10 Characters That Could Replace Darkseid As The DCU’s First Big Villain

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• The DC Universe could introduce new villains to replace Darkseid.
• Barbatos, Nekron, Sinestro, and the Anti-Monitor are potential replacements.
• Darkseid himself could also be a major threat in the DCU, creating a bridge between different continuities.

The DC Universe could introduce several new villains as potential replacements for Darkseid. With DC Studios planning the upcoming DCU franchise as a follow-up to the DCEU, James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy will act as the franchise’s official launch theatrically, with new versions of the Man of Steel and other DC heroes to be included. In addition to the new DC heroes to be featured in the DCU, the franchise will also include new villains, though the universe’s arch-villain has yet to be announced.

For the DCEU, Darkseid was initially intended to be the major cosmic threat for the heroes of the universe to face, with Darkseid first introduced in Zack Snyder’s Justice League and intended as the main villain of Snyder’s unmade Justice League 2 and Justice League 3. Meanwhile, there are numerous DC villains that pose similarly world-ending threats who could be Darkseid’s successor in the DCU. Here are 10 villains who could replace Darkseid as the DCU’s first major over-arching villain.

10 Barbatos Could Threaten The Whole DCU

Barbatos Could Bring The Tone Of Dark Knights: Metal To The DCU

Drawing his name from the eponymous demonic entity, Barbatos is a major villain in DC’s Dark Knights: Metal story, revered by Gotham City’s Bat Tribe and commanding a multiversal army of evil Batmen. Barbatos could be a great villain choice for the DCU to take an early dive into sorcery and metaphysics with one of its supernatural villains. Additionally, Barbatos could act as a vector for the possibilities of multiverse storytelling and sinister versions of Batman in the DCU.

9 Nekron Is A Menacing Green Lantern Villain

His Power Over The Souls Of The Dead Could Make Him A Huge Threat

One of the Green Lantern Corps’s sworn enemies, Nekron is a fearsome demonic force capable of manipulating the souls of the dead as his own minions. With the streaming series Lanterns being one of the major projects of the DCU’s first chapter, Nekron could make his debut there as a force who potentially threatens all life throughout the DCU. Nekron’s role as the main antagonist of the Blackest Night comics story could also set him up as a major DCU villain with the new franchise potentially adapting the seminal Green Lantern story.

8 Sinestro Wields The Energy Of Fear

He Could Strike Fear Into The Entire DCU

The arch-enemy of the Green Lantern Corps, Sinestro was first played by Mark Strong in 2011’s Green Lantern, and the villain’s long incoming return could happen as part of Lanterns in the DCU. With Sinestro leading the Yellow Lantern Corps, he and the Lanterns he commands wield the power of fear, making them a formidable threat to all other Lanterns and every other metahuman in the DCU. Sinestro’s might with the power of fear could position him well as the first big bad of the DCU.

Mark Strong later portrayed Dr. Sivana in the DCEU films Shazam! and Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

7 Brainiac Is Superman’s Most Intellectual Villain

His Intelligence Could Make Him A Great DCU Arch-Villain

Superman’s supremely intelligent A.I. enemy Brainiac has awaited his big-screen debut for decades, and the DCU could finally make that happen with Brainiac as either the main villain of Superman: Legacy or simply by introducing him as a future threat. Brainiac’s vast intellectual powers make it easy to establish him as an enemy of both Superman and the entire DCU early on. Moreover, Brainiac’s very nature as a sentient A.I. villain could make him perhaps the most topical villain the DCU could utilize.

6 Trigon Is A Demonic Force Of Evil

He Could Be A Supernatural Villain For The Whole DCU

One of DC’s most powerful demonic villains, Trigon, has frequently battled both the Justice League and the Teen Titans in the comics, and is well-known as the arch-enemy of his own daughter, Raven. Trigon’s vast supernatural powers are seen for the potentially apocalyptic threat they are in the DC animated film Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, where he is able to hold his own against Darkseid himself. That distinction certainly makes the case for Trigon as a potentially Darkseid-level threat in the DCU.

5 Parallax Consumes His Enemies Through Fear

He Could Terrorize The Whole DCU

Parallax terrorizes the DC Universe with the yellow energy of fear, with the Green Lantern Corps having a long and bloody history of standing opposed to his rampage. In the comics, Parallax even infamously possesses Hal Jordan for a time, and though Hal eventually regains his free will as a Green Lantern again, the potential of Parallax to turn one of the Justice League’s mainstay heroes into a villain is a frightening prospect. Parallax first appeared in 2011’s ill-received Green Lantern movie, but an appearance in Lanterns setting him up as the DCU’s biggest villain could give him a much deserved shot at redemption.

4 Mongul Is a Ruthless DC Villain

He Could Be A Bloodthirsty Enemy For All DCU Heroes

Mongul is the rare DC villain to not only possess powers similar to those of Darkseid, but an equal level of ruthlessness. As a DC villain who has yet to appear in live-action, Mongul could be a great choice as a highly powerful but comparatively unknown villain as the first major antagonist of the DCU. Mongul’s potential role in the DCU could also utilize his own home world of Warworld as a major location and foundation of the DCU’s villainy.

3 The Anti-Monitor Is Determined To Wipe Out The Multiverse

He Is An Enemy Of All DC Heroes In The Multiverse

With multiverse storytelling becoming a staple of modern superhero films, the Anti-Monitor could be another great candidate for the DCU’s major villain, with his threat extending to the entire DC multiverse. The Anti-Monitor serves as the major antagonist of the Crisis On Infinite Earths comics story, with the heroes of alternate realities banding together to stop his mission to wipe out the multiverse. The Anti-Monitor (played by LaMonica Garrett) has already made a play to destroy the multiverse in The CW’s Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover, and he could potentially return to try again as the villain of the DCU.

2 Darkseid Could Also Be The DCU’s Biggest Threat

Darkseid Is DC’s Biggest Villain For A Reason

Alternatively, Darkseid himself is such a centralized DC villain that bringing him back for the DCU might the best option, and doing so could even create a bridge between the DCEU, the DCU, and all other DC movie and TV continuities. In DC lore, the New Gods of Apokolips and New Genesis are different from most life forms, in that they do not have multiversal doppelgangers in each universe, instead having the power to project avatars into different worlds. This means that Ray Porter’s Darkseid from Zack Snyder’s Justice League could very well become a menace to the DCU as well.

Darkseid does not appear at all in the theatrical cut of Justice League, though he is name-dropped by Steppenwolf.

1 The Centre Is An Unstoppable Entity Of Destruction

He Could Call Upon All DCU Heroes To Unite

One of the most different and unique DC villains ever created is the massive being known as The Centre, seen in the DC: The New Frontier comics story along with its animated adaptation Justice League: The New Frontier. As a near-omniscient being who has witnessed eons of life on Earth, the Centre decides humanity must be destroyed with the Justice League assembling to stop it. The New Frontier‘s Cold War-era setting would make some tweaking and updates for a modern-day story necessary in the DCU, but the being’s power level and cold, indifferent belief that humanity must be destroyed could make him a great arch-villain for the heroes of the DCU to rise up against.

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