University of Panels

24: Darkseid

 

While I haven't read many stories centered around the New Gods, I can still acknowledge that the tyranical ruler of Apokolips, Darkseid, is quite easily one of the greatest villains to ever set foot in the DC Universe. Created by the legendary Jack Kirby, Darkseid is the merciless dictator of the hellish planet known as Apokolips, inhabitted by the New Gods. The New Gods are a race of aliens with almost divine powers that inhabit the twin planets New Genesis and Apokolips. While New Genesis is a peaceful and idealic utopia, Apokolips is a brutal industrialized dictatorship with millions of slaves living under Darkseid's rule. Darkseid's ultimate ambition however, is to gain control over a force known as the Anti-Life Equation, a mathematical equation of emotions which when cited in a certian order, lead to the loss of individual will and freedoms. Essentially, those under the influence of Anti-Life are subjected to Darkseid's will, becoming mindless slaves that value negativity and greed over love and compassion (and when that day comes, I will be allowed to say, "Anti-Life justifies my hate of SPIDER-MAN: ONE MORE DAY, but I'm getting ahead of myself). This end goal has brought him into conflict with countless heroes across the DC Universe, and is a match for even powerful heroes like Superman. As long as Darkseid is, no one in the DC Universe is safe...