Darkseid (pronounced "Darkside") is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby and first appears in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 (cover-dated Nov. 1970).

Darkseid is one of the most powerful beings in the DC universe. He is the evil ruler of the planet Apokolips, and his ultimate goal is to conquer the Universe.

Biography

The son of King Yuga Khan and Queen Heggra, Prince Uxas, second in line to the throne of Apokolips, plotted to seize power over the planet. When his brother, Drax, attempted to claim the fabled Omega Force, Uxas murdered him, and he took the power for himself which as a result transformed him into a rock-like creature, and taking a new name: Darkseid. At some point in time, he fell in love with an Apokoliptian scientist and sorceress named Suli, with whom he had a son, Kalibak; however, Suli was poisoned by Desaad on Heggra's behalf, who believed that Suli was corrupting her son. Following Suli's death, Darkseid's heart grew even colder, and he ordered Desaad to poison Heggra, and as soon as he did, Darkseid finally became the supreme monarch of Apokolips. Darkseid had briefly been forced by his mother to marry Tigra, with whom he also had a son. After murdering his mother, Darkseid ordered Tigra to eliminate their son, Orion, who was switched with the Highfather's son, Scott Free, so as to keep peace.

The destructive war with the rival planet, New Genesis, was stopped only with a diplomatic exchange of the sons of Highfather and Darkseid. Darkseid's second born son was surrendered to Highfather, while Darkseid received Scott Free, who later became the master escape artist Mister Miracle. This eventually turned out to be a setback for Darkseid, with his biological son growing up to value and defend the ideals of New Genesis in opposition to his father. The prophecy foretold that Darkseid would meet his final defeat at the hands of his son in a cataclysmic battle in the fiery Armageddon of Apokolips.



Seeing other deities as a threat, Darkseid invaded the island of Themyscira in order to discover the secret location of the Olympian deities, planning to overthrow the Olympians and steal their power. Refusing to aid Darkseid in his mad quest, the Amazons battled his parademon troops, causing half of the Amazon population's death. Wonder Woman was able to gain her revenge against Darkseid for killing so many of her sisters by placing a portion of her own soul into Darkseid. This supposedly weakened the god's power as he lost a portion of his dark edge.

Darkseid's goal was to eliminate all free will from the universe and reshape it into his own image. To this end, he sought to unravel the mysterious Anti-Life Equation, which gives its user complete control over the thoughts and emotions of all living beings in the universe. Darkseid had tried on several other occasions to achieve dominance of the universe through other methods, most notably through his minion Glorious Godfrey, who could control people's minds with his voice. He had a special interest in Earth, as he believed humans possess collectively within their minds most, if not all, fragments of the Anti-Life Equation. Darkseid intended to probe the minds of every human in order to piece together the Equation. This has caused him to clash with many superheroes of the DC Universe, most notably the Kryptonian Superman, a relationship that was extremely antagonistic. Darkseid worked behind the scenes, using superpowered minions in his schemes to overthrow Earth, including working through Intergang, a crime syndicate which employs Apokoliptian technology and later morphed into a religious cult that worships Darkseid as the god of Evil.




The Great Darkness Saga

One thousand years in the future, Darkseid has been absent for centuries and is almost completely forgotten. He returns and comes into conflict with that era's champions, the Legion of Super-Heroes. After using both scientific and magical methods to enhance his power, Darkseid transposes the planets Apokolips and Daxam—which places Daxam under a yellow sun and gives each of its inhabitants Kryptonian-like superpowers equal to those of Superman. Placing the Daxamites under his mental thrall, he uses them in a massive attempt to conquer the known universe. However, he is eventually defeated by the Legion and many of its allies.


Seven Soldiers and "Boss Dark Side"

In Grant Morrison's 2005 Mister Miracle limited series, it was revealed that Darkseid had finally discovered the Anti-Life Equation, which he then used to destroy the Fourth World altogether. The New Gods fled to Earth, where they hid. Highfather and his followers were now a group of homeless people. Metron used a wheelchair, the Black Racer was an old white man in a wheelchair, Desaad was an evil psychiatrist, Granny Goodness was a pimp (or "madam") for the Female Furies, and Darkseid himself was now an evil gang leader who is referred to only as "Boss Dark Side". It is revealed that Darkseid actually gave the Sheeda North America in return for Aurakles, Earth's first superhero. This was, in turn, purely in order for Darkseid to get Shilo Norman, whom he considers the "Avatar of Freedom", in his clutches so that he could eventually destroy the New Gods.


Final Crisis


As prophesied, Orion returns to Earth via Boom Tube for his final battle with Darkseid. During the massive fight, Orion ultimately kills him by ripping his heart out, which created a firepit of Apokolips from Darkseid's chest cavity (in reference to the prophecy of their final battle). As Darkseid dies, a battered, wounded Orion walks away from the battlefield having "won" the battle against his father once and for all. However, Darkseid's life essence endured even the death of his body and fell back in time, where he was reborn as "Boss Dark Side", aided by his resurrected minions and the supervillain Libra.

Now, once again bound to the form of a human, "Boss Dark Side" began to appear in a number of titles in the run up to Final Crisis. In Flash (vol. 2) #240, he led an army of fanatics, their will broken by the "spoken form" of the Anti-Life Equation, to kidnap the Tornado Twins. In Birds of Prey #118, he runs his Dark Side Club where superhumans fight to the death, brainwashed by drugs produced by Bernadeth. In Teen Titans #59, it was revealed that he had employed the Terror Titans to capture the Teen Titans and use them in his club fights.

In Final Crisis, Darkseid has begun to take over Earth and corrupt the Multiverse with the aid of his herald Libra, a reborn supervillain and antichrist-like figure who soon converts much of the Secret Society of Super Villains to his cause with the aid of the Crime Bible and the Holy Lance. Darkseid is also joined by the souls of his fellow evil New Gods, who, like Darkseid, now possess either modified human bodies or the bodies of other superpowered beings, such as Mary Marvel.

Darkseid also arranges for detective Dan Turpin to be lured into the Dark Side Club, where Turpin is turned into Darkseid's "final host", as his Boss Dark Side body has begun to mummify due to Darkseid's foul astral presence. With his legion of followers and allies aiding him as he undergoes his latest "rebirth", Darkseid successfully conquers the Earth with the unleashing of the Anti-Life Equation onto mankind. However, the rebirthing process is still far from complete as Dan Turpin's mind and soul, while corrupted by Darkseid's essence, still remains in firm control over his body. However, at the same moment Shilo Norman, the "Embodiment of Freedom" is shot by S.H.A.D.E. operatives, thus signalling the "Victory of Evil". Darkseid wins control over Turpin's body, now twisted in a close copy of his Apokoliptan former appearance, and wearing an updated version of his battle armor. Darkseid then gains the fullest of his power, his "fall" having the effect of compressing and crumpling space-time around Earth.

After escaping from captivity, Batman shoots Darkseid with the same radion bullet that killed Orion, while Darkseid simultaneously hits Batman with the Omega Sanction, sending back in time and then "infecting" Batman with Omega energy that will cause him to jump forward in time, with disastrous results when he reaches the present. Darkseid is mortally wounded, but not before his Omega Sanction teleports Batman into prehistoric times. Remains believed to be Batman's (later revealed to be the last of the many Batman clones that Darkseid created) are found by Superman, who confronts Darkseid. As Darkseid mocks his old enemy for failing to defend Earth, it emerges that in Darkseid's fall through the multiverse, he created a doomsday singularity that now threatens all of existence. When Superman attempts to physically assault him, Darkseid reveals that he now exists inside the bodies of all those who fell to the power of the Anti-Life Equation and that killing Darkseid will kill humanity. Darkseid then reloads the gun that was used to shoot him, to kill Orion by way of firing the bullet backwards in time (a move Superman deems to be suicide due to the paradoxical nature of his actions: the bullet used to kill Orion is ultimately fired at him by Batman and is now poisoning him to death).

Before Darkseid can use the Omega Effect to kill Superman, Barry Allen and Wally West lead the Black Racer to Darkseid and making contact with him frees Turpin from Darkseid's control. Wonder Woman (having been freed from possession by one of Darkseid's minions) then uses her lasso of truth to bind Darkseid's spirit form, effectively freeing humanity from the Anti-Life Equation and being controlled by Darkseid. In his final effort, Darkseid's disembodied essence appears and tries to seize the Miracle Machine Superman has created; however, Superman uses counter-vibrations to destroy him. Furthermore, the last piece of Darkseid's plan fails when Batman, thanks to the actions of the new Batman (Dick Grayson), Red Robin (Tim Drake), Robin (Damian Wayne), and the Justice League, is able to return safely to the present, consuming the Omega Energy in his body without damaging the time-stream further, thus becoming the second individual, along with Mister Miracle, to escape the Omega Sanction.

Doctor Impossible later manipulates the Crime Syndicate of America into helping him resurrect Darkseid via a machine that draws energy from the Multiverse itself. The resurrection backfires, and instead creates a new being known as the Omega Man.


The New 52
In Justice League #1, Darkseid's name is invoked by a Parademon. He is later mentioned again in Justice League #2, and in Justice League #3 Darkseid makes his first appearance in the series, seen in a vision by Victor Stone after he is injured by an exploding Mother Box. In the final pages of Justice League #4, Darkseid himself appears. In Justice League #5, the League confronts him but they are overpowered by him, when he severely hurts Superman with his Omega Beams and breaks Green Lantern's arm. Finally, in Justice League #6, Darkseid is driven out when Cyborg activates the invaders' Mother Boxes and Superman forces him through a Boom Tube. The incidents that occur in these issues make Darkseid the very first foe the newly formed League faces as a team. The issue also reveals Desaad and Steppenwolf, referring to Darkseid's daughter and their ceaseless search for her across countless worlds. Darkseid's daughter escapes containment in Justice League of America's Vibe #7 after the dampeners on her cage are temporarily disabled.

In DC's The New 52 continuity, there is only one set of New Gods across the 52 Multiverse. So as Darkseid invades Prime Earth in Justice League, he sends his lieutenant Steppenwolf to do the same, with greater success, on Earth 2, resulting in the deaths of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, and stranding Helena Wayne and Kara Zor-L on Prime Earth. Five years later, Darkseid once again invades Earth 2, which never fully recovered from his armies' earlier assault, and it is revealed that he and Highfather of New Genesis struck a deal allowing him the unchallenged right to invade Earth 2.

In Darkseid #1, his background story was revealed. Formerly a farmer named Uxas, he hated the deities of his world. So he traveled up to their mountain while they slept and tricked them all into fighting each other, and as they were all weakened from the war, he killed them one by one with his scythe (similar to Kronos of Greek Mythology) and stole their power, before destroying his world and creating Apokolips.


The Darkseid War
The Anti-Monitor proceeded to bring Grail over to his side and decimated the entire universe of Earth 3 in an effort to give himself enough power to kill Darkseid. Breaking into the universe of Earth 0, the Anti-Monitor witnessed the ARGUS Insurgency, but decided not to invade. While roaming Earth 3's ruins, the Anti-Monitor was confronted by Metron and ignored the fact that the Brainiac God had begun to stir. With the assistance of Grail, the Anti-Monitor finally knocked the New God off of the chair. Declaring he would kill Darkseid, the Anti-Monitor prepared to march his troops.

Viewing Telos "bleed" into the universe of Earth 0, Darkseid did not concern himself with the potential fall of reality. Instead, he understood that the time for the Darkseid War had begun and sent Kanto and Lyshina to Earth 0 to search for Myrina. Attacked by Mr. Miracle, Darkseid fought his son and easily defeated him, forcing Miracle to flee. The Justice League proceeded to investigate Kanto's murders, but were brought straight into the path of Grail. With Grail easily defeating the few Justice League members present, she was able to summon the Anti-Monitor to Earth 0. Miracle, meanwhile, ended up straight into the path of Kanto before winding up in front of Myrina Black, who declared her intention to kill Miracle's father. After Miracle refused to let Myrina sacrifice Earth 0, even she turned against him, forcing the escapist to flee once more. Superman and Lex Luthor, betrayed by Lena Luthor after surgery on the villain Neutron was performed, ended up on Apokolips. There, Darkseid unleashed his masses upon them, hoping to destroy the soul of Superman. As the slaves of Apokolips swarmed Superman, the lack of solar energy began to slowly drain his powers. As the Parademons finally caught up to Luthor and Superman, the former sensed that the Fire Pits contained solar energy and dropped Superman into them. When the Man of Steel emerged, however, he was stained and changed by the evil in the pits. Kalibak shortly thereafter prepared to join his father against the Anti-Monitor. Before the Justice League could rebound and attack the Anti-Monitor, they were teleported away by Metron. In the following confusion, Wonder Woman uses her lasso and pulls Metron of the Mobius Chair and Batman grabs the chair and sits upon it and he then harnesses the power of the New Gods.

Refusing to get off the Mobius Chair, Batman became one of the New Gods and tried to figure out more about the Anti-Monitor. Kanto and Lashina continued their search of Myrina Black, deciding they would take care of Miracle as well. While Grail began to summon Darkseid, Miracle arrived before the Justice League to bring them to fight the Dark God. Batman and Green Lantern, however, decide to learn more about the Anti-Monitor in a hope to defeat him, they both travel to the Anti-Universe. Leaving Metron chained and alone, the bulk of the Justice League arrived just before Darkseid, Kalibak and the Parademon Army were summoned. Darkseid proceeded to meet the Anti-Monitor in battle, Kalibak fought Grail and the Parademons battled Mobius' legions. Darkseid then summons the Black Racer to kill the Anti-Monitor, but the Anti-Monitor then takes control of the Black Racer using the powers of the Anti-Life Equation and then proceeds to fuse him with The Flash creating a new embodiment for Death, and then the Anti-Monitor uses him to kill Darkseid by making him run stright through Darkseid, ending him once and for all.

With Darkseid lying dead, Flash states as to feeling reformed by this new force of power of death calling it his own. Flash is named "God of Death." Meanwhile on Apokolips, Superman recounts the motherboxes preaching of Darkseid's death while he fights Lex Luthor, Leading to him ripping the armor from Lex and telling him that if he returns to earth, his actions will result in his death. Superman is named "God of Strength" as he leaves Lex on Apokolips to fly to Earth. Trantitioning to Batman on the mobius chair where he, upon recognizing Darkseid's death, activates Hal's ring to show him the Parademons of Darkseid's army are attacking Oa, ponders the changes he can make to Gotham with his newfound power, Batman is named "God of Knowledge." Meanwhile on Apokolips, Lex is being taken captive by a roaming groups of raider who have come seeking a prophet from Earth who was a "an orphan, a humble son of farmers..." to which Lex states he is. The surrounding raiders begin to bow to Lex and the leader tells them "He hasn't earned that yet" and electrocutes Lex, knocking him out. While Flash mentally disagrees with the overwhelming thoughts of Death, he runs as an attempt to outrun Death. Shazam begins to hear multiple voices as if coming from all directions as power-imbued lightening shoots down from the sky, granting him as being "God of Gods" calling him to go to The New Gods. At this time Kalibak and his minions surround Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Power Ring and Steve Trevor claiming to be there to kill them. Lex Luthor wakes in the middle of a illuminated pit with wires draping over him running red with Omega energy, left behind with Darkseid's passing, which needs to be recontained. Lex is then scorched with the incredible power of Omega effect. Grail and Mother stand looking out on a tranforming Anti-Monitor claiming that he is turning into Mobius, and when he returns they will finally get what they want. Lex Stands surrounded by energy witha sinister grin across his face as he says, "Long Live Lex Luthor" the God of Apokolips.