From its hopeful beginnings in 2013 to its sad demise in 2023, the DCEU was Warner Bros’ answer to Disney and its sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe. Drawing from the eight-decade-plus history of DC Comics villains, the DCEU managed to give us a plethora of villains, some quite memorable, while others not so much. Here are the 6 greatest DCEU villains in the franchise, ranked in ascending order by the power they wielded in the DCEU.
6. The Joker
Played by Jared Leto in two DCEU films, The Joker has had an outsized influence on quite a few narrative threads in the DCEU. He is known to be responsible for the death of Robin, and he has repeatedly gone up against both Batman and members of Task Force X in pursuit of his nefarious designs. After the fall of Earth to Darkseid’s forces, he surprisingly joins Batman’s gang of rebels to help take down Evil Superman and save the planet.
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Although Jared Leto’s performance as the Clown Prince of Crime was not that well-received in Suicide Squad, Leto more than made up for any shortcomings in his second outing in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
5. Zod
Greatest DCEU Villains
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The first villain of the DCEU, General Zod, was played by Michael Shannon in three DCEU films. Being from the same planet as Superman, Zod tried desperately to take control of Krypton as the planet crumbled around him. Tried and banished to the Phantom Zone for his failed coup, he was spared the destruction of his world but managed to track the young Kal-El to Earth. Zod was genetically engineered to fight and ensure the survival of the Kryptonian race at all costs.
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Zod, after failing to convince Superman, fought the Man of Steel in a brutal battle across Metropolis, laying waste to much of the city and causing the death of thousands. Only a desperate attempt by Kal El to subdue him led to his demise, but Zod, it seems, was not done. In the sequel, Lex Luthor engineered Lex’s body to create a Doomsday variant, which once again caused untold destruction and finally managed to kill Superman. An alternate universe Zod also appeared in The Flash film, fighting Kara Zor-El and the two Flashes. Zod’s assault on Metropolis, dubbed ‘The Black Zero’ event, had an outsized influence on the entire DCEU, laying the foundation for many of the events that followed.
Michael Shannon brought intensity and a doomed sense of forbearance to the role, and his performance remains one of the highlights of the DCEU.
4. Starro
Greatest DCEU Villains
Appearing in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, Starro the Conqueror is a starfish-like giant alien species that was drifting away in space when it was discovered by some unsuspecting astronauts. Locked away in a Central American country by Americans and subjected to horrific experiments, Starro was marked for execution by Amanda Waller and Task Force X.
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Although Starro managed to break free and mind control a small town, he was defeated when the remaining members of the Suicide Squad joined forces. Able to bulldoze buildings due to his sheer size and able to fire away hundreds of miniature versions of himself to control all organic beings, Starro was a formidable force of nature who only turned villainous due to the torture he endured at the hands of the human race.
Short-lived, Starro undoubtedly survived in some capacity and will return to wreak havoc once again, if given the chance to do so.
3. Steppenwolf
Greatest DCEU Villains
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Darkseid’s general, Steppenwolf, was first introduced in 2017’s Justice League and then properly redone in 2021’s Zack Snyder’s Justice League. A giant hulking creature with an energy-infused battle ax, Steppenwolf is a massive threat. Upon arriving on Earth, he immediately laid waste to Themyscira and Queen Hippolyta’s guards and then easily subdued Princess Mera and the Amazonians. The combined forces of Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Cyborg could not subdue him, and it finally took Superman to kill the creature.
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The DCEU Steppenwolf is unique due to his armor, which seems to have a life of its own. He has also been cast out by Darkseid due to a previous coup attempt and now scours the universe for worlds to conquer, to present as a tribute to his master. Veteran actor Ciaran Hinds played the titular creature.
2. Doomsday
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Quite possibly the second most powerful villain in the entire DCEU, the Doomsday created by Lex Luthor is not the real one but a copy of the villain who laid waste to one of Krypton’s moons long ago. Made by combining Lex’s DNA with the body of General Zod, this Doomsday immediately started laying waste to Metropolis before Superman took him into the upper atmosphere and the US military nuked him.
Greatest DCEU Villains
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He managed to survive before the trio of Kal El, Wonder Woman, and Batman subdued him, and it took Superman sacrificing his life to finally kill the creature. The DCEU’s Doomsday mirrors his comic book counterpart in nearly every way. He grows stronger with each blow, sprouts deadly spikes over time, and shrugs off standard weapons. Created from Zod’s body, he shares the Kryptonite weakness, and a Kryptonite spear to the heart ultimately kills him.
1. Darkseid
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Completely absent from the theatrical cut of Justice League and resurrected by fan demand in the extended edition, the greatest villain in all of DC comics finally made his first live-action appearance in Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021). Sporting his signature Omega beams and his armadas on the hellish world of Apokolips, Darkseid spent much of the film plotting his return to Earth, although snippets from the future saw him murdering almost every member of the Justice League without mercy.
Although his story continues in the next two sequels (which will probably never happen), the first live-action incarnation of Darkseid was everything we hoped for and more.
Greatest DCEU Villains
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So, we believe these are the 6 best villains of the DCEU. Let us know in the comments why your favourite bad guy deserves a spot here.
