Since its inception, the DC Comics universe has attracted the attention of many fans around the world. This has only increased recently with the arrival of animations and film productions based on their stories.
With the growth and expansion of various plots, many characters have made their appearances and won the love and hatred of their readers. But of all the characters the publisher has launched, have you ever wondered which are the most powerful? In this list, we've tried to present the 13 strongest DC characters in order of power. Are you ready to take a look?
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is, without a doubt, one of DC's strongest characters and also one of its most beloved. She first appeared in the 1941 comic All Star Comics #8, created by William Moulton Marston.
The character had a very controversial start where various fetishistic aspects were incorporated into her construction, but over time her story was better adapted by other writers. Today, Wonder Woman is one of the three great pillars of DC, along with Batman and Superman.
Her powers can vary greatly depending on the version presented, but in general, Diana is the daughter of the queen of Themyscira, an island where there are only women. In the world of men, she is a vigilante with super strength and agility, as well as some accessories that help her in combat, such as the lasso of truth and her bracelets. She never defeats Superman in a fight, but the hero doesn't come out of it unscathed either.
Darkseid
Anyone who watched the Justice League animated series on free-to-air TV knows Darkseid not only as one of DC's strongest characters, but also as one of its most iconic villains. The fight between him and Superman was etched in the minds of viewers and all the cruelty he displayed could hardly go unnoticed.
It turns out that this wasn't Darkseid's first appearance in the DC universe, but in the 1970 comic Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #134, written by Jack Kirby. He was created along with the mythology of the new gods, playing an extremely important role as the main villain of the 4th World arc.
His main goal is to decipher the Anti-Life equation and reshape the entire universe in his image, destroying the free will of every living creature. However, even without this being deciphered, Darkseid can already be considered one of DC's most powerful characters with his super strength and omega rays fired directly from his eyes, having given all the members of the Justice League a lot of trouble.
Antimonitor
He's not as well known to audiences who have only seen the animations and films, but he's still one of DC's strongest characters. He made his first appearance in the 1985 comic Crisis on Infinite Earths #2.
He is a being composed of pure hatred who travels the multiverse destroying planets, solar systems, galaxies and universes by absorbing them. He also played an important role in the events of the Infinite Earths Crisis where he was responsible for the plan to extinguish the multiverse.
He even defeated Supergirl and killed her without much effort. As for the girl's cousin, Superman, his blows had almost no effect on Antimonitor. And even if he is defeated and killed too, he only regenerates in his original universe, making him basically immortal.
Superman
Kal-El is not only one of DC's strongest characters, but also its most famous. Even among people who aren't very familiar with this universe, it's almost impossible to find anyone who doesn't know him from the various films and animations that have already been made using him as a central figure.
He was also responsible for the beginning of the DC universe, so to speak, having his first appearance in 1938 in a comic book called Action Comics #1 written by Jerry Siegal and with art by Joe Shuster. He is the last of the race that inhabited the distant planet of Krypton, now destroyed.
Being away from home, exposed to the radiation of the yellow sun, gives him various powers that set him apart from ordinary humans. He's fast, has super strength, shoots lasers out of his eyes, flies, has x-ray vision, freezing breath and other things that vary according to his form in different stories, which is why he's often credited with being the greatest of DC's most powerful heroes.
Eclipso
Many may know Eclipso from his appearances in the CW series Stargirl, but his first appearance took place much earlier, in 1963 in House of Secrets #61. He is a magical being who personifies the feeling of anger originally created by God to bring punishment to the inhabitants of the Earth, but over time he has become evil.
His immortality, invulnerability, super strength and unusual speed make him one of DC's strongest characters without a doubt. And if all that wasn't enough, he can also emit laser beams from one eye and a paralyzing ray from the other.
Doctor Manhattan
Doctor Manhattan wasn't originally part of the DC canon. He was created for the Watchman storyline, which was independent of the others. However, after Doomsday Clock, he and several others were added to the main line and there was no way to leave him out of DC's strongest characters.
Doctor Manhattan is the codename of scientist Jonathan Osterman, who was vaporized in a nuclear accident. Through his own willpower he rebuilt himself from the materials that make up the universe, and was given incredible powers such as the control of matter at the subatomic level.
As time for him is non-linear, he sees the present, past and future as a single thing, which makes him omniscient. Physical strength, telepathy and teleportation are also among his abilities. Not to mention that the character manages to see the entire DC universe as nothing but fiction, kicking the fourth wall with both legs, just the way the public likes it.
The Spectrum
Espectro is a mystical entity similar to Eclipso, but that wasn't always the character's concept. He was originally created in 1940 by Jerry Siegal and Bernard Baily and was just a policeman called Jim Corrigan who was brought back from the dead to fight crime and the forces of evil.
However, Spectre was reformulated in the 1980s, revealing that he was much more than he appeared to be. He is actually the entity that represents divine vengeance, having replaced Eclipso as the emissary of God's punishment after the acts committed by him and thus being one of DC's strongest characters.
It needs a physical host to manifest itself and Jim Corrigan was just another one of them. Others like Hal Jordan and Crispus Allen have already been The Spectre in other comics. As an entity created by divided forces, its powers are almost invincible, including the manipulation of time, space and matter.
Lucifer Morningstar
Many people know him from the series adapted by Netflix, but Lucifer Morningstar made his first appearance in the 1954 comic Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #65. The basis used in the streaming platform's production for the character doesn't differ much from his original comic book story.
Lucifer is Michael's brother and both were created by God. Lucifer was in charge of Hell for centuries and was always rebellious towards God's designs. One day he simply got tired of his job, left Hell in the care of Morpheus and went to the human world to open a bar.
Despite leading a more everyday life after that, Lucifer is still one of DC's strongest characters. He is practically omnipotent and can shape anything, even if he can't create something from scratch, being a complement to Michael in this respect.
The perpetuals
Created by Neil Gaiman in the Sandman comics, the Perpetuals represent universal concepts and are therefore more powerful than gods. Netflix recently adapted the comic into a TV series and the general public can get a glimpse of the strength of these, some of DC's strongest characters.
The concepts represented by the Perpetuals are Dream, Delirium, Desire, Death, Despair, Destiny and Destruction and generally their powers are intrinsically linked to what they are. Fate, for example, has a book where all the information about everything that has happened and will happen in the universe is written down.
Unlike the gods, whose existence ends when the last person who believed in them dies, the Perpetuals don't suffer from this affliction since their concepts won't disappear, no matter what direction human history takes. And even if humanity comes to an end, Death will be there, as the last one standing to mow everyone down. There's no way not to put this group on a list of DC's strongest characters.
The descriptor
This divine entity was born at the moment when God commanded that there be light in the universe, and he was the first shadow. His first appearance was in the comic book Fate Patrol #31 by Drake Bruno, released in 1989. He has the power to erase the existence of things, making him one of DC's strongest characters.
This character has no physical form. It manifests itself as a giant eye and doesn't appear to have any sense of morality, personality or even emotions. There is no way to defeat him or convince him to stop the destruction he causes.
So when the Doom Patrol faced it, they just dealt with it by slowing down the pace of the destruction it caused. In this way it became imperceptible to humans, but it never exactly stopped happening.
Elaine Belloc
Elaine is potentially the strongest of DC's strongest characters, but she still has a long way to go before that happens. She is the daughter of Michael Demiurgos, granddaughter of God and made her first appearance in the comic book Lucifer #4 by Mike Carey published in 2000.
The girl will receive her father's powers when he dies, including the Power of God, known as Dunamis Demiurgos. She is also destined to assume the divine throne, commanding creation in place of the Presence among the gods of the DC universe.
Miguel Demiurgos
Michael Demiurgos is literally DC's version of the Christian archangel Michael. He, like Lucifer, is the son of God, represented here as The Presence, and made his first appearance in the comic Books of Magic #1, created by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton.
He is next in line to the Divine Throne and possesses several of the abilities we expect to find in an angel. He can fly, has super strength and is immortal. However, this doesn't mean that he can't die, just that he wouldn't die of natural causes.
He also has the ability to create matter, but cannot shape it as he pleases. In this way, he and his brother Lucifer end up complementing each other as one of DC's strongest characters.
Presence
If you're familiar with Marvel's One Above All, you'll certainly understand the concept of the Presence in the DC universe. This is one of the strongest characters in fiction in general and acts as the ultimate deity. His first appearance was in the comic More Fun Comics #52 released in 1940 when the concept of the character was still unknown. It was just a voice that was later attributed to him.
He is the only one who is truly omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient, and not even the most powerful heroes would stand a chance against him. He is the creator of everything, including the concepts of infinity and eternity, and cannot be destroyed. However, in the future he will give up his position to Elaine, his granddaughter, Miguel's daughter, but he will certainly remain one of the strongest characters in the series. DC.
But, of course, power issues can be subjective according to the writers of the stories you read. And now that you've finished this list, why not also check out Marvel's 10 strongest characters?
Can you think of any others who should be among the publisher's strongest characters? Let us know what you think in the comments! After all, who is DC's strongest character?
