Warning: Contains spoilers for DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #8!There are many powerful villains in the DC Universe, but few are as powerful as DarksideGod of Apokolips. The embodiment of evil and tyranny, Darkseid rarely respects anyone, as he views most of life as beneath him. This is especially the case with Justice Leaguewho constantly gets in his way. Surprisingly, however, he has consistently acknowledged respect for one Justice League hero.
the to stop The universe is probably one of the darkest in the entire DC Multiverse. It is a world overrun by a zombie-like virus, created by twisting the Anti-Life Equation. After many years and many deaths, the heroes manage to devise a plan to stop the virus by destroying its source – Erebos, the source of all Anti-Life. This will end the virus forever, but tragically, in order to pull this off, one of the heroes needs to sacrifice themselves. Batman Damian Wayne is the one who chose to do this. Damian manages to keep this a secret from the rest of his team, knowing that they will try to stop him. When they finally realize the plan, Darkseid – who has allied himself with the Justice League – completes Damian’s plan, finding his actions “Most impressive.” Readers can see Darkseid’s exact thoughts and more at DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #8 By Tom Taylor, Trevor Hirsen, Lucas Meyer, Andy Lanning.
Darkseid is a fan of Batman Damian Wayne
Darkseid was the one who originally unleashed the corrupt Anti-Life Equation, way back DCeased #1. He was the first victim to fall under the control of Erebos, and when he recovered, he joined the Justice League purely for revenge. To this end, Darkseid sought to destroy the Anti-Life Equation, despite it being something he had been searching for for most of his history. However, it is Damian Wayne who figures out a way to strike the killing blow, managing to create a whole new universe in the process. It’s a moment when humans’ ingenuity and sense of grit make them fit on a cosmic level, and Darkseid impressed, volunteering his congratulations without excuse, even as the Justice League made it clear that no one wanted his opinion. It’s fitting that Darkseid was willing to acknowledge Damian in this way during his final victory, paying former Batman Bruce Wayne the same honor.
Darkseid constantly admires Batman
Back in 2004 Superman/Batman #12 By Jeph Loeb, Michael Turner, and Peter Steigerwald, readers get to see the first time Batman impresses Darkseid. Darkseid manages to manipulate Kara Zor-El into serving him. Superman naturally wanted to save his cousin from Darkseid’s clutches, traveled to Apokolips with Batman, and Bruce reprogrammed some of Darkseid’s weapons to go off. While Darkseid initially thought the Dark Knight was deceitful, he soon realized that Batman was all too willing to let Apokolips, and everyone in it, explode unless Darkseid agreed to release Kara, calling Bruce’s cruelty “Awesome adjective.”
On that occasion, Darkseid’s admiration was primarily an insult, given that he had a crush on Bruce’s dark side. This time, however, it’s a real compliment, as Darkseid seems to appreciate that Damian is willing to give everything he has to end the reign of an astrologically more powerful foe. Darkseid may be evil, but he’s also one of the most ambitious and fearless beings in existence – something he also sees in Damian. As Damian perishes in the explosion, his sacrifice crowns him as the hero his father always hoped he would become. Justice League – included Darkside – Celebrate the heroic end of Batman.
DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #8 On sale now from DC Comics!
