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Glorious Godfrey

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Glorious Godfrey
Gloriousgodfreydcu0.jpg
Glorious Godfrey from The Forever People #7, artist Jack Kirby.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceThe Forever People #3 (June 1971)
Created byJack Kirby (writer and artist)
In-story information
Alter egoGlorious Gordon Godfrey
SpeciesNew God
Place of originApokolips
Team affiliationsDarkseid'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]

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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]

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Forever People

Forever People

Forever People are a group of extraterrestrial superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Forever People #1, and were created by Jack Kirby as part of his "Fourth World" epic.

Jack Kirby

Jack Kirby

Jack Kirby was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew up in New York City and learned to draw cartoon figures by tracing characters from comic strips and editorial cartoons. He entered the nascent comics industry in the 1930s, drawing various comics features under different pen names, including Jack Curtiss, before ultimately settling on Jack Kirby. In 1940, he and writer-editor Joe Simon created the highly successful superhero character Captain America for Timely Comics, predecessor of Marvel Comics. During the 1940s, Kirby regularly teamed with Simon, creating numerous characters for that company and for National Comics Publications, later to become DC Comics.

The New York Times Magazine

The New York Times Magazine

The New York Times Magazine is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazine is noted for its photography, especially relating to fashion and style. Its puzzles have been popular since their introduction.

Billy Graham

Billy Graham

William Franklin Graham Jr. was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christian figure, and according to a biographer, was "among the most influential Christian leaders" of the 20th century.

Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was the 36th vice president from 1953 to 1961 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. His five years in the White House saw reduction of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, détente with the Soviet Union and China, the first crewed Moon landings, and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Nixon's second term ended early, when he became the only president to resign from office, as a result of the Watergate scandal.

George Hamilton (actor)

George Hamilton (actor)

George Stevens Hamilton is an American actor. His notable films include Home from the Hill (1960), By Love Possessed (1961), Light in the Piazza (1962), Your Cheatin' Heart (1964), Once Is Not Enough (1975), Love at First Bite (1979), Zorro, The Gay Blade (1981), The Godfather Part III (1990), Doc Hollywood (1991), 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997), Hollywood Ending (2002), and The Congressman (2016). For his debut performance in Crime and Punishment U.S.A. (1959), Hamilton won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for a BAFTA Award. He has received one additional BAFTA nomination and two Golden Globe nominations.

Fictional character biography

Godfrey has a sister named Amazing Grace who is also a member of Darkseid's Elite. The siblings have similar powers. Whereas Amazing Grace's specialty is manipulation, Godfrey's is persuasion.[5]

In his first appearance he confronts the Forever People, who had stumbled upon a recruitment program for Earth-based warriors for Darkseid. He personally leads an attack of Justifiers that almost kills the young warrior Serafin. Despite the efforts of the Forever People's semi-sentient Super-Cycle, Godfrey's attack would have succeeded in killing Serafin; however, Highfather chose at that moment to recall all his people (and the cycle) home via teleportation.[6]

Godfrey remained a relatively unimportant character until 1986, when Legends (the first crossover since the Crisis on Infinite Earths) was published. In it, 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.

G. Gordon Godfrey, artist John Byrne.
G. Gordon Godfrey, artist John Byrne.

The first phase of the plan consists simply of creating immense amounts of 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.[2]

The heroes are able to defeat the Warhounds and separate them from their human hosts, with Godfrey jeopardising his image when he strikes a little girl who had been standing between the heroes and Godfrey's group of adults. After his initial weak attempt to justify his attack fails, Godfrey makes one last ploy by putting on the helmet of Doctor Fate in the hopes of obtaining his awesome might. Instead, the helmet mindwipes Godfrey, leaving him nothing more than an empty shell. He is sent to Belle Reve sanitarium, which he would later be broken out of by the Female Furies under the order of Darkseid.

Godfrey has subsequently made brief appearances among assemblages of all the Apokoliptian Gods.

Final Crisis

In Final Crisis #1, Reverend Godfrey Good appears on a TV news report, decrying the situation in Blüdhaven and the lack of government aid and assistance in dealing with the crisis in the ruined city.[7] In between Final Crisis #1 and #2, Good is captured and transformed into a host for the essence of Glorious Godfrey. Godfrey taunts Dan Turpin and Batman, as Batman is imprisoned and Turpin transformed into the final host body for Darkseid.

In Final Crisis #4, Godfrey is present when Darkseid takes control over Turpin's body. However, in Final Crisis #5, 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 dark essence) by watching them die in front of him.[8]

A one-shot revealed that Godfrey had been chosen by Darkseid to be the secretive, personal assistant to the Earth-based villain Libra. 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.[9]

The New 52

In The New 52 (a 2011 reboot of the DC Comics 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.[10] 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. 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 Wayne's corpse back.[11]

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Darkseid

Darkseid

Darkseid is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby to serve as the primary antagonist of his "Fourth World" metaseries, and was first seen briefly in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 in December 1970 before being officially introduced in the debut issue of Forever People in February 1971. Kirby modeled Darkseid's face on actor Jack Palance and based his personality on Adolf Hitler and Richard Nixon.

Forever People

Forever People

Forever People are a group of extraterrestrial superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Forever People #1, and were created by Jack Kirby as part of his "Fourth World" epic.

Legends (comics)

Legends (comics)

Legends was a comic book crossover story line that ran through a six-issue, self-titled limited series and various other titles published by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987. Each of the individual crossover/tie-in issues had a Legends Chapter # header added to their trade dress.

Crisis on Infinite Earths

Crisis on Infinite Earths

"Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to March 1986. As the main piece of a crossover event, some plot elements were featured in tie-in issues of other publications. Since its initial publication, the series has been reprinted in various formats and editions.

John Byrne (comics)

John Byrne (comics)

John Lindley Byrne is a British-born American writer and artist of superhero comics. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on many major superheroes; with noted work on Marvel Comics' X-Men, She-Hulk and Fantastic Four. Byrne also facilitated the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics' Superman franchise with the limited series The Man of Steel, the first issue of which featured comics' first variant cover.

Superhero

Superhero

A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses superpowers, abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, or dedicating themselves to protecting the public and fighting crime. Superhero fiction is the genre of fiction that is centered on such characters, especially, since the 1930s, in American comic books, as well as in Japanese media.

G. Gordon Liddy

G. Gordon Liddy

George Gordon Battle Liddy was an American lawyer, FBI agent, talk show host, actor, and convicted felon in the Watergate scandal as the chief operative in the White House Plumbers unit during the Nixon administration. Liddy was convicted of conspiracy, burglary, and illegal wiretapping for his role in the scandal.

Doctor Fate

Doctor Fate

Doctor Fate is the name of multiple superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original version of the character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, debuting in More Fun Comics #55. The character has appeared in various incarnations, with Doctor Fate being the name of several different individuals in the DC Universe as part of a sorcerous legacy with several attempts to revitalize the character.

Mindwipe

Mindwipe

A mindwipe is a fictional memory erasure procedure in which the subject's memories and sometimes personality are erased. Often those are replaced by new memories more useful to those who are carrying out the mindwiping. It is a more thorough form of brainwashing. It is sometimes used as an alternative to capital punishment, or to make the subject more useful to the system. The mindwipe can be performed by a hypnotic or magical ability, or by an electronic device. It is often coupled with stories where the characters have amnesia, although the latter concept includes cases that occur naturally or by accident instead of the result of a deliberate procedure.

Female Furies

Female Furies

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.

Libra (DC Comics)

Libra (DC Comics)

Libra is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Justice League of America #111, where he formed the first incarnation of the Injustice Gang. Libra made his return with a leading role in Final Crisis in 2008.

Ra's al Ghul

Ra's al Ghul

Ra's al Ghul is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. Created by editor Julius Schwartz, writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams, the character first appeared in Batman #232's "Daughter of the Demon".

Powers and abilities

Glorious Godfrey retains several attributes of a native of Apokolips, such as a limited level of superhuman strength, endurance and invulnerability. In addition, Godfrey has extended lifespan which allows him to exist indefinitely and he has an advanced immune system. However, Glorious Godfrey is a sub-par athlete and hand-to-hand combatant, whose greatest gifts are his overwhelming speaking voice and his extraordinary powers of persuasion. Whether these are natural gifts or have been augmented by the power of Darkseid has yet to be determined. Godfrey employs a private army called the Justifiers, composed of Earthmen who believe Godfrey's rhetoric and have had their perceptions completely contorted by Godfrey's words. The special helmets worn by the Justifiers allow Glorious Godfrey to control his soldiers even when they are not in his presence.

Inspiration

Jack Kirby biographer Mark Evanier states that Glorious Godfrey was based on evangelist Billy Graham: "A lesser villain who toiled in the service of Darkseid was inspired more directly by evangelist Billy Graham, who was then rather difficult to avoid on TV. Kirby was appalled at some of Graham's apocalyptic sermons which — to Jack — were more calculated to instill fear than faith, and to stampede people into service of Graham's causes. Jack called the foe Glorious Godfrey, the name being a Kirbyesque pun. The comic book evangelist was "god-free" and also had some of the traits of TV pitchman Arthur Godfrey, though the main reference and the visual came from Billy Graham. Not evident in on the pages he drew was Jack's belief — which he expressed on several occasions — that Graham and the president he counseled were both virulent anti-Semites".[12]

In other media

Television

  • "Glorious" G. Gordon Godfrey appears in the Justice League two-part episode "Eclipsed", voiced by Enrico Colantoni. This version is the host of a sensationalist talk show that he uses to attack the Justice League's credibility. After the Justice League foil Eclipso's plot to destroy the sun, Godfrey's sponsors drop him while his show is moved to an undesirable time slot of 4 AM.
  • Gordon Godfrey appears in Smallville, portrayed by Michael Daingerfield. This version is a human shock jock who attacks vigilantes, superheroes, and illegal aliens. After being possessed by Darkseid, he writes a best-selling book discrediting superheroes in the hopes of sowing mistrust and doubt through Earth's people's hearts and make them lose faith in their heroes. Lois Lane tries to expose Godfrey and Darkseid, but the latter fully takes over the former's body and tortures her to lure Clark Kent to him. Darkseid later meets with Granny Goodness, Desaad, and a brainwashed Oliver Queen to formulate a plan to remove Kent's powers with a Gold Kryptonite wedding ring. However, Chloe Sullivan rescues Kent, who in turn frees Queen from Darkseid's control. Queen eventually confronts and kills Godfrey, Goodness, and Desaad.
  • G. Gordon Godfrey appears in Young Justice, voiced by Tim Curry[13] in season two and by James Arnold Taylor in season three. This version is associate of Darkseid's who operates as a news show host with a xenophobic and anti-alien agenda. Throughout season two, Godfrey sows fears about the Justice League's alien members and use of alien technology, gradually gaining followers in the process. After the Reach arrive on Earth with an apparent desire for peace, Godfrey showers them with praise until they are forced to reveal their hidden armada. In season three, he criticizes Gretchen Goode's VR Goggles and her efforts to stop metahuman trafficking and clashes with Lex Luthor over who can slander the Outsiders more effectively.

Film

G. Gordon Godfrey appears in Reign of the Supermen, voiced by 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.

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Justice League (TV series)

Justice League (TV series)

Justice League is an American animated television series which ran from November 17, 2001, to May 29, 2004, on Cartoon Network. The show was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It is based on the Justice League of America and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics. It serves as a follow up to Batman: The Animated Series, and Superman: The Animated Series and is the seventh series of the DC Animated Universe. It also serves as a prequel to Batman Beyond. After two seasons, the series was rebranded as Justice League Unlimited, a successor series which aired for three seasons.

Enrico Colantoni

Enrico Colantoni

Enrico Colantoni is a Canadian actor and director, best known for portraying Elliot DiMauro in the sitcom Just Shoot Me!, Keith Mars on the television series Veronica Mars, Louis Lutz on the short-lived sitcom Hope & Gloria, crime lord Carl Elias on Person of Interest, and Sergeant Greg Parker on the television series Flashpoint. He has also had supporting roles in such films as The Wrong Guy, Galaxy Quest, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Contagion, and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and guest appearances on Monk, Numb3rs, Party Down, Stargate SG-1, and Bones. More recently, he starred as Allen Conner in Remedy. He played Laura Hollis's father in season three of the online web series Carmilla. He appeared in HBO's Westworld revival and in Station Eleven. Colantoni directed two episodes of the TV series iZombie.

Justice League

Justice League

The Justice League is a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #28. The team was conceived by writer Gardner Fox as a revival of the Justice Society of America, a similar team from DC Comics from the 1940s which had been pulled out of print due to a decline in sales.

Eclipso

Eclipso

Eclipso is a supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. The character is the incarnation of the Wrath of God and the Angel of Vengeance that turned evil and was replaced by the Spectre.

Michael Daingerfield

Michael Daingerfield

Michael Daingerfield is a Canadian actor, acting coach and founder of On The Mic Training, a voice acting school in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Darkseid

Darkseid

Darkseid is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby to serve as the primary antagonist of his "Fourth World" metaseries, and was first seen briefly in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 in December 1970 before being officially introduced in the debut issue of Forever People in February 1971. Kirby modeled Darkseid's face on actor Jack Palance and based his personality on Adolf Hitler and Richard Nixon.

Lois Lane (Smallville)

Lois Lane (Smallville)

Lois Lane is a fictional character on the television series Smallville; she was portrayed continually by Erica Durance since her first appearance in the season four premier "Crusade" to the series finale. Durance began as a guest star in season four but was promoted to series regular status beginning in season five. The character of Lois Lane, first created for comic books by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938 to be the love interest for Clark Kent and his alter-ego Superman, was adapted to television in 2001 by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar—this is the fourth time the character has been adapted into a live-action television series.

Clark Kent (Smallville)

Clark Kent (Smallville)

Clark Kent is a fictional character and the main protagonist on The WB/CW television series Smallville. The character of Clark Kent, first created for comic books by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938 as the civilian persona of DC Comics' Superman, was adapted to television in 2001 by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. This is the fourth time the character has been adapted to a live-action television series. Clark Kent has been played continually by Tom Welling, with various other actors portraying Clark as a child. The character has also appeared in various literature based on the Smallville series, all of which are completely independent of the television episodes. As of 2011, Smallville's Clark Kent has appeared in eighteen young adult novels.

Granny Goodness

Granny Goodness

Granny Goodness is a fictional supervillain and New God published by DC Comics.

Kryptonite

Kryptonite

Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton that emits a unique, poisonous radiation that can weaken and even kill Kryptonians. Kryptonite radiation can emit through any element except lead. Thus, Superman has a special lead suit to protect himself from the radiation. There are other varieties of kryptonite, such as red and gold kryptonite, which have different but still generally negative effects. Due to Superman's popularity, kryptonite has become a byword for an extraordinary exploitable weakness, synonymous with "Achilles' heel". Batman, Lex Luthor, Metallo, and Titano are four notable characters often presented as using kryptonite — the first carrying the substance as a last-ditch method to stop his ally Superman if he is subject to mind control or otherwise compromised, the next two using the mineral to ward off Superman or incorporating it into weapons, and the fourth being able to project rays of kryptonite radiation from his eyes after being altered by simultaneous exposure to kryptonite and uranium.

Chloe Sullivan

Chloe Sullivan

Chloe Sullivan is a fictional character in the television series Smallville, which is based on the Superman and Superboy comics published by DC Comics. Portrayed by series regular Allison Mack, Chloe was an original character created exclusively for Smallville by series developers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. Other than main protagonist Clark Kent, Chloe is the only main character to last the whole duration of the show, though Mack signed on for only five episodes in the tenth and final season. The character has also appeared in various literature based on Smallville, a web series, and was then later adapted back into the original Superman comics which inspired Smallville.

James Arnold Taylor

James Arnold Taylor

James Arnold Taylor, also known by his initials JAT, is an American voice actor, writer, producer and podcaster. He is known for portraying Ratchet in the Ratchet & Clank franchise, the main character Tidus in Final Fantasy X, Shuyin in Final Fantasy X-2, Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars animated features such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the franchise's video games, and the titular character in the animated series Johnny Test.

Source: "Glorious Godfrey", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, January 7th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glorious_Godfrey.

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External links
References
  1. ^ Greenberger, Robert; Pasko, Martin (2010). The Essential Superman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-345-50108-0.
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ 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.
  6. ^ The Forever People #6-7 (February-March 1972)
  7. ^ Final Crisis #1
  8. ^ Final Crisis #5 (2008)
  9. ^ Final Crisis: Secret Files and Origins (December 2008)
  10. ^ Batman and Ra's al Ghul #32 (2014)
  11. ^ Batman and Ra's al Ghul #33 (2014)
  12. ^ "Master Villains - News From ME". News From ME. 2002-03-07. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  13. ^ Craig Byrne, Editor-In-Chief (26 April 2012). "Young Justice Interview: Greg Weisman & Brandon Vietti Talk Saturday's Season Premiere - KSiteTV". ksitetv.com. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)

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