list of accolades reads like an embarrassment of riches: Not only was he one of the inspirations for Thanos, but eventually, he made the jump to adaptations with SuperFriends in the early ’80s. He then also became an integral part of the post-Crisis DC Universe, starring in the event comic Legends – the first major crossover – and has appeared in multiple places ever since. Darkseid is a special favorite of writer Grant Morrison, who has made the villain a staple of his writing, including the brilliant event Final Crisis. And, of course, Darkseid has appeared in the DCAU shows and animated movies, and was the main villain of the DCEU, even with Snyder’s plans ending up on the scrap pile. Not bad for a villain who first appeared in a Jimmy Olsen book.
Darkseid Is DC’s GOAT
While most people look at characters like Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, of the X-Men as Kirby’s greatest creations, for many of us, it’s the Fourth World. There was just something about what the books said about humanity, all with that amazing Kirby energy to make it special. Darkseid is the best of these characters; a villain who has lived up to his appellation of the God of Evil.
Darkseid first appeared in a comedic book aimed at younger readers and has since grown into a favorite villain of many readers. There’s just something about him. And in him, Kirby created a villain that, in my opinion, is perfect. He’s the most evil thing imaginable, with a rich history that has lent itself well to all kinds of stories. After the Fourth World faded away, Darkseid could have been left in the dustbin of history, but he was too good for that. Who is the greatest villain in comics? Darkseid Is.
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