The Justice League is one of the most famous superhero teams in the world. Since the dawn of DC Comics, the greatest superheroes in the world have saved the day against insurmountable odds and protected the universe from cosmic-level threats that no other heroes could hope to defeat. The Justice League is undoubtedly the gold standard of superheroes, composed of the holy trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
However, there have been moments where even the Justice League has met their match and lost in the final seconds of a desperate battle. Intergalactic threats and meticulous psychopaths sometimes have it all planned out and beat the Justice League at their own game. While not an easy task and not a long list, several villains have gotten the better of the League and walked away with a chip on their soldier. Here are the villains that defeated the Justice League.
7Superboy-Prime
Able To Shatter Dimensions With Brute Strength
Superboy Prime is one of the most dominant forces of nature inside the DC universe. Stemming from an alternate universe, Superboy-Prime was a young hero with unimaginable power who was ill-prepared for the responsibility of being the universe’s greatest protector.
Corrupted by trauma received trying to do the right thing, Superboy-Prime turned on his world and all others and became an unstoppable threat that put the entire multiverse at risk. Gifted with the powers of Superman, the entire world of DC heroes was no match for him and his unhinged rage. Every time Superboy Prime shows his face, he proves why he is the mostterrifying version of Superman.
6The Joker
All Power Unbalanced Emperor Of The World
For the majority of his villainy career as the crown prince of crime,the Jokerretained himself within the limits of Gotham City. Rarely stepping away from his ongoing eternal conflict with Batman, there is one instance where the Joker took to a much grander stage and made himself one of the most high-level threats in the world.
Crossing over with Superman, the Joker steals the power of a reality-altering being, makes himself into the Emperor of the world, and warps it into his image. With the most maniacally insane individuals with the power of a god, the Justice League stood no chance as the Joker ran amuck.
5The Crime Syndicate
The Justice League’s Mirror Counterparts
The Crime Syndicate is an alternate version of the Justice League made famous during the Crisis on Two Earths animated film in an attempt to conquerthe DC multiverse.Instead of protecting the world and combating evil, these twisted versions of the world’s most powerful heroes committed to a life of crime and conquering their world. The Crime Syndicate is a ruthless crew that lets nothing get in their way—having clashed with the Justice League quite a few times, most recently in the Forever Evil storyline, where they laid waste to the entire Justice League and dozens of other heroes as they rampaged through a new world, keeping trophies of their victories and kills.
4General Zod
A Kryptonian Without The Morality Of Superman
General Zod is one of the few remaining Kryptonians alive after the planet’s destruction. He is also one of the planet’s most vile criminals, having only survived because of his lifetime prison sentence in the Phantom Zone. General Zod is an authoritarian, determined to hold his people’s best interests at heart no matter the cost.
Ruthless and unfeeling, upon his release, he immediately sets out to conquer Earth and make it a home for his remaining people. In both comics and animation, Zod clashes against Superman and the Justice League, needing a joint operation to take him and his comrades down. The most well-known is in Last Son by Geoff Johns, where Superman becomes trapped inside the phantom zone, and no one is left to stop Zod.
3Prometheus
One Of The Most Intelligent And Deadly Characters In The DC Universe
The DC universe is filled with twisted alternate forms of established heroes. These gruesome copies are not always clones or from other dimensions; sometimes, they are just the other side of the coin, like Bizaro to Superman. Of all the copies, Prometheus is one of the most dangerous. Like Batman, Prometheus witnessed his parent’s death at the hands of the police while fleeing from a crime.
But instead of dedicating his life to justice, Prometheus vowed to tear down the forces of justice no matter the cost. Prometheus accomplished just that in the DC Comics storyline “Strength in Numbers,” where, after infiltrating the Justice League base, he systematically began taking each member of the JLA down. At the same time, as much of a menace as Prometheus is, what is even more impressive is that he has no superpowers and took the Justice League down with only his intellect.
2Darkseid
The Source Of Evil And Darkness
Darkseid is a villain who needs no introduction, as all tremble at the very mention of his name. At face value, Darkseid is a cosmic-level threat that leaves entire planets in his wake with just a single order to his legion of demonic soldiers. He sits on a throne and plots the conquering of all living things with a cold stare. Darkseid is perhaps one of the most popular villains in DC comics, but it is much more than just a ruthless brute.
Darkseid is the embodiment of chaos and darkness, similar to the forces of the emotional spectrum. In his quest to find the antilife equation and take control of the universe, he often faces off against the Justice League. Every battle the League has with Darkseid ends with them barely escaping with their lives. Not even Superman is strong enough to beat Darkseid on his own or with the help of his ally heroes. On very few occasions, the heroes of the DC universe beat Darkseid and beat his current visage, only for him to take a step back and try again after regaining his strength.
1Doomsday
An Unstoppable Killing Machine
Doomsday is one of the few unstoppable forces in the DC universe that can not be stopped, only delayed. Appearing for the first time in Death of Superman, Doomsday debuted by killing the man of steel. But before doing so, he also steamrolled the entire Justice League from Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, andGreen Lantern.
Doomsday is a product of scientific experiments and torture, which has made him immortal, adapting to each death, making it useless against him a second time. Along with his titan-like strength and universal durability, Doomsday has one driving motivation: kill. It takes nearly every hero alive to face off against Doomsday and mitigate as much damage as possible before all is lost.
