Characters in the New Gods Comics

The following article provides an overview of the characters in the DC Comics series about The New Gods by Jack Kirby , who have been around since the 1970s a. a. in the comic series Forever People , Jack Kirby's Fourth World , Mister Miracle , The New Gods and Orion and set in the DC Universe .

Locations of the “Fourth World” mythology

The characters of New Gods mythology inhabit two completely different planets: The "good" gods around the wise Highfather inhabit the paradisiacal planet New Genesis, while the "bad" gods around the despotic Darkseid dwell in the gloomy world of Apokolips. The names of both planets are borrowed from the Bible: While New Genesis, which is modeled on the Garden of Eden , takes its name from the 1st Book of Moses (the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament ), Apokolips bears its name based on Revelation of John (also Apocalypse of John , the last book of the New Testament ). Significantly, these books deal with the creation of the earth in the context of creation or its destruction on the occasion of the Apocalypse .

Although the two planets are fundamentally different, in the New Gods stories they are traditionally traced back to a common planet of origin - Genesis - which, according to the stories, became in the course of the war of the ancestors of the "new gods", the so-called "old gods" , has split into two different planets: one that combines the good qualities of the old planet and one in which the bad ones are concentrated. Since then, both planets have been in constant conflict with each other - with interruptions - and fight regularly, with neither side being able to gain the upper hand permanently.

Apokolips

Apokolips is the home of the "dark gods" around their leader Darkseid, who rules the planet.

The planet is usually portrayed as an oppressive and ominous place whose people - the so-called "hunger dogs" - live in constant oppression. According to some stories, the original planet has already died. Darkseid is said to have sucked out the "life energy" from him by technical means and then caused the dead planetary mass to penetrate with a metallic framework and a casing with metallic floor plates to hold the planet together. Accordingly, Apokolips usually appears as a gigantic metal ball in pictures that show the planet in its entirety from a space perspective.

In depicting the life of Darkseid and his subordinates as well as the oppressed hunger dogs, Jack Kirby - like all later artists - oriented himself on the ideas of Christian visual art of hell and on the representations of the inhumane working world of the industrial workers in the factories of the 19th and 20th centuries early 20th century in painting and photography. Recurring visual features of the planet are accordingly flame-blazing abysses in the ground ("fire pits"), cities that are characterized by disturbing, gray colossi of buildings and street canyons, and underground catacombs.

The population consists of three groups:

1. the hunger dogs that make up the bulk of the working population,
2. a people of humanoid insects and
3. the parademons, hybrid creatures made up of demons and robots who serve Darkseid as law enforcement officers and warriors.

Darkseid is also the monarch of the planet, high priest of the cult of gods on Apokolips and the object of glorification as the “highest being”.

New Genesis

The planet New Genesis is the home of the “bright gods” around the Highfather. It is first introduced in New Gods # 1 (US) from 1970. The planet was represented by Jack Kirby - and since then by all his successors - as a huge, planet-sized Garden of Eden that has remained untouched by the consequences of human settlement (development, road network, environmental destruction, etc.). To protect the planet's surface from the “blemishes” of civilization, its inhabitants, the “gods” of New Genesis around the wise Highfather, live in a flying city called Supertown that hovers a few hundred meters in the sky above the planet's surface.

The population of New Genesis is divided into a two-class society:

• a group of human-like-looking beings with almost immeasurable power who consider themselves gods, and
• the "bugs" ("beetles") an insect-descended race of humanoid beetles that live in the crust of the planet in underground structures.

The inhabitants of New Genesis are giants several meters high compared to the inhabitants of other planets. In order to still be able to get in contact with the inhabitants of other planets, they use the so-called boom tubes , special star gates with which they can travel from one place in the universe to any other and when passing through the size proportions of the respective Planets are customized; when a resident of New Genesis moves to another planet, they are shrunk; when residents of other planets come to New Genesis, they are enlarged. Deep inside New Genesis is the cave labyrinth "Necropolis" in which the last survivors, the "old gods" have found their home and are hiding from other living beings. So far, Sirius is the only one of the old gods to appear.

Characters in the New Gods Comics

Gods of New Genesis

Avia

Avia was the wife of Izaya the first highfather, the wise ruler over the gods of New Genesis and mother of the god Scott Free (Mister Miracle). Avia and Izaya's marriage was happy, but ended early when Avia was killed by the Steppenwolf warrior during an invasion of New Genesis by the gods of Apkokolips when she sacrificed herself to save her husband, whom Steppenwolf was actually after. Izaya avenged her death by slaying Steppenwolf and thus thwarted the invasion.

Beautiful dreamer

Beautiful Dreamer is a member of the Forever People, a group of young adventurers who live on New Genesis. She has psionic powers with which she can create illusions. In the original version of New Gods, Beautiful Dreamer had a relationship with Mark Moonrider, in the modern version of the material she was married to Big Bear, with whom she has a daughter named Maya. Most recently Dreamer had a relationship with the god Takion.

Big Barda

Big Barda (also Barda Free) is the wife of Scott Free (Mister Miracle). Barda - an Amazon-like, tall warrior who mostly wears heavy armor - was originally a resident of Apokolips, where she led the "Female Furies", an elite unit of the Apokolips armed forces that consists only of women. Barda made his debut in Mister Miracle # 4 (US) from October 1971. After she became the son of Scott Free, the son of the ruler of New Genesis, Izaya, who was exchanged as an infant for Darkseid's son Orion in order to confirm a peace treaty between the two planets and as Captive Darkseids grew up in love with Apokolips, Barda helped him escape from the planet and flee to Earth. She later followed him and they both married. Big Barda is the reverse of the traditional female role cliché in comics: In contrast to her clever and shrewd, physically but only moderately strong man, Barda has tremendous physical strength that she often uses to protect Scott Free and thus reverse the traditional distribution of roles. It also has a futuristic weapon called " Mega rod ", a kind of fighting club. Visually, Barda is based on a pose by athlete Lainie Kazan in the men's magazine Playboy .

Barda appeared in the animated series Batman Beyond and Justice League Unlimited (US dubbing voice: Farrah Forke ).

Big bear

Big Bear is a gigantic, sturdy, strong young god who belongs to the Forever People, a group of adventurous young gods. Big Bear also has the ability to mentally change the density of objects.

Forager

Forager was a humanoid insect creature that lived on New Genesis. He made his debut in New Gods # 9 (US) from August 1972. Forager had tremendous physical strength and the ability, like an insect, to make giant leaps in relation to his body size (several meters high and wide). He belonged to a people of human-like insects who live in underground structures under the surface of Apokolips and are ruled by a ruler named "Queen Widow". In the original "New Gods" series he was one of the most important allies of the New Gods in the fight against the powers of Apokolips, where he was often held against prejudice by the "gods" due to his insect ancestry. In the miniseries Cosmic Odyssey , he died fighting Darkseid. Later came a new character, with a similar appearance and the same skills, who also took the name of the "fallen hero" in his place. Forager appeared in the cartoon series "Justice League" (US dubbing voice: Corey Burton ), in which he supported the heroes of this series in the fight against the evil alien Brainiac.

Forever People

The Forever People (meaning "eternity people") are a group of young gods who live on the utopian planet New Genesis and experience all kinds of fantastic adventures there and on the dystopian neighboring planet Apokolips. The group - a kind of clique of young hippies with futuristic technology - consists of Beautiful Dreamer , Big Bear , Mark Moonrider , Serifan and Vykin . The characters debuted in Forever People # 1 (US), the first issue of their own series in February 1971, which totaled 11 issues. In the 1980s a second (mini) series was published, which had six issues. The series dealt with the old theme of a youth group trying to find their place in society - only shifting the subject from an urban to a sci-fi context. In their adventures, the Forever People often encounter henchmen from Darkseid, the evil ruler of Apokolips, against whom they face off with their own superhuman super abilities and elaborate technology (most importantly a flying oversized motorcycle called the Super Mobile ) from New Fending off Genesis. When they meet particularly powerful opponents, the Forever People can band together and conjure up the hero Infinity-Man from another dimension by shouting out the magic word "Taruu" in order to defeat their opponents: For the duration of Infinity-Man's presence in the Forever People dimension, they are going crazy in dimension on a planet called Adon. When Infinity-Man is done , he will take his place on Adon again as the Forever People return to their world and dimension.

Highfather

Highfather ("Holy Father, Grandfather") is the ruler of New Genesis. Strictly speaking, Highfather is not a name, but the title of the current ruler of New Genesis. Within the "New Gods" mythology, however, the name Highfather is used almost exclusively to refer to Izaya, the man who holds this position in most of the "Fourth World" stories. Since the "Genesis" storyline from 1997 - in which Izaya was slain by the Greek god Ares - the young god Takion has taken the position and the title of Highfather. Since Takion is presented in its own section, Izaya will be used here when speaking of Highfather:

Izaya (phonetically based on the Old Testament prophet Isaiah) was a mild, wise old man with a biblical appearance: he wore venerable robes and a long, white, woolly beard and a long staff. He made his debut in New Gods # 1 (US). He was gifted with the "source" to communicate the essence of all power in the universe. In addition, he was able to communicate telepathically with other beings and create energy projections. In the Fourth World, Izaya is the traditional antagonist of Darkseid, the sinister ruler of Apokolips.

Izaya's wife Avia was murdered by Darkseid - who made it appear as if his uncle Steppenwolf had committed the murder. Izaya retaliated for this bloody act by slaying Steppenwolf and thus unleashed a war between New Genesis and Apokolips, which was only settled when he and Darkseid agreed to exchange their sons Scott Free and Orion to confirm their will for peace: During Izaya's son after Apokolips was given, he took on Darkseid's offspring Orion, whom he raised in place of his son. He finally managed to tame the wild Orion and turn it into a fighter for the cause of the gods of New Genesis. During his reign he often entered into mental dialogue with the source in order to get advice and assistance from the elemental force of all things - as which he regards the source - and thus to rule in the best possible way. After Izaya's death he was raptured into immortality as a member of a group called "Quintessence": Together with the magician Shazam , the guardian Ganthet , the father of the gods Zeus and the phantom Stranger , he has since watched over the fate of the universe as an observer from the afterlife.

Izaya had several appearances in the animated series "Superman: The Animated Series" and "Justice League" (US dubbing voice: Mitchell Ryan ).

Infinity Man

Infinity-Man is one of the most powerful gods from New Genesis. He made his debut in Forever People # 1 (US) from 1971. Infinity-Man has almost limitless strength and endurance, the ability to fly, invulnerability, phasing, magnetokinesis, and the ability to fire the so-called infinity beams and manipulate matter . Originally "Infinity Man" was the battle name of the warrior Astorr who came from an unnamed distant planet within the universe of the "Fourth World". When Astorr came to New Genesis in old age while on a trip, he met the seriously wounded Drax, Darkseid's older brother, while hiking in the wilderness. He was lured into a trap by his brother and his henchman Desaad and was badly burned while trying to defeat the magical power of the omega rays and make it his own. Astorr took care of the wounded man and nursed him back to health. When he was dying himself, Astorr surrendered the mysterious power to transform into Infinity Man to Drax. It took him years to learn to control his new skills. He then joined the gods of New Genesis around Highfather (Izaya). He also became the mentor and protector of the Forever People, a group of young gods living on New Genesis. Darkseid the Infinity-Man recognized as a danger finally moved him to another dimension in which he lives on a planet called Adon . Infinity-Man can only leave this dimension if the Forever People (mostly in dire straits) join their hands and all shout out the magic word “ Taaru ” to conjure him up from his dimension. A kind of exchange process always takes place: Infinity-Man is placed in the dimension of the New Gods while the Forever People are placed after Adon. When Infinity-Man has finished his task, he gives back the power that put him in the "Fourth World", whereupon he is transported back to Adon and the Forever People of Adon in the "Fourth World". The concept of collective evocation was later adapted in the animated series Captain Planet , among others , in which a group of young people, the “Planet Team”, call the title hero into their reality in a similar way in order to put an end to environmental offenders.

Izayah

Izayah was the original name of the first high father .

Jezebelle

Jezebelle is a former student of the evil goddess Granny Goodness who runs the Apokolips orphanage. During an attack by the gods of Apokolips on New Genesis, Jezebelle - who always refused to kill - deserted and defected to the gods of New Genesis, who accepted her into her community. She made her debut in New Gods # 12 (US) from July 1977 (Writer: Gerry Conway, Illustrator: Don Newton) and possessed the ability to fly and send rays from her eyes. The character appeared almost exclusively in a few adventures from 1977–1978 and has only been seen in cameos since then. This makes her one of the least established figures in the “New Gods” mythology.

Lightray

Lightray ("ray of light") is a young god of New Genesis and the best friend of the grim hero Orion, one of the main characters of the New Gods. Lightray, who is also called Sollis, made his debut in New Gods # 1 (US) from February 1971. He is an always cheerful young god with a "sunny" optimistic disposition who, unlike the aggressive Orion, prefers to resolve his conflicts through negotiation. It owes its name to a "radiant" character, as well as its energetic powers, which enable it to fly like a ray of light and to fire shimmering energy rays (lasers, holograms, heat) out of its body and, as the name suggests, can quickly like move the light. It seems to be modeled in parts on the god Apollo in Greek mythology.

Lightray had appearances in the cartoon series "Superman: The Animated Series" and "Justice League Unlimited" in which he was dubbed in the US original by Rob Paulsen .

Mark Moonrider

Mark Moonrider is a young god who belongs to the Forever People group of which he is the leader. He has three children with his wife Mina: Merry, Wendy and Starbright. He can shoot bolts of energy out of his hands with his megaton Touch.

Mister Miracle

Mister Miracle , aka Scott Free, is one of the central characters in the “Fourth World” mythology. He is the son of Izaya, who rules the planet New Genesis as a highfather. In order to seal a peace treaty with New Genesis' belligerent neighboring planet Apokolips, Scott Free was exchanged as an infant for Orion, the son of Darkseid, the ruler of Apokolips, as a bargaining chip for the maintenance of the peace and was afterwards raised on Apokolips. He made his debut in the April 1971 comic book Mister Miracle # 1 (US), the first issue of his own series. Free's personality is based on the author Jim Steranko , who is friends with Kirby , who worked as an escape artist before his writing career, while his relationship with his wife Big Barda is modeled on that of his inventor Jack Kirby to his wife. The name Scott Free is in turn an allusion to the English phrase " to get away scott free " which means something like "get away with something unscathed" (like Free with his escape from Apokolips).

On Apokolips, Free was raised in the orphanage of the sadistic Granny Goodness, a servant of Darkseid, who tried in vain to brutalize the peaceful boy. The older Free became, the more he rebelled against the totalitarian ideology and the cult of death and violence that was practiced on Apokolips. With the help of the resistance fighter Himon and Big Barda, a student of Granny Goodness who had fallen in love with him, he finally managed to escape from Apokolips and escape to earth. Darkseid used this - foreseen by him - act as a pretext to resume the hostilities against New Genesis.

On earth, Free got hired at a wandering fair, where he met the escape artist Thaddeus Brown , who, under the stage name Mister Miracle, cast a spell over the audience of the fair with new and amazing activities. Mister Miracle was a magician costumed in happy circus colors of red, yellow and green with a face mask and a splendid cloak, who, following the example of Harry Houdini, freed himself from seemingly hopeless situations with amazing tricks. He became Brown's student, from whom he learned the craft of escape artist, in which he quickly matured to perfect perfection due to his natural talent in this area. After Brown was murdered by a man named Steel Hand, Free Brown took over as the fair's escape artist and the identity of Mister Miracle. Together with Brown's friend and assistant, the smart dwarf Oberon, and his protégé Shilo Norman, he finally founded his own “One Man Show”. In addition to his natural talent as an escape artist, Free came across the superior extraterrestrial technology that Apokolips brought with him in his appearances.

In addition to his career as a fairground artist, Mister Miracle had to constantly deal with Darkseid's minions, such as Beating around Doctor Bedlam, Kalibak, and the Female Furies who were assigned to bring him back to Apokolips. With the help of Big Barda - who had also escaped from Apokolips and resumed her relationship with him - he finally managed to get Darkseid to stop his stalking by proving himself in battle against a servant of Darkseid on Apokolips. Together with Barda and Oberon, Free finally moved to the suburbs of New York in order to live a peaceful life as a private person ( Mister Miracle US, Volume 2, 1987–1990). He later found out about his origins in New Genesis and moved to there.

Mister Miracle appeared in the cartoon series " Superman: The Animated Series " and " Justice League " and " Justice League Unlimited " (US dubbing voices: Ioan Gruffudd and Zack Shada, respectively ).

Orion

Orion is one of the central figures of the "New Gods" mythology. He made his debut in New Gods # 1 (US) from February 1971. Orion is the son of Darkseid, the ruler of Apokolips and his second wife, Tigra. His brothers are Kalibak and Grayven.

Orion appeared in the animated series " Superman: The Animated Series " and " Justice League Unlimited ", in which he assisted Superman and the Justice League in their arguments with Darkseid (US dubbing voices: Steve Sandor and Ron Perlman, respectively ).

Serifan

Serifan (a suitcase word from English serial fan "Fan von Kinoserials" [allusion to Serifan's tendency to dress up like the cowboys from the American Western Serials]) is the youngest god of the group of Forever People, a clique of young gods who live on New Genesis lives and experiences all kinds of adventures together. Serifan dresses like a cowboy of the American Wild West, he has no superhuman skills, but special pistols that look like Wild West Colts with which he can fire "cosmic cartridges" (!) With which he can, among other things, anti-gravity fields can generate or build up force fields.

Vykin

Vykin (Vykin the Black) is a young god of the forever People group, a clique of adventurous young gods who live on New Genesis. Vykin was the first black-skinned superhero to appear in an American comic. Vykin's mother is the goddess Valkyra. Vykin has magnetic powers that enable him to attract or repel objects made of metal or steel.

Takion

Takion , aka Joshua Saunders, is the "embodiment of the source", a cosmic power in the "New Gods" mythology that bundles the essence and power of the universe in itself. After Izaya's death, Takion succeeded him in the position of high father, the ruler of the planet New Genesis, on which the "peaceful half" of the New Gods live. He made his debut in Takion # 1 (US) from June 1996 (author: Paul Kupperberg, illustrator: Aaron Lopresti). The series named after him ran for seven issues in 1996. Takion's appearance, powers, and personality and purpose are very similar to those of the comic book character Silver Surfer , whose adventures are published by Marvel Comics.

Josh Saunders was a blind psychologist who was chosen by the highfather to serve as a "Source Elemental". In this capacity he has the ability to manipulate the source. Originally, Highfather claimed that he chose Saunders to ensure the purity of the source from outside influences. As it turned out later, this had been a white lie to disguise Saunder's actual task, namely to serve as Izaya's successor in the event that he should be killed. After Highfather had given him the ability to latch onto the source and to let its power flow directly into him and to use it, Saunders, whom Highfather had given the name Takion, went into space to practice the use of his new abilities without for others become a danger. Takion's archenemy at this early stage in his existence was a woman named Stayne , an agent Darkseid sent to thwart Takion's mission. After this "learning phase" he was accepted into the circle of the gods of New Genesis and after Izaya's murder by the god of war Ares was chosen as the new highfather.

He has the ability to rule the bodies of other living beings, read their minds and foresee their future by reading their consciousness and the stream of time simultaneously. He can fly and survive in space, dissolving his body into parts. Living embodiment of the source, carries the spirit of the Highfathers in itself, link between source and New Gods; Restructuring and rearranging matter by rearranging subatomic particles; teleport, make intangible; Channel and apply energy (shoot out bursts of energy); can change subjective time and create energy fields.

Gods of Apokolips

Amazing grace

Amazing Grace is a member of the "elite", the bodyguard of the god Darkseid, the despotic ruler of Apokolips. She made her debut in Superman # 3 (Vol. 2, US) in March 1987 (Writer and illustrator: John Byrne). Amazing Grace is named after a famous English church choir of the same name ( Amazing Grace ) and is strikingly similar to the magician Circe from Greek mythology. She is the sister of the god Glorious Godfrey and, like him, has the gift of influencing the minds of other people just by talking on her behalf, i.e. H. to manipulate. In the first story about Amazing Grace, she lured the earthly hero Superman into a trap on behalf of Darkseid, erased his memory, seduced him and at times convinced the "man of steel" that he was Darkseid's son and had to serve him. After Superman regained his memories fighting Orion, he turned against Darkseid, who sent him back to Earth. Darkseid also later resorted to the manipulative abilities of Amazing Grace in various other stories, which regardless of their subsequent insertion into the “Fourth World” mythology within the Superman series (which actually only marginally with the “New Gods” has to do) has become an integral part of the "New God" material.

Artemiz

Artemiz (Artemis) is a member of Darkseid's elite group, the "Female Furies". She made her debut in Suicide Squad # 35 (US) from 1989 (Author: John Ostrander). Artemiz acts like a kind of high-tech amazon: She uses an old-fashioned bow with which she can shoot arrows, can read tracks like a hunter and commands a pack of three cybernetic wolves named Unus , Secondus and Tertius . Artemiz was accepted into the Furies team by Granny Goodness after Lashina apparently died on a mission to Earth. In the team she was generally welcomed and got along well with all members - with the exception of Stompa, with whom she was constantly in dispute. After Lashina's return to the team, Artemiz became a reserve member.

Bernadeth

Bernadeth is the sister of the god Desaad, as well as the right hand man of Granny Goodness and leader of Darkseid's elite group "The Female Furies". Bernadeth, who is considered the most intelligent of all the furies, made her debut in Mister Miracle # 6 (US) from February 1972. In character, the externally repulsive Bernadeth resembles her brother Desaad beyond measure: like him she is cruel, treacherous and faithless. Bernadeth was one of the first women to join Darkseid's elite group "The Female Furies": After Bernadeth - who hated to be subordinate to others - had to serve two other "Furies" there for a few years under the command of Big Barda and later Lashinas after Barda's escape to earth and Lashina's "disappearance" during a mission (for which Bernadeth was responsible for abandoning Lashina in an emergency) she was finally appointed leader of the Female Furies herself. When Lashina returned to Apokolips to take revenge for Bernadeth's betrayal, she killed them in a duel, for which Darkseid killed them in turn: Darkseid first brought Bernadeth back to life and later Lashina, who from then on had to lead the Furies together. In the past, Bernadeth - trying to avoid the physical confrontation despite considerable fighting strength and preferring to stay in the background - had to deal with such heroes as Superman, the Sovereign Seven, Supergirl , the Young Justice and Wonder Woman. As a special weapon, it has the so-called driving knife with which it can cut people open from the inside out. Bernadeth was last seen - after the alleged destruction of Apokolips - working as a prostitute in a brothel on earth operated by Granny Goodness. Bernadeth made an appearance in the cartoon series Justice League Unlimited.

Bloody Mary

Bloody Mary is a member of the "Female Furies", an elite group that is in the service of Darkseid, the ruling god on Apokolips. She made her debut in Hawk and Dove # 21 (US; writers and illustrators: Karl and Barbara Kesel). Bloody Mary, who, as her name suggests, has the ability to suck blood from other living beings through a vampire bite, belongs to the second generation of Female Furies, a kind of junior group from which future Furies will be recruited. In addition to her vampire skills, she has the gift of firing rays from her eyes with which she can move objects and people telekinetically, as well as mind-controlled metal disks that she straps under her feet and with whose help she can fly. Bloody Mary's most obvious trait is her aggression against anyone she touches - an act that punishes her with death. Bloody Mary last appeared in the series "Sovereign Seven" in the 1990s and has not been used as part of the "Fourth World" mythology since then.

Brimstone

Brimstone ("pumice stone") is an artificial being created by Darkseid as the "machine of destruction" in issue # 1 of the US miniseries Legends (author and illustrator: John Byrne) from 1986 and sent to earth. There Brimstone was supposed to cause unrest and destruction, the things that Darkseid delights in most. Brimstone is a skyscraper-sized giant, constantly on fire, with dragon-like features and almost immeasurable physical strength. The first incarnation of Brimstone brought Darkseid to life by giving a nuclear reactor so-called techno seeds (intelligent futuristic technology from the planet Apokolips that grows plant-like) and thus creating a being from living plasma, which the reactor "hatched" until it was full fully grown, rose. Brimstone began a tireless campaign of destruction on earth that took him across half the American continent, causing enormous property damage and death. He constantly proclaimed that he was a “fallen angel”, sent by an “angry God” who would bring mankind the “bill for their sins”. The flaming giant was finally destroyed by a special unit in the service of the American government, the Suicide Squad, when the sniper Deadshot, a member of the squad, was able to break through the Brimstones' actually "impenetrable" skin with a special weapon, the energy core that the giant held together, destroyed.

Another incarnation of Brimstone later competed against the superheroes Superboy and The Ray and even later against the Martian hero Martian Manhunter .

A Brimstone-inspired, albeit nameless, creature appeared in the episode "Initiation" of the cartoon series "Justice League Unlimtied". In this episode, Brimstone is created by a sect state modeled on North Korea, goes on a rampage through the USA until it can finally be destroyed by the Justice League.

Darkseid

Darkseid is the ruler of Apokolips. He gave himself the descriptive name ("Darkseid" sounds like dark side , "dark side"). His original name, before he murdered his brother Drax, seized the Omega power and ascended the throne, was Uxas. Darkseid made his debut in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen # 134 (US) from November 1970. He is finally killed in a duel by the demon Neron. His death never lasts long and so Darkseid kept coming back from death.

He appeared in several episodes of the 1970s animated series The Super Friends . There he tried variously to get the heroine Wonder Woman to marry him (US dubbing voice: Frank Welker ). In the 1990s, Darkseid appeared in the animated series Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited . There he appears (US dubbing voice: Michael Ironside ) initially as an ominous villain in the background who pulls "the strings" behind the deeds of various other, smaller villains (Bruno Mannheim, Kalibak, etc.) who work on his behalf and with him Trade the equipment provided. In later episodes of the series he becomes the main antagonist of Superman and the Justice League. He once undertook a direct attack on Earth with an invasion fleet and was only stopped by the intervention of New Genesis' troops . Since he could not conquer the earth, Darkseid tried to destroy the earth with the help of Granny Goodness (and her Furies) using a guided asteroid, only through the intervention of Supermans and Supergirls this could be prevented. Darkseid inflicts a severe blow on his opponent when he killed the policeman Dan Turpin - a recurring supporting character in the Superman series - with his omega look. Darkseid also brainwashed Superman into believing he was his son. In Justice League Unlimited , Lex Luthor finally gives him the coveted anti-life equation that, when he touches it, makes him and Luthor disappear.

In the Justice League Heroes video game , Darkseid is the main antagonist.

Deep Six

The Deep Six are a group of underwater creatures that serve Darkseid. They are hybrids of humans, fish and marine iguanas that live in the murky canals of Apokolips. The Deep Six debuted in New Gods # 2 (US) from April – May 1971. All members of the group can breathe underwater and have superhuman physical strength. The group consists of Gole , Jaffar , Kurin , Shaligo , Slig and Trok . On Darkseid's behalf, the Deep Six regularly compete against the New Gods or earthly heroes to cause suffering and unrest. In the past they have dealt with Orion and Aquaman, among others. The Deep Six were killed on various occasions - but since they are ultimately immortal as gods, Darkseid has been able to revive them again and again.

Gole wears a helmet that hides his entire face and prefers bladed weapons. Jaffar wears a green armored suit without a helmet. Like Slig, who wears blue armor, he can mutate other beings by simply touching them. Kurin wears a kind of trident and gold armor. Shaligo the Flying Fingback is different from his companions, green-skinned and blond, he has wing-like fins that enable him to fly. Trok wears a copper-colored helmet and an ax.

Desaad

Desaad (also Doctor Dezard) is Darkseid's sadistic assistant. Its name is based on the name of the Marquis de Sade , after whom the word sadism is named. Desaad is a scheming, treacherous, cruel and cowardly, outwardly extremely repulsive man who wraps himself in an oriental-looking robe (a kind of cowl) that hides his whole body except for his face. Desaad secretly seeks to overthrow the Darkseid, who is constantly flattered by him, and to take his place as ruler of Apokolips. Desaad made his debut in Forever People # 2 (US) in May 1971. He has no superhuman abilities - apart from his immortality and his extraordinarily large but treacherous intelligence.

Originally Desaad was a resident of New Genesis and was considered "the purest soul" on this planet. After his character was corrupted in an unexplained way, he switched sides and joined the gods of Apokolips. There he put his skills as an inventor of weapons and torture devices, as a consultant and torturer in the service of the ruler. Desaad helped the apocalyptic prince Uxas with the murder of his brother Drax - whose death made Uxas a pretender to the throne - and the taming of the so-called Omega Force which made Uxas Darkseid. On Uxa's instructions, he also killed his mother Heggra, whose meal he poisoned so that Uxas could ascend the throne.

As Darkseid's most important helper, Desaad was involved in countless plans to conquer New Genesis and Earth. In addition, the wicked Desaad was involved in many actions even without Darkseid's participation: He regularly supplies the criminal gang Intergang - whose leaders Morgan Edge and Bruno Mannheim are his personal protégés - which operate in the American city of Metropolis, with apocalyptic weapon technology to support themselves to delight the suffering that this technology brings upon the residents of Metropolis. This often brought Desaad into conflict with Superman. He has also dealt with such heroes as Green Lantern and Wonder Woman. Desaad's most important allies besides Darkseid are Darkseid's son Kalibak and his assistant Justeen (named after "Justin" a book de Sades). His main enemies on Apokolips are Granny Goodness and Virmin Vunderbarr with whom he secretly argues about the successor to Darkseid. On several occasions when Darkseid was believed dead, the three of them were engaged in civil war in the struggle for power.

Desaad has appeared in various cartoon series such as "The Superfriends" (US dubbing voice: René Auberjonois ), "Superman: The Animated Series" (voice: Robert Morse ) and "Justice League Unlimited".

Devilance

Devilance the Pursuer is the body hunter of Darkseid, the ruling god of Apokolips. Devilance, who calls himself the "God of Persecution", is primarily entrusted with the task of tracking down refugees from Apokolips and bringing them back to the planet. He made his debut in Forever People # 11 (US) in August 1972. Devilance has superhuman physical strength and stamina, as well as the ability to change his own body density at will. He is also an excellent tracker. As a weapon he uses a pike that is capable of firing energy beams. His prey in the past included the Forever People and the Infinity Man, as well as the space traveler Adam Strange and the Amazon Starfire. Devilance was eventually killed in an argument with the bounty hunter Lobo from the planet Czernia, who beheaded him.

Doctor Bedlam

Doctor Bedlam (also Baron Bedlam) ("Doctor Catastrophe") is a servant of Darkseid. He made his debut in Mister Miracle # 2 (US) from May – June 1971 and has since remained one of the recurring enemies in the various series in this series. Bedlam originally had a physical body that was later - in an unexplained way - transformed into living psionic energy, so that it is now immortal and invulnerable. To get physical he sometimes resorts to androids , into which he can transfer his mind through sheer willpower - if these androids are destroyed he can transfer his consciousness to another. Its name is derived from the Bethlem Royal Hospital, a mental hospital for the mentally ill that Bedlam operated temporarily on earth. After the apparent destruction of Apokolips in the first "New Gods" series, Doctor Bedlam came to earth, where he competed as an escape artist (under the name Baron Bedlam ) with Mister Miracle and thus laid the foundation for their hostility. Afterwards he worked primarily as a doctor, in this capacity he mainly administered pills to his patients that drove them crazy and thus made them his docile tools.

Female Furies

The Female Furies are an elite unit of the Apokolips army, made up exclusively of female warriors. As a group, the Furies debuted in their core line-up (Lashina, Mad Harriet, Bernadeth and Stompa) Mister Miracle # 6 (US) from February 1972. Further Furies were introduced later.

The Furies consist of two formations: a senior formation made up of "veteran" women and a junior group. The senior group traditionally includes the Furies Bernadeth, Lashina, Mad Harriet and Stompa. A former member of the group is the goddess Big Barda of New Genesis, who eventually left the Furies to flee to New Genesis. At times members of the senior group were also Wunda, Knockout and Aremiz. The junior formation mostly includes the Furies Bloody Mary, Gilotina, Malice Vundabarr and Speed ​​Queen. The trainer and commander of the Furies is the malicious orphanage director Granny Goodness, who is also responsible for the recruitment and training of the Furies: In their field operations, however, the group is led by a "fighting fury" - in the past this was mostly Lashina, sometimes also Bernadeth and briefly Gilotina.

The Furies appeared in various episodes of the animated series Superman: The Animated Series , Justice League and Justice League Unlimited , in which they fought against Superman and the Justice League and were also embroiled in a civil war on Apokolips.

Gilotina

Gilotina is a former member of Darkseid's elite female troupe, the Female Furies. She made her debut in Mister Miracle # 8 (US) from 1972. In the original version of the "New Gods" Gilotina was a member of the first formation of the Female Furies, in newer versions of the material she became a kind of "junior group" of the Furies with Bloody Mary , Speed ​​Queen and Malice Vundabarr included. The outwardly lovely Gilotina owes its name to its ability to punch through almost any material with its bare hands (like the guillotine of the French Revolution). After a trip to earth and meeting the attractive scientist Tommy Thompkins - with whom she fell in love - Gilotina temporarily broke away from the Female Furies and joined the so-called "Project Cadmus", a research institute of the American government which is involved the study and research of extraterrestrial genetic material. She later returned to Apokolips and became the new leader of the Female Furies.

Glorious Godfrey

Glorious Godfrey is a servant of Darkseid, the despotic ruler of Apocolipse and belongs to the "Elite", a selection of Darkseid's most important domestics. He has the gift of being able to convince gods and people of the correctness of what he says by means of his words. Gordon Godfrey made his debut in Forever People # 3 (US) from 1971. His sister is the goddess Amazing Grace, who commands similar powers: while Godfrey is devoted to conviction, Grace is concerned with manipulation.

Originally, Godfrey was a relatively insignificant character in the "Four World" mythology (he only made three appearances between 1971 and 1986): This changed with the 1986 miniseries Legends in which he was the main villain in a Darkseid plan Incite people against earthly heroes like Superman. To this end, Godfrey began as a populist politician Gordon G. Godfrey (an allusion to the cartoon character J. Jonah Jameson and the Watergate burglar G. Gordon Liddy ) to stage a smear campaign against the heroes by "opening the eyes" to the public to show her that the heroes are more of a danger than a help and that they therefore have to "go". The aim was to divide humanity and its defenders in preparation for an invasion of Earth by Apokolips, which would be all the easier without the heroes. Godfrey's plan ultimately failed: he was defeated, sent to Belle Reve Prison, and from there freed by Darkseid's servants, the Female Furies.

Glorious Godfrey appeared in the cartoon series "Justice League Unlimited" (US dubbing voice: Enrico Colantoni). Here he is the presenter of a sensational talk show, who in his program pulls against the heroes of the superhero team "Justice League" and accuses them of being a danger until his show is moved from the station to the night program after one of the world-saving acts of the team.

Granny Goodness

Granny Goodness ("Grandmother Gütig") is the tyrannical director of the orphanage of Apokolips and after Darkseid and Desaad the third most powerful person on the planet. She is the leader of the Female Furies, a group of elite women soldiers who are in Darkseid's service. She made her debut in Mister Miracle # 2 (US) from May 1971. Granny Goodness Name is an inverted speaking name: A speaking name is a name that characterizes the person who bears it by their external designation according to their inner being. An inverted speaking name is a speaking name that makes certain hints about the character of a character who is actually the exact opposite of what their name suggests. So the "kind" Granny is anything but kind: She is an imperious, cruel, ruthless and brutal woman who is clearly oriented towards the orphanage directors at Charles Dickens .

As the director of the Apokolips orphanage, Granny Goodness is responsible for the education of the offspring for Darkseid's cadre troops: In a cartoon of every upbringing, the children are mistreated, tortured, brutalized and tyrannized until they have grown into deadly "combat material". Her pupils included Big Barda, the temporary leader of the Furies and Scott Free (Mister Miracle) the son of Izaya, the ruler of New Genesis, who had been exchanged for Darkseid's son Orion to seal the peace between New Genesis and Apokolips: Scott Free was the first child from Granny's orphanage to escape from it. After various confrontations with the gods of New Genesis and the heroes of the earth, Granny Goodness was finally landed on earth after the destruction of Apokolips, where she operates a brothel.

Granny Goodness made several appearances in the cartoon series "Superman: The Animated Series" and "Justice League Unlimited" (US dubbing voice: Edward Asner ).

Grayven

Grayven is the third born son of Darkseid, the ruler of Apokolips. He made his debut in Green Lantern # 74 (US) from June 1996 (Writer: Ron Marz, Artist: Darryl Banks ). Grayven is superhumanly strong and has a weakened form of Darkseid's omega effect: a radiation force with which he can teleport himself and others through space and time, with which others can injure and kill and move objects “as if by magic”.

Although Grayven's mother has not yet been featured in any story, it is now a firmly established fact within the “Fourth World” mythology that Grayven is a son of Darkseid. Not recognized by Darkseid as worthy of serving him, Grayven was banished by Apokolips and Grayven built his own intergalactic army. With this he destroyed countless planets in order to gain recognition from his father: In the course of his expeditions of destruction and conquest, he finally reached the planet Rann, where the earth hero Green Lantern and John Stewart, a member of the intergalactic police force Darkstars, confronted him. They were able to defeat Grayven and send them to the core of the earth with the so-called zeta beam, a teleportation beam that can move living beings to other places. So they thought Grayven made harmless. Grayven's troops subsequently dispersed - his army fell apart. Grayven later managed to dig his way to the surface with his bare hands and as a result had several backfights with Green Lantern. Together with Darkseid, the monarch Maxima from the planet Almerac and the space adventurer Adam Strange, Grayven finally helped the hero Superman in the fight against the planet-destroying space giant Imperiex. After defeating Imperiex, Darkseid banished Grayven to earth, where he has been leading a rather miserable existence to this day.

Heggra

Heggra was the mother of Darkseid (Uxas) the despot of Apokolips and his predecessor as ruler of the planet. She made her debut in New Gods # 7 (US) from 1972. She took office as ruler in the succession of her husband Yuga Khan after he tried to break through the promethic wall and into the interior of the source (the concentrated power of the universe ) was killed. Since Heggra considered the first wife of her son Uxas, a gentle woman Suli, to be unworthy, she had her murdered and forced him to marry another woman who hated him, wild Mea. Uxas, who never forgave her for this and who also envied his mother's rule over Apokolips, finally had Heggra murdered by his henchman Desaad, who poisoned Heggra's meal at a banquet. After this murder, Uxas ascended the vacant throne of Apokolips under the name Darkseid.

Himon

Himon is an inventor and scientist who lives on Apokolips, where he works as a resistance fighter against the regime of the despotic god Darkseids. Himon helped the young god Scott Free (Mister Miracle) to escape from captivity in the orphanage of the tyrannical Granny Goodness and from the planet Apokolips to earth. He has a daughter, Bekka , a former lover of Orion, with whom she lives underground in the catacombs of the engineered planet. From a brief exile on New Genesis he returned to Apokolips to give hope to the oppressed there and to resume his function as a living beacon against the tyranny of Darkseid. Kirby stated that Himon was personally his favorite of all his characters.

Kalibak

Kalibaks (also "Kalibak the Terrible") is Darkseid's cruel eldest son. He comes from the connection of the despot with the goddess Suli and is a being of almost indomitable ferocity. Kalibak, who made his debut in New Gods # 1 (US) in February 1971, has almost limitless physical strength, robustness and endurance and is characterized above all by his almost inexhaustible lust for battle. He is constantly famous for earning the recognition of his father, who he does not appreciate, but usually fails in the beginning. Outwardly, with a bear-like stature (213 kg and 2.05 m in length), a long shaggy mane and protruding, sharp canine teeth, it resembles a prehistoric man.

Kalibak is one of the most powerful warriors of Apokolips. His ruthlessness in battle and his ruthlessness against the enemies he defeated earned him the nickname " Kalibak the Cruel " ("Kalibak the Cruel"). In combat he relies on his almost limitless physical strength and his beta club (beta club), a technically sophisticated club that can secrete energy impulses. As a loyal follower of Darkseid, he was involved in many attacks by the gods of Apokolips on New Genesis. His most frequent opponent is his hated half-brother Orion. Other opponents that Kalibak had to deal with were the earthly heroes Superman and Green Lantern . An ambivalent relationship connects Kalibak with Darkseid's follower Desaad: On the one hand, Desaad once murdered Kalibak's mother Suli on behalf of Kalibak's grandmother Hegra, for which Desaad Kalibak is hated, on the other hand, Desaad Kalibak's most loyal ally in making his own plans against the New Gods or the inhabitants of the earth.

Kalibak appeared in the cartoon series "Super Friends" (US dubbing voice: Frank Welker ), "Superman: The Animated Series" (voice: Michael Dorn ) and "Justice League Unlimited", in which he fights himself as a "man for the rough" delivered with Superman and Lobo .

Kanto

Kanto is Darkseid's "body murderer". Visually, he is clearly modeled on the Renaissance prince Cesare Borgia : he dresses like a courtier from the time of the Italian Renaissance, wears a sword as a gallant weapon and demonstrates the virtues of a gentleman in a manner as well as in his language despite his bloody profession , especially towards its female counterparts. Under no circumstances does this prevent him from carrying out his murder orders. Kirby himself admitted to having oriented Kanto to Winston Churchill's dictum "If you kill a man it doesn't cost anything to be polite". Kanto, who has the relationship of an artist to his work in his profession, made his debut in Mister Miracle # 1 (US) from 1970.

Originally, Kanto was a student named Iluthin in Granny Goodness Orphanage, the kennel for Darkseid's servants on Apokolips. Accused of stealing weapons from Darkseid's body murderer Kanto 13 , Iluthin was exiled to earth in the 16th century (Renaissance period). There he lived in Italy, where he was instructed by the masters of the sword fight in handling the blade and fell in love with a woman named Claudia . During his wedding, Iluthin was attacked by Kanto 13, who killed Claudia in front of the altar, but Iluthin was ultimately defeated. Darkseid killed Kanto 13 for his failure and made Iluthin his new body murderer under the name Kanto. In this role he has to deal with such heroes as Mister Miracle (in whose various series he is one of the main recurring opponents), Superman and Wonder Woman. In his work he prefers to use the sword as his weapon of choice, but he also has considerable physical strength and a high degree of invulnerability - so he survived ted after super once the fall into a fire pit on the planet.

Kanto appeared in the animated series " Superman: The Animated Series " (US dubbing voice: Michael York ) and " Justice League Unlimited " on. In the first, he provided the Intergang with apocalyptic technology in their fight against Superman, in the second, he participated in a war for control of Apokolips after Darkseid's apparent death.

Lashina

Lashina (meaning “whip woman ”, neologism from English lash “ whip ”) is a member of the “Female Furies”, an elite formation of the Apokolips armed forces consisting exclusively of female gods. Lashina is one of the founding members of the Female Furies unit brought into being by the evil goddess Granny Goodness. She made her debut in the comic book Mister Miracle # 6 (US) from January 1972. In the original formation of the Furies, Lashina served under the command of Big Barda, later - after Barda's escape from Apokolips - Lashina herself temporarily took over the leadership of the group, who was next to her the goddesses Bernadeth, Mad Harriet, Stompa and Wunda belong to. Lashina has superhuman strength, speed and endurance, as well as an electrically charged whip as a combat weapon. Betrayed by Bernadeth, who envied her the leadership of the group, Lashina was temporarily stranded on earth, where she joined the Suicide Squad, a mercenary unit funded by the US government, under the code name “Duchess”. Lashina later managed to return to Apokolips. There she finally reconciled with Bernadeth and since then both have run the Furies together. On behalf of Darkseid, Lashina has already fought against various New Gods from New Genesis, as well as against earthly heroes such as Superman, Wonder Woman, Superboy, Supergirl and the Birds of Prey.

Lashina had appearances in the animated series "Superman: The Animated Series" and "Justice League Unlimited" (US dubbing voice: Diane Michelle ), in which she appears in the usual manner as a servant of Darkseid in various undertakings to gain dominion over the earth .

knockout

Knockout is a former member of the Female Furies, an elite group of Darkseid's armed forces made up of women only. Knockout - a tall, Amazon-like, fun-loving and rowdy young woman with a "head of fire" of long red hair - made her debut in Superboy # 1 (US) from February 1994 (author: Karl Kesel, draftsman: Tom Grummett). The real name is Knockout Kay . She has enormous physical strength and a certain degree of invulnerability, as well as the ability to heal even the most severe wounds. To escape the dreary existence on Apokolips, Knockout fled to Earth, where she first worked as a stripper in a nightclub called “BoomBoom Room” in Hawaii. Later she met Superboy several times, whom she sometimes fought for "fun" (Superboy # 3, US), but sometimes also supported in the fight against other criminals (Superboy # 18-19, US). The attempt of the Female Furies to bring her back to Apokolips failed due to joint resistance from Knockout, Superboy and the Hawaiian police. At times she was Superboy's partner in the fight against crime in Hawaii, but after Knockout had shown her true colors and killed a cop and also demanded that Superboy kill a man named Victor Volcaneum, he turned against her and helped arrest her with Knockout . After a long imprisonment, she finally managed to escape: She began a homosexual relationship with the criminal Scandal Savage, with whom she joined a group of adventurous mercenaries called Secret Six , whose adventures were told in a series of the same name. During this time she was badly wounded by the assassin Pistolera , but eventually recovered and began an affair with the mercenary Deadshot.

Mad Harriet

Mad Harriet is a member of Darkseid's elite female troupe, the "Female Furies". She made her debut in Mister Miracle # 6 (US) from 1972. Mad Harriet is an insane woman with a wild appearance who tends to giggle hysterically loud, hyena-like. Harriet, who grew up in the orphanage of the tyrannical Granny Goodness, for whom she has a special kind of affection, is cruel, aggressive and sadistic. She also seems to enjoy pain, so she is a masochist . Of all the "furies", it corresponds visually and behaviorally most closely to what one imagines under the name: It has long, wildly falling hair, long, sharp claws and a grimacing (also hyena-like mouth) with long, pointed teeth. Besides Big Barda, Lashina, Stompa and Bernadeth, Mad Harriet belongs to the original formation of the Female Furies, with whom she still often works as a team.

In the past, Darkseid had Mad Harriet compete against New Gods like Orion and Lightray, as well as earthly heroes like Firestorm , Superman, and Hawkgirl. She found a friend in the - likewise insane - earth woman Harley Quinn . In addition, the character appeared in the cartoon series "Superman: The Animated Series" (US dubbing voice: Andrea Martin ) and "Justice League Unlimited".

Malice Vundabarr

Malice Vundabarr is the niece of the god Virman Vundabarr and a member of the junior formation of Darkseid's female elite group, the "Female Furies". She made her debut in Hawk and Dove # 21 (US; Co-Authors and Drawers: Barbara and Karl Kesel). Malice is an insane, cruel cynical little girl who rules over a shadow monster named Chessure . Malice name and appearance based on the heroine Alice from Lewis Carroll's children's book "Alice Adventures in Wonderland", Chessure based on the designations appear in this book character of " Cheshire (Chesire Cat [!])". Mostly she pretends to be a defenseless little girl, only to conjure up Chessure and brutally attack other gods or people. Mostly she works in a team with Speed ​​Queen, Bloody Mary and Gilotina. In the past she has fought against such opponents as the superheroes Superman, Hawk and Dove and Savage Dragon on behalf of Darkseid .

Mantis

Mantis is a war in the service of Darkseid and part of his bodyguard, the so-called "elite". He made his debut in The Forever People # 2 (US) from June 1971. Mantis is one of the most powerful gods of Apocolipse: He can fly, store and hurl energy that is fired at him, and create and secrete extreme heat and cold from his body. He had an appearance on an episode of the cartoon series "Justice League Unlimited" in which he tried to conquer the earth as his new home. He is eventually defeated by Superman and Captain Atom and sent back to Apokolips.

Mortalla

Mortalla is a servant of Darkseid, the ruler of Apokolips, and his third wife. She made her debut in Orion # 6 (US) in November 2000 (Writer and illustrator: Walt Simonson). Mortala was originally a servant of Darkseid and member of his bodyguard of the so-called "elite", later she became the lover of his son Orion, before she finally married her master and became Darkseid's third wife. Mortalla is an attractive, blue-skinned young woman who is modeled after the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar . Her most outstanding ability is the gift of killing other gods and people by touching them with their left hand and putting them to sleep by touching them with their right hand.

Mokkari and Simyan

Mokkari and Simyan are two scientists from Apokolips whom Darkseid sent to earth to cause trouble there. They carry out this task at irregular intervals by working in their secret laboratory, the so-called " Evil Factory " ("Factory of Evil", also called Monster Factory ), which is located deep under the American metropolis (and at times in the so-called "white Dimension "in which there are no colors), create all sorts of monsters through genetic experiments in the test tube, which they raise and finally set free to terrorize the earth. The aim of this action is to plunge the earth into chaos in order to prepare the ground for an invasion of Metropolis. While Simyan prefers monsters with long claws and teeth, Mokkari prefers to create creatures with telescopic eyes . Both characters made their debut in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen # 135 (US) from January 1971. While Simyan (English simian "ape-like") outwardly resembles a hairy Neanderthal, Mokkari is a yellow-skinned man with a bald head and peculiar tattoos on his skull that match those of the sailor and Harpuniers Queque from Herman Melville's novel " Moby-Dick " are modeled on.

Mokkari and Simyan in their original incarnation were eventually killed fighting the hero Superman and his friend Jimmy Olsen, an adventurous newspaper photographer. Thanks to a genetic experiment by the mad scientist Dabney Donovan , who used the genetic material from the dead for his research at Project Cadmus (a secret clone research facility of the US government), the duo were finally able to rise as clones and resume their "monster production".

Parademons

The Parademons (parademons) make up the bulk of the Apokolips armed forces. They are demonic beings who are equipped with robotic prostheses that make them more enduring and enable them to fly. The Parademons are predominantly stupid and fulfill a double function: Domestically, they act as law enforcement officers with police functions on Apokolips, in foreign policy they serve as an army in the fight against external enemies. Parademons first appeared in New Gods # 1 (US) from 1971.

Well-known Parademons include 3g4 , who developed its own identity (Aquaman # 37, US), Pharzoof , a corrupt Parademon who turned against Darkseid's regime ( Birds of Prey # 12, US) and Topkick , an instructor for the Parademon units ( Aquaman # 37, US). In the series "Total Justice" a parademon named Mike appeared as a member of the hero team of the same name (Total Justice # 1, US). Mike had previously been forgotten by Darkseid on a Caribbean island and had developed his own consciousness there: To get company, he kidnapped people from passing ships. When the Justice League became aware of him, he joined them. Most recently in the series Secret Six , an unnamed, Darkseid renegade parademon appeared on a member of this team. However, this parademon died in an early installment of the series and has only appeared in stuffed form in the background of the Six's hiding place ever since.

Parademons appeared in the animated series "Super Friends" - where they were called "Para-Drones" due to protests by American parents' associations because of protests by the word "demon" on television - as well as in "Superman: The Animated Series" and "Justice League Unlimited " on. In all three series, the Demons appeared in the well-known way as Darkseid's loyal and silent henchmen.

Pharzoof

Pharzoof is a dwarf parademon. The Parademons are hybrid creatures (cyborgs) made up of demons, whose bodies are reinforced by robotic "supplementary parts" and which, in their bulk, form the bulk of the armed forces of the planet Apokolips. Pharzoof made his debut in Birds of Prey # 6 (US; writer: Chuck Dixon, illustrator: Greg Land). According to the merciless laws of Apokolips, which deny the weak the right to life, Pharzoof was abandoned to die after his birth because of his physical wretchedness. Against all odds, he survived and matured - unaffected by the strict conditioning program that Parademons otherwise have to endure - to become an independent personality. In contrast to most Parademons, who only have a rudimentary intelligence and are dependent on receiving commands in order to know what to do, he has an autonomous, fully functional mind and his own goals. In particular, his wish was to gain control of Apokolips. To this end, he finally fled to earth, where he hid his unearthly appearance behind an artificial exoskeleton and a trench coat, and there recruited various criminals for an attempt to bring Apokolips under his control through a revolution he led. In order to realize this plan, he kidnapped a prisoner transport with US marshals and captured felons to Apokolips with the help of a star portal (boom tube), who were to serve as the nucleus for the revolt he planned there. The plan ultimately failed: while the marshals and their captives returned to Earth, Pharzoof remained on Apokolips as an outlawed stranded man.

Simyan

See entry #Mokkari and Simyan .

Sleez

Sleez (phonetically based on sleazy "shabby") was a friend of the young Uxas, who later became the god and ruler of Apokolips as Darkseid. He is a green-skinned gnome about 1 m tall, whose body looks particularly dirty and even to some extent decaying. Visually it is obviously influenced by the character of " Yoda " from the "Star Wars" films. In keeping with his appearance, Sleez is a devious manipulator with a particularly evil character. He made his debut in Action Comics # 592 (US) in September 1987 (Writer and illustrator: John Byrne).

Sleez, who was an exceptionally depraved being even by apocalyptic standards, who took a morbid pleasure in cruelty and perversions, was finally banished to earth by Darkseid whom this companion began to disgust increasingly. There he ended up in the big city of Metropolis on the American east coast, in whose backyards and sewers Sleez eke out a pitoyable existence. In his greed for power, Sleez finally tried to take control of Project Cadmus, a facility set up by the American government to investigate extraterrestrial DNA, located outside of Metropolis: the action ultimately failed thanks to the intervention of the hero Superman, protector of Metropolis. Following his urge for perversions, he used his manipulative powers to brainwash Superman and Big Barda and produce a porn movie with them. Sleez later worked loosely with the criminal syndicate Intergang and was killed in a dispute with Superman when his getaway vehicle - an actual missile disguised as a fairground attraction - exploded.

Speed ​​Queen

Speed ​​Queen is a member of Darkseid's elite female troupe, the "Female Furies". She made her debut in Hawk and Dove # 21 (US; writers and illustrators: Karl and Barbara Kesel). Speed ​​Queen moves at super speed on roller skates (!). With Bloody Mary, Malice Vundabarr and Gilotina, she belongs to the junior or young generation of the "Furies". On behalf of her master Darkseid and her tutor Granny Goodness, she has already fought against the New Gods and against such earthly heroes as Superboy , Hawk and Dove, the Sovereign and the Newsboy Legion ( minor characters in the Superman universe #The Newsboy Legion ).

Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf was the uncle of the god Darkseid and the brother of Darkseid's mother and predecessor as ruler of Apokolips, Heggra. He made his debut in New Gods # 7 (US) from February 1972. During Heggras reign Steppenwolf was the commander in chief of the armies of Apokolips. Steppenwolf was finally slain in a duel during an attack on New Genesis by Izaya, the first highfather, after he murdered his wife Avia on a hunting trip.

In an alternative version, Darkseid later brought his dead uncle back to life and again handed him the post of commander-in-chief over the armed forces of Apokolips. In this second version, Steppenwolf died in issue # 2 of the US miniseries Legends from 1986. Steppenwolf also had a brief appearance in the animated series "Superman: The Animated Series" in the episode "Apokolips Now" in which he was involved in the invasion of the earth involved (US voice actor: Sherman Howard ).

Stompa

Stompa is a member of the "Female Furies", an elite group of only female warriors who are in the service of Darkseid, the ruling god of Apokolips. She made her debut in Mister Miracle # 6 (US) from January 1972. Stompa has immense physical strength and the ability to generate light earthquakes by firmly stamping on the ground with her anti-matter boots (!). It belongs to the first and oldest formation of the "Furies". On behalf of Darkseid, she competed in the past against the New Gods (such as Big Barda and Orion) as well as against various earthly heroes such as Superman, the Martian Manhunter, Supergirl, the Sovereign Seven, Firestorm, Superboy and the Suicide Squad.

Stompa appeared in an episode of the animated series "Superman: The Animated Series" (US dubbing voice: Diane Delano ).

Tigra

Tigra was the second wife of Darkseid, whom he had to marry on the orders of his mother Heggra. She made her debut in New Gods # 1 (US) from 1970. The god Orion emerged from the connection between Darkseid and Tigra. While Tigra Darkseid despised, was this hated him as imposed bride, so that marriage is a bad omen was and extremely inharmonious was: After Darkseid murdered his mother and the throne had ascended, he Tigra first exile, much later in a state of Kryostasis enable . She later escaped to New Genesis, where she was eventually murdered by her husband's henchmen (the Suicide Jockeys).

Uxas

Uxas is the original name of Darkseid, the ruler of Apokolips.

Virman Vunderbarr

Virman Vundebarr (Virman Vundabar) is a general in Darkseid's army who modeled his appearance, behavior and plans on the habitus and style of Prussian officers. He attaches great importance to discipline, precision and order, he wears the characteristic Prussian officer's monocle and soldierly parted, pomadized hair, which is modeled on the famous "Führer madness" of the German dictator Adolf Hitler . He made his debut in Mister Miracle (Vol. 1) # 5 (US) from December 1971. The name "Vundabar" (Vunderbarr) was given to him based on the German word wonderful , his first name "Virman" alludes to the English word vermin ( "Vermin"), which it is phonetically very similar to.

Vunderbarr is an archenemy of Mister Miracle in whose (eponymous) series he often appeared as an opponent of the title hero. In the rest of the New God series, he mostly appears as a rival to Granny Goodness and Desaad for the position of Darkseid's successor as ruler of Apokolips. In some stories in which Darkseid is actually or allegedly dead, these three sides fight for power accordingly. Vunderbarr has no physical abilities worth mentioning, but has a brilliant mind as a strategist and tactician. Vunderbarr has a niece, Malice, who is a member of the Female Furies.

Vunderbarr had an appearance in the animated series "Justice League Unlimited" in which he was seen in an episode as the interim ruler of Apokolips after the temporary disappearance of Darkseid (US dubbing voice: Arte Johnson ).

Wunda

Wunda is a member of Darkseid's elite group "The Female Furies". Wunda was added to the "New Gods" fabric in the 2000s. She is so far the only black-skinned character in the series.

Yuga Khan

Yuga Khan was the father of Darkseid and his predecessor as ruler of Apokolips. He made his debut in New Gods (Vol. 2, US) # 17 from June 1990. Yuga Khan was the most powerful god of Apokolips: He commanded the ability to fly, almost limitless physical strength and endurance, invulnerability, the ability to be in a vacuum survive and absorb energies. In his search for knowledge, Khan tried to break through the “source wall”, the border to the Promethic Galaxies in which the knowledge of the essence of the “source” as the core and the basic substance of the universe is hidden, which even the gods cannot experience. For his hubris, Yuga Khan was punished by being tied to the spring wall for all eternity and thus - merging with it - became part of it. His successor as ruler of Apokolips was first his wife Heggra and finally his son Uxas (Darkseid).

More gods

Black Racer

The Black Racer is a messenger of death who, similar to the Valkyries of Norse mythology, appears to the gods who have fallen in battle and accompanies them to the afterlife ("the source", sometimes also called Hadis ). The racer is a gloomy man who moves around with flying skis and ski sticks. He rarely speaks and is considered adamant. He made his debut in New Gods # 3 (US) from July 1971 and is considered the DC counterpart to the Silver Surfer from the Marvel Universe . If the racer does not transfer the dead to the Hadis, its host is the body of the bedridden, comatose war veteran Sergeant William Walker , who was badly injured in the Vietnam War and has been crippled since then. In addition to the New Gods, the Black Racer sometimes also leads non-gods into the afterlife, for example the superhero Superman, whose soul he passed on to posterity after the superhero's death in the fight against the monster Doomsday ( Superman # 75, US).

Grayven

Grayven is a warrior who claims to be the illegitimate son of Darkseid.

Grail

Is the daughter of Darkseid and the Amazon Myrina and was born on the same day as Wonder Woman, and was introduced in the course of the new DC universe. Initially it is only given as a justification for Darkseid's inversion of the earth. Later we learn that she is a prisoner of the US government. Escape from Earth 3rd as a result of Crime Syndicate Inversion. Grail teams up with the Anti-Monitor to seemingly want to kill her father. But eventually cheats the Anti-Monitor and kills it. Grail brings her father back to life in the form of a baby with the help of an ancient Amazon ritual. Later, on behalf of her father, Grail kills the children of the god father Zeus in order to restore him to his old strength. Like her father, Grail has the power of the Omega effect, and she has the fighting abilities of the Amazons. Your preferred weapons are your scythe and a trident.

Metron

Metron is a researcher, scientist and inventor from the planet New Genesis. He is one of the few New Gods who cannot be attributed to either New Genesis or Apokolips, because his only pursuit is the search for knowledge and understanding and in order to achieve this goal he works with everyone he is unaffected by moral considerations or loyalties sees a useful ally in accomplishing this goal. He does not think in terms of “good” or “bad” because, in his opinion, these are irrelevant. He already helped Desaad Darkseid free from his captivity in Quellenwall, but on the other hand also supported the Highfather and stood by Superman as an advisor. Metron travels through time, space and dimensions with the help of the Moebius Chair , which is powered by the "Element X".

For the first time, Metron intervened directly in the fortunes of the New Gods when he learned of the discovery of the so-called "Element X", a rare material that gives its owner the ability to teleport. Metron made a pact with Darkseid in an effort to acquire Element X and promised him to develop weapons for Apokolips in exchange for Element X. In this way, Metron became the main culprit in the outbreak of the first war between the two planets. For unknown reasons, however, he switched sides during the war and supported the New Gods. When a peace pact was first made and then, years later, Darkseid broke his pact with New Genesis again, Metron made the sound tube technology accessible to the highfather and also informed him of Darkseid's plan to conquer the earth.

Afterwards he continued his search for knowledge again, hoping that one day through the accumulated knowledge he will be able to penetrate into the interior of the "source" itself. On one of these trips he met the so-called "anti-life". In the face of this terrifying discovery, his mind suffered great damage and he fell into a coma-like state. In this state he was found by Darkseid, who, together with the Highfather and the heroes of the earth, fought the anti-life that Metron had released by penetrating into its dimension. After the fight was over, Metron woke up from his coma and was again completely unaffected by the damage he had caused.

Metron made its debut in New Gods # 1 (US) from February 1971.

Metron had appearances in the cartoon series "Superman: The Animated Series" (episode: "Apokolips ... Now!") And "Justice League Unlimited", in the latter he was dubbed in the US original by Daniel Dae Kim .

Earthlings of the “Fourth World” mythology

Bruno "Ugly" Mannheim

Bruno Mannheim called "Ugly" is a criminal who lives in the American city of Metropolis. He is a servant of Darkseid and supports him by causing unrest on earth through criminal machinations on a large scale in order to prepare the ground for Darkseid's planned conquest of the planet. Mannheim is supplied with weapons and other technology from Apokolips by Darkseid and Desaad.

Mannheim - a normal person - is one of the most powerful criminals in Metropolis. Since childhood he was in contact with Darkseid's assistant Desaad, who helped Mannheim take over the criminal syndicate Intergang founded by Mannheim's father Boss Moxie . Mannheim later had to temporarily hand over the leadership to the media mogul Morgan Edge, who took control of Intergang, while Mannheim was content with running the gang's executive office and carrying out particularly important actions himself. Because of his repulsive appearance and his brutal nature, he was nicknamed "Ugly" ("the ugly"). After Mannheim died during an argument with Superman, its story was considered closed. However, he was eventually revived by Darkseid, with the result that he has been a mentally ill psychopath ever since. He became leader of the "Religion of Crime" and since then has worshiped crime for its own sake, referring to the so-called "Crime Bible" which is said to be made of the stone with which Cain - the first murderer in history - killed Abel. Finally he is killed by a knife throwing by Batwoman, aka Kate Kane, whose sister Beth succeeds him in the "Religion of Crime" under the pseudonym Alice.

Mannheim made his debut in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen # 139 (US) from July 1971.

Manheim appeared in five episodes of the animated series "Superman: The Animated Series", where he also acts as the lackey Darkseids (US dubbing voice: Bruce Weitz ).

knockout

Knockout is a former member of the Female Furies who fled Apokolips and settled on Earth.

Morgan Edge

See also : "Morgan Edge" in the article Minor Characters in the Superman Universe

Morgan Edge is a corrupt businessman who lives in Metropolis. Edge is a servant of Darkseid and Desaad.

Oberon

Oberon is the best friend and manager of Scott Free, one of the gods of New Genesis who settled on earth as an escape artist. In the various series of the Mister Miracle series, which is part of the "Fourth World" mythology, Oberon is one of the most important recurring supporting characters.

Oberon is a short, white-haired former showman named after the master of the elves from Shakespeare's play " A Midsummer Night's Dream ". The "dwarf" Oberon makes up for his short stature with his resourcefulness, energy and a keen business acumen. As an orphan, Oberon joined a traveling circus, where he found work as a zoo keeper and assistant. After Oberon was tortured physically and mentally by the circus' tyrannical director for a long time, the troupe's escape artist Thaddeus Brown, who appeared under the stage name Mister Miracle, took heart and freed him from the dependency of the director and made him his protégé. Together, Brown and Oberon joined a fair at which Brown continued to perform as an escape artist.

When Brown was murdered by the criminal Steel Hand in Hanoi in search of his son who was missing in the Vietnam War , Scott Free took on the role of Mister Miracle. In addition to their work as fairground artists, Oberon and Mister Miracle experience countless adventures on earth and in space. Oberon's relationship with Free's wife Big Barda is ambivalent, although they are both incessantly teasing and insulting each other (Oberon calls Barda "long-legged and brainless", she mocks his small size), they secretly value each other beyond measure and consider each other to be friends.

Technology from the “Fourth World” mythology

Motherbox

A Motherbox ( also Mother- ) is shown mostly as a small box computer with its own. The mother boxes were developed by the scientist Himon, who lives on Apokolips, using the element X. Mother boxes can use the energy of the source , generate boom tubes, heal injuries and communicate telepathically with their wearers.

Boom tube

The boom tube (also known as the “sound tube”) is a transport device that the residents of New Genesis and Apokolips use to make interstellar journeys within a short period of time. This is a kind of portal made of light that enables the "New Gods" to jump from one place in the universe to any other place by simply stepping through. The inside of these portals is known as “ Boom Lanes ”. The concept of these “light portals” is one of the oldest and most popular of the “Fourth World” mythology. The portals owe the name boom tube to the loud bang ("boom") they cause when they are opened. In the DC universe, the sound tubes are often used, especially as deus ex machina to free heroes from hopeless situations or to enable villains to escape.

Super mobile

The Super-Mobile (also called Super-Cycle ) is the approx. 2 m high, airworthy futuristic motorcycle of the Forever People, with which they can penetrate into space. It is a kind of “living technology” and can travel at great speed, rendering itself and its passengers untouchable.

Turmoil

Turmoil (Tumultor; German "Aufruhr, Unrest") is the name of a war machine manufactured on Apokolips or a type of war machine that is always the same. The “tumultors” are robots that act autonomously and are programmed to cause the greatest possible devastation in the assigned operational area. The first "Turmoil" was shown in Adventures of Superman # 456 (US) from 1989. Morgan Edge used a "Turmoil" there by destroying parts of downtown Metropolis and attacking journalists Lois Lane and Clark Kent ( Superman ). Superman and the vigilante José Delgado were able to defeat and destroy this first Turmoil together. Since then, Darkseid and his followers have repeatedly used new Turmoils to accomplish their purposes.

See also

• Characters from the DC Universe