Seven Deadly Enemies of Man
The Seven Deadly Enemies of Man are a group that features in DC Comics.
Contents |
History
Origin
The Seven Deadly Enemies of Man were entities that represented the various sins in existence. They later established themselves as seven evil gods that ruled the lands and styled themselves after the seven deadly sins. (Captain Marvel Adventures v1 #137) The sins consisted of pride, envy, greed, hatred, selfishness, laziness, and injustice. (Captain Marvel Adventures v1 #41) The wizard Shazam was responsible for defeating them where he imprisoned them in stone statues. (Captain Marvel Adventures v1 #137) Despite their defeat, every four years living counterparts of the statues assemble in some place on Earth in order to plot further evil. No matter the fate of these human counterparts, each of these vicious sins position was always taken by another as the seven deadly chairs they represented must always be filled. (Captain Marvel Adventures v1 #41)
Guided by the mysterious figure, Billy Batson entered into an underground chamber of the Wizard where he found the statues of the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man. (Whiz Comics v1 #2) Batson later learnt that the statues were actual beings with human counterparts that acted in the world to further evil. At the time, the seven human counterparts of the sins had assembled alongside Doctor Sivana to further wickedness in the world. (Captain Marvel Adventures v1 #41)
King Kull at one point broke into the hall of the wizard where he freed the Seven Deadly Enemies. He took them with him where he used them to create sin bombs that made mortals succumb to one of the sins. Kull with the Seven Deadly Enemies later sought to establish an evil Olympus on Earth. (Captain Marvel Adventures v1 #137)
DC
Around 9,000 years ago, the Seven Deadly Enemies were loose on the world where they became minions of the more powerful demonic entity known as Evil. They were dispatched as servant gods tasked with the goal of promoting evil in the world. During this time, the Champion emerged who were appointed as protector of the world by the gods. However, he alone was not able stop this foe and he instead went into the far future to get his successor Captain Marvel. Together, the pair battled Evil who split into his three forms whilst he sent the Deadly Enemies to their tasks. The Champion and Captain Marvel both battled as well as defeated the Deadly Enemies before finally confronting as well as defeating Evil who was trapped in his lair with the Rock of Eternity built around his prison. (Worlds Finest v1 #262)
The Wizard was responsible for turning the Deadly Enemies to stone. (Worlds Finest v1 #262)
Whilst trapped in the abyssal plane, Johnny Sorrow managed to make his way to the Rock of Eternity where he used his power to petrify the wizard Shazam on his throne. He then released the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man that possessed Batman, Mister Terrific, Green Lantern, Plastic Man, Captain Marvel, Doctor Fate and Power Girl who attacked both the Justice Society and the Justice League of America. They were used by Sorrow to spread sin and chaos around the world but the superheroes managed to free Captain Marvel by turning him back into his mortal form of Billy Batson. With him freed, the wizard was similarly restored and he proceeded with entombing the demonic Seven Deadly Enemies of Man who were returned to the Rock of Eternity. (JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice v1 #1)
After the Rock of Eternity was destroyed, the Seven Deadly Enemies were released from their prisons where they were drawn into the body of Sabbac Ishmael Gregor which increased his size and power. (Outsiders v3 #29) He unleashed the power of Lust causing the prisoners of Alcatraz to fall in mad lust with one another with this being used against the Fearsome Five. Sabbac used the power of the other Sins against the Outsiders but were defeated by the return of Donna Troy causing the Deadly Sins to be released whilst Gregor himself was imprisoned in the Soultaker sword. (Outsiders v3 #30) After gaining the Wizard's power, Captain Marvel became charged with protecting the Rock of Eternity along with the seven sins who constantly whispered into his mind. (52 v1 #12)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. According to one account, they were within Pandora's Box during Prehistoric times in Macedonia when it was found by Pandora who inadvertently opened it. This led to the release of the Seven Deadly Sins who manifested on Earth where they thanked Pandora who they called their 'mother' as they proceeded to kill all her tribesmen. Pandora herself was left alive as the Sins proceeded with bringing their evil to the world. For her actions, Pandora was tried by the Circle of Eternity who cursed her with immortality and sent her back to bear witness to the evils she had wrought on the world. After burying her tribe, she came to witness the cruelties of the Seven Deadly Sins across various centuries leading to her vowing to destroy them. (Pandora v1 #1)
The Seven Deadly Sins were later restored into being and freed by Mr. Mind who gave them to Black Adam as a sign of their alliance. They assisted Black Adam in the attack on C.C. Batson in an effort to kill the man and inflict pain on Billy Batson shortly after he had discovered his biological father. (Shazam! v3 #8)
Overview
They represented all the evils in the world that good people must fight. (Captain Marvel Adventures v1 #79) The sins were not simple statues but actual living beings. (Captain Marvel Adventures v1 #41)
Members
- Pride :
- Envy :
- Greed :
- Anger :
- Sloth :
- Gluttony :
- Lust :
Notes
- The Seven Deadly Enemies of Man were created by C.C. Beck and Bill Parker where they made their first appearance in Whiz Comics v1 #2 (February, 1940).
In other media
Films
- In Shazam!, the Seven Deadly Sins appeared as antagonists in the live-action film set in the DC Extended Universe. They were shown as seven demonic entities that embodied the seven deadly sins who long ago were imprisoned. This was until a champion of magic went rogue and destroyed their prison thus freeing them into the world where they killed millions. The sins killed most of the council of wizards but they came to be defeated and imprisoned in stone statues at the Rock of Eternity. Once there, they were kept imprisoned by the wizard Shazam but over the centuries he grew weaker due to his age and sought a successor who had to be a child pure of heart. The children were brought to the Rock of Eternity where they were exposed to the temptations of the sins with most being deemed unworthy.
Video games
- In DC Universe Online, the Seven Deadly Sins appeared in the setting of the MMORPG video game where their background was merged with the Sons of Trigon.
Appearances
- Whiz Comics v1:
- Worlds Finest v1:
- Outsiders v3:
- Justice League v2:
- Pandora v1:
- Shazam! v3:
External Links
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