DC Comics’ 10 Greatest Threats to Earth, Ranked

DC Comics has created some of the most powerful superheroes ever and there’s a good reason for that: their villains are a cut above the rest. Now, obviously, this is a chicken and egg situation; when you have people like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, and the rest, you’re going to need powerful antagonists, and their threats cause power levels to go up. Of course, as with all things, there are levels. Some villains are just colorful criminals, some of them are bad guys who control cities, and so on. Above them are the villains who are threats to everything. These are the upper crust, the bad guys who can destroy the Earth and beyond, the ones that everyone is scared of.

The heroes of the Earth are some of the greatest, most formidable protectors of the planet and with villains like these, they need to be. These enemies could destroy the planet anytime they want to, giving stories massive stakes. These ten DC villains are the biggest threats to the Earth, the cream of the villainous crop.

10) Mongul

Superman faces the most dangerous villains, but even among that number Mongul is something special. Mongul isn’t so much a name as it is a title. He’s the leader of Warworld, a planet that plies the star and conquers, and the only way to become the lord of the Warzoon is to defeat all comers. To become Mongul isn’t just about power, it’ sabout being smart and knowing how to use what you have. They are the commanders of one of the most dangerous forces in the universe, and the Earth trembles when Warworld comes close.

9) Johnny Sorrow

Once upon a time, Johnny Sorrow was a vaudeville actor who lost his career to the “talkies”. He was able to get his hands on a machine that allowed him to phase through matter, and tried to become a bankrobber but was foiled by the Justice Society. The battle damaged the machine, and when he turned it on, he was thrown into the Subtle Realms, the home of Lovecraftian horrors. They gave him great power and made him their servant. Since then, he’s tried to feed the planet to those those dark elder gods and has almost succeeded several times.

8) Eclipso

Eclipso is one of the most powerful beings in the universe. The former Angel of God’s Wrath, he lost his post because of his zeal for hurting humanity, and soon became a part of Darkseid’s twisted plan for the universe. He has vast reservoirs of power, and can create armies by taking control of the minds of everyone around him. Under a eclipse, he gains even more power, but even in the light of day, he’s powerful enough to destroy the world with just a thought.

7) The Great Darkness

The Great Darkness isn’t a being, not really. It’s the void before creation, the darkness of nothing. It was introduced in Alan Moore’s brilliant Swamp Thing saga “American Gothic”, the end of everything come early thanks to some magical shenanigans. It doesn’t have malice; it just exists. Saying that it exists is also something of a misnomer; the whole point is it doesn’t actually exist and neither does anything it touches. It is the personification of entropy and in some ways, every villain is a part of it. It returned in Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, and is always out there in the void that surrounds all things, ready to bring back the primordial darkness.

6) Brainiac

Brainiac is one of Superman’s most storied villains and one of the most dangerous. The cybernetic Coluan psychopath is the most intelligent being in the cosmos, plying the stars in his distinctive skull ship, stealing cities, and destroying solar systems. He’s powerful enough to fight Superman hand to hand, has drones capable of doing the same, and his ship is full of weapons that can destroy an entire planet with ease. He’s DC’s most dangerous cosmic predator and every time he enters the Sol system, it’s a cause for fear.

5) Starro the Conqueror

The Justice League battles the most dangerous enemies, and they started out as they would go on. Their first challenge was Starro the Conqueror. Starro comes from a race of kaiju-sized star fish, but its size and various abilities aren’t what make it so dangerous. Starros attack planets, using their spawn to control the mind of everyone they touch. Starros can transform entire planets into slave pens, turning their enemies into tools of conquest, and overwhelming anyone who stands against them.

4) The Batman Who Laughs

The Batman Who Laughs has been gone for several years, but there’s no denying how dangerous he is. He hails from the Dark Multiverse; on his world, he was infected by a Joker virus that took away his morality. He became a true killer, destroying the superheroes and supervillains of his world before killing everyone on the planet. He was found by Barbatos and brought into battle against the forces of the multiverse, becoming one of the greatest threats ever.. He’s an evil Batman of the highest level, which means that he has plans to defeat anyone. Fans got real tired of him real quick, but there’s no denying that he’s a world-ender.

3) Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor is DC’s most unhinged genius. Unlike the others on this list, he doesn’t want to destroy the world. He claims to love humanity and want them to be better, and there is something to that. However, there’s no actual altruism in him; he believes himself the greatest human, and aggrandizing his people is aggrandizing himself. He has weapons capable of defeating just about any metahuman on the planet, and if he ever gets his way, the planet will be his.

2) The Anti-Monitor

DC has villains with high kill counts, but none of them can match the Anti-Monitor. The son of Perpetua, the evil creator of the multiverse, he’s the personification of anti-matter. He wants only one thing: to rule an entire multiverse of anti-matter, devouring everything in his way. In Crisis on Infinite Earths, he began his quest in earnest, destroying universe after universe. Countless beings died in his rampage and he was only defeated by the skin of the heroes’ teeth. He’s returned several times since and it’s always an all hands on deck moment, because he has the power to destroy universes with a thought.

1) Darkseid

Darkseid isn’t the most powerful villain the heroes of the Earth have faced, but he’s the most dangerous. The God of Evil has been hunting the Anti-Life Equation for ages, wanting to use its power to become the only personality in the multiverse, controlling everyone else and worshiped by those under him. He can battle it out with basically every hero on Earth, and has a better than a 50/50 chance of winning. He’s the greatest threat to the planet, all because he never goes away. He’s always there, in the hearts of every evil being on Earth.

Who do you think is the greatest threat to DC’s Earth? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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