Darkseid
| Darkseid | |
|---|---|
| File:Darkseidgeogreperez.jpg Darkseid drawn by George Perez. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 (November 1970 |
| Created by | Jack Kirby (writer & artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Uxas |
| Species | New God |
| Place of origin | Apokolips |
| Team affiliations | Darkseid's Elite Intergang |
| Notable aliases | Dark Side |
| Abilities | Possessor of the Omega Force Superhuman strength, stamina, durability, and intellect Immortality |
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in the comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 (November 1970), and was created by legendary writer-artist Jack Kirby.
Publication history
Following his small debut in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 (November 1970), the character made his next appearance in Forever People #1 (March 1971). Originally limited to Kirby's Fourth World titles, such as New Gods, Forever People, and Mister Miracle, Darkseid was the secret benefactor for the original Secret Society of Supervillains (in 3 issues of the same name, 1976-1977) and made prominent appearances in the The Great Darkness Saga (1982), Legends (1986-1987), Cosmic Odyssey (1988-1989), and Our Worlds at War (2001) story arcs. Darkseid became one of DC Comics' premiere adversaries, appearing in Justice League of America, Action Comics, Superman, Green Lantern and Superman/Batman. In the 1985 miniseries, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Darkseid also played a major part in the defeat of the Anti-Monitor.
According to writer Mark Evanier, Jack Kirby modeled Darkseid physically on actor Jack Palance, while "the style and substance of this master antagonist were based on just about every power-mad tyrant Kirby had ever met or observed, with a special emphasis on Richard Milhous Nixon."[1]
Fictional character biography
The son of Yuga Khan and Queen Heggra, Prince Uxas, second in line to the throne of Apokolips, plotted to seize power over the planet. When his brother, Drax, attempted to claim the fabled Omega Force, Uxas murdered him and took the power for himself; transforming him into a rock-like creature, and taking a new name: Darkseid. [2] At some point, he falls in love with an Apokoliptian scientist named Suli, with whom he has a son, Kalibak; however Suli is poisoned by Desaad on Heggra's behalf, who believes that Suli was corrupting her son. Following Suli's death, Darkseid's heart grew even colder, and has Desaad poison Heggra, finally becoming the supreme monarch of Apokolips. Darkseid had briefly been forced by his mother to marry Tigra, with whom he also had a son; after murdering his mother, Darkseid had both Tigra and their son, Orion, banished on Apokolips. [3]
The destructive war between the rival planet, New Genesis, is stopped only with a diplomatic exchange of the sons of Highfather and Darkseid. Darkseid's second born son is surrendered to Highfather, while Darkseid receives Scott Free, who later becomes the master escape artist Mister Miracle. This eventually turns out to be a setback for Darkseid, with his biological son growing up to value and defend the ideals of New Genesis in opposition to his father; it has been foretold that Darkseid will meet his final defeat at the hands of his son in a cataclysmic battle in the fiery Armaghetto of Apokolips.
Seeing other gods as a threat, Darkseid invades the island of Themyscira in order to discover the secret location of the Olympian gods, planning to overthrow the Olympians and steal their power. Refusing to aid Darkseid in his mad quest, the Amazons battle his parademon troops, causing half of the Amazon population's death.[4] Wonder Woman is able to gain her revenge against Darkseid for killing so many of her sisters by placing a portion of her own soul into Darkseid. This supposedly weakened the god's power as he lost a portion of his dark edge.[5]
Darkseid's goal is to eliminate all free will from the universe and reshape it into his own image. To this end, he seeks to unravel the mysterious Anti-Life Equation, which will give him complete control over the thoughts and emotions of all living beings in the universe. While he has yet to obtain a working copy of the Anti-Life Equation, Darkseid has tried on several other occasions to achieve dominance of the universe through other methods. He has a special interest in Earth, as he believes humans possess collectively within their minds most, if not all, fragments of the Anti-Life Equation. Darkseid intends to probe the minds of every human in order to piece together the Equation. This has caused Darkseid to clash with that of many superheroes of the DC Universe, notably, the Kryptonian Superman. Darkseid works behind-the-scenes, using superpowered minions in his schemes to overthrow Earth, including working through Intergang.
Following Darkseid's attempt to attack Earth using a brainwashed Supergirl, Superman, believing Darkseid has destroyed (a reformed) Supergirl, hurls Darkseid into the sun where Darkseid is beaten unconscious by Superman and who then throws him into the Source Wall. [6] However, to pay a debt incurred to an alternate reality Darkseid and in order to realign the timeline, Superman later frees Darkseid from his entombment in the Source Wall. During his imprisonment in the Source Wall, Darkseid had been drained of his Omega powers. Desaad uses a mind-controlled Superman to retrieve Highfather's staff from the Source Wall, and use it as a conduit to recharge Darkseid's energies, via a portal to the Omega Realm. [7]
Death of the New Gods and Countdown
Darkseid is orchestrating events to his liking, observing what is happening across the universe as the death of the Fourth World draws near, plotting to remake the universe in his own image. As New Gods are killed across the galaxy, Darkseid marshalled his forces on Apokolips, even resurrecting Virman Vundabar despite his earlier attempt to assassinate Darkseid--notably putting his forces in defensive deployments.
Darkseid is shown to be apparently manipulating almost all the key characters in Countdown to Final Crisis on a giant cosmic chess board. For unknown reasons, he has given his protection to Jimmy Olsen, vaporizing a parademon for attacking him, and he has ensured that Karate Kid, carrier of the Morticoccus virus, survives. He attempts to recruit Mary Marvel as his sorceress using his pawn Eclipso, but she turns on him and escapes. Darkseid has also assigned Desaad to ensure the "Great Disaster" comes about, and assigns Granny Goodness to recruit new Female Furies from Earth in the guise of Athena. It has been indicated by DC that with the Fourth World at an end, Darkseid seeks the rise of the "Fifth World", possibly on Earth, and is harnessing the Great Disaster and the Death of the New Gods to bring this about. Additionally, Darkseid has been manipulating the Monitor Solomon to bring about a war between the Monitors and Monarch for the fate of the Multiverse.
Darkseid turns Jimmy Olsen into a container for the powers of the New Gods. He sends Mary Marvel, whom he had coerced into taking back her dark powers, to capture him. Superman comes to Jimmy's aid, only for Darkseid to take control of Jimmy's powers, making him radiate Kryptonite. Ray Palmer manages to shut off Darkseid's control, and the villain is confronted by a gigantic turtle-like Jimmy. After battling Jimmy across the Metropolis landscape, Darkseid moves in for the kill only to witness The Atom emerge from Jimmy's head. Palmer quickly destroys the vessel of the New Gods' powers freeing them into the void. Enraged, Darkseid is taken by surprise when a Boom Tube opens above the skies of Metropolis. His scion and son Orion emerges from the tube, having managed to escape being murdered by the Infinity Man. Orion and Darkseid battle, and after a furious exchange, Darkseid is killed when his heart is ripped from his chest by his own son. [8]
However, shortly after his death, Darkseid is reborn in DC Universe #0. [9]
The Great Darkness Saga
In the 1982 storyline from Legion of Super-Heroes entitled "The Great Darkness Saga", Darkseid survived into the 30th century. Having been forgotten by almost everyone, he defeated the era's two most powerful villains (Mordru and the Time Trapper) and absorbed their powers, subsequently using those abilities to enslave the entire population of the planet Daxam. Commanding an army of billions of Daxamites (each with the same powers as Superman), as well as "dark" clones of Superman and other super powered beings, he launched a full-scale assault on the United Planets. Only the efforts of the Legion of Super-Heroes and its allies were able to prevent him from conquering the entire known universe.
As a result of his defeat by the Legion, Darkseid sought revenge against two of the team's co-founders, married Legionnaires Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl. When the pregnant Saturn Girl was in labor, Darkseid stole one of her twin children, warped him into the monstrous Validus and sent him into the Legion's past, where he became one of the Legion's deadliest foes as a member of the Fatal Five. Later, when his ploy was discovered, he restored Validus to his original form.
After the events of the Zero Hour miniseries in 1994, this storyline and all other previous Legion stories were removed from continuity. However, a new incarnation of the Legion was introduced in 2007, in "The Lightning Saga" storyline in the Justice League of America and Justice Society of America titles. Geoff Johns, one of DC Comics' key writers, has stated that this incarnation of the Legion shares the same history as the original Legion up to the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths.[10] Since "The Great Darkness Saga" occurred prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths, the question of whether these events are once again part of mainstream DC continuity remains an open one.
Powers and abilities
Darkseid is among the most powerful New Gods, sometimes depicted with a variety of god-like abilities at his disposal. His main power, the Omega Effect, is a form of energy that he fires from his eyes as either concussive force or beams of disintegration, capable of erasing most objects and organisms from existence as well as reform them. Darkseid has pinpoint control over his Omega Beams, and his unerring aim allows them to travel in straight lines, bend, twist, or curve around corners, and can pass through matter and energy. Darkseid at one point claimed that no living being had ever survived the full force of the Omega Effect, but the Omega Effect has been shown to be ineffective against the gauntlets/bracelets of Wonder Woman (formed as they were from the Olympian Aegis) which allowed her to successfully defend herself against their effects. Several beings, such as Doomsday and Superman, have survived them. Darkseid is also able to project the Omega Effect as energy blasts from his hands.
In addition, Darkseid possesses superhuman strength, stamina, and durability equivalent to the corresponding traits of Superman. Countdown To Final Crisis #2 reveals that he also possesses the ability to increase his size.
Despite his great might, Darkseid is generally unaccustomed to physical combat; he is a master schemer and strategist. On Apokolips, Darkseid commands all of its vast military resources. He has access to the full technological resources of Apokolips, such as boom tubes that allows him to travel through time and between dimensions.
Other versions
Seven Soldiers
In Grant Morrison's 2005 Mister Miracle miniseries, it is revealed that Darkseid finally discovered the Anti-Life Equation, which he then used to destroy the Fourth World altogether. The New Gods fled to Earth, where they hid: Highfather and his followers are now a group of homeless people, Metron is an epileptic, the Black Racer is an old white man in a wheelchair, Desaad is an evil psychiatrist, Granny Goodness is a pimp for the Female Furies, and Darkseid himself is now an evil businessman who is referred to only as "Dark Side". It is revealed that Darkseid actually gave the Sheeda North America in return for Aurakles, Earth's first superhero. [11] This is, in turn, purely in order for Darkseid to get Shilo Norman, whom he considers the "Avatar of Freedom," in his clutches so that he can eventually destroy the New Gods. This version would reappear in both Birds of Prey[12] and Flash [13]
X-Men/New Teen Titans
Darkseid was one of the featured villains in the crossover of the Teen Titans and Marvel Comics' X-Men, seeking to resurrect the power of Dark Phoenix, and uses Deathstroke to aid him.
DC Versus Marvel
In the DC/Marvel crossover, Darkseid's counterpart in the Marvel Universe was shown to be Thanos, the two facing off in a prolonged battle.
The Hunger
Darkseid faces off against Galactus in another intercompany crossover written and drawn by John Byrne. Set before the destruction of New Genesis, Galactus attempts to drain Apokolips, but fails because there is no true life force in the planet. However, as Galactus departed, both he and Darkseid acknowledge that they are both prisoners of their own natures; Galactus eat planets because he is what he is, and Darkseid fights for Apokolips for no other reason than that it's his.
Kingdom Come
In the miniseries Kingdom Come, Orion has now deposed Darkseid, fulfilling the prophecy, and is ruler of Apokolips. However, the changes that he wished to make (democracy, freedom) quickly failed, making him bitter and cynical. Superman is disappointed in Orion's progress and says his new demeanor is more like Darkseid than ever.
DC One Million
A very distant possible future of the DC Universe is shown in DC's 1998 line-wide crossover event DC One Million. The one-shot Martian Manhunter #1,000,000 shows that Darkseid has long since died in a final battle with Martian Manhunter by the year 85, 271; this battle cost the Martian his physical form, causing him to be merged with Mars.
Superman: Red Son
In Superman: Red Son, a statue of Darkseid is visible within Superman's Fortress of Solitude.
Rock of Ages
A much closer alternate future is seen during Rock of Ages, a JLA story written by Grant Morrison. Here, in a story roughly fifteen years from the "present day," Darkseid has found the Anti-Life Equation and become absolute ruler of Earth. Darkseid is rendered into a vegetative state at hands of Green Arrow and the Atom, before the universe is reduced to energy by Orion to remove Darkseid's influence.
In other media
Super Friends
Darkseid appears in Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, voiced by Frank Welker. He would frequently combine the villainous agenda of the episode with the scheme of forcing Wonder Woman to marry him. Jack Kirby said that the network executives tried to go behind his back and call the character "Darkside" for the Super Powers TV show, but Kirby was adamant about the name staying the same. An action figure of Darkseid was also made around this time, as part of the Super Powers Collection.
Superman: The Animated Series
Darkseid appears in Bruce Timm's DC animated universe, voiced by Michael Ironside. Timm explained that Darkseid was brought into the series in an effort to boost Superman's rogues gallery and give him a more powerful villain with whom to contend. [14]
After making a series of brief "teaser" appearances throughout Superman: The Animated Series, Darkseid was featured prominently in a pair of two-part episodes; "Apokolips…Now!" shows Darkseid leading his forces in an invasion of Earth. Darkseid confronts Superman and offers him a place at his side, but Superman rejects the offer, leading Darkseid to declare: "If you will not be my knight, you will be my pawn." After he captures Superman, he threatens to destroy Earth unless the human race surrenders. Unwilling to capitulate, Detective Dan Turpin, a hard-boiled police officer based on Darkseid's creator Jack Kirby who had been Superman's friend, frees Superman. Before Darkseid and Superman can battle, Darkseid's plan is foiled by the appearance of armies from New Genesis, the leaders of which declare Earth to be under Highfather's protection. Just as Darkseid leaves, though, in one of the most shocking moments of the series, he tells Superman that no victory comes without a price, and vaporizes Turpin with his Omega Beams. In the audio commentary for this episode, Timm explains that Turpin's funeral was intended as a tribute to Kirby's death, going so far as to hire a real-life rabbi to deliver the fictional flatfoot's eulogy.
In "Legacy," the two-part series finale for Superman: The Animated Series, Darkseid makes good on his promise of making Superman his pawn. He captures the Man of Steel and brainwashes him into thinking that he is Darkseid's adopted son. Darkseid sends Superman on several conquests throughout the galaxy before sending him to invade Earth. When Superman regains his memory, he finds that he has destroyed parts of Metropolis, nearly killed Supergirl, and lost the world's trust. Traveling to Apokolips, Superman seeks revenge on Darkseid and engages him in a brutal fistfight. This is the only time Darkseid engages in a direct fight throughout the show. Darkseid quickly proves too powerful for Superman, but just as he's about to finish off Superman with his Omega Beams, Superman covers Darkseid's eyes, causing a massive explosion that severely injures both, though Darkseid is far worse off. Superman then tosses a battered Darkseid to his slaves. To his shock and disgust, the slaves pick up Darkseid and carry him away, promising to help him. Darkseid tells Superman that "I am many things, Kal-El…but here, I am God."
Justice League
Darkseid returns in the Justice League episode "Twilight", seeking help against the threat of Brainiac. Despite severe misgivings, Superman eventually agrees to help after being pressured by his fellow League members. Though they are able to defeat Brainiac, and even follow him back to his base of operations, the entire thing is revealed to be a setup. Darkseid has made a deal with Brainiac, aiding in the capture of Superman in exchange for a truce between the two. However, Darkseid double-crosses Brainiac, using a Mother Box to take over Brainiac's main systems in an attempt to have the super-intelligent machine solve the Anti-Life equation for him. Batman and Wonder Woman (who had been unsuccessfully dispatched to seek help from New Genesis) step in to free Superman, destabilizing Brainiac's power systems. With the base about to explode, all but Superman attempt to escape; Superman is quite insistent on killing Darkseid personally. What follows is a particularly brutal confrontation between Superman and Darkseid, Superman just barely edging out Darkseid. With both ignorant of their impending deaths, Batman interrupts the fight and pulls Superman out via a boom tube just as the asteroid explodes. Just before his inevitable death, Darkseid chuckles to himself about Superman's failure to finish the job.
Justice League Unlimited
Following Darkseid's death, as shown in Justice League Unlimited, civil war breaks out on Apokolips between the armies of Granny Goodness and Virman Vundabar in an attempt to fill the vacuum left by his absence, which the Justice League makes an effort to ensure keeps going so that neither of them threaten Earth.
In the two-part series finale of Justice League Unlimited, Lex Luthor, obsessed with resurrecting Brainiac, commands the members of the Secret Society to transform their base into a spacecraft which he uses to travel with them to the location of Brainiac's destroyed base. After a failed mutiny which ends in Luthor's favor, he uses Tala as a magic conduit to draw Brainiac's remains together. However, rather than recreate Brainiac, this instead resurrects Darkseid, evidently enhanced by Brainiac's technology. This is suggested in the DVD commentary to be Tala's final "screw you" to Luthor.
As a reward for their help, Darkseid grants Luthor and his cohorts a quick death. After reuniting Apokolips under his rule once more, Darkseid stages an attack on Earth and planned to attack New Genesis once he was done. The remnants of the Secret Society, having been saved by a force field created by Sinestro and Star Sapphire, warn the Justice League of the impending threat. Soon after, boom tubes open all over Earth, unleashing an armada upon the planet. Superman tracks down and engages Darkseid in battle. The battle at first leans in Darkseid's favor, but when Batman valiantly attempts to fight Darkseid himself, Superman is convinced to stop holding back. Using his full strength, Superman effortlessly, though briefly, beats Darkseid halfway across the city. Lex Luthor appears and presents him with the recently acquired Anti-Life equation, which he attained with the aid of the New God Metron. Although Luthor seemingly perishes with Darkseid in an explosion of light, Batman remarks that they will likely see the two again.
Justice League: The New Frontier
Darkseid has a cameo appearance in the animated film Justice League: The New Frontier. He is seen during the famous speech by John F. Kennedy amidst a collage of infamous DC villains.
Video games
- Darkseid is a playable character in Justice League Task Force.
- Darkseid appears as the primary villain in the video game Justice League Heroes voiced by David Sobolov. In this continuity he has at some point been trapped in another dimension, and thus remains behind the scenes for most of the story as he manipulates Brainiac with promises of unleashing great power and knowledge in exchange for acquiring a Mother Box from the Justice League Watchtower. Using the power of the mother box and the sensory field matrix that served as his prison, Darkseid is able to escape - saying that he has fulfilled his bargain to help Brainiac unleash great power, with the great knowledge being that one should never trust Darkseid - and remake Earth into a new Apokolips. He subsequently attempted to destroy the League with his Omega Beams, but Mother Box was able to save the League by altering the Omega Effect to send them to another dimension filled with a strange ambient energy that renders the Omega Beams useless. Now protected from Darkseid, the League return to Earth and defeat him, Wonder Woman subsequently using her Lasso of Truth to learn that only the hypercube that imprisoned Darkseid originally can imprison him again. The league activates the cube and Superman defeats Darkseid, imprisoning him once again. With Darkseid defeated, Mother Box restores Earth to normal, with Green Lantern promising to take Darkseid's hypercube somewhere where it can never be discovered and Darkseid released again.
Other appearances
- Darkseid makes a cameo appearance in part 3 of the South Park episode Imaginationland as one of the villains.
- Darkseid is seen at the funeral of Morpheus in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman: The Wake.
Footnotes
- ^ news from me - ARCHIVES
- ^ Jack Kirby's Fourth World #2-5
- ^ New Gods vol.1, #7
- ^ Wonder Woman Vol. 2, #102-104
- ^ Wonder Woman Vol. 2, #173 & #188
- ^ Superman/Batman #12
- ^ Superman/Batman #40
- ^ Countdown to Final Crisis #2
- ^ [1]
- ^ IGN: Superman/Green Lantern interviewSuperman/Green Lantern Interview
- ^ Seven Soldiers #1
- ^ Birds of Prey # 118
- ^ Flash #240
- ^ http://jl.toonzone.net/darkseid/darkseid.htm
External links
- Darkseid on DC Database, a DC Comics wiki
- Darkseid on the DC Animated Universe Wiki, an external wiki
- Index to the Earth-1 Fourth World stories
- Darkseid respect thread
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