10 Comic Book Supervillains Who Created Their Own Worst Enemy

3. Darkseid And Orion

Jack Kirby's Fourth World Orion Darkseid
Jack Kirby/DC Comics

Jack Kirby's Fourth World saga is undoubtedly the most epic in the comics medium. The writer/artist left Marvel for rivals DC towards the end of the 1960s and set about erecting a new comics mythology of his own - one that quite literally tore down the foundations of what he built at Marvel with Thor, as the New Gods of New Genesis and Apokolips replaced the old Norse Pantheon.

Kirby's cosmic focus would remain, but fantasy was also a key influence. The core premise of the book revolves around the two aforementioned warring planets - one that stands for all that is good in the universe (New Genesis), led by the benevolent Highfather, and the other all that is not (Apokolips), ruled by the demonic despot Darkseid.

When Highfather and Darkseid grow weary of battle, they decide to work out an elaborate truce. To guarantee an end to hostilities, Highfather gives his son, Scott Free, to Darkseid. The Lord of Apokolips returns the favour, giving his own son Orion to Highfather to be raised on New Genesis.

Both these children would eventually rebel against Darkseid, with Orion having been taught the values of bravery and goodness by his fellow New Gods, and Scott (Mister Miracle) discovering the power of love when he meets the Female Fury Big Barda. Darkseid had a hand in both of their creations, and they've proven time and again to be the New Gods most capable of opposing his might.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.