James Gunn Is Right, Darkseid Can’t Be The DCU’s Answer To Thanos

The race is on to figure out who the Big Bad of the first chapter of the DC Universe will be. Peacemaker Season 2 certainly does its part, introducing the reality known as “Salvation,” which will act as the government’s prison for metahumans. In the comics, Salvation has a major connection to Darkseid and the New Gods. The beings from Apokolips use the planet as a training ground and run into some villains who would rather not end up as Parademon food. That fact makes it fair to assume that Darkseid will make his way to the DCU in the near future and cause problems for Superman and Co.

There’s a problem with that line of thinking, though. James Gunn, co-CEO of DC Studios, is screaming from the rooftops that he’s not interested in having Darkseid be the main villain of his franchise right now. His explanation involves shouting out Zack Snyder, who introduced a live-action version of the character in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and Marvel, which already did the whole alien-villain-from-space thing with Thanos. However, while Gunn is on the right track, he’s leaving out the most important reason that Darkseid shouldn’t be the DCU’s answer to the Mad Titan.

Darkseid Should Have Beef With One DC Hero, Not All of Them

Since Zack Snyder’s Justice League is Darkseid’s biggest claim to fame, it’s a good idea to look at the character from that movie’s perspective. His entire purpose is to seek out the Anti-Life Equation, which will allow him to rewrite the universe in his image. In the DC Extended Universe, it just so happens that Darkeid’s treasure resides on Earth, so he sends Steppenwolf to retrieve it. While sending a lackey to do his dirty work is very Thanos of him, the comparisons stop there because the Knightmare reality offers a peek behind the curtain at his true goal. Batman sees visions of an Earth that’s under Darkseid’s control, but the villain isn’t his biggest roadblock; Superman is.

Darkseid corrupts Superman and turns him into his hammer because he knows that he’ll never succeed with the Kryptonian firing on all cylinders. That’s one aspect of the DCEU that the DCU should borrow because Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and the rest of the Justice League are small potatoes compared to the Man of Steel. Whether it’s in Man of Tomorrow or another Superman project, Darkseid setting his sights on Clark Kent and Clark Kent alone would open so many interesting doors, not only for the villain himself but for whoever takes his place at the top.

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Making Darkseid a Superman Villain Would Allow Another Bad Guy to Shine

With Darkseid off the table, all eyes are on the Centre, aka Dinosaur Island. In the DC: The New Frontier, the universe’s heroes find themselves up against a peculiar opponent. A giant sentient island starts making trouble, forcing Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest to put aside their differences and start working together. It takes everything they have to subdue the alien being, as it’s been around the block and has a countermeasure for just about everything, including Superman. However, despite appearing in one of DC’s most iconic stories, the Centre is by no means a household name. That could change in the near future, though, as Peacemaker Season 2 lays out the red carpet for it.

When Christopher Smith arrives on Salvation, he hears terrifying sounds that seem to come from alien creatures. The prevailing theory is that Parademons are nearby, but Gunn’s comments squash that idea. Peacemaker might find himself up against dinosaurs, the same kind that live on the Centre in The New Frontier. Now, getting a giant island to the same level as Thanos is a tall task, but there’s no one better equipped to take it on than Gunn. After all, he’s the one responsible for Ego the Living Planet being one of the better villains in Marvel Cinematic Universe history. If he doesn’t see potential in Darkseid just yet, then whoever he does have faith in is sure to deliver.

How would you feel about Darkseid taking a backseat in the DCU? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!