Darkseid vs Thanos
Round #1: Origin Stories
Top 10 Dark Origin Stories of Disney Villains
In Darkseid's first origin story, he was a proud and cold prince named Uxas. He became insanely strong after stealing his brother’s chance to obtain a power called the omega force. In his revised New 52 backstory, he began as a cynical farmer named Uxas who lived on a planet full of Gods. Frustrated with how indifferent the deities were towards mortals, Uxas decided to take them all down by making them fight each other. When each God was weak, he would strike the final blow and take their powers. Although his brother tried to stop this plan, Uxas was soon reborn as Darkseid and became the ruler of Apokolips. When Thanos was first born, his mother tried to take his life because she sensed evil in him. He narrowly survived and became an extremely intelligent child. On one fateful day, Thanos and his friends explored a cave full of lizard creatures. He was the only one who survived the trip. A young woman successfully encouraged him to get revenge by eliminating lizard creatures. This started Thanos down a path of violence. After years of taking lives, he discovered the young woman who always encouraged his dark acts was the living embodiment of death. Since he was the only one who could see her, people thought he was mad. We can identify with Darkseid’s desire to take indifferent gods out. But we can sympathize more with Thanos. He's figuratively and literally been at death’s mercy his entire life. The sense of tragedy underneath his origins makes his backstory more compelling. WINNER: Darkseid 0/ Thanos 1
Round #2: Ultimate Goal
Top 10 Ultimate Comfort Movies
Although villains like Darkseid have tons of evil plans, his most famous villainous plot revolves around the Anti-Life Equation. This formula essentially allows him to mind control any living creature in the universe. During the “Final Crisis” storyline, Darkseid brainwashed billions of ordinary humans on Earth and some of the planet’s greatest superheroes. The amount of power the Anti-Life Equation grants will always make it his biggest desire. Darkseid can conquer everything in sight with this formula at his side. The first thing many people think of when it comes to Thanos is the Infinity Gauntlet. This glove allows him to harness the power of six powerful stones at once. In the comics and MCU, Thanos used the gauntlet to erase half of all life in the universe. His comic counterpart mainly did this to impress the embodiment of death. However, the cinematic version took this horrible action as part of his twisted plan to save and balance the universe. With a simple snap of his fingers, Thanos caused untold devastation. It’s safe to say that no hero wants Darkseid to gain the Anti-Life Equation or for Thanos to have a full Infinity Gauntlet. But while both plans are dangerous, we think the Mad Titan has the more ambitious endgame. While we’ve seen Darkseid control an entire planet, Thanos has devastated half a universe and could possibly destroy even more with just a snap of his fingers. WINNER: Darkseid 0/ Thanos 2
Round #3: Armies & Minions
Top 10 Greatest Fictional Armies
Darkseid's Elite consists of a rotating roster of insanely powerful villains that have appeared in everything from animated shows to live-action films. While the vicious Granny Goodness trains warriors with brutal methods, Desaad is a cruel scientist who’s an expert at inflicting pain. Dangerous villains such as Big Barda, Kalibak, and Steppenwolf have served him too. And if that wasn’t enough, Darkseid also commands a ridiculously massive army of winged Parademons. He typically increases his army’s size by tormenting or brainwashing beings he conquers into becoming new Parademons. Darkseid has the numbers and talents to spell trouble for the planets he invades. Thanos is mainly known for his intimidating Black Order. Although they’ve mostly appeared in comics, they’ve also appeared in the MCU. Fans have seen what the intelligent alien with telekinetic powers named Ebony Maw and the fierce warrior named Proxima Midnight can do. In some realities, Thanos has adopted Gamora and Nebula and made them fight on his behalf. He’s also commanded dangerous creatures known as Outriders to gain information and fight his enemies. Between the Outriders, Black Order, and children of Thanos, the Mad Titan assembled an epic fighting force. While Thanos has an impressive army behind him, members of Darkseid’s Elite have a longer and stronger history. Characters like Granny Goodness, Desaad, and even Parademons were regularly appearing outside of comics decades before some had ever heard of Proxima Midnight. Darkseid’s followers are both better known and more iconic. WINNER: Darkseid 1/Thanos 2
Round #4: Who Would Win in a Fight?
Top 24 Best Movie Fight Scenes of Each Year (2000 - 2023)
Picking a fight with Darkseid would be an extremely bad idea. His strength rivals Superman's, He's fast enough to dodge the Flash and tough enough to take hits from Zeus himself. Outside of his physical abilities, Darkseid wields his signature Omega Beams. These powerful beams can move in crazy directions, obliterate enemies in an instant, and move insanely fast. Even Superman isn’t always speedy enough to dodge this attack. Darkseid has the power and abilities to take down nearly any being that tries to fight him. Over the years, Thanos has molded himself into a nigh unbeatable warrior. He's strong enough to defeat the Hulk in a hand-to-hand fight and can survive a direct hit from a god-like Thor. Thanos only becomes more dangerous when he has his signature gauntlet. The Infinity Stones enhance his strength, allow him to manipulate space, and even rewrite reality itself. Between his intelligence, natural abilities, and the gauntlet, Thanos is a tremendous threat in battle. There’ve been many debates about who would win in a fight. But our money is firmly on Darkseid. The Mad Titan would have a lot of trouble defeating someone who can blast Superman into space. And even if Thanos had the Infinity Gauntlet, Darkseid's Omega beams are so fast he could probably end the fight before the Mad Titan had time to snap. WINNER: Darkseid 2/ Thanos 2
Round #5: Cultural Impact
Who would have thought a villain who first appeared in a Jimmy Olsen comic would become one of DC’s most intimidating villains? Since his debut, Darkseid has been celebrated for his power, cruelty, and brilliant schemes. His presence has been the best part of shows like “Justice League: Unlimited” and movies like “Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.” Even his brief screen time in “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” was enough to send fans into a frenzy. Darkseid is a legendary villain who has few equals. After comic book legend Jim Starlin used Darkseid’s look as an influence for Thanos’ appearance, he set about making the Mad Titan into a unique character. The Marvel villain built up a reputation amongst comic fans by being a ruthless tactician and warrior. Decades after his debut, Thanos made a huge impression in the MCU. His complex motives and a tremendous performance from Josh Brolin made audiences believe in his goals. And his use of the gauntlet created a shocking scene that snapped its way into MCU and cinema history. Both Darkseid and Thanos have long and sinister histories that date back to the 1970s. After decades of comics, TV, and movie appearances, we believe the Mad Titan made the biggest impact. Although Darkseid has been extremely influential, Thanos has reached a new level of pop culture appreciation in recent years thanks to his three-dimensional portrayal in “Infinity War.” He’s now considered to be one of the best cinema villains of the century. Darkseid just hasn’t reached those heights… yet. WINNER: Darkseid 2/Thanos 3 With a score of 3 to 2, Thanos wins this versus match. Maybe his victory was (insert broll for “inevitable” here)
