DC’s Darkseid vs. Marvel’s King in Black: Who’d Win Their Cosmic Fight

In the world of comic book villains, few can claim to be as evil as DC Comics’ Darkseid or Marvel’s King in Black. Both characters serve similar roles to one another in their respective comic book worlds, acting as a supreme god of evil out to subjugate the universe no matter the cost. But if these two cosmic deities ever fought each other, who would come out on top?

In DC Comics Darkseid is the tyrannical ruler of Apokolips, a nightmarish planet populated by slaves where Darkseid rules with an iron fist. Despite common misconceptions, Darkseid isn’t actually an alien… he’s far worse. As a member of the New Gods Darkseid is actually the physical personification of tyranny itself, meaning that his true form exists in the fourth world while his avatar is left to fight the DC heroes. As a god of evil, Darkseid commands immense power derived from the Omega Sanction, an energy source that transformed Darkseid into the god he is today. The Omega sanction also allows him to wield The Omega Effect, beams of energy that are described as being “the death that is life” because they trap their victim in an endless cycle of death where the victim is tortured, killed, and brought back to life for all eternity. But Darkseid’s greatest weapon may be his supreme intellect; the god of Apokolips is a clever tactician who is able to turn almost any situation to his advantage.

In contrast to this is the King in Black himself, Knull. At the Marvel universe’s beginning, there was only darkness, and that darkness was personified by Knull. Knull is one of the oldest entities in Marvel’s cosmology, and he wants nothing more than to restore the universe to its primordial state of pure darkness. As god of the symbiotes Knull possesses a variety of powers, but his most important ability is the power to create symbiotes and then use these parasitic aliens to assimilate other lifeforms, thereby allowing the King in Black to take control of anyone unfortunate enough to be infected. But just as frightening as the symbiotes is Knull’s personal weapon, All-black the Necrosword, a weapon he forged to kill the mighty Celestials that is capable of slaying even gods.

Both of these villains are powerful deities, but between the two, Darkseid is stronger when in his true form. The New God also has the ability to trap Knull using the Omega Effect, which is so powerful it’s even able to kill other New Gods. However, the King in Black is an older deity than Darkseid and has experience fighting the godlike Celestials. Knull’s symbiotes wouldn’t be able to take control of Darkseid due to his Omega Force protection, meaning the Knull’s best chance at defeating Darkseid would be to use All-Black. But while All-Black was specifically designed to murder gods, it’s debatable if it would work on Darkseid. In The Spectre vol. 4#19 The Spectre (who is the personification of God’s anger) tries to punish Darkseid for his many crimes but is unable to since Darkseid is considered to be a fundamental component of the universe itself. This doesn’t mean Darkseid is immune to All-Black but it does speak volumes to Darkseid’s true power.

Although Knull has a history of killing Celestials in the past, the King in Black has made costly decisions during his current war against the Marvel superheroes. On the other hand, Darkseid is a careful planner who prefers to ascertain someone’s weaknesses before battling them. If the two fought, Darkseid would be wary of the King in Black and would likely want to harvest his symbiote powers. Knull’s best shot at defeating Darkseid is to try and kill him quickly with All-Black, but a direct confrontation with Darkseid puts Knull at risk of dying to the Omega Effect. Since both of these villains have a way to kill the other one instantly, their battle would come down to intelligence, and Darkseid has a clear advantage over The King in Black bin wits, making him the winner.