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| As a result of the New 52 in 2011, the entire line of DC characters was relaunched, incorporating properties belonging to the company's imprints: Wildstorm, Milestone, and Vertigo. As such, elements of this character's history have been altered in some way from the previous incarnation. For a complete list of all versions of this character, see our disambiguation page. |
Big Barda was an Apokoliptian soldier, the Doyenne of the Female Furies and a loyal servant of Darkseid.
History
Earth 2
Some time ago, when a royal Tamaranean ship crash landed on Apokolips, Barda and another soldier witnessed its only survivor, K'li butchering a horde of Parademons. They took the child to training alongside others in order to find a suitable Fury for Darkseid, with Barda as their combat instructor. As the child was introduced to Darkseid, she slayed her "sister" Eila and Barda's partner Kazana because she loved them, and she could only love Darkseid.[1]
Before Apokolips' war on Earth 2, Barda and Mister Miracle were dragged as prisoners, with Barda disguised as Miracle's friend.[2] Four years later, Miracle managed to break both he and Barda free from Steppenwolf and the two went into hiding.[3]
They went to Gotham City looking for the new Batman when they were ambushed by Fury, who was hunting Miracle.[4] They fought until Scott told Barda to leave, to which she compliantly agreed.[5]
She was, however, found and captured by Bedlam who, alongside Fury, was being mind controlled in order to prepare Apokolips' counterattack on Earth.[6]
World's End
Barda and Fury were keeping Miracle under surveillance when a message from Apokolips arrived[2] which, in fact, was Miracle's distraction to release himself and his allies from Bedlam's control, who in turn released him from his captors.[7]
Barda, Fury and Miracle were being held by the World Army for interrogation, but Barda was growing impatient and broke free alongside Fury, releasing Miracle in the process.[8] Tearing through the entire World Army HQ, Terry Sloan called a cease fire and Commander Khan proposed a deal: help them infiltrate Apokolips and they would return Miracle's Mother Box, with only Barda agreeing.[9] As they prepared, Mr. Terrific presented them his new invention, the Boom Spheres, weapons capable of killing even a God.[10] Before they could begin their invasion, the remnants of the Fury of Famine's power began consuming their human allies, forcing Miracle to teleport them to war.[11]
Finally arriving at Apokolips,[12] Miracle was behind the Mobius Key that would open the door to Apokolips' heart, just as Barda thought he would[13] in order to reach Darkseid. Barda easily tricked Miracle into using the Boom Spheres to release Darkseid[14] and join him in the fight against Earth, betraying her previous allies. She fought against Fury but was nonetheless defeated by her, losing the title of Fury Doyenne to her.[15] However, after Fury's defection, Barda was again appointed as the new Doyenne of the Furies.[16]
Darkseid commanded her to prepare the Earth for Apokolips,[17] so she went straight to DeSaad who created a new breed of Protofuries for her, planning to use them to exterminate the remaining humans when the son of Darkseid arrived.[18]
Barda and Kalibak arrived on Amazonia to butcher the remaining human forces when a mysterious boy appeared to confront them. He defeated Barda before being taken down by Kalibak, who noticed he was a New God.[19] After Barda was defeated, Kalibak turned against Barda for her weakness to which she decided to escape and hide among the humans. She came across the fallen Fury K'li who told her they must continue to strive and survive.[20] Before leaving, a desperate man begged her to look after his son for him, to which she agreed, and took the child with them.[21]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- New God Physiology
- Superhuman Strength: Big Barda is strong enough to effortlessly destroy thick concrete and shatter steel with her bare hands. She was shown to have been able to lift 55 tons while severely wounded.[8]
- Superhuman Durability: Big Barda is completely unharmed by bullets, both her armor and skin remaining unscratched. She could survive blos from Kalibak with only limited damage.[22]
- Superhuman Agility
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Apokoliptian Aegis (Formerly): A New God armor which was subsequently destroyed by Jimmy Olsen's newfound power.[19]
- Invulnerability: The Aegis greatly enhanced Big Barda's already great physical resistance. She was also able to survive a nuclear explosion without any real damage.[23]
Transportation
- Aero-Discs (Formerly): Thin plates about a foot across that can hover, they are sharp enough to slice through metal.[9] They seem to tap into the Multiverse to summon Terra Firma that exist in alternate worlds.[24]
Weapons
- Mega-Rod: A weapon that fires powerful beams of energy.[8]
- Apokoliptian Maul (Formerly): A massive hammer with Darkseid's Omega symbol carved on it,[16] as well as a large and sharp tip on it's other end.[19]
Notes
- Big Barda was created by Jack Kirby, first appearing in Mister Miracle #4. However, in the Prime Earth continuity, Big Barda first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Earth 2 #11 by James Robinson and Nicola Scott.
- Though some sources initially indicated during the early New 52 that the New Gods were singularities, with only one of each existing in all the multiverse, later comics, namely Multiversity indicated that, instead, each universe in the multiverse possessed its own unique emination of each New God, each seemingly a part of a larger multiversal core (or 'godhead' for each New God within the Sphere of Gods. Later comics, like Infinite Frontier, confirmed this.
Recommended Reading
Related
- 23 Appearances of Big Barda (Earth 2)
- 4 Images featuring Big Barda (Earth 2)
- Quotations by or about Big Barda (Earth 2)
- Character Gallery: Big Barda (Earth 2)
Footnotes
- ↑ Earth 2 #28
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Earth 2: World's End #1
- ↑ Earth 2 #11
- ↑ Earth 2 Annual #1
- ↑ Earth 2 #15
- ↑ Earth 2 #26
- ↑ Earth 2: World's End #2
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Earth 2: World's End #3
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Earth 2: World's End #4
- ↑ Earth 2: World's End #5
- ↑ Earth 2: World's End #6
- ↑ Earth 2: World's End #8
- ↑ Earth 2: World's End #9
- ↑ Earth 2: World's End #10
- ↑ Earth 2: World's End #11
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Earth 2: World's End #12
- ↑ Earth 2: World's End #15
- ↑ Earth 2: World's End #17
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Earth 2: World's End #22
- ↑ Earth 2: World's End #23
- ↑ Earth 2: World's End #24
- ↑ Earth 2: World's End #23
- ↑ Earth 2: World's End #15
- ↑ Earth 2: World's End #14
  This character or group of characters are related to Jack Kirby's Fourth World, either the original concept and group of titles by Jack Kirby, or any of their subsequent adaptations by other creators. This template will categorize articles that include it into the Fourth World Characters category. |
 This character is or was a member of the Female Furies, an elite team of evil female warriors from the planet Apokolips who serve Darkseid. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Female Furies members." |
 This character, team or organization is or was primarily an enemy of the Justice Society, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Justice Society Villains" category. |