10 Most Powerful DC Supervillains of All Time (Ranked)

There are some villains in DC who can’t be defeated. Sure, they can be beaten in a single battle or forced into hiding for a while but they are never truly defeated. These villains simply can’t be. And why? Easy. They are too powerful.

Unlike the average villain, these villains can alter reality, displace time, cause entire universes to collapse in on themselves, change and reset continuity, and more. Not only do the most powerful of DC superheroes quiver at the mention of their names, but these villains are power defined.

Who are they, you ask? Good question. Here are the most powerful DC supervillains.

List of strongest DC supervillains:

10. Parallax

Parallax is the embodiment of fear. As the embodiment of fear, he’s able to possess and take control of practically anyone. This includes but isn’t limited to some of the greatest Green Lanterns in existence.

Ahem…I’m looking at you Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner.

By the end of one of the most known stories in Green Lantern history, Emerald Twilight, Parallax takes control of Hal Jordan. With Hal under his power, he uses him to destroy, kill, maim, and wreak havoc on the DC Universe.

Although Parallax is primarily known for fear, he has many other abilities. He’s immortal and can manipulate both reality and time. This means that he can bend both, mold both, warp both, and change both to better suit his own needs.

9. Reverse Flash

Reverse Flash, like The Flash, is a Speedster. As a Speedster, he has the ability to run, move, and process information faster than anyone. While this makes learning and robbing banks relatively easy, it’s not the reason he’s on this list of powerful DC supervillains.

Flashpoint is.

It wasn’t until Flashpoint that the most powerful DC superheroes learned how powerful Reverse Flash is. In Flashpoint, he traveled back through time, changed the past, and altered the future. Instead of a semi-peaceful world, the future was suddenly a bleak dystopia where Aquaman and Wonder Woman were sworn enemies, Thomas Wayne was Batman, Barry Allen was powerless, and Martha Wayne was the Joker.

Reverse Flash is here because very few supervillains can and will ever do what he did.

8. Larfleeze

Don’t let his odd looks fool you. Larfleeze is as deserving as any to be on this most powerful DC supervillains list.

Here’s why.

Unlike the other Lantern Corps, Larfleeze is the only member of his Corps. This means that he controls the entire power of the Orange Lantern Corps. As such, he can do anything he wants to without any power restriction placed upon him. As the only Orange Lantern, Larfleeze can also absorb the energy of the other Power Rings…and he does.

Larfleeze is so powerful that the Guardians of the Universe haven’t been able to defeat him. Instead, they created a pact that they hope he will abide by. As someone who only looks out for themselves, we all know that this is wishful thinking.

7. Nekron

Nekron’s most famous storyline (and one you should read) is Blackest Night. That story gives a small glimpse into just how powerful he is.

Nekron isn’t able to act without the help of someone in the world outside of his own. This, however, doesn’t mean that his power is all that limited. As the embodiment of death, Nekron is able to reanimate the souls of those who have died or are dead. At one time, he commanded an army that included Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Firestorm, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Hawkman, Elongated Man, and Green Arrow. This army was known as the Black Lantern Corps.

His Black Lanterns are capable of regeneration, reading, and using the emotions of their opponents against them, siphoning the emotions of others away, and infecting the living thereby creating new Black Lanterns.

6. Superboy-Prime

During the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths (COIE), Superboy-Prime was recruited by Earth-One’s Superman to fight against the Anti-Monitor. Although he didn’t have to join the fight, as a result of his homeworld being destroyed he accepted and helped the other heroes achieve victory.

At the conclusion of COIE, Superboy-Prime left Earth-One for the Paradise Dimension. Once there, he spent his days watching the world he vowed to protect. Unfortunately, this world wasn’t as he hoped for. Instead of its people living in harmony, the people grew hateful towards one another. This caused Superboy-Prime to grow frustrated, angry, and to lose his sense of virtue. As a consequence, he left the Paradise Dimension and made his way back to Earth-One.

Now back on Earth-One, he began to unleash his own form of justice on the planet. It took the combined effort of Earth-One and Earth-Two Superman to defeat him. This, however, didn’t come without a cost. By the end of the battle, Earth-Two Superman has lost his life.

5. Darkseid

What do you get when you take a maniacal being hell-bent on shaping the galaxy in his image and combined it with another who possesses just about every known power in existence?

Darkseid. You get Darkseid.

Darkseid isn’t only the sworn enemy of the Justice League and New Gods…he’s the sworn enemy of any who steps in his way. He is the ruler of Apokolips and Apokolips is home to some of the most loyal and evil beings in DC.

Parademons
Female Furies
Granny Goodness
Kalibak
Lashina
Mantis
Steppenwolf
Desaad
Grayven

Darkseid also possesses the Omega-Beams. Once fired the Omega-Beams lock onto their target and never miss. They are so powerful that they can destroy planets, harm Kryptonians, and catch the likes of The Flash.

4. Krona

Krona was a scientist born on the planet Maltus. As a scientist, he attempted to learn as much as he could about the galaxy and the origin of it. Unfortunately, as we all know, knowledge leads to power and power corrupts.

Krona desired to see the beginning of time. In order to do this, he created a machine that allowed him to peer through time. What he didn’t foresee was that his interference caused the DC Universe to shatter into what would become the Multiverse. Worse yet, its shattering caused the idea of evil to be born.

As punishment, Krona was turned into energy and forced to wander the galaxy forever. Because Krona understands the universe in a way that most will never, he’s capable of defeating just about anyone he chooses. This is the very reason he’s on my most powerful DC supervillains list.

3. Mr. Mxyzptlk

Mr. Mxyzptlk is an imp who hails from the 5th Dimension. Because the mainstream DC Universe is set in the 3rd Dimension and he comes from a different dimension, its rules and laws don’t affect him. This means that Mr. Mxyzptlk is extremely powerful. For example, inside the 3rd Dimension, he can warp reality and bend time to his will without even thinking about it.

Luckily, Mr. Mxyzptlk isn’t all that interested in dimensional-wide conquest. Instead, he interested in pulling pranks and jokes on others. Very specifically, he uses his power to prank Superman. The only true way to defeat Mr. Mxyzptlk is to get him to say or spell his name backward.

2. Imperiex

All you need to know about Imperiex is that he has the power to induce the Big Bang. And what’s the Big Bang, you ask?

As defined by NASA Science, the Big Bang is “how astronomers explain the way the universe began. It is the idea that the universe began as just a single point, then expanded and stretched to grow as large as it is right now (and it could still be stretching).”

That’s right. Imperiex can reset the Universe back to its beginning. Need I say more? I do? Ok.

Imperiex can also create Black Holes to suck up entire universes, can consume planets, is able to project blasts of energy that could kill the strongest of opponents in one shot, and has superhuman strength, durability, and stamina that rivals that of Superman.

1. Anti-Monitor

When you’re the reason continuity was reset, it’s easy to name you one of the most powerful DC supervillains.

The Anti-Monitor is the counterpart to the Monitor. As such, he has the power to absorb the energy of his surroundings. His ability to absorb is so strong that he can absorb the energy of entire planets, stars, and universes if he wants to…and he does want to.

In addition, he has superhuman strength, can manipulate darkness, has cosmic awareness, is able to resurrect himself and others, can take control of the minds of others, and reconfigure reality how he sees fit.

The Anti-Monitor is most known for what he did during Crisis on Infinite Earths. The story saw the entirety of the DC Multiverse swallowed up and regurgitated as one cohesive Universe. As you probably guessed, this meant that many other Universes, characters, and timelines ceased to exist.

And that’s it. The most powerful DC supervillains. Agree? Disagree? Who would make your most powerful DC supervillains list?

Liked this article? Join the community on Reddit for the latest Marvel & DC news!