Granny Goodness
| Granny Goodness | |
|---|---|
| File:Grannygoodness.PNG | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Mister Miracle vol. 1 #2 (May 1971) |
| Created by | Jack Kirby (writer & artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Goodness |
| Species | New God |
| Place of origin | Apokolips |
| Team affiliations | Female Furies Darkseid's Elite |
| Notable aliases | Athena |
| Abilities | Superhuman strength, durability; ability to use Apokoliptian technology without being consumed by it, stole the powers of the Olympian gods. |
Granny Goodness is a fictional character, a deity and supervillain published by DC Comics. Created by Jack Kirby, Granny Goodness was modeled on comedienne Phyllis Diller[1] and first appeared in Mister Miracle vol. 1 #2 (May-June 1971).
Fictional character biography
Granny Goodness did not begin as one of the higher-level residents of Apokolips, but was instead one of the "Lowlies" - the brutally-oppressed peasant class. She was removed from her parents and trained to be one of Darkseid's "Hounds" (his elite soldiers). One part of their training was to train their dog; Goodness named hers Mercy. Through combat and training, the two bonded. As the final step of her initiation into life as a Hound, she was told to kill her beloved pet. Instead, she killed her trainer for ordering this. When Darkseid asked why, she answered that "to have done otherwise would have robbed my lord of a most valuable asset," telling him that Mercy would obey her first, but him foremost. Testing this, Darkseid ordered Mercy to kill Goodness. Mercy attacked Goodness, forcing Goodness to kill her pet. Darkseid was impressed, telling Goodness that she had graduated with honors. "You have trained Mercy so well in my name that perhaps you'll do as well training others whose blind obedience I will one day require."
Darkseid had Granny run the training facility for his elite soldiers, where she uses brainwashing and torture, in a brutal parody of child care, to turn the innocent into fanatical warriors willing to kill or die for Darkseid's glory. Since the war between Apokolips and New Genesis first moved to Earth, Granny Goodness has often run Earthly orphanages, looking for potential warriors for Darkseid.
Granny runs the "orphanage" on Apokolips and is the chief of the Female Furies.[2] She also raised Scott Free, the son of Highfather of New Genesis who had been traded for Darkseid's son as part of a peace treaty. Scott Free (AKA Mister Miracle) became the first child to successfully escape one of her Orphanages.
In the final issue of the Amazons Attack miniseries it was revealed that Granny Goodness has been posing as Athena, having been manipulating the Amazons into the war. It also appears that Goodness is posing as Athena in the Countdown series, using Amazon centers to recruit new female fighters. She is also holding the Gods of Olympus prisoner. After the gods are freed by Mary Marvel, Holly Robinson and Harley Quinn, Granny is attacked and killed by Infinity-Man.
However, she is reincarnated on Earth, along with the other Evil Gods, as a member of Boss Dark Side's gang. Although this form is destroyed by Black Alice in an issue of Birds of Prey, in the Final Crisis of mankind, she takes the body of the Alpha Lantern known as Kraken and uses it to attack John Stewart and frame Hal Jordan for the assault. While she is discovered by Batman, she easily overpowers him and brings him back to the Evil Factory beneath Blüdhaven where he is sealed inside a torture device. Later, Reverend Good announces that Granny Goodness is poised to conquer Oa in the name of Darkseid.
Other versions
She is seen in the pages of Justice League in an alternate future where Darkseid has conquered the Earth. She has merged with the Mother Box systems, making a giant Grandmother Box. As her main offensive weapon, she teleports and blasts firepits energy at her adversaries.
On Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers, after Darkseid's victory over New Genesis destroyed both planets, Granny reinvented herself. She is now a brothel madame, with the Furies as her prostitutes, and is an obese black woman. In this guise she hoped to seduce the new Mister Miracle to Dark Side. It is not known if this is canon, although an identical version of Granny appears in Birds of Prey #118 (following Countdown), working at the "Dark Side Club".
In Amalgam Comics, Goodness was fused with Marvel comic's Agatha Harkness to become Granny Harkness, follower of Thanoseid (Thanos + Darkseid).
Other media
- Granny Goodness appeares on the Superman: The Animated Series episode "Little Girl Lost," where she was voiced by Edward Asner. In that episode, she brainwashes street children and takes them in as members of Intergang. Jimmy Olsen and Supergirl attempt to infiltrate the revamped Intergang. Suspicious, Granny orders Intergang to take them down, and summons the Female Furies to take executive action when the debutante Supergirl proves too true to her Argosian roots to be defeated that easily.
- Edward Asner reprises his role of Granny Goodness in the Justice League Unlimited episode "The Ties That Bind." She resurfaces and secretly kidnapps Oberon before approaching Mister Miracle and Big Barda with an offer: Free Kalibak from Virman Vunderbarr in the X-Pits on Apokolips and she'll release Oberon. As Superman isn't around, Flash volunteers to help them. After Kalibak is released from the X-Pits, Flash frees Oberon after revealing the Kalibak with Mister Miracle is really Martian Manhunter in disguise (they pulled a switch) and Kalibak is imprisoned in jail on Earth. She is later seen in Alive!, about to lead the Female Furies against Vunderbarr and his lieutenants, Kanto and Mantis. The civil war brewing on Apokolips since Twilight is halted when Darkseid returns.
She makes a cameo appearance in Imperiex's "bedtime story" scene from Unnatural Alliances in Legion of Super Heroes.
References
- ^ Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and the American Comic Book Revolution (Bloomsbury, 2004)
- ^ Wallace, Dan (2008), "Female Furies", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, p. 120, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5, OCLC 213309017