One of the things I liked about Darkseid is that he only went as far as he felt was necessary. There were several times where he could've killed The Forever People, but instead opted to just hurt them or give them a dressing down, because he felt it was distasteful to easily kill young warriors before they had matured.
@@SerumLakeso about what about for Patrick the Ratboy being influenced by the Ratcatcher, Rat king from TMNT, Verminous Scum from Captain Planet and most of all Erik the Phantom of the Opera
A couple things I thought were interesting about Darkseid...one is how devoted the people on Apokalips are to him. Sure, some people can refer to that as "Stockholm Syndrome" if they want to, but there's a line from Daniel Radcliffe at the start of the movie, "Victor Frankenstein", that I think explains the situation in far simpler terms..."It's hard to judge cruelty when you've never known kindness". Darkseid's will is literally the ONLY thing the people of Apokalips know or understand. So it just makes sense that they would have absolutely no idea how to function if he wasn't around. The other thing is Darkseid's unending animosity towards his son, Kalibak, which can largely be explained if you look at the circumstances of Kalibak's conception. Apparently, Kalibak's mother was an Apokaliptian scientist who, according to rumor, was the only woman Darkseid ever loved. So...let's consider that for a second. A child conceived in LOVE? I can think of few things that could POSSIBLY be more offensive to a creature like Darkseid. Perhaps if Kalibak's mother had lived, that MIGHT have greased the skids a bit in Kalibak's favor, but seeing as how she DIDN'T... Darkseid's disdain of Kalibak is likely fueled even more by Kalibak's undying devotion towards him...not out of fear or worship, like the rest of Darkseid's followers, but for the foolish notion of endlessly pining for his father's affection. In fact, that might also explain why Darkseid tends to favor Orion, since Orion was raised on New Genesis to HATE his father and to yearn for nothing more than his destruction. Again, let's think about that for a minute. To Darkseid, who could ask for anything more from a son? At least, that's just MY thinking on it.
Also because being more of a constant entity rather than a person, Darkseid doesn't just rule Apokolips. He IS Apokolips. The planet was made for him, the home of the embodiment of all evil. It begins and ends with Darkseid, and so its people's lives belong to him and him alone. As horrible as it may be to say such a thing, this is just how things are. It's a bit like Doctor Doom and Latveria, but on a scale incomprehensibly large. There is no "being freed", the only ones who truly escaped were Scott Free, who wasn't born on Apokolips and is in fact a New God, the opposite of Darkseid's people, and Barda, who did so because of and with the help of Scott. And Scott is the key for this whole thing: His name was given as a mockery. The very concept of freedom is inexistent in Apokolips, inconceivable by its citizens. This is their fate, being Darkseid's playthings. It's horrible, it's horrifying to even think about, and that's why it works. Darkseid is the ultimate evil. Darkseid is.
@@francofernandes2006 Certainly a valid assessment. And it would also track with that recent reveal that Darkseid exists across the entire DC Multiverse simultaneously. Although I would posit that someone was definitely overreaching with that idea, as I sincerely doubt anyone will ever be able to explain how that actually works. 😅
@@russellgxy2905 Well, he IS a bastard, but not by the definition Darkseid would prefer. Also, when it comes to Darkseid, pretty much ANYTHING is tragic.
What I love about Micheal Ironside’s vocal performance is that while he maintains the grandiose nature of the character but was subtle in his delivery. Darksied rarely let out a loud bellow with his proclamations but usually would speak with a sinister whisper.
At one point Darkseid shouts "YOU DARE?!" when Superman hits him and it's really out of left field. But it makes you appreciate that this is the first time Darkseid didn't anticipate something. Ironside's performance is legendary.
Having Darksed in the end being defeated by the Anti Life Equation he search for so long not only was a brilliant twist but reflects a concept present in many DCAU villains, how their own ambition are ultimately the key for their downfall. For exemple: Lex Luthor kept kriptonite close to him to use it against Superman but the rock end up causing to have cancer. Joker's final plan to kill Batman, by turning Tim Drake into "Little J" and having kill Batman with gun, ended with him being killed by the boy he tortured. Vandal Savage spend his eternal life trying to take over Earth, and eventually he achived his goal, while destroying all life on Earth.
Darkseid is a god, but the Anti-Life Equation is something above even him, a core truth of the universe. To think that he could control it is perhaps the height of arrogance - and perfectly in character.
Darkseid is evil incarnate. He has no sympathy, no mercy, no remorse, no redeeming qualities whatsoever. He simply takes pride and pleasure in causing pain and suffering to others. Of all the enemies Superman faces, seeing him give Darkseid his just desserts is the most satisfying.
I mean, if there are some redeeming qualities then the fact that he tends to be honest, usually keeps his deals (though more to the letter, not the spirit and he will rule laywering the hell out of it), is no coward (most enemies are just not worth the time or effort), or that he doesn't really discriminate over species, race or gender (everyone is equally beneath him anyways so that would be a fast of his time). It should be clear however that all these things are not because of some form of moral code but rather his pride and confidence in his superiority.
I agree, albeit I prefer: "Had I known one human death would pain you so I would have killed more. And kill more I shall. Carry that agony with you to oblivion Superman..."
That was such a great line. Even as cliche as his line about how if he'd known killing one human would hurt Superman, he'd have killed more was so perfectly delivered.
He had a pretty good line on his story mode on Injustice 2 that goes like: "The Coluan Brainiac was a genius without peer. But I. Am. A God." It's such a cold line lmao
Yes! That is one of THE moments for me. It would have felt so weak if he just said, "Here, I am a god." But the finality of how he said it just carried so much.
Micheal Ironside's voice was such perfect casting as his all-mighty, heavy and intimidating voice gave Darkseid such an echo of terrifying presence. They truly made the audience know when S*** was about to go down, and I also love that they barely tried to modulate his voice since Ironsides's voice is just perfectly commanding and haunting. I just love how much Darkseid both mentally and physically tortured Superman to the point that Superman was willing to kill him for all his dow to him, which just shows how much of a force of downright evil he was to break the insurmountable will of Superman even if Superman could never truly kill him. The moment Darkseid's slaves come to help Darkseid shows how deeply rooted his power is to the point of breaking the will of all his people to make them see his cruelty as a gift, which is just so sad to watch and even in his beaten, bloody state of defeat in front of his people he still won as his final words to Superman; *"I am many things Kal-El... but here, I am God"* , that line just utterly hits because Darkseid is beyond a living being, Darkseid is both literally and figuratively the embodiment of pure evil & entropy, and that's something not even Superman can truly end, which is both powerful and sad to think about.
What I like about Darkseid is how his minions have never really changed throughout the years. The embodiment of evil, ruler of Apokolips, has a general named Granny Goodness.
Fun Fact: Granny Goodness's plot in "Little Girl Lost" is a reference to the classic Fleischer Studios Superman cartoons. Specifically, it's based on "The Magnetic Telescope" where a scientist creates a similar device to study space objects up-close, only to lose control, resulting in the need for Superman to intervene. The asteroid in the STAS episode is even named "Fleischer".
Meantime, "Action Figures" is a love letter to that Volcano short, while "Stolen Memories" has Supes punch Brainiac's laser akin to, hmm, the very first Fleischer Superman short.
I think the scientist lost control because the police were idiots and thought cutting the device’s power would be enough to halt the comet’s momentum and acceleration. They should have waited and arrested him after her was done.
No villain, not even Lex Luthor or Brainiac has gotten under the skin or pushed Superman to the breaking point quite like Darkseid. Whenever this guy shows up, he instantly sends Superman into a flying rage and let's not forget that Darkseid is the only one who corrupted him into almost destroying the world. Michael Ironside's epic voice acting performance brought a level of menace and pure evil to the point of making him feel like the devil. When he speaks, it's a chilling whisper and very calm. Incredible strong, powerful and very smart, all of those things make Darkseid the ultimate Superman villain
@@cinemaarts8795 Superman still, even when Lex has seemingly killed the Flash, he showed restraint. Not so with Darkseid, Superman was fine with letting an entire planet be destroyed and was ready to give his own life to make sure Darkseid died. He hates Darkseid utterly and completely.
Darkseid being the same being in all universe reminds of how the Transformers franchise handle Unicron (the embodiment of evil) and Primus (the embodiment of good). They were originally handled in the same way as Darkseid, a multiversal singularity. However, they quickly realized how such a concept limited future story potential because they would have to consider what they did in other continuities. Thus they decided to removed this aspect of Unicron and Primus. It also had the side effect of making their stories easy to understand.
I think the Liege Maximo (introduced in the literal last page of the knowingly short-lived Marvel Generation 2 run) also referred to himself as the first and ultimate evil or something like that. A different (maybe not at the time?) version of him also had a stint as a singularity before that too was nullified, at the same time as Unicron and Primus.
@@swordkirbyfilms7747 What about Ganondorf from The Legend of Zelda franchise? Every time Ganondorf appears, it is the same character. The Ganon in A Link to the Past, the Ganondorf in Twilight Princess and the Ganondorf in Wind Waker are the same Ganondorf as the one in Ocarina of Time.
I think I can clear up the multiverse avatars issue, they did something similar with She-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named from The Secret World; His true consciousness exists outside any and all universes, but the Darkseids we see in different realities are not merely physical manifestations, each is a persona forged in said universe piloted by the collective self. Think of it like have multiple game accounts open and even multiple games open. Mario and Sonic are two different personas, but both are your characters, you select their actions and directive even if you don’t specifically make one jump up in delight at seeing cake and one checking his watch because he’s bored. They are still both you, just adhering to different roles in different universes. She-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named is immortal because even if one her is destroyed her other selves rebuild her, and said psyche’ may get jumbled around leading to wildly different mannerisms between manifestations, but all still part of the same will. She is only defeated when some angels come down and cast hold person on her, so she can’t be rebuilt, but also can’t keep creating trouble for them. Even if Darkseid exists in the multiverse, I think the same thing has happened to that manifestation, it’s tethered to The Source Wall in that reality - meaning Darkseid can’t just make a new him; Though as it takes a whole two shows for him to come back and not even under his own power, it clearly takes some time to even remake one him.
Darkseid reminds me of Ganondorf from The Legend of Zelda series. Like how there is a different incarnation of Link and Zelda, the Ganondorf in the series is always the same character.
It never occurred to me that Unlimited Darkseid was a fusion of Braniac and Darkseid--I always just kind of assumed that he got a design overhaul as a result of the resurrection and to bring him in line with the more advanced aesthetic of JLU's style with the tools they had available But now that you mention it it makes way more sense
Just realised that in lego dc super villains the episode *"Apocalypse... NOW!"* Is *referenced* in the level *"Apocalypse... WOW"* Only *just* learned bout this..
My personal favorite line from this Darkseid is from an exchange in the series finale. "This one's for Dan Turpin!" "Who?" "A good man you murdered!" "If I had known the murder of one human would trouble you so, I'd have killed more. And I I will. Carry that with you to your grave."
Personally, I get the feeling that if Jack Kirby DID give us an actual origin for Darkseid, it would most likely play out like this. “On the 6th day of the twin planet’s creation, 2 beings came forth from their birthplaces and made their presence known to one another. The child from New Genesis was a man with a short black beard, clad in long flowing robes and carrying a staff in his right hand; his visage akin to a young Moses. His name was Izaya, whose only known home for many years was a cave surrounded by several large blankets as to make it look like a tent; and whose sole companions were the many Wolves, Eagles, Ravens, Doves, Bears, Sheep, Goats and Lions he would encounter in his younger days. One day, Izaya would meet others like himself and through his wisdom and compassion, would shepherd his fellow men into a Golden Age of Life Abundant. Through this, Izaya, like Abraham before him; would be gifted a new name by his people: High-Father, King of New Genesis. Meanwhile, on the planet Apokolips, something far more destructive was taking place. The grounds of the Tartuaristic planet shook and buckled and cracked with a force such as which had never been felt nor seen on Earth nor any other of the billions of planets that painted the heavens. At the epicenter of this hellish phenomenon lay a small desert, its skies mostly blackened by the unholy union of a Sandstorm, a Fiery Tornado and a Hurricane, one whose horrid Eye starred back at New Genesis like a Snake closing in on its prey. Within those sandy dunes, a monstrous birth had begun. The arid sands ebbed and flowed with a bizarrely angelic grace, almost akin to a dance. As their movements continued, a body soon took shape and that shape was like onto a statue made of solid granite. Upon the form’s completion, a bolt of blood red lightning struck the body, causing a large mushroom cloud to form which swallowed up the storm in one fell swoop. As the dusty aftermath of that Gehennic maelstrom settled into some form of mocking peace, a stoic figure stood in ponderous silence. The strange thing gazed upon its form in curious confusion, quietly questioning what it truly was or why it’s complexion was like that of stone or whatever the large ovalish scar across its chest stood for. Hours passed, and the creature still stood in inquisitive speechlessness. In his mental Odyssey, the man slowly but surely began to drive himself to the edge of insanity and despair. And when he came face to face with that Sheolic Abyss…he starred it down with eyes ablazed in flames and from their gaze came 2 pillars of Hellfire. With his pondering ceased, the figure looked upon New Genesis, and with a devilish smile across his face, fired his laser-beams into the heavens and made the image of a sigil in the sky above. A sigil that would live in eternal infamy. A sigil that would strike fear, hopelessness and perverse pleasure in many that would look upon it. A sigil of Hatred. A sigil of Constrictive Power. A sigil of Anti-Life. A sigil that would become the Coat of Arms of a Nihilistic Regime. Thus began The Monster’s Journey on The Path of Evil. Thus began The Story of The Adam of Apokalips. Thus began The Legend of The New God who would come to be known throughout the multiverse…as Darkseid!” Any questions or feedback are appreciated (so long as they are respectful and come from a place of genuine interest and curiosity).
Dude, this is fire!!!!! Like this is seriously really cool! The last 3 paragraphs tied up by the sentence at the end was just perfect man, you did a phenomenal job on this.
12:27 I don't know if it's true or a rumor, but apparently, there was a scrapped storyline in Justice League where Superman and Lashena had a child from his time being brainwashed. The child would be raised on apocalypse, and they were gonna send him to try and kill Superman, but Superman would turn him good. Basically, a Superman version of Damian Wayne's storyline before Damian Wayne.
that one time when dc crossovered with marvel and darkseid got all infinity stones only to call them a waste of time after they realized INFINITY stones are tied to their specific multiverse
"Darkseid, however, was duplicitous". World's least surprising and most accurate sentence about Darkseid, tied with "Darkseid is the embodiment of all that is bad in the universe".
11:20, "But he is THEIR despotic monster." Reminded me if a Flash Gordon style comic i read a while ago, where the hero comes back to the world after a few decades and a new tyrant has taken over, someone remarks "Thats the thing about tyrants. At keast they keep the other predators at bay."
Dark Seid is a fascinating villain case study. Ok paper he is the most boring villain, generically power hungry and without an ounce of humanity. But paradoxically, the things that should make him boring make him more interesting. The depths of his evil, the bredth of his power, and how far he's willing to go to win is riveting. On top of that, the writers of STAS and JL did incredible jobs giving him an endless supply of harder than steel lines, brought to life by an all time great voice performance from Michael Ironside. The way he heartlessly and pointlessly murders Turpin in the Superman season 2 finale is shocking and anger inducing. And the way he dismisses this man, a man we got to feel comfortable with for 2 seasons of a kids show, is perfect. "If I had known one humans death would have pained you so, I would have killed more. And kill more I shall. Take that with you to oblivion, Superman."
The whole "All Darkseids are the same Darkseid" is pretty similar to the concept of Multiversal Singularities in Transformers. For a while in the 2000s, Hasbro's official stance on Unicron was that every incarnation of him was the same being in every universe, simply hopping between them as he consumed everything or died. They extended this to include Primus and the original 13 Primes later on, but the amount of disparate takes on Transformers resulted in a lot of conflict with this concept. For example, the original cartoon and the Bay films didn't even have Primus or 13 ancient Primes. They ultimately did away with the idea in the 2010s, and headache medicines saw a slight dip in sales afterwards.
It's funny, I can't help but think over and over again about the one moment in the JLU finale that showcased Superman fighting Darkseid, rather than what Darkseid did... "I live in a world of cardboard, always having to hold back in case I break something, someone." It was such a revealing moment for me about the big blue boy scout and explained for me why he always has all these moments of "SURPRISE! Suddenly pain!" moments despite being completely invlunerable to anything not kryptonite or magical. It also opened my eyes to just how frustrating it must have been to exist like that. I never understood the thing about Darkseid, despite having watched several iterations of him including the Superfriends/Legendary Superpowers Show iterations as well as a few moments here and there of the Justice League eps. Thanks, Serum, for explaining it better in this essay!
Heck yeah, I love this explanation of Darkseid. He's one of my favorite characters because, inside and out, he is explicitly an archetype in a way that really works. Darkseid is the fear and hatred in the hearts of humanity. And that mythological quality is deeply interesting. I'm new to this channel, and I look forward to seeing more of your stuff.
Darkseid's ultimate cruelty is so brilliantly showcased by his brainwashing/manipulation of Superman into believing himself the adopted son of Darkseid and becoming a conqueror for almost destroyed the people he cared about and it also having long-lasting ramifications for him and his reputation on Earth being permanently tarnished. It's also a really amazing adaptation of the Elseworlds story Superman: The Dark Side. And to this day, I will never forget the words he utters at the end, "I am many things, Kal-El, but here, I am God." Michael Ironside brings Darkseid to life like no one else.
Agreed. If only Ironside still played the Batman in The Dark Knight Returns animated adaptations though, he was just so good in that TNBA ep "Legends of the Dark Knight".
16:06 Just because the DCAU is part of the Source Wall doesn't mean he no longer exists there. It may be a living nightmare for that universe's Darkseid avatar.
I think a lot about how Apokolips seems destined to be what it is. Orion has taken over by the time of Kingdom Come, and no matter how benevolent he is the population openly yearns for him to act like [read as: treat them] like a despot.
14:32 I've heard that some of the creative team claimed that Tala reviving Darkseid was a final "screw you" to Lex since he knew that using her to power his machine to revive Brainiac would kill her. He admitted that he planned to sacrifice her even if she didn't side with Grodd in the Legion of Doom mutiny.
I always found it weird and a bit anticlimactic that Darkseid's ultimate goal being the anti life equation was just a means to kill himself. I think it was mentioned once that it could rewrite reality but i havent really looked further into it. The ending of JLU was so sudden and coming after the previous season with Lex and Brainiac fusing i had really high expectations from Superman's ultimate adversary.
One of my favorite Darkseid Moments was in the first Mini series of D-List Goofball Ambush Bug. At the end of each issue, ambush bug would be shocked to see Darkseid in mundane places waiting for him with a caption saying something like “ Next issue, the exciting battle between Darksied and Bug!” only for it to never be brought up in the next issue. At first, it was a parody of the iconic waiting in a chair panel but it got the the point where Darksied was everywhere, even working the register at Big Belly Burger.
Just looked up what you were talking about, and seeing Darkseid in a McDonald's uniform, handing out fries, is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.😂
I was depressed, and couldnt sleep at night. And I was talking to a friend about the DCAU shows we used to watch as kids. I found you channel, the next day. Thank you Serum Lake.
Darkseid is the epitome of evil. I love how smug he is. Even in Death Battle, he had his hands behind his back against Thanos just to demonstrate his superiority.
Honestly since Darkseid has literally become apart of the DCAU’s border his purpose as a multiverse consistent still stands, just he literally can’t do anything now but be a fixture with Luthor now.
I get a feeling that Jack Kirby took inspiration from the Harkonnen from the 1965 Frank Herbert novel 'Dune' when conceptualising Apokalips. It looks quite similar to the Harkonnen homeworld of Geidi Prime, both being hellish dark worlds with a brutal culture and an absolute tyrant as the leader. If you look at some concept art for Giedi Prime it bears a resemblance to Apokalips, just lacking the gigantic furnaces.
They had ideas for a story set during the time of Batman Beyond about the son of Superman and Lashina. But obviously it was way too dark and they didn't develop the idea beyond the concept phase.
12:26 thank you so much for bringing that up. When I recently rewatched STAS, that part of the finale really disturbed me in a way the writers likely didn't intend. I feel like today, in a shower with an older target audience, one could create a story that properly the trauma such an event would have and Superman.
Lashina actively taunts Superman for it, calling him "lover boy." This is one of the sneakiest things they got past the censors. Superman has too many other sources of trauma to deal with.
Not surprisingly, Kirby's experience as a Jewish man during World War II shaped a lot about how he presented Darkseid as the avatar of totalitarianism. Yet as a modern character, it's precisely that all-consuming evil that makes Darkseid so interesting; in an era of "misunderstood" villains, sometimes done well and other times handled clumsily, he is unambiguously vile. And yeah, Michael Ironside's voice work in these shows were just on another level, one of my favorite villain VO performances of all time in any series...and just imagine if they'd gone through with the initial plan in Superman TAS and had Darkseid vaporize Jonathan Kent instead of Dan Turpin...
Anti life doesn't make me think it deletes freedom. It makes me think it would be the phone number to a being like Lord Beerus. A god of destruction. Which always made me think he solves it wakes up that cat and gets Hakai to the face. Jokes aside Superman's cardboard speech is my all time fav thing the boy scott has ever said.
Darkseid is a bad man who thrived in a bad system. Problem is, the bad system he thrived in? An evil pantheon. So to paraphrase Portal: "He's not just a regular asshole. He's the product of the magic of an entire era, condensed together, to create the biggest asshole who ever lived." 4:35 There's some dread in coming home to find Satan sitting on your sofa. I think Scott Free & Barda's comic had that happen once or twice.
I know in the comics Darkseid is supposed to be some sentient jungian archetypal force entity that can possesses people throughout the multiverse and what not but I always found Darkseid the most appealing when he's written like this. A REALLY powerful guy who, for whatever reason chooses to enact evil deeds without any reason to do so. Darkseid has more than enough strength for mercy. He's not lashing out violently at any oppressive system, he is the system. It kinda dawns on you that this is the power fantasy for a lot of people. Being a powerful dictator with your army of clad women and being completely unsympathetic towards your victims. And Superman is the opposite of that fantasy. Doing good for not other reason than to be good. Darkseid's cruelty is needless, what more could he get from conquering and killing others? He's in it for the long game. For him, being the destroyer is what he wants to be and he will double down on it.
Darkseid is.....a complicated topic I'm kinda mixed on him as a whole, and tend to find every version of him EXCEPT from the DCAU to be...kind of a joke? Not helped by my own joke of his 'Anti-Life Equation' is basically him superimposing a low quality picture depicting you as a Soyjack and himself as a Chad into everyone's minds until they relent However I think the version we see in StAS and JL/U is the best version of him because of two things. He is evil incarnate...but because he's in a children's show he can never win. But he doesn't let that stop him from inflicting as much evil he can get past the censors onto the cast. Including outright saying he's about to carve out Superman's heart with a kryptonite-knife...a kryptoknife if you will (not sure how the writers got that in to the last episode of JLU, am so glad they did. Give Darkseid carte blanche to do whatever grimdark stuff he wants and he's....kinda boring. Give him out of universe limits and he'll toe the line with a smug smile and an honestly velvety-if foreboding-voice.
Great, now I have this idea of Darkseid on the internet posting memes and getting into conspiracy theory forums because they mentioned anti-life in one way or another
my favorite moment is when Darkseid and Superman first meet. Superman insists Darkseid speak to him as he begins to return to apocalypse. He asks: "Who are you!?" Darkseids only response, is to hit superman with his omega beam, and as superman writhes in agony, he says: "That is who I am." Best way to introduce a villain ever IMO.
I did enjoy one comic that had perhaps AN answer to the "Anti-Life Equation." The comic was "World's Funnest" written by Evan Dorkin & it suggested that the Anti-Life equation was the result of bringing into opposition two Fifth Dimensional forces, specifically Bat Mite & Mister Mxyzptlk. It does not allow the eradication of Free Will, but instead can annihilate the Universe and then reform it, at the end of the comic it is revealed that it has before & will again EVERY TUESDAY. The comic basically states that Mister Mxyzptlk & Batmite manage to destroy & reform the whole DC Universe every week, for funsies.
Kingdom Come had an interesting moment where after Darkseid was defeated, the people of Apokalips really had no clue what to do. The problem got to the point where Orion, Big Barda, and Mr Miracle had to reeducate the people to learn how to really live. Superman was rather disappointed by how things went at that point.
Well done as always Serum Lake! I’ve been looking forward to a Darkseid video ever since I discovered your channel! Now I’m looking forward to a future Vandal Savage essay!
idc what nonsense retcons happen, darkseid isn't a "multiversal constant" or whatever the hell and he was never meant to be. he's a new god, just like the other ones
Despite being faithful to the comics, I think DCAU Darkseid is superior to the comics. For all the talk about "Darkseid is the ultimate DC villain", he doesn't much stuff in the comics that shows this. What's Darkseid greatest moment? What's his best story? What's his greatest evil moment? There isn't much memorable ones. DCAU Darkseid, on other hand, has plenty moments and episode that showcase why he's the greatest villain of all and threat for Superman and the entire DC universe.
darkseid will forever be my favorite comic book villain of all time, in an age where people are finally getting tired of sympathetic/morally grey villains we need characters like him now more than ever
Joker: I'm the greatest villain in the DCAU. Lex Luthor: No, I'm the greatest villain in the DCAU. Darkseid: You feeble minded fools, I'm the greatest villain in the DCAU. Joker and Lex: Okay, okay (immediately wets their pants)
The irony is that Lex Luthor ends up being the one to defeat Darkseid for good... out of petty revenge for stealing Brainiac. Goes to show you that nobody messes with Superman's ultimate arch-enemy.
One answer I heard that explained the 'essential part of reality' thing pretty good is that Darkseid is on a different narrative layer than the other characters. Like in the neverending story, you have the IRL authors, and then the in-media authors, and then the beings like Darkseid that can interact with the in-media authors and the other characters, and then all other characters. This would put Darkseid and Deadpool and Gwenpool on about the same level, which I think is pretty funny from the tone difference.
Darkseid singlehandely saved Superman the Animated series. Before he became prominent in the comics, WB kept rejecting every idea Bruce Timm and Paul dini suggested.
I think other than Kirby himself grant morrison is the one writer who understands just who darkseid is. I always think of this quote from jla 13 when it comes to the lord of apokalips Glorious Godfrey: On your knees for the master! The hour has come! HE has come! Who is beyond good and evil? Who is the prophet of Anti-Life? Who is the Rock, the Chain, and the Lightning? All powerful! All unforgiving! All conquering! WHO IS YOUR NEW GOD NOW AND FOREVER Darkseid is!
Just a reminder that, as seen at 3:49, Darkseid is such an irredeemably evil cosmic threat, Batman himself temporarily discarded his strict "No Guns" rule. That's how much of a threat he is!
Honestly I can't blame 70s 80s dark seid for trying to capture Wonder Woman to mary. It's freaking Alex toth artwork and she was beautiful as well as a badass!😂
The worst thing about Darkseid is that DC fans seemingly always incorrectly identify him as the God of Tyranny. He isn’t. He’s the God of Evil. He is a Tyrant. But that just comes with the territory.
Darseids two greatest lines
"I am many things Kal El but here I am God." & "Loser."
Two great lines of many!
Also......"victory has its price" before smoking Turpin, cold blooded is an understatement!
Darkseid and Apokolypse would have the dopest rap battle.
Two of the wordiest comic characters.
I had to explain to my brother what Darkseid meant when he said loser, note I’m the younger brother.
"Flee."
Darkseid feels like a guy who chose to do the evilest option for every decision in his life. I'm excited to see the next rat boy episode.
One of the things I liked about Darkseid is that he only went as far as he felt was necessary. There were several times where he could've killed The Forever People, but instead opted to just hurt them or give them a dressing down, because he felt it was distasteful to easily kill young warriors before they had matured.
@@SerumLake Got to wait til they're at their full potential to really shatter their hopes and dreams.
@@SerumLakeso about what about for Patrick the Ratboy being influenced by the Ratcatcher, Rat king from TMNT, Verminous Scum from Captain Planet and most of all Erik the Phantom of the Opera
He's not just evil, but also incredibly petty and and self entitled. A villain you love to hate.
@@raideurng2508 just like Emperor Palpatine from star wars
A couple things I thought were interesting about Darkseid...one is how devoted the people on Apokalips are to him. Sure, some people can refer to that as "Stockholm Syndrome" if they want to, but there's a line from Daniel Radcliffe at the start of the movie, "Victor Frankenstein", that I think explains the situation in far simpler terms..."It's hard to judge cruelty when you've never known kindness". Darkseid's will is literally the ONLY thing the people of Apokalips know or understand. So it just makes sense that they would have absolutely no idea how to function if he wasn't around.
The other thing is Darkseid's unending animosity towards his son, Kalibak, which can largely be explained if you look at the circumstances of Kalibak's conception. Apparently, Kalibak's mother was an Apokaliptian scientist who, according to rumor, was the only woman Darkseid ever loved. So...let's consider that for a second. A child conceived in LOVE? I can think of few things that could POSSIBLY be more offensive to a creature like Darkseid. Perhaps if Kalibak's mother had lived, that MIGHT have greased the skids a bit in Kalibak's favor, but seeing as how she DIDN'T...
Darkseid's disdain of Kalibak is likely fueled even more by Kalibak's undying devotion towards him...not out of fear or worship, like the rest of Darkseid's followers, but for the foolish notion of endlessly pining for his father's affection. In fact, that might also explain why Darkseid tends to favor Orion, since Orion was raised on New Genesis to HATE his father and to yearn for nothing more than his destruction. Again, let's think about that for a minute. To Darkseid, who could ask for anything more from a son?
At least, that's just MY thinking on it.
Solid arguments and I completely agree.
Also because being more of a constant entity rather than a person, Darkseid doesn't just rule Apokolips. He IS Apokolips. The planet was made for him, the home of the embodiment of all evil. It begins and ends with Darkseid, and so its people's lives belong to him and him alone. As horrible as it may be to say such a thing, this is just how things are. It's a bit like Doctor Doom and Latveria, but on a scale incomprehensibly large. There is no "being freed", the only ones who truly escaped were Scott Free, who wasn't born on Apokolips and is in fact a New God, the opposite of Darkseid's people, and Barda, who did so because of and with the help of Scott. And Scott is the key for this whole thing: His name was given as a mockery. The very concept of freedom is inexistent in Apokolips, inconceivable by its citizens. This is their fate, being Darkseid's playthings. It's horrible, it's horrifying to even think about, and that's why it works. Darkseid is the ultimate evil. Darkseid is.
@@francofernandes2006 Certainly a valid assessment. And it would also track with that recent reveal that Darkseid exists across the entire DC Multiverse simultaneously. Although I would posit that someone was definitely overreaching with that idea, as I sincerely doubt anyone will ever be able to explain how that actually works. 😅
So Kalibak pisses Darkseid off because…he’s not a bastard
That’s kinda funny out of context but within context it’s several layers of tragic
@@russellgxy2905 Well, he IS a bastard, but not by the definition Darkseid would prefer. Also, when it comes to Darkseid, pretty much ANYTHING is tragic.
What I love about Micheal Ironside’s vocal performance is that while he maintains the grandiose nature of the character but was subtle in his delivery. Darksied rarely let out a loud bellow with his proclamations but usually would speak with a sinister whisper.
Precisely. Real shame later adaptations of the character make him sound so generically brutish in comparison.
@ Andre Braugher is the only other actor who has equaled up in Batman/Superman Apocalypse
At one point Darkseid shouts "YOU DARE?!" when Superman hits him and it's really out of left field. But it makes you appreciate that this is the first time Darkseid didn't anticipate something. Ironside's performance is legendary.
...and then on "Teen Titans Go!" he was voiced by Weird Al Yankovic.
Definitely different from the great Frank Welker’s portrayal of the character on Superfriends.
Having Darksed in the end being defeated by the Anti Life Equation he search for so long not only was a brilliant twist but reflects a concept present in many DCAU villains, how their own ambition are ultimately the key for their downfall.
For exemple:
Lex Luthor kept kriptonite close to him to use it against Superman but the rock end up causing to have cancer.
Joker's final plan to kill Batman, by turning Tim Drake into "Little J" and having kill Batman with gun, ended with him being killed by the boy he tortured.
Vandal Savage spend his eternal life trying to take over Earth, and eventually he achived his goal, while destroying all life on Earth.
Such are karmic ironies.
That’s how JoJo villains are defeated, karmic ironies.
Darkseid is a god, but the Anti-Life Equation is something above even him, a core truth of the universe. To think that he could control it is perhaps the height of arrogance - and perfectly in character.
Darkseid is evil incarnate. He has no sympathy, no mercy, no remorse, no redeeming qualities whatsoever. He simply takes pride and pleasure in causing pain and suffering to others. Of all the enemies Superman faces, seeing him give Darkseid his just desserts is the most satisfying.
So is Amanda Waller
"you betrayed me Darkseid, used me"- Brainiac
"It's what I do"- Darkseid with a smirk
Well he complemented Batman for outwitting him on his own turf so that's some sort of redeeming feature in acknowledgement.
I mean, if there are some redeeming qualities then the fact that he tends to be honest, usually keeps his deals (though more to the letter, not the spirit and he will rule laywering the hell out of it), is no coward (most enemies are just not worth the time or effort), or that he doesn't really discriminate over species, race or gender (everyone is equally beneath him anyways so that would be a fast of his time).
It should be clear however that all these things are not because of some form of moral code but rather his pride and confidence in his superiority.
He might have the single best line from all of DCAU
"I am many things Kal-El, but here...I am God"
Yeah I like that line
I agree, albeit I prefer:
"Had I known one human death would pain you so I would have killed more. And kill more I shall. Carry that agony with you to oblivion Superman..."
That was such a great line.
Even as cliche as his line about how if he'd known killing one human would hurt Superman, he'd have killed more was so perfectly delivered.
He had a pretty good line on his story mode on Injustice 2 that goes like: "The Coluan Brainiac was a genius without peer. But I. Am. A God." It's such a cold line lmao
Yes! That is one of THE moments for me. It would have felt so weak if he just said, "Here, I am a god." But the finality of how he said it just carried so much.
Micheal Ironside's voice was such perfect casting as his all-mighty, heavy and intimidating voice gave Darkseid such an echo of terrifying presence. They truly made the audience know when S*** was about to go down, and I also love that they barely tried to modulate his voice since Ironsides's voice is just perfectly commanding and haunting. I just love how much Darkseid both mentally and physically tortured Superman to the point that Superman was willing to kill him for all his dow to him, which just shows how much of a force of downright evil he was to break the insurmountable will of Superman even if Superman could never truly kill him.
The moment Darkseid's slaves come to help Darkseid shows how deeply rooted his power is to the point of breaking the will of all his people to make them see his cruelty as a gift, which is just so sad to watch and even in his beaten, bloody state of defeat in front of his people he still won as his final words to Superman; *"I am many things Kal-El... but here, I am God"* , that line just utterly hits because Darkseid is beyond a living being, Darkseid is both literally and figuratively the embodiment of pure evil & entropy, and that's something not even Superman can truly end, which is both powerful and sad to think about.
"Goodbye old friend. The world didn't need a Superman, just a brave one."
😢 Dan Turpin RIP
Hail to the King
If Clark and Lois ever had a son in the DCAU, I could see them naming him Daniel after Turpin.
That was the most sinister stunt ever pulled by a supervillain on an animated series. I don’t even think the Joker did so brutal in the DCAU.
I think about the superman song by five for fighting after see that everytime
What I like about Darkseid is how his minions have never really changed throughout the years. The embodiment of evil, ruler of Apokolips, has a general named Granny Goodness.
He loves the ironic names for his servants: 'Glorious Godfrey'. 'Amazing Grace'.
@@WhiteFangofWar And he does so enjoy alliteration.
Fun Fact: Granny Goodness's plot in "Little Girl Lost" is a reference to the classic Fleischer Studios Superman cartoons. Specifically, it's based on "The Magnetic Telescope" where a scientist creates a similar device to study space objects up-close, only to lose control, resulting in the need for Superman to intervene. The asteroid in the STAS episode is even named "Fleischer".
Meantime, "Action Figures" is a love letter to that Volcano short, while "Stolen Memories" has Supes punch Brainiac's laser akin to, hmm, the very first Fleischer Superman short.
I think the scientist lost control because the police were idiots and thought cutting the device’s power would be enough to halt the comet’s momentum and acceleration. They should have waited and arrested him after her was done.
No villain, not even Lex Luthor or Brainiac has gotten under the skin or pushed Superman to the breaking point quite like Darkseid. Whenever this guy shows up, he instantly sends Superman into a flying rage and let's not forget that Darkseid is the only one who corrupted him into almost destroying the world. Michael Ironside's epic voice acting performance brought a level of menace and pure evil to the point of making him feel like the devil. When he speaks, it's a chilling whisper and very calm. Incredible strong, powerful and very smart, all of those things make Darkseid the ultimate Superman villain
True, it wasn't until JLU season 2 when Lex Luthor really got under Superman's skin
Proof that Darkseid is hardcore: he's enough of a dick that Superman is willing to directly and deliberately use lethal force, and yet he lives.
@@cinemaarts8795 Superman still, even when Lex has seemingly killed the Flash, he showed restraint. Not so with Darkseid, Superman was fine with letting an entire planet be destroyed and was ready to give his own life to make sure Darkseid died. He hates Darkseid utterly and completely.
Darkseid being the same being in all universe reminds of how the Transformers franchise handle Unicron (the embodiment of evil) and Primus (the embodiment of good). They were originally handled in the same way as Darkseid, a multiversal singularity. However, they quickly realized how such a concept limited future story potential because they would have to consider what they did in other continuities. Thus they decided to removed this aspect of Unicron and Primus. It also had the side effect of making their stories easy to understand.
I think the Liege Maximo (introduced in the literal last page of the knowingly short-lived Marvel Generation 2 run) also referred to himself as the first and ultimate evil or something like that.
A different (maybe not at the time?) version of him also had a stint as a singularity before that too was nullified, at the same time as Unicron and Primus.
That is correct, the all the primes were also multiversal singularities.
@@swordkirbyfilms7747 What about Ganondorf from The Legend of Zelda franchise? Every time Ganondorf appears, it is the same character. The Ganon in A Link to the Past, the Ganondorf in Twilight Princess and the Ganondorf in Wind Waker are the same Ganondorf as the one in Ocarina of Time.
I think I can clear up the multiverse avatars issue, they did something similar with She-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named from The Secret World;
His true consciousness exists outside any and all universes, but the Darkseids we see in different realities are not merely physical manifestations, each is a persona forged in said universe piloted by the collective self.
Think of it like have multiple game accounts open and even multiple games open. Mario and Sonic are two different personas, but both are your characters, you select their actions and directive even if you don’t specifically make one jump up in delight at seeing cake and one checking his watch because he’s bored. They are still both you, just adhering to different roles in different universes. She-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named is immortal because even if one her is destroyed her other selves rebuild her, and said psyche’ may get jumbled around leading to wildly different mannerisms between manifestations, but all still part of the same will. She is only defeated when some angels come down and cast hold person on her, so she can’t be rebuilt, but also can’t keep creating trouble for them.
Even if Darkseid exists in the multiverse, I think the same thing has happened to that manifestation, it’s tethered to The Source Wall in that reality - meaning Darkseid can’t just make a new him; Though as it takes a whole two shows for him to come back and not even under his own power, it clearly takes some time to even remake one him.
That helps, thanks!
R.I.P. Dwayne McDuffie! Forever missed. What an enormous legacy he left.
Darkseid reminds me of Ganondorf from The Legend of Zelda series. Like how there is a different incarnation of Link and Zelda, the Ganondorf in the series is always the same character.
It never occurred to me that Unlimited Darkseid was a fusion of Braniac and Darkseid--I always just kind of assumed that he got a design overhaul as a result of the resurrection and to bring him in line with the more advanced aesthetic of JLU's style with the tools they had available
But now that you mention it it makes way more sense
Darkseid is the type of person to play a telltale game and pick all the bad choices through sheer amusement.
He’d definitely choose to have John Doe transform into the Joker.
“Darkseid will remember that…”
Hearing another person say it "Apokolips...(audible pause)... Now!" had me actually shouting for joy
Just realised that in lego dc super villains the episode *"Apocalypse... NOW!"*
Is *referenced* in the level *"Apocalypse... WOW"*
Only *just* learned bout this..
Not just that, but the movie itself.
@@usamazahid3882 what *movie* ????????
My personal favorite line from this Darkseid is from an exchange in the series finale.
"This one's for Dan Turpin!"
"Who?"
"A good man you murdered!"
"If I had known the murder of one human would trouble you so, I'd have killed more. And I I will. Carry that with you to your grave."
Personally, I get the feeling that if Jack Kirby DID give us an actual origin for Darkseid, it would most likely play out like this.
“On the 6th day of the twin planet’s creation, 2 beings came forth from their birthplaces and made their presence known to one another.
The child from New Genesis was a man with a short black beard, clad in long flowing robes and carrying a staff in his right hand; his visage akin to a young Moses. His name was Izaya, whose only known home for many years was a cave surrounded by several large blankets as to make it look like a tent; and whose sole companions were the many Wolves, Eagles, Ravens, Doves, Bears, Sheep, Goats and Lions he would encounter in his younger days. One day, Izaya would meet others like himself and through his wisdom and compassion, would shepherd his fellow men into a Golden Age of Life Abundant. Through this, Izaya, like Abraham before him; would be gifted a new name by his people: High-Father, King of New Genesis.
Meanwhile, on the planet Apokolips, something far more destructive was taking place. The grounds of the Tartuaristic planet shook and buckled and cracked with a force such as which had never been felt nor seen on Earth nor any other of the billions of planets that painted the heavens.
At the epicenter of this hellish phenomenon lay a small desert, its skies mostly blackened by the unholy union of a Sandstorm, a Fiery Tornado and a Hurricane, one whose horrid Eye starred back at New Genesis like a Snake closing in on its prey.
Within those sandy dunes, a monstrous birth had begun. The arid sands ebbed and flowed with a bizarrely angelic grace, almost akin to a dance. As their movements continued, a body soon took shape and that shape was like onto a statue made of solid granite. Upon the form’s completion, a bolt of blood red lightning struck the body, causing a large mushroom cloud to form which swallowed up the storm in one fell swoop.
As the dusty aftermath of that Gehennic maelstrom settled into some form of mocking peace, a stoic figure stood in ponderous silence. The strange thing gazed upon its form in curious confusion, quietly questioning what it truly was or why it’s complexion was like that of stone or whatever the large ovalish scar across its chest stood for.
Hours passed, and the creature still stood in inquisitive speechlessness. In his mental Odyssey, the man slowly but surely began to drive himself to the edge of insanity and despair. And when he came face to face with that Sheolic Abyss…he starred it down with eyes ablazed in flames and from their gaze came 2 pillars of Hellfire.
With his pondering ceased, the figure looked upon New Genesis, and with a devilish smile across his face, fired his laser-beams into the heavens and made the image of a sigil in the sky above. A sigil that would live in eternal infamy. A sigil that would strike fear, hopelessness and perverse pleasure in many that would look upon it. A sigil of Hatred. A sigil of Constrictive Power. A sigil of Anti-Life. A sigil that would become the Coat of Arms of a Nihilistic Regime.
Thus began The Monster’s Journey on The Path of Evil. Thus began The Story of The Adam of Apokalips. Thus began The Legend of The New God who would come to be known throughout the multiverse…as Darkseid!”
Any questions or feedback are appreciated (so long as they are respectful and come from a place of genuine interest and curiosity).
Dude, this is fire!!!!! Like this is seriously really cool! The last 3 paragraphs tied up by the sentence at the end was just perfect man, you did a phenomenal job on this.
Darkseid wears thigh highs and a miniskirt because he knows there's not a damn thing you can do about it.
And he makes them work!
I thought it was a tunic?
7:50 "You said you'd make me a king!"
"Yes. The king of FOOLS!" (original line was king of HELL but that got censored. Line still works.)
12:27 I don't know if it's true or a rumor, but apparently, there was a scrapped storyline in Justice League where Superman and Lashena had a child from his time being brainwashed.
The child would be raised on apocalypse, and they were gonna send him to try and kill Superman, but Superman would turn him good.
Basically, a Superman version of Damian Wayne's storyline before Damian Wayne.
that one time when dc crossovered with marvel and darkseid got all infinity stones only to call them a waste of time after they realized INFINITY stones are tied to their specific multiverse
"Darkseid, however, was duplicitous". World's least surprising and most accurate sentence about Darkseid, tied with "Darkseid is the embodiment of all that is bad in the universe".
11:20, "But he is THEIR despotic monster." Reminded me if a Flash Gordon style comic i read a while ago, where the hero comes back to the world after a few decades and a new tyrant has taken over, someone remarks
"Thats the thing about tyrants. At keast they keep the other predators at bay."
Dark Seid is a fascinating villain case study. Ok paper he is the most boring villain, generically power hungry and without an ounce of humanity. But paradoxically, the things that should make him boring make him more interesting. The depths of his evil, the bredth of his power, and how far he's willing to go to win is riveting.
On top of that, the writers of STAS and JL did incredible jobs giving him an endless supply of harder than steel lines, brought to life by an all time great voice performance from Michael Ironside.
The way he heartlessly and pointlessly murders Turpin in the Superman season 2 finale is shocking and anger inducing. And the way he dismisses this man, a man we got to feel comfortable with for 2 seasons of a kids show, is perfect. "If I had known one humans death would have pained you so, I would have killed more. And kill more I shall. Take that with you to oblivion, Superman."
What Darkseid did to Superman in Legacy is one of the cruelest things any villain did in any show or movie.
Yeah. And it was awesome.
Joker: I did something "similar," you know.
@@jajafeedyns8082 For some reason, that rarely gets brought up whenever Joker's most disturbing moments. To think that movie was marketed to kids!
@@jajafeedyns8082 And it was FAR more disturbing when Joker did it.
Technically r*pe as well. Seeing how we saw Supes with Barda in a bed. They ain't just having a sleepover.
The whole "All Darkseids are the same Darkseid" is pretty similar to the concept of Multiversal Singularities in Transformers. For a while in the 2000s, Hasbro's official stance on Unicron was that every incarnation of him was the same being in every universe, simply hopping between them as he consumed everything or died. They extended this to include Primus and the original 13 Primes later on, but the amount of disparate takes on Transformers resulted in a lot of conflict with this concept. For example, the original cartoon and the Bay films didn't even have Primus or 13 ancient Primes. They ultimately did away with the idea in the 2010s, and headache medicines saw a slight dip in sales afterwards.
It's funny, I can't help but think over and over again about the one moment in the JLU finale that showcased Superman fighting Darkseid, rather than what Darkseid did... "I live in a world of cardboard, always having to hold back in case I break something, someone." It was such a revealing moment for me about the big blue boy scout and explained for me why he always has all these moments of "SURPRISE! Suddenly pain!" moments despite being completely invlunerable to anything not kryptonite or magical. It also opened my eyes to just how frustrating it must have been to exist like that. I never understood the thing about Darkseid, despite having watched several iterations of him including the Superfriends/Legendary Superpowers Show iterations as well as a few moments here and there of the Justice League eps. Thanks, Serum, for explaining it better in this essay!
Heck yeah, I love this explanation of Darkseid. He's one of my favorite characters because, inside and out, he is explicitly an archetype in a way that really works. Darkseid is the fear and hatred in the hearts of humanity. And that mythological quality is deeply interesting. I'm new to this channel, and I look forward to seeing more of your stuff.
Darkseid's ultimate cruelty is so brilliantly showcased by his brainwashing/manipulation of Superman into believing himself the adopted son of Darkseid and becoming a conqueror for almost destroyed the people he cared about and it also having long-lasting ramifications for him and his reputation on Earth being permanently tarnished. It's also a really amazing adaptation of the Elseworlds story Superman: The Dark Side.
And to this day, I will never forget the words he utters at the end, "I am many things, Kal-El, but here, I am God." Michael Ironside brings Darkseid to life like no one else.
I think Darkseid being voiced by Michael Ironside in the DCAU was a big part of his appeal. That was some perfect voice casting.
Agreed. If only Ironside still played the Batman in The Dark Knight Returns animated adaptations though, he was just so good in that TNBA ep "Legends of the Dark Knight".
16:06 Just because the DCAU is part of the Source Wall doesn't mean he no longer exists there. It may be a living nightmare for that universe's Darkseid avatar.
He can make a new one if the old is totally destroyed but I do not think there can be more then one
I think a lot about how Apokolips seems destined to be what it is. Orion has taken over by the time of Kingdom Come, and no matter how benevolent he is the population openly yearns for him to act like [read as: treat them] like a despot.
14:32 I've heard that some of the creative team claimed that Tala reviving Darkseid was a final "screw you" to Lex since he knew that using her to power his machine to revive Brainiac would kill her. He admitted that he planned to sacrifice her even if she didn't side with Grodd in the Legion of Doom mutiny.
When STAS originally aired, I thought they would eventually reveal that Turpin was just beamed to Apokolips or something.
I think that was the plan, or, at least, what they told the censors to get them to approve Turpin’s death. They just never got around to doing it 😂
I remember when I first saw Apokolips Now Part I and II on Kids WB!-- it was an incredible feat in Television Animation and it was inspiring.
Would love to see a full and faithful Darkseid in the DC movies eventually. Has the potential to be an awesome and intimidating villain.
I always found it weird and a bit anticlimactic that Darkseid's ultimate goal being the anti life equation was just a means to kill himself. I think it was mentioned once that it could rewrite reality but i havent really looked further into it. The ending of JLU was so sudden and coming after the previous season with Lex and Brainiac fusing i had really high expectations from Superman's ultimate adversary.
Your usage of panel transition 2:07 to 2:10 going from Darkseid to his statue was masterful and beautifully done!
One of my favorite Darkseid Moments was in the first Mini series of D-List Goofball Ambush Bug. At the end of each issue, ambush bug would be shocked to see Darkseid in mundane places waiting for him with a caption saying something like “ Next issue, the exciting battle between Darksied and Bug!” only for it to never be brought up in the next issue. At first, it was a parody of the iconic waiting in a chair panel but it got the the point where Darksied was everywhere, even working the register at Big Belly Burger.
I had seen those panels but without the context that they were from Ambush Bug! Thanks for letting me know
Just looked up what you were talking about, and seeing Darkseid in a McDonald's uniform, handing out fries, is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.😂
@@kamikazelemming1552 The Apokalytian war machine doesn't pay for itself.
The one being in all of the DCAU that even Superman, the paragon of hope and restraint, absolutely HATES:
Darkseid.
I was depressed, and couldnt sleep at night. And I was talking to a friend about the DCAU shows we used to watch as kids. I found you channel, the next day. Thank you Serum Lake.
You're welcome, and I hope you're feeling better.
Darkseid is the epitome of evil. I love how smug he is. Even in Death Battle, he had his hands behind his back against Thanos just to demonstrate his superiority.
I still remember one time he appeared as a background villain in Teen TItans Go, i was so confused
Honestly since Darkseid has literally become apart of the DCAU’s border his purpose as a multiverse consistent still stands, just he literally can’t do anything now but be a fixture with Luthor now.
I get a feeling that Jack Kirby took inspiration from the Harkonnen from the 1965 Frank Herbert novel 'Dune' when conceptualising Apokalips. It looks quite similar to the Harkonnen homeworld of Geidi Prime, both being hellish dark worlds with a brutal culture and an absolute tyrant as the leader. If you look at some concept art for Giedi Prime it bears a resemblance to Apokalips, just lacking the gigantic furnaces.
They had ideas for a story set during the time of Batman Beyond about the son of Superman and Lashina. But obviously it was way too dark and they didn't develop the idea beyond the concept phase.
12:26 thank you so much for bringing that up. When I recently rewatched STAS, that part of the finale really disturbed me in a way the writers likely didn't intend. I feel like today, in a shower with an older target audience, one could create a story that properly the trauma such an event would have and Superman.
Lashina actively taunts Superman for it, calling him "lover boy." This is one of the sneakiest things they got past the censors. Superman has too many other sources of trauma to deal with.
Not surprisingly, Kirby's experience as a Jewish man during World War II shaped a lot about how he presented Darkseid as the avatar of totalitarianism. Yet as a modern character, it's precisely that all-consuming evil that makes Darkseid so interesting; in an era of "misunderstood" villains, sometimes done well and other times handled clumsily, he is unambiguously vile.
And yeah, Michael Ironside's voice work in these shows were just on another level, one of my favorite villain VO performances of all time in any series...and just imagine if they'd gone through with the initial plan in Superman TAS and had Darkseid vaporize Jonathan Kent instead of Dan Turpin...
Darkseid is.
Chilling on your couch.
...the End.
… Paying his taxes.
*Magnificent, isn't it?*
@@mitchfletcher2386 Eating your carrots with some ranch dip
1:45 "I *am* the Storm* dude, Donald Duck quoted Darkseid in the Ducktales reboot lmao
And voiced by Don Cheadle, no less.
Anti life doesn't make me think it deletes freedom. It makes me think it would be the phone number to a being like Lord Beerus. A god of destruction. Which always made me think he solves it wakes up that cat and gets Hakai to the face.
Jokes aside Superman's cardboard speech is my all time fav thing the boy scott has ever said.
4:18 I’m call it now, Darkside is definitely the type of person to yell at customer service workers
Darkseid is a bad man who thrived in a bad system.
Problem is, the bad system he thrived in? An evil pantheon.
So to paraphrase Portal: "He's not just a regular asshole. He's the product of the magic of an entire era, condensed together, to create the biggest asshole who ever lived."
4:35 There's some dread in coming home to find Satan sitting on your sofa. I think Scott Free & Barda's comic had that happen once or twice.
I know in the comics Darkseid is supposed to be some sentient jungian archetypal force entity that can possesses people throughout the multiverse and what not but I always found Darkseid the most appealing when he's written like this.
A REALLY powerful guy who, for whatever reason chooses to enact evil deeds without any reason to do so. Darkseid has more than enough strength for mercy. He's not lashing out violently at any oppressive system, he is the system. It kinda dawns on you that this is the power fantasy for a lot of people. Being a powerful dictator with your army of clad women and being completely unsympathetic towards your victims. And Superman is the opposite of that fantasy. Doing good for not other reason than to be good. Darkseid's cruelty is needless, what more could he get from conquering and killing others? He's in it for the long game. For him, being the destroyer is what he wants to be and he will double down on it.
And every year Santa travels to Apokolips to personally hand Darkseid a lump of coal.
A real problem we have in animation is rushed endings. Like the ending for this series should have been 3 episodes and not 2.
Fun fact : darkseid was actually going to be thor archnemesis but got scrapped and went to dc
Thor actually gets to land a blow on Darkseid near the end of the Marvel vs DC crossover.
Darkseid is.....a complicated topic
I'm kinda mixed on him as a whole, and tend to find every version of him EXCEPT from the DCAU to be...kind of a joke? Not helped by my own joke of his 'Anti-Life Equation' is basically him superimposing a low quality picture depicting you as a Soyjack and himself as a Chad into everyone's minds until they relent
However I think the version we see in StAS and JL/U is the best version of him because of two things. He is evil incarnate...but because he's in a children's show he can never win. But he doesn't let that stop him from inflicting as much evil he can get past the censors onto the cast. Including outright saying he's about to carve out Superman's heart with a kryptonite-knife...a kryptoknife if you will (not sure how the writers got that in to the last episode of JLU, am so glad they did.
Give Darkseid carte blanche to do whatever grimdark stuff he wants and he's....kinda boring. Give him out of universe limits and he'll toe the line with a smug smile and an honestly velvety-if foreboding-voice.
Great, now I have this idea of Darkseid on the internet posting memes and getting into conspiracy theory forums because they mentioned anti-life in one way or another
If you think every version of darkseid is a joke except for the DCAU version. Then you clearly dont know his DCAMU version
He became evil when they pointed out the misspelling in his name.
my favorite moment is when Darkseid and Superman first meet. Superman insists Darkseid speak to him as he begins to return to apocalypse. He asks: "Who are you!?"
Darkseids only response, is to hit superman with his omega beam, and as superman writhes in agony, he says: "That is who I am."
Best way to introduce a villain ever IMO.
Some people call me despot others call me daddy- Darkseid
I told him to let that go! :(
He is the godly embodiment of tyranny, and I think it is crazy that in young Justice Vandal savage thinks he can win against him in cosmic chess
I think that doing a recap of The Justice Lords, who were the alternates versions of the JLA would be a great idea!
I did enjoy one comic that had perhaps AN answer to the "Anti-Life Equation." The comic was "World's Funnest" written by Evan Dorkin & it suggested that the Anti-Life equation was the result of bringing into opposition two Fifth Dimensional forces, specifically Bat Mite & Mister Mxyzptlk. It does not allow the eradication of Free Will, but instead can annihilate the Universe and then reform it, at the end of the comic it is revealed that it has before & will again EVERY TUESDAY. The comic basically states that Mister Mxyzptlk & Batmite manage to destroy & reform the whole DC Universe every week, for funsies.
Kingdom Come had an interesting moment where after Darkseid was defeated, the people of Apokalips really had no clue what to do. The problem got to the point where Orion, Big Barda, and Mr Miracle had to reeducate the people to learn how to really live. Superman was rather disappointed by how things went at that point.
Darksied is one of the greatest villains in DC Comics history
4:40
Darkside the Accountant of Doom
Well done as always Serum Lake! I’ve been looking forward to a Darkseid video ever since I discovered your channel! Now I’m looking forward to a future Vandal Savage essay!
idc what nonsense retcons happen, darkseid isn't a "multiversal constant" or whatever the hell and he was never meant to be. he's a new god, just like the other ones
13:42 I forgot Darkseid does shit like this.
Smacked each individual flavor from Superman's mouth. 🤣🤚
Despite being faithful to the comics, I think DCAU Darkseid is superior to the comics. For all the talk about "Darkseid is the ultimate DC villain", he doesn't much stuff in the comics that shows this. What's Darkseid greatest moment? What's his best story? What's his greatest evil moment? There isn't much memorable ones. DCAU Darkseid, on other hand, has plenty moments and episode that showcase why he's the greatest villain of all and threat for Superman and the entire DC universe.
Aside from Final Crisis I really cannot think of much.
@@Teddy3230-u4d Even Final Crisis didn't do Darkseid right. By the end of the event he is pushed aside for Mandrakk.
4:41 Tax records?! I dare anything! I am Darkseid!!!
Thanks!
Thank you!
11:19 Never seen anything like that in real life. In my country. Currently running for office.
What country
darkseid will forever be my favorite comic book villain of all time, in an age where people are finally getting tired of sympathetic/morally grey villains we need characters like him now more than ever
Superman vs Darkseid is usually just superman going: HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TEACH YOU THIS LESSON OLD MAN
That would goes to Braniac. He is defeated like 6 times and he won’t go down. He still surviving in the 31st century
Joker: I'm the greatest villain in the DCAU.
Lex Luthor: No, I'm the greatest villain in the DCAU.
Darkseid: You feeble minded fools, I'm the greatest villain in the DCAU.
Joker and Lex: Okay, okay (immediately wets their pants)
I wouldn't say Joker was that good tbh
Even in BTAS Two-Face was the best.
The irony is that Lex Luthor ends up being the one to defeat Darkseid for good... out of petty revenge for stealing Brainiac. Goes to show you that nobody messes with Superman's ultimate arch-enemy.
@kendi5391 i know that I just wanted to use the Joker as an example just so I can make fun of him.
@tylerbertram7065 That's fair.
I'm also biased because I don't really like Joker in general, only 3 adaptations but even then he just ain't for me.
@kendi5391 why don't you like the Joker
One answer I heard that explained the 'essential part of reality' thing pretty good is that Darkseid is on a different narrative layer than the other characters. Like in the neverending story, you have the IRL authors, and then the in-media authors, and then the beings like Darkseid that can interact with the in-media authors and the other characters, and then all other characters. This would put Darkseid and Deadpool and Gwenpool on about the same level, which I think is pretty funny from the tone difference.
Sometimes a monster is just that...a monster
Darkseid singlehandely saved Superman the Animated series. Before he became prominent in the comics, WB kept rejecting every idea Bruce Timm and Paul dini suggested.
DARKSIED!!!! Michael Ironside's voice is The Definition Voice for Darksied, he is the ultimate evil villain
The last bit: Luthor and one of the Darkseid avatars become a part of the source wall. That's how I square that dilemma.
First. This is the first video I've watched since getting home from work.
Perfect timing!
My first time watching Apokalips... Now!, I did not believe Turpin died. I was waiting for the episode where they rescue him from Apokalips
I think other than Kirby himself grant morrison is the one writer who understands just who darkseid is. I always think of this quote from jla 13 when it comes to the lord of apokalips
Glorious Godfrey: On your knees for the master! The hour has come! HE has come! Who is beyond good and evil? Who is the prophet of Anti-Life? Who is the Rock, the Chain, and the Lightning? All powerful! All unforgiving! All conquering! WHO IS YOUR NEW GOD NOW AND FOREVER Darkseid is!
The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla!
Just a reminder that, as seen at 3:49, Darkseid is such an irredeemably evil cosmic threat, Batman himself temporarily discarded his strict "No Guns" rule. That's how much of a threat he is!
Darkseid is easily the most evil character in the entire DCAU, and that’s actually saying a lot since the DCAU has some messed up figures
Darkseid also has some of the best lines in all of the Timaverse
Darksied is basically the final boss of the dc universe.
Honestly I can't blame 70s 80s dark seid for trying to capture Wonder Woman to mary. It's freaking Alex toth artwork and she was beautiful as well as a badass!😂
Darkseid wanted to marry Wonder Woman?
He has good tastes but we all know she'll wear the pants in that hypothetical relationship 😂😅
All that time fighting him only to find out thats not his true form
I love how there is nothing redeemable about Darkseid ( so sick of the way overused "sympathetic" villain trope) and he's a force too be reckoned with
The worst thing about Darkseid is that DC fans seemingly always incorrectly identify him as the God of Tyranny. He isn’t. He’s the God of Evil. He is a Tyrant. But that just comes with the territory.
"Have I known one human's death would have pained you so, I would've killed more"
This quote alone prove how little he cares about life