Dark Facts

Are you a fan of The Lord of Apokolips? Because today we got One Dozen Darkseid Facts.

1. Jack Kirby modelled Darkseid's face off of actor and singer Jack Palance.

2. Darkseid first appeared behind a monitor screen in "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134" in 1970, with Caucasian skin and a metal flat head. When he reappeared in "The Forever People #1" in 1971, his skin was similar to stone.

3. Darkseid is ruler of Apokolips, a planet covered in machinery and deep pits that shoot pillars of fire upward. This planet is home to Darkseid's many minions, as well as advanced technology like The Mother Box, a device that can be used for information gathering, communicating, energy suspension, teleportation and much more. In the New 52, Cyborg was bonded to a Mother Box, giving him far more abilities than previous versions had.

4. Apokolips' sister world is New Genesis, home to several New Gods heroes like Highfather, Orion, and Lightray. Apokolips and New Genesis were created when the Old Gods-resembling The Norse Gods-died from Ragnarok and were reborn as New Gods. In 2008's "Final Crisis" The New Gods met their fate by Ragnarok and several New Gods were moved into human bodies. As a human, Darkseid became Boss Dark Side, a crime lord who had to possess other bodies to maintain his Godly powers.

5. In an attempt to stop their constant battling, Darkseid and Highfather made a pact by trading their first born sons. Highfather raised Darkseid's son Orion, and Darkseid raised Highfather's son Scott Free. Orion grew up an outcast, very temperamental and violent, and as he grew his face began to resemble Darkseid's. Scott Free was given to Granny Goodness, Darkseid's warrior trainer who tortured Scott so mercilessly Scott gained the ability to escape any trap. Scott left Apokolips and became a stunt performing superhero on Earth named Mister Miracle.

6. Granny Goodness also trained Darksied's Furies, a group of warrior women with deadly abilities. Among them are Lashina, Stompa, Mad Harriet, and, of course, Big Barda. Barda fell in love with Scott Free and left with him to Earth. In "The Supergirl From Krypton" Darkseid kidnaps the newly welcomed Supergirl from Themyscira. So Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman recruit Big Barda to take them to Apokolips and save Supergirl.

7. Darkseid's single goal is domination of the entire galaxy. To achieve this he has sought out The Anti-Life Equation. A mathematical equation proving without a reasonable doubt that life and freewill are meaningless. Darkseid seeks to use this to brainwash all beings. He has gained and lost the equation numerous times, and the equation itself has been found in many places-such as in Martian philosophy or inside a Japanese sumo wrestler named Sonny Sumo-and has taken many forms. In "Justice League: Unlimited" it was a strand of DNA Lex Luthor pulled from The Source Wall, Pied Piper played it in a musical sequence on his pipe, and The Calculator tried to put together using fragments found online. In "Darkseid War" we learn The Anti-Moniter (a being who once destroyed the multiverse) used to be a scientist who physically touched The Anti-Life Equation and became a physical representation of the Equation. The only writer to show the equation written out was Grant Morrison, writing as:
loneliness + alienation + fear + despair + self-worth ÷ mockery ÷ condemnation ÷ misunderstanding × guilt × shame × failure × judgment n=y where y=hope and n=folly, love=lies, life=death, self=dark side

8. Darkseid's real name is Uxas. In order to obtain the power called The Omega Force, Uxas fought and killed his brother Drax. Once given The Omega Force, Uxas gained a rocky exterior, immense strength, and the ability to disintegrate any target with heat seeking eye lasers called The Omega Beams. Ironically, Drax is also the name of a Marvel Comic's character who's sole mission in life is to kill Thanos-a character heavily based off of Darkseid.

9. Superman is one of the only people to actually survive an Omega Beam, and Batman is the only non-superpowered superhero to every dodge an Omega Beam. Wonder Woman can block Omega Beams by using her bracelets. During "Final Crisis" Darkseid hit Batman with his Omega Beams and Batman was thought to be dead. In actuality, Batman was being cloned by Darkseid's minion Desaad so that Darkseid's army could have Batman's brilliant tactician mind, but none of the clones could cope with Batman's insanity. Batman had actually been sent back in time by Darkseid's Omega Sanction, forcing Bruce Wayne to live the lives of his ancestors. One of Batman's many suits-The Hellcat-was an armored suit forged by The Justice League so that Batman could fight Darkseid if he had to. And when Darkseid held the corpse of Damian Wayne/Robin, Batman donned the armor and fought Darkseid.

10. Darkseid's family includes his traded son Orion, his barbaric son Kalibak, his uncle Steppenwolf, and his daughter Grail. During "Darkseid War" Darkseid is killed by The Anti-Moninter, but reincarnated and raised by Grail.

11. Darkseid has been the villain of many DC heroes. Clashing with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern on several occasions. New 52 Cyborg is tied to Darkseid and The Mother Box technology. Darkseid has battled The Teen Titans as well as The Legion of Superheroes in the 30th Century. Much like his flying monsters The Parademons, Darkseid also created sea-based lifeforms called The Deep Six who have fought Aquaman. He has been both an ally and enemy of Lex Luthor, with Lex once taking his place as Ruler of Apokolips. And in "Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe" Darkseid was fused with Shao Khan and became Dark Khan, fighting the forces of both worlds.

12. In "Teen Titans Go", The Teen Titans attempt to rescue The Justice League from Darkseid by using their costumes and weapons. Darkseid is voiced by Weird Al Yankovic, which Cyborg recognizes. Darkseid defeats most of the Titans, but Cyborg kills Darkseid using a big cannon.

Thanks for reading!

Do you accept Darkseid as your new lord and savior?