Grail was developed by Geoff Johns for DC Comics’ New 52 relaunch. Her presence on Earth is given as the reason for Darkseid’s invasion in the Justice League comic series’ genesis plot. In the whole genesis arc of the comic series, however, she is never revealed to the reader.
A.R.G.U.S eventually apprehended her and imprisoned her in a vast dungeon with Darkseid’s omega emblem emblazoned on the doors. Throughout it all, her face and body were never revealed, but her detention and subsequent escape is a major subplot in the Vibe comic book.
Jason Fabok designed her and she first appears on a panel in Justice League #40. In Forever Evil #7, she originally appeared off-panel via discussion only, before being revealed for the first time in Divergence #1.
The importance of Grail’s entrance into the DC Universe cannot be overstated. She’s been dormant for a long time, but she could reappear at any time, which doesn’t bode good for any of our heroes, given the amount of death and destruction Grail left in her wake the last time she surfaced.
Grail’s Origin
In the Justice League comic books, The Darkseid War Special’s first comic, named “The Darkness Within,” talks more about Grail and her fascinating storyline. The comic begins by displaying the struggle between both the Justice League as well as the shadow demons as it continues in Gotham, and we get a look inside Volthoom’s ring and Jessica Cruz’s kidnapped soul. Jessica is told by a mysterious voice she hears that she possesses the ability to flee.
The trapped spirit of Harold Jordan, who is the dead Power Ring in the Crime Syndicate, immediately informs her that the mysterious voice is deceiving her, and she is trapped with them. He explains, horrified, that if she manages to escape, Volthoom will come back to the ring and resume tormenting the souls of the past Power Rings there. Jessica is challenged by the mysterious voice to locate the ring’s core battery. She starts running away from the captive souls, gritting her teeth, in pursuit of the battery.
Meanwhile, Myrina, an Amazonian assassin, discusses her feelings concerning her daughter at an undisclosed spot. She acknowledges that Grail is possibly Darkseid’s daughter, but she has taught her to manage the evil that is within her. She finds Grail kneeling in front of the luminous sphere that is known to be the Anti-Life Equation. Grail begins to narrate her story. Though Myrina has attempted to control Grail over many long years, Grail’s narrative demonstrates how powerful her father’s impact is on her. Throughout history, she has been killing despite Myrina’s best efforts to aid humanity from the shadows.
Grail comes back to the present time and recounts her first encounter with the might of the Anti-Monitor, whom she discovered after utilizing a witch’s “all-seeing eye.” Myrina tries to persuade her daughter that vengeance is really not the Amazonian or the right way to go about this, but Grail responds with conviction and says that they are much better than all of the Amazonians. She then discloses that an abducted Steve Trevor is the key to her entire strategy.
Back within the Volthoom ring, Jessica fights against a swarm of dead Power Rings that advise her to simply succumb to the dread and give in. She staunchly refuses and makes the last ascent to the main battery.
When Steve Trevor returns underground, he is kissed suddenly by Grail and appears to be imbued with the Anti-Life Equation. The comic issue concludes with Jessica nearing the batteries of the ring only to discover Cyborg, who is in his human form, ready and waiting for her and revealing himself to be the mysterious voice who has been assisting her.
Interesting Story Of Grail In Justice League: Darkseid War
Grail was the catalyst for all of the events of Justice League: Darkseid War, initially appearing in the Free Comic Book Day volume Divergence in the form of a short novella by Johns and Fabok that detailed her backstory. As it turns out, Grail was actually born on Themyscira, exactly like Diana. Not only that but the two of them were born on the very same night and at the same time. Hippolyta gave birth to Diana as well as her twin brother Jason on one corner of Paradise Island, while Myrina, at the same time, birthed Grail, a gray-skinned child with red eyes who was most definitely Darkseid’s progeny.
Many years later, the mother and daughter duo reappeared, despised by Darkseid and prepared to wage war on him. Grail, who was raised to hate and fight her father, is both New Deity as well as Amazon, a fighter as savage and lethal as any other dark god. She defeated all of the Justice League without batting an eyelid and enlisted the assistance of the universe’s worst villain: Mobius, or the Anti-Monitor. Arriving on Earth via a dimensional rift, she quickly ravaged the Justice League, almost murdering all of them until another Amazon appeared to confront her, but yet she was no competition for her, and Grail easily destroyed her. She also fought Green Lantern as well as Power Ring, using the latter’s ring to bring the Anti-Monitor to the world.
She invited the destroyer into their realm before resuming her struggle with Wonder Woman, which was cut short by Metron, who arrived to transport the Justice League far away from her as well as the evil Anti-God. She then summoned her father to their planet, and when he and his soldiers landed, she and the Anti-Monitor raced towards Apokolips’ forces. Because the Anti-God was linked with the Anti-Life Equation, she exploited him to destroy her father before seizing control of the powerful Equation and becoming the goddess of Anti-Life.
Even though Grail grew up with just one purpose in mind, which was to murder her father, thanks to Batman during his capacity as the god of Knowledge, she came to the realization that she was more similar to her father than she had previously believed. She desired power. There was a certain kind of darkness within her that she and her mother were unable to contain.
Now with the Anti-Life Equation being a part of her, she gained awareness of a hidden prophecy involving the first man to set foot on the island of the Amazon. Grail stole Wonder Woman’s companion and converted him to her very own weapon, believing Steve Trevor to be the very man she required. She had no idea that Steve was actually not the very first man to set foot on Themyscira. That title was held by Wonder Woman’s twin sibling Jason, who was born on the same night as Grail and Diana on the island.
Grail merged the strength of the Anti-Life Equation along with an ancient Amazon ceremony to bring a dead adversary back inside a host child and make a new Darkseid that she was able to control, using the unborn child of a member of the Crime Syndicate, Superwoman. Although the Justice League did finally change the outcome of the battle, it would be Grail herself, at the request of her mother, who would defeat Darkseid. Grail converted Darkseid into a child with the strength of her very own Omega Beams. She subsequently adopted him and raised him as her own, opting for a different method than her mother’s: love. She vowed to nurture her father in such a way that she would soon come to love, rather than loathe, Darkseid.
Grail then made an appearance in the DC Rebirth Special, addressing her son and father about Jason and the strength Wonder Woman’s twin held. Though she stayed hidden until her reappearance in Wonder Woman #31, we see the newborn Darkseid once again in the issue Dark Nights: Metal #2. The issue was written by Scott Snyder as well as Greg Capullo and saw Batman attempting to utilize the Omega Sanction to be transported back in time and stop the Dark Multiverse from obtaining entry into the DC Universe. Even Batman realized that his time to use Darkseid’s strength was limited, as he remarked that Grail would undoubtedly be searching for her child.
Grail’s reappearance brings with it the potential of catastrophe for the DC Universe, given that the last occasion on which she let her presence be felt, she began a conflict between the two forces of extreme devastation. She, as well as Wonder Woman, have a connection with the yet-unseen Jason since they were birthed on the very same island and on the very same night.
What Makes Grail So Deadly?
Grail, being a combination of two powerful races, and especially as Darkseid’s daughter, possesses abilities powerful enough to injure Metron while seated in his Mobius chair, even though Anti-Monitor’s antimatter was not successful in doing so. Grail was regarded as a planetary-level danger by A.R.G.U.S when they had her as a prisoner. Because of her limited appearances, most of her talents are unknown; however, being a New God and Amazon hybrid, she possesses a few basic abilities.
Grail, being a New God and Amazon hybrid, possesses Superhuman strength, capable of effortlessly defeating creatures such as Wonder Woman. Grail also has superhuman endurance against bodily and energy attacks, as seen by her ability to battle Wonder Woman and endure a punch and lightning blast from Shazam without apparent injuries. She was also able to withstand a tank blast from the Green Lantern with great ease. Because of her extraordinary speed, she can move quicker than even the best human athletes, and her combat speed is at least on par with Wonder Women. She also possesses Superhuman agility, reflexes, and stamina and also has a very powerful and unmatched healing factor.
Grail is completely immortal and will not age past her prime. She cannot be harmed or killed in the traditional sense. She has also demonstrated the capacity to shoot strong red blasts from her pupils that are extremely similar to or comparable to her dad’s Omega Beams. These rays have been able to injure Metron while seated in his Mobius chair, which was something Anti-Monitor was unable to do. They also destroyed Wonder Woman’s magical bracelets, which even Darkseid failed to do. Grail appears to be able to travel across universes as well, though she needs to discover a certain wavelength to “lock onto” before she wishes to teleport. She may even be able to absorb Green Lantern’s resolve and manipulate or shut off the Green Power Ring.
Grail may also detect Motherboxes and execute arcane Amazon rituals for a variety of purposes. She can also lock on to the frequency of individuals who are linked to the Speed Force and utilize them as bridges to travel universes. She may resurrect an old Amazon ceremony that slaughters an adversary in a selected host. Grail used this very ritual to resurrect her father, Darkseid, via the Syndicate’s son.
Grail may also call or summon her dad Darkseid to where she is, by performing a twisted Amazon ceremony that imprisons the evil in one’s heart. Grail appears to be incredibly talented and well-trained in martial arts since she was able to fight all of the Justice League with just an ax. She also dabbles in occultism, acrobatics, and a wide variety of weapons and weaponry.
Grail, the offspring of Darkseid as well as an Amazon Warrior, is a hybrid of Old and the New Gods. She possesses some of her terrible father’s abilities. Simultaneously, she was nurtured by an Amazon mother and taught to combat like one of their troops.
Grail is swift, cruel, and terrifying in the grasp of the proper writer or artist. Grail has even managed to knock down nearly all of Justice League in a single battle against them. Grail, on the other hand, can be far too self-assured for her own benefit. Grail is skilled, but she is also easily outmaneuvered. Grail’s most extraordinary power is her ability to surprise her opponents. It will be interesting to see her battle Wonder Woman or even go head-to-head with the Justice League on the silver screen.