Originally posted by Jimmy-Chan
Zeus - As per Byrne's take, Darkseid is above him. Also, there was a WW issue following up on Action Comics#600 where all the Gods of Olympus had to combine their powers to undo Darkseid's desecration of Olympus (this is the scene which WW fans use as the ultimate example of her bracelets' durability). I think most writers have them as pretty comparable, but due to those issues I'd give DS the edge.
Phantom Stranger - He's not a very fleshed out character, really. He's owned Etrigan a few times, but like The Runner his limits haven't really been defined. He seems to regard Highfather as a peer though, so they're probably in the same ballpark.
Shazam - Also hard to say. They're likely in the same ballpark, but there aren't many definitive comparisons here.
Ganthet - The one time DS met Guardians, both sides seemed wary of further confluct. It was several Guardians, but it was on Apokolips where DS had command of his armies. Going by Ganthet's performance in GL: Rebirth, their raw power is comparable. Ganthet would probably use greater versatility as per most writers (Darkseid's displayed great versatility, but it's not as ingrained in his mythos as it is the GLC's). I see it coming down to how competent Ganthet is in battle with someone in his ballpark. Once again, this hasn't been that fleshed out.
Highfather - Like the others, he's not all that fleshed out. However, he and Darkseid are "officially" equals in NG continuity. He doesn't have some of Darkseid's anti-feats, but some writers would probably play up his pacifist tendencies as an advantage to Darkseid. Once again, hard to say.
The Quintessence members really haven't had many showings against others who are above top tier to judge. SHAZAM's fight against The Spectre is one of the few that comes to mind. None of them have had some of Darkseid's more embarrassng performances, but part of that is the fact that DS appears and gets into fights far more frequently than any of them. I think the jury's still out on this area of DC's hiearchy.
