Dark Circle (DC)
The Dark Circle are an organization that features in DC Comics.
Contents |
History
Origin
The Dark Circle
The Dark Circle would eventually strike when the Legion of Super-Heroes were constructing their new headquarters. From their base halfway across the galaxy, they came to finalise their plans for an invasion of Earth. At the time, Karate Kid arrived in Tokyo where he visited his aged mentor. It was then a blast from outside tears a hole in the wall of their building and nearly killed them. Karate Kid then confronted an army of alien invaders where he fought back against them but was overwhelmed by sheer numbers. His attempt to contact his fellow Legionnaires and obtain assistance failed as his allies were also involved in fighting the aliens that had been appearing all over Earth. At Legion Headquarters, the Legionnaires fought valiantly, but were eventually taken captive. Only Brainiac 5 escaped, and since the Legion arsenal was under close guard, he snuck into the storage area and frantically searches among their gifts for a suitable weapon. When several aliens come to investigate the noise, he wished Karate Kid was present to hold them off, and the Kid suddenly appears. Realizing what has happened, Brainiac 5 recovered the crate with the strange writing, and removes the machine inside it. This was the Miracle Machine and he concentrated causing a sudden burst of incredible force whereupon the aliens were swept off Earth back to their own worlds, and the new Legion Headquarters complex was instantly completed. (Adventure Comics v1 #367)
The Dark Circle left behind a few members on Earth to commit acts of sabotage. An Ontiir clone used his weapon-chair to destroy the bridges and drainage systems that kept the California Costal District afloat. The Legion of Super-Heroes was holding a membership drive, and took several prospective members to California to investigate. Dev-Em of the U.P.’s Counter-Intelligence Corps was also on the scene, and with the help of telepath Tellus they found the Ontiir clone. The clone set off another destructive device that caused a tidal wave. Mon-El used his heat vision to evaporate the tidal wave while his teammates tried to pierce the clone’s forcefield. Quislet, an adventurer from a microscopic dimension flying in a miniatures Trans-D Vessel, joined the fray in an attempt to impress the Legion. Quislet could animate inanimate matter, and took control of the clone’s weapon-chair, using it to defeat him. Quislet returned to his Vessel, and the weapon-chair crumbled to dust, as was usually the case for any matter Quislet possessed. (Legion of Super-Heroes v3 #14)
Despite their loss, the Dark Circle persist in their conquest of Earth through other alien races not league with the United Planets, most notably the Khunds and Dominators whom they manipulated into what became known as the Earthwar. As part of their machinations, they also released Mordru, hoping to use him against the Legion. This proved to be a mistake, however, as Mordru instead gained control of the Dark Circle. This was not immediately apparent, though, as he continued with the plans they had already drawn up. Eventually Mordru and the Circle were defeated. (Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes v1 #245)
Post-Zero Hour
Overview
In appearance, the Dark Circle were a criminal organisation that operated in secret in the galaxy by the 30th century. (Adventure Comics v1 #367)
Members
- Ontiir :
- Grullug Garkush :
- Norak Kun :
- Gorgoth :
- Rolind Siepur :
- Brainiac 4 :
Notes
- The Dark Circle were created by Jim Shooter and Curt Swan where they made their first appearance in Adventure Comics v1 #367. (April, 1968).
- Another Dark Circle appeared in DC Comics that were unrelated to the Legion version with these appearing in Phantom Stranger v1 #20 (July-August, 1972) with these serving Tannarak and worked with the demon sorceress Tala.
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In Legion of Super-Heroes, the Dark Circle appeared as antagonists in the second season episode "In Your Dreams". They were noted as a criminal organization with deep ties and seeking to destabilize the United Planets. Members of the Dark Circle wore a similar costume and consisted of various Humanoid alien species. While they did not have powers, they made use of a wide range of technical abilities from weapons to invisibility cloaks. Its members were well trained and personally picked by the leader of the organization thus ensuring that all its members were loyal to the Dark Circle. The Dark Circle were a well trained group of mercenaries that performed criminal activities within the United Planets. Their goal was to destabilize the interstellar power and let chaos rule in its place. The group became bolder and bolder in their activities once Imperiex along with his forces began attacking allowing them to begin their operations while their enemy was distracted. The Circles operations were quickly thwarted by members of the Legion of Super Heroes. At first, a member of the Circle explained to their leader that they had a traitor but it was quickly revealed that their failures were the result of the prophetic dreams of the precog Legionnaire Dream Girl. Upon seeing this threat, they were determined to remove it and make it their own strength. To do this, they infiltrated the Legions base and planted a device that gave a false dream reading on the Legion's computer thus sending them into a trap. In the aftermath, the Legionnaire Dream Girl had a prophetic dream where she was arrested by her colleagues and killed as they believed her to be a traitor. To prevent this from coming to pass, she left the Legion only to fall into the Dark Circles trap where they drugged her as well as used her to gain an advantage over the Legion for their attack on the United Planets conference. Despite this advantage and their numbers, they were defeated when the Legion made the Dark Circle believe that the prophetic vision had come to pass when in fact, a hologram was used to make it appear so. Caught at the disadvantage, the Dark Circle was defeated and captured. Their attempt at destroying the conference was also foiled thanks to the united effort of the freed Dream Girl and Lightning Lad.
Films
- In Legion of Super-Heroes, the Dark Circle appeared in the setting of the 2023 animated film. They were a cult that followed the teachings of Brainiac and enacted his goals in bringing order to the universe. Over the years, they had gone by many names such as Black Zero, Ouroboros, and the Beginning and the End. After Brainiac was killed in the 21st century, they came to collect samples of his DNA which they used to create a number of clones of him. The intention was to bring about the resurrection of Brainiac. By the 31st century, one of their prominent members was Mon-El who was tasked with recovering the Miracle Machine from the Legion of Super-Heroes. Upon learning this, Brainiac 5 joined the Legion in order to stop them.
Appearances
- Adventure Comics v1: (1968)
- Legion of Super-Heroes:
- Legion of Super-Heroes v3:
External Links
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