Warning: Contains Spoilers for Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #31!It takes a lot to stand up to theJustice League, and normally, it takes all the heroes of DC to come up against the dark god of Apokolips,Darkseidhimself. But while Darkseid is normally thought of as DC’s main antagonist, there’s someone else who can easily take out the Justice League - andEclipsodoes just that, thereby proving he’s on the same level as Darkseid.
For the best DC team there is,the Justice Leaguestill gets absolutely decimated by Eclipso in a matter of panels inBatman / Superman: World’s Finest#31 by Mark Waid, Adrián Gutiérrez, Tamra Bonvillain, and Steve Wands. In the more formative years of the Justice League,Eclipso is unleashed from his black diamond prison and re-possesses the body of his original host, Bruce Gordon. What follows is an onslaught the Justice League just isn’t prepared for.
Eclipso makes quick work of the Justice League by corrupting them against each other and then easily outmatching both Batman and Superman. Darkseid has far too many dark plans that never end up working - whileEclipso defeats the Justice League in just one issue.
Eclipso Is the Evil God of Wrath and Darkness - and He’s Worse than Darkseid
Eclipso Possesses the Justice League, Corrupting Them to His Cause
Eclipso is an ancient spirit of wrath and vengeance that works through possession. Eclipso’s powers are linked to darkness - not just a nighttime dark, but the total and unnatural blackout that comes with the solar eclipse, making him the undisputed king of absolute darkness. Darkseid may have “dark” in his name, buthe’s just a shadow of Eclipso’s demonic nature.
The Titans Just Proved They’re A Better Team Than The Justice League
In an epic moment, the Titans have definitively proven to the hero community that they have surpassed the Justice League as the best team in the DCU.
Eclipso is poweredby eclipses and also is able to latch onto people and possess them - rather, thanks to a dark twist on his powers, he infects them like a disease of darkness all thanks to his magic diamond. All the Justice League needs to be fractured is to fracture itself. So the corruption of Eclipso works its perfect magic, forcing Green Arrow to shoot a kryptonite arrow into Superman’s back, rendering him useless in the battle. Eclipso doesn’t just show feats of strength like Darkseid -he turns the Justice League against each other,exposing their weakest parts that only their fellow heroes know how to exploit.
Eclipso Is Much More Gruesome Than Darkseid
Panel fromJustice Society of America#11 by Geoff Johns, Marco Santucci, Ivan Plascencia, and Rob Leigh
InJustice Society of America#11,Eclipso is reborn from the body of a heroin a gruesome way that is far scarier than anything Darkseid has done. He calls forward an absolute darkness that starts to infect the heroes of DC. It’s a much more efficient mode than Darkseid’s purported Anti-Life equation.
If Eclipso shines his dark light, the hero is invariably possessed.
Even beforeDarkseid’s epic returnin current continuity, when he nearly had the world in his throes inFinal Crisisby Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones, most heroes were able to resist the call of the Anti-Life and fight for freedom. Eclipso’s corruption doesn’t seem to have any such back door. If Eclipso shines his dark light, the hero is invariably possessed. The League’s only hope is Red Tornado, who, as an artificial man, cannot be corrupted.But Eclipso isn’t just a simple magic user- he’s powerful enough to rip out Red Tornado’s heart, even without his corruption powers.
Darkseid and Eclipso Settle Who Can Beat the Justice League
Two Gods of Darkness Are the Justice League’s Biggest Threats
No one wins in a fight against the Justice League for long - at least not in a rematch. Even asDarkseid debuts a killer new costumeas he prepares to vanquish the Justice League once and for all, he doesn’t have any tricks up his sleeve - except for abrand-new ax arm.Darkseid is brilliant as a mastermind, and the fear he incites comes primarily from his looming stature and his army he commands from his fiery and hellish planet.
Eclipso’s most debilitating feat was in tarnishing the reputation of the Atom’s wife, Jean Loring, by possessing her, making her the sole host of Eclipso for some time. Check out the controversial storyIdentity Crisis, by Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales, for more about this story - available now both digitally and in collected editions from DC Comics.
Eclipso, on the other hand, is not quite of this world.As a spirit of possession, he cannot be killedand beaten like Darkseid. There will always be this demonic spirit slinking in DC’s dark corners, like the dark side of the moon where he is purported to dwell in utter blackness - and this spirit will latch on and possess those who only know ultimate loss and can be corrupted indefinitely, bringing the entire DCU under a major threat.
Eclipso Decimates the Justice League in One Issue
Accomplishing a Feat Darkseid Could Never
Darkseid may wage war, but Eclipso breaks apart the Justice League from the inside. That’s the difference between a catapult and a spy: one may break down the castle wall, while the other will drive a knife into the king’s back. Eclipso is definitely more dangerous thanDarkseid,and his insidious take-down of theJustice Leagueonly proves it. The team is fractured from the inside out, absolutely corrupted to the cause ofEclipso, and it’s going to take an entirely different team of incorruptible superheroes, the Justice Society, to shine some light on the struggle and save the day this time around.
Batman / Superman: World’s Finest#31is available now from DC Comics!
Darkseid
Darkseid is a tyrannical supervillain in DC Comics, ruling the hellish planet Apokolips. He seeks the Anti-Life Equation to control all sentient life and eliminate free will across the universe. With immense strength, energy manipulation, and Omega Beams that disintegrate targets, Darkseid is a relentless foe of Superman, the Justice League, New Gods, and free people everywhere.
