Figures like Thor, Superman, and The Hulk spring to mind when thinking of the greatest heroes in comic books. However, despite the fact that certain female superheroes in comic books are powerful enough to battle any male supervillain, most readers do not give them nearly as much attention. Many of Marvel, DC, and Image Comics’ female heroes are capable of hurling tanks, knocking down skyscrapers, and even moving planets.
While few female superheroes gain superhuman abilities, they do compete on a level playing field with their male counterparts. Big Barda is one such bright yet underappreciated superheroine. This charming Super-heroine is not only ridiculously powerful but she was also placed 75th in Comics Buyer’s Guide’s list of the 100 Sexiest Women in Comics.
Big Barda, the antagonist of DC Comics, has undergone a miraculous makeover into a heroine. When we think of DC’s New Gods, we think of characters like Darkseid and Orion, but Big Barda and her husband Scott Free, better known as Mister Miracle, have a lengthy history. She is one of DC’s more recognizable characters who has also starred in the Justice League animations and numerous of DC’s most popular events, despite her few appearances.
She is also a Jack Kirby-created heroine who personifies girl strength by destroying the spirits of all her foes whenever she gets the chance. With that in mind, let us look at what drove Barda from Apokolips spy to one of DC’s most successful warriors.
Who is Big Barda?
Big Barda is one of the New Gods, a passionately faithful partner, and a lethal warrior in one of comics’ purest partnerships.
After leaving Marvel Comics in the early 70s, Jack Kirby moved to DC and carried his Asgardian Thor Saga along with him. He reworked his Ragnarok plot to include new characters known as the New Gods. Barda was revealed as Scott Free’s Apokolips-based ass-whooping accomplice in the title Mister Miracle.
Big Barda is a strong Apokolips New God who fell head over heels for Mister Miracle and became a legendary warrior. Although she was once a member of the Female Furies, she has since joined the Birds of Prey and the Justice League of America after leaving her homeworld.
She is the central protagonist in Jack Kirby’s Fourth World tale. From her earliest appearances in Mister Miracle, she was a breakout sensation and a showstopper. Aside from her spouse, the character has gained popularity as a secondary character in DC comics and animation universes. Big Barda was “just as important as anybody else,” according to the writer, Jack Kirby.
Her origin story was never thoroughly recounted within the context of the mainstream DC world, although it was detailed in Justice League Beyond #16 released in 2013. The plot of “Barda Beyond” was based on two original Kirby stories as well as two others. Components from Granny Goodness’ story arc in Countdown #21 were merged with elements from Barda’s mother’s narrative in Mister Miracle v. two #28.
Big Barda was birthed roughly 250 years ago on the hellish planet Apokolips of the New Gods race. Big Breeda, her mother, was a powerful fighter for Darkseid who was also picked as breeding material for his army. Breeda had several children that were born in the Gestatron Labs, but Barda was her very first offspring. She was created organically and with pure love as a result of a secret affair with an unidentified father. Regardless, Barda was kidnapped from Breeda and reared without knowing anything about her parents.
Instead, like all others, Barda was nurtured under the sharp watch of the planet’s most exemplary leader, Granny Goodness. Granny, a vicious crone, favored discipline, punishment, and absolute obedience as techniques of instruction. Children in Granny’s Orphanage were taught the motto “Die for Darkseid,” Darkseid being the malevolent lord of Apokolips. Barda was among Granny Goodness’ most outstanding students, and she ultimately received “special powers training” in order to make her a more formidable and loyal warrior.
Current Version of Big Barda In New Earth & Flash Point Earth-0
Barda, young by New God’s standards, rose to the rank of lieutenant in the Female Furie Battalion. One of her young charges, a young girl called Auralie, escaped one day. The Furies discovered her in the lair of Darkseid’s archenemy, Himon. They also met Scott Free, one of Granny’s cadets who took a stand against Barda’s bravado. She was compelled to negotiate with him, agreeing not to disclose Scott’s actions in exchange for him not reporting Auralie’s escape.
Despite their agreement, news of Himon’s movements leaked, and his acolytes got apprehended. Barda and Scott were summoned to see the lifeless bodies of the children, including Auralie, hung up. Barda was outraged by the girl’s suffering, and as events progressed, she resolved to assist Scott in his getaway from Apokolips to Earth. Barda, however, was not yet ready to make that jump and stayed on Apokolips.
Barda hadn’t seen Scott in almost a century, she always thought about him, and he was constantly on her mind. She ultimately rose to the top of the Furies and received the Mega-Rod. This weapon was equipped with Boom Tube, a teleportation device that she utilized to locate Scott on Earth. She came in time to assist his battle off droves of people manipulated by Granny’s minion, Doctor Bedlam, masquerading as Mister Miracle.
It was a joyful reunion, and she opted to live with Scott and his manager, Oberon. They resided in the Metropolis suburbs, at the home of the very first Mister Miracle, Thaddeus Brown. This Apokolips daughter rapidly developed a love for Earth’s splendor and was determined never to return.
The Female Furies led by her accompanied Barda to Earth, although not in search of their commander. Mad Harriet, Lashina, Bernadeath, and Stompa were the next to go after Scott Free for Granny Goodness. They failed their mission and returned to Apokolips just as Scott decided to confront Granny in person. When Scott returned to Apokolips, Barda joined him in his quest to gain his freedom honestly.
When she went to the Furies’ barracks to enlist backup, she saw that they had devolved into a skirmish to replace her as commander! Barda’s departure had generally gone undetected, but when she publicly sided with Scott Free, she was labeled an Apokolips adversary. When Barda arrived at the scene of Scott’s challenge, she assumed he was dead. Her rage erupted, and she vowed to murder her mistress Granny. On the other hand, Scott won his struggle, and Barda wept a tear of joy knowing he was alive.
On their return to Earth, they were accompanied by the Furies, who momentarily joined Mister Miracle’s show. They appeared to like life on Earth as well. Barda seldom wore her combat armor on Earth and preferred to dress in a more relaxed — even seductive — manner. After assisting Shilo Norman in solving his brother’s murder, Scott and Barda became mentors to him. Shilo was left to their care, and Barda volunteered to help him master special abilities. Barda encountered her villainous doppelgänger, the strange Della the Dinosaur, at Peppi Lamoko’s Murder Lodge. Shilo used the power he had gained from his special abilities training to assist her in escaping the trap.
Big Barda comes to Gotham City on Earth 2 alongside Mr. Miracle, who fled Steppenwolf a year before and is in hiding. They battle together against Apokolips’ soldiers, who are attempting to consume Earth 2. The heroes of Earth 2 devise a strategy, but Mister Miracle’s plan backfires when he tries to eliminate a Darkseid who appears to be in hibernation. But, as it turned out, he was imprisoned.
Mister Miracle unintentionally releases him, and Barda subsequently betrays her spouse. Darkseid and Kalibak then give her commands. Her armor is shattered in combat, and she flees the battlefield on one of the refugee ships carrying 2 million Earth 2 humanity. She is also featured in Futures End, where she lives on Earth-0 and joins forces with others to resist the troops of Brother Eye. She battles Powergirl and, more importantly, slays Deathstroke, who is from the future.
Big Barda Major Story Arcs
Barda and Scott’s love for each other has always been evident, if not blatant. Scott fully professed his adoration for Barda and asked for her hand in marriage after another Apokolips onslaught. She consented, but Granny’s troops increased their pressure on the newlyweds. They have been freed thanks to New Genesis’ intervention: Scott’s father, Orion, Lightray, Highfather, and Metron. The Source had foretold their marriage to Highfather, who conducted the wedding right there, with only a few words. Just before Darkseid descended on Earth, the newlyweds were taken away to New Genesis.
Contrary to stereotypes about female characters at the time of Big Barda’s inception, Barda is physically stronger than her husband, is eager to utilize her might in combat, and is fiercely protective of her spouse. Despite her ignorance of the culture on Earth, Barda embraced her responsibilities as wife and housekeeper. However, when duty calls, she never once hesitates to adopt the warrior’s position.
Barda accompanied Oberon and Scott on tours for many years. When Scott became a part of the Justice League, Barda took part in a fair number of their operations. They eventually decided to retire as superheroes and relocated to Bailey in New Hampshire.
Despite their greatest efforts, a conventional existence escaped them. Scott, Barda, and Oberon left Bailey and relocated to an apartment in New York City’s Greenwich Village, where Barda joined the Bad and Beautiful Babes of Wrestling, popularly known as the BBBW, on the recommendation of Oberon, and her tenacity helped her become the new champion. Together with her wrestling pals, Barda founded the New Female Furies, a women’s self-defense training school.
After Barda’s mother, Big Breeda, paid the couple an unexpected visit in New York, Scott was invited by Highfather in order to travel to New Genesis so that he could discover his true ancestors. Barda agreed to accompany her husband on his mission. However, the couple quickly returned to Earth and took up residence temporarily on the Justice League Refuge. The couple briefly split during this trying time as Scott completely disregards Barda’s sentiments and leaves her feeling hurt.
Owing to her tremendous achievements, Barda has been a member of the JLA. New God Orion and her were deployed to serve on the squad as agents of New Genesis upon Takion’s request. Takion foresaw the Earth in catastrophic peril and sent the two on a mission to aid in the mobilization of Earth’s heroes against the all-powerful Mageddon. After the defeat of Maggeddon, Orion and Barda resigned from their positions in the JLA.
A while after this, Barda finds her purse stolen while she is in the Suicide Slums of Metropolis. The mugger, who escapes, is subsequently slain by an Ash-Crawler from Apokolips, who later discovers the perverted, repulsive and demonic Sleez. Sleez proceeds to find Barda’s Mega-Rod in her handbag and uses it against her when she attempts to retrieve it.
Two days after this incident, Sleez commanded Barda to dance and perform what are implied to be sexual favors for him in exceptionally provocative and skimpy clothing while barefoot and ostensibly topless. Just as he is about to have his dirty little way with Barda, Superman came to the rescue, flung Sleez aside, and pulled Barda up from the floor, given that she is tired from dancing for quite some time.
Superman asks her if she was Wonder Woman behind all the make-up. Brad used the diversion to seize the Mega-Rod and repeatedly shoot Superman with it. Barda, who mistook Superman for a pawn in Sleez’ game, nearly murdered him. But before she could react, Sleez grabbed the Rod from Barda and threw them both into a hole. Sleez then sold the video of both him and Barda to an ‘adult entertainment’ shop. Darkseid’s operatives obtained the footage, which Darkseid then revealed to Mister Miracle. Mister Miracle proceeds to find Barda, who was being controlled by Sleez and was being forced to film an ‘adult movie’ with Superman. MisterMiracle arrived as Superman went after Sleez, who died in an explosion.
On one occasion, Superman collects the entire Superman Family to go against Darkseid for the sake of Steel’s life. Barda begs to accompany them, intending to spit in Darkseid’s face but is rejected by Superman, claiming that if non-Kryptonian heroes are present, it could give Darkseid a justification to strike against Earth.
However, when Darkseid kidnaps Kara Zor-El, Barda travels to Apokolips with Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman to liberate the young Kryptonian from his hands and battle the Female Furies with Wonder Woman.
Later, Barda accepts Oracle’s request to become the Birds of Prey’s heavyweight.
In a fight with the Secret Six, she fights in hand-to-hand combat with Knockout, another ex-Fury. Despite the fact that the battle lasted a long time and was prioritized over all other concerns, it concluded in a tie. Barda is killed by the Infinity man not long after this fight. But, at the very end of The Final Crisis, it seems that she appears with a re-birthed New Genesis, which implies that maybe she is not really dead and is still alive and thriving.
Why is Big Barda so dangerous?
In the year 1748, Barda was born. Barda, like few other New Gods, is functionally eternal, having stopped physically developing at the age of 30. Unless she is killed in combat, Barda is impervious to the effects of time and may potentially survive for countless generations.
She is a New Genesis being, and they consider themselves gods, and they reside outside of conventional space and time in a place known as the Fourth World. These New Gods have developed into creatures of biological stability and developmental perfection as a result of their intimate closeness to the Source, primal energy considered to be one of the fundamental roots of the Universal Expression of Energy, as well as their superior technology. Despite their likeness to humans, the inhabitants of New Genesis are ageless, tougher, quicker, and wiser.
Barda dons a gorgeous suit of armor during battle, but, Even without it, she is a difficult opponent to defeat. She is relatively resistant to blunt damage such as blows, kicks, and hits from weapons such as clubs and maces but is not totally immune. There is no danger of injury unless the strikes are delivered by a creature of equal or greater power than Barda. Her invulnerability, however, does not apply to laser blasts, piercing weapons, and bullets; her invulnerability is similar to that of an Amazon and unlike that of a Kryptonian.
Barda also has superhuman reflexes and physiology, allowing her to maneuver her entire body at impressive speeds and with pinpoint precision. She moves and flows with remarkable grace despite holding weapons, armor, and even extraterrestrial technology. Barda evades shots that would typically bounce off her armor when given the chance.
Barda also possesses extraordinary stamina and endurance. Due to the inherently demanding and extended rigors of her lifestyle on Apokolips, Barda is able to maintain her endurance on a certain level of relaxation and nutrition such that she appears to be able to operate continually, albeit this is not entirely the truth. Due to her power and invincibility, and to a lesser extent, her immunity, Barda can really perform at high efficiency for over 48 hours before requiring to eat and sleep off the stress.
Barda’s superpowers stem from her ancestry as a member of New Genesis, a place in which all individuals are innately superior to regular humans in terms of physical attributes. Darkseid later modified her to improve her strength and endurance at least twenty-fold. Barda’s power is in the kiloton level, comparable to Wonder Woman’s, and she can easily lift weights in excess of 100 tonnes.
Barda is among Earth’s or New Genesis’ most feared soldiers. Barda is also a finely skilled fighter who is a master of all sorts of hand-to-hand fighting and weapon warfare. She’s even drawn a battle with Wonder Woman.
Tempting Version of Big Barda In Various forms In Media
In the Superman: The Animated Series, Big Barda appeared in the second half of the two-part story Apokolips… Now! She was spotted donning her characteristic combat gear amid the gathering soldiers of the New Gods. She also appears in the year 2000 segments The Call, Part One & Two of Batman Beyond, when she is shown a Justice League member later down the line. Mister Miracle was not mentioned, and his whereabouts were unknown. Barda donned her red bikini uniform instead of her blue combat armor in this appearance. She was wearing a golden headpiece and carrying her Mega Rod.
In the film Justice League Unlimited, In the episode The Ties That Bind, Barda was featured alongside her spouse Mister Miracle on a rescue operation to save Oberon. She was shown wearing both her full combat armor and her red bikini uniform, which didn’t connect with what she wore below her armor. When she wasn’t wearing her armor, she wore her gold headpiece and wielded her Mega Rod.
She was also in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. In the Last Bat On Earth! segment, she makes a cameo as Mister Miracle’s spouse. In the direct-to-video animated film Superman/Batman Apocalypse, Big Barda travels to Apokolips with Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman in quest of Superman’s cousin, Kara. When Wonder Woman and Big Barda arrive on Apokolips, they battle Granny Goodness and the Female Furies together.
Barda appears in flashbacks in Justice League: Gods and Monsters as a part of Bekka’s backstory. She is one of the New Gods of New Genesis, and she is present at the peace treaty reached between Highfather and Darkseid, which is symbolized by the marriage of Bekka and Orion. After the ritual, however, Barda and the gods of the New Genesis slay Darkseid and his companions without Bekka’s knowledge.
Misty Lee voices her in the online series DC Super Hero High. She joined during the filming of “DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year” and got along with Lady Shiva. Big Barda is one of the Female Furies who attacks Super Hero High in DC Super Hero Girls: Super Hero High. After being overpowered, she is jailed in Belle Reve. Big Barda is freed from Belle Reve after being reformed in DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year, and she enlists at Super Hero High. Despite Lady Shiva’s reservations, she emerges to be a hero.
Big Barda, now a student at Super Hero School High, is taking part in the Intergalactic Games in DC Super Hero Girls: Intergalactic Games. During the gameplay, Lashina claims that her buddy still has affection for her, but it turns out to be a deception to obtain Barda’s fingerprints and gain admission to the school in order to disable a bit of equipment. Big Barda comes as her classmates are battling the Female Furies, and she leads her classmates against her former comrades, revealing once again where her allegiance lies. In the end, Barda aids the superheroes in their fight against Brainiac and Lena Luthor. Misty Lee voices her in this series.
In Season One, Episode “Follow That Space Cab!” of Justice League Action, Black Canary initially appears in a snapshot in Space Cabbie’s cab. In Season 1, Episode 10, “Under a Red Sun,” she makes her complete appearance, assisting Batman and Superman in their fight against Steppenwolf.
She appears on the Watchtower monitor in Season 1, Episode 39, “Forget Me Not.”
Big Barda is kidnapped as a hostage by Darkseid in Season 1, Episode 43, “It’ll Take a Miracle!” Darkseid demands Mr. Miracle in return for her. Darkseid, on the other hand, is after the last piece of his Anti-Life equation machine, which is in possession. Laura Post voices her in this show.
In Conclusion
Big Barda is what every hero aspires to be but is rarely able to achieve. She is not only a powerful force to be reckoned with, but she is also a breathtakingly beautiful woman, an excellent and supportive wife, and a strong and wise leader. She always leaves a mark anywhere she appears and has, quite unsurprisingly, stolen the hearts of millions all over the globe. Even with everything going on around her, she manages to be supportive and loving to everyone around her and is fit to be a God in every sense of the word.
Overall, Big Barda is a terrific character that has enjoyed a considerable increase in popularity during Kings and Gerads’ run. Nevertheless, she’s a quintessential Kirby heroine that deserves more attention. Barda is a badass warrior who is a member of DC’s most extraordinary pair, and it will be intriguing to see how Big Barda is portrayed in live-action.