History BigBad / DCExtendedUniverse

* ''Film/ManOfSteel'': [[Characters/DCEUGeneralZod Dru-Zod]], a Kryptonian general whose forces were spared from the planet's destruction when they were banished to the Phantom Zone after a coup. Now free, he seeks to recreate Krypton by terraforming Earth, aiding by his [[TheDragon enforcer]] Faora. On a personal level, Dru-Zod had killed Superman's father Jor-El and has been pursuing the codex encoded into his cells for this plan.
* ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'': [[Characters/DCEULexLuthor Lex Luthor]] [[LetsYouAndHimFight engineers the conflict between Superman and Batman]], hoping to kill the former out of belief that, since no hero saved him in his childhood, good men cannot be all powerful. When that fails he releases Doomsday, a monster created from his DNA and General Zod's corpse, to finish the job.
* ''Film/{{Suicide Squad|2016}}'': The Enchantress, an ancient and evil sorceress that Amanda Waller attempts to recruit into Task Force X. Upon being released by her brother she sets out to TakeOverTheWorld. Her brother Incubus is her [[TheDragon enforcer]], while the Joker tries to free Harley from Waller's control.
* ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}'': [[Characters/DCEUAres Ares]], with an ironic twist. Diana initially assumes that he's the Big Bad in the sense of being behind absolutely every bit of evil of the First World War, since she assumes humans are AlwaysLawfulGood and wouldn't do such things otherwise. In reality, Ares isn't interfering with human free will at all, simply [[TheManBehindTheMan giving Ludendorff and Doctor Poison weapons of mass destruction]] and letting them decide to prolong the war. Nevertheless, he's responsible for the DeathOfTheOldGods and the backstory of the Amazons, which by itself would make him the GreaterScopeVillain, and serves as the FinalBoss.
* ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'': [[Characters/DCEUSteppenwolf Steppenwolf]], the leader of the Apokoliptian invasion seeking to find the Mother Boxes and TakeOverTheWorld, forcing Batman and Wonder Woman to form the Justice League from the heroes Lex has files on in order to stop him. ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} is the GreaterScopeVillain, being Steppenwolf's master.
** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'': Steppenwolf remains TheHeavy, revealed to be TheExile who just wants to return to Apokolips, while [[Characters/DCEUDarkseid Darkseid]] and [=DeSaad=] are [[UnseenNoMore properly introduced]] and featured more prominently as his superiors. The "Knightmare" briefly seen in ''Dawn of Justice'' is revealed to be from a BadFuture where [[TheBadGuyWins Darkseid conquered Earth]] after discovering the Anti-Life Equation on it and using it to corrupt Superman to his side after killing Lois Lane to make him susceptible, making for a threat so dangerous, Batman's resistance [[EnemyMine includes]] other villains like Joker and Deathstroke. Had the initial visions of the DCEU not become an AbortedArc, this would have made him the overall Big Bad of the DCEU.
* ''Film/{{Aquaman|2018}}'': [[Characters/DCEUOceanMaster Orm the Ocean Master]], Arthur's full-blooded Atlantean brother who seeks to unite the Seven Seas and wage war on the surface world. [[TheDragon Black Manta]] is a mercenary hired by Orm whose father died because of Arthur, and now seeks revenge.

* ''Film/{{Birds of Prey|2020}}'': Roman Sionis, the crime lord known as Black Mask, who targets Harley and the Birds after they get in the way of him obtaining the Bertinelli fortune in a diamond swallowed by Cassandra Cain. Victor Zsasz is TheDragon who serves him in his plan.
* ''Film/WonderWoman1984'': Maxwell Lord, whose desire to gain power with the Dreamstone causes mass chaos as he attempts to grant ''everyone's'' wishes. Barbara Minerva, having wished to become like Wonder Woman, [[TheDragon joins him]] after becoming more powerful with the Dreamstone, becoming the Cheetah as she protects Lord and her wish from Diana. The Duke of Deception, the Dreamstone's creator, is the GreaterScopeVillain who made the Dreamstone [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor take something from the wisher in exchange for the wish]], a personal toll as Wonder Woman's request to revive Steve Trevor depowers her and forces her to renounce his resurrection.
* ''Film/TheSuicideSquad'': Starro the Conqueror is a giant telepathic starfish who seeks to take over the world, wanting revenge for being experimented on by the [[MadScientist Thinker]] on behalf of the [[GreaterScopeVillain Corto Maltese government]]. Waller sends Task Force X [[spoiler:to cover up America's involvement in the "Project Starfish" experiments, with [[Characters/DCEUPeacemaker Peacemaker]] as the only one aware of her true intentions.]]
* ''Film/{{Black Adam|2022}}'': The descendant of Kahndaq's cruel king, Ishmael Gregor, seeks to obtain the crown of SABBAC, which will give him the powers of the six lords of Hell. Ishmael allies himself with the terrorist group Intergang and tracks down the Kandaqi resistance leader Adrianna Tomaz, cornering her in a tomb where the crown is hidden. Adrianna awakens the ancient Champion Black Adam, whose destructive tendencies alert the Justice Society and set the plot in motion.
* ''Film/ShazamFuryOfTheGods'': The Daughters of Atlas, Hespera and Kalypso [[spoiler: (and [[TokenGoodTeammate Anthea]])]], who seek to take the Shazamily's powers in order to rebuild their homeland. [[spoiler:Eventually, Kalypso's ruthlessness grows too great, prompting Hespera and Anthea to defect and pull a HeelFaceTurn, leaving Kalypso as the film's sole BigBad.]]

* ''Film/AquamanAndTheLostKingdom'': [[CainAndAbel Kordax]], who is seeking to break himself and his kingdom out of his frozen prison to TakeOverTheWorld, with [[AvengingTheVillain Black Manta]] as TheHeavy.

* ''Film/TheFlash2023'': Flash spends most of the movie fighting General Zod, who once more tries to take over Earth in the alternate timeline that Flash is trapped in. [[spoiler:Dark Flash, who stranded him there, is actually the alternate Flash that he met, having become corrupted from various failed attempts to change history.]]

%%* ''Film/TheFlash2023'': Flash spends most of the movie fighting General Zod, who once more tries to take over Earth in the alternate reality that Flash is trapped in. [[spoiler:Dark Flash, who stranded him in this reality, is actually the alternate Flash of this reality, having become corrupted from various failed attempts to change history.]]

** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'': Steppenwolf remains TheHeavy, revealed to be TheExile who just wants to return to Apokolips, while Darkseid and [=DeSaad=] are [[UnseenNoMore properly introduced]] and featured more prominently as his superiors. The "Knightmare" briefly seen in ''Dawn of Justice'' is revealed to be from a BadFuture where [[TheBadGuyWins Darkseid conquered Earth]] after discovering the Anti-Life Equation on it and using it to corrupt Superman to his side after killing Lois Lane to make him susceptible, making for a threat so dangerous, Batman's resistance [[EnemyMine includes]] other villains like Joker and Deathstroke. Had the initial visions of the DCEU not become an AbortedArc, this would have made him the overall Big Bad of the DCEU.

* ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'': [[Characters/DCEUSteppenwolf Steppenwolf]], the leader of the Apokoliptian invasion seeking to find the Mother Boxes and TakeOverTheWorld. ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} is the GreaterScopeVillain.

** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'': Steppenwolf remains TheHeavy, revealed to be TheExile who just wants to return to Apokolips, while Darkseid and [=DeSaad=] are [[UnseenNoMore properly introduced]] and featured more prominently as his superiors. The "Knightmare" briefly seen in ''Dawn of Justice'' is revealed to be from a BadFuture where [[TheBadGuyWins Darkseid conquered Earth]] after discovering the Anti-Life Equation on it and using it to corrupt Superman to his side after killing Lois Lane to make him susceptible, making for a threat so dangerous, Batman's resistance [EnemyMine includes]] other villains like Joker and Deathstroke. Had the initial visions of the DCEU not become an AbortedArc, this would have made him the overall Big Bad of the DCEU.

* ''Film/WonderWoman1984'': Maxwell Lord, whose desire to gain power with the Dreamstone causes mass chaos as he attempts to grant ''everyone's'' wishes, due to the Dreamstone. Barbara Minerva, having wished to become like Wonder Woman, [[TheDragon joins him]] after becoming more powerful with the Dreamstone, becoming the Cheetah as she protects Lord and her wish from Diana. The Duke of Deception, the Dreamstone's creator, is the GreaterScopeVillain who made the Dreamstone [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor take something from the wisher in exchange for the wish]], a personal toll as Wonder Woman's request to revive Steve Trevor depowers her and forces her to renounce his resurrection.

* ''Film/ManOfSteel'': [[Characters/DCEUGeneralZod Dru-Zod]], a Kryptonian general whose forces were spared from the planet's destruction when they were banished to the Phantom Zone after a coup. Now free, he seeks to recreate Krypton by terraforming Earth. Faora is TheDragon.
* ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'': [[Characters/DCEULexLuthor Lex Luthor]] [[LetsYouAndHimFight engineers the conflict between Superman and Batman]], hoping to kill the former. When that fails he releases Doomsday, a monster created from his DNA and General Zod's corpse, to finish the job.

** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'': Steppenwolf remains TheHeavy, revealed to be TheExile who just wants to return to Apokolips, while Darkseid and [=DeSaad=] are [[UnseenNoMore properly introduced]] and featured more prominently as his superiors. The "Knightmare" briefly seen in ''Dawn of Justice'' is revealed to be from a BadFuture where [[TheBadGuyWins Darkseid conquered Earth]] after discovering the Anti-Life Equation on it and using it to corrupt Superman to his side after killing Lois Lane to make him susceptible, making for a threat dangerous enough for Batman's resistance against Darkseid to [[EnemyMine include]] other villains like Joker and Deathstroke. Had the initial visions of the DCEU not become an AbortedArc, this would have made him the overall Big Bad of the DCEU.

* ''Film/{{Birds of Prey|2020}}'': Roman Sionis, the crime lord known as Black Mask, who targets Harley and the Birds after they get in the way of him obtaining the Bertinelli fortune. Victor Zsasz is TheDragon.
* ''Film/WonderWoman1984'': Maxwell Lord, whose desire to gain power with the Dreamstone causes mass chaos as he attempts to grant ''everyone's'' wishes. Barbara Minerva [[TheDragon joins him]] after becoming more powerful with the Dreamstone, becoming the Cheetah as she protects Lord and her wish from Diana. The Duke of Deception, the Dreamstone's creator, is the GreaterScopeVillain.

* ''Film/{{Black Adam|2022}}'': The descendant of Kahndaq's cruel king, Ishmael seeks to obtain the crown of SABBAC, which will give him the powers of the six lords of Hell. Ishmael allies himself with the terrorist group Intergang and tracks down the Kandaqi resistance leader Adrianna Tomaz, cornering her in a tomb where the crown is hidden. Adrianna awakens the ancient Champion Black Adam, whose destructive tendencies alert the Justice Society and set the plot in motion.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/darkseid_79.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''All of existence shall be '''mine'''''.]]

!!''Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse''

* ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}'': [[WarGod Ares]], with an ironic twist. Diana initially assumes that he's the Big Bad in the sense of being behind absolutely every bit of evil of the First World War, since she assumes humans are AlwaysLawfulGood and wouldn't do such things otherwise. In reality, Ares isn't interfering with human free will at all, simply [[TheManBehindTheMan giving Ludendorff and Doctor Poison weapons of mass destruction]] and letting them decide to prolong the war. Nevertheless, he's responsible for the DeathOfTheOldGods and the backstory of the Amazons, which by itself would make him the GreaterScopeVillain, and serves as the FinalBoss.

** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'': Steppenwolf remains TheHeavy, revealed to be TheExile who just wants to return to Apokolips, while Darkseid and [=DeSaad=] are [[UnseenNoMore properly introduced]] and featured more prominently as his superiors. The "Knightmare" briefly seen in ''Dawn of Justice'' is revealed to be from a BadFuture where [[TheBadGuyWins Darkseid conquered Earth]] after discovering the Anti-Life Equation on it and using it to corrupt Superman to his side after killing Lois Lane to make him susceptible, which, had the initial visions of the DCEU not become an AbortedArc, would have made him the overall Big Bad of the DCEU.

** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'': Steppenwolf remains TheHeavy, revealed to be TheExile who just wants to return to Apokolips, while Darkseid and [=DeSaad=] are [[UnseenNoMore properly introduced]] and featured more prominently as his superiors.

* ''[[Series/Peacemaker2022 Peacemaker]] (Season One)]]: [[spoiler:Eek Stack Ik Ik is the [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen queen]] of]] the Butterflies, a species of PuppeteerParasite aliens who have infiltrated the government that [[AntiHero Peacemaker]] has been assigned to stop, [[spoiler:with Ik Ik herself possessing Senator Royland Goff and later Sophie Song]]. [[spoiler:In addition, [[AbusiveParents August Smith]] aka The [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain White Dragon]] serves as a more personal antagonist for Peacemaker's character arc, and the latter's most personal foe]].

* ''Series/{{Peacemaker|2022}}'': [[spoiler:Eek Stack Ik Ik is the queen of]] the Butterflies, a species of PuppeteerParasite aliens who have infiltrated the government that [[AntiHero Peacemaker]] has been assigned to stop, [[spoiler:with Ik Ik herself possessing Senator Royland Goff and later Sophie Song]]. [[spoiler:In addition, [[AbusiveParents August Smith]] aka The [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain White Dragon]] serves as a more personal antagonist for Peacemaker's character arc, and the latter's most personal foe]].

* ''Series/{{Peacemaker|2022}}'': [[spoiler:Eek Stack Ik Ik is the queen of]] the Butterflies, a species of PuppeteerParasite Aliens who have infiltrated the Government that [[AntiHero Peacemaker]] has been assigned to stop, [[spoiler:with Ik Ik herself possessing Senator Royland Goff and later Sophie Song]]. [[spoiler:In addition, [[AbusiveParents August Smith]] aka. The [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain White Dragon]] serves as a more personal antagonist for Peacemaker's character arc, and the latter's most personal foe]].

* ''Series/{{Peacemaker|2022}}'': The mysterious [[PuppeteerParasite Butterflies]], alien creatures that have infiltrated the government that Peacemaker has been assigned to stop.