Summary

• As Green Lantern 80-Page Giant #3 established, Darkseid rules Apokolips with the permission of the Green Lantern Corps, and their masters the Guardians of Oa, offering a look at the delicate balance of power in the deepest reaches of the DC Universe.
• The Guardians brokered a peace deal with Darkseid, allowing him control over his planet – considering it lies far outside their jurisdiction – as long as he agreed not to seek to conquer other worlds.
• Defeating Darkseid would be challenging and costly, and the Guardians ultimately deemed it not worth the cosmic devastation such a conflict would entail.

Few places in the DC Universe are more harsh and brutal than Apokolips. This firey planet is ruled by Darkseid, the literal personification of tyranny, and as one might expect, he rules the planet with an iron fist. While some might question why the heroes of the DC Universe allow this, there is a surprising explanation: it's because Darkseid rules with the permission of the Green Lantern Corps.

Green Lantern 80-Page Giant #3 – by Scott Beatty and Graham Nolan – gave readers the first fight between Darkseid and a Green Lantern. After Darkseid utterly humiliated Raker Qarrigat, Raker returned to Apokolips with an army of Green Lanterns to try and liberate the planet. After a lengthy battle, it seemed Raker's forces had gotten the upper hand, only for the attack to be called off by the Guardians of the Universe.

The issue established a treaty between Darkseid and the Guardians, as part of the latter's effort to maintain stability in the known universe.

Darkseid's Planet Apokolips Is Far Outside The Green Lantern's Jursidiction

Green Lantern 80-Page Giant #3 by Scott Beatty, Graham Nolan, Mike Lilly, Joyce Chin, Grant Miehm, Aaron Lopresti, Mark Pennington, Steve Mitchell, Stephen Baskerville, Steve Bird, Keith Aiken, and Tom McCraw

The Guardians [of the Universe] stated that Darkseid could have Apokolips, as long as he doesn't try to invade other worlds, a deal Darkseid agreed to. This fascinating insight into the balance of power in the DC Universe made it clear that both the forces of good and evil have their limitations.

As the Guardians of the Universe explained in Green Lantern 80-Page Giant #3, Darkseid's planet is well outside the Lantern Corps' jurisdiction; this is technically true, given that Apokolips and New Genesis aren't even in the same universe as the Guardian's dominion. Regardless of their rationale, the Guardians stated that Darkseid could have Apokolips, as long as he doesn't try to invade other worlds, a deal Darkseid agreed to. This fascinating insight into the balance of power in the DC Universe made it clear that both the forces of good and evil have their limitations.

The Justice League has always tried to protect the innocent and defeat evil, no matter where it happens. ittedly, the Justice League is predominantly an Earth-based organization. While they don't often go out into space and take up other planets' problems, they have done so in the past. This has led some fans to question why the Justice League doesn't go after Darkseid and free Apokolips from his rule. While the immediate explanation is that it's simply easier said than done, it seems a more concrete answer is that the Green Lanterns have outright forbidden it.

A War With Darkseid Would Be Far Too Costly For The Guardians Of The Universe

Waging war with a powerful and destructive force like Darkseid just isn't in the best interests of the Guardians. While it's certainly possible the Green Lanterns could beat Darkseid, the sheer destruction of such a conflict across multiple star systems sadly outweighs the benefit of liberating a single planet.

The Guardians of the Universe, and by extension the Green Lantern Corps, are all about imposing order in the cosmos where they can, but it is clear they have to weigh the cost of their attempts. Waging war with a powerful and destructive force like Darkseid just isn't in the best interests of the Guardians. While it's certainly possible the Green Lanterns could beat Darkseid, the sheer destruction of such a conflict across multiple star systems sadly outweighs the benefit of liberating a single planet. Especially when Apokolips is usually portrayed as literally being outside the bounds of the Universe.

As the personification of tyranny, Darkseid will always look for something to rule over. Even if the Green Lanterns did manage to defeat Darkseid, he'd simply move to another planet; considering his status as a New God, killing him isn't exactly easy either. At the end of the day, the Guardian's best option was to simply allow Darkseid to retain control over his planet, letting him brutally rule over his subjects for the rest of time. While this certainly isn't a good outcome by any means, it at least explains why no one has tried to dethrone Darkseid so far.

Green Lantern 80-Page Giant #3 is available now from DC Comics!