Lords of Chaos and Order

The Lords of Chaos and Order are a complementary group of fictional supernatural entities appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. While commonly associated with Doctor Fate, the group are also tied to other various character in DC Comics. The group would make their first actual appearance in DC Special Series #10 in 1978, although their existence was indirectly alluded to in More Fun Comics #55 in 1940 with the creation of the character, Nabu.

Lords of Chaos and Order
The avatar representative of the Lords of Order and Chaos.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearance(retcon): More Fun Comics #55 (May 1940)
(actual): DC Special Series #10 (Jan 1978)
Characteristics
Place of originSphere of the Gods
Darkworld
Cilia
Notable membersNabu
Arion
Mordru
Wizard Shazam
Inherent abilities
  • Immense magical powers
  • Cosmic influence
  • Longevity

They are commonly depicted as immensely powerful beings of magic representing the fundamental concepts of order and chaos. Ultimately, the Lord of Chaos's goals is to invoke a cosmic event referred to as kali yuga, a period where chaos dominances existence while their cosmic opposite seek to prevent such as period.[1] Another affiliated group known as the Balancers (also referred to as the Lords of Eternal Balance) are entities who, while as powerful as both the Lords of Order and Chaos, are allied but not formally in their ranks. Their chief goal is to prevent entities from either side from destroying the universe, as their great command of powers and conflict between one another puts the known universe at risk.[2] All sides of the complementary groups empower other characters to act as their agents in influencing events that favor their respective group.

The group have been featured in several forms of media outside the comics; The Kent Nelson incarnation of Doctor Fate acted as the host of the Lord of Order Nabu while others are mentioned the Injustice 2 video-game. The group is also featured in the Young Justice animated series, featuring a roster of different and pre-existing characters serving as members or affiliates of the Lords of Chaos and Order.

Publication history

The first Lord of Order, Nabu, appeared in More Fun Comics #67 (May 1941) created by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman. Nabu's first appearance was later retconned to be in More Fun Comics #55 (May 1940), but the concept of the Lords of Chaos and Order was introduced years later in DC Special Series #10 (1978).

Fictional group history

Origin

Both of the elemental forces were born during the creation of the universe, with those who affiliated with serving "Order" is known as the Lord of Order and Light (or simply the Lords of Order) and the Lords of Chaos and Darkness (or simply Lords of Chaos). Both elemental forces would find themselves born in both the planet Cilia and the other-dimensional world, Darkworld. Those born from Cilia, such as Nabu, were among the first sentient race in the galaxy. Those from Darkworld, however, predate creation and were born from the consciousness of the extra-dimensional realm colloquially referred to as "The Darkworld", its body making up the very dimension. Lords of Chaos and Order born from Darkworld would make up the ancient sect of the Atlantean Pantheon.[3][1][4]

According to Indian philosophy, the age of the universe and mankind is divided into four different cycles of ages in which the first age marks Order ruling with perfection. In the second age, Chaos begins to spread its subtle influence so that in the third age, Chaos can go to war with Order. In the final era, Chaos triumphs and ushers in an age known as the "Kali Yuga". After this age, the cycle restarts when the age ends and the universe itself also ends, resulting in a rebirth of a universe in which Order rules once more.[1][4]

Day of Vengeance (2005)

In the Day of Vengeance crossover, Eclipso seduces the Spectre into slaughtering most of Earth's magic users after she claimed that magic was the source of all of Earth's evil. Nabu organizes a team of magical beings to stop the Spectre and seal the Seven Deadly Sins. Nabu confronts the Spectre, and the Presence (a Lord of Chaos) uses Spectre as a new host. Although Nabu dies, his helmet is left with its significant powers. The deaths of the Lords of Order and Chaos caused magic to break down into its basic raw state, which marks the end of the Ninth Age of Magic within the DC Universe, and the beginning of the Tenth. Amethyst and Mordru are the only known Lords to have survived into the Tenth Age.[5]

Revised origins

In DC Rebirth, the Lords of Chaos and Order are presented with a new origin; being among the first mages on Earth, the group of mages plot and were successful in stealing magical power from the Greek Goddess of Magic, Hecate. Unlike the classical Greek mythology stories, Hecate was a primordial spirit of magic and predates most, if not, all other godly pantheons and once settled to be affiliated with the Greek pantheon. As their power rose, they ascended to higher plans and became the Lords of Chaos and Order and began controlling magic in the known universe.[6]

However, conflicting origins have risen within DC's canonical universe; while some stories utilize the newly revised origin, other stories utilize an origin similar to the previous one. In this origin, the Lords of Chaos and Order was created from the Source as one of the first cosmic forces in the universe before the likes of both Old Gods (gods of both fantasy and real-world inspired pantheons) and New Gods.[7] The Darkworld also exists in this revised universe, the entity and its body that makes up the dimension having been explained to be a piece of the Great Darkness, the true embodiment and source of evil and darkness in the universe.[8][9]

Blue Beetle (Vol. 2): Hard Choices

In the "Hard Choices" Blue Beetle storyline, an insane Arion battled Nabu thousands of years ago, having sought Khaji-Da to save Atlantis after receiving a vision from the future where he learns of the eventual destruction of Atlantis and the scarab falsely promised him the ability to save it. Nabu succeeds in sealing away Arion and sets him in a tomb located in a dimension parallel to what would be El Paso, Texas. Arion's magic seeping through the dimension awakens metahuman powers among the El Paso inhabitants and through agents such as Mordecai Cull, he beings attempting to free himself. Nabu senses his work and seeks the Blue Beetle Scarab, believing it to be the key to Arion's resurrection, putting him at odds with Jaime Reyes and Ted Kord. The three later team up to battle Arion and his demonic apprentice, Mordecai Cull, as he seeks to eradicate all of existence in a bount of insanity using Khaji-Da. Although he succeeds in defeating Doctor Fate and overpowering Khaji-Da's will, Jaime Reyes narrowly defeats Arion by using his connection to the scarab against him, draining him of most of his magical power before Doctor Fate arrives and seals him away.[10] Although the initial story claimed that Arion was driven insane by exposure to Khaji-Da centuries ago, later stories clarified Arion was driven mad from being exposed to his Tear of Extinction and the Death Force as a side effect of using it against alien sea gods on Poseidon's behest.[11]

Harley Quinn (Vol. 3): The Trials of Harley Quinn

In the "Trials of Harley Quinn" storyline, the Lords of Chaos and Order seeks a new agent to act as a galactic angel of retribution, a title bestowed to a being to act as one of the balancing agents between order and chaos. Having sought one for years, their Herald of the Trials, Mirand'r (the spirit of a dead Tamaranean from seventy years ago), recommends the former supervillain, Harley Quinn, as she possesses traits associated with both order and chaos. While Harley eventually passes through all the trials, she betrays the Lords of Chaos and Order moments after receiving their power after mistakenly concluding her mother's death was among the trials they orchestrated. The Lord of Order and Chaos representatives explain that their trials are woven into events naturally occurring and thus her mother was destined to die. While Harley ultimate rejects the position, she appeals to the Lords of Chaos and Order by recommending Mirand'r, who understood the role. The Lords of Chaos and Order accepted her proposition and revived Mirand'r, making her an agent of balance.[12]

Justice League Dark (Vol. 2): Lords of Order

In the "Lords of Order" Justice League Dark storyline, when the Source Wall at the edge of the universe cracked, the law and forces surrounding magic began to change, Nabu sensed the risks it would bring: a race of magical beings known the Otherkind would be unleashed from this catastrophic event. Nabu alongside the other Lords of Order plot to destroy the Sphere of the Gods, the source of magic. While this act would kill all magical beings, this radical plan would ensure the Multiverse's continual survival with many Lords of Order content with this plan. In doing so, they forced upon mystical objects to notable wizards and sorceresses including Madame Xanadu, Mark Merlin and Prince Ra-Man, and Extraño. Controlling Kent Nelson himself, Nabu would imprison both Kent's apprentice and nephew, Khalid Nassour, and later the Phantom Stranger. Coming into conflict with the Justice League Dark, the team sought out Mordru, who revealed more of their origin and his role as the one who tortured Hecate personally. Using an artifact known as the Ruby of Life, he would temporarily turn the members of Justice League Dark into Lords of Chaos to enable them to battle the Lords of Order. Eventually, both Nabu and the other Lords of Order are defeated and the team reverts to their original form.[13]

Members

Throughout the years, many characters were revealed to be among the members or agents to the Lords of Order and Chaos and connected to their fictional mythology, including Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld, Doctor Fate, Kid Eternity, Phantom Stranger, Shazam, Hawk and Dove and The Sandman. In one notable example, the fictional godly Atlantean pantheon (different from the sect of Atlantean gods appearing in the Aquaman: The Atlantic Chronicles) featured prominently in both Arion, Lord of Atlantis and Arion the Immortal comic series as villains and supporting characters. With the first series originally set within its own world connected to the Warlord comic title, the Crisis on Infinite Earths merged the history of Arion, Lord of Atlantis with the mainstream DC Comics history onward.[14] Originally, despite similarities in concept and titles, it was explained in 1991 by editor James Owsley that many of the gods present in both series weren't considered the same as those that would be featured prominently in the Doctor Fate and Sandman in a proposal for what would be the Arion the Immortal series.[15] However, more recent reference books and storylines (such as the "Princes of Darkness" JSA storyline & Encyclopedia: All-New Edition) outright references Lords and Agents of Order and Chaos originating from the series.

In the Justice League Dark second series, several new Lord Of Order characters debut with a new origin for the Lords of Chaos and Order, casting them as among the first mage to have appeared on Earth. Desiring power to control raw magic in the known universe, these mages banded together to trap Hecate, the Goddess of Magic and Witchcraft in the Greek pantheon and the primordial spirit of magic and subjected her to torture until she gave them the power they sought though in revenge, drew that power from the Dark Multiverse. Despite the conflicting origins, both Mordru and Nabu were counted among the group of mages who ascended to their current positions, the former having been responsible for performing the torturous acts on the goddess and is considered the "true" Lord of Chaos. Due to the magic corroding their bodies, these Lords (with the exception of Mordru) manifest through objects and by finding hosts to act as their agents. Unlike Nabu, however, these Lords forcibly bound themselves to suitable hosts. These Lords of Order were notable in the "Lords of Order" storyline in the 2016 Justice League Dark series, helping Nabu to destroy the Sphere of the Gods and cut the source of magic from the Multiverse.

Arion, Lord of Atlantis
Main article: Arion (comics)

Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld
Main article: Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld

Garn Daanuth
Main article: Garn Daanuth

Mordru the Merciless
Main article: Mordru

Nabu
Main article: Nabu (comics)

Shazam (Jebediah/Mamaragan)
Main article: Shazam (wizard)

Other minor Lords of Order and Chaos
NameDescription
Lords of Order
Kismet, Illuminator of All Realities A cosmic entity and a Lord of Order, Kismet protects the known galaxy from evil. Originally known as Athi, she was once a peer and love interest for the eventual renegade Lord of Order, Tuoni (also known as Dominus).[16]
Cyra Manifested through the arcane object of lore called the "Cloak of Cyra", those whom act as her host become "Sister Symmetry". Cyra took Madame Xanadu as her host by force.[13]
Myrath Manifesting through the arcane object known as the "Gauntlets of Myrath", those who act as his host become "Brother Pattern". He forcibly once took Prince Ra-Man/Mark Merlin as his host.[13]
Hoku Manifested through the arcane object of lore called the "Cloak of Cyra", those whom act as her host become "Sister Symmetry". Cyra took Madame Xanadu as her host by force.[13]
Dalphi Manifested through the arcane object "Boots of Dalphi", he took to using Extrano as his host by force.[13]
Shat-Ru A Lord of Order who once attempted to extract revenge on Doctor Fate, only to be trapped in Kent Nelson's old body. Eventually, Shat-Ru becomes a reluctant ally of Doctor Fate and is later reborn. He is also one of the few Lords of Order to have a intimate relationship with a human.
Kilderkin A manifestation of order, Kilderkin was dispatched in order to negotiate with Dream and secure Hell after Lucifer's unexpected abdicating of the throne. Kilderkin's manifestation in the mortal plane is in the form of a cardboard box and speaks through printed messages. He also has a servant that acts as his means of mobility.[17]
Terataya A cosmic entity that takes the form of a medallion when procuring for hosts. Unusual among her brethren, both Tertaya and T'Charr come to form a truce with one another, having fallen in love. In order to prove chaos and order can co-exist with one another, the pair secretly created Hawk and Dove, Terataya empowering Dove.[18]
Gemimn A godly entity originating from Darkworld, Gemimn is a sibling to both brothers, Tynan and Chaon and the Atlantean Goddess of Order.[2] Although she initially appears as a woman throughout her tenure as a Lord of Order, Gemimn's mortal guise is that of an elderly African American male.[19]
Lords of Eternal Balance
Tynan Referred to as the "Cosmic Balancer", Tynan is a sibling of Lords of Order and Chaos, Gemimn and Chaon respectively, originating from Darkworld and keeping the two in check from destroying the universe via physical contact. A powerful god in the Atlantean pantheon, he once came into conflict with Arion as part of the latter's test.
Lords of Chaos
Chaon One of the godly entities originating from Darkworld and the sibling of both Tynan and Gemimn, he was the chief Lord of Chaos during his time.[2] He was among Arion's most dangerous enemies. Despite their past, he eventually becomes a reluctant confidante of Arion.[19]
Child A ruthless magic wielder, Child's appearance as a young boy hides his sadistic and malevolent nature. He is an enemy of Amythest, sent to claim Gemworld in the aftermath of Dark Opal's failure to secure control for the Lords of Chaos. He is served by Flaw.
Xanadoth Similar to Mordru, Xanadoth is considered among the most powerful of the Lords of Chaos and a being that inhabits physical hosts, once being a ruler among them until her hunger for power and direction were held in disagreement with both the Lords of Chaos and Order, both groups fearing her and combining their might to seal her away.[20]
The Weaver One of the Lords of Chaos alongside Chaon and from the dimension Darkworld, the Weaver is known as a trickster god and a god of madness. He is an enemy of both Arion and Powergirl.[19]
T'Charr A cosmic entity that often takes the form of a dragon, He eventually came to have a truce with Terataya and eventually fell in love with her. The pair would work secretly to prove that order and chaos are able to peacefully co-exist and created the Hawk and Dove pair, empowering Hawk, and use as an experiment to eventually appeal to the Lords of Chaos and Order.[18]
Shivering Jemmy A childlike Lord of Chaos, she instead prefers to be called a "Princess of Chaos" and was "sent" to secure Hell for the Lords of Chaos and is willing to threaten the Dream to achieve this. However, this was revealed to be a ruse with her intent to ensure the Lords of Order did not secure Hell.[17]

In other media

Film
  • Nabu appears briefly in Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay. He is shown in flashbacks featuring Steel Maxum as Doctor Fate, first in the beginning of the flashbacks on which the helmet bonded with him, then, in the end of the flashbacks, on which he, upset with Maxum failing to protect the "Get Out of Hell Free" card from Scandal Savage and Knockout, kicked Maxum out of the Tower of Nabu and stripped him of his Doctor Fate title.

Television
  • The Lords of Chaos and the Lords of Order appear in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "The Fate of Equinox!" with Typhon voiced by John DiMaggio and Nabu by James Arnold Taylor. Batman and Doctor Fate appear before them in order to learn the history of Equinox. In addition, the character "Equinox" is revealed to be a balancer between order and chaos.
  • The Lords of Chaos and Order are both featured in the Young Justice television series:
    • Nabu first debuts in the episode "Denial", voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. A flashback in the third season episode "Evolution" featured a new origin for the character, revealing that Nabu was originally the son of Vandal Savage (who was known by the name "Marduk" during the ancient Babylonia time period). The episode "Teg Ydaer!" featured this version's origin story: during his mortal life, Nabu was once on his father's side until he was killed when Klarion unleashed Starro the Conqueror to improve Marduk's army and the army fell sway to Starro. After the death of Arion, the Lords of Order sought a method to combat the Lord of Chaos as their conflict and sinking of Atlantis escalated their battle to a new level. Seeing Nabu as a worthy candidate, they took his human soul and elevated him into a higher plane among them, binding his soul and power into the helmet he created during his lifetime.
    • Klarion the Witch Boy made his first physical debut in the episode "Denial", voiced by Thom Adcox-Hernandez. He is referred to as a Lord of Chaos and is more powerful than his original version. His powers are bound by his pet demonic cat, Teekyl, who acts as his anchor to reality. As a Lord of Chaos, Klarion's entire existence is dedicated to destroying order and making the world descend into chaos. To this end, he partners up with Vandal Savage and acts as a member of the Light. In season 4, after a millennia of him being active on Earth, Klarion falls out of favour with his fellow Chaos Lords and sends Child to dispose of him and reinvigorate their chaotic cause on Earth.
    • Child appears in the fourth season, voiced by Erika Ishii. Unlike the comic's version, Child is instead a female and the servant, Flaw, is created from a gemstone known as the "Star of Atlantis". After Klarion falls out of favor with his fellow Chaos Lords, Child is sent to decorporealize Klarion and replace him.
    • Arion also appears in flashbacks in the fourth season with an origin and position, unlike the comics. Arion's Young Justice version is a metahuman, grandson of Vandal Savage (thereby making him and Nabu relatives), and is responsible for the evolution and advancement of Atlantis. Arion was chosen as the first "agent of order", a mortal human who serve as emissaries of the Lords of Order, on Earth due to the Lords of Order believing a mortal agent would better understand the chaos created on Earth. His bloodline is the progenitor for both the Homo Magi and Homo Mermanus, the former being a bloodline of metahumans capable of using magic and the latter being descendants of surviving Homo Magi when Atlantis was sunk by the Lords of Chaos. He is killed while defending Atlantis from sinking, having only inherited Vandal Savage's longevity and not his healing abilities.

Video games
  • In Injustice 2, the Lords of Order have decided that humanity is capable of only chaos and aid Brainiac in his campaign to conquer Earth, forcing Doctor Fate to do his bidding. As a result, Kent Nelson finds himself being controlled by Nabu forcing his friends Black Canary and Green Arrow to defeat Doctor Fate and remove his helmet, though Kent is freed from Nabu's influence for the time being he leaves to speak to his masters, warning the pair of the coming threat. Kent tries to reason with Nabu when he forbids him from aiding innocent people, causing Nabu to reveal that the Lords of Order support Brainiac's attack on Earth due to the chaos caused by the conflicts between the Regime and the Insurgency. Batman and Superman later free Kent Nelson after defeating Doctor Fate on Brainiac's ship and Superman destroys his helmet, freeing Kent who is killed by Brainiac. In Doctor Fate's ending, he defies the Lords of Order and defeats Brainiac, but is forced to go into hiding with the help of his Justice League Dark teammates and is happily reunited with his wife. In Raiden's ending, Raiden assists Batman in defeating Brainiac but after the battle, he finds he is unable to save Kent's life. Before dying, Kent reveals that the Lords of Order are responsible for the impending Armageddon conflict as they are intent to use it to create a more orderly multiverse. To oppose the Lords of Order and restore balance, Raiden joins forces with Justice League Dark to combat them. Various names of the Lords of Order are also mentioned in Nabu's gear, including Arion, Gemimn, Jheryl, Deedra, T'Charr, and Terataya.

References
  1. Who's Who: Update '88 #2. DC Comics. 1988. p. 13.
  2. Darren Bulmer; Hal Mangold; Alex Ross (2013). DC adventures. [Book 4], Universe. Seattle, WA: Green Ronin. ISBN 978-1-934547-40-3. OCLC 751725150.
  3. Kupperberg, Paul (1992). Arion the Immortal (1992) #5 - It Was A Dark(world) and Stormy Night. DC Comics.
  4. Secret Origins (vol. 2) #24 (March 1988)
  5. Willingham, Bill (2005). Day of Vengeance. Jan Churchill, Justiniano. New York: DC Comics. ISBN 1-4012-0840-1. OCLC 62511503.
  6. Tynion, James IV (2019). Justice League Dark, Volume 2, #8-12, Lords of Order. Ram V, Alvaro Martinez, Guillem March, Daniel Sampere, Mark Buckingham, Miguel Mendonca. [United States]. ISBN 978-1-77950-374-9. OCLC 1158981075.
  7. Thorne, Geoffery (2021). Green Lantern (2021-) #8. DC Comics.
  8. Tynion, James IV (2019). Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour. Jesús Merino, Emanuela Lupacchino, Alvaro Martinez, Ray McCarthy, Raul Fernandez, Romulo Fajardo. [United States]. ISBN 978-1-77950-106-6. OCLC 1158983758.
  9. V, Ram (2021). Justice League (2018) #69 - Justice League Dark: A Knight Reborn. DC Comics.
  10. Giffen, Keith (2017). Hard Choices. J. M. DeMatteis, Scott Kolins, Romulo Fajardo, Josh Reed. Burbank, CA. ISBN 978-1-4012-7507-5. OCLC 837140933.
  11. Snyder, Scott (2019). Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth. Dan Abnett, James, IV Tynion, Francis Manapul, Lan Medina, Clayton Henry, Vicente Cifuentes. Burbank, CA. ISBN 978-1-4012-9101-3. OCLC 1083185090.
  12. Humphries, Sam (2019). Harley Quinn, Volume 3, The Trials of Harley Quinn. John Timms, Otto Schmidt, Sami Basri, Alex Sinclair, Dave Sharpe, Guillem March. ISBN 978-1-4012-9192-1. OCLC 1158938958.
  13. Tynion, James, IV (2019). Justice League Dark, Vol. 2, Lords of Order. Ram V, Alvaro Martinez, Guillem March, Daniel Sampere, Mark Buckingham, Miguel Mendonça. Burbank, CA. ISBN 978-1-4012-9460-1. OCLC 1110150328.
  14. Wolfman, Marv (2005). Crisis On Infinite Earths: The Absolute Edition. Marv Wolfman, George Pérez, Dick Giordano, Mike De Carlo, Jerry Ordway (2nd printing ed.). New York: DC Comics. ISBN 1-4012-0712-X. OCLC 144569970.
  15. "ARION THE IMMORTAL, The Proposal, Paul Kupperberg". Paul Kupperberg | And Then I Wrote... 2019-06-22. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  16. Matthew K. Manning (2021). The DC comics encyclopedia: the definitive guide to the characters of the DC universe (New ed.). New York. ISBN 978-0-7440-2056-4. OCLC 1253363543.
  17. Gaiman, Neil; Mike Dringenberg; Malcolm Jones III; Kelley Jones; Matt Wagner; Dick Giordano; George Pratt (2010). The Sandman, Volume 4, Season of Mists (Fully remastered ed.). New York. ISBN 978-1-4012-3042-5. OCLC 639163076.
  18. Secret Origins (vol. 2) #43 (August 1989)
  19. Paul, Kuppenburg (1992). Arion the Immortal (1992) #1-6. DC Comics.
  20. Bendis, Brian Michael; Ivan Reis; Danny Miki; Alex Sinclair (2021). Mythological. Burbank, CA. ISBN 978-1-77950-572-9. OCLC 1238130236.
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