Eclipso is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Haney and Lee Elias, the character would first appear in House of Secrets #61 (August, 1963). The character bears notable similarities to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Eclipso is a powerful magical entity often portrayed as a primordial manifestation of divine wrath, believed to be linked to the wrath of God. Comparable to the Spectre, Eclipso is considered an Angel of Vengeance. Following his removal from his original position, the character is sometimes associated with the Lords of Chaos as their agent. In the New 52 continuity onward, additional information about the character reveals that Eclipso occasionally reincarnates into different lives. One such incarnation is Kaala, also known as the Lord of the House Onyx, hailing from Gemworld. Throughout Eclipso's history, the character is frequently depicted as an adversary of the Justice League, its affiliated teams, and Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld. Notably, Eclipso possesses the ability of possession, marked by distinctive blue facial markings resembling an "eclipse." Eclipso appeared as the main antagonist of the second season of The CW television show Stargirl, portrayed as an adult by Nick E. Tarabay and Jason Davis and as a young boy by Milo Stein.

Publication history

Eclipso first appeared in House of Secrets #61 (August 1963) and was created by Bob Haney and Lee Elias.

Fictional character biography

Originally, Eclipso was written as a generic villain who would routinely enact an elaborate plot to fulfill his hedonistic motivations. However, the 1992 Darkness Within miniseries modified the character to be an evil and megalomaniacal entity. Eclipso's character laments the power he once had as a spirit of divine vengeance. Eclipso would frequently seek to possess beings of incredible power like Superman, Lar Gand, and Captain Marvel to achieve his ends.

Bruce Gordon

Eclipso's early comics debut is tied to his first modern host, Bruce Gordon (named after Bruce Wayne and Commissioner Gordon as an inside joke), a scientist specializing in solar energy. While in the jungle to view a solar eclipse, Gordon is attacked by tribal sorcerer Mophir, who wounds him with a black diamond and causes him to transform into Eclipso during eclipses. During this period, Eclipso was portrayed as a conventional villain, possessing super strength, partial invulnerability, and optic blasts. Eclipso's transformations are later altered so that any type of natural eclipse would split Eclipso and Gordon, while an "artificial eclipse"—an object blocking out a light source—would transform Gordon into Eclipso. Any bright flash of light would banish Eclipso back into Bruce Gordon's body or reverse the change.

Eclipso: The Darkness Within

In the early 1990s, DC retconned Eclipso in a company-wide crossover built around the miniseries Eclipso: The Darkness Within. Eclipso was revealed not simply to be Bruce Gordon's dark half, but a vengeful demon who was imprisoned inside a black diamond called the "Heart of Darkness". The Heart is later shattered into 1,000 pieces which enable Eclipso to possess others when they touch them. Over the next 100 years, Eclipso gathers the diamond shards with the intention of destroying them all, freeing his true power. When Lar Gand discovers Eclipso's palace on the moon, Eclipso is inspired to possess all of Earth's heroes and use them to conquer Earth and obtain revenge against God for his imprisonment. Eclipso is eventually defeated while Will Payton destroys his moon base.

Eclipso series

Following the crossover event, Eclipso appeared in a solo series. He conquered the South American country of Parador by possessing one person at a time. The United States sent an investigation team consisting of Cave Carson, Bruce Gordon, and Gordon's fiancé Mona Bennet. Carson's legs were broken and he was left at the border. Gordon and Bennet were taken on a tour and shown various atrocities, such as piles of children's corpses. They escaped with the assistance of the Creeper and formed a group of heroes dubbed the Shadow Fighters. This group was led by Amanda Waller, formerly of the Suicide Squad. In issue #13 of the series, Eclipso defeated them, killing Wildcat II, the second Doctor Mid-Nite, the Creeper, Commander Steel, the Manhunter IV (a Mark Shaw ringer), and Major Victory. The Creeper has returned to action in his own series. The Peacemaker was also involved in this action. He died in a helicopter crash while trying to destroy Eclipso's tanks. These tanks were attacking the sole surviving member of the Shadow Fighter attack force, Nemesis. The other survivors of the Shadow Fighters, those who had not attacked Eclipso directly, regrouped. Eclipso attacked them with a Parador missile, which they evaded using Nightshade's teleportation ability. During the escape, Mona's father was snatched from their vehicle, but he later returned alive. The survivors arrived in the United Nations building, just in time to foil another plot of Eclipso by landing their vehicle on his intended victim. Bruce Gordon and Mona Bennet led Earth's superheroes in an attack on Parador, in an attempt to destroy Eclipso once and for all. Eclipso revealed that he dares not kill Gordon and Bennet because their unborn child will time travel to the past as an adult and free Eclipso from the diamond. Eclipso was finally defeated when the Phantom Stranger gathered all 1,000 black diamond shards and fused them into the Heart of Darkness, imprisoning Eclipso again. His physical body, the adult child of Bennet and Gordon, evaporated in front of his parents.

The Spectre (vol. 3)

The Spectre (vol. 3) reveals Eclipso to be the first avatar of God's wrath, preceding the Spectre. Writer John Ostrander chose to portray this as a distinction between the Spectre's pursuit of "vengeance" and Eclipso's pursuit of "revenge". In a Biblical context, Eclipso was responsible for Noah's Flood, while the Spectre was the Angel of Death who slew the first-born Egyptian children. The Spectre destroys the Heart of Darkness, along with the remains of Eclipso's palace on the moon, burning them and casting the ashes into outer space.

Alex Montez

Eclipso returns after several years' absence in the "Princes of Darkness" storyline in JSA as an ally of Mordru and Obsidian. Alexander Montez, Wildcat's cousin, vows revenge on Eclipso for her death. To this end, he gathers 1,000 black diamonds, liquefies them, and injects them into himself, gaining Eclipso's powers. However, Eclipso takes control of Alex, leading him to commit suicide. Following this, Eclipso's followers acquire Alex's body and extract the diamond fragments from him.

"Lightning Strikes Twice"

Despite the loss of the other black diamonds, the disembodied Eclipso possesses Superman. Captain Marvel exploits Superman's weakness to magic to defeat him and recruits the Spectre to exorcise him.

Jean Loring

In Day of Vengeance, Jean Loring obtains the Black Diamond and is possessed by Eclipso. After Loring is killed in battle with Mary Marvel, Eclipso abandons her and returns to Bruce Gordon. Furthermore, Countdown to Mystery reveals that the Black Diamonds originate from Apokolips.

Countdown to Mystery

In Countdown to Mystery, Eclipso corrupts the heroes Plastic Man, the Creeper, and Dove and reassembles the Heart of Darkness. The Spectre encourages Bruce Gordon to take control of Eclipso, but is unable to separate the two.

Rise of Eclipso

Following Brightest Day, Eclipso kills the Spectre and absorbs his powers. He destroys the Moon and attempts to destroy Earth before being defeated.

The New 52

In The New 52 continuity reboot, Eclipso is a god of vengeance and originates from Gemworld. Later, the Black Diamond is delivered to disgraced scientist Gordon Jacobs. Eclipso possesses Jacobs and claims that he cannot leave him without killing him.

DC Rebirth

In the DC Rebirth event Justice League vs. Suicide Squad, Maxwell Lord and the Suicide Squad steal the Heart of Darkness, allowing Eclipso to expand his powers worldwide. Eclipso possesses Lord before Killer Frost uses her powers to create a prism, trapping him in the Black Diamond. In The New Golden Age , Eclipso is revealed to be possessing Wildcat. He battles the Justice Society before Legionnaire defeats him and traps him in the Black Diamond.

Powers and abilities

Eclipso is a formidable and powerful spiritual entity, representing the primordial embodiment of God's Wrath. Possessing extraordinary abilities, Eclipso's powers are diverse and impressive. Fueled by rage, the character exhibits attributes such as invulnerability and immortality. Eclipso's vast magical powers enable the performance of godlike feats. These include manipulating the weather and seas, causing natural disasters like floods and thunderstorms. The character can also alter their size, growing to giant proportions, has the ability to emit deadly rays of dark light from his left eye and a powerful burst of paralyzing black light from his right eye by looking through a shard of the Heart of Darkness gem. Furthermore, Eclipso has demonstrated the ability to absorb the powers of the Spectre and project potent energy from their hands, capable of stunning or even killing adversaries. Having once served God, Eclipso possesses the ability to communicate in the angelic language, which encompasses elements of harmony, discordance, vibration, and telepathy. This linguistic skill enhances Eclipso's command over their powers and facilitates communication on a divine level. The character carries with him a seemingly unbreakable mystical sword and is a considerable swordsman. Originally, Eclipso's abilities in possession were derived from contact with the Heart of Darkness. In later iterations, Eclipso's possession capabilities have become even more potent. After overtaking Maxwell Lord, his ability to possess and corrupt individuals was significantly amplified. Unlike before, Eclipso no longer requires physical contact with the gem to influence others. He can remotely possess multiple hosts, as long as he can first corrupt them. Moreover, his influence tends to amplify the darker tendencies within those under his control. The individuals he possesses undergo a visible transformation, adopting a more monstrous physical appearance.

Heart of Darkness

When manifested into his true form, the character often wears the Heart of Darkness on his chest and channels its power. On its own, Eclipso possesses the ability to overshadow individuals who come into contact with the cursed Heart of Darkness gem. Once overshadowed, Eclipso controls the host's powers, manipulates their behavior, and alters their memories to serve his own purposes. Additionally, he can augment his host's existing abilities or grant them new powers, thereby strengthening them.

Weaknesses

Despite Eclipso's considerable power, he remains bound by the divine laws set by the Presence, and transgressing these bounds can result in severe punishment from the Presence. Additionally, Eclipso has a vulnerability in the form of the Heart of Darkness, which can be used to seal him away. Certain adept practitioners of magic, such as Doctor Fate and Sebastian Faust, have demonstrated the ability to hinder and exorcise Eclipso's possession through the use of specific magical spells and abilities.

Other versions

In other media

Television

Film

Video games

Miscellaneous

The Bruce Gordon incarnation of Eclipso appears in Smallville Season 11: Chaos. Amidst an archaeological dig in Africa, Eclipso possesses Gordon, travels to Metropolis, and battles Superman before eventually possessing him and Superboy, leaving Gordon to be taken into custody and the Black Diamond destroyed. S.T.A.R. Labs recover the shards, learning that they are sending signals to each other. Steve Lombard later takes one of the shards, causing him to be possessed by Eclipso until Hank Henshaw and Green Lantern defeat him and take the shards into space.