Dharma is a

fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, ...

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

character distributed by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

and is the leader of the Shadow Cabinet. An original character from

Milestone Comics Milestone Media is a company best known for creating Milestone Comics, which were published and distributed by DC Comics and the ''Static Shock'' animated series. It was founded in 1993 by a coalition of African-American artists and writers, con ...

, he first appeared in ''Hardware'' #11 (January 1993), and was created by

Dwayne McDuffie Dwayne Glenn McDuffie (February 20, 1962February 21, 2011) was an American writer of comic books and television, known for producing and writing the animated series ''Static Shock'', '' Damage Control'', ''Justice League Unlimited'' and ''Ben 10 ...

Robert L. Washington III Robert Lee Washington III (November 29, 1964June 7, 2012) was an American writer of comic books, known for co-creating Static (later adapted for a successful animated television series) and the Shadow Cabinet, both for Milestone Media. Biograph ...

, and

Denys Cowan Denys B. Cowan (born January 30, 1961) is an American comics artist, television producer, media executive and one of the co-founders of Milestone Media. Early life Denys Cowan was first inspired by superheroes as a child from reruns of the 1950s ...

Fictional character biography

Milestone Universe

Dharma, otherwise known as Harry Chawney, has the power to perceive the past and future of any object he touches. He has perceived countless apocalypses, and is ruthless in acting to prevent them, whatever the cost. In theory, he knows the ultimate consequences of whatever action he sends his operatives to perform; however, the impossibility of considering every factor has led to his fear that he may be causing the very disasters he is trying to prevent - in the words of one agent: "What about the man who died? His future could have been important too. Did you check?", to which he was forced to respond: "I can't think about that right now". The Cabinet makes an appearance in ''

Blood Syndicate The Blood Syndicate is a fictional multicultural vigilante gang of superhumans created by Milestone Media, Milestone Comics and published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''Blood Syndicate'' #1 (April 1993), and was created by Dwayne McDu ...

'' #20 when Dharma fires Oro, who has been a Syndicate associate, police officer, and a Shadow Cabinet operative. He is allowed to keep his costume and receives one month severance pay deposited directly into his bank account. Dharma even gives Oro advice to "take the left" as Oro teleports out. The teleportation technology is maintained by powerful telekinetic and engineer Thomas Hague, better known as "Mechanic". Another notable employee is Payback, a spy for the independent superhero Icon. Icon also has evidence that Dharma had been involved in the 'Big Bang', a riot which, due to altered tear gas, ended with dozens of fatalities and superpowers granted to the survivors. He would not treat further departures from the Cabinet as gracefully as Oro's. When Cabinet operatives Iota, Donner, and Blitzen leave to form the unofficial team Heroes, Dharma sends a Cabinet attack squad. This group is led by Iron Butterfly.

Milestone Forever

The truth of Dharma's action are shown. It is revealed that he was responsible for the

Big Bang The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...

, hoping to create powerful beings capable of preventing a fast approaching apocalypse whose cause he could not determine. When his last two prospects ( Hardware and

Static Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica United States * Static, Kentucky and Tennessee *Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming **Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics *Static el ...

), fail to meet his expectations, he turns to the only course he believes is left open to him, awakening and harnessing the powers of the god-like being called Rift. The very act of absorbing the being's powers causes widespread destruction to the universe, destroying the Dakotaverse. Thus the cause of the apocalypse he foresaw was his own attempts to stop it, although not all is lost, as his new powers will allow him the opportunity to bring about his universe's rebirth. The effects of

Darkseid Darkseid () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby to serve as the primary antagonist of his "Fourth World (comics), Fourth World" metaseries, and was firs ...

's death during ''

Final Crisis "Final Crisis" is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely b ...

'' of a neighboring universe gives the chance to merge the remnants of the Dakotaverse into the DC Universe, retroactively combining their histories, and giving the Milestone characters the chance to live anew. Officially only

Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

, and Dharma himself even recall Rift and know the truth of Milestone's existence. Dharma is currently concentrating on keeping the worlds merged. This, according to Dharma, could take months or even years before it is permanent.

Powers and abilities

Dharma possesses incredibly powerful precognitive abilities. When he touches a personal object, Dharma can see all events that occur in its past and future. This ability extends as far as the entire Earth itself or something as small as a bead. Not only can he see an object's future, he can see his own and his universe's future. This power extends to the object's past as well. Hence, any place it has been or anything that has been done to it is clear to Dharma. When he focuses his psychometric on a certain person he can not only see their future and past but also understand and therefore manipulate their abilities. Dharma is completely blind, but compensates by using his powers to guide him. Dharma has been able to see the beginning of the universe and all that goes on in the present. At a certain point in the future (its "end"), he sees only destruction of his universe. This blind spot prevents Dharma from seeing what role he will play or what outcome happens after the destruction.''Milestone Forever'' #1 After absorbing Rift's powers Dharma gained the ability to alter reality and bend dimensions. At one point, in the original Milestone world, he absorbed his sisters known as Plus. This gave him the ability to control a living energy field that could be used for offensive as well as defensive purposes. It is unclear whether that power transferred over in the merge.

References

External links