WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Zack Snyder's Justice League, now streaming on HBO Max.
One of the things Zack Snyder's Justice League promised to do was to redeem Darkseid and Apokolips by actually giving him screen time following the dismal showing by Steppenwolf in the theatrical cut. Snyder kept teasing Darkseid's look on social media for so long, he was clearly disappointed the tyrant got cut out of the movie, which is why it was unsurprising that he actually fit the villain into a couple extended cameos in his version of the movie.
Including Darkseid was meant to vindicate and offer credibility to Steppenwolf's mission to take Earth over and enact the Unity. However, rather than paint Darkseid in an impressive light, Zack Snyder's Justice League totally destroys the villain, demonstrating why he should have been left on the cutting room floor.
Darkseid has too many cheesy lines to him, with no intimidation at all. He doesn't wax philosophical or paint a sense of dread the way other great cinematic villains like Thanos or Darth Vader did. After all, these iconic despots had personality, emotions and character, but Darkseid has no real sentiment in terms of a perspective on the universe, making him appear bland and generic.
What makes this even worse is the moment when Darkseid first appears on Earth and gets pummeled by Ares. There may be some cool shots of him jumping off his ship, grunting and flexing his muscles with his ax, but for someone who is supposed to be the Big Bad of the DC Extended Universe, he is pretty easily beaten by the God of War, which doesn't cut an imposing figure at all. Seeing him screaming, bleeding out and passing out on his ship is downright laughable. The fact that he's supposed to be the young, inexperienced warlord Uxas isn't even conveyed in the film, so instead, it simply looks like the final-level boss gets smashed in seconds by an Earth army that united on a whim.
To add insult to injury, Darkseid isn't even a smart tyrant in Zack Snyder's Justice League. After losing his battle against the heroes, he forgets the Mother Boxes on Earth, as well as the Anti-Life Equation that he literally saw burning on the ground. There's no explanation for any of this, so one has to wonder if Darkseid has gone senile at this point. The fact that he looks, fights and speaks like an old, crumpled-up soldier doesn't help.
Last but not least, when he stares the League down in the finale, it's super awkward. He doesn't shoot his Omega Sanction at them or produce a stern warning, even after they decapitate Steppenwolf and fling his body through the Boom Tube. Maybe Darkseid standing on his severed head is supposed to be a scary sight, but it doesn't work knowing that he was already beaten once by Ares, the god that Wonder Woman singlehandedly defeated in her solo film. On top of that, Superman is there ready to pounce as well, which doesn't instill any confidence that Darkseid could inflict damage against this united front.
Simply put, there's no rhyme to Darkseid's reason because Zack Snyder's Justice League has done nothing but make him look vulnerable and weak. In the end, he is a superficial addition to the movie to please a portion of fans, with the director trying to score style points rather than giving viewers a villain of substance.
Zack Snyder's Justice League stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Ray Porter as Darkseid, Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon. The film is currently available on HBO Max.
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