The DC universe is rife with tales of superheroes and villains who have spent their entire lives training to become mighty beings capable of annihilating their foes. When these warriors join hands and collaborate, they become an unstoppable force capable of far more than merely defeating their foes.
The Female Furies were a group of lethal assassins who served for Darkseid, created by Jack Kirby. These powerful ladies, which include Big Barda, Lashina, and even Wonder Woman, have overcome many obstacles to become one of Apokolips’ most fearsome protectors. Let’s take a look at the Female Furies’ origins and the numerous powerful women who make them up!
The first comic book appearance explored
The Female Furies were first introduced in the Mister Miracle Comics [Volume 1, Issue 6]. Here, we see one of the original Female Furies, Big Barda, come together with Mister Miracle to work on a mission. Though the rest of the team does not appear in the comics, Big Barda mentions the Female Furies’ history and the harsh life that she led while working under Darkseid and Granny Goodness.
She is now in a relationship with Scott, also known as Mister Miracle, and the two discuss renovating their condo. Throughout the comics, Barda and Scott face many obstacles in the form of dragons, lasers, and a tumultuous collapsing room as they make their way through the ‘New Genesis’ planet. As the comic comes to an end, the duo has managed to unpack several issues and even locate Orion, the second son of Darkseid, who has unfortunately been murdered.
The Female Furies team has some badass assassins
The Female Furies were one of the most influential teams of villains that were formed under the eye of the New God’ Darkseid .’ After a long war that destroyed the Old Gods and gave birth to the New Genesis, the planet of Apokolips was ruled by Darkseid, who recruited many powerful villains and New Gods to work under his hand.
One of these New Gods was ‘Granny Goodness,’ who ran an orphanage on Apokolips and raised many children. Though she was known as ‘Granny Goodness,’ her deeds were far from good as she manipulated the young children at the orphanage and ruthlessly trained them for years to create the ‘Female Furies’ among other warriors. The Furies were tortured from a young age, and they grew up to be ruthless killers who worked on the orders of the Granny Goodness.
Initially, the Female Furies consisted of Aurelia, Big Barda, Lashina, Bernadeth, Stompa, and Mad Harriet. They all had their unique abilities and powers that combined to make them an undefeatable force. While Stompa could create powerful earthquakes with just her foot, Mad Harriet possessed sharp fang-like claws to injure her opponents. One of the most famous furies was Big Barda, who later left the group to go to the good side.
Other group members included Bernadeth, who had a unique weapon in the form of a burning knife and believed that she should be the leader. However, Lashina was the actual leader of the group and one of the most powerful of the Furies. She had special additions in the form of flexible steel bands that she could fling at her opponents and injure them drastically. Though Lashina was unanimously considered to be the leader of the Furies, she was not the first leader that they had. In the beginning, Aurelia led the group, but she later caught the eye of ‘Willik,’ who was one of Darkseid’s minions. Willik forced himself upon Aurelia, and she eventually died at his hands.
After her tragic death, the rest of the Furies were skeptical about their position, and they ultimately avenged Aurelia’s death by shoving Willis into a black hole. Following these incidents, Big Barda started getting suspicious of Darkseid’s intentions for the group, and she left the group to be on the good side. As explored in the comics above, she met Mister Miracle and formed a relationship with the superhero as the duo worked against Darkseid.
She later returned to the Furies to ask for help in defeating Darkseid’s daughter’ Grail,’ and the remaining Furies agreed on the condition that Barda returns to the group. However, she did not last long in the group and again decided to leave due to unknown reasons.
Lashina, Bernadeth, Stompa, and Mad Harriet continued to work under Granny Goodness and even assisted her in taking over the Apokolips citadel when Darkseid had gone missing. At the time, the notorious Lex Luthor had taken over the role of overseeing Apokolips, and the furies did their best to overthrow his rule. They even managed to get ‘Lois Lane’ to work alongside them, but she soon abandoned the group when Superman arrived on Apokolips. Though Luthor was defeated, the Furies were imprisoned under Superman’s rule until Darkseid returned as the ruler.
In return for freeing them, Darkseid sent the Furies on a mission to acquire certain artifacts that would help the Darkseid become even more powerful. However, Lashina and Mad Harriet fell into a trap on this mission and were captured and taken to the government organization A.R.G.U.S.’s headquarters. Here, they were questioned by ‘Wonder Woman,’ but the duo stayed strong and did not reveal details about their mission.
Upon seeing their refusal to talk, Wonder Woman set them free and decided to battle them instead of just questioning them. However, this battle did not go on for long after Darkseid teleported to the A.R.G.U.S. Headquarters and ended up getting involved in the fight. He was overpowered by the soldiers and ended up dying, which left the Furies unprotected. The government organization imprisoned them, and not much is known about the group’s activities over the next few years.
Nevertheless, after some years, the four Female Furies- Lashina, Mad Hariet, Bernadeth, and Stompa showed up at the birth of Big Barda’s son with Mister Miracle.
At some point, the Granny Goodness also tried to make Harley Quinn a part of her Female Furies. Quinn went by the name ‘Hammer Haleem’ and was even given a special hammer that gave her additional powers. However, she did not last long with the group and decided to leave soon after realizing Granny Goodness’s true intent.
For years, Granny Goodness kept recruiting more Furies, some of which were Artemiz, Bloody Mary, Knockout, Speed Queen, Supergirl, and her most recent recruit, ‘Wunda.’ One of the new Furies, Gilotina, is one of the youngest Fury in the group and has the ability to cut through any material by using Karate Chops. However, the group’s youngest member is ‘Malice Vundabar,’ who was related to one of the most important Elites in Darkseid’s team.
Many superheroes fell for Granny’s tactics, and became a part of the Female Furies. One such superhero was ‘Wonder Woman’ who eventually became a part of the group and even brought together Batwoman, Catwoman, as well as other powerful females to become Female Furies.
Let us explore their powers- and learn more about this deadly group of females.
What makes the members so powerful?
Though Granny Goodness trained all the members, they all had their own unique set of abilities that helped them stand out.
One of the original Furies, Stompa, was one of the most gifted members of the group as she possessed supernatural strength and durability. She was a part of Granny’s most prized students, along with the likes of her team-member ‘Mad Harriet’. Mad Harriet was a crazed villain, and she was pretty ruthless and unhinged in nature. Even after her downfall, Mad Harriet managed to channel her spirit to work for the Furies, and her spirit possessed ‘Batwoman’ who was one of the new Female Furies.
Lashina, the leader of the Furies, had superhuman abilities and steel bands that electrified anybody who stood in her way. She often ended up in conflict with Bernadeth, who believed she must be the leader of the group. Bernadeth is the second-most strongest Furies to ever exist, and she has even gone up against powerful opponents such as Wonder Woman and Supergirl.
One of the new recruits, Artemiz, was an exceptional archer who never missed a shot and was one of the most powerful Furies on the team. She also traveled with a pack of cybernetic wolves, who helped her hunt and look for their prey in advance.
Some other Furies with superpowers are Speed Queen, who can move at supersonic speed, and Bloody Mary- who possesses vampire-like abilities and can drain others of their energy with just her eyes. Wunda, who is the most recent addition to the team, can use light as a weapon against her opponents.
Though all of the Female Furies have their own specialties, they all share the same formal training under the watchful eye of Granny Goodness, and it is virtually impossible to defeat them.
The Female Furies in Superman/Batman Apocalypse movie and several animated shows
This group of deadly assassins has been included in many live-action series and shows, most important of which is the Superman/Batman Apocalypse movie. Here, they come together as a group to get rid of the Apokoliptian entity ‘Treasure,’ and later go up against Wonder Woman and Big Barda, who is now free from the clutches of the Darkseid.
Their stories have many variations in other animated series, such as the ‘Batman; The Brave and the Bold’ wherein the Furies work for the alien warlord Mongal instead of Granny Goodness. They are also a huge part of the ‘D.C. Super Hero Girls’ animated series, where the Furies are recurring characters throughout the show.
The Female Furies have been an integral part of the universe, and they were also written into an episode of the television series ‘Smallville .’ This episode titled ‘Abandoned’ explored the Female Furies’ life under the Granny Goodness as she rescues them from an orphanage and then trains them into warriors.
The clan is spotted in many animated series such as the ‘Justice League Action’ as well as ‘Superman: The Animated Series.’ They also appear in movies such as ‘The Justice League: Apokolips War’ wherein we see the Furies free themselves from Darkseid’s control.
Conclusion
The Female Furies are deadly assassins who have overcome years of hardships and have never backed down from a fight. They are a force to reckon with and have emerged as one of the most influential groups of females in the D.C. Universe!