The 10 Most Powerful DC Villains in Movies, Ranked

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If one thing is true about the comic book realm, it’s that DC Comics has some of the most powerful villains out there. With how many crises the heroes of DC are consistently going through in the books, it’s pretty clear that they have some truly universe-ending foes. With protagonists as strong as Superman and Wonder Woman, they need them.

While the films haven’t done the best job at showcasing other heroes outside of Batman and Superman until recent years, the folks over at Warner Brothers have brought some pretty powerful villains to the screen. Whether they come from the early ’80s or the recent DC Extended Universe, the villains brought to life through these beloved movies have some true, undeniable, firepower behind them.

10

Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal)

‘Wonder Woman 1984’ (2020)

Not all power comes from physical strength. Sometimes, having mental control over someone or something can do far more damage than a punch or a kick. In the Wonder Woman sequel, Wonder Woman 1984, Pedro Pascal jumps onto the screen as the infamous Maxwell Lord, who has the ability to grant the wish of any person who asks. In exchange, however, he can take whatever he likes from them.

The control he has over people, manipulating their greed, got so strong that he could almost take over the entire world. Eventually, Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) would come to see that not everyone’s wishes deserve to come true, as they’re heinous in nature. This type of control could have potentially ruined the human race entirely. If that’s not power, then what is?

9

Enchantress (Cara Delevingne)

‘Suicide Squad’ (2016)

Not much good came out of 2016’s Suicide Squad, as it’s known as one of the worst superhero films ever made. The villain of the movie, however, the Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), is far more powerful than people expect or remember. This interdimensional being, who has taken over the body of Judy Moon, has a wide array of powers that make her dangerously powerful.

Not only can she live for thousands of years, being about 6,000 years old, she has mental manipulation, teleportation, intangibility, electrokinesis, can create illusions and more. She’s borderline a god-like being. Even stronger when she’s with her brother, Incubus (Alain Chanoine). The vast amount of magical energy she possesses seems almost endless, with her only weakness being her heart.

8

Doomsday (Robin Atkin Downes & Gary A. Hecker)

‘Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice’ (2016)

Doomsday is infamous in DC Comics lore, being one of the first and only beings able to kill the legendary and seemingly invincible Superman. So, when it seemed as if Warner Bros. was adapting the DC character to live-action in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, people were simultaneously excited and scared.

While he’s not as powerful in the Man of Steel follow-up as he is in the books, he takes on the likes of Superman (Henry Cavill), Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman all at once and still ends up killing the Big Blue Boy Scout. While some think that Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice didn’t do the character justice, it can’t be denied that his strength was adapted well and true. Doomsday (Robin Atkin Downes & Gary A. Hecker) is the perfect example of raw and sheer strength.

7

The Daughters of Atlas (Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu & Rachel Zegler)

‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ (2023)

While Shazam! Fury of the Gods may not have gotten amazing reviews, but it had some high stakes, thanks to the villains that came to threaten the Earth and challenge the protagonist and his family. When these three daughters of the titan, Atlas, get their hands on a staff with the potential for great power, they pose a much larger threat to the world than Billy Batson (Asher Angel) initially realizes.

Being titans, they’re immortal, hold powerful magic specific to titans and magics exclusive to them. Now, multiply that by three and, suddenly, the beloved foster family of heroes have more than their work cut out for them. Anthea (Rachel Zegler) holds the Power of Axis, which can warp reality. Kalypso (Lucy Liu) has a dragon named Ladon and the Power of Chaos, which can manipulate minds. Lastly, Hespera (Helen Mirren) controls the Power of Elements, which is self-explanatory.

6

Ares (David Thewlis & Nick McKinless)

‘Wonder Woman’ (2017)

In a world of gods and monsters, the gods are typically as powerful as that world gets. Ares (David Thewlis & Nick McKinless), the strongest son of Zeus, faces off against the titanous Wonder Woman in her first solo film and, lives up to the legend. Being an Old God, he holds a list of powers and abilities so long that it could take days to state them all.

Ares is the God of War, meaning he has a battle intellect far greater than that of a genius. So, not only is he as strong as a god, but one of the smartest tacticians there is. In fact, he is so strong that Wonder Woman was only able to kill him by redirecting his own lighting back at him. Ares was the perfect representation of the Old Gods and the strength they held (before Diana ended them by defeating the God of War).

5

General Zod (Michael Shannon)

‘Man of Steel’ (2013)

Using General Zod (Michael Shannon) as the first villain of the DCEU in Man of Steel was a great idea, as he displayed a mass amount of power. So much so, that his final battle against the newborn hero pretty much destroyed all Metropolis.They destroyed it so much, in fact, that it upset a plethora of fans who believed that Superman would never let that many people die in all that destruction.

Zod was implemented to truly test Superman, and he did that job very well. He posed so much of a threat to humanity and challenged the protagonist so deeply that the only way the good-spirited Kryptonian could stop his rampage was to kill him. All this danger he posed came from a Zod who was just getting used to his abilities on Earth. Had he had more time to get used to what he could do, he could’ve done far more damage.

4

Parallax (Clancy Brown)

‘Green Lantern’ (2011)

Green Lantern may be one of the worst movies ever made (genuinely unwatchable), but that doesn’t mean that the stakes aren’t very high for Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) as he rises to power. Parallax (Clancy Brown) is the actual embodiment of fear itself. He uses fear as a power source and feeds on it to consume his victims’ souls. So long as someone near him has fear, he has immense power.

Parallax is an almost omnipotent being, as he is immortal, has telepathy, can create fear-powered energy blasts, can possess mortals, fear projection and can fly to wherever he’d like. Even though the film has a terrible reputation, fans hope that this hasn’t turned off DC at the idea of using the villain again, as his power is almost immeasurable. This allowed the conflict in Green Lantern to actually not be terrible.

3

Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds)

‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ (2021)

If DC and Warner Bros were going to bring their iconic superhero team to the big screen, they needed a villain that could stand up against them. While they missed the mark with the first release of Justice League, Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds) got his big redemption in the director’s re-release of the film, Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

Steppenwolf is what is known as a New God, with similar abilities to the likes of the Old Gods, like Ares. He’s astoundingly durable, being able to be stabbed in the chest by Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and still living through it. He’s also a genius and expert tactician, enhancing his physical power, tenfold. He also commands an entire Parademon army. But the strongest part about him is his indomitable spirit. The willpower he holds is unbelievable, refusing to give up, no matter what.

2

Dark Flash (Ezra Miller)

‘The Flash’ (2023)

The reasoning why Dark Flash (Ezra Miller) is so powerful is pretty obvious and self-explanatory. Anyone who can command the very space-time thread that weaves the universe together, is bound to be one of the strongest beings of all time. The evil Flash that becomes his own enemy at the end of 2023’s The Flash not only looked horrifying, but had a hand on the timeline that struck fear into many. What could he change? Who is at stake? Why does the CGI look like clay?

Normally, this kind of power would make one the strongest villain in the DC catalog, but Dark Flash has one major weakness: his compassion. At the end of the day, he’s still a Barry Allen and only became who he is because he kept trying to “fix” the timeline and save Batman (Michael Keaton) and Supergirl (Sasha Calle), which twisted him into a horrid figure. He was the antagonist, but had only good intentions.

1

Darkseid (Ray Porter)

‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ (2021)

Before the decision to end the DCEU was made, Zack Snyder had plans for an entire cinematic universe, which would lead to the Justice League eventually facing off against their biggest villain from the comics—their Thanos (Josh Brolin)—Darkseid (Ray Porter). While the League may not face off against this mighty overlord, his power is spoken of and even shown a bit during a big flashback sequence.

Darkseid is depicted as the strongest of the New Gods. While Steppenwolf was almost invulnerable to the members of the League, Darkseid simply steps on his head like it was a bag of chips. His most iconic power is that of his Omega Beams: a power where he shoots incredibly strong plasma beams from his eyes that cannot be dodged or outrun, thanks to his perfect aim. He’s so strong that the entire “Knightfall” future shown was caused by him. He’s as strong as it gets when it comes to DC movies.

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“}]] Villains like Cara Delevingne’s Enchantress and Ciaran Hinds’ Steppenwolf are among the most powerful in Warner Brothers’ DC movies.  Read More