Darkseid

Original Name: Uxas

Location/Base of Operations: Apokolips

Occupation: Dictator of Apokolips

Group Affiliation: Gods of Apokolips

First Appearance: Jimmy Olsen #134 (1971)

Height: 7' 6"

Weight: 515 lbs.

Eyes: Red

Hair: None

Powers/Abilities:

-Enhanced strength
-Enhanced durability and stamina
-Virtual invulnerability
-Can manipulate the Omega Force for a variety of effects
-Ability to create avatars of himself

Known Relatives:

-Queen Heggra (mother, deceased)
-Yuga Khan (father)
-Drax (older brother, deceased)
-Steppenwolf (uncle)
-Tigra (first wife)
-Suli San (second wife, deceased)
-Kalibak (son, by Suli San)
-Orion (son, by Tigra)
-Grayven (son, by unknown woman)
-Scott Free (foster son)

Allies:

-The Elite
-Highfather (occaisonally)
-Metron (occaisonally)
-Lex Luthor
-Etrigan the Demon
-Lobo
-The Nameless One
-The Daxamite Legion
-The "Mockeries"

Major Foes:

-Highfather (deceased)
-Orion
-Metron
-Assorted New Gods (Takion, Mr. Miracle, Forever People, etc.)
-Superman
-Wonder Woman

Rivals:

-Ares
-Yuga Khan
-Parallax
-Neron
-Eclipso

Occaisonal Nuisances:

-Doomsday
-Cyborg
-Phantom Stranger
-Doctor Fate
-Batman
-L.E.G.I.O.N.
-Basically every other hero in the DC Universe (notably: Captain Marvel, Flash, Guy Gardner, and Black Canary)

Goals:

-Re-making the universe in his own image
-Defeating the gods of New Genesis
-Gaining the secret of the Anti-Life Equation
-Discovering the mystery of the Source

History:

Darkseid was originally known as Uxas, the second son of Apokolips' twisted ruler Yuga Khan and his wife Queen Heggra. After Khan disappeared, Uxas travelled to earth and caused the great schism between their Greco/Roman gods. Later, Heggra arranged for Uxas to be married to Tigra, whom he hated.
Uxas waited to claim his godpowers until he had thoroughly manipulated the events. When his brother Drax chose to claim his powers, Uxas made his move. As Drax stood in the Infinity Pit, attempting to harness the Omega Force, Uxas leaped in. When the smoke cleared, Uxas stood changed forever by the Omega Force.
He chose the name Darkseid, most feared of all godnames. He then threw the hated Tigra (with child) into Hyperfreeze and set to work establishing his power base on Apokolips.
But, something occured that Darkseid had not forseen: he met and fell in love with the scientist Suli San. Soon, Kalibak was born from this union.
Darkseid, however, was not altered by his loving wife Suli's influence. He convinced his uncle Steppenwolf to "hunt" on New Genesis for human prey. This he did, and in the process killed Izaya's wife, Avia. This re-ignited the War, and as Darkseid hoped, Steppenwolf was put in charge of Apokolips' army. He was eventually slain in combat, and thus Darkseid's one contender for the throne was eliminated.
But, as the War progressed, Heggra saw Darkseid's relationship with Suli and ordered Desaad to slay her. The Queen believed the scientist was a weakening influence on her son. This enraged Darkseid, as he had truly loved Suli. That very same year, he ordered Desaad to kill Heggra, as retaliation for Desaad's earlier murder of his wife. Thus, Darkseid became the undisputed ruler of Apokolips.
At this time, Darkseid chose to release Tigra from Hyperfreeze, and Orion was born soon after. Darkseid's hate of Tigra had not dulled over the years, however, and he exiled them both.
Finally, Izaya became Highfather and Darkseid proposed a truce between Apokolips and New Genesis. Highfather agreed, and his son Scott Free was exchanged with Orion to cement the Pact. However, the true parentage of both children was kept a secret until they reached adulthood. Another of Darkseid's actions after the Pact was to banish his wife, Tigra, from his presence. His hate for her had not diminished.
However, Darkseid eventually broke the truce, kidnapping several earth citizens, scanning their minds for the Anti-Life Equation. This Equation would allow him to gain control of the universe itself. In this second war, Darkseid's greatest foe was his supposed son, Orion, now come to age.
Darkseid also began a grand plan to increase his own power by defeating entire pantheons of other planet's gods and gathering their power. He slaughtered thousands, gaining hundreds of space-faring war vessels in the process.
Later, Darkseid tried to make it so that the people of earth rejected and even feared their heroes. He succeeded in this for a time, but was eventually foiled by numerous heroes such as Superman.
Next, Darkseid set out to finally gain a piece of the Anti-Life Equation. With the help of Etrigan the Demon, Darkseid was finally able to obtain that which he had sought for so long. However, what he plans to do with it is unknown.
Darkseid's rule of Apokolips was temporarily usurped when hsi father Yuga Khan returned from the Source Wall. Darkseid was all but helpless before his father's power, but regained the throne when Khan returned to the Wall, albeit involuntarily.
After these events, Darkseid found himself in conflict with the being known only as the Cyborg, and his partner in destruction, the monster called Doomsday. The pair arrived on Apokolips via freighter and began to wreak havoc, forcing Darkseid to step in. However, Darkseid was swiftly beaten by the savage Doomsday and would have died if not for the intervention of Superman and the Mother Box he carried. Luckily for Apokolips, Desaad transported Doomsday to the planet Calaton, so that he would no longer menace the world. As soon as Darkseid recovered, he disptached the Cyborg and regained control of Apokolips.
Darkseid cemented his rule once again and then managed to gain entrance to the Source itself, but Orion had followed him there, as he had expected. Darkseid then goaded Orion into killing him, which caused madness to spread across the universe. But Darkseid soon returned, and helped Highfather battle the creature called S'ivaa, who had been awakned when the Source was violated by Orion's actions. They bother managed to overcome the threat, but were imprisoned on the Source Wall as a result. But it was only for a very short period, as both found means to escape.
Next, Darkseid attacked the island of Themyscria, looking for the Greek gods. His troops quickly defeated the Amazon warriors, but Wonder Woman arrived to rally them. With her leadership, they were able to defeat Darkseid and send him and his army back to Apokolips. But the cost was high: the battled had laid waste to the island and 1,200 Amazon lives had been lost.
Darkseid's latest plan involved harnessing the power of the collapsing GodWave. If he gained the Wave's power, he would have the ability to not only rule the universe, but also re-make it in his own image. This plan failed, however, and now Darkseid is stuck on the Source Wall. But it has been revealed that Darkseid is simply biding his time there, growing ever stronger.
Eventually, Darkseid will free himself, and, after perhaps causing more havoc for the New Gods, he will fall into a deep slumber to regain his power. When he awakens, during the thirtieth century, he will come into conflict with LEGION. In this time period, he will attempt to spread his "darkness" throughout the universe. He will be thwarted by the heroes, but Darkseid will manage to gain some victory from defeat, by sending a child back in time to create the LEGION foe Validus.
Later still, Darkseid will return to use the Gemini Formula to create a being who is a step between man and god. He will succeed, and perhaps die as a result. But, it is all part of his grand design.

Abilities/Resources:

Darkseid is an extremely powerful being, possessing strength on the level of Superman, along with a high-degree of invulnerability. He is also extremely durable and has a high degree of stamina as well, as do most New Gods.
But Darkseid's most potent and useful ability are his Omega Beams, which channel the Omega Force. With these Beams, he is able to do a variety of things: erase a victim from the Source, disintegrate and then resurrect a foe if he wishes, heat (which burn as hot as the Firepits) and concussion blasts, teleportation of Darkseid or his opponent. Also, Darkseid's Omega Beams can home in on a target, no matter where they are, be it right next to him or on another planet.
Darkseid also has the ability to create avatars of himself to deal with "nuisances" he doesn't wish to engage in battle personally.
Aside from his own vast powers, Darkseid has at his disposal an entire planet which does his bidding. He commands legions of millions of Parademons, which carry out his every word. He also has many powerful, free-willed, beings under his control. Their number includes Desaad, Kalibak, and Granny Goodness. Together, they make up his Elite.
Darkseid also captains a huge fleet of starships, which were gained from the many worlds whose gods he slew.