There are petty crooks, there are costumed criminals, there are supervillains, and then there’s Darkseid. When it comes to DC Universe evildoers, Darkseid is in a league of his own. He’s more than a villain, he’s a god, and he won’t stop until he has the entire universe under his thumb.
If you’ve been keeping up with DC K.O., then you know that DC’s heroes and villains are once again on a collision course with the leader of Apokolips. But how do you defeat Darkseid? Let’s take a look at six of Darkseid’s biggest and most iconic battles and see what our DC K.O. champion can learn from them…
Darkseid’s First Real Battle
Unearthing Darkseid’s first comic book fight is trickier than you might think (says the guy who just spent the whole day doing just that). In most of Darkseid’s earliest appearances he acts as a puppet master, sending his subordinates to do his dirty work. There are plenty of instances of people trying to attack him and Darkseid effortlessly swatting them away with one hit, which I’d hardly call a fight. Therefore, determining Darkseid’s first fight is dependent on how you might define “fight.”
After years of almost-battles and effortlessly repelling wannabe-attackers, Darkseid’s first real fight was with his son Orion in Adventure Comics #460. The battle only lasts a page, but what a page it is. Orion uses his Astro-Force to shield himself from Darkseid’s Omega Beams. Orion then blasts his father into the Great Barrier, which causes him to lose control of his body and turn into a Promethean Giant. DeSaad mistakes Darkseid for a hostile force and uses an Apokolips cannon to destroy him (until he got better for another story).
Lessons for DC K.O.: A giant version of Darkseid isn’t that hard to beat. Orion did it in a few panels.
Darkseid Confronts the Justice League for the First Time
Believe it or not, Darkseid stayed out of the JLA’s way for his first decade of appearances. He wouldn’t encounter the superteam until 1980’s Justice League of America #183-185, a story which began one of the biggest rivalries in the DC Universe. Darkseid attempts to teleport Apokolips to Earth-2, which would destroy the planet and everyone on it. It takes the combined forces of the Justice League of America, Justice Society of America and the New Gods to stop him.
Power Girl, Firestorm and Orion directly take Darkseid on, with Firestorm doing most of the heavy lifting. The Nuclear Man uses his atomic restructuring powers to turn Darkseid’s Omega Beams back at him. Darkseid was eventually finished off by one of his own weapons, which Metron had secretly sabotaged.
Oh, by the way, this storyline features some stunning artwork from the late great George Pérez.
Lessons for DC K.O.: Darkseid’s weapons may be formidable, but you can use them against him.
Darkseid Gets His Butt Kicked by the Legion of Super-Heroes
This is a battle where Darkseid upped his game, brainwashing an entire planet of Daxamites into doing his bidding. To stop Darkseid, the Legion of Super-Heroes have to throw everything they can at the villain. We’re talking almost every Legionnaire who ever existed, a clone of Orion and various other allies. This storyline also features Superman’s (during his Superboy era) first fight with Darkseid and gives us an epic Keith Giffen penciled panel of Superboy and Supergirl punching Darkseid out.
(Superman had met Darkseid before, but they had never directly battled until now)
The battle gets intense, and we even see Darkseid’s iconic armor begin to come apart. The Legion eventually break Darkseid’s hold on the Daxamites, causing the villain to give up and flea. The Great Darkness Saga (which can be found in Legion of Super-Heroes #290-294) is not only one of the best Darkseid stories ever, it’s one of the best DC Universe stories PERIOD.
Lessons for DC K.O.: It turns out Darkseid will run away if you turn billions of brainwashed minions against him. There is strength in numbers…as long as the numbers are in the billions.
A Father and Son Throwdown
Darkseid and his son Orion have had so many epic battles that I could have filled this entire list with them and there still wouldn’t be room for all the best ones. Still, one battle that stands out is in 2000’s Orion #5. The entire issue is just one brutal slugfest between father and son with almost no dialog. Walt Simonson, who wrote and illustrated the issue, really goes all out, using his artwork to depict a fight that gets more intense with each panel.
It’s exciting, it’s electric, it’s explosive (literally) and it lasts the entire issue. The fight finally ends when Orion sends Darkseid’s Omega Beams back at him, making the villain disappear.
Lessons for DC K.O.: If you have Orion’s cell number, you might want to give him a call.
Batman Gives It a Shot
Final Crisis might be one of Darkseid’s greatest victories. It starts with him discovering the Anti-Life Equation and using it to take over the universe. Then he kills his son Orion (don’t worry, he gets better) with a bullet made of Radion, a special substance that is deadly to the New Gods. This would have been the end of the universe if Batman hadn’t intervened. The Dark Knight steals the Radion bullet that had killed Orion, which Darkseid was keeping as a trophy. He then confronts Darkseid, who is still weak after his battle with Orion.
Their skirmish can best be described as a cosmic version of an Old West shootout. Batman, who is typically against firearms, shoots Darkseid with the Radion bullet, while Darkseid blasts Batman with his Omega Sanction beams. The bullet strikes Darkseid, temporarily killing him. However, Batman doesn’t have much time to enjoy his victory before Darkseid’s Omega Sanction beams hit him, sending him back in time. But that’s a story for another time.
Lessons for DC K.O.: When in doubt, just shoot him
War, Death, Rebirth and Babies
One of the biggest confrontations with Darkseid takes place in a Geoff Johns storyline called Darkseid War, and it definitely lives up to its name. Here, Darkseid is pitted against the Anti-Monitor, who is powered by the Anti-Life equation. The Justice League finds itself caught in the crossfire, with Darkseid’s daughter Grail manipulating things for her benefit. The battle lasts multiple issues, and is so action-packed that Darkseid dies twice!
How does that happen exactly? First, the Anti-Monitor fuses with Black Racer and the Flash to finish the New God off. Darkseid is then reborn into the body of Superwoman’s baby, and he nearly succeeds in killing the Justice League. However, an Omega blast from Grail seemingly kills him a second time. In reality, he had been turned back into an infant where presumably, as long as he gets his bottle and has his naps, he shouldn’t be a threat until he grows up.
Lessons for DC K.O.: If you don’t have Darkseid’s son on speed dial…how about his daughter?
As you can see, there is precedent for beating Darkseid. You just have to use his weapons against him, have an army of billions and be on good personal terms with his kids. Of course, Darkseid didn’t have the powers of King Omega for any of these battles, so admittedly, we’re a bit in uncharted territory. Does DC’s ultimate champion have what it takes to defeat Darkseid? Check out this week’s DC K.O. #5 to find out!
DC K.O. #5 by Scott Snyder, Javi Fernández and Alejandro Sánchez is now available in print and as a digital comic book. It can also be read in full on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE.
Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DC.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, "Gotham Gazette." Follow him on Bluesky at @joshualapinbertone and on X at @TBUJosh.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.
