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| Apokolips | |
|---|---|
 Apokolips as depicted inHistory of the DC Universe #1. Art byGeorge Pérez. | |
| First appearance | TheNew Gods #1 (February 1971) |
| Created by | Jack Kirby |
| Races | New Gods Parademons Dreggs |
| Characters | Darkseid Granny Goodness DeSaad Kalibak Steppenwolf Devilance Kanto Virman Vundabar Grayven Female Furies Deep Six Parademons |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
Apokolips is afictional planet that appears inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. The planet is ruled byDarkseid, established inJack Kirby'sFourth World series, and is integral to many stories in theDC Universe. Apokolips is considered the opposite of the planetNew Genesis.[1]
Apokolips is a large planet covered entirely by a city (anecumenopolis). It is a notoriously dismal place, where Hunger Dogs (low-class citizens) labor to feed the pits that supply light and power to the world.[2] Both Apokolips and New Genesis exist in a different plane of existence,[3] located nearthe Source that originated the Old andNew Gods.[4]
Apokolips represents a dystopian society. As Jack Misselhorn writes: "No one on Apokolips evolves spiritually because there is no love. It is a stagnant society, its inhabitants living in ignorance, the legacy of oppression".[5]
Because it exists in another dimension outside of the multiverse, Apokolips is primarily accessed via Boom Tubes. It has been said that the New Gods are normally giants, and that travel through the Boom Tubes rescales them to mortal proportions.[6][7]
Apokolips and its counterpartNew Genesis were created after the destruction of Urgrund, the world of the "Old Gods" (implied to be the gods ofNorse mythology).[6] While New Genesis was given strength and nobility from the "living atoms" of the Old GodBalduur, Apokolips was saturated with evil from an unnamed sorceress.[8] The two planets are locked in an eternal war, symbolizing the struggle of evil and good on a grand mythic scale. Apokolips is ruled by a fell being known asDarkseid, a dark leader who rules over his downtrodden people by force and fear and killed his mother Heggra to obtain the throne.[6]
Both Apokolips andNew Genesis were seemingly destroyed in a final battle prior toGrant Morrison's miniseriesSeven Soldiers: Mister Miracle. However, the final issue of that series implied that the story's earlier events were merely visions seen by the hero as part of an elaborate test by the New GodMetron. How much of the battle really happened and the current status of the New Gods remains to be seen.
Using Boom Tube technology,Brother Eye arrives on Apokolips and seemingly assimilates the entire planet. Before the assimilation is fully complete, thePied Piper intervenes and channels theAnti-Life Equation through his flute. This destroys much ofBrother Eye, causing it to flee and reverting much of Apokolips to normal.
At the end of theDeath of the New Gods miniseries, with all the gods now dead, the combined entity born from the melding of theSource and theAnti-Life Equation merges Apokolips and New Genesis into a single planet.
In the 30th century, originalLegion of Super-Heroes continuity, Apokolips is inactive and Darkseid is incapacitated. In the rebootLegion continuity, Darkseid was aged and dying, with the planet mostly uninhabited, but the center of a large cult.
In DC continuity following its 2011Flashpoint event and the launch of itsNew 52 line of comics, theDC Multiverse remains composed of 52 worlds, but only one set of New Gods. Darkseid and his army from Apokolips have attempted to invade Earth-0, or Prime Earth, but are repelled by the first incarnation of theJustice League. At the same time, his armies invaded the alternate Earth of Earth-2 under the aegis ofSteppenwolf, which was much more successful.
The invasion of Earth-2 cost the lives of that universe's originalSuperman,Batman,Catwoman,Wonder Woman and millions of humans, including Earth-2'sLois Lane, who married Superman on that world. The Apokoliptan forces have assistance fromFury (Earth-2 Wonder Woman's abducted and brainwashed daughter), with all her mother's Amazonian abilities. Five years on, a number of new "wonders" begin to emerge:Green Lantern (Alan Scott), theAtom,Hawkgirl,Doctor Fate, theRed Tornado (an android with Lois Lane's consciousness) and theFlash form an embryonic Justice Society. Before long, the armies of Apokolips attempt a second invasion of Earth 2, and the Wonders of the World are supported by further heroes including Batman (Thomas Wayne), a newSuperman (Val-Zod),Huntress (Helena Wayne),Power Girl, Aquawoman (Marella), theAccountable (Jimmy Olsen), the New GodMister Miracle, and Earth 0'sMister Terrific.
Agents of Darkseid, such asGlorious Godfrey andKalibak (inBatman & Robin) and the Apokoliptian Orion (inWonder Woman), have encountered the heroes of Earth-0 on several occasions, but no full-scale invasions have taken place. Later, in the seriesEarth 2: Worlds' End,Mister Miracle discovers thatHighfather made a deal with Darkseid that the armies of Apokolips could invade Earth-2 and that dimension freely without the intervention of the New Gods of New Genesis, explaining the wild disparity between the fates of Earth-0 and Earth-2. Ultimately, Apokolips itself enters Earth-2's Solar System and consumes Earth-2, transforming the planet into fuel to sustain itself.
WhenPerpetua destroys the Source Wall, one of the side effects is that Apokolips simply vanishes.[9] With Apokolips gone, Darkseid plans to use the Ghost Sector to create a New Apokolips which he will use to invade and conquer the Multiverse.[10]
The population is a downtrodden lot, including many kidnapped from other worlds before being "broken". The majority of the population are called Lowlies or Hunger Dogs, a bald and fearful race whose members have no sense of self-worth or value, and yet, in their own way, are just as much gods as those who rule the planet. The Lowlies are subject to constant abuse that ends only with death. Next are theParademons, who serve as the keepers of order on the planet and are created from other races who have been brainwashed or resurrected to serve Darkseid.[6][1] Higher above the Parademons are theFemale Furies, who are Darkseid's personal guard. They are blessed with unnatural strength and longevity and are either trained for their position in the Furies from birth, or are promoted from the ranks of general Apokoliptian troops. The leaders of the Furies areGranny Goodness, who sports the appearance of a matronly old woman while being the most powerful of the guards, andKanto, who enjoys a unique position as Darkseid's master assassin.[11][6] The chief guard,Big Barda, had a third position under Granny which has not been filled since her defection from the group. Deep below Armagetto, the lifeless forms of the Old Gods live on. They are known as the Dreggs.
Apokolips is ruled by Darkseid as its theocratic god/despot, but he delegates most of the actual day-to-day ruling to his counsellorDeSaad. Darkseid has no real contenders for the throne of Apokolips exceptMantis, although his sonsOrion,Grayven, andKalibak are also potential contenders. Darkseid is cursed with Grayven and Kalibak's stupidity and Orion's service in the name of good. Orion once usurped the throne of Apokolips from his father temporarily, until coming to his senses and returning to New Genesis. It is prophesied that Orion will overthrow Darkseid. InKingdom Come, it is revealed that Darkseid's overthrow will not result in major changes on Apokolips, as Apokolips' evil comes from evil itself rather than from Darkseid.
There are different locations on Apokolips, a ecumenopolis (a world-city) with burning firepits, extant in between dimensions, occupying a ‘frequency’ somewhere between the physical universe and Hell:
Apokolips is on par withNew Genesis in terms of technological advancement. With their technology, they are the height of power in most of the universe and are able to devastate galaxies when they choose to use it. Technology from Apokolips is sometimes on par with the technology used byBrainiac. Apokoliptian technology is furthermore the source of unparalleled misery in the universe, as the planet routinely arms evil groups with advanced technology to further its influence (and misery) across the universe. Apokoliptian technology was used byBruno Mannheim and his organizationIntergang in theSuperman comics. It was a deal between Darkseid and Metron which was the cause of the invention of the "Boom Tube" using "Element X", which could only be found on Apokolips. The "Entropy Aegis" armor, used bySteel to defeatImperiex, was Apokoliptian technology, as was Dmitri Pushkin's second suit ofRocket Red armor.
During anintercompany crossover,Galactus visited Apokolips, but was unable to feed on the planet, since all of the life force that had dwelled there had either left toNew Genesis or had been burned in the fire pits long ago, in essence leaving the planet with no life force and making it too corrupt for him to feed on.[6]
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