Granny Goodness

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Granny Goodness
Darkseid's Elite
Notable aliasesAthena
Abilities
  • Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and durability
  • Immortality
  • Expert strategist, tactician, and field commander
  • Skilled warrior
  • Wields mega-rod and advanced technology

Granny Goodness is a

American comic books published by DC Comics.[1]

Publication history

Modeled after Phyllis Diller,[2] Granny Goodness first appeared in Mister Miracle #2 (May 1971) and was created by Jack Kirby.[3]

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.[4] She was removed from her parents and trained to be one of Darkseid's elite, the "Hounds". One part of their training was to train their war dogs; Goodness named hers Mercy. Through combat and training, the two bonded closely. 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".[3]

Darkseid had Goodness run the training facility for his elite soldiers, where she used 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.[3]

Granny runs the "orphanage" on Apokolips and is the chief of the Female Furies.[5] 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.[6] Scott Free (AKA Mister Miracle) became the first child to successfully escape one of her Orphanages.[7]

In the final issue of the

Holly Robinson and Harley Quinn from an Apokolitian chamber, 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

Elite
.

Granny's attempted assault on the power structure of Oa results in injury to a Guardian, the clearing of Hal Jordan's name, the hiding of the Power Battery and a Green Lantern assault force sent to Earth. After she is stopped by Hal Jordan, she is taken away to be inspected. Her fate after "Final Crisis" is left unknown.[10]

Powers and abilities

Granny Goodness is functionally immortal, has superhuman strength and endurance. She is surprisingly robust considering her age: she can still lift several tons with ease and she is resistant to most forms of physical attack. Also she is quite good at hand-to-hand combat. In her youth, she was one of the best and most loyal warriors in the service of Darkseid. As a member of Darkseid's elite, Granny Goodness has access to highly advanced weaponry; in combat she usually wields a mega-rod. In addition, she is a great leader and military strategist that commands soldiers being trained at her orphanages, including flight troops, who ride on flying aero-discs; armored infantry; and members of the special powers force, who wield deadly weapons and who, in many cases, possess super powers. Among her most relevant pupils are Mister Miracle, Big Barda, Kanto, Virman Vundabar, and the Female Furies.

Reception

Granny Goodness has been described as a symbol of the "monstrous feminine" who "violates traditional paradigms of motherhood and femininity" through her wickedness, as opposed to more traditional, nurturing depictions of motherhood in fiction.[11]

Other versions

She is seen in the pages of Justice League, in the Rock of Ages storyline, 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 fire pit energy at her adversaries. Ultimately, she is destroyed by the future Wonder Woman who sacrifices her own life in the battle.

In

Birds of Prey
#118 (following Countdown), working at the "Dark Side Club".

In Amalgam Comics, Goodness was fused with Marvel Comics' Agatha Harkness to become Granny Harkness, follower of Thanoseid (Thanos + Darkseid).

In other media

Television

Film

Video games

Miscellaneous

Granny Goodness appears in DC Super Hero Girls, voiced by April Stewart. This version is Super Hero High's librarian.

References

  1. .
  2. ^ Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and the American Comic Book Revolution (Bloomsbury, 2004)
  3. ^
    OCLC 213309017
    .
  4. .
  5. .
  6. .
  7. ^ "Mister Miracle" #9 (September 1972)
  8. .
  9. Birds of Prey
    #118 (July 2008)
  10. ^ Final Crisis #5 (Dec. 2008). DC Comics.
  11. ^ O'Brien, Annamarie. "'How Can I Refuse You, Mother Box?!' Abjection and Objectification of Motherhood in Jack Kirby's Fourth World". ImageText 7, no. 4. (2014)
  12. ^ a b c d e "Granny Goodness Voices (Superman)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved December 12, 2023. 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 opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
  13. ^ Goldman, Eric (2010-05-20). "Smallville: Will Tom Welling Wear the Superman Suit?". IGN. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  14. ^ "Exclusive: Meet 'Smallville's Big, Bad Granny Goodness | Fancast News". Fancast.com. Archived from the original on 2010-12-30. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
  15. ^ "Conroy, Daly Return In "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse". Comic Book Resources. June 29, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  16. ComicBook.com. Archived
    from the original on August 29, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  17. ^ Stevenson, Rich (April 2, 2021). "Zack Snyder Shares Detailed Look at Granny Goodness' Justice League Design". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  18. ^ JayShockblast (June 11, 2018). "LEGO DC Super Villains Gameplay and E3 2018 Interview With Geoff Keighley". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved June 7, 2020.

External links