DC Comics is known as the home of some of the most powerful heroes and dangerous villains in comics. For some of these heroes and villains, it’s well known just how formidable they are, and they’ve gained a reputation that precedes them, as they are rightly feared and respected by anyone who encounters them wherever they go. However, that doesn’t mean that every powerful or dangerous being gets the same treatment.
In fact, there are many heroes and villains in the DC Universe who just aren’t as feared as they should be for a variety of reasons, but one of the biggest is that they aren’t nearly as well known as they could be.
10 MOST FEARED: The Joker Scares Even The Most Powerful Heroes
There are few villains in the DC Universe whose names evince as much fear as the Joker’s. While he doesn’t have any superpowers to boast of, his sheer insanity combined with uncanny strength and skill have made him one of the deadliest criminals in the world, with his attacks on Gotham the stuff of frightening legend.
Joker scares everyone he meets, even heroes and villains who should be able to squash him like a bug. There’s just something about him, a palpable menace and sadistic glee that radiates off him to let everyone know just how dangerous he can be.
9 NEEDS BETTER PR: Reverse Flash’s Powers Make Him A Super Fast Version Of The Joker
Super speed is one of the most potent powers in comics, and Reverse Flash has made a career out of using his to terrorize the Flash. The Reverse Flash combines the insanity of the Joker with the ability to run at the speed of light and travel through time. The super speed sadist can give just about any hero a run for their money but he specializes in bedeviling the Flash.
Reverse Flash can go back in time and change any event he so chooses, which is a really big deal that opens up the DC Universe to catastrophic changes whenever he feels like it. Power like that should be more widely feared and respected.
8 MOST FEARED: The Spectre Enacts Divine Vengeance On The Wicked
The Spectre started his life as God’s Angel of Vengeance and has been using his titanic power for millennia to punish the evildoers. Whenever the Spectre shows up, things are about to get serious, whether it’s because he’s about to drop some divine vengeance on somebody, or a threat has popped up that demands the kind of power that only a literal angel can muster.
The Spectre has wrestled with the Anti-Monitor and defeated every powerful magic user in the DC Universe in a matter of days. Everyone knows to fear the Spectre whenever he comes around and for good reason.
7 NEEDS BETTER PR: Ganthet Has Long Been The Best Of The Guardians Of The Universe
The Oan Guardians Of The Universe are some of the most powerful and oldest beings in existence. Using their great power and peerless knowledge, they created the Green Lantern Corps to help them police the universe and protect it from the gravest evils. While each Guardian is phenomenally powerful, they usually let the Corps work for them, but that’s not how Ganthet rolls.
Ganthet is the most proactive of the Guardians, going out and solving problems that are too big for the Corps and generally making the more sedentary Guardians look lazy. Because of the face the Guardians present to the universe, most don’t even know about Ganthet or his exploits, and that’s a shame–he’s one of the most powerful forces for good in the universe.
6 MOST FEARED: Evildoers Fear Superman
For most, Superman is a symbol of inspiration and safety, one that means help is on the way. However, for vast swathes of the universe, Superman is one of the feared beings in the cosmos. Superman has faced down some of the most dangerous threats in the universe, and where ever evil congregates, his name is whispered with hushed awe and fear, just in case he’s listening.
On top of that, many alien races have the wrong impression of the Man of Steel, having listened to those who fear him for legitimate reasons. Superman may mean hope to many, but there are just as many out there who would rather never see him.
5 NEEDS BETTER PR: Starro Can Topple Entire Planets In Seconds
Starro the Conqueror should be one of the most feared beings in the DC Universe, but he has two things going against him–his name, which is pretty lackluster, and the fact that he’s a giant space-born starfish. However, when one looks past these two things, they find one of the most frightening evils in the cosmos.
Starro the Conqueror can take over just about any planet it encounters in minutes, taking complete control of vast swathes of the population and turning them against their fellows. Earth has only survived his attacks because of the high proportions of superheroes the planet boasts, and even then, it’s a very close call.
4 MOST FEARED: Darkseid Is The God Of Evil
Darkseid is easily one of the most feared villains in the entire Multiverse. The Lord of Apokolips has fanatical armies at his disposal ready to do his bidding, powerful elite warriors to command them, and the kind of power that reduces any who stand against him to ashes with ease. There are few beings whose name carries the fear that Darkseid’s does.
Darkseid is one of the ultimate evils. His will to conquer is all-consuming, and his search for the Anti-Life Equation has caused him to do some terrible things over the years, committing atrocities that freeze the blood of the bravest souls.
3 NEEDS BETTER PR: Johnny Sorrow Is The Deadly Servant Of A Lovecraftian Horror
Johnny Sorrow tried to use an experimental machine that allowed him to phase through matter in heists but it backfired during a battle with Justice Society, throwing him into the Subtle Realm, a dimension full of interdimensional horrors. Becoming a servant of the King of Tears, Sorrow was given the ability to become intangible, teleport, and was given a mask to cover his face, which could kill with a look.
Johnny Sorrow’s powers make him pretty much impossible to harm unless he takes his mask off, and that means death for anyone who sees him. He’s become like the beasts he serves–a powerful force of death.
2 MOST FEARED: Anti-Monitor Destroyed Entire Universes
The Anti-Monitor is one of the greatest villains in the history of the DC Multiverse. There are few beings anywhere who have amassed the kind of body count the Anti-Monitor has–countless universes fell to him during his rampage through the Multiverse. It took the heroes of five Earths to finally end his threat, and even then, he wasn’t really gone.
The Anti-Monitor is the greatest threat the heroes ever faced, and even his very name brings fear to the stoutest of hearts. If he would have succeeded, none would have survived and everyone knows it, making him one of the most feared beings in creation.
1 NEEDS BETTER PR: Eclipso Is Wrath Incarnate
Eclipso was once the Angel of God’s Wrath, responsible for the Biblical Flood. However, he enjoyed his job a little too much and was cast out of Heaven, imprisoned in the black diamond known as the Heart of Darkness. He would break free and possess Bruce Gordon, using his dark powers to take control of those he came across and wreak havoc.
While not as powerful as he used to be, Eclipso is still one of the most powerful and dangerous beings on the planet, using his mastery of dark magic, titanic strength, and mind control powers to try and destroy everything he can.
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