Leviathan (DC)

From Multiversal Omnipedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Talia al Ghul and Leviathan in The Silencer v1 #12.

Leviathan is an organization that features in DC Comics.

Contents

History

Leviathan was the name given to an international criminal organization that operated on Earth with the goal of purifying the world according to its vision. (Batman: The Return v1 #1) Its origins were traced to the actions of Otto Netz who had operated for Nazi Germany during World War II before escaping. He was asked to provide the means of defeating emerging superhuman around the world and was allowed to create the spy agency known as Spyral. However, Netz desired a constant challenge for himself and knew that war always came to an end. Thus, as Doctor Dedalus, he decided to create an enemy to fight and bring about eternal war with this being Leviathan. He was later diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease but put into motion a series of events to continue his objectives. One among these was being the father to two daughters named Katarina and Elisabeth. Netz encoded his mind into the Spyral oracle computer known as Spyder whilst his daughters grew to adulthood. At that point, they would battle one another to be the host for their father's consciousness with one becoming Doctor Dedalus reborn whilst the other was expected to be his enemy as the leader of Leviathan. (Grayson v1 #14)

It was said that the criminal society was built by Talia al Ghul to institute great change in the world so that mankind could achieve its true potential. (The Silencer v1 #4) The organization was made as something of her own that was separate from her fathers League of Assassins that was to serve as an invisible empire to eclipse all others and supplant the Metahuman heroes. (The Silencer Annual v1 #1) Talia was secretly working to create the organization which was aimed with eliminating 'evil' and when her father learnt of her ambitions he attempted to have her killed as she brutally broke away from the League. She then began assembling a group of people some taken from the League and others from different organizations in order to create Leviathan with those gathered being the first division underbosses. (The Silencer v1 #13) It was said that Talia al Ghul had created Leviathan originally out of spite but it had grown beyond its original function. In time, it became the leading force in the underlife and the various criminals that operated in it. An underboss by the name of Guile was targeted for assassination by Talia herself with her dispatching the Silencer. This broke all the codes and agreements of the organization leading to the other underbosses no longer trusting their leader with them secretly plotting her downfall. (The Silencer v1 #5)

There was word of Leviathan still operating and moving against Talia al Ghul's forces. (Dark Days: The Casting v1 #1) This resulted in a bloody civil war erupting with Talia seeking to get the aid of the retired assassin known as Honor Guest. The war resulted in contracts being made out to hitmen and assassins for control over the criminal underlife. (The Silencer v1 #2) As a result of the civil war, the hierarchy of the organization began to disintegrate as the various divisions sought to take over Leviathan with the two leads in assuming control being Quietus and Gunn who were looking to eliminate Talia. (The Silencer v1 #8) The various factions sought to dominate one another and to prevent the resurrection of Talia when she was mortally wounded. This saw the surviving factions of Leviathan gather at Talia's fortress in Khadym where they discovered that she was restored to life through a Lazarus Pit. Once there, they learnt that she had engineered the civil war in the organization in order to clean house and weed out the weak. However, she also used it as a demonstration that only she could lead Leviathan as during the conflict most were after their own interests rather than leading the organization. Thus, she showed that she was Leviathan and that her death would lead to the organizations destruction. Upon seeing this, the survivors of the civil war decided to once more pledge themselves to Talia al Ghul who resumed the mantle of leadership of Leviathan. (The Silencer v1 #11) With the organization united under her, Talia resumed control over Leviathan and even got the Silencer to serve her once more after threatening Honor Guest’s family. (The Silencer v1 #12) She then began to purge the organization of the remaining rogue dissident groups that formed in the civil war with the Silencer dispatched on assignments. (The Silencer v1 #14)

A number of bombings were instigated by Leviathan who had terrorists detonate bombs at key sites in the world. Two of these in Paris were stopped by the intervention of the young hero named Sideways. (Sideways v1 #10) As Leviathan was rising, the Kobra Cult diminished in power and in desperation they attempted to release a mind-controlling toxin in Gotham City to showcase their strength. They were stopped by Batman and Two-Face though secretly Harvey Dent had intended to sell the toxin to Leviathan to put himself in good standing with the organization as they were on the rise. The exchange was thwarted by Batman who uncovered Two-Face's plot and gave a warning to Leviathan that he had confiscated the toxin leading to the terrorist group not arriving for the exchange. (Detective Comics v1 #993) Leviathan then began a coordinated attack on rival groups with them targeting the Kobra Cult, Checkmate, A.R.G.U.S., Task Force X and the Department of Extranormal Operations all of whom were devastated by the sudden surprise attack. (Action Comics v1 #1008)

Mark Shaw himself later came to meet with the Legion of Doom in order to propose an alliance with Lex Luthor. Alongside the Red Cloud, they launched a joint attack against Superman in his home city of Metropolis after the hero revealed his identity to the world. (Action Comics v1 #1019)

In the aftermath, Shaw came to berate his people for allowing their technology to get the hands on their technology leading to him punishing Dr. Netz for this failure. Afterwards, he proceeded to buy out the country of Markovia with him appealing to everyone to help him fix the world. (Leviathan Dawn v1 #1)

Overview

The organization was described as being a criminal society feared across the globe and noted for killing people as part of its operations. They believed that the world was a flawed system with it operating on archaic and obsolete rules preventing mankind from reaching its true potential thus necessitating a need for its revision. Leviathan as such believed that they were capable of performing this change and were ruthless to those that did not share their vision for the world. To accomplish this, they killed but it was said that they only targeted and eliminated evil namely those that were part of the mechanisms of the old order. They believed such acts helped bring about radical social change with such drastic action that was beyond accepted conventions of civilization. Their chief instruments were assassins who were highly trained specialists that often were Metahumans. (The Silencer v1 #4) It was said that when joining Leviathan that members cut all ties to family as instead they gave their lives for the organization. (The Silencer v1 #12) Leviathan's was thus incredibly powerful force in the underlife whose reach extended everywhere. (The Silencer v1 #5)

Leadership of the organization fell to its founder who was supported by a hierarchy of underbosses each of whom had their own speciality division such as robotics, body modification, weapons, viral and so on. (The Silencer v1 #8) These underbosses were responsible for helping in the management of the organization's operations. It was said that no one was able to leave Leviathan. It was also held that the organization did not kill its own operatives. (The Silencer v1 #4)

It was said to be scrupulous about data with information not easily leaving them unless it was leaked deliberately. (The Silencer v1 #5) The Leviathan Oath was, "And so we wait, patiently. Our tendrils spreading, unchecked, uncontrolled, unseen. Our hatred vaster than empires, and more slow. Our name, Leviathan!" (Batman: The Return v1 #1)

They had technology undreamed of by the rest of the world with specialised divisions creating their equipment that ranged from nanites to malware which could hijack orbital weapon platforms. (The Silencer v1 #5) One of its divisions specialised in the use of magic and its application in the field. (The Silencer v1 #8) The organization was noted to had pilfered technology from a number of intelligence agencies around this world. This included the D.E.O. who had stolen advanced teleportation devices from Rann/Thanagar War. (Action Comics v1 #1019)

A base of operations created by the organization was Leviathan Island. (Action Comics v1 #1019)

Members

  • Talia al Ghul :
  • Heretic :
  • Goatboy :
  • Ibn Ali Farouk : a male Sheikh who supplied Leviathan with numerous genetic enhancements and biotechnology who managed a facility in Yemen but after its discovery by Batman he was killed by Leviathan through his brainwashed son Omar. (Batman: The Return v1 #1)
  • Honor Guest : a dark-skinned woman who was famous in the underlife as the assassin known as the Silencer that worked for Talia al Ghul until she retired to start a family. (The Silencer v1 #1)
  • Guile : a male with a family who secretly operated as a Leviathan underboss that operated as the organizations accountant. (The Silencer v1 #4)
  • Quietus :
  • Gunn :
  • Wishbone :
  • Silencer :

Notes

  • Leviathan was created by Grant Morrison and David Finch where they made their first appearance in Batman: The Return v1 #1 (January, 2011).
  • In an interview on Newsrama, Brian Michael Bendis commented on Event Leviathan, "The structure of the DC Universe, this intelligence organization part of the DC Universe, will be different at the end of the story,” he says. ”Leviathan will have risen, and what it is and what they've done will have landed, and so there are a lot of pieces that are going to shift and a lot of heroes are going to have kind of a new purpose, like a new motivation, because the enemy will have revealed itself."
  • An unrelated Project: Leviathan appeared in Swamp Thing v1 #13 (1974) that captured Swamp Thing with Dr. Degrez studying him at the Fenwick Military Academy with this initiative headed by Commander John Zero.

Alternate Versions

  • In Future's End: Batwing v1 (2011), an alternate timeline set five years in the future after Earth faced a war with the refugees of Earth-2 and invasion from Apokolips. Luke Fox and Batman Incorporated restarted Leviathan in order to make a global crime syndicate that eliminated its rivals. Their operations united the various Syndicates where Batwing in disguise led them to Dinosaur Island to ambush them where the various supervillain criminals were apprehended.

In other media

Television

  • In Supergirl, Leviathan appeared as antagonists in the fifth season of the live-action television series set in the Arrowverse. They were revealed to be a secret organization created by the last survivors of Krypton's sister planet Jarhanpur. The inhabitants crashed on Earth during the Age of the Dinosaurs which resulted in the extinction of the great reptiles. The survivors then saw the emergence of humanity which they came to believe was a plague that damaged the world. Thus, they formed Leviathan which looked to operate in secret to control the Earth and eliminate harmful threats to it.

Films

  • In Catwoman: Hunted, Leviathan appeared in the setting of the 2022 anime film. It was a global crime syndicate that served Talia al Ghul though she was unable to operate as its public leader. Leviathan conducted various criminal operations among which included people smuggling and slave trading. Thus, she came to recruit Barbara Minerva to serve as its apparent head whilst Talia controlled it from the shadows. As it expanded, it looked to unify the various crime syndicates underneath it leading to it courting various crime lords. Its membership came to include Tobias Whale, Japanese Cartel leader Oyabun Noguri/ Mr Yakuza, Chinese cartel leader Dr. Tzin Zaho Tzin, Central American Cartel leader Amparo Cardenas/La Dama, Intergang Leader Moxie Mannheim, and their newest recruit Roman Sionis/Black Mask. Their operations were disrupted by Catwoman who ultimately was responsible for the downfall of Barbara Minerva forcing Talia to have to find a new figurehead to manage it.

Appearances

  • Batman: The Return v1: (2011)
  • Batman Incorporated v1:
  • Grayson v1:
  • The Silencer v1:
  • The Silencer Annual v1:
  • Detective Comics v1:
  • Sideways v1:
  • Superman:
  • Action Comics v1:
  • Event Leviathan v1:
  • Year of the Villain v1:
  • Leviathan Dawn v1:

External Links

This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.

Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Toolbox