The Birth: Second in line to the throne of Apokolips, Prince Uxas, son of Heggra engineered political dissent while his brother Drax sought peace with nearby New Genesis. When Drax attempted to claim the fabled Omega Force and assume godhood, Uxas murdered him, claiming the power for himself and taking the apocryphal god name Darkseid. Ascending Queen Heggra's throne and assuming control of Apokolips, Darkseid waged war upon the New Gods, a conflict ended only briefly by a truce wrought in an exchange of heirs with New Genesis. The power of Darkseid was seen for the first time in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #134 (October, 1971).

The Legend: The supreme ruler of Apokolips, he is the master of the Omega Effect - beams of force that can disintegrate a foe, transport objects through time and space, and resurrect the dead. Despite unparalleled strength, Darkseid prefers to strike through a cadre of elite agents, as well as the fiercely loyal Parademons of Apokolips's vast armies.
Apokolips was once ravaged by the Armageddon creature; Doomsday and Darkseid, himself was nearly killed when he tried to save his planet by personally entering the fracas had it not been for Superman and his mother box. Desaad trasported the creature to Calaton where he thought they would kill the beast like before (See Doomsday). Together, Superman and Darkseid defeated the Cyborg (See Cyborg) and without Superman's knowledge, imprisoned his mind so as to control him later. The Omega Master released Cyborg from his prison much later to destroy Metropolis as his revenge against Superman when the Man Of Steel had threatened his regime.
For centuries, he has sought control of the Anti-Life Equation, the means to dominate all sentient life, though that odyssey ended when he realized true power rested in domination of the Source itself. These machinations ultimately led to Darkseid's imprisonment on the great Source Wall. Recently, Metron enlisted Desaad's aid to free Darkseid.