Darkseid vs. The World #1 Review: DC’s Biggest Villain Wants Everything

Darkseid has been terrorizing the DC Universe since before half these heroes knew how to put on their tights, and now the big purple menace wants to do more than conquer a planet. DC All In Saga: Darkseid vs. The World #1 takes one look at the usual superhero throwdown and says, “Nah, we’re going MUCH bigger.” Scott Snyder and Sanford Greene open this special with Darkseid treating reality itself like a busted apartment he plans to renovate without asking the tenants. Superman, the Justice League, the New Gods, the Absolute Universe, all of it becomes part of his obsession. Coño, this dude doesn’t need a therapist. He needs an entire cosmic intervention, and I ain’t volunteering to lead it!

Snyder kicks off this first chapter by putting us right inside Darkseid’s twisted head, and yo, that’s one hell of a way to get this party started. This big, miserable bastard genuinely believes that because he’s suffered, everybody else should have to live by his rules. Talk about having a god complex, literally! We get all that familiar Apokolips goodness, the Omega Effect, his never-ending beef with DC’s heroes, and the fallout from the DC All In era, but Snyder ain’t just dusting off the greatest hits and calling it a day. Nah, papi, he’s showing us how Darkseid has convinced himself that he’s the only one qualified to fix existence, whether anybody wants his help or not. The New Gods get their shine too, and thankfully, they’re not just standing around looking powerful while Darkseid runs his mouth. Their history, their abilities, and their place in his ridiculous master plan add some serious weight to what’s unfolding. What makes this whole thing disturbing is that Darkseid isn’t thinking like your typical villain looking to conquer another planet. This dude has moved way past asking whether he can beat the heroes. Now he’s deciding what victory should look like for EVERYBODY, and apparently, free will didn’t make the guest list. Somebody needs to tell this fool that just because you think you’re saving the universe doesn’t mean the universe asked for your damn help!

The Superman stuff is where this issue really finds its heart, and Snyder knows damn well that putting the Man of Steel against Darkseid ain’t just about two heavy hitters beating the brakes off each other. Superman believes people deserve the freedom to choose their own path, while Darkseid thinks free will is some kind of cosmic screwup that only he can fix. Talk about an ego, coño! What’s wild is watching this dude take every ass-whupping Superman ever handed him and somehow twist it into proof that the universe owes him something. Fam, imagine being so damn stubborn that instead of accepting an L, you decide the ENTIRE MULTIVERSE must be wrong! You can’t make this nonsense up! Then we got the Absolute Universe thrown into the mix, with Darkseid’s influence twisting everything we recognize about heroism into something seriously messed up. There’s a whole lot of cosmic mumbo jumbo to digest here, no doubt, but thankfully, Snyder keeps that Superman and Darkseid beef front and center, giving us something worth caring about while the universe goes completely off the rails.

Now let’s talk Sanford Greene, because THIS CAT came ready to set the pages on fire! Greene doesn’t draw Darkseid like some stiff action figure standing in a museum. His version is a hulking nightmare, all jagged muscle, furious eyes, and that enormous Omega symbol practically screaming from his chest. The linework is scratchy and aggressive, giving Apokolips and the battlefield a nasty, unstable texture. When Superman and the heroes collide with Darkseid’s forces, the panels twist and stretch like the entire page is struggling to contain the impact. Greene also gives the New Gods a wonderfully strange visual presence. This ain’t clean, polite superhero artwork, papo. It’s loud, ugly when it needs to be, and absolutely full of personality.

Matt Herms goes nuts with the colors, and I mean that as a compliment. The first chapter practically glows with volcanic reds, toxic purples, bruised blues, and sudden blasts of yellow that make the Omega energy feel dangerous before anybody gets hit. The palette keeps Darkseid’s world oppressive while allowing the heroes to pop against the chaos. Steve Wands deserves his flowers on lettering, too, because Snyder is throwing a LOT of narration at us. Those heavy caption boxes could’ve turned this thing into a traffic jam, but the lettering stays readable and the dialogue doesn’t disappear into the artwork. The opening chapter still asks you to work for it, though. Some pages are so packed with mythology and narration that the action barely gets a chance to breathe.

Then the book changes gears with Harbinger, written by Joshua Williamson with artwork by Yasmine Putri, and suddenly we’re dealing with a different kind of nightmare. The story follows a mysterious young woman caught in Darkseid’s larger scheme, with a red-cloaked figure and reality-bending power becoming central to his next move. This isn’t a random bonus story tossed in to pad the page count. It expands the threat from one universe to many, showing how Darkseid intends to make the multiverse itself part of his machinery. Williamson keeps the setup leaner than Snyder’s opening chapter, which helps the mystery land. You finish it knowing the situation is worse than anybody on Earth realizes, even if the full consequences are still waiting around the corner.

Putri comes through with some seriously slick artwork in Harbinger, and I gotta give her props for how she handles this young woman’s expressions. You can see the emotions on her face while all this crazy cosmic madness is happening around her, and that’s not easy to pull off. The bright pink energy, that red cloak, and those wild shots of reality getting bent out of shape look fantastic. Greene came out swinging in the first chapter, and Putri brings her own flavor to this one without missing a beat. Wands is back handling the lettering, making sure we can follow the conversations and Darkseid running his damn mouth while everything around them goes completely bonkers. My one gripe? I wanted more time with this new character before Snyder started setting up the next dozen things DC has cooking. There’s a lot being thrown at us, and just when I’m getting invested, we’re already heading toward the finish line. Those final pages definitely got my attention, though I ain’t gonna pretend this chapter isn’t doing some heavy lifting to get us ready for what’s coming next. Good stuff, just give me a little more meat on those bones, papi!

DC All In Saga: Darkseid vs. The World #1 is a big, loud, visually vicious reminder that Darkseid is most dangerous when he thinks he’s the hero of his own story. Snyder and Greene bring the mythological insanity, Herms and Wands make the chaos readable, and Williamson and Putri give the back half a creepy new direction. My gripe? The opening chapter occasionally drowns in its own exposition, and the Harbinger story ends just as its most interesting ideas start taking shape. Still, I had a damn good time watching DC swing for the fences with its biggest villain. This isn’t the end of the fight, fam. It’s Darkseid handing the entire multiverse an eviction notice.

Crusaders Score:
4/5

Main Story Writer: Scott Snyder
Main Story Artist and Cover: Sanford Greene
Main Story Colorist: Matt Herms
Letterer: Steve Wands
Harbinger Writer: Joshua Williamson
Harbinger Artist: Yasmine Putri
Associate Editor: Chris Rosa (main story); Sophie Phillips-Roberts (Harbinger)
Editor: Paul Kaminski
Publisher: DC Comics