Beloved, never seek vengeance for yourself, but rather leave it to God’s wrath, as it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 12:19. – Romans 12:19. For readers, comic books are the ultimate escape, allowing them to immerse themselves in a world that would otherwise only exist in their imaginations. Aliens, mutants, and a slew of other primal entities abound on the pages of these escapism tools.
However, this technique is not limited to a writer’s creativity. To acquire inspiration for their storylines, most comic book writers would look to the different religions and myths that already exist in their unique universe.
The god’s Thor and Hercules are obvious examples, but deification is not limited to Nordic or Hellenistic cultures, and some of the most intriguing (and horrifying) narratives to ever grace the pages of a comic book come from the world’s most widely practiced religion: Christianity.
Preacher on AMC gives us a taste of what would happen if God’s chosen representatives began speaking in His voice, although His Wrath was first published in 1963 by Bob Haney and Lee Elias. Eclipso first appeared in House of Secrets #61 as a normal Moon Knight-style supervillain with a personality illness. All of that changed in 1992 when he unveiled his actual self. This is The Spirit of God’s Wrath, Eclipso’s Origins – Explained, without further ado.
Dark Origin of Eclipso
Bruce Gordon (wink wink) was one of the most brilliant scientists of his generation, who specialized in Solar Energy. Being a man of science, he was naturally curious about the way life developed and played out in the cosmos. Gordon would frequently visit isolated locations to observe and gather information on cosmic phenomena, especially if they were tied to the Sun.
On one fateful research trip to Diablo Island, Gordon’s life would change forever. While he was cutting through a dense forest trying to get to the best possible location to observe an approaching solar eclipse, Gordon was set upon by a tribal seer called Mopar. Denouncing Gordon as a trespasser and a defiler, he tried to kill the man who was already backed onto a cliff’s edge by rushing at him with a sharp, Black Diamond.
Gordon managed to side-step and avoid maddened charges but ends up getting cut by the diamond all the same. The locals, glad to be free of the mystic, give Gordon his costume and the Black Diamond as a parting gift. Gordon gladly accepted it and took it home to Solar City, which would turn out to be the biggest mistake of his life.
The Black Diamond seemed to possess some kind of evil magic because whenever an eclipse would occur, it would trigger a change in Bruce. Covering 2/3rds of his face with a blue-grey eclipse mark and granting him otherworldly powers, the diamond turns the scientist into the villainous Eclipso, who proceeds to wreak havoc on Solar City.
Appearing as a physical manifestation of Bruce Gordon’s “bad side”, initially, Eclipso would rear his head only during a solar eclipse but this premise was later expanded to include any kind of eclipse. Stuck in this Jekyll-Hyde situation for almost 30 years of publication, it wasn’t until 1992’s Eclipso: The Darkness Within crossover event that we’d find out more about the evil entity behind Gordon’s spandex persona.
Eclipso: The Darkness Within #1 opened in 1891 with an expedition to Africa that saw two men recover the Eclipso’s Black Diamond which is actually called the Heart of Darkness. This gem housed Eclipso’s evil spirit, which was then divided into 1000 identical black diamonds that were scattered across the Earth.
Trapped in his palace on the Dark Side of the Moon, Eclipso would take over the personalities of anyone in possession of these diamonds by manipulating their negative emotions, especially rage; something Bruce was completely unaware of when he went to Diablos’ Island. For years, he thought that Eclipso was just his “darker half”, his id broken loose, all his most-horrific thoughts given a personality of their own.
It was when Spectre Vol. 3 #17 came out that we finally discovered Eclipso’s “true origins”. In the beginning, there was nothing, and then God (or The Presence, as He’s known in DC) created the Universe and with it the many manifestations of His divine being. One of these ethereal spirits was the embodiment of God’s Wrath and was called Galid; he was also given the duties of carrying out divine justice as the original Spirit of Vengeance.
However, wrath is like a raging wildfire that dishes out punishment indiscriminately; unlike vengeance, which is measured and is intended in the spirit of justice. At some point, fed up with Humanity’s perceived depravity and failure at being God’s “perfect creations”, Galid unleashed the Great Flood upon the Earth, killing everyone who wasn’t on Noah’s Ark.
For this unspeakable act, he was stripped of his duties and angelic heraldry, cast down to the moon, and bound within the walls of his palace and the Heart of Darkness; cursed to stay exiled from Heaven for eternity.
His displacement is what paved the way for the demon Aztar’s redemption and return as God’s newly-appointed Spirit of Vengeance; the Spectre. Meanwhile, Gilad would remain trapped within the Heart of Darkness, which was forged in the mines of Apokolips by Darkseid himself, and become the revenge-driven rage entity known to us as Eclipso.
Eclipso in Various story arcs
Ever since he was unveiled as the former personification of God’s Wrath, Eclipso has been given a larger role in DC continuity than simply being Mr. Hyde to Bruce Gordon’s Dr. Jekyll. Fun fact: in DC lore, Dr. Jekyll’s violently brutish split-persona was a consequence of Eclipso’s influence, meaning he literally created the tale of Jekyll & Hyde, which we thought is an excellent homage to Eclipso’s Silver Age origins.
1992’s Eclipso: The Darkness Within was a massive crossover event that saw the malevolent entity possess various superheroes in an attempt to exact revenge on God and Humanity- his most imperfect creation. Eclipso managed to take control of quite the roster of supers, including Wonder Woman, The Flash, Power Girl, and Green Lantern but was eventually defeated by the mind-control-free Starman.
After this, Eclipso shifted his focus from controlling a few people to an entire country; as Eclipso #1 saw the ethereal nightmare take control of the entire South American nation of Parador, ruling it with an iron fist.
He came into conflict with Amanda Waller’s Suicide Squad as well as the Shadow Fighters over the Heart of Darkness and wrecked shop against both, killing 7 enhanced combatants that included Peacemaker & Wildcat II. It was only through the combined efforts of the Squad, Batman, and the Phantom Stranger that Eclipso was defeated, with the Stranger recreating the Heart of Darkness from its scattered fragments to trap the evil spirit within it.
He then sealed it back on the Moon, where it was seemingly destroyed by The Spectre. He would return during the Princes of Darkness event where Earth was attacked by Mordru and Obsidian and put under a permanent lunar eclipse by their blue-faced partner- you guessed it- Eclipso. During this event, Eclipso would actually be tamed by the occult practitioner Alex Montez (cousin of the late Wildcat II) who would go on to become a rare heroic version of the Eclipso entity.
From there the entity would go on to try to warp the minds of Superman and Lois Lane, possess a delusional Jean Loring through the machinations of LexLuthor during the Day of Vengeance event, and try to take over the ruthless Darkseid (and fail) before facing off against the Blue Lantern Corps in the aftermath of the Brightest Day. The New 52 re-boot gave Eclipso a brand new origin story that keeps all his powers intact but turns him into one of the strongest Homo magi to ever exist on Gemworld.
The result of the union between the House of Onyx and the House of Diamond, Prince Kalaa was the strongest being ever born on Gemworld because he possessed the blood-power of not one, but two royal houses. Unfortunately, all this power drove him insane and turned him into the evil Eclipso who was stranded on Earth after losing the War of the Eclipse.
John Constantine returned the Heart of Darkness to Gemworld, where Eclipso attempted to re-take his throne but failed yet again. His most recent appearance has been during the Infinite Frontier event, where he is one of the 4 beings Darkseid must contend with to achieve the “Great Darkness”; the other 3 being Upside-Down Man, Empty Hand, and Nekron.
What makes Eclipso so dangerous?
If it wasn’t for the restrictions imposed upon him by planetary movements and God Himself, Eclipso would have easily been one of the Top 5 DC Supervillains of all time. Being the former Spirit of Vengeance and the literal manifestation of divine Wrath, Eclipso’s powers are on an incalculable scale. He was personally responsible for the Biblical Flood in DC canon and possesses all the requisite powers and abilities that befit a being of his stature.
He is immortal and invulnerable to most things, making him nearly impossible to kill or imprison for a meaningful period of time; even when he was disintegrated into fine space dust, he managed to come back to life. Eclipso’s natural strength and speed are on par with Superman’s at the very least; and yes, that includes flight speed.
In fact, in their first encounter, Eclipso managed to deal with the Man of Steel like he was taking a walk in the park; he went blow-to-blow with Clark and actually came out on top without breaking into a sweat! That alone would make him one of the strongest characters in the DCU, but we’ve barely scratched the surface of Eclipso’s powers.
He can shoot lasers out of both of his eyes; from his left eye he can shoot deadly rays of dark light, and from his right eye he emits a powerful burst of paralyzing black light when he looks through a shard of the Heart of Darkness. Eclipso is also one of the most powerful magic users in existence, capable of performing godlike feats such as altering entire weather systems, shape-shifting, the ability to “speak” the angelic language, and performing many such malevolent “miracles” that other B-list villains could only pray for.
At the height of his magical strength, Eclipso was able to bend reality to his will and cause a solar eclipse so massive that the entire world was plunged into darkness. So immense is his magical might that during his clash with The Spectre, he didn’t simply overpower his successor; he outclassed him in every sense of the word, and then took over the Spectre’s spirit, essentially using him as a cosmic battery.
And yes, we’re talking about the same Spectre who protected MULTIPLE Earths from the friggin’ Anti-Monitor. And somehow, we haven’t even spoken about his greatest power yet; the power to impose absolute mind control. Eclipso is, hands down, one of the strongest telepathic creatures in DC, able to manipulate a character’s darker emotions to make them vulnerable to his presence. Once he possesses someone, it’s very hard to make him let go as even the strongest telepaths in DC can’t seem to shake off his hold.
Eclipso can also put multiple people under his influence, a number that can range from a score of superheroes to an entire country of human beings; none of whom escape his mind control by their own strength, mind you. When he selects a host, he lets them believe he is granting them his power for benevolent reasons, before completely warping their worldview by corrupting their souls with his own.
His only weaknesses are solar energy (which makes sense as he’s literally a creature of the Shadows) and occult glyphs found on Diablo Island that can bind Eclipso’s strength to your own will; although in the case of the latter, the control is lost if the glyphs are broken. Though he can only physically manifest himself in the dark of night, all these abilities definitely make Eclipso one of the strongest cosmic villains in DC history.
Creative and Terrifying Versions Of Eclipso In Various Forms Of Media – Explored
Despite being such a niche comic book character, Eclipso has been given the alternate version treatment on at least a couple of occasions. He makes a cameo appearance in the Elseworlds story JLA: The Nail #3, where we see Bruce Gordon in his Eclipso persona, restrained and contained at Professor Hamilton’s Cadmus Labs.
In Justice League 3001, Eclipso isn’t related to Bruce Gordon and is not an embodiment of God’s Wrath; rather, her creator is the Lady Styx, who charges her with defeating the JLA which also includes her twin brother Teri Magnus; aka The Flash. Smallville Season 11, a digital comic based on the eponymous TV series, features a Dr. Bryce Gordon who finds a mysterious black diamond in Africa and becomes the villainous Eclipso.
This version of Eclipso quickly deduces his predicament and rids himself of the entity before causing serious damage to Superman and Superboy. But the most creative and terrifying portrayals of the former Spirit of Vengeance come from the small screen; both live-action and animated. The Justice League animated series episode “Eclipsed” adapts Eclipso’s 1963 origin story without mentioning him by name.
In this version, the Heart of Darkness houses a race of serpentine humanoids called the “Ophidians” who have imprisoned themselves within it, waiting to be unleashed upon humanity and causing its extinction. In the episode, they are accidentally released by General McCormick who, donning Eclipso’s OG costume, attempts to perma-block the Sun’s rays from reaching the Earth.
Thankfully, his plan is foiled by The Flash. A more comic-accurate adaptation of the Prince of Darkness comes with DC’s Stargirl, where Eclipso was the primary antagonist in Season 2. Though he’s portrayed much like his comic book character, there are some key differences. Instead of being an iteration of God’s Wrath, Eclipso is portrayed as a straight-up evil entity who feeds off the darkness within human hearts in an attempt to ascend to godhood.
The first time he came in contact with someone from Stargirl’s JSA was when he killed Mid-Nite’s mother several years ago. As the story continues, we learn that in CW’s version, Bruce Gordon actually gave in to the Eclipso entity as opposed to figuring out how to defeat it. This led to his death at the hands of Starman, the character who handed Eclipso his first definite loss on the pages of a comic book.
Trapped in the Heart of Darkness, Eclipso was contained at the JSA’s HQ till he broke out and went back to his nefarious, scheming ways. Though the Season 2 finale saw Stargirl return from the Shadowlands and defeat Eclipso with the help of her JSA peers, we think it isn’t the last time we’re gonna see his vengeful spirit on CW as the show has also introduced WildCat Yolanda’s brother Alex Montez; and if you’ve paid attention to everything we’ve said about Eclipso so far, you know why that prospect excites us.