We have all been familiar with DC Comics’ masculine villains for a long time. Now it is time to discuss a cruel female villain with a moniker that indicates otherwise. Granny Goodness is a DC Comics supervillain created by comic icon Jack Kirby and modeled after American stand-up comedian Phyllis Diller. Do not be fooled by this villain’s moniker; she is not who she appears to be.
She is not going to prepare you dinner or offer you pocket money like your favorite Granny at home. She has come to destroy your day in the most heinous manner conceivable. Granny Goodness initially appeared in May 1971 in the second issue of Mister Miracle. She is Darkseid’s loyal servant and the leader of the Female Furies. Although showing her fealty to Apokolips’ leader did not come cheaply. She was compelled to make a decision that would most likely change her mind for the rest of her life. So, let us take a look at her journey to being the horrible tyrant she is today.
The Tragic Origin of Granny Goodness
Initially, Granny Goodness was not a relatively high-profile resident at Apokolips. Rather she came from a racially oppressed peasant class known as the Lowlies. And like any other child of a lower caste, she was taken away from her parents to be raised as one of Darkseid’s elite soldiers known as Hounds. Being deprived of a family or in fact of childhood altogether let alone is something sure to haunt a child’s mind forever.
Since then, it had been engraved in her brain that she must live only, and only, to please Darkseid. For the Hounds, a part of their training was to train their dogs. And Goodness named her pet dog Mercy. The two became a good pair during their combat sessions. Of course, how could a person not bond with an adorable pet that is a dog? Well, even this task was not as simple as it may sound.
Soon, as the final stage in her initiation into life as a Hound, she was instructed to murder her precious pet. Clearly, that idea could only come from an evil mind. But Granny Goodness instead chose to kill her trainer for giving this command. This act intrigued Darkseid the most so, Goodness proceeded to explain to him that had she killed Mercy, he would have lost a loyal servant. It is because she trained Mercy with such brilliance that he would always obey Darkseid before even herself.
In order to test this theory, Darkseid literally ordered Mercy to kill Goodness. In an instant, Mercy attacked Goodness which compelled her to kill her own pet. How could anyone possibly stay sane and hold on to their humanity after executing such a gruesome act? Well, if there was one person who was thrilled the most with this performance, it was Darkseid. He told Goodness that she had graduated with honors.
He was so impressed with Goodness’ talents that he was sure there would be no better person to train others to obey him blindly as well. So, at that moment Darkseid made Goodness the leader of his elite military training center for soldiers. And she conducted a ruthless training method based on torture, in a horrible satire of child care to convert the young into faithful warriors who would be prepared to willingly murder or die for Darkseid’s victory.
Since the battle between Apokolips and New Genesis first spread to Earth, Granny Goodness has constantly run Earthly orphanages, hunting for future soldiers for Darkseid. We can say that what turned her into a villain were the very actions that she now performs that were previously performed on her. She was brought up as a mere object to fulfil Darkseid’s desires. So, now she has become the very person who knows nothing other than her duties.
Granny is the leader of the Female Furies, which is her special project of female fighters dedicated to Darkseid. Along with that, she manages the “orphanage” on Apokolips. She is also responsible for raising Scott Free, who is the son of the Highfather of New Genesis and was exchanged for Darkseid’s son as part of a peace agreement. Scott Free, also known as Mister Miracle, was in fact the first child who managed to flee one of her orphanages. Call it his good luck or her misfortune.
In the aftermath of the Infinite Crisis, Granny Goodness disguised herself as the Olympian goddess Athena and misled the Amazons into declaring war on the United States. Now, that is what is called some brilliant planning as a villain. After that in order to recruit more female soldiers, Granny kept on posing as Athena so that she could use Amazon centres, all while imprisoning the Gods of Olympus on Apokolips.
But soon her deception and disguise were exposed in front of her Amazon recruits by Hippolyta, Mary Marvel, Holly Robinson, and Harley Quinn, which caused her to escape home to Apokolips. Later on, Mary Marvel, Holly Robinson, and Harley Quinn rescued the Olympian Gods. And then they hunted Granny Goodness and she was killed by the Infinity-Man. But soon enough Granny was resurrected on Earth as a member of Boss Dark Side’s gang, together with the other Apokoliptian Gods.
Although her body was then destroyed by Black Alice, do not think that this is where her story ends. During the Final Crisis, her soul inhabited Alpha Lantern Kraken, which gave her the abilities of the Green Lantern ring and the control of the Corps’s “internal affairs” officer. As a result, Granny was able to set up Hal Jordan to be falsely accused of killing the New God Orion.
Granny’s plan, though, was uncovered for a little while when Kraken restored control of her body long enough to call for assistance from Batman. But he was soon defeated by Granny and taken away for captivity within Darkseid’s base in Bludhaven, where they locked him inside a torture machine.
Granny was eventually prepared to take Oa from inside, blaming Hal Jordan for being manipulated by Apokolips souls, considering his past with the Parallax monster which made him an excellent and defenseless target. Granny’s devious plan was eventually revealed by Honor Lanterns Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner. But still not ready to accept defeat, Granny tried to syphon the green energy reservoir from the Central Power Battery in order to achieve her mission objectives but was stopped by Jordan and arrested to be investigated.
Indeed, Granny Goodness is perhaps one of Darkseid’s Elite most iconic faces. Although her name is Goodness, her character has been anything but Good.
Why Granny Goodness Has the Potential to Be the Greatest Female Supervillain
In the history of pop culture, we have always focused more on the heavy male villains who are known for their dark characters and powers, like The Joker and Doctor Doom. Well, of course, several female supervillains would also fit right into this category but the level of threat they possess is not always as glorified. One such female supervillain whose powers are unparalleled is definitely Granny Goodness.
Granny Goodness, being an expert on psychological torture, is a villain you should be scared of. After all, it is because of her that Darkseid even has an army to call on to fulfil his orders. She has been a deadly soldier since she was young, and even her age has not prevented her from being a skilled warrior. And in addition to her skills, Goodness also has a lot of advanced weaponry as well as equipment.
Her background makes her one of the most complicated female supervillains of all time. Born as a slave, she climbed the ranks to become one of Darkseid’s most loyal military leaders. She was subjected to horrific forms of torture and employed it as a means to unleash misery on others. Goodness would use the same procedures on her young recruits, trying to brainwash them into remaining faithful no matter what.
Now, imagine if Granny Goodness were to revolt against Darkseid and chose to capture various other galaxies. It is doable because she is capable of brainwashing entire worlds and could just as easily combine them to form her own army. Goodness’ ability as a leader and strategist would build allegiance from the soldiers she had taught. If Granny Goodness were to go against Darkseid, she would easily overthrow him as Apokolips’ ruler.
That explains why Darkseid would be so threatened by her. He was afraid that she might rebel against her, which is why he mentally traumatized her and kept her on close watch. In fact, this very storyline is explored in a miniseries by Cecil Castellucci that debuted in February 2019, where Darkseid is afraid of Goodness and her female furies.
The series has portrayed the events of a situation when the Furies came to realize that their dedication to their master was proving to be useless. It disappointed Granny Goodness that her soldiers were being abandoned, so she decided to fight for female equality in a world that rewards cruelty.
The first and most essential power of Granny Goodness that makes her a threat to the universe is the New God Physiology. She is from the species of the New Gods and these New Gods have developed into creatures of genetic stability and evolutionary perfection as a result of their intimate contact with the Source, primal energy that is considered to be one of the fundamental foundations of the Universal Expression of Energy.
Now, even though they resemble homo sapiens, the inhabitants of New Genesis are stronger, better, and quicker than them. They are also practically immortal and have stopped physically aging at the age of 30. They are resistant to the effects of time and might possibly live for thousands and thousands of years unless they are constantly engaged in combat.
Granny Goodness can also withstand any amount of physical damage due to her power of invulnerability. Along with that she obviously has superhuman strength, stamina as well as reflexes that make her a formidable villain. Through the application of toxikinesis, Goodness also has toxic immunity which means that she is unaffected by any kind of toxin. Along with being an excellent tutor to her young soldiers, her other abilities also include interrogation and hand-to-hand combat despite her age.
It might not come as a surprise at this point but she can also deflect numerous bullets from an automatic weapon using her shield. Well, now that you know how she can easily be one of the most merciless female villains in the history of DC, let us discover some of her other character arcs.
Terrifying Versions Of Granny Goodness In Various Forms Of Media
Granny Goodness appears as a minor villain and a dedicated follower of Darkseid’s court in the animated series Superman: The Animated Series. She was voiced by the late Ed Asner, who had previously voiced Roland Daggett in Batman: The Animated Series.
After that, Goodness made her first live-action debut as a villain in Season 10 of Smallville, as a Darkseid prophet. She was the main administrator of St. Louise’s orphanage and the leader of the Female Furies. As always, she was devoted to her lord Darkseid. Granny was in charge of clearing people’s minds in order to prepare them for her master. Using DNA from the Lex Luthor clones, this version of her also had a role in saving Tess Mercer’s life. She was portrayed by Christine Willes.
We then see Granny as a major villain in Season 3 of Young Justice Outsiders. Gretchen Goode who appears to be a doppelganger of Granny Goodness is the head of Hollywood Studio Good World (GW), which is similar to Warner Bros. She oversees things like the Beast Boy in-universe television program.
In the movies, Granny Goodness appears in the animated film Superman/Batman: Apocalypse as a servant of Darkseid and chief of the honor guard, which is her girls, the Female Furies. The late Edward Ashner provided her voice once more.
She also makes an appearance in the DC animated film Justice League: Gods and Monsters. Granny appears in a flashback to Bekka’s childhood. She is also there at the meeting when Highfather and Darkseid sign a peace agreement which is represented by Bekka and Orion’s marriage. She conducts the ceremony, but soon Darkseid and his companions are attacked and murdered by the Gods of New Genesis. One of the flower maids shoots Granny in the head.
In the DC Extended Universe, Granny Goodness makes her live-action film debut as a non-speaking cameo alongside Darkseid and Desaad. When the Mother Boxes join together and open a doorway to Apokolips, she is seen near the end of the film, standing next to her lord. She watches Steppenwolf die at the hands of the Justice League. But, unlike Darkseid and Desaad, she says nothing about it. Rather, she turns away with the two, as the Apokoliptian Armada prepares to attack Earth for the Anti-Life Equation.
Lastly, Granny Goodness has also featured in Tiny Titans as well as an alternate reality in which Darkseid acquired the Anti-Life Equation. In this alternate version, she was turned into a “Grandmother Box,” a corruption of New God technology known as Mother Boxes.
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