DC Comics is known for having some of the strongest supervillains ever, and it doesn’t get much bigger than Trigon and Darkseid. The greatest superheroes have to face the greatest threats, and the aforementioned two don’t disappoint. Darkseid is an all-powerful New God who can give Superman a run for his money, and Trigon is the interdimensional demon who’s fought the Teen Titans on multiple occasions. To decide who would win between the two requires an understanding of their respective origins.
Before Darkseid became the Lord of Apokolips, he was first known as Uxas, the son of Heggra and the Old God Yuga Khan. As Uxas grew up, so too did his lust for power. He fought in battles under the orders of Heggra, commanded forces of destruction, and the dark sorcerer Desaad designed devastating weapons for him to use. He sired a monstrous son named Kalibak, then traded him for fellow New God High Father’s son, Scott Free, to keep the peace between them. Kalibak’s mother, Suli, tried convincing Darkseid to change his ways, but not even she could get through to him.
After eons of service, Darkseid usurped the throne from his parents and took Apokolips for himself. He sought to conquer Earth, but to do so he had to take on the Man of Steel himself. Superman won, of course, but it was one of his more difficult bouts. Darkseid’s a nexus being with a nearly-invulnerable physiology, godly strength, speed, and stamina, as well as regeneration, psionic, and cosmic abilities. His most dangerous power, the Omega Beams which he shoots from his eyes, never miss, and transport his targets across time and space.
Meanwhile, Trigon the Terrible’s origin story lives up to his name. When a group of peaceful humans traveled to Azarath to establish a sect, they relinquished the darkness within them and sent it through the Great Door of Azarath. This energy went into the nether-realms for years, and took on a physical form which was then summoned by aliens and used to impregnate a woman who would give birth to Trigon, one of the most ferocious beings in existence, with demonic physiology, superhuman strength, stamina, telepathy, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, reality-warping, and chronokinesis.
This demon spent hundreds of years conquering other planets and spreading darkness. While still an infant, he killed the cult that summoned him into being, and killed his own mother as well. As a child, he destroyed his home world and traveled through the cosmos to conquer all the worlds. This path of destruction lasted for centuries, and along the way, in hopes that his offspring would take after him and unleash more death, he sired children with multiple women.
One such woman was Angela Roth, whose cult accidentally summoned Trigon, who appeared in an angelic human form. Trigon impregnated Angela, and she gave birth to the Teen Titans’ Raven who, on multiple occasions, Trigon has tried to manipulate in hopes that his powerful daughter will turn evil and help him conquer Earth.
These two supervillains stack up pretty well, and their stories aren’t all that dissimilar. They’re both beings of darkness obsessed with conquering and building up their ranks to take over all life. A fight between Darkseid and Trigon would first be a war of their assembled forces; Darkseid’s Parademons and the Female Furies would face off against Trigon’s Dark Hordes who occupy various other worlds, and who are completely committed to him.
There would be bloody battles across multiple planets, with scores and scores dead and destroyed, but Darkseid’s forces would likely be victorious at this stage. Because however devoted Trigon’s army of followers may be, it’s composed of various alien races who’d range in power levels and skill sets. Darkseid is a more efficient ruler; on Apokolips, he employs leaders like Granny Goodness and Virman Vundabar who go to extreme lengths to train their forces to be as ferocious as possible. But because Trigon’s ranks span the multiverse, leading to potentially billions upon billions of members, he still could take the win.
Though if the Female Furies and the Parademons fall, Darkseid would destroy the rest of Trigon’s forces until it was just the two of them. The New God would be calm at first; Darkseid always believes that success is well in hand. But demon Trigon would come out swinging. His hatred fuels him and he takes evident pleasure in the destruction of things. It would be a battle of strength, blow for blow, as they try to take the other down. They’d go back and forth to see how much the other could take and would prove evenly matched.
Their titan-level war would be strong enough to shake the universe, and they’d come to a stalemate, realizing they’ll have to rely on their powers to destroy the other. Trigon would use his Power Staff that blasts waves of mystical energy, but it would fail against Darkseid’s Omega Beams. There’s ostensibly nothing more powerful in the entire DC Universe than Darkseid’s finishing move. It would cut through Trigon’s blast and send him into a dimension from which he couldn’t escape.
It would be a close battle, but Trigon just doesn’t have the same raw power that Darkseid has. Darkseid would be the winner and he’d claim Trigon’s worlds for himself. It would be a terrifying sight, but also probably one of the most epic scenes in DC Universe history.