Darkseid vs. Galactus: Who Won the Fight in the Comics & Is He Really Stronger?

The worlds of DC and Marvel Comics are two of the most popular fictional worlds ever created, as they are home to some of the most powerful beings that have ever existed in the pages of comic book lore. Of course, they have two cosmic entities that are incredibly powerful in their own fictional universes. We are talking about DC’s Darkseid and Marvel Comics’ Galactus, as they actually fought in a crossover event. So, in the fight between Darkseid and Galactus, who won?

When Darkseid and Galactus fought, the Eater of Worlds defeated Darkseid almost quite easily. However, when he realized that Apokolips didn’t have any life source that he could eat, Galactus left the planet. But the twist is that this was just an avatar of Darkseid, who exists in the greater multiverse.

Yes, Galactus defeated Darkseid almost quite easily in their fight in the comics, but that doesn’t really prove that Big G is stronger than this evil New God. Of course, that’s because the Darkseid we often see in DC isn’t even the true Darkseid, as we know that he exists as the very embodiment of darkness and evil. Nevertheless, let’s look at this fictional battle in greater detail.

Darkseid vs. Galactus: Who Won the Fight?

When it comes to the different comic book universes created in the larger world of fiction, the universes of DC and Marvel Comics tend to have the most iconic characters ever imagined. Of course, these comic book universes are home to some of the most powerful superheroes and some of the most unimaginable villains.

Speaking of villains, two of the most iconic villains that you can find on the pages of DC and Marvel Comics are Darkseid and Galactus. Darkseid is an evil New God that often runs into the Justice League and its members. On the other hand, Galactus is an iconic cosmic entity that exists to devour entire planets to sustain itself in the Marvel universe.

But while both Darkseid and Galactus belong in different worlds of fiction, the was actually a point in time when John Byrne wrote a comic book that allowed us to see the two of them clashing. And this is one of the few instances when characters from the DC and Marvel Comics universes clash.

We all know that both Darkseid and Galactus are incredibly powerful and are actually godlike in terms of how strong they are. But Byrne was able to give a definite answer to who is stronger than them in the 1995 comic book called Darkseid vs. Galactus: The Hunger Within.

This is one of the most surprising comic book crossovers in recent memory because of the fact that it didn’t include superheroes. Instead, it included two of the most iconic villains that belong in different comic book universes. Of course, fans might think that Thanos is the Marvel counterpart of Darkseid. However, Darkseid is likely stronger than Thanos, and that’s why Big G should be more of a match for him in a crossover event.

In this event, what happened was that both of them existed in the same universe, as neither of them had to cross through a portal that allowed the two worlds to collide. Typical of Galactus, he sends the Silver Surfer as his herald to Apokolips to announce the coming of Big G. And we know that Galactus is known for eating planets that his heralds go to.

After surviving attacks from Parademons, the Silver Surfer finally welcomed the arrival of his master. Galactus literally swatted away the Parademons like insects while causing destruction to Apokolips. This forces Darkseid to enter the battlefield and throw everything he has to try to defeat the eater of worlds.

Big G even took a powerful attack from Darkseid’s Omega Beams. However, while Darkseid thought that his Omega Beams should have killed Galactus, the large cosmic entity simply shrugged the damage off and started his attempt to destroy and eat Apokolips. Darkseid, out of desperation, awakened the memories of the Silver Surfer to force him to fight on his side. But Big G simply kills and then resurrects his herald.

In that regard, Darkseid had no chance of winning. He and his planet were about to get destroyed by the massive Galactus. But the thing is that we know that Galactus feeds on the life force of a planet, and he saw that Apokolips no longer had any life force left for him to eat because it had long been abused by Darkseid himself. As such, he decided to leave the planet alone because it didn’t have the sustenance he needed to keep himself alive and powerful. 

In that regard, what was clear in this crossover event was that Galactus was far above the level of Darkseid, who even struggled against the Silver Surfer. Big G was simply too much for the Lord of Apokolips, as there was nothing that Darkseid could do against the eater of worlds. This basically ended all of the debates regarding a hypothetical battle between Darkseid and Galactus, as Darkseid clearly was no match for the massive and more powerful Galactus. But that is actually easier said than done.

Is Galactus Really Stronger Than Darkseid?

The one thing we know about Darkseid is that the Darkseid we often see in comic books, movies, and television shows isn’t really the true Darkseid. That’s because the truth is that Darkseid exists in a realm that is far above any of the universes he has ever been, as he is actually a multiversal entity that stands on an entirely different plane of existence.

In that regard, the Darkseid that we often see on Apokolips is merely an avatar of the true Darkseid, who is said to be the very embodiment of darkness and evil in the DC multiverse. As such, there are different avatars of the true Darkseid existing in many different universes.

That means that the Darkseid that Galactus faced in the crossover event is merely one of the avatars of the true Darkseid, who is a multiversal being instead of just a universal one. As such, the battle between the two wasn’t even conclusive in terms of who really is the stronger between Darkseid and Galactus.

Sure, Galactus is so much more powerful than the avatar of the true Darkseid. But if he were to face the true Darkseid in a realm that’s multiversal in terms of its level, then we are probably looking at a much better matchup between them. And the likely case is that Darkseid’s true form is going to defeat Galactus.

As powerful as Galactus may be, he is only a universal threat and isn’t even on the level of the most powerful cosmic entities that live in the Marvel Comics universe. On the other hand, Darkseid’s true form is a multiversal threat that could easily threaten entire universes through his many different avatars. That means that true Darkseid has and will always be a greater threat than Galactus.

But because comic book crossovers between DC and Marvel are now harder to come by due to the stiff competition going on between the two different companies, it is unlikely that we will ever see a battle between Darkseid’s true form and Galactus at his most powerful state.