The Great Darkness Saga
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"The Great Darkness Saga" is a five-issue
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vide ...
featuring the
Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st c ...
. It was written by
Paul Levitz Paul Levitz (; born October 21, 1956) is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002–2009, he worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles. Along with publisher Jenette Kahn ...
, with art by
Keith Giffen Keith Ian Giffen (born November 30, 1952) is an American comics artist and writer. He is known for his work for DC Comics on their ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' and ''Justice League'' titles as well as for being the co-creator of Lobo. Biography K ...
and Larry Mahlstedt. Published 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 ...
in 1982, the arc first appears in ''
Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st c ...
'' vol. 2, #290–294. It is notable for featuring appearances by virtually every living past and present Legionnaire as of 1982, as well as most of the team's 30th-century allies, including the
Legion of Substitute Heroes Legion of Substitute Heroes is a group of fictional characters in the future of the DC Comics universe. The "Subs", as they are often called, are a group of rejected applicants to the Legion of Super-Heroes who band together, hoping to prove to th ...
, the Wanderers, the
Heroes of Lallor The Heroes of Lallor are a group of fictional superheroes in the DC Comics universe. They appear in stories featured in '' Adventure Comics'' involving the Legion of Super-Heroes. Fictional history The original Heroes of Lallor are five super-po ...
, and the 20th-century
Kryptonian Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race within the DC Comics universe that originated on the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman. The stories also use "Kryptonian" as an adjective to re ...
refugee
Dev-Em Dev-Em is a fictional character who appears in DC Comics. He first appeared in '' Adventure Comics'' #287 (June 1961), created by Jerry Siegel and George Papp. Various versions of the Dev-Em character has appeared over the years in '' Legion of Su ...
. The heroes battle an immensely powerful being shrouded in darkness, ultimately revealed to be the ancient ruler of
Apokolips Apokolips is a fictional planet that appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The planet is ruled by Darkseid, established in Jack Kirby's Fourth World series, and is integral to many stories in the DC Universe. Apokolips is co ...
,
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 ...
.


Plot

In the 30th century,
Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st c ...
co-founder
Cosmic Boy Cosmic Boy (Rokk Krinn) is a fictional Character (arts), character, a comic book superhero in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Comics DC Universe, Universe. He is a founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and was the original leader in ...
leads a group of Legionnaires to investigate attacks on the Museum of the Mystic Arts and the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
, both located on Earth. Included in the squad is 20th-century member
Superboy Superboy is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comicbooks published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series featuring ...
(the legendary
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 ...
as a teenager) and the latest addition to the team—Jacques Foccart, the new
Invisible Kid Invisible Kid is the name of two fictional characters, comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe, and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. Publication history The first Invisible Kid debuted alongside Cha ...
. At each site they are attacked by beings of great power, both of whom are shrouded in darkness and mention that they are servants of their "Master" who controls the "Great Darkness". Through the use of a teleportation warp, the beings escape with two stolen items: a mystical wand from the museum and the sword
Excalibur Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...
from the Tower of London. When a third Servant attempts to steal the Orb of Orthanax from the Institute of Parapsychological Phenomena of Talok VIII, she is captured. However, a fourth Servant appears via another teleportation warp and absconds with the Orb. At his unknown base of operations, the Master absorbs the power contained within each of the stolen artifacts. The captured Servant is taken back to Legion headquarters. When she is brought in close proximity to Invisible Kid's younger sister Danielle Foccart, who has been possessed by the rogue artificial intelligence
Computo In archaic law, a computo was a writ, thus called from its effect, which was to compel a person to yield his accounts. It was made and enforceable against the following persons: *executors of executors *the guardian in socage, for waste Was ...
, Danielle's brain activity spikes. In effect, the Servant causes the unconscious Computo to have a nightmare. Through genetic testing,
Mon-El Lar Gand, known mainly as Mon-El (and alternatively as Valor and M'Onel), is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the Legion of Super-Heroes, Superboy, and Superman. The cha ...
and Dream Girl determine that the captured Servant is an inanimate "reverse-DNA" clone of Lydea Mallor,
Shadow Lass Shadow Lass is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in books published by DC Comics. She first appeared as a statue in ''Adventure Comics'' #354 (March 1967), and was created by Jim Shooter and Curt Swan. She was called Shadow Woman, was ...
' ancestor and a 20th-century heroine of Talok VIII. Meanwhile, on the planet Avalon, the fourth Servant frees the immensely powerful
Mordru Mordru (also known as Mordru the Merciless) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jim Shooter and artist Curt Swan, Mordru first appeared in '' Adventure Comics'' #369 (June 1968). Considere ...
, the mightiest wizard in the universe and arguably the Legion's most powerful enemy. Just as Mordru is about to destroy the Servant, the Master appears and quickly defeats him. Shortly thereafter on the prison planet Takron-Galtos, the Legionnaires discover that the
Time Trapper This is a list of fictional characters from DC Comics who are enemies of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Legion of Super-Heroes enemies In alphabetical order (with issue and date of debut appearance). In other media See also List of Superman ...
— another powerful Legion foe — has been drained of his cosmic time-manipulation abilities by the Master as well. Dream Girl's
precognitive Precognition (from the Latin 'before', and 'acquiring knowledge') is the purported psychic phenomenon of seeing, or otherwise becoming directly aware of, events in the future. There is no accepted scientific evidence that precognition is a ...
abilities allow her to foresee the Servants attacking her sister, the sorceress known as the
White Witch Jadis is the main antagonist of '' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (1950) and ''The Magician's Nephew'' (1955) in C. S. Lewis's series, ''The Chronicles of Narnia''. She is commonly referred to as the White Witch in ''The Lion, the Witch an ...
, on their homeworld Naltor. She and a squad of Legionnaires travel there and prevent one of the Servants from kidnapping the White Witch. During the attack, Invisible Kid seizes the opportunity to journey into one of the beings' teleportation warps and take the battle directly to the Master. He confronts the Master, who is amused by the notion that the young hero is presumptuous enough to confront him. The Master blasts him with energy beams from his eyes, and warps him back to Naltor. Having seen the Master's real face, Invisible Kid is frightened on such a fundamental level that a large stripe of his jet black hair turns white permanently. In the midst of the crisis, the Legion holds its long-delayed election, choosing Dream Girl as its new leader. She leads a squad of Legionnaires to the Sorcerers' World, where they repel an attack by the Master and several of his Servants. Mon-El confronts the Master directly and immediately recognizes him, but is easily defeated. The Master then reads his mind, learning that Mon-El recognized him because of all that the Legionnaire witnessed during his many centuries in the
Phantom Zone The Phantom Zone is a prison-like parallel dimension appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is mainly associated with stories featuring Superman. It first appeared in '' Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961), and was created ...
. Additionally, the Master learns of Mon-El's homeworld, Daxam. The sorcerers cast a spell intended to defend them against the Master, and they surprisingly conjure a
humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and ''-oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20t ...
baby. Meanwhile, on Earth, the three Legion founders (Cosmic Boy,
Saturn Girl Saturn Girl (Imra Ardeen) is a fictional superheroine appearing in American DC comic books. A talented telepath from the 30th century, Saturn Girl is a founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Imra's "Saturn Girl" title refers to her homewo ...
, and
Lightning Lad Garth Ranzz, also known as Live Wire and Lightning Lad, is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by DC Comics, usually those featuring the Legion of Superheroes, a 30th and 31st century group of which he is a founding mem ...
) determine that two of the Servants are reverse-DNA clones of Superman and one of the
Guardians of the Universe The Guardians of the Universe are a race of extraterrestrial superhero characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Green Lantern. They first appeared in ''Green Lantern'' (vol. 2) #1 (July 19 ...
. Shocked that the Master is able to clone and harness the power of two of the mightiest beings in history, the founders send out a general alarm, calling all active and reserve Legionnaires to duty. The Legionnaires manage to locate what turns out to be the Master's homeworld. Engaging the Servants in battle,
Wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...
destroys the Guardian clone, while
Element Lad Element Lad (Jan Arrah) is a fictional character in the 30th and 31st centuries of the , a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. A native of the planet Trom, he has the power to transmute chemical elements. Publication history Element Lad firs ...
exposes the Superman clone to
gold kryptonite Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton (comics), Krypton that emits a u ...
, allowing Timber Wolf to destroy him. Afterward,
Brainiac 5 Brainiac 5 (Querl Dox) is a fictional superhero character who exists in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. He is from the planet Colu and is a long-standing member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. The first live-action version of the c ...
recognizes the Master's homeworld, and is able to deduce his true identity. Meanwhile, the Master has travelled to Daxam. Having added the powers of Mordru, the Time Trapper and others to his own abilities, he transposes Daxam with his own homeworld. Consequently, Daxam's three billion natives each gain powers equal to those of Superman or Mon-El, and all of them fall under the thrall of the Master, who is determined to conquer the entire universe. At the villain's command, the Daxamites use their powers to physically reshape the planet until it has been sculpted in the image of the Master himself: the ancient
New Gods The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in ''New Gods'' ...
tyrant,
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 ...
. Brainiac 5 is the only Legionnaire (other than Mon-El) with any knowledge of Darkseid or his homeworld,
Apokolips Apokolips is a fictional planet that appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The planet is ruled by Darkseid, established in Jack Kirby's Fourth World series, and is integral to many stories in the DC Universe. Apokolips is co ...
. Once he briefs Dream Girl, she sends out a second general alarm to all of the Legion's super-powered allies, including
Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...
(who resides in the 20th century) and the
Legion of Substitute Heroes Legion of Substitute Heroes is a group of fictional characters in the future of the DC Comics universe. The "Subs", as they are often called, are a group of rejected applicants to the Legion of Super-Heroes who band together, hoping to prove to th ...
. Throughout
United Planets The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st cent ...
territory, the Kryptonian intelligence agent
Dev-Em Dev-Em is a fictional character who appears in DC Comics. He first appeared in '' Adventure Comics'' #287 (June 1961), created by Jerry Siegel and George Papp. Various versions of the Dev-Em character has appeared over the years in '' Legion of Su ...
, the
Heroes of Lallor The Heroes of Lallor are a group of fictional superheroes in the DC Comics universe. They appear in stories featured in '' Adventure Comics'' involving the Legion of Super-Heroes. Fictional history The original Heroes of Lallor are five super-po ...
, the Wanderers, the Substitute Heroes and the Legionnaires all struggle to hold back the onslaught of attacking Daxamites. On Takron-Galtos, a de-powered
Chameleon Boy Chameleon Boy (Reep Daggle), also known as Chameleon, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. Publication history Chameleon Boy first appeare ...
fends off an attack from a Daxamite child by using
judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
to toss him into a cell with
Validus The Fatal Five is a supervillain team of the 30th century in the DC Comics universe. They were created by Jim Shooter and first appeared in '' Adventure Comics'' #352 (1967) as enemies of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Fictional team history Origi ...
, the mysterious childlike creature who is the most powerful member of the
Fatal Five The Fatal Five is a supervillain team of the 30th century in the DC Comics universe. They were created by Jim Shooter and first appeared in '' Adventure Comics'' #352 (1967) as enemies of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Fictional team history Origi ...
. As the humanoid child inexplicably ages at an accelerated rate, the White Witch casts a spell transporting the people on Daxam to Apokolips and vice versa. She is forcibly aided by a powerful unknown entity. When Darkseid tries to seize the child, the entity completes the aging process and reveals itself to be Darkseid's ancient enemy Izaya,
Highfather Highfather (Izaya the Inheritor) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. An integral part of Jack Kirby's Fourth World mythos, Highfather is a New God, leader of the planet New Genesis and the positive co ...
of the New Gods from the planet
New Genesis New Genesis is a fictional planet appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A part of Jack Kirby's Fourth World mythos, the planet is home to the heroic New Gods led by the sage Highfather. New Genesis is the positive counterpart o ...
. Highfather transforms the last remaining Servant into a perfect clone of Darkseid's son Orion, who is destined to someday destroy his father. Before fading into nothingness, Highfather summons Superboy and Supergirl to the battlefield above Apokolips, with his power allowing the Kryptonian cousins to maintain their abilities under a red sun. Darkseid destroys the Orion clone and sends Superboy back to the 20th century. He then becomes so preoccupied with battling Supergirl and the other Legionnaires that he loses mental control of the Daxamites, who begin to make their way toward the planet. Realizing that he cannot defeat three billion Daxamites, Darkseid concedes defeat and vanishes, taking Apokolips with him. As he departs, he declares that he has left the Legionnaires with the "curse of darkness" which will destroy them from within, promising "that which is purest of you shall be the first to go". In the aftermath of the crisis, the White Witch is inducted into the Legion, while
Light Lass Ayla Ranzz, known originally as Lightning Lass (also known as Light Lass and Spark) is a comic book fictional character, who is a super heroine in a future DC Comics universe. She is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes where she is the sister ...
decides to quit.


Epilogue

Months later, a pregnant Saturn Girl goes into labor in the hospital satellite Medicus One, preparing to give birth to the child she shares with her husband Lightning Lad. During the delivery, the satellite is mysteriously enshrouded in darkness, but Saturn Girl gives birth to a healthy baby boy. She is thrilled but slightly surprised, for during her pregnancy she occasionally thought that she was sensing two brain patterns. Unknown to anyone, there was a second child. During the delivery, Darkseid secretly kidnapped the infant and used his power to radically transform the child and send him years into the past, where he would encounter the Legion as
Validus The Fatal Five is a supervillain team of the 30th century in the DC Comics universe. They were created by Jim Shooter and first appeared in '' Adventure Comics'' #352 (1967) as enemies of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Fictional team history Origi ...
, unrecognized by his parents or anyone else. Thus, Darkseid declares triumphantly that his curse is fulfilled.


Continuity

Following the events of the '' Zero Hour'' mini-series, this storyline and all other Legion stories predating October 1994 were removed from continuity. However, a new incarnation of the original Legion was introduced in 2007, in "
The Lightning Saga "The Lightning Saga" is a comic book crossover story arc that took place in DC Comics' two flagship team books: ''Justice League of America'' and '' Justice Society of America''. It was written by Brad Meltzer and Geoff Johns, and illustrated by ...
" storyline in the ''
Justice League of America The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
'' and ''
Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA, or Justice Society (JS)) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic ...
'' titles. DC writer Geoff Johns later stated that this incarnation of the Legion shares the same history as the original Legion up to the events of ''
Crisis on Infinite Earths "Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to March ...
'', including the events of "The Great Darkness Saga". Moreover, when DC released its post-''
Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, a ...
'' version of Darkseid's origin in 2008, "The Great Darkness Saga" was listed as one of the character's "essential storylines", strongly suggesting that the events of this tale were included in post-''Infinite Crisis'' continuity. Additionally, a subsequent Legion tale explicitly referred to "The Great Darkness Saga" in general, and Darkseid's victory over Mordru (on the planet Avalon) in particular. Validus and the other Fatal Five members were among the villains in
Superboy-Prime Superboy-Prime (Clark Kent, born Kal-El), also known as Superman-Prime or simply Prime, is a DC Comics superhero turned supervillain and an alternate version of Superman. The character first appeared in ''DC Comics Presents'' #87 (November 198 ...
's incarnation of the
Legion of Super-Villains The Legion of Super-Villains is a team of supervillains who appear in comic books published by DC Comics. They are adversaries of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the future. They first appeared as adults in ''Superman'' #147 (Aug 1961) and as teens ...
, as seen in the '' Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds'' mini-series. However, Garridan Ranzz (the infant who was abducted by Darkseid in the original continuity) was recently depicted as a young child living with his parents Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad, and his twin brother Graym. Thus, it appears that Validus and Garridan are not the same being in current continuity. During one of his missions to protect the timeline,
Booster Gold Booster Gold (Michael Jon Carter) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Dan Jurgens, the character first appeared in ''Booster Gold'' #1 (February 1986) and has been a member of the Justice League. ...
arrived on Daxam at the beginning of the Great Darkness Saga—he was meant to arrive there three days before the war began, but misread his instructions—in order to recover the helmet of
Doctor Fate Doctor Fate (also known as Fate) is the name of multiple superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original version of the character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, debuting in ''More F ...
to prevent Darkseid acquiring it. He departed Daxam along with Rani, an orphan girl who became his adopted daughter. In September 2011,
The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...
rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, there appears to have been little (if any) effect on this story arc, and the tale is still firmly within current continuity. In a New 52 Legion story, a Daxamite official remarked that the people of his world "still mourn how Darkseid used us for violence", an apparent reference to the events of "The Great Darkness Saga". In a subsequent tale, the Legion was confronted with a massive interplanetary crisis. Cosmic Boy described it by exclaiming that " e Legion hasn't faced anything this awful on so many worlds since the Great Darkness!" In her response to his statement, Shadow Lass similarly mentions Darkseid, the Servants and the rampage of the enthralled Daxamites.


Collected editions

The story is collected in the trade paperback ''Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga'' (). First printed in 1989, it includes a 7-page prologue from issue #287 and the epilogue from ''Annual'' #3, and a replica of a team poster from the same period. A second printing was released in August 2002. A hardcover "Deluxe Edition" was published in November 2010 (), including issues before and after the main "Saga" (#284–296 and ''Annual'' #1), but excluding the epilogue story and poster. The hardcover also includes the script for the first part and character designs by Giffen. DC has announced a trade paperback edition shipping February 2013.


Reception

The story has been called by
Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...
as "the franchise's most significant story". It also hailed the saga as helping with the development of how Darkseid was viewed by showing that he was "capable of anchoring a massive, complex plot as the uber-antagonist".
Gizmodo ''Gizmodo'' ( ) is a design, technology, science and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton, and runs on the Kinja platform. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the subsite ''io9'', whic ...
has stated that the story "made the Legion of Super-Heroes one of the best-selling franchises of the early '80s".


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Great Darkness Saga, The Comics by Keith Giffen Comics by Paul Levitz