On Relative Power Tiers and Jackie

As stated in the prior thread, the Ranks for Cultivation go Apprentice-Initiate-Disciple-Adept-Master-Grandmaster-Boddhisatva-Demigod-Little God-God.

Also as stated in the prior thread, the Ranks for Magic are similar: Apprentice-Initiate-Disciple-Adept-Master-Archmage-Hierophant-Theurge-Apotheosis.

These names are not exactly as indicative of inherent levels of power as they might first appear, however. For example, most actual Demigods are only at Grandmaster-Level Cultivation, with only the Strongest getting to Boddhisatva Level and only the top one percent of those going beyond to Demigod Level. Likewise, some Gods are weak enough to be considered at the same level as a Boddhisatva, with only major figures like Darkseid and Highfather of the New Gods being at the same level as a God-Level Cultivator.

Right now, Jackie is at Boddhisatva Level for Cultivation and Archmage Level for his Primary Magical Disciplines of Alchemy, Enchantment, and General Elementalism.

To put that in Mythological Terms, a Boddhisatva Level Cultivator would be on a similar level as any of the Seven Taoist Immortals or Gilgamesh of Uruk, while an Archmage Level Sorcerer would be on a similar level as someone like the Maharal of Prague or King Solomon.

In terms of DC Characters, we're talking Wonder Woman or one of the Less Powerful Kryptonians or Kyrptonian-adjacents like Supergirl or Sodam Yat, while under the effects of a yellow sun, though obviously Sodam Yat having a Green Lantern Ring would tip the balance in his favor.

Magically in terms of DC Characters, we're talking about people like Zatanna Zatara or Felix Faust, though the latter comparison depends on whether or not he's hopped up on borrowed Hell Power or not.

For Reference, Demigod-Level Cultivation would be on a similar level to someone like Herakles or Martian Manhunter, while Little God-Level Cultivation would be on a similar level as Superman or Zeus, while God-Level is completely theoretical as no one has ever reached that level.

The only known Mortal to have achieved Little God-level through Cultivation was Rama Kushna, who immediately became shackled to the mystical otherealm of Nanda Parbat in the process. That suggests that there is a certain level of power that various Cosmic Forces don't allow those not born to it naturally achieve without conditions.

Meanwhile, Hierophant-Level Magic is on a similar level as someone like an unshackled Madame Xanadu or Morgan Le Fay. Theurge-level magic would be someone Like Merlin, Doctor Fate, or the Phantom Stranger. Thus far only one known Sorcerer has ever reached Apotheosis, and that was Arion of Atlantis, who crafted a ritual to supercharge the divine blood in his veins.

Notably, by doing so, Arion became a Lord of Order and was effectively promoted to the Realm of Order. This also implies that various Cosmic Forces have imposed a ceiling of sorts on Mortal Power beyond which terms and conditions apply.

Mind you, those Caveats may just be about to fall by the Wayside with the coming of a New Age of Heroes and the implication that powerful mortals are required to defeat the Apokaliptan Invasion of Earth. As for why the Cosmic Forces behind the Multiverse would care so much about Earth, the answer is one found in the Canon Post-Crisis DCU. Earth is the literal Center of the Multiverse, much like how Oa is the Center of the Universe. Earth falling to Darkseid would therefore be catastrophic for the Multiverse.

Speaking of Darkseid, he is currently on a similar theoretical level to a God-Level Cultivator. However, if he manages to obtain the Anti-Life Equation, he will effectively be on a level beyond a God-Level Cultivator. That is something only someone like Lucifer, the Endless, or The Presence could contend with. It's the main reason why he wants the Anti-Life Equation, he knows it will give him the power to finally kill Highfather Izaya, conquer the Multiverse, and then go beyond to punch Big-G God. This is also the reason why not even Superman could defeat Darkseid with the Anti-Life Equation during Final Crisis and he had to resort to using the Deus Ex Machina of a Thirty-First century Wish Granting Machine to win.

Finding the Anti-Life Equation will also be a lot easier with control over the Center of the Multiverse. You can see why it scared Circe and Ares enough to Launch a Coup.

Granted the rest of the New Gods of Apokalips aren't on the same level. Most are Boddhisatva to Demigod-Level while only one or two could be considered Little God-Level, and those tend to be big names like Granny Goodness or Kalibak. Still scary, but not nearly as much as Darkseid himself.

All told, this means that while Jackie has moved up in the world substantially, especially considering how he was just a punk henchman working for Two-Face two years ago, he's still not gotten to the top tier of powerful beings kicking around, either in terms of Magic or Cultivation. He still has a bit more to climb up the Ladder of Heaven if he wants to slug it out with Darkseid.

Whether he gets there before the Apokaliptan Invasion or not remains to be seen. . .