Darkseid was first introduced in 1971 as the villain of Jack Kirby’s ‘Fourth World Saga’ comics — New Gods, Forever People, Mister Miracle, and Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen — he certainly talked a big game: “I am the Revelation! The tiger-force at the core of all things!” he declared in Forever People No. 3. “When you cry out in your dreams — it is Darkseid that you see!”
Zack Snyder’s cut of Justice League will feature Darkseid as the villain, who makes his movie debut during an era in which the real world resembles a comic book nightmare. The mythical Snyder Cut is the unreleased version of the 2017 superhero film Justice League.
The new footage of the much-awaited Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which runs at 34 seconds, puts the spotlight on Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman as she comes across an artefact in a cave-dwelling. Before the clip cuts to the villainous Darkseid, Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor ominously narrates, “The bell’s already been rung, and they’ve heard it. Out in the dark among the stars. Ding dong. The god is dead.”
In concept, Darkseid can be read as the ultimate threat — if he ever achieved his goal of possessing the Anti-Life Equation, the MacGuffin at the heart of the Fourth World Saga, then he would eradicate all free will in the universe. (In some stories written post-Kirby, he did achieve it, and things went as poorly as you might expect.)
Kirby, a World War II veteran, had created a character as an embodiment of fascism that went far beyond earlier examples like Marvel’s Doctor Doom or the Red Skull, both of whom often devolved into cartoonish rants and parodic exhibits of self-sabotaging villainy; by contrast, Darkseid himself preferred to stay silent in the background, outside of the occasional reminder of just how dangerous he could be when necessary.
Actor Ray Porter earlier confirmed via Twitter that he will don the role of the DC supervillain in the upcoming Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Porter tweeted the information, writing, “That said, and because I’ve been given permission… Hi, I’m Ray. I played Darkseid in Zack Snyder’s “Justice League”. There. It’s out now.”
Frequently, Called the God of Evil, Darkseid is a universal tyrant who wants to subjugate all reality, is searching for the Anti-Life Equation, and is obsessed with death. The perfect anthesis of a hero.
All the qualities that Darkseid holds make him a threat in many ways similar to the MCU’s Thanos — a character, notably, somewhat inspired by Kirby’s creation, just a handful of years earlier. Yet, at his heart, he is a more dangerous threat: he doesn’t want to kill, but dominate. And that is what makes him a villain to look out for.
There are many questions that surround this villain – Why does Darkseid want to destroy all free will? What makes him want to rule over everything? Can any one person really be so cruel to want their thoughts to be the only thoughts in existence?
The reason Darkseid was missing from the first incarnation of the Justice League is still a mystery but whatever it may be, this villain is all set to conquer the world now.
It seems as if 2020 and 2021 are the ideal times for this villain to appear in front of the audiences; the world now feels out of control and on the verge of fascism in many areas, priming audiences for a story in which a threat such as Darkseid is not only confronted but, hopefully, pushed back if not finished forever after all. He would not just serve as a villain but also a relatable threat to society itself. Something, we see in various shapes and forms every day.
