| Bernadeth | |
|---|---|
 Bernadeth, art by John Byrne. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Mister Miracle #6 (February 1972) |
| Created by | Jack Kirby (writer & artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Bernadeth |
| Species | New God |
| Place of origin | Apokolips |
| Team affiliations | Female Furies |
| Abilities |
|
Bernadeth is an extraterrestrial supervillainess appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.
She first appeared in Mister Miracle #6 (February 1972) and was created by Jack Kirby. [1]
Co-leader of the Female Furies, Bernadeth wields a "fahren-knife" that burns her victims from the inside. [2] As the sister of Darkseid's servant, Desaad, Bernadeth is both notorious and feared by the masses of Apokolips. [3] She was one of the first Furies to be recruited, though Bernadeth hated being led by others. When Big Barda left for Earth to be with Mister Miracle, Bernadeth joined her alongside Lashina, Stompa, and Mad Harriet for a brief period of time. [4]
Later, Bernadeth returned to Apokolips with the other Furies sans Barda. [5] Bernadeth saw Barda's permanent defecting as a way to gain leadership herself. However, Darkseid rewarded Lashina with leadership of the Furies. During a mission to retrieve Glorious Godfrey, Bernadeth betrayed Lashina and left her on Earth. [6] Because of this, Bernadeth was temporarily able to achieve leadership over the Furies. When Lashina returned to Apokolips with the Suicide Squad, she snapped Bernadeth's neck after a long and fierce battle. [7] Darkseid was appalled by the fact that Lashina brought outsiders to Apokolips, so he killed her and resurrected Bernadeth, although he later brought Lashina back to life as well. [8] Afterwards, Bernadeth agreed to share leadership duties. [3]
Later on Apokolips, she was seen along with the rest of the Furies testing Granny Goodness' newest recruit Precious. After Supergirl's capture, Bernadeth and her teammates were defeated by Wonder Woman and Big Barda. [1]
She appeared in both the Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle mini-series, and in Hawkgirl.
During Countdown to Final Crisis , Bernadeth attempted and failed to stop Jimmy Olsen and Forager from escaping Apokolips. After they escaped, Bernadeth was confronted by the Infinity-Man, presumably resulting in her death. [9]
Bernadeth later appeared in as part of the "Dark Side Club". She created drugs that helped Granny Goodness brainwash superheroes into fighting at the Dark Side Club arena. She also experimented on cell samples from the club's victims, and thereby was the first to learn that Black Alice was related to Misfit. [10]
In The New 52, Darkseid is enslaved by his daughter Grail, leading Bernadeth and the other Female Furies to accept an offer from Big Barda to help defeat Grail as well as to protect Barda's husband, Mister Miracle. Bernadeth participated in the final battle against Grail and Darkseid, which resulted in the pair's defeat. Bernadeth then left for Apokolips with the rest of the Furies, including Barda. [11]
Although Bernadeth was not seen with the other Female Furies who sided with Granny Goodness during Lex Luthor's reign as lord of Apokolips, [12] she reunited with her teammates as they discovered Darkseid was alive on Earth. Along with the other Furies, Bernadeth was assigned to seek out mystical artifacts that would empower Darkseid. [13] However, Bernadeth and the Furies were unable to gather the artifacts after being ambushed by Steve Trevor and his Oddfellows and returned to Darkseid. Despite threatening them, Darkseid allowed the Furies to live as he decided he had further use for them. [14] Bernadeth later joined in the battle against Wonder Woman and A.R.G.U.S. in the Amazon Jungle, though it resulted in Darkseid's destruction. [15]
At some point, Bernadeth attended the birth of Big Barda and Mister Miracle's son alongside the other Furies. She let Mister Miracle borrow her Fahren-Knife to "cut her as she needs to be cut". Big Barda assumed this to be a threat, but when the child was born, it left Barda's womb strangled by her invulnerable umbilical cord. With no other options, Mister Miracle used the Fahren-Knife to cut her cord and save the baby's life. Afterwards, Mister Miracle returned the weapon to Bernadeth, thanking her. She replied that she was glad it helped, but that she would use it to kill him when they returned to war. [16] Later, she joined Kalibak and Kanto in a meeting with Mister Miracle, Big Barda, and Lightray to discuss the options of a peace treaty between Apokolips and New Genesis. [17]
Granny Goodness soon took an interest in Harley Quinn, sending Bernadeth and Lashina to recruit the former criminal. While Lashina distracted Quinn, Bernadeth pricked her in the back with a knockout poison. The two then took Quinn to Apokolips where she officially became a Fury. [18] After Quinn failed as a Fury, Bernadeth trapped her and a former Fury named Petite Tina inside her Personality Re-Education Center where she planned to wipe their minds. [19] After many attempts, Bernadeth's machine was unable to do any permanent brain damage to Quinn. Frustrated, Bernadeth left the pair to find DeSaad's razor-edged Sanity Blade. [20]
Bernadeth is extremely long-lived and possesses the standard superhuman strength, durability, and speed of all New Gods. She can lift several tons easily and her advanced physiology gives her superhuman endurance at all physical activities. [21] Bernadeth is very skilled in the hand-to-hand combat. Bernadeth's weapon of choice is the Fahren-Knife, a mystical dagger forged from Darkseid's skin that enables her to burn her victims from the inside out. Bernadeth's brother DeSaad gave her the knife as a present, and it is said to be powerful enough to kill gods. [16]
In the Marvel/DC amalgam series Unlimited Access, Bernadeth does not merge with any other villains, but is seen battling the heroes alongside Mad Harriet. [22]
Bernadeth appears in the story "Dig For Fire" in the anthology series Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman. After discovering that Wonder Woman had traveled to Apokolips to save two of her Amazon sisters, Lashina, Stompa and Mad Harriet tracked her down. The trio refused to speak peacefully to Wonder Woman, and in the ensuing battle, the heroine was shot in the neck by an explosive dart from Bernadeth and thrown into the fiery pits by Stompa. When the Furies reported back to Darkseid, he was displeased that they had killed her rather than executing her publicly. Wonder Woman, still alive, managed to save her sisters. The Furies once again battled Wonder Woman, though the battle ended when Darkseid killed the two Amazons and allowed Wonder Woman to return to Earth. [23]
An alternate universe incarnation of Bernadeth makes a cameo appearance in a flashback in Justice League: Gods and Monsters .
Bernadeth appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure .
Darkseid is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby, and debuted in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134.
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 #1.
Mister Miracle is the name of three fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
Orion is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the son of Darkseid and half-brother of Kalibak and Grayven who was traded to Highfather as part of a peace deal between Apokolips and New Genesis. Since then, Orion has assisted the New Gods of New Genesis against his father and was also a member of the Justice League.
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 considered the opposite of the planet New Genesis.
Granny Goodness is a fictional supervillain and New God published by DC Comics.
The Female Furies are a group of women warriors and supervillains appearing in comics published by DC Comics. All of them are New Gods who serve Darkseid. They operate directly under Granny Goodness, who trains all of Darkseid's soldiers.
Big Barda is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She first appeared in Mister Miracle #4, and was created by Jack Kirby. She was raised as a member of the New Gods, but left to become a hero.
Funky Flashman is a fictional character, an entrepreneur in the DC Universe. Created by Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the pages of Mister Miracle during the early 1970s. He is popularly considered a satiric caricature of Stan Lee, Kirby's former artistic collaborator at Marvel Comics with whom he had a falling-out. Flashman's attempts to rip off Mister Miracle reflect Kirby's view that Lee exploited his work at Marvel in the 1960s.
Mother Boxes are fictional devices in Jack Kirby's Fourth World setting in the DC Universe.
Lashina is a supervillainess and Goddess warrior appearing in comics published by DC Comics.
The Anti-Life Equation is a fictional concept appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. In Jack Kirby's Fourth World setting, the Anti-Life Equation is a formula for total control over the minds of sentient beings that is sought by Darkseid, who, for this reason, sends his forces to Earth, as he believes part of the equation exists in the subconsciousness of humanity. Various comics have defined the equation in different ways, but a common interpretation is that the equation may be seen as a mathematical proof of the futility of living, or of life as incarceration of spirit, per predominant religious and modern cultural suppositions.
Stompa is a fictional extraterrestrial supervillainess and goddess appearing in books published by DC Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Mister Miracle #6.
Virman Vundabar is a fictional extraterrestrial supervillain published by DC Comics.
Kanto is a supervillain and extraterrestrial assassin published by DC Comics.
Jezebelle, also known as Jezebelle of the Fiery Eyes, is a fictional character, a superheroine in publications from DC Comics. Created by Gerry Conway and Don Newton, the character first appeared in New Gods #12. She was the second female character in the series, after Big Barda.
Countdown, also known as Countdown to Final Crisis for its last 24 issues based on the cover, was a comic book limited series published by DC Comics. It debuted on May 9, 2007, directly following the conclusion of the last issue of 52. The series is written primarily by Paul Dini, along with a rotating team of writers and artists.
Death of the New Gods is an eight-issue comic book limited series published in 2007 and 2008 by DC Comics. It was written and pencilled by Jim Starlin.
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"Justice League: The Darkseid War" is a 2015–2016 superhero comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of a central, eponymous miniseries by writer Geoff Johns and artists Gary Frank and Jason Fabok, and numerous tie-in books by various other creative teams. It is the final storyline to feature the Justice League in the 2011 New 52 continuity, before DC transitioned to the continuity of DC Rebirth. The plot involves the fulfilment of a prophecy in which the Justice League are embroiled in a war between Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor, and learns that someone else has engineered these events all for their own purposes. The storyline received critical acclaim for the engaging plot, the action, and art of Jason Fabok.
