Glorious Godfrey

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Glorious Godfrey
Gloriousgodfreydcu0.jpg
Glorious Godfrey as depicted in The Forever People #7 (March 1972). Art by Jack Kirby.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance The Forever People #3 (June 1971)
Created by Jack Kirby (writer-artist)
In-story information
Alter egoGlorious Gordon Godfrey
Species New God
Place of origin Apokolips
Team affiliations Darkseid's Elite
Galaxy Communications
Notable aliasesG. Gordon Godfrey, Reverend G. Godfrey Goode, Godfrey
Abilities
  • Immortality
  • Superhuman physical attributes
  • Limited mind-control
  • Commands the Army called The Justifiers

Glorious Godfrey is a DC Comics supervillain who is part of The Fourth World series of comic books in the early 1970s. [1] He is a New God from Apokolips and a servant of Darkseid who masquerades as a human television personality.

Contents

Godfrey has been adapted into various media outside comics, primarily in association with the New Gods. Enrico Colantoni and Tim Curry voice the character in Justice League and Young Justice respectively, while Michael Daingerfield and Tom Cavanagh portray Godfrey in Smallville and Superman & Lois .

Publication history

Glorious Godfrey first appeared in The Forever People #3 (June 1971) and was created by Jack Kirby. [2]

In 1971, an article in The New York Times Magazine about "relevant comics" described "a handsome toothy character named Glorious Godfrey, a revivalist. Godfrey is drawn to look like an actor playing Billy Graham in a Hollywood film biography of Richard Nixon starring George Hamilton". [3] The character was intended to embody the powerful, charismatic speaker who could talk people into justifying violence and evil. [4]

Jack Kirby biographer Mark Evanier states that Glorious Godfrey was based on Billy Graham, with elements of Arthur Godfrey. Kirby was disturbed by Graham's antisemitic views and apocalyptic sermons, which instilled fear rather than faith. [5]

Fictional character biography

Godfrey and his sister Amazing Grace are members of Darkseid's Elite who possess similar mind control powers. [6]

In his first appearance, Godfrey confronts the Forever People, who had stumbled upon a recruitment program for Earth-based warriors for Darkseid, and almost kills one of their members, Serifan. Despite the efforts of the Forever People's semi-sentient Super-Cycle, Godfrey's attack would have succeeded in killing Serifan; however, Highfather chose at that moment to recall all his people (and the cycle) home via teleportation. [7]

Godfrey as depicted in Legends #4 (February 1987). Art by John Byrne. GloriousGodfrey.png
Godfrey as depicted in Legends #4 (February 1987). Art by John Byrne.

In Legends , Darkseid attempts to deprive the world of its heroes, not only so that they would be ineffective against Darkseid, but also in the hopes that the people of Earth would more willingly surrender to his rule. The first phase of the plan consists of creating immense collateral damage by sending creatures to Earth to fight the superheroes. The public begins to resent the heroes in their midst, and therefore Darkseid starts the second phase of his plan by sending the master manipulator Glorious Godfrey to Earth. Assuming the identity of G. Gordon Godfrey (a reference to G. Gordon Liddy), he starts a hate campaign against the superheroes that proves to be very effective, riling the public and ultimately leading to a presidential decision to outlaw any super-heroic activity. The final phase of the plan consists of the Apokoliptian warhounds, cybernetic creatures that are bonded to human hosts, for which Godfrey is able to find an ample number of 'volunteers' among his hypnotized public. He leads his charges to Washington D.C., only to be confronted by a cadre of assembled heroes. He obtains Doctor Fate's helmet, but it wipes his mind and leaves him an empty shell. [8] [2]

Godfrey was seen as an inmate of Belle Reve. Darkseid dispatches the Female Furies to spring out Godfrey so that he can deal with him. Their mission is a success at the cost of Bernadeth betraying Lashina. [9]

During the "Genesis" storyline, Godfrey is seen during a major battle on Apokolips. [10]

In Final Crisis , Godfrey possesses human reverend Godfrey Good. Godfrey is present when Darkseid possesses Dan Turpin's body. However, Darkseid responds to his minion's impending death (presumably due to the fact that Godfrey's host body was not modified to successfully contain Godfrey's essence) by watching them die in front of him. [11] A one-shot revealed that Godfrey had been chosen by Darkseid to be Libra's assistant. The man is given generic technology to support him throughout the years because Darkseid believed the man had potential for greatness. Godfrey's assistance turns out to be invaluable, as Libra is the key to Darkseid's defeat of Earth. [12]

In 2011, The New 52 rebooted the DC universe. Glorious Godfrey makes his first appearance by giving greetings to Batman and Ra's al Ghul from Apokolips. He has a new look, sporting a beard and an all-black uniform with red gloves and belt. [13] Glorious Godfrey's reason for coming to Earth is to retrieve the Chaos Shard, a powerful crystal which once belonged to Darkseid which Ra's al Ghul revealed was hidden inside the sarcophagus he crafted for Damian Wayne. After detecting a trace signature of the shard coming from inside Damian's body, and despite the assistance of the Justice League, Glorious Godfrey escapes with the corpse back to Apokolips, with Batman vowing to get Damian's corpse back. [14]

Powers and abilities

As a New God, Godfrey is nigh-immortal and possesses superhuman physical abilities. However, he is a poor fighter and relies on his persuasive abilities.

In other media

Television

Film

G. Gordon Godfrey appears in Reign of the Supermen , voiced by an uncredited Trevor Devall. This version is an editorialist who wrote an article on how Earth's people need to be their own heroes instead of relying on metahumans.

Video games

G. Gordon Godfrey appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure . [18]

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References

  1. ↑ Greenberger, Robert; Pasko, Martin (2010). The Essential Superman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. p. 107. ISBN   978-0-345-50108-0.
  2. 1 2 Wallace, Dan (2008), "Glorious Godfrey", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, p. 138, ISBN   978-0-7566-4119-1, OCLC   213309017
  3. ↑ Braun, Saul (May 2, 1971). "Shazam! Here Comes Captain Relevant". The New York Times Magazine . p. 55. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  4. ↑ Sacks, Jason; Dallas, Keith (2014). American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1970s. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 40. ISBN   978-1605490564.
  5. ↑ "Master Villains - News From ME". News From ME. March 7, 2002. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  6. ↑ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 120. ISBN   978-1-4654-5357-0.
  7. ↑ The Forever People #6-7 (February–March 1972). DC Comics.
  8. ↑ Legends #1-6. DC Comics.
  9. ↑ Suicide Squad #3. DC Comics.
  10. ↑ Superboy and the Ravers #14. DC Comics.
  11. ↑ Final Crisis #1-5 (2008). DC Comics.
  12. ↑ Final Crisis: Secret Files and Origins (December 2008). DC Comics.
  13. ↑ Batman and Ra's al Ghul #32 (2014). DC Comics.
  14. ↑ Batman and Ra's al Ghul #33 (2014). DC Comics.
  15. 1 2 "G. Gordon Godfrey Voices (DC Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved July 15, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  16. ↑ Byrne, Craig (26 April 2012). "Young Justice Interview: Greg Weisman & Brandon Vietti Talk Saturday's Season Premiere - KSiteTV". ksitetv.com.
  17. ↑ Matadeen, Renaldo (November 20, 2024). "Who Does Tom Cavanagh Play On Superman & Lois Season 4?". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  18. ↑ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
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