There are many DC heroes and villains with vast superpowers who have been seen on the big-screen. The modern superhero move genre first kicked off with 1978’s Superman: The Movie, with Christopher Reeve bringing the Man of Steel to life on cinema screens. Since then, the superhero genre has had its share of ebbing and flowing, with superheroes coming to be a major force in both film and television.
Since Christopher Reeve’s four-film portrayal of Superman, many other DC characters have also been brought to life cinematically. With the help of contemporary visual effects, the metahuman powers of DC heroes and villains alike are more possible than ever to realize, and many have had their power sets showcased in grand cinematic fashion. Here are the 20 most powerful DC movie characters.
Shazam
In Shazam!, Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is chosen by the ancient wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou) to become his new champion, and morphs into a super-powered, adult version of himself (played by Zachary Levi) upon saying the word “Shazam!” The word itself grants Billy the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury. This empowers Billy with such abilities as flight, super-strength, super-speed, near-invulnerability, and lightning projectiles. The same abilities are also later wielded by his fellow orphans in the Shazam family at the end of Shazam! and in Shazam!: Fury of the Gods.
Atom Smasher
Albert Rothstein (Noah Centineo) is one of the newer recruits to the Justice Society of America, but his role in Black Adam shows his powers are already quite literally immense. As Atom Smasher, Albert not only possesses superhuman strength, but can also manipulate his own atomic structure. This enables him to grow several stories tall and easily overpower his enemies. Though he is still a rookie when he is introduced in Black Adam, Atom Smasher’s power levels are nonetheless incredible.
Cyclone
Maxine Hunkel a.k.a. Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) is another of the JSA’s new young recruits in Black Adam, and she brings not only a genius level I.Q., but is a literal tornado against evildoers. As Cyclone, Maxine has the ability has the power of flight and can manipulate the air around, creating cyclones out of otherwise calm settings. Though a newcomer the JSA herself, Cyclone is also a bit more in control of her powers compared to Atom Smasher, and provides him with some much-needed confidence boosting along the way.
Starro
The towering kaiju-like monster known as Starro gives Task Force X a colossal enemy to overcome in The Suicide Squad. Created in a lab experiment on Corto Maltese, Starro brings all the blunt force one would associate with Godzilla, and with telepathic abilities, to boot. Starro can also unleash tinier star fish appendages, which attach themselves to the faces of Starro’s human victims in order to make them into his subservient minions, making Starro a truly dangerous mix of brains and brawn.
Green Lantern
Sure, 2011’s Green Lantern might not be exactly beloved, but like his fellow Lanterns, Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) wields tremendous might with his Power Ring. Not only does it enable him to fly and translate any language, the Power Ring also allows Hal and other Lanterns to weaponize their imaginations, creating solid light constructs from whatever they can think up. Zack Snyder’s Justice League showed a bit more of Green Lantern’s light with Yalan Gur’s appearance in the history lesson, and the movie’s unfortunately deleted cameo of John Stewart (Wayne T. Carr) would have done the same.
Doctor Fate
Kent Nelson (Pierce Brosnan) makes his big-screen debut in Black Adam, and the Justice Society of America veteran carries vast power with the helmet he wears as Doctor Fate. Helmet on, Doctor Fate wields seemingly infinite magical powers, including the ability to replicate himself and the ability to wield powerful spells, among other powers. Kent can also see into the future with the helmet, which enables him to plan his battle strategy very effectively.
Hawkman
The Justice Society’s leader Carter Hall (Aldis Hodge) takes to the skies as the heroic Hawkman, and his role in Black Adam shows just how much power he brings to the table. With his suit, helmet, and wings assembled from the powerful alloy known as Nth-metal, Hawkman fights with metahuman strength, enabling him to punch through buildings with ease. Black Adam does not show Hawkman’s re-incarnation power, but the movie does hint to it with Hawkman’s allusions towards not fearing death.
Ares
The God of War Ares (David Thewlis) is chronologically first seen in the history lesson of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, fighting alongside the armies of man and his fellow Olympian gods to repel the invasion of Apokolips. Ares is able to strike down Darkseid (Ray Porter) in the battle, showing just how strong he is. Though Ares was later cast out of Olympus by his fellow gods, he still largely retains his power, manipulating humans from the shadows to battle each over the ages. Eventually, Ares is defeated by Diana Prince in Wonder Woman, but his combat skill and level of strength still make him a vastly powerful Olympian god.
Aquaman
Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) is a human-Atlantean hybrid, and brings all the strengths of an Atlantean to the surface world as Aquaman. Arthur can breath both underwater and on-land (the latter a capability of only human-Atlantean hybrids and high-born Atlanteans), along with being able to swim at super-speed, see in the darkest depths of the ocean, and handle the cold and pressure of being at the ocean floor. Arthur can also telepathically communicate with aquatic life, while his Atlantean physiology grants him super-strength and impenetrable skin. As the King of Atlantis, Arthur also carries the Trident of Atlan, which becomes his most powerful tool in battle in Aquaman.
Supergirl
Superman’s Kryptonian cousin Kara Zor-El made her big-screen debut in 1984’s Supergirl, with Helen Slater’s portrayal showing Kara’s Kryptonian powers are vast (the poor reputation of the movie itself notwithstanding.) Kara returns to the big screen via the multiverse’s doors being opened in The Flash. Sasha Calle plays a new big-screen version of Supergirl, and it is more than clear that her Kryptonian powers of flight, heat vision, super-strength, and super-speed are very much comparable to those of the Man of Steel.
Black Adam
The former champion chosen by the Council of Wizards, Teth-Adam (Dwayne Johnson) is a true force of nature as the defender of Kahndaq. Like Billy Batson, Black Adam gains the power of the gods of saying the word “Shazam!” out-loud, including flight, superhuman strength and speed, lightning powers, and virtual invulnerability. Black Adam also easily holds his own against the four metahumans of the Justice Society of America, and his willingness to resort to lethal force make it highly advisable for villains not to get on his bad side.
Steppenwolf
Darkseid’s uncle Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) has been exiled from his home planet Apokolips when he is introduced in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Steppenwolf’s determination to return home is fully matched by his power as a New God, with his powers including an extended life-span and vast super-strength, along with wielding his powerful electro-axe and commanding an army of Darkseid’s Parademons. All of these make Steppenwolf a highly powerful villain for the Justice League to defeat on his mission to retrieve the three Mother Boxes. Steppenwolf meets a brutal end when he is beheaded by Wonder Woman, but his defeat just shows how much strength it takes to put down Steppenwolf for good.
Doomsday
In Batman v Superman, Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) plots to destroy the Man of Steel both physically and philosophically, using General Zod’s corpse to create the “ancient Kryptonian deformity” Doomsday in the scout ship’s genesis chamber. Doomsday, of course, is the monstrous Kryptonian creature who killed Superman in The Death of Superman comics story, with the Man of Steel sacrificing himself to stop Doomsday in Batman v Superman. In addition to possessing unlimited strength and invulnerability to anything but Kryptonite, Doomsday unleashes energy blasts capable of crumbing entire buildings, both of which show the big-screen version of Doomsday as one of the most powerful DC movie villains of all time.
Faora
General Zod’s trusted second-in-command, sub-commander Faora-Ul (Antje Traue) is every bit his villainous equal in Man of Steel. Under Earth’s yellow sun, Faora possess the same super-strength, invulnerability, and power to fly as Superman and General Zod (Michael Shannon) do, and gives the Last Son of Krypton a literally smashing fight in Man of Steel‘s Smallville battle sequence. Faora also returns alongside Zod in The Flash, with the movie’s multiverse story enabling her to challenge DC’s heroes once again.
Wonder Woman
Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) might live among ordinary humans, but she was born and raised as an Amazon on the island of Themyscira, sculpted from clay and zapped into life by none other than Zeus himself. As an Amazon, Diana is a highly trained and skilled warrior, while her demi-goddess origins grant her super-strength and speed, invulnerability, and a highly extended lifespan (Diana being roughly 5,000 years old by the time of Zack Snyder’s Justice League.) Diana’s indestructible bracelets also bring an additional shockwave to her battles, while the Lasso of Hestia is also a powerful weapon in her arsenal.
General Zod
Once the leader of Krypton’s army, General Zod (Michael Shannon) leads the surviving soldiers of Krypton on a mission to terraform Earth, with only Superman (Henry Cavill) standing in their way. General Zod possesses every power that Superman does, including flight, super-strength, super-speed, and heat vision, and his ruthlessness in battle makes him that much more formidable an enemy for the Man of Steel to overcome. Michael Shannon’s version of General Zod also returns via the multiverse story of The Flash, once again wielding his Kryptonian might against two versions of the Scarlet Speedster, Supergirl, and Michael Keaton’s Batman.
Cyborg
After a car accident nearly kills him, Victor Stone (Ray Fisher) is revived with vast cybernetic abilities and a new metal body by one of the Mother Boxes. As seen in Cyborg’s greatly improved story in the Snyder Cut, Victor has virtually unlimited technological and cybernetic abilities. Victor can interface with and control any form of technology in the universe, including the three Mother Boxes themselves as they form the Unity in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Victor also has super-strength and the ability to fly from his metallic body as Cyborg, along with the ability to transform his arms into powerful, laser-blasting weapons.
The Flash
Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) is known as The Fastest Man Alive for good reason. While Barry’s super-speed enables him to keep well ahead of nearly anyone without similar super-speed, it also grants him the ability to reverse time if he goes “far beyond the speed of light“. Barry does exactly that in the final battle of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, while he can also use his speed to travel into the past as well as into other universes. Barry does both feats in Crisis on Infinite Earths and The Flash movie, the former being where Barry takes on the name of The Flash after meeting Grant Gustin’s Arrowverse Flash.
Darkseid
No other DC villain strikes as much fear throughout the multiverse as Darkseid, and with good reason. As the merciless ruler of the planet Apokolips, Darkseid is an ageless and vastly powerful New God, with super-strength and invulnerability granted to him by the Omega Sanction. Darkseid’s ultimate goal is to retrieve the Anti-Life Equation in order to strip the entire multiverse of its free will. As the glimpses into the Knightmare timeline seen in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder’s Justice League show, Darkseid wielding the Anti-Life Equation is indeed the ultimate nightmare.
Superman
As portrayed by Christopher Reeve in the original Superman movie series, Kal-El’s powers of flight and super-strength are immense, while his power of super-speed enables him to fly fast enough to spin the Earth backwards and reverse time. Brandon Routh would later portray Reeve’s incarnation of the Last Son of Krypton in Superman Returns, with all the same strength and might, even pushing his super-strength and pain tolerance to their limits in lifting an entire island with Kryptonite at its core into the sky and tossing it into space.
Henry Cavill’s Superman is easily the most powerful version of the character ever seen on cinema screens, with 2013’s Man of Steel showing his level of power to be nothing short of god-like. The strength of Cavill’s Superman also enables him to go up against immensely powerful villains like General Zod, Faora, Doomsday, and Steppenwolf, with Superman packing a tremendous punch against them all. With Kal-El’s pure heart, he inspires hope through his Kryptonian might among both humans and his fellow heroes in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, solidifying Superman as the most powerful DC movie character.