Summary
The iconicDCvillain Darkseid – who is comparable to the Marvel Universe’s Thanos in many ways – is depicted as infinitely harder to kill than his Marvel compatriot inJustice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part Three.The film adapts the iconicCrisis on Infinite Earthscomic crossoverstoryline from the mid-1980s, which closed the book on the respective continuities of DC’s Silver and Bronze Age (Earth-One) and its original Golden Age timeline (Earth-Two), making way for DC’s Modern Age timeline (New Earth). The thirdCrisisfilm establishes Darkseid as one of the multiverse’s greatest threats.
The live-action version of Thanos plays a somewhat comparable role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Darkseid, serving as the ultimate antagonist of the franchise’s first three Phases, known now as The Infinity Saga. Thanos’ goal revolves around eradicating half of the universe’s population via the Infinity Stones, though his conflicts with The Avengers inAvengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgameprove that even without the stones, he is one of the MCU’s most formidable threats. Despite this, the scale of Darkseid’s malice overshadows that of Thanos, as explained inJustice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part Three’s ending.
Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths Confirms Darkseid Is Trickier To Kill Than The MCU’s Thanos
Thanos is shown to be exceptionally strong – trading blows with the likes of Thor and The Hulk – and an equally effective tactician who can adjust his strategies in the heat of combat. Thanos is not invincible, however. As shown inEndgame, the villain had to evade killing blows from a Mjolnir-wielding Captain America and Wanda Maximoff and needed to deploy the Power Stone to gain an advantage over Captain Marvel. Moreover,Thanos can be killed, with Thor killing his original incarnation with Stormbreaker, and Iron Man later killing Thanos with the Infinity Stones.
Killing Darkseid is often a more complicated matter, however.Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part Threereveals that Darkseid’s death doomed the multiverse inthe Tomorrowverse timeline, asDarkseid is a nexus being whose existence is essentialin all realities. Without Darkseid, the structure of the multiverse unravels, making one of the greatest threats in the DC Universe essentially impossible to truly kill without destroying all realities in the process.
Darkseid has died in the comics, withJustice League: Darkseid Warbeing one notable example. Darkseid was reborn in the aftermath of the story arc, however.
The Tomorrowverse’s Darkseid Story Shows He’s Perfect For The DCU
Given thatDarkseid’s existence is a constant in every DC reality, he naturally must appear – or at least be alluded to – sooner or later in the forthcoming DC Universe multimedia franchise. Darkseid had a memorable role in the DC Extended Universe, appearing prominently inZack Snyder’s Justice League, and although the DC Universe will likely take its time to build towards the introduction of its iteration of Darkseid, it is safe to assume that he already exists in the new continuity.
As revealed inJustice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part Three, all DC universes must have a Darkseid - and the villain’s status as an antagonist and cornerstone of DC itself certainly lends itself to the DCU taking on its own version of the character. The Infinite Earths storyline also underlines that Darkseid’s own timeline makes for a truly effective way to make the world feel expansive and flesh out its history. As such, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a DCU Darkseid emerge soon, even if thecurrently announced DC release rostersuggests this won’t be for a while.
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part Three
Cast
Now fully revealed as the ultimate threat to existence, the Anti-Monitor wages an unrelenting attack on the surviving Earths that struggle for survival in a pocket universe. One by one, these worlds and all their inhabitants are vaporized! On the planets that remain, even time itself is shattered, and heroes from the past join the Justice League and their rag-tag allies against the epitome of evil. But as they make their last stand, will the sacrifice of the superheroes be enough to save us all?
