In fiction and mythology , a dark lord (sometimes capitalized as Dark Lord or referred to as an evil overlord , evil emperor etc. depending on the work) is an antagonistic archetype , acting as the pinnacle of villainy and evil within a typically heroic narrative.
54-534: Dark one or Dark One may refer to: Dark Lord , a fictional stock character who is a powerful villain with evil henchmen Dark One ( The Wheel of Time ) , the primary antagonist in the Wheel of Time series Dark One (graphic novel) , a graphic novel series created by Robert Jorden and finished by Sanderson Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
108-487: A stock character and a villainous moniker in fantasy and related genres as well as in literary analysis of such works. As the name implies, a dark lord is characterized as a given setting's embodiment of evil, darkness , or death (either metatextually or as literal figure within a work's mythopoeia ) in a position of immense power, most often as a leader or emperor with a variety of minions and/or lesser villains at their disposal to influence their conflict against
162-518: A baby with the intention of teaching him differently. In DC Rebirth , Darkseid kills Zeus and absorbs his power to return to his original form. After countless alien planets being held captive by Brainiac's race are freed, they venture into an unknown area of outer space called the "Ghost Sector." After remembering a prophecy his father told him, and noticing the crack in the Source Wall , Darkseid lures Cyborg, Starfire, and Azrael to
216-465: A battered, wounded Orion walks away from the battlefield having "won" the battle against his father once and for all. However, Darkseid's life essence endured even the death of his body and fell back in time, where he was reborn as "Boss Dark Side", aided by his resurrected minions and the supervillain Libra . Once again bound to the form of a human, "Boss Dark Side" began to appear in a number of titles in
270-609: A close copy of his Apokoliptan former appearance, and wearing an updated version of his battle armor. Darkseid then gains the fullest of his power, his "fall" having the effect of compressing and crumpling spacetime around Earth. After escaping from captivity, Batman shoots Darkseid with the same radion bullet that killed Orion, while Darkseid simultaneously hits Batman with the Omega Beam, sending back in time and then "infecting" Batman with Omega energy that will cause him to jump forward in time, with disastrous results when he reaches
324-501: A doomsday singularity that now threatens all of existence. When Superman attempts to physically assault him, Darkseid reveals that he now exists inside the bodies of all those who fell to the power of the Anti-Life Equation and that killing Darkseid will kill humanity. Darkseid then reloads the gun that was used to shoot him, to kill Orion by way of firing the bullet backwards in time (a move Superman deems to be suicide due to
378-702: A group of homeless people. Metron used a wheelchair, the Black Racer was an old white man in a wheelchair, DeSaad was an evil psychiatrist , Granny Goodness was a pimp (or "madam") for the Female Furies and Darkseid himself was now an evil gang leader who is referred to only as "Boss Dark Side". It is revealed that Darkseid actually gave the Sheeda North America in return for Aurakles , Earth's first superhero. This was, in turn, purely for Darkseid to get Shilo Norman , whom he considers
432-651: A heroic protagonist in a primarily indirect way, though they may additionally be depicted as wielding great physical or magical capabilities should a hero ever confront them personally. There is a wealth of literary , folkloric , and theological precedent for the idea of a dark lord, including the Celtic Balor , the Christian Lucifer , (known in Latin as the Princeps Tenebrarum ,
486-585: A machine that draws energy from the Multiverse itself. The resurrection backfires and creates a new being known as the Omega Man. In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Darkseid's name is first invoked by a Parademon in Justice League #1. He is later mentioned again in Justice League #2, and in Justice League #3 Darkseid makes his first appearance in
540-534: A portion of her own soul into Darkseid. This supposedly weakened the god's power as he lost a portion of his dark edge. In Grant Morrison 's 2005 Mister Miracle limited series, it was revealed that Darkseid had 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 were now
594-524: A pretext to declare the treaty with New Genesis abrogated so the planets could resume their conflict. Darkseid's goal was to eliminate all free will from the universe, supplanting the Presence as its Supreme Being. To this end, he sought to unravel the mysterious Anti-Life Equation , which gives its user complete control over the thoughts and emotions of all living beings in the universe. Darkseid had tried on several other occasions to achieve dominance of
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#1732765926502648-436: A son, Kalibak . However, Heggra ordered Desaad to poison Suli out of the belief that she was corrupting her son. Following Suli's death, Darkseid's heart grew even colder and his disdain for his mother intensified when she forced him to marry a woman named Tigra, with whom he had another son, Orion . Seeking vengeance against Heggra for killing the one he loved, Darkseid ordered Desaad to poison her so he could finally become
702-663: Is controlled by Pariah and the Great Darkness. He is freed after Nightwing fends off the Great Darkness and returns to Apokolips. In DC All In , Darkseid bonds with the Spectre using the Miracle Machine before allowing himself to be killed in battle with the Justice League to become unbound from time and space. He travels to another universe and corrupts it with his influence, transforming it into
756-761: Is eventually defeated by the Legion and many of its allies. Seeing other deities as a threat, Darkseid invades Themyscira to discover the secret location of the Olympian deities, planning to overthrow the Olympians and steal their power. Refusing to aid Darkseid in his mad quest, the Amazons battled his Parademon troops, causing half of the Amazon population's death. Wonder Woman was able to gain her revenge against Darkseid for killing so many of her sisters by placing
810-433: Is pronounced "As if spelled 'dark side,' as in 'the dark side of man's nature'", noting that this was "how Kirby always pronounced it around me"; however, Evanier has also stated that "at least once, when some fan who pronounced it 'dark seed' was excitedly telling [Kirby] his theories about the character, [Kirby] went along with it, rather than correct the kid." Prince Uxas , the son of King Yuga Khan and Queen Heggra and
864-587: Is revealed that he and Highfather of New Genesis struck a deal allowing him the unchallenged right to invade Earth 2. In Darkseid #1, his background story was revealed. Formerly a farmer named Uxas, he hated the deities of his world. So he traveled up to their mountain while they slept and tricked them all into fighting each other. As they were all weakened from the war, he killed them one by one with his scythe (similar to Kronos of Greek mythology ) and stole their power, before destroying his world and creating Apokolips. In Justice League: The Darkseid War (after
918-617: The Absolute Universe . As a New God , Darkseid is nigh-immortal and possesses immense physical abilities. He can harness the Omega Effect to generate disintegrating energy beams capable of instantly killing or resurrecting others. Furthermore, Darkseid can teleport and possesses telepathy and telekinesis. Darkseid appears in the Injustice: Gods Among Us prequel comic. Darkseid appears in
972-512: The Legion of Super-Heroes . After using both scientific and magical methods to enhance his power, Darkseid transposes the planets Apokolips and Daxam—which places Daxam under a yellow sun and gives each of its inhabitants Kryptonian-like superpowers equal to those of Superman. Placing the Daxamites under his mental thrall, he uses them in a massive attempt to conquer the known universe. However, he
1026-575: The Prince of Darkness in Milton's Paradise Lost ) and various other chthonic figures or evil kings and sorcerers . The concept was developed throughout the nineteenth century with characters such as Richard Wagner 's Alberich or Bram Stoker 's Count Dracula , before crystalizing in 1954 with the character of Sauron in J. R. R. Tolkien 's epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings , from which
1080-594: The banality of evil . In part due to the literary popularity of dark lords in fiction, science fiction and fantasy fans have collected several satirical lists of resolutions for a competent evil overlord to avoid the well-known, cliché blunders committed by dark lords, supervillains , and other archetypal antagonists in popular fiction. For example, one such resolution is: "I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament to show my superiority. I will shoot them." Internet copies of these lists vary in number and order of entries. The most famous lists, both referred to as
1134-455: The "Avatar of Freedom", in his clutches so that he could eventually destroy the New Gods. As prophesied, Orion returns to Earth via boom tube for his final battle with Darkseid. During the massive fight, Orion ultimately kills him by ripping his heart out, which created a firepit of Apokolips from Darkseid's chest cavity (in reference to the prophecy of their final battle). As Darkseid dies,
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#17327659265021188-644: The Anti-Life Equation and being controlled by Darkseid. In his final effort, Darkseid's disembodied essence appears and tries to seize the Miracle Machine Superman has created; however, Superman uses counter-vibrations to destroy him. Furthermore, the last piece of Darkseid's plan fails when Batman escapes the Omega Sanction. Doctor Impossible later manipulates the Crime Syndicate of America into helping him resurrect Darkseid via
1242-611: The DC Universe, most notably the Kryptonian Superman . Darkseid worked behind the scenes, using superpowered minions in his schemes to overthrow Earth, including working through Intergang , a crime syndicate which employs Apokoliptian technology and later becomes a religious cult that worships Darkseid. One thousand years in the future, Darkseid has been absent for centuries and is almost completely forgotten. He returns and comes into conflict with that era's champions,
1296-499: The Earth with the unleashing of the Anti-Life Equation onto mankind. However, the rebirthing process is still far from complete as Dan Turpin's mind and soul, while corrupted by Darkseid's essence, still remains in firm control over his body. However, at the same moment Shilo Norman , the "Embodiment of Freedom" is shot by S.H.A.D.E. operatives, thus signalling the "Victory of Evil". Darkseid wins control over Turpin's body, now twisted in
1350-619: The Evil Overlord List, were developed concurrently. Both were published to the Web in the early 1990s. The original, if lesser-known list was compiled in 1990 by members of the now-defunct FidoNet Science Fiction and Fandom (SFFAN) email echo. The FidoNet list originated with a 1988 Saturday Night Live skit featuring Bond Villains touting a book What Not to Do When You Capture James Bond . The FidoNet list arose out of discussions regarding what sort of advice might be in that book, and
1404-601: The Evil Overlord's Accountant , and Starfleet captains. In Australia, a minor literary scandal erupted in 1997 when it emerged that award-winning author Helen Darville plagiarised the list for her regular column in Brisbane 's The Courier-Mail newspaper, which led to her being fired. Teresa Nielsen Hayden , author and lecturer, uses an expanded version of the list in her lectures on writing science fiction. She recommends selecting five random clichés from
1458-650: The Ghost Sector in an attempt to use their powers to conquer the Multiverse. Being successful with the team's entrapment, Darkseid reveals to Cyborg that a bond was established between them, when Cyborg merged with Darkseid's Mother Box . According to the prophecy, the alien worlds were hidden because of the Old Gods they worshipped. In Infinite Frontier , Darkseid is trapped in Earth-Omega following
1512-725: The Teen Titans and use them in his club fights. In Final Crisis , Darkseid has begun to take over Earth and corrupt the Multiverse with the aid of his herald Libra, a reborn supervillain and antichrist -like figure who soon converts much of the Secret Society of Super Villains to his cause with the aid of the Crime Bible and the Holy Lance . Darkseid is also joined by the souls of his fellow evil New Gods, who, like Darkseid, now possess either modified human bodies or
1566-584: The archetype most often takes its name. Later The Silmarillion would focus on the character of Morgoth , of whom Sauron was the principal lieutenant and then successor, while other works would further popularize and diversify the concept with antagonists such as Darkseid in the DC Universe , Emperor Palpatine in the science fantasy Star Wars saga, or Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series. More recent works sometimes also move away from
1620-495: The archetype's mythic origins in favour of historical allusions to infamous conquerors and dictators such as Julius Caesar or Adolf Hitler . Dark lord figures are characterized by aspirations to power and identification with some fundamental force of evil or chaos, such as a devil or antichrist figure. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy notes that common features of a dark lord character include being "already defeated but not destroyed aeons before" and engaging in "wounding of
1674-531: The best-known parodies of bad SF/F writing, frequently referenced online. It was originally The Top 100 Things I'd Do If I Ever Became an Evil Overlord , but grew to include over 100 entries. Anspach and Butler acknowledge the existence of each other's lists, and state that their two lists have been so cross-pollinated over the years as to become effectively identical. The Evil Overlord List has led to spin-offs, including lists for stock characters including (but not limited to) heroes , henchmen , sidekicks ,
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1728-477: The bodies of other superpowered beings, such as Mary Marvel . Darkseid also arranges for detective Dan Turpin to be lured into the Dark Side Club, where Turpin is turned into Darkseid's "final host", as his Boss Dark Side body has begun to mummify due to Darkseid's foul astral presence. With his legion of followers and allies aiding him as he undergoes his latest "rebirth", Darkseid successfully conquers
1782-574: The character first made a cameo appearance in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 (December 1970), before being fully introduced in Forever People #1 (February 1971). Formerly known as Uxas , Darkseid is a New God and the tyrannical ruler of the planet Apokolips . His ultimate goal is to find and gain control over the Anti-Life Equation to enslave the multiverse by eliminating all hope and free will in sentient beings. Regarded as one of
1836-544: The character's voice in media ranging from animation to video games. Darkseid was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby to serve as the chief antagonist of his " Fourth World " metaseries . The character was first seen briefly in a series of cameos that started in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 (December 1970), before making his first full appearance in Forever People #1 (February 1971). Kirby modeled Darkseid's face on actor Jack Palance and based his personality on Adolf Hitler and Richard Nixon . Though Darkseid
1890-580: The dampeners on her cage are temporarily disabled. In the New 52 continuity, there is only one set of New Gods across the 52 Multiverse. So as Darkseid invades Prime Earth in Justice League , he sends his lieutenant Steppenwolf to do the same, with greater success, on Earth 2 , resulting in the deaths of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, and stranding Helena Wayne and Kara Zor-L on Prime Earth. Five years later, Darkseid once again invades Earth 2, which never fully recovered from his armies' earlier assault, and it
1944-460: The fused Flash and his own powers, he kills Darkseid. With Darkseid dead, the universe is unbalanced as it has lost its God of Evil. Lex Luthor later fuses with the Omega Sanction, becoming the new ruler of Apokolips. After killing the Anti-Monitor using an Anti-Life Equation-powered Steve Trevor , Grail would later resurrect Darkseid through the newborn child of Superwoman . The child has
1998-519: The hands of Orion in a cataclysmic battle in the fiery Armaghetto of Apokolips. Likewise, Darkseid and his training minion, Granny Goodness , were unable to break Scott Free's spirit after a long, torturous upbringing and Free ultimately managed to escape Apokolips, taking with him the Female Fury Big Barda , as his wife. Free, now known as the superhero Mister Miracle, and Barda began living on Earth, and Darkseid used this "betrayal" as
2052-409: The invaders' Mother Boxes and Superman forces him through a boom tube. The incidents that occur in these issues make Darkseid the first foe the newly formed League faces as a team. The issue also reveals DeSaad and Steppenwolf, referring to Darkseid's daughter and their ceaseless search for her across countless worlds. Darkseid's daughter escapes containment in Justice League of America's Vibe #7 after
2106-481: The land" or other rituals of desecration . Japanese media often features an equivalent of this archetype called a "demon king" ( 魔王 , maō ) , drawing from analogous figures in religion and folklore. Philip Pullman noted that the dark lord archetype in literature can often reflect the belief "that evil in the real world is usually embodied in a single person and requires a high position to be effective" and that this contrasts with Hannah Arendt 's notion of
2160-495: The list, and using them, or their reverse ("Say you've drawn A-34, 'I will not turn into a snake. It never helps.' You can have a character turn into a snake and find it doesn't help, or do it and find it very useful indeed") as the basis for a plot. Darkseid Darkseid ( / ˈ d ɑːr k s aɪ d / ) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . Created by writer-artist Jack Kirby ,
2214-431: The most powerful beings in the DC Universe , Darkseid serves as one of Superman 's greatest adversaries and the archenemy of the Justice League . Darkseid has been adapted in various media incarnations, having made his live-action feature debut in the 2021 DC Extended Universe film Zack Snyder's Justice League , portrayed by Ray Porter . Michael Ironside , Andre Braugher , Tony Todd , and others have provided
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2268-565: The paradoxical nature of his actions: the bullet used to kill Orion is ultimately fired at him by Batman and is now poisoning him to death). Before Darkseid can use the Omega Effect to kill Superman, Barry Allen and Wally West lead the Black Racer to Darkseid and making contact with him frees Turpin from Darkseid's control. Wonder Woman (having been freed from possession by one of Darkseid's minions) then uses her lasso of truth to bind Darkseid's spirit form, effectively freeing humanity from
2322-465: The present. Darkseid is mortally wounded, but not before his Omega Sanction teleports Batman into prehistoric times. Remains believed to be Batman's (later revealed to be the last of the many Batman clones that Darkseid created) are found by Superman, who confronts Darkseid. As Darkseid mocks his old enemy for failing to defend Earth, it emerges that in Darkseid's fall through the multiverse, he created
2376-543: The restoration of the multiverse. He regained his original form by fusing with his alternate universe counterparts. Darkseid's former henchmen reunite with him on Earth-Omega and remain by his side as he gains a new follower named X-Tract, Cameron Chase 's Earth-Two counterpart. Darkseid battles the Justice League Incarnate, but is defeated by the Great Hand and sent to a mysterious place where he
2430-505: The retirement of the "New 52" imprint), Darkseid comes into conflict with the Anti-Monitor. Darkseid's daughter Grail leads the Anti-Monitor , who is revealed to be a scientist named Mobius, to Darkseid for the former to kill the latter. Mobius believes that with the death of Darkseid, he will be free from being the Anti-Monitor. After an intense battle, the Anti-Monitor fuses the Black Racer with Flash and sends it after Darkseid. Using
2484-539: The run up to Final Crisis . In The Flash vol. 2 #240, he led an army of fanatics, their will broken by the "spoken form" of the Anti-Life Equation , to kidnap the Tornado Twins. In Birds of Prey #118, he runs his Dark Side Club where superhumans fight to the death, brainwashed by drugs produced by Bernadeth . In Teen Titans #59, it was revealed that he had employed the Terror Titans to capture
2538-412: The same powers as his father Mazahs, with the ability to steal the powers of others. Stealing the new "God" abilities of the Justice League, Grail fuses them with the child and brings Darkseid back to life. However, he is under her complete control. Grail later attempts to redeem herself by seemingly killing Darkseid with the Anti-Life Equation. However, it is later revealed that she reincarnated him back as
2592-406: The second-in-line to the throne of Apokolips , plotted to seize control over the planet from his older brother, Drax . When Drax attempted to claim the fabled Omega Force, Uxas murdered him and claimed its power for himself. His skin turned to stone, and Uxas rechristened himself as Darkseid. At some point, he fell in love with an Apokoliptian scientist and sorceress named Suli, with whom he had
2646-464: The series, seen in a vision by Victor Stone after he is injured by an exploding Mother Box. In the final pages of Justice League #4, Darkseid himself appears. In Justice League #5, the League confronts him but they are overpowered by him, when he severely hurts Superman with his Omega Beams and breaks Green Lantern's arm. Finally, in Justice League #6, Darkseid is driven out when Cyborg activates
2700-491: The supreme monarch of Apokolips. Darkseid then tried to force Tigra to eliminate Orion, but the latter was ultimately traded with Highfather 's son, Scott Free , as part of a peace treaty between the warring planets of Apokolips and New Genesis . This trade eventually became a setback for Darkseid, with Orion growing up to value and defend the ideals of New Genesis as a powerful champion in opposition to his father. The prophecy foretold that Darkseid would meet his final defeat at
2754-505: The title Dark One . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dark_One&oldid=1258059822 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Dark Lord The term and similar concepts enjoy widespread popularity as
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#17327659265022808-485: The universe through other methods, most notably through his minion Glorious Godfrey , who could control people's minds with his voice. He had a special interest in Earth, as he believed humans possess collectively within their minds most, if not all, fragments of the Anti-Life Equation. Darkseid intended to probe the minds of every human to piece together the Equation. This has caused him to clash with many superheroes of
2862-437: Was compiled and published by Jack Butler. It predated the following list, but was only widely published later, and is the more obscure of the two. The later-produced and more famous version of the list was compiled in 1994 by Peter Anspach (hence it is occasionally titled "Peter's Evil Overlord List") based on informal discussions at conventions and on online bulletin boards in the early 1990s, and has subsequently become one of
2916-553: Was originally conceived as the primary villain for the New Gods , he would eventually be established as an archenemy of Superman and the Justice League. Darkseid has had a large influence in pop culture and other comics; most notably, Kirby's creation is credited as the inspiration for Marvel Comics ' high-profile villain Thanos by his creators. Mark Evanier , who spent several years as Kirby's assistant, has stated that 'Darkseid'
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