Presence (DC)
The Presence is a comic character who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
The Presence
At the time of creation, the Presence was said to have had a shadow-partner and counterpart that was the Great Darkness. (Swamp Thing v2 #50)
It was said that at the beginning there was the Voice and when he first opened his mouth he created the Word as well as commanded light that came to Earth. (Swamp Thing v2 #167)
God crafted different aspects of itself with among these being the Wrath of God who in time became known as the Spectre. (Spectre v3 #0) His Wrath had a name in the beginning with this being Eclipso who swelled the waters and blanketed the Earth with the only survivor being Noah on his Ark. Though God forgave, Eclipso did not and due to his pride along with anger he was imprisoned for his actions. Afterwards, the Lord brought forth a new Spirit of Wrath namely the Spectre with this one being more directed and suited to God's anger. (Spectre v3 #14) Among the angels that returned from Lucifer's rebellion was Aztar who accepted his wrongdoing and offered to take any punishment from the Lord of Hosts. Michael declared that Aztar bear the Judgement of God by becoming an aspect of God's Wrath. This punishment would see that no memory or awareness of Aztar would remain with all this being burnt out. The fallen angel accepted this punishment and hoped that perhaps a small portion of himself might continue as he was transformed into the Spectre with no mercy given to him only what was deemed as being justice. (Spectre v3 #60)
After dying, Jim Corrigan did not pass through the Gates of Eternity who was instead chosen to be gifted supernatural powers and remain on Earth in order to fight crimes. (More Fun Comics v1 #52)
The Presence (as God) also commands the allegiance of the host of angels, including Zauriel. Lucifer continued to try to escape from God's plan, which eventually abandoned his place in Hell and entrusted him to Dream of the Endless, and began to roam Earth in his new rebellion. Dream organized an auction between gods and demons to find a new lord of Hell, but God ordered two angels, Remiel and Duma, to take possession of Hell on His behalf, an authority that overcame that of all other auctioneers. (Sandman v2 #28)
In another story, the fallen archangel Asmodel invades the Silver City with an army of Bull-Host angels and Neron's demons to claim the Throne of God, only to be told by Zauriel that the Presence was not, in actuality, truly sitting upon a throne in the highest Heaven. He was in fact part of everything and everyone, part of Heaven and Earth and perhaps even Hell itself, and thus could never be dethroned by any rebel, be they mortal or angel. Asmodel was then stripped of his angelic powers and condemned to Hell by the Presence to burn for eternity for his treachery. (JLA: Paradise Lost v1 #1)
A plan by the Presence was the creation of the Spirit of Redemption with the host being Chris Esperanza who was a human that was slain by the Sin Eater but brought back to life by the Phantom Stranger. The mortal was allowed to descend into despair and become the host for the Blight that was the collective darkness within all mankind. This was so that the human could see despair but redeem himself allowing him transformation into the Spirit of Redemption. With his transformation complete, Esperenza banished the Blight back into the collective unconsciousness of mankind. (Justice League Dark v1 #27)
After Shayera Thal and Carter Hall died, they awoke in the Sphere of the Gods, reverted to Ktar and Shrra. The Presence explained that Ktar's debt was repaid and offered to allow him to pass on and to restore Shrra, however, they do not wish to be parted. So the Presence offered them another reward, to be reincarnated a final time in their favorite lives, and they agreed and were restored to life in the 1940s as the Golden Age mortals Hawkman and Hawkgirl. (Hawkman v5 #26)
Overview
Personality and attributes
His face and name, however, were molded by Humans' dreams and beliefs through the collective unconscious. (Sandman v2 #18) This led to his title as being the King of Heaven. (Books of Magic v3 #14) He was also referred to as the Knower of All Things. (Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger v1 #12)
There were many sides to the Almighty and many names given to God. (Spectre v3 #14) He was known to act through many aspects and spoke through some of them. (Lucifer v1 #75)
It was said that one should not underestimate the Presence's power to restore even the most shattered of souls. (JLA/The Spectre: Soul War v1 #2)
Powers and abilities
The Presence birthed the very cosmic energies from which all multiverses in the void spring. (Dark Nights: Death Metal v1 #1) Each of these energies are essential for the good working of the Multiverse with all its elements operating in harmony with one another, as one ensures motions, another feelings, another magic, and so on. (Justice League v4 #30) As God, The Presence possesses understanding of the workings of the universe on a cosmic scale. (Lucifer v1 #75)
The Divine Presence was said to contain and surpass everyone as well as everything in creation. (Spectre v4 #10) As such, he was said to be nowhere and yet everywhere. He was mentioned as embodying the rock beneath an individuals feet or the air breathed into lungs. The Presence was stated as being both Heaven and Earth as well as possibly Hell itself. (JLA: Paradise Lost v1 #3) He was said to be both infinite and eternal. (Lucifer v1 #75) The Presence was said to be one of the sources of connective energies that were used to create a Multiverse. (Dark Nights: Death Metal v1 #1)
The One Over All designated certain aspects of itself to perform certain functions with each of them having a name. (Spectre v3 #0) Serving the Voice were its seven deadly aspects that it created with among them being the Word. (Swamp Thing v2 #167) His Mercy came in the form of the kindness of the Radiant. (Final Crisis: Revelations v1 #2) Another will of the Presence that was given form was the embodied Spirit of Redemption. (Justice League Dark v1 #27) The final champion of the Voice was the Spectre. (Swamp Thing v2 #49)
The voice was capable of empowering their agents with greater powers to defeat certain foes. (More Fun Comics v1 #55) Among these was gifting them relics such as the Ring of Life and Death where it was said that no man-made mechanism could resist its power. (More Fun Comics v1 #60)
Through merging with the Logoz, aspects such as the Spectre had access to a record of all of Earth's history from the dawn of creation to modern times. (Spectre v4 #4) This inner aspect of them served as a direct channel to God. (JLA/The Spectre: Soul War v1 #2)
Notes
- The Presence was created by Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily where it made its first appearance in More Fun Comics v1 #52 (February, 1940).
- In an interview with Greg Rucka, he commented during Final Crisis: Revelation that, "But the sort of unspoken rule in the DCU is that the Judeo-Christian God sits above all others. And then below that you can have your New Gods and your Greek gods and whoever else you want."
- In DC Nation v2 #5 (2018), writer James Tynion IV commented on the order of various types of mystical beings in the DC Universe where he said, "The most powerful magical forces in all of creation are called judges. They are given their power by the Divine Presence itself... Judges are limited by the tasks they are set upon by their master, but should they break free, the danger would be apocalyptic."
In other media
Television
- In Lucifer, God appeared in the setting of the live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Dennis Haysbert. At the dawn of time, God and the Goddess created the Universe via a literal 'Big Bang', which resulted in not only all of Creation, but in the birth of the Angels, who sprung into existence fully formed. He created Angels to self-actualize, resulting in their physical appearance and powers to be affected based on how they subconsciously feel about themselves. God chose not to tell his children about their true nature, believing that allowing them to discover it for themselves would empower them. When God started developing Earth, He created the Dinosaurs. He believed they would be fine, before they were wiped out by a meteor. After their extinction, He started working on Humanity. When He began to obsess about Humans, His relationship with His Wife fell apart.
Appearances
- More Fun Comics v1: (1940)
- Spectre v1:
- JLA: Paradise Lost v1:
- Spectre v4:
- Lucifer v1:
- Phantom Stranger v1:
- Justice League Dark v1:
External Links
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