Justice League villain Darkseid may be the Lord of Apokolips, but even the New God fears the unspeakable power of his father, Yuga Khan.
Like many of the other New Gods, Darkseid is often portrayed as more of a force of nature than a living being. However, Darkseid wasn’t always the unstoppable force he carries himself as today. And Darkseid’s often unmentioned history gives the DCU an even more terrifying figure than the Lord of Apokolips with Darkseid’s father, Yuga Khan. This New God was so strong that he made Darkseid absolutely terrified.
First introduced in 1990’s New Gods #17 by Mark Evanier and Paris Cullins, Yuga Khan was the father of both Izaya and Uxas, who would one day become known as Highfather and Darkseid respectively. However, both sons paled in comparison to Yuga Khan, who was believed to be the strongest of all the New Gods. Under Yuga Kan’s leadership, Apokolips was the most powerful empire in the universe, and he was one of the most powerful beings in existence. But despite all that power and the status that came with it, Yuga Khan was not satisfied with his place in the universe.
Much like his younger son, Yuga Khan had an insatiable desire for power and knowledge. But his quest for absolute knowledge did not lead him on a hunt for the Anti-Life Equation, but instead to the Source itself. Wanting to know its true nature, Yuga Khan attempted to break through the Source Wall. Izaya tried to warn him that even gods had limitations, but Yuga Khan persisted in a move that cost him dearly.
Despite his power, Yuga Khan could only crash against the wall, and Yuga Khan was assimilated into the wall for his arrogance, becoming one of the many stone giants composing it. This also left his sons to build up their own kingdoms in his absence.
Using his father’s disappearance to assume control of Apokolips, Uxas poisoned his mother, Heggra and seized the throne for himself, becoming Apokolips’ new ruler. But apparently, Yuga Khan’s power, while not great enough to break through the Source Wall, was still strong enough to break him out of it. After eons of struggle, Yuga Khan broke free from his prison. He began consuming nearby planets to restore his power and then made a beeline for Apokolips.
Returning to the former seat of his empire, Yuga Khan immediately deposed Darkseid, inspiring fear in Darkseid for the first time in his life. Yuga Khan imprisoned his second son and assumed control of the planet. He also killed Desaad, who tried to pledge loyalty to him, but Yuga Khan knew that Desaad had helped Darkseid poison his wife, which could not go unpunished. Yuga Khan’s time on Apokolips actually made life worse for its inhabitants, and the forces of New Genesis were not pleased to find that an even worse tyrant had taken the place of their sworn enemy. They sent forces to stop Yuga Khan but were soundly defeated.
Once more, Yuga Khan proved to be his own worst enemy. He had cut off the Source, which made Boom Tubes and Mother Boxes inoperable but still craved to understand the nature of the Source. Highfather once again tried to counsel Yuga Khan about his limitations, but his father did not listen. Turning his body into primal energy, he tried to breach the Source Wall a second time and was yet again imprisoned for his hubris.
Although Yuga reappeared in the New 52 era in a similar role, he was killed by Darkseid in battle before being sent into the Source, and he was later defeated by Shazam in a weakened state. But as originally conceived, Yuga Khan was unparalleled in his power, but he was also too powerful for his own good Arrogance and an inability to learn from his mistakes led him to assume that no power could truly challenge him and because of that he defeated himself on two separate occasions.
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