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Uxas, better known as Darkseid,[a] is a supervillain who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Darkseid was created by writer and artist Jack Kirby, and made a cameo in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 (November 1970) before his first full appearance in the debut issue of Forever People (February 1971). Darkseid was introduced as the main antagonist of Kirby's "Fourth World" metaseries. While Kirby planned to kill off Darkseid in the conclusion, the character remained a staple Superman adversary and the archenemy of the Justice League.

In his comic book appearances, Darkseid is one of the New Gods, a race of cosmic beings that arose following the deaths of the Æsir during Ragnarök. Darkseid is the tyrannical ruler of the nightmare world Apokolips and seeks to conquer the DC Universe by obtaining the Anti-Life Equation, a mathematical proof eliminating all hope and free will in sentient beings. Kirby based Darkseid's personality on Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler and US president Richard Nixon, and modelled his appearance on actor Jack Palance. Following the cancellation of the Fourth World comics, Darkseid made sporadic appearances in other DC publications. The Legion of Super-Heroes Great Darkness Saga (1982) and the Legends (1986–1987) crossover event established Darkseid as DC's ultimate villain.

Darkseid is one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe, possessing nigh-omnipotence due to his status as one of the New Gods.

Darkseid inspired the Marvel Comics villain Thanos and the Star Wars villain Darth Vader. Ray Porter portrayed Darkseid in the 2017 DC Extended Universe film Justice League; though his scenes were cut from the theatrical release, they were restored for the 2021 director's cut. Michael Ironside, Tony Todd, and "Weird Al" Yankovic, among others, have provided the character's voice in animation.

Publication history

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Concept

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Then-U.S. President Richard Nixon (top) and actor Jack Palance (bottom) respectively served as the basis for Darkseid's demeanor and appearance.

In the 1960s, Jack Kirby was a writer and artist at publisher Marvel Comics. He co-created characters such as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Thor, the Hulk, and Nick Fury.[2] Kirby was unhappy at Marvel; he retained no copyright or creative custody over his characters, and his accomplishments were frequently overshadowed by the media prominence of collaborator Stan Lee, so he turned to rival publisher DC Comics with ideas for a new group of characters.[3]

In the same period, the newsstand distribution system for comics had begun to break down,[clarification needed] and Kirby predicted that publishers needed to find alternative sales venues. He conceived the "Fourth World" storyline, a metaseries of interconnected limited series that would be collected in one volume after it concluded.[3] As author Marc Flores, who writes under the pen name Ronin Ro,[4] described:

The idea of the New Gods had come to Jack years earlier, when he was plotting 90 percent of the "Tales of Asgard" stories in Thor. He wanted to have two planets at war and end with Ragnarok, the battle that would kill Thor's lucrative pantheon. Instead, he tried the idea in his Inhumans stories. Now he was presenting it in its original context. Though he wouldn't ever say it publicly, the New Gods books started right after the gods in Thor killed one another. The first page of Orion of the New Gods showed the same scenes from Thor—a planet torn in half and armored gods holding swords and dying on a fiery battleground.[5]

Kirby created Darkseid as the main antagonist of the Fourth World story. He was inspired by the Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler; according to author Stuart Warren, Kirby, who was Jewish, "likely had a deeper, spiritual resonance with the Holocaust, especially when he was exposed to the aftermath of the Nazi program during the Nuremberg Trials".[6] US president Richard Nixon was another influence; according to Kirby biographer Mark Evanier, "the style and substance of [Darkseid] were based on just about every power-mad tyrant Kirby had ever met or observed, with a special emphasis on Richard Milhous Nixon", who "was kind of the monster du jour for many in 1970".[1]

Kirby modeled Darkseid's appearance on actor Jack Palance, known for his roles in films such as Sign of the Pagan (1954) and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968).[1][6] As Evanier noted, comic book artists commonly base their characters on real-world figures; many other Fourth World characters were also modeled on real people. It is unclear which Palance performance influenced Kirby's choice, though Evanier said a fellow Kirby researcher believed it was Palance's role as Jekyll and Hyde. According to Evanier, Palance was likely never aware that his likeness served as the basis for Darkseid.[1]

Fourth World

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Further information: Fourth World (comics)

Darkseid was introduced in a cameo appearance in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 (cover-dated November 1970), appearing on a computer screen on the last page. His first full appearance was in the debut issue of Forever People in February 1971, followed by appearances in Mister Miracle and New Gods.[7] Forever People, Mister Miracle, and New Gods comprise the Fourth World Saga, which chronicles the battle between good and evil as represented by the idyllic New Genesis and the dystopic Apokolips. Darkseid, the tyrannical ruler of Apokolips, is opposed by Orion, who leads the forces of New Genesis. New Gods #1 (February-March 1971) established Darkseid's fixation on obtaining the Anti-Life Equation, a mathematical proof eliminating all hope and free will in sentient beings, to conquer reality. New Gods #7 (March 1972) explained that Orion was Darkseid's son, and that Darkseid had traded Orion for Mister Miracle, the son of New Genesis's leader Highfather, in a peace pact. Mister Miracle betrays Darkseid and escapes Apokolips, which nullifies the pact and gives Darkseid license to reignite the war.

The Fourth World sales did not meet DC's expectations, and editors had difficulty understanding the story.[2] DC also wanted the comics to be ongoing series, not limited series as Kirby had envisioned. Evanier recalled: "After Jack's books started getting good sales figures, DC demanded that we keep them going and use guest stars like Deadman, which we were very much against doing. So Kirby had this novel he was forever stuck in the middle of – he could never get to the last chapter... You can spot the issues where Jack kind of gave up trying to advance the story of Darkseid and Orion and was marking time."[8] Forever People and New Gods were canceled in 1972 after 11 issues each, and Mister Miracle was canceled in 1974 after 18 issues. The war between Apokolips and New Genesis was unresolved, and Kirby, devastated, returned to Marvel in 1975.[2]

In the mid-1980s, Kirby returned to DC to redesign the Fourth World characters for the upcoming Super Powers Collection line of action figures, having been offered a portion of the revenue.[2][9] DC also offered Kirby the opportunity to conclude the Fourth World story, as DC was reprinting his original series. The plan was to release a new 12th issue of New Gods after the original issues had been reprinted, and then conclude the Fourth World in a graphic novel that would end with the deaths of Darkseid and Orion.[9] However, DC objected to Kirby's plans to kill Darkseid, as it was licensing the character and wanted to keep him available for future stories. A new story for issue #12 was written, and the pages Kirby had drawn for his originally-planned New Gods #12 were repurposed for the graphic novel The Hunger Dogs (1985).[9][10] The Hunger Dogs depicts Darkseid fleeing Apokolips after the slave population of Apokolips stages a revolt.

Integration into the DC Universe

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Initially, the Fourth World Saga was a self-contained story; its only connection to the DC Universe was that Superman played a role in it. DC gradually began to incorporate the Fourth World characters, including Darkseid, into its broader publishing line in the mid-1970s. This began with a New Gods story in 1st Issue Special #13 (April 1976), written by Gerry Conway and Denny O'Neil, with art by Mike Vosburg. Conway then featured Darkseid and his minions in his Secret Society of Super Villains, before reviving the New Gods comic with artist Don Newton in July 1977. The revival only lasted eight issues, so Conway and Newton finished their Darkseid story in Adventure Comics #460 (November-December 1978), which ended with Darkseid's apparent death. However, Conway revived the character for a three-issue arc in Justice League of America between October and December 1980, illustrated by Dick Dillin and George Pérez; the arc saw the Justice League and Justice Society of America face off against Darkseid.[11]

"The Great Darkness Saga", a 1982 Legion of Super-Heroes story arc, written by Paul Levitz with art by Keith Giffen and Larry Mahlstedt, significantly boosted Darkseid's profile within DC's comic line. "The Great Darkness Saga" sees Darkseid return in the 30th century and come into conflict with the Legion. It cemented Darkseid as one of DC's most powerful villains, a madman "capable of both physical might and master manipulation." Darkseid then went on to appear as one of the main antagonists of The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans (1982), an intercompany crossover featuring DC's Teen Titans and Marvel's X-Men. After the Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985–1986) crossover event rebooted the DC Universe, Darkseid appeared as the main antagonist of DC's first major post-Crisis crossover, Legends (1986–1985).

Character biography

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Important storylines:

  • Fourth World
  • Fighting JLA and JSA
  • Great Darkness Saga
  • Legends
  • Cosmic Odyssey
  • Death of the New Gods → Final Crisis
  • Darkseid War
  • God vs. Amazon

Anti-Life Equation

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loneliness + alienation + fear + despair + self-worth ÷ mockery ÷ condemnation ÷ misunderstanding × guilt × shame × failure × judgment n=y where y=hope and n=folly, love=lies, life=death, self=dark side

The Anti-Life Equation, as presented in Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle (2005) limited series

In the Fourth World and other stories involving Darkseid, the Anti-Life Equation is a formula that Darkseid seeks. It is generally depicted as a mathematical proof of the futility of living that destroys the concept of free will, allowing beings to possess all sentient and sapient races. The name refers to the notion that "if someone possesses absolute control over you—you're not really alive". Martian Manhunter #33 (August 2001) explains that Darkseid learns of the Anti-Life Equation while studying the ancient Martian concept of the Life Equation, the mathematical proof of life's purpose. Darkseid reasons that an opposite equation giving him the power to rule the universe must also exist. Darkseid's quest for the Anti-Life Equation brings Earth to his attention, as he believes part of the equation exists in the subconsciousness of humanity.

Although Kirby's explanation of the equation is the most common, other DC writers have introduced alternative interpretations. Cosmic Odyssey imagines the Equation as a living, shadowy deity that corrupts and destroys everything it touches; this was retconned as a creature who had been mislabeled. In Neil Gaiman's The Sandman (1989–1996), the demon Choronzon, in a battle of wits with Dream of the Endless, says the Equation represents "the beast of judgement... the dark at the end of everything. The end of universes, gods, worlds... of everything." Dream counters that hope can defeat the Equation.

Characterization

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Darkseid is the god of evil in the DC Universe; David Harth of CBR.com described him as "an all-powerful force of hatred, degradation, and pain".[12] Kirby summarized Darkseid as "evil itself, or what we consider evil".[1]

According to Neil Gaiman, "Darkseid is Hitler, but with nobility. He plays by the rules, but he makes them."[6]

Powers and abilities

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As one of the New Gods, Darkseid is one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe, possessing nigh-omnipotence that surpasses the entire Green Lantern Corps and other deities like the fallen angel Lucifer Morningstar.[13] He is immortal (having lived for hundreds of thousands of years), invulnerable, and capable of increasing and decreasing his physical size at will.[14] However, the extent of Darkseid's power is portrayed inconsistently, with Harth writing "[s]ometimes he's an unstoppable force of nature and other times he's less powerful than villains who he should easily overshadow."[12]

Despite his immense power and plans to dominate the DC Universe, Darkseid rarely directly partakes in his schemes.[12]

Literary analysis

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File:Hitlermusso2 edit.jpg
Adolf Hitler with Benito Mussolini in 1936. Darkseid's villainy was inspired by Hitler, and the similarities between the two are frequently compared.[6]
  • https://twomorrows.com/kirby/articles/22fascism.html
  • https://muse.jhu.edu/article/559465
    • "The most significant are Superman's two archnemeses: Lex Luthor and Darkseid. The former has two conflicting biographies, with one identifying him as a megalomaniac scientist and the other establishing him as a ruthless, amoral capitalist who is CEO of his eponymous company, Lexcorp. Both roles, clearly, announce him as an antisocial individualist; but it is notable that his corporate activities match up quite closely with the type of sociality associated with market pricing. Equivalently, the figure of Darkseid embodies the behaviors associated with authority ranking, the second "problematic" mode under discussion. Darkseid is explicitly modeled on Adolf Hitler, and his planet, Apokalips [sic], reproduces many of the features of Nazi Germany. Notably, he also wishes to eliminate free will and subordinate the entire universe to his own personality. Self-evidently, this emphasis on authoritarian control brings to mind a negatively inflected form of authority ranking. Thus, Superman's principal antagonists reflect the two forms of sociality that are most likely to challenge human cognitive architecture."
  • https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0m4284hn
  • https://www.americanpopularculture.com/journal/articles/fall_2011/johnson.htm
  • https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/42933227.pdf#page=239 (maybe?)

Cultural impact and legacy

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Darkseid is the Fourth World Saga's most famous character. Abraham Reisman, writing for Vulture, said that "[t]he Fourth World is about mythic absolutes, and nothing in it was more absolute than the pure brutality of Darkseid and his ilk. To use a gaming metaphor, he became DC's final boss: the antagonist you use when you want to trump everything that's come before."[2]

In other media

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Notes

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  1. ^ Pronounced "Dark-SIDE"[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Evanier, Mark (November 10, 2006). "The Palance-Darkseid Connection". News From ME.
  2. ^ a b c d e Reisman, Abraham (November 20, 2017). "The King's Gambit". Vulture.
  3. ^ a b Evanier, Mark (2007). "Afterword". Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Volume One. New York, New York: DC Comics. pp. 388–396. ISBN 978-1401213442.
  4. ^ Ives, Nat (January 31, 2005). "MediaTalk; Who Deserves The Credit (and Cash) For Dreaming Up Those Superheroes?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 2, 2014.
  5. ^ Ro, Ronin (July 2004). Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and the American Comic Book Revolution. London, United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 148. ISBN 1-58234-345-4.
  6. ^ a b c d Warren, Stuart (August 26, 2014). "Jack Kirby and His Pal Darkseid". Sequart Organization.
  7. ^ Godino, Edward (June 1, 2020). "Darkseid's Origin: How Did DC's Biggest Villain Come To Be?". Screen Rant.
  8. ^ Kraft, David Anthony; Slifer, Roger (April 1983). "Mark Evanier". Comics Interview. No. 2. Fictioneer Books. pp. 23–34.
  9. ^ a b c Cronin, Brian (January 17, 2014). "Comic Book Legends Revealed #454". CBR.com.
  10. ^ Jackson, Matthew (January 17, 2014). "The character deaths Jack Kirby planned that would've changed DC forever". SyFy Wire.
  11. ^ Bondurant, Tom (November 26, 2017). "How DC Comics' Disposable Villains Made Darkseid Indispensable". CBR.com.
  12. ^ a b c Harth, David (October 2, 2020). "DC: 5 Reasons Darkseid Is The Perfect Villain (& 5 Reasons He Isn't)". CBR.com.
  13. ^ Lealos, Shawn S. (May 25, 2020). "Ranking The 15 Most Powerful DC Cosmic Characters". CBR.com.
  14. ^ Austin, Michael (July 10, 2019). "All Of Darkseid's Powers, Ranked". CBR.com.
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