Darkseid's Minions!

Darkseid is the most evil of evil overlords. But to do evil he needs minions and he's got some great ones. Kalibak the Cruel is his son, the half-brother of Orion and a monster of the first order. We first meet him in New Gods #1. He reminds of Ulik from the Thor series, a true "troll" but possessed of impossible strength. As the image above shows, he's a tad vain as well. His name is derived from the tragic figure of "Caliban" from Shakespeare's The Tempest. The final issue of the original run of New Gods is all about subduing this monster, and it only takes the entire electrical power of an entire city to knock him out. 

Jack Kirby had a real knack at presenting images which could scare you. This full-page drawing from Forever People #4 is the one that bothers me the most. The lurid sadism evident in the face of Desaad is as scary as anything I've seen in a comic book ever. His evident desire to extract both fear and pain from the Beautiful Dreamer makes my skin crawl every time I see it. Maybe it's the way he caresses her throat with his crop or perhaps the way her eyes are open but appear unseeing and helpless, but this is one damn frightening image. Of course, his name is derived from the legendary libertine Marquis De Sade. 

Granny Goodness who debuted in Mister Miracle #2 doesn't live up to her name save in the most ironic way. She's a harpy of the first order who is charged by Darkseid with raising unfortunate children and molding them into the troops he needs for his war against New Genesis. She took special interest in Scott Free before he escaped her clutches and so she sent many of her more colorful charges to try to capture or kill him. I always imagined the late great Shirley Winters in the role of Granny. 

Glorious Godfrey first shows up in Forever People #3 as a preacher who fills his flock of "Justifiers" with deadly notions, urging them to kill themselves in order to destroy for Darkseid's cause. His sermons allow these people to feel empowered and he justifies in them all the depraved thoughts they have. He makes them feel good about doing evil. He was actively based on Billy Graham the longtime preacher who had connections to the rich and powerful. As vile as all of the minions are, it's Godfrey who seems the most dangerous or perhaps I just feel that way since we suffer in America from a modern rendition of his kind of vile rabble-rousing public figure. 

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