The Justice League is one of the most famous superhero teams in the world. Since the dawn of DC Comics, the world's greatest superheroes have saved the world against insurmountable odds and protected the universe from threats too great for other heroes to defeat. The Justice League is without a doubt the gold standard of superheroes, consisting of the divine trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
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Best Dark Fantasy DC Comics, Ranked
From Sword of Sorcery to Justice League Dark, there are plenty of great DC comics that will have you hooked on the fun of dark fantasy.
But even the Justice League has had moments where they have met their match in the final moments of a desperate battle. Intergalactic menaces and meticulous psychopaths have sometimes planned everything out and beaten the Justice League at their own game. It’s not an easy task and it’s not a long list, but several villains have beaten the League and walked away with the chip in the soldier’s hand. Here are some of the villains who have defeated the Justice League:
7 Superboy-Prime
Can destroy dimensions with tremendous power
- Created by: Elliot S! Maggin, Curt Swan, Geoff Johns
- First appearance: DC Comics Presents #87
Superboy Prime is one of the most powerful forces of nature in the DC Universe. Hailing from an alternate universe, Superboy Prime was a young hero with unimaginable powers, but was unprepared for the responsibility of becoming the universe’s greatest protector.
Corrupted by the trauma he suffered while trying to do the right thing, Superboy Prime became an unstoppable threat, attacking his own world and all other worlds, putting the entire multiverse at risk. The entire world of DC heroes born with Superman’s powers could not stand up to him and his heated rage. Every time Superboy Prime shows his face, he proves why he is the most fearsome version of Superman.
6 joker
Emperor of all power imbalances in the world
- Created by: Bob Kane, Bill Finger
- First appearance: Batman #1
For most of his time as the Prince of Crime, the Joker has kept himself within the confines of Gotham City. Rarely straying from his eternal conflict with Batman, the Joker has stepped onto a much grander stage and become one of the world’s greatest threats.
The Joker, who crossed paths with Superman, steals the power of the reality-altering being to become the emperor of the world and twists it into his own image. With the most insane individuals with the power of a god, the Justice League has no chance while the Joker is on the rampage.
5 criminal organization
Justice League's Mirror Counterpart
- Creators: Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky
- First appearance: Justice League Of America #29
The Crime Syndicate is an alternate version of the Justice League made famous in the animated film Crisis on Two Earths in an attempt to conquer the DC Multiverse. Instead of protecting the world and fighting evil, these twisted versions of the world's most powerful heroes are dedicated to a life of crime and conquering their world. A ruthless group that stops at nothing, the Crime Syndicate has clashed with the Justice League on numerous occasions, most recently in the Forever Evil storyline, where they destroyed the entire Justice League and dozens of other heroes, causing chaos in the new world and keeping the spoils of their victory and murder.
4 General Joad
Kryptonian without Superman's morality
- Created by: George Papp, Robert Bornstein
- First appearance: Adventure Comics #283
General Zod is one of the few Kryptonians who survived the destruction of the planet. He is also one of the most evil criminals on the planet, and survived a life sentence in the Phantom Zone. General Zod is an authoritarian and is determined to have the best interests of the people at heart at all costs.
Ruthless and unfeeling, he immediately sets out to conquer Earth and make it a home for the remaining humans once he is released. In the comics and animation, Zod clashes with Superman and the Justice League, requiring a joint operation to take him down. The most famous is Geoff Johns' Last Son, where Superman is trapped in the Phantom Zone and there is no one left to stop Zod.
3 Prometheus
One of the most intelligent and deadly characters in the DC Universe.
- Producers: Grant Morrison, Arnie Jorgenson
- First appearance: Superman #196810
The DC Universe is full of twisted alternate forms of established heroes. These hideous copies aren’t always clones or from another dimension. Sometimes, they’re just the other side of the coin, like Bizarro and Superman. Of all the copies, Prometheus is one of the most dangerous. Like Batman, Prometheus saw his parents killed by the police while on the run from crime.
But rather than dedicate himself to justice, Prometheus vowed to destroy the forces of justice at any cost. This is exactly what Prometheus did in the DC Comics storyline “Strength in Numbers”, when he infiltrated the Justice League's base and began systematically destroying every member of the JLA. While Prometheus is a menace, what's even more impressive is that he took down the Justice League with no superpowers and only his intellect.
2 Darkside
The Source of Evil and Darkness
- Created by: Jack Kirby
- First appearance: Superman's Friend Jimmy Olsen #134
Darkseid is a villain who needs no introduction, his name alone makes everyone tremble. On the surface, Darkseid is a cosmic threat, issuing a single command to his legions of demon soldiers and the entire planet follows him. He sits on his throne, coldly staring at all living things, intent on subjugating them. Darkseid is probably one of the most popular villains in DC Comics. But he is more than just a ruthless beast.
Darkseid is the embodiment of chaos and darkness, similar to the power of the emotional spectrum. In his quest to find the Anti-Life Equation and take control of the universe, he often encounters the Justice League. Every battle the League engages in with Darkseid ends with them barely surviving. Even Superman is not strong enough to defeat Darkseid alone or with the help of allied heroes. Few heroes in the DC Universe have defeated Darkseid in his current form, but he steps back and tries again after regaining his powers.
1 Doomsday
unstoppable killing machine
- Creators: Jon Bogdanove, Louise Jones Simonson, Dan Jurgens
- First appearance: Superman the Man of Steel #17
Doomsday is one of the few unstoppable forces in the DC Universe, only delayed. Doomsday first appeared in Death of Superman, making his debut by killing the Man of Steel. However, before doing so, he overpowered the entire Justice League in Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, and Green Lantern.
Doomsday is the product of scientific experimentation and torture, which has made him immortal, adapting to each death and rendering him useless the second time around. Doomsday has titanic strength and universal durability, but he has one driving force: to kill. It takes almost every hero to fight Doomsday and mitigate as much damage as possible before everything is gone.
