The world ofDC Comicsis home to countless powerful gods: beings who can create and destroy entire universes or even entire realities. While they don’t show up often, they’re always a major cause of concern when they do. While the hreoes of the Justice League are certainly powerful, taking on literal gods is something that even they struggle to keep up with.
The Justice League is no stranger to major threats, but there are a few beings that simply cannot be fought. From the creator of the universe, Perpetua, all the way to the ultimate god in the Presence, some beings are simply too powerful to stop. But with so many gods in one universe, it begs the question of who exactly is the strongest. Some are threats to DC’s heroes, while still others are allies. But one thing is unquestionable: just how dangerous these god-like characters can be.
15The Justice League’s God Forms
It might be surprising to learn that the Justice League actually became gods at one point. During the events ofDarkseid War, several members of the Justice League gained god-like abilities, likeBatman becoming the God of Knowledge. While these powers aren’t the strangest to ever grace a Justice League comic, Batman still gained total omniscience, and each hero still earned a significant upgrade from the powers that they usually have. While Superman as the God of Strength was certainly a terrifying amount of destructive power, it pales in comparison to the power of true divine beings.
14Nabu, the God of Fate
More Fun Comics#67 by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman
Nabu is a strange being in that readers very rarely get to see his true form. Nabu is often contained in the Helmet of Fate, and whoever wears it becomes Dr. Fate and gains access to his incredible powers. As far as magic users go, Nabu is one of the most powerful, and his abilities are said to be on par with Arion and the Phantom Stranger. These are incredible people to be compared against, as Arion was the God-King of Atlantis and the Phantom Stranger is a true divine being, empowered by the Presence to help those in need.
13Krona
Green Lantern#40 by John Broome, Gil Kane, Sid Greene, and Gaspar Saladino
Krona is another strange case, as it’s not necessarily his power that makes him notable, but instead his effect on the multiverse.Without Krona, there wouldn’t be a Multiverseto begin with. Krona has very little in terms of actual power, aside from mind control, possession, and immortality. But Krona’s viewing of the creation of the universe caused the split into the Multiverse. Krona also unleashed the concept of evil. Without Krona, there would be no evil and no Multiverse. While he’s not the most impressive in a direct fight, his actual impact on the DC Multiverse is greater than most gods.
12Volthoom
Green Lantern Annual#1 by Geoff Johns, Ethan Van Sciver, Hi-Fi Design, and Sal Cipriano
The Green Lanterns have a deep history with many powerful characters in their catalogue. One of the biggest is Nekron: essentially the grim reaper who commandsthe Black Lanterns. But an even bigger threat than Nekron is Volthoom, the first Lantern. Volthoom possesses full power over the emotional spectrum, allowing him to use every Lantern color, including Nekron’s Black Lanterns, anytime he wants. Volthoom was sealed away due to the threat he posed, but after he escaped, his powers were capable of causing cracks in reality itself. While not technically divine, he definitely wields god-like power.
11The Wizard Shazam
Whiz Comics#2 by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck
The Wizard, also known as Shazam and sometimes as Mamaragan, is an Australian God who possesses incredible control over lightning. While his abilities aren’t exactly varied, his command over lightning is one of the strongest in the DC Universe. He’s also the source of some of the most powerful heroes and villains in DC, being the source of power for Shazam and Black Adam. The Wizard is also a member of the Quintessence, a group of DC’s absolute strongest divine beings. His membership alone demonstrates he’s one of the top gods in the DC Universe.
10Zeus
Superman#28 by Jerry Siegel, Ira Yarbrough, and George Roussos
While there’s no denying just how powerful the Wizard is with his lightning magic, when it comes to powerful lightning there’s no onewho can match the Greek God Zeus. After Superman took over the world ofInjustice, he was able to steamroll anyone who stood in his way - except for Zeus. When Zeus came down from Olympus, it seemed that Superman’s reign was truly over, as there was simply nothing that the Man of Steel could do against him. This face-off is especially notable since this version of Superman was the same character who killed the entire Green Lantern Corps, including Ganthet. But against Zeus, he was powerless.
9Highfather
New Gods#1 by Jack Kirby, Vince Colletta, and John Costanza
While people mostly talk about his more villainous brother from Fourth World lore, there’s no denying that Highfather is equally powerful. While Darkseid has his iconic Omega Effect, Highfather has the Alpha Effect. Through the Alpha Effect, Highfather can call upon the Alpha Bullets. These projectiles can travel anywhere, including going through time. While Darkseid’s Omega Effect is all about utter destruction, the Alpha Bullets can resurrect anyone and even restore those who were erased by the Omega Effect. While Highfather rarely has to fight, there’s no denying just how much power he can call upon when he needs to.
8The Green, the Red, and the Grey
Swamp Thing#47 by Alan Moore, Stan Woch, Ron Randall, Tatjana Wood, and John Costanza
Every God so far exists because they have a world to exist in.Without the forces of the Red, the Green, and the Grey, there simply wouldn’t be a world to live in. These aren’t Gods in the regular sense; instead of being specific beings, they are quite literally forces of nature. The Green represents all plant life in the universe; the Red is all meat-based life, such as animals and humans; the Grey is all fungal life. Without these three primary sources, the DC Universe simply wouldn’t have anything in it.
7Anti-Monitor, the Monitor, and the World Forger
Crisis on Infinite Earths#2 by Marv Wolfman, George Pérez, Dick Giordano, Anthony Tollin, and John Costanza
Some of the most powerful beings to ever exist in the DCU are the Anti-Monitor, the Monitor, and the World Forger. They each have their own duty: the World Forger creates the worlds that populate the DC Universe, and the Monitor watches over them, making sure they’re able to grow correctly.The Anti-Monitor is the most terrifying of all, as he’s the one who sets out to destroy planets and even the entire universe if he decides that things need to be reset. The iconicCrisis on Infinite Earthsevent takes place beacause the Anti-Monitor tries to destroy the Multiverse.
6The Endless
Sandman#1 by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Robbie Busch, and Todd Klein
Desire, Dreams, Despair, Destiny - every living being in the DC Universe has these things, and it’sall because of the Endless.Humans are only able to dream because of Dream of the Endless. Things only die because Death of the Endless is waiting there for them. And all things have to live up to what’s written in the Book of Destiny, carried by Destiny of the Endless. These characters, while not exactly “gods,” are the living personifications of these elements that all living beings require. Without Death or Dream, there wouldn’t be people to populate this universe.
