As DeSaad serves as Darkseid's master torturer, his name refers to the Marquis de Sade. At one point, DeSaad had an assistant named Justeen, a reference to de Sade's novel Justine, although she bore little resemblance to the title character.
DeSaad is originally a New God from New Genesis before Darkseid corrupts him into serving him.[4] Afterwards, DeSaad assists Darkseid in killing his brother Drax, and becomes his torturer.[2][5]
In the Superman/Batman story "Torment", Darkseid tasks DeSaad with retrieving Highfather's staff to restore his power. He betrays Darkseid and attempts to take the staff for himself before Darkseid siphons its energy.
As a New God, DeSaad is nigh-immortal and possesses superhuman strength and durability. He is additionally a skilled inventor and torturer. In The New 52, DeSaad is given the additional abilities of telepathy and energy absorption.
Other versions
An alternate universe variant of DeSaad makes a cameo appearance in JLA: The Nail #1.[10]
DeSaad appears in Justice League (2001), voiced again by René Auberjonois.[13] In his most notable appearance in the episode "Twilight", Darkseid kills him for criticizing his military action to gain the Anti-Life Equation.
DeSaad appears in the tenth season of Smallville, portrayed by Steve Byers. This version owns a fetish club franchise called "Club DeSaad" and possesses several psionic powers, such as telekinesis, which he uses to manipulate and corrupt people. Throughout the series, he serves Darkseid until he is killed by the Green Arrow in the series finale.
DeSaad appears in Justice League: War, voiced by Bruce Thomas.[13] This version oversees the process that transforms captured species into Parademons. He is later killed by Superman, who became unstable and aggressive after being partially subjected to the process.
^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 88. ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
^ abcdefg"DeSaad Voices (Superman)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 1, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
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