2. Darkseid
NebezialWhen youre worshiped as the god of evil, odds are youre not to be messed with. Darkseid is a denizen of the Fourth World, a pocket dimension in which its inhabitants the New Gods derive unfathomable power from its proximity to the Source, the origin of all creation. Within this celestial realm reside the worlds of New Genesis and Apokolips, planetary heaven and hell respectively. Hungry for power since birth, Darkseids ascent to rule over Apokolips came about in typical godlike fashion: lots and lots of parricide (a fancy word for family-killing). After securing himself as Lord of Apokolips, Darkseid quickly set about bending any and all life in the universe to his iron will, which naturally led him to Earth (because humans are just so special). Superman and Wonder Woman, being fans of the whole freedom thing, come to fisticuffs with Darkseid quite frequently over his invasive tendencies, often to little visible effect. Likely the most powerful being in the DC universe, Darkseid manhandles Kryptonians and other beings of comparable strength with ease, shrugs off blows from Lobo like they tickle, and crushes Green Lantern Rings for breakfast; thats how jacked this guy is. Its not like he needs it though. Unless youre a Speedster, it's doubtful youre going to evade his Omega Beams, concussive blasts emanating from his eyes that can travel in any direction or manner he pleases at will and obliterate all but the most durable of beings. So whats a Bat to do? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aWLS4UAdgo In case you hadnt noticed, the Masked Manhunters area of expertise generally extends to, well, men. Darkseid, being an extra-dimensional god on par with the devil himself, is a couple tiers outside of the Demons league. To his credit, Batman has dodged Darkseids deathly gaze once or twice in his day, and has even bested Darkseid in a battle of wills in The Supergirl from Krypton story arc, but their last bout didnt end so well. In the events of
Final Crisis, the major arc that precedes the reboot of the DC universe with the New 52, Darkseid nearly brings Earth and its heroes to heel. Jonn Jonzz is dead, Wonder Woman is down with some super-virus, Superman is missing in action, and Batmans imprisoned under Darkseids new regime. Bruce manages to escape however (duh),and shoots the stony-faced tyrant with a slug made of radion (basically the New God equivalent of kryptonite) just before hes flash-fried via Omega Beam. A newly resurrected Barry Allen and Supes manage to finish the job and save the day, even going so far as to wipe Darkseids spirit out of existence through the power of song (yea, that happened), but its probably safe to say that having Bruce burnt to a crisp wasnt part of the plan.