A Shocking DC Villain Secretly Controls Darkseid’s Anti-Life Equation

The Anti-Life Equation has been a force that Darkseid has hunted for decades, but one shocking DC villain was revealed to already be in control of it.

A shocking reveal in a legendary DC Comics event showed that an often-forgotten DC villain secretly has control over Darkseid‘s Anti-Life Equation. It’s no secret that Darkseid is one of the scariest villains in the DC Universe. He’s a towering figure with an army at his control that’s conquered worlds and fought hand-to-hand with the Justice League countless times. Darkseid’s overall goal is to achieve universal domination through the destruction of free will. Darkseid pursued this for decades with his obsessive search for the ultimate weapon: the Anti-Life Equation.

The Anti-Life Equation is a powerful tool in the DC Universe because of how much it can completely upend all life. If a villain like Darkseid can figure it out and use its power, they gain control over all the emotions and thoughts of life in the universe. This would allow Darkseid to be able to attain his goal and create a universe solely in his image. It’s something he’s attempted to do for decades, with the Equation popping up every now and again to show off how damaging it can be, including causing a zombie apocalypse that pitted the DC heroes against each other as well as ultimate zombie villains in DCeased. However, it turns out that someone else has had the equation figured out all this time, and it’s the last person fans would have expected.

Related: DC Names the One Superhuman Immune to Darkseid’s Anti-Life Equation

In Countdown to Final Crisis by Paul Dini and a massive variety of rotating artists and writers throughout its 52-issue run, Flash villain/sometime-ally Pied Piper attempts to take on the New God DeSaad. During the ordeal, DeSaad realizes Piper’s power has a stunning connection to the Anti-Life Equation. His ability to use music to control those around him sparks curiosity from Darkseid’s most infamous follower. He comes to the conclusion that the Pied Piper holds the answer to the Anti-Life Equation in his mind, explaining his ability to control others. This is a massive revelation that changed the Flash villain forever, because it showed just how overlooked his power was.

Pied Piper Secretly Harnessed Anti-Life

The fact that the Pied Piper knows how to use the Anti-Life Equation for his power proves just how much the villain shouldn’t be ignored. The Equation is a destructive force, and the fact that Piper can use it on a whim to commit crimes while people can do nothing about it is a scary thought. Plus, he even proves that he can use it for more than just petty thievery. In Countdown to Final Crisis, he actually uses the Equation from his flute to kill DeSaad and bring an end to Apokolips, Darkseid’s domain. The mere notion that he can destroy an empire that Darkseid took years to build by playing Queen’s The Show Must Go On makes him way more terrifying than when he first appeared in the comics.

This choice was no accident, and shows how in DC’s huge universe, there’s no such thing as an unimportant person. It also made it clear how powerful Anti-Life is in the DC Universe, as all acts which sublimate individuality and free will tie back to it to some extent. In taking direct control over other people, the Pied Piper was partaking in a small way in Darkseid’s brand of evil.

Fortunately for the heroes in the DC Universe, Pied Piper did end his criminal days and made the push to become a superhero since Countdown to Final Crisis. In fact, it was his destruction of Apokolips that made him realize that his time as a villain was over, as he looked up at the Bat Signal and felt that it was time to make a change. Still, regardless of whose side he’s on, it’s shocking that a villain often seen as a joke character for Flash to smack around is secretly keyed into the Anti-Life Equation, connecting him to one of the most powerful forces in the universe – one which even Darkseid covets.

Next: Even Darkseid Is Scared of His Father, DC’s God of Evil