| Darkseid | |
|---|---|
| |
| Information | |
| Real name: | Uxas |
| AKA: | Shadow-Lord, The Tyrant (by Irene Adler) |
| Species: | New God |
| Hair: | None (formerly black) |
| Eyes: | Red |
| Relatives: | Yuga Khan, (father) Heggra, (mother), Steppenwolf (uncle), Highfather (brother), Drax (brother), Suli (lover, deceased), Tigra (lover, deceased) Kalibak (son), Orion (son), Grayven (son), Grail (daughter), Unnamed (lover, deceased), Myrina (lover), Scott Free (nephew/step-son) |
| Base: | Apokolips |
| Affiliations: | Dheronians, New Gods, Apokolips |
| Rogue of: | Superman, New Genesis, Justice League |
| Abilities: | Superhuman strength, stamina, and durability, and the Omega Beam |
Darkseid is the absolute ruler of Apokolips. He is malice personified, a merciless tyrant who demands unwavering devotion and abject fear from all his subjects.
History[]
Eons ago when the Old Gods fell in complacency and became cruel, a man who would be known as Darkseid took advantage of the gods and struck them at their weakest, killing them and causing the Godwave which imbued others including Darkseid with the Old Gods' powers. Darkseid rules Apokolips with an iron fist and his notoriety is widely feared and embedded in legends across the known universe. Darkseid's perpetual rival is his brother Highfather, the leader of New Genesis. For years, Apokolips and New Genesis waged a brutal war until an truce was finally agreed upon.
Darkseid's ultimate goal is to bring the universe under his control. To achieve this end, he seeks the cosmic power of the Anti-Life Equation. When Darkseid discover the planet Krypton and its people's drive for knowledge, he saw them as the potential tools to locating the Anti-Life Equation. However, when the Kryptonians thrived than he anticipated, Darkseid realized they are a threat to him and must be destroyed. He approached the Dheronians, the banished enemies of the Kryptonians, and provided them Apokoliptian technology into regaining their military power with promises of having their revenge on the Kryptonians in exchange for worshiping him as their god. By the time of the end of the Krypton-Shi'ar War, the Dheronians made their move in using Boom-Tube technology and teleporting a series of probes into Krypton's core, generating a force-field that prevented heat from dissipating to the surface and causing the planet to explode.
Later on, Darkseid would take notice of Earth in the aftermath of the Kree-Skrull invasion of Earth when he approached the damaged remnant of Ronan the Accuser's flagship. After killing the Kree crew with his Omega Beams and leaving only Ronan alive, Darkseid demands the Accuser for information and learning about one surviving Kryptonian, Superman.[1] Darkseid then commanded Tyr'ell, the leader of the Dheronians, into eliminating the last Kryptonians on Earth. However, the Dheronians were defeated by Earth's heroes which led to Tyr'ell's suicide from revealing his enemies on the identity of his benefactor. Despite the Dheronians' failures, Darkseid had expected it to happened.[2]
Darkseid later arranged for Superman's capture. Superman was brought to Apokolips and tortured for a week by Darkseid's servants in an attempt to gain the knowledge of the Anti-Life Equation, which they believed Superman knew. When his servants failed to get results, Darkseid confronted them and discovered, to his annoyance, that they had been using the term "Anti-Life Equation" when they should have been using the term "Computation of Rao." After punishing them for their incompetence, Darkseid approached Superman and revealed the equation's alternate name, as well as explaining his motives for destroying Krypton. He then left his minions to continue the torture, confidently expecting them to get the information he wanted by the next day.
Unfortunately for Darkseid, Superman's friends and allies journeyed to Apokolips to rescue him. Darkseid was initially unconcerned, having dealt with the likes of Lobo (who was among them) before, but he then became intrigued when Glorious Godfrey revealed that someone had taken control of an Apokoliptian machine on Earth and had even reconfigured its function. Deciding to look into the matter later, Darkseid left his lieutenants to deal with the intruders. Much to his fury, the intruders succeeded in rescuing Superman and fled. An enraged Darkseid then used his Omega Beams to torture his lieutenants for their failure.
Personality[]
As mentioned above, Darkseid is a being of pure, unadulterated malice, and can even be called the God of Evil. He is utterly ruthless and cruel, and takes every opportunity to oppress and enslave those under his control, psychically feeding on their misery and despair. His lust for power is insatiable, and he will unhesitantly destroy anything and anyone who dares to stand in his path for universal domination.
Darkseid is also very arrogant, demanding to be worshiped by his subjects as a god. Given his vast power, his self-status as a deity is quite legitimate. Despite his arrogance, Darkseid is very pragmatic and never underestimates his opponents. If he must wait in order to get what he wants, then he will do so with a remarkable amount of patience. His mind is as dangerous as his power, if not moreso, as he is a very skilled manipulator and a master strategist. Surprising him is very difficult, and even if someone manages to accomplish this rare task, Darkseid never loses his calm, emotionless demeanor.
Though he is exceptionally powerful, Darkseid rarely deals with his enemies directly, opting to have his henchmen do the dirty work. This does not stem from cowardice or laziness, but rather Darkseid's preference to get his hands dirty only against those whom he considers to be worthy opponents, though he does have a habit of personally killing servants who have failed him or minor annoyances who happen to conveniently be in his presence with his Omega Beams.
In addition, Darkseid is utterly fearless, and respects no one, despite occasionally acknowledging someone as a worthy foe. Considering his reputation, power, and intelligence, there is little he has to fear. Overall, his description as being evil incarnate is well earned, and he poses the greatest threat to all life in the universe.
The only person towards whom Darkseid showed any compassion was his lover, Suli, whose death hardened his heart into the black, rotting offal it is now. Despite insisting that her death was a necessity, buried deep beneath his craggy and malevolent demeanor is a sense of deep regret for failing to prevent her from dying.
Powers and Abilities[]
Darkseid is omnipotent, plain and simple. He possesses overwhelming physical strength and is an extremely skilled combatant. His primary weapon of choice is the Omega Beam, which can kill, torture, or teleport anything or anyone it comes into contact with. This deadly technique has a legendary level of accuracy, being able to follow its target like a homing device, making it almost impossible to dodge. While Darkseid tends to have his minions do the fighting for him or simply incinerate his foe with Omega Beams, he will get his hands dirty when he needs to, showing exceptional skill.
Darkseid has an infinite natural lifespan, and even though it is possible to kill him, doing so is extremely difficult, as aside from his power, he is also very durable, able to shrug off most attacks effortlessly or take significant amounts of damage and keep fighting. He is also an accomplished telepath and brainwasher, which he often uses to intimidate his subordinates, aside from his already insidious presence. Due to the Omega Effect, Darkseid can also teleport, fly, and create energy barriers around him.
However, Darkseid's greatest weapon is his genius-level intellect: he is a master manipulator, strategist, and planner, and can turn almost any situation to his advantage almost immediately. Outwitting him is almost impossible, and even then, anyone who manages to do so likely will not live to brag about it.