Darkseid is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Kirby, the character first made a cameo appearance in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 in December 1970, before officially being introduced in the debut issue of The Forever People in February 1971. He is depicted as the tyrannical Lord of Apokolips whose ultimate goal is to enslave the multiverse by eliminating all hope and free will in sentient beings. A New God and one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe, Darkseid was initially conceived as the chief antagonist of Kirby's Fourth World saga, before becoming one of Superman's greatest villains and the archenemy of the Justice League.
The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in New Gods #1.
Cyborg is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez and first appears in an insert preview in DC Comics Presents #26. Originally known as a member of the Teen Titans, Cyborg was established as a founding member of the Justice League in DC's 2011 reboot of its comic book titles.
Orion is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics.
DeSaad is a supervillain, appearing in books published by DC Comics. He is one of the followers of Darkseid from the planet of Apokolips in Jack Kirby's Fourth World meta-series.
Apokolips is a fictional planet that appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The planet is ruled by Darkseid, established in Jack Kirby's Fourth World series, and is integral to many stories in the DC Universe. Apokolips is considered the opposite of the planet New Genesis.
Granny Goodness is a fictional supervillain published by DC Comics.
The Female Furies are a group of fictional women warriors appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They are supervillainesses. All of them are New Gods who serve Darkseid. They operate directly underneath Granny Goodness, who trains all of Darkseid's soldiers.
Big Barda is a fictional superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Mister Miracle #4, and was created by Jack Kirby. Jack Kirby based Barda's physical appearance on Lainie Kazan, who had recently appeared topless in Playboy. Mark Evanier, Kirby's assistant on the Fourth World comics, has explained the genesis of the character: "Jack based some of his characters on people in his life or in the news... the characterization between Scott 'Mister Miracle' Free and Barda was based largely—though with tongue in cheek—on the interplay between Kirby and his wife Roz". In 2011, Big Barda was ranked 75th in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.
Steppenwolf is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Kirby, the character is introduced in New Gods #7. A New God and military general from the planet Apokolips, Steppenwolf is the brother of Heggra and therefore the maternal uncle of Darkseid. He is commonly depicted as Darkseid's subordinate, commanding his nephew's army of Parademons in conflicts against Superman and the Justice League.
Parademons are a fictional group of extraterrestrials appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They are monstrous shock troops of Apokolips used by Darkseid to maintain order on the planet.
Mother Boxes are fictional devices in Jack Kirby's Fourth World setting in the DC Universe.
Lashina is a fictional character, a supervillainess and Goddess warrior published by DC Comics.
Kanto is a supervillain and extraterrestrial assassin published by DC Comics.
Countdown, also known as Countdown to Final Crisis for its last 24 issues based on the cover, was a comic book limited series published by DC Comics. It debuted on May 9, 2007, directly following the conclusion of the last issue of 52. The series is written primarily by Paul Dini, along with a rotating team of writers and artists.
Salvation Run is a seven-issue 2007-2008 DC Comics limited series which was designed to tie into the company's major event series Final Crisis in 2008.
Justice League: War is a 2014 direct-to-video animated superhero film featuring the DC Comics superhero team the Justice League, and an adaptation of the story Justice League: Origin by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, the first story in DC's 2011 DC Universe relaunch. It was directed by Jay Oliva, scripted by Heath Corson. It is the 18th film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies and the second film in the DC Animated Movie Universe. The film was released for downloading on January 21, 2014 and was released on Blu-ray and DVD formats on February 4, 2014. It had its world premiere at the Paley Center for Media on the same day. On August 11, 2015, Warner Home Video re-released the film on a combo pack, which includes a DVD and Blu-Ray copy, a digital copy, and the graphic novel it is based on. The film depicts an invasion of Earth by the alien and demon "New God", Darkseid, and the subsequent formation of the titular superhero team to counter it, which includes Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Cyborg and Shazam. A stand-alone sequel, Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, was released in January 2015. The film also begins a story-arc which is revisited in Reign of the Supermen and concludes in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is a 2020 American direct-to-video adult animated superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and distributed by Warner Home Video and based upon the comic book story arcs "Darkseid War" by Geoff Johns, "Final Crisis" by Grant Morrison, and elements of the storyline "Futures End". It is the sixteenth film installment of the DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU), and the 38th film overall of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. It is directed by Matt Peters and Christina Sotta, written by Ernie Altbacker and Mairghread Scott, and features an ensemble cast including Matt Ryan, Jerry O'Connell, Taissa Farmiga, Stuart Allan, Tony Todd, Ray Chase, Jason O'Mara, Rosario Dawson, Shemar Moore, Camilla Luddington, Christopher Gorham, Rebecca Romijn, Hynden Walch, Liam McIntyre, John DiMaggio, Sachie Alessio, Roger R. Cross, and Rainn Wilson. In the film, members of the Justice League, Justice League Dark, Teen Titans and Suicide Squad join forces against Darkseid to save Earth.
Justice League: The Darkseid War is the penultimate story of The New 52 leading into DC Rebirth. This was the final story featuring Justice League in the New 52, before transitioning to DC Rebirth. This arc shows a prophecy come to fruition as the Justice League are caught in a war between Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor, only to find out someone else is facilitating it all for own scheme. The crossover received critical acclaim for the engaging plot, the action, and artstyle of Jason Fabok.
Steppenwolf is a fictional character in the DC Extended Universe film series, based on the supervillain of the same name from DC Comics and portrayed by actor Ciarán Hinds. First appearing in the Ultimate edition of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as a hologram, the character makes his first live-action appearance in the theatrical release of the film Justice League. Steppenwolf is a demonic warlord from the planet Apokolips aiming to conquer Earth and its inhabitants. During the film's troubled production, the character was heavily redesigned by Joss Whedon, who had taken over directorial duties for Zack Snyder. This iteration of the character received negative reviews and was criticized as underwhelming and generic. Snyder's director's cut of the film depicts Steppenwolf as originally envisioned, with this portrayal of the character receiving greater praise.
