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The world of DC Comics is home to countless powerful gods: beings who can create and destroy entire universes or even entire realities. While they don't show up often, they're always a major cause of concern when they do. While the hreoes of the Justice League are certainly powerful, taking on literal gods is something that even they struggle to keep up with.
The Justice League is no stranger to major threats, but there are a few beings that simply cannot be fought. From the creator of the universe, Perpetua, all the way to the ultimate god in the Presence, some beings are simply too powerful to stop. But with so many gods in one universe, it begs the question of who exactly is the strongest. Some are threats to DC's heroes, while still others are allies. But one thing is unquestionable: just how dangerous these god-like characters can be.
15 The Justice League's God Forms
Justice League #2 by Geoff Johns, Jason Fabok, Brad Anderson, and Rob Leigh
It might be surprising to learn that the Justice League actually became gods at one point. During the events of Darkseid War, several members of the Justice League gained god-like abilities, like Batman becoming the God of Knowledge. While these powers aren't the strangest to ever grace a Justice League comic, Batman still gained total omniscience, and each hero still earned a significant upgrade from the powers that they usually have. While Superman as the God of Strength was certainly a terrifying amount of destructive power, it pales in comparison to the power of true divine beings.
14 Nabu, the God of Fate
More Fun Comics #67 by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman
Nabu is a strange being in that readers very rarely get to see his true form. Nabu is often contained in the Helmet of Fate, and whoever wears it becomes Dr. Fate and gains access to his incredible powers. As far as magic users go, Nabu is one of the most powerful, and his abilities are said to be on par with Arion and the Phantom Stranger. These are incredible people to be compared against, as Arion was the God-King of Atlantis and the Phantom Stranger is a true divine being, empowered by the Presence to help those in need.
13 Krona
Green Lantern #40 by John Broome, Gil Kane, Sid Greene, and Gaspar Saladino
Krona is another strange case, as it's not necessarily his power that makes him notable, but instead his effect on the multiverse. Without Krona, there wouldn't be a Multiverse to begin with. Krona has very little in terms of actual power, aside from mind control, possession, and immortality. But Krona's viewing of the creation of the universe caused the split into the Multiverse. Krona also unleashed the concept of evil. Without Krona, there would be no evil and no Multiverse. While he's not the most impressive in a direct fight, his actual impact on the DC Multiverse is greater than most gods.
12 Volthoom
Green Lantern Annual #1 by Geoff Johns, Ethan Van Sciver, Hi-Fi Design, and Sal Cipriano
The Green Lanterns have a deep history with many powerful characters in their catalogue. One of the biggest is Nekron: essentially the grim reaper who commands the Black Lanterns. But an even bigger threat than Nekron is Volthoom, the first Lantern. Volthoom possesses full power over the emotional spectrum, allowing him to use every Lantern color, including Nekron's Black Lanterns, anytime he wants. Volthoom was sealed away due to the threat he posed, but after he escaped, his powers were capable of causing cracks in reality itself. While not technically divine, he definitely wields god-like power.
11 The Wizard Shazam
Whiz Comics #2 by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck
The Wizard, also known as Shazam and sometimes as Mamaragan, is an Australian God who possesses incredible control over lightning. While his abilities aren't exactly varied, his command over lightning is one of the strongest in the DC Universe. He's also the source of some of the most powerful heroes and villains in DC, being the source of power for Shazam and Black Adam. The Wizard is also a member of the Quintessence, a group of DC's absolute strongest divine beings. His membership alone demonstrates he's one of the top gods in the DC Universe.
10 Zeus
Superman #28 by Jerry Siegel, Ira Yarbrough, and George Roussos
While there's no denying just how powerful the Wizard is with his lightning magic, when it comes to powerful lightning there's no one who can match the Greek God Zeus. After Superman took over the world of Injustice, he was able to steamroll anyone who stood in his way - except for Zeus. When Zeus came down from Olympus, it seemed that Superman's reign was truly over, as there was simply nothing that the Man of Steel could do against him. This face-off is especially notable since this version of Superman was the same character who killed the entire Green Lantern Corps, including Ganthet. But against Zeus, he was powerless.
9 Highfather
New Gods #1 by Jack Kirby, Vince Colletta, and John Costanza
While people mostly talk about his more villainous brother from Fourth World lore, there's no denying that Highfather is equally powerful. While Darkseid has his iconic Omega Effect, Highfather has the Alpha Effect. Through the Alpha Effect, Highfather can call upon the Alpha Bullets. These projectiles can travel anywhere, including going through time. While Darkseid's Omega Effect is all about utter destruction, the Alpha Bullets can resurrect anyone and even restore those who were erased by the Omega Effect. While Highfather rarely has to fight, there's no denying just how much power he can call upon when he needs to.
8 The Green, the Red, and the Grey
Swamp Thing #47 by Alan Moore, Stan Woch, Ron Randall, Tatjana Wood, and John Costanza
Every God so far exists because they have a world to exist in. Without the forces of the Red, the Green, and the Grey, there simply wouldn't be a world to live in. These aren't Gods in the regular sense; instead of being specific beings, they are quite literally forces of nature. The Green represents all plant life in the universe; the Red is all meat-based life, such as animals and humans; the Grey is all fungal life. Without these three primary sources, the DC Universe simply wouldn't have anything in it.
7 Anti-Monitor, the Monitor, and the World Forger
Crisis on Infinite Earths #2 by Marv Wolfman, George Pérez, Dick Giordano, Anthony Tollin, and John Costanza
Some of the most powerful beings to ever exist in the DCU are the Anti-Monitor, the Monitor, and the World Forger. They each have their own duty: the World Forger creates the worlds that populate the DC Universe, and the Monitor watches over them, making sure they're able to grow correctly. The Anti-Monitor is the most terrifying of all, as he's the one who sets out to destroy planets and even the entire universe if he decides that things need to be reset. The iconic Crisis on Infinite Earths event takes place beacause the Anti-Monitor tries to destroy the Multiverse.
6 The Endless
Sandman #1 by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Robbie Busch, and Todd Klein
Desire, Dreams, Despair, Destiny - every living being in the DC Universe has these things, and it's all because of the Endless. Humans are only able to dream because of Dream of the Endless. Things only die because Death of the Endless is waiting there for them. And all things have to live up to what's written in the Book of Destiny, carried by Destiny of the Endless. These characters, while not exactly "gods," are the living personifications of these elements that all living beings require. Without Death or Dream, there wouldn't be people to populate this universe.
5 Darkseid
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 by Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta
Usually, Darkseid would be aligned in power with his brother Highfather. But due to recent events in the DC All In Special #1 by Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, Wes Craig, and Daniel Sampere, Darkseid has become far more powerful than before. Darkseid has not only regained his full strength for the first time in comics history, but he also rules over his own universe now, where he is the sole god with no one above him. Darkseid's power is now absolute, and there doesn't seem to be any way that anyone will ever be able to defeat him. Instead, the heroes of this new universe will simply have to try and fight against his dark designs.
4 Perpetua
Justice League #8 by James Tynion IV, Mikel Janín, Jeromy Cox, and Tom Napolitano
Everything has to come from something, and DC's Prime Universe is no exception. The Dark Goddess Perpetua was the one responsible for creating DC's Prime Universe, but instead of simply creating a universe and leaving it to flourish, as was her job, Perpetua intended to use this universe as a breeding ground for a dark army. Perpetua hoped to use this army to rise up against her brethren and assume ultimate control over the Multiverse, but thankfully, this didn't come to pass. While Perpetua never fought the Justice League directly, that's likely for the best, as she had the power to easily wipe them out.
3 The Darkest Knight
Dark Nights: Death Metal #2 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia, Tom Napolitano
Very few characters manage to ascend to the rank of godhood, but the Darkest Knight was certainly one of them. The insane infected brain of the Batman Who Laughs merged with the body of Dr. Manhattan and gave birth to the most sadistic god that DC has ever seen with the Darkest Knight. His powers allowed him total control over reality and nigh-invulnerability. He was so powerful that he managed to outright kill Perpetua, a character so powerful she literally created the universe.
2 The Great Darkness
Swamp Thing #49 by Alan Moore, Stan Woch, Alfredo Alcala, Tatjana Wood, and John Costanza
Every light casts a shadow, and that's even true of a god. Every single bit of darkness in the Multiverse comes from the Great Darkness. The Great Darkness has been described as the very shadow that God casts, and its presence plunges entire universes into pure darkness. While the Great Darkness itself can not really fight, its avatars have been some of the most evil and terrifying villains that the Justice League has ever faced, such as Barbatos, Mandrakk the Dark Monitor, Upside-Down Man, and Trigon the Terrible. Thankfully, the Great Darkness is little more than a force of nature, and doesn't have any active desire to destroy everything.
1 The Presence
More Fun Comics #52 by Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily
Every single being on the DCU, including the gods, only exists because the Presence wills it. At one point, Green Lantern even succeeds in killing Darkseid, only for him to be instantly revived, as the Presence demands that he exist. The Presence is the absolute God in the DC Universe; there is nothing above it and everything below it. It created the omniverse and all the multiverses within it, as well as every character that exists within those universes. While the Presence is ultimately a force for good, it's also one that doesn't tend to directly interfere with things, allowing DC Comics' heroes to fight to save themselves.
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