For decades now, the DC Universe has entertained us with hundreds of different characters across multiple series, reboots and timelines. We've seen a plethora of characters come and go, some of these heroes, villains, aliens, Gods and Goddesses leaving us virtually as quickly as they came. The Gods and Goddesses of the extended universe are no exception to this rule, as their numbers have also reached into the hundreds if all were taken into account. We've seen the Old and New Gods save the universe and destroy it, cross timelines, destroy planets, and even escape death.

For this list, we're going to be taking a look at ranking these Gods and Goddesses in the order of weakest to most powerful. As the number of Gods has grown incredibly numerous over the years, we've had to narrow it down to the top 20, so these are literally the best of the best. We're not just looking at pure strength here, either; the full extent of their powers, capabilities, and the accomplishments will all be taken into account.

Keep in mind that this list is indeed subjective, and given the wide diversity of powers each of these characters possess, it is difficult to quantify exactly who tops who. We're also going to be looking across all timelines and cannons, regardless of what has been re-written or how these characters might have changed over time in this list of the top 20 most powerful Gods and Goddesses of the DC Universe.

20 Rao

The God of Superman's home planet Krypton, Rao was first attributed as the God of the red sun that shared his name, but was later established to be its sole deity. While generally considered a good and benevolent character, he has also been known to display a more sinister side. In New 52, he was considered a false idol who gained his immortality by sucking the life from his followers.

Rao was worshipped as a powerful deity during the time of Erok-El, the founder of the El dynasty.

During this time, all males born with red hair were considered divinely influenced by Rao, and were immediately accepted into the Kryptonian military. His influence over Krypton and its society continued long after his rule and into the most current series. This enduring legacy combined with his incredible power is what earns him a spot on this list.

19 Rama Kushna

A powerful Goddess, Rama Kushna watches over the sacred land of Nanda Parbat. The influence of the Hindu God Rama Krishna is obvious here, and this DC homage shares many of the real life God's characteristics. Rama Kushna exists in her kingdom outside the bounds of time and space, and is a master over Karma, healing, and enlightenment. She isn't always a very hands-on deity, but she is definitely a powerful being, capable of influencing the fate of many lesser beings.

As a Goddess, Rama Kushna is accustomed in her mastery of others, commanding them to do her bidding.

As seen above, she uses Deadman to his full capacity, having created him in the first place. This use of others to do her work is primarily what gives her the number 19 spot, however that in no way makes her a force to be trifled with directly.

18 Steppenwolf

One of the oldest of the New Gods, Steppenwolf is the uncle of Darkseid and one of Apokolips's most formidable generals. His primary weapon being the Electro-Axe, Steppenwolf has done more than his fair share of dark deeds. This murderous evil being is known for killing Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman in the Earth 2 alternate, as well as Avia, wife of Highfather.

A fierce fighter, Steppenwolf is also credited with destroying the whole world and declaring himself the ruler of Earth 2.

While this God has been defeated on numerous occasions, he is still one of the Justice Leagues' primary opponents. He's also one of Apokolips's finest military leaders, often found leading the armies of Darkseid into battle.  That's what secures Steppenwolf a spot as one of the most powerful Gods in the DC Universe.

17 X'hal

X'hal was the Goddess ruler of the Vegan planet of Okaara, also the home planet of Starfire, of Teen Titans' fame. Once merely a powerless alien, she was transformed into a being of pure energy by the Psions, giving her full God status. X'hal is considered benevolent, merciful, and powerful by her followers. Even so, the Goddess hides a troubled past as she was tortured for a number of years, making her perhaps more unstable than she may appear.

X'hal is considered by many to be one of the most powerful beings in the universe, summoning vast amounts of energy capable of destroying entire planets. Unfortunately, she is prone to losing control of herself from time to time, and can be just as dangerous as she is nurturing. As an added bonus, she can also transfer part of her power into other beings, giving a useful advantage to those close enough to count her as an ally.

16 Ares

As one of the Old Gods, many people unfamiliar with the DC Universe would still recognize him as the Greek God of War. Making his first appearance in Wonder Woman #1, Ares has since been the heroine's arch-nemesis. As the son of Zeus and Hera, Ares is a force to be reckoned with for anyone who is unfortunate enough to cross him, even if that someone may be divine themselves.

Ares thrives in battle and war, literally growing stronger whenever conflict turns to violence.

If it weren't for Wonder Woman, it's hard to imagine many others who would be willing and able to stand in his way. Ares is a skilled leader of soldiers, using his armies to spread destruction as far and wide as he possibly can against his enemies, giving him a well earned spot on our list.

15 Metron

The supreme explorer, scientist and inventor of the New Gods, Metron is one of the most knowledgeable beings in the entire universe. This God's power comes not from physical strength or for his fighting abilities, but from the immeasurable intelligence he possesses. Since he is immortal and capable of travelling through time, he has had the chance to study every single historical event that has transpired.

He indeed knows more than it would be possible for most any other being to know.

As an inventor, Metron has created numerous gadgets and technologies that have served him well in his studies. One of his most famous is the Mobius chair, allowing him to store knowledge and giving access to that knowledge to whoever sits in it. While it may be tempting, there aren't many other than Metron who could stand that much knowledge without being driven completely insane by its volume.

14 Hermes

The messenger of the Old Gods, and the fastest of all of them, Hermes is another son of Zeus and one of the most benevolent of all the Olympian Gods. Aside from his speed and his prowess in battle, he is also a God of thieves, healers, and travelers. He can teleport and shape-shift, and can also heal himself almost instantly.

Hermes is often portrayed as a good character, however he is also known to be a bit mischievous at times. He's often fond of playing tricks and of deceiving his enemies, outsmarting them in order to turn situations to his advantage. Being clever is what makes this God one of the strongest and hardest to defeat, if we take into account his other formidable abilities.

13 Wonder Woman

Daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta, warrior princess of the Amazons, and also once known as The Goddess Of Truth, Wonder Woman earns her spot as one of the most powerful Gods due to her many accomplishments. She has defeated Ares on numerous occasions, and has even gone toe-to-toe with the likes of Darkseid on Apokolips.

Wonder Woman has even come out better than Superman, on a few specific occasions.

As a founding member of the Justice League, it's safe to say that Wonder Woman is one of the few Gods or Goddesses we can identify as completely "Good." She uses her powers only for the sake of justice and to protect the universe from harm. While she is a supreme melee fighter with a truth-compelling lasso, it is Wonder Woman's fierce dedication to the cause that counts her among the strongest.

12 Big Barda

A New God raised on Apokolips, Big Barda is one of the original Female Furies trained by Granny Goodness, and is a nearly immortal and indestructible being. The Goddess has often been compared to Wonder Woman as a near equal, sometimes more and sometimes less powerful.

What brings her to this spot on the list is her sheer relentlessness and brute strength as a fighter.

She is a master of melee combat, armed with a the "Mega Rod" that allows her to teleport, manipulate gravity, and fire deadly bolts capable of damaging even Superman.After falling in love with Scott Free, Barda gave up her place among the New Gods of Apokolips to fight against evil and become a member of the Justice League. While she is still occasionally portrayed as a villain, her love for Scott Free has always been consistent, making her a complex but also incredibly loyal and devoted character and Goddess.

11 Zeus

Leader of the Old Gods and ruler of Olympus, Zeus is a being of awesome power and fury. Not only does he manipulate fiery thunderbolts as weapons, he also has the ability to control the weather and even bring people back from the dead. His short temper and brute strength, as well as his occasional mercilessness, are what places him among the most powerful of all the Gods.

While his temperament does occasionally cause trouble for himself and for those who deal with him, there are few who can stand in his way when he's determined. He's led the Gods of Olympus into battle multiple times, and hasn't often been defeated. Those who stand in his way will feel his wrath regardless of who comes out on top in the end.

10 Highfather

Leader of the New Gods, and ruler of New Genesis, Highfather is the absolute enemy of Darkseid and of the denizens of Apokolips. He possesses superhuman strength, speed, and a rod capable of summoning massive amounts of energy to use against his opponents. His ultimate desire for peace among the multiverse is unwavering and he will destroy whatever he must to maintain it. While never fully being able to defeat his brother Darkseid, Highfather is still a powerful being and is not to be taken lightly.

He is cold and calculating, and a master general of the forces of New Genesis.

Recently, we've even him as a challenge to Zeus in the Injustice comics. Beyond that, while he may not be seen very often, he is fully capable of making an impact on whatever situation he's thrown into.

9 Athena

Daughter of Zeus and a warrior Goddess of defense and wisdom, Athena is in large part responsible for Wonder Woman's godly powers. The Goddess is also known for peacefully overthrowing her father Zeus to finally succeed him as the ruler of Olympus.

Athena is both incredibly wise and powerful, remaining undefeated in combat by any and all of the other Old Gods.

These facts alone are enough to earn her a high spot on this list, as tribute to her awesome strength. As it pertains to Wonder Woman, however, Athena is often attributed as her primary creator and benefactor. Even as one of Zeus's offspring, she remains one of the primary and more powerful creators and rulers of the Olympians.

8 Kalibak

One of Darkseid's many sons, Kalibak is second in command to his father and is a leader among the elite soldiers of Apokolips. Blinded by his sister Grail, he has an overpowered sense of smell that allows him to detect fear in his enemies from miles away. Combined with the same superhuman strength and capabilities that all the New Gods possess, Kalibak is a fearsome adversary indeed.

Kalibak is a senseless lover of chaos and destruction; he never misses a chance to show how ruthless he can be in battle.

As ferocious as he is, he doesn't quite match his father's level of power, but he can still make his opponents tremble with fear with pure maliciousness and bloodlust. Definitely one of the most ferocious and merciless of the New Gods, and certainly not someone you want to come across when he's in a bad mood.

7 Granny Goodness

As one of the lower class citizens of Apokolips, Granny Goodness worked her way up to becoming an elite soldier under Darkseid, before founding her own institution for training new soldiers under a ruthless regime. She's responsible for bringing up several divine characters on this list including Big Barda, Mad Harriet, and many others who would later become Darkseid's most deadly warriors.

What makes her a genuine threat however isn't just her capacity as a soldier and as a mentor, but her ability to return from death nearly every single time she's been defeated. While she's definitely been bested on a number of occasions, no one has ever been able to keep her down for very long. With her relentless attitude and devotion to the ruler of Apokolips, she is well respected as one of the most dangerous beings to ever exist.

6 Grail

The daughter of Darkseid and the assassin Myrina, this New Goddess is perhaps one of the scariest beings in the entire multiverse, perhaps even more so than her father. Not only is she merciless and capable of escaping into other dimensions, she was also once foretold to bring an end to all existence, via the Anti-Monitor.

Grail is an immensely strong and calculating foe, trained as both a New God and an Amazon Warrior.

As a fighter, she nearly succeeded in taking out the entire Justice League single-handedly, and as a Goddess she has wrought more than her fair share of havoc on the Universe. Even so, Grail has never been able to live up to her dark expectations as of yet, but she is still one terrifying villainess.

5 Mad Harriet

Another of Darkseid's deadly progeny, Mad Harriet is an elite soldier trained under Granny Goodness and also another of the original Female Furies. Like her fellow New God counterparts, she possess enormous strength and like most members of her family, she is a ruthless and unabashed killer. As one of the more sadistic of the New Gods, this villainess adores torture and cruelty with a passion.

What makes her particularly worrisome is her mental imbalance, often making her dangerously unpredictable.

What places Mad Harriet so high on this list is simply the fact that she's almost completely indifferent to her own survival and well-being. She will do whatever it takes to serve her father or to bring death to her enemies, regardless of the consequences. This makes her not only a powerful threat, but one that is near impossible to escape from once she's marked you for destruction.

4 Orion

It's no surprise that the children of Darkseid are all exceptionally powerful, and his son Orion is no exception. As a child, he was traded away to New Genesis as part of a peace agreement, and has since grown up to have some control over his violent impulses, even with his Berzerker Rage impulses.

While having a supreme evil being for a parent, Orion is nonetheless counted among the "good" guys.

Orion claims his spot among the top 5 on our list for having managed to overthrow his father Darkseid, ripping his heart from his chest and toppling him to become the ruler of Apokolips. His victory was short lived, however, as Darkseid never stays down for long. Since then, Orion hasn't been quite as powerful as he once was, but definitely gets to be counted among the best of the best for even being able to do such a thing once.

3 Darkseid

It should come as no surprise that the ruler of Apokolips earns himself a high spot among the most powerful Gods of the DC Universe. He is the supreme evil being among the New Gods, utterly hell-bent on conquering and devouring almost everything in the Universe.

He is strong, fast, intelligent, nearly impossible to kill, and always capable of raining brutal destruction down on his many enemies.

With the Omega-Effect lending Darkseid even more power than his New God partners, the God can travel through both space and time and has the Omega Lasers, capable of instantly destroying nearly anything they come into contact with. Beyond that, he's always returned from death, only to be more powerful and even more determined than before. It's hard to argue his placement as one of the most powerful bad guys ever to threaten humanity's existence.

2 Emperor Joker

Though it may indeed seem shocking, the Joker himself once attained the all powerful abilities of a God. After tricking Mr. Mxyzptlk  into giving him 99.9% of all his power, the Joker was transformed for a brief time into a being capable of altering the very reality of the Universe itself. He created his own world for his amusement, killing Batman and bringing him back to life only to kill him over and over again.

The Joker very nearly brought an end to all existence itself, quite single-handedly.

While it's true to say that we don't normally count the Joker as one of the Gods, it should be fair to give him that status for the brief window in which he had these abilities. With the level of power displayed here, there's no question he had more power than most any of the other Gods, and could very easily have destroyed them all if things had been just a little different.

1 The Anti-Monitor

The Anti-Monitor is, unquestionably, the most dangerous and possibly the scariest thing across the multiverse. He may not usually be counted among the Gods, but just as powerful as any of them, if not more so. The reason we include him is because of his identity as a being of supreme power, existing beyond the boundaries of time and space, and because he precludes any of the Gods mentioned above.

As a counterpart to The Monitor, the Anti-Monitor is a being of pure and simple annihilation.

He literally exists to end other existences. Not only is he responsible for the deaths of Supergirl and the Silver-Age Flash, but he's claimed other billions and billions of lives,  destroying an infinite number of Universes. Compared to the other Gods, not a single one comes close in terms of destructive capability, as well as in sheer body-count. That's why he's at the top of our list for the 20 most powerful Gods of the DC Universe.