The supervillains are the ones who create the superheroes - without them, characters like Superman would just have to rescue cats out of the trees and such. What storylines, what excitement, what interesting use of superpowers would that be!
Leaving the joke aside, the supervillains are just as important as the superheroes themselves. And they are always more powerful than their good-willed counterparts. And while some of the most interesting villains don't actually have superpowers (think of Joker or Lex Luthor), this list is dedicated to those who have such a vast skill set that it would be mind-bending just trying to imagine what they can do.
So in this list you won't find the above mentioned types or villains, no lords of anything (whether they are of chaos, whether they are of order), and so on. We are only interested in those supervillains who have made more than just casual appearances and who were more than just secondary characters or behind the scenes puppeteers.
So in this list you will find only the biggest of all the threats the DC comic book universe has faced.
Darkseid
Darkseid is one of the most well-known villains in the DC universe and has clashed with the Justice League heroes on quite a few occasions.
The supreme leader of Apokolips, he has tried on more than one occasion to bend to universe according to his own will. His ultimate goal is to find the Anti-Life Equation, which can be used to subjugate the minds of all the living beings in the universe. How does it do that? It is believed that the Anti-Life Equation is the ultimate proof of the futility of life itself.
Like any of the supervillains on this list, he has the basic superpowers, such as superhuman strength (being able to overpower the entire Justice League), super speed (being able to react even when confronting speedsters), a remarkable healing power (being able to regenerate his stabbed eyes in seconds), telepathy, telekinesis, and so on.
But his most dreaded powers is his Omega Beams, who can change their path according to Darkseid's will and who will transform anybody to dust (though there are some objects and beings who have resisted it).
Darkseid is so powerful that he usually watches how his minions do the battle until a worthy opponent arrives.
Imperiex
Imperiex is said to have the power of the big bang, power which is used to destroy and to create universes. He is pure energy, contained in a gigantic humanoid armor and is responsible for destroying the universe on numerous occasions since the dawn of time, with the purpose of creating new and perfect ones.
This is one of the supervillains whose powers dwarf any of the superheroes in the DC universe. As Imperiex Prime, he can create Imperiex probes, which can alone defeat the mightiest of Earth's superheroes. He can absorb and manipulate any kind of energy at will, he can manipulate reality itself to various effects, he can teleport and he can time travel, and so on.
His power is so tremendous that all the heroes in the universe must unite with all the supervillains in order to defeat him. And even when that happens, a huge contribution is brought by Imperiex himself realizing that the Universe was perfect and its only imperfection was himself.
This supervillain, who is capable of creating black holes at will, is one nobody should trifle with.
Gog
This is a totally different supervillain that the previous one. Until now, there have been three different versions of this villain, each one more awesome than the other (of course, us being subjective at this moment). Thus, Gog's main attribute seems that he is able to steal the superpowers of superheroes. In this way, he is one of the supervillains who haven't just defeated Superman - he literally killed countless of versions of the superhero, in countless different timelines.
The source of his power is debatable, depending on the incarnation we are talking about. In any way, when Doomsday leads an army against an ultimate threat in order to defend Superman, you know you have found one of the most powerful and interesting supervillains.
And he cannot be that easily killed - he or she who does the deed must be careful when doing it. And that is because Gog's death would bring the destruction of the Earth. So he needs to be beheaded and have his still living head placed into the Source Wall for all eternity.
So whether he is a god, whether he is a survivor of Imperiex's attack, whether he is just a human survivor of a nuclear accident in Kansas, Gog is definitely a must on this list.
Yuga Khan
The most powerful and the most ruthless of the New Gods, Yuga Khan is Darkseid's daddy - and the son even recognizes that he fears him (you won't see Darkseid being afraid of anyone else). So why is he so terrifying?
Darkseid was designed by its writers to resemble as much as possible with the Nazi Hitler - he is one of the supervillains who believe that everybody is just an extension of his own, simple properties which can be used according to his will. Multiply this exponentially and you have Yuga Khan.
After breaking free from the Source Wall, the supervillain replenished his strength by destroying and draining the life force of millions of worlds. Upon his arrival on Apokolips, he shrugged the Omega Beams as if they were nothing and imprisoned Darkseid underground. When the Gods of the Fourth World sent a fleet against him, he obliterated it all by himself.
Yuga Khan is one of the supervillains with the most exotic powers, besides the usual ones. Forget time travelling and teleporting - he can travel through hyperspace and he can manipulate (to a certain extent) the Source Wall (the edges of the multiverse, beyond which lies the essence of all that exists).
What can be said is that he is too overconfident for his own good - since he becomes trapped again in the Source Wall, after attempting to enter the Source.
Larfleeze
One of the most powerful Lanterns, Larfleeze's past is shrouded in mystery, the other Lanterns saying that he has lived for billions of years. He wields the Orange Power Ring and, for a long time, he was the only one to do it. This gave him immeasurable power, since he was the only one to tap into the Orange Power Battery.
The Orange Lantern is the Lantern of Greed, which feeds on the first ancient entity who consumed more than it needed. Now trapped and having its energy feed the Orange Lantern, it changes the wearer - even if the purest of heart puts on the Orange Power Ring, that one will be transformed by it.
Larfleeze has all the basic superpowers any Lantern has. But this is one of the supervillains who can create armies of his own. Whatever superhero or supervillain is killed, the ring can make an exact replica of the defeated - most notably, one of the constructs created this way is a Guardian of the Universe, killed when Larfleeze found the Orange Power Source.
Even more notably, Larfleeze used only one of his constructs in order to defeat the Sinestro Corps, to later on fend off the entire Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians as if they were just some pesky bugs.
Nekron
From the Orange Power Ring of Avarice we move to the Black Power Ring of Death and its creator, Nekron. And extra-dimensional being living in the vicinity of hell, he saw the universe of the living when Krona the immortal was banished - the paradox of having an immortal in the land of the dead further enhances his desire to take over the newly discovered universe.
The power of Nekron is so huge that, at one time, he even managed to trap the Anti-Monitor on a distant planet. What did Nekron intend to do? Obviously, to kill life itself, him being the embodiment of death. So strong he is that he managed to latch Black Rings on almost all the major Justice League members, including Superman and Wonder Woman. Only Hal Jordan and Barry Allen escaped, since the latter time-jumped 2 seconds into the future.
His powers are limitless - nonetheless, he does need a link between the living universe and his unliving realm, which is usually a rift or a mortal (Black Hand, the leader of the Black Lantern Corps, one of the mightiest Lanterns in the universe).
Parallax
Here is yet another of the Lantern supervillains who have posed a threat to the entire universe. Basically, Parallax is actually a parasite, existent from the dawn of time and being the embodiment of fear itself. As such, the first one he possessed was the strongest human Lantern of them all, Hal Jordan.
Later on, it was revealed that the parasite has been locked inside the Central Power Battery on Oa and named by the Guardians as being just an impurity. Under the control of Parallax, Hal Jordan easily defeated the task force sent after him (which included superheroes such as Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter) and sent them back to Earth.
Only Spectre's intervention freed Hal from Parallax - when the mightiest of all DC superheroes comes to aid, it is pretty clear that Parallax is one of the biggest supervillains of the DC comic book universe.
Among the superpowers of Parallax, besides the usual ones, we can also mention reality and time manipulation. One of his greatest feats of strength is that he can instill fear even in superheroes such as Superman (though he didn't manage to do that with Batman and Kyle Rayner).
Anti-Monitor
If Imperiex destroys planets one at a time, the Anti-Monitor destroys galaxies one at a time.
Originated from within the antimatter universe, he is much more than just a cosmic threat - he is a threat for the entire multiverse. With his awesome power, he easily killed Supergirl, who is believed to be even stronger than Superman. He isn't just the embodiment of anti-matter, but also the embodiment of evil.
He is the sole responsible for the Crisis on Infinite Earths - his fight with the Spectre resulted in the collapse of the entire multiverse. The Anti-Monitor is not at all like any of the other supervillains on this list - he is responsible alone for killing millions upon millions of superheroes.
Varying in size, he can be said to have to same superpowers as many other supervillains - but they are all enhanced, because the Anti-Monitor has fed on the energy of the millions of universe it has destroyed. So when we are saying that he can time-travel, we are actually saying that he can go to the beginning of the positive matter universe and try to prevent it from being born. If we say that he can manipulate reality, then we say that he can manipulate all the known dimensions of reality.
As far as supervillains are concerned, there are very few more powerful than him.
Mister Mxyzptlk
If the Anti-Monitor can manipulate all the known dimensions of reality, Mister Mxyzptlk goes well beyond that.
A classic Superman villain, the imp comes from the 5th dimension and can do literally whatever he thinks - he even pulled an entire universe out of his hat. How did he do that? He isn't confined to what we know, and the technology he possesses is well beyond any human's imagination.
He is unlike any of the supervillains presented until now - if he may have had, once upon a time, the desire to rule, his sole intention remains the one to torment Superman. Maybe torment is a too strong a word - to simply play pranks on him. In a way, Superman is his toy - and he wouldn't go as far as killing the superhero, because the Man of Steel is too much fun.
From a point of view, Mister Mxyzptlk is Superman's (Joker). Feat of strength? He created an extra-dimension just for play and summoned Darkseid just for laughs.
Eclipso
Before the Spectre became the wrath of God and the angel of vengeance, Eclipso was the one responsible for dispensing the divine justice. But he turned evil - when he is responsible for the Great Flood, turning evil afterwards is beyond any comprehension.
In any way, his spirit was locked inside a black diamond, called the Heart of Darkness, from where he could possess anyone with whom he came in contact. When displaying his full power, he demonstrated all the superpowers which make the Spectre the most powerful of DC superheroes. But Eclipso is even beyond that, since he can absorb the powers of his successor as the wrath and vengeance of God.
There are only 2 beings more powerful than him: The Presence and the Great Evil Beast.
