Presence (DC comics)

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For the Marvel comics character see Presence (Marvel Comics)

The Presence is a fictional comic book representation of the Abrahamic God created by Grant Morrison for the DC Universe. It is never seen or heard "on screen," but its existence and influence is felt and described by the characters within the comics (e.g. by the angel Zauriel in the JLA comics).

[edit] God in DC Comics

The religious cosmology of the DC Universe is complex with many pantheons of Gods co-existing alongside each other. It does not follow any particular religious doctrine and instead follows an "everything is true" approach. It involves elements from multiple religions, mythologies, and modern created concepts such as the Endless. It is not always clear how the Abrahamic God fits in to this - for example one particular Wonder Woman storyline by Eric Luke featured the Greek Titans fighting Judeo-Christian angels and Hindu Gods.

DC's superhero comics have always drawn upon Biblical mythology for plot elements - the first appearance of "The Voice" was in the 1940 origin of the Spectre - but they have traditionally used surrogate concepts and names rather than refer to God directly. The superhero comics are published under the Comics Code - an set of ethical guidelines drawn up in the 1950s in reaction to anti-comic book hysteria. The Code does not explicitly refer to God, but does say that "Ridicule or attack on any religious or racial group is never permissible." [1]. Later revisions of the code are phrased in terms of respecting religious beliefs and religious institutions. That may account for the superhero comics hesitancy when dealing with God.

The lack of a central doctrine means that multiple "aspects" of God have been introduced by different writers. Significant examples of God surrogates include:

• The Voice - the disembodied Voice of God that spoke to and empowered Jim Corrigan as the Spectre in More Fun Comics #52 (by Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily, February 1940). This is the most "active" version of God seen in the comic books. At one point it even answers the Spectre's prayers by resurrecting the murdered Justice Society (Justice League vol. 1 #124)
• The Hand - an image of a hand appearing out of a nebula has been referenced numerous times in different DC Comics as a metaphor for the creator or the mystery that exists at the moment of universal creation. First seen in Green Lantern Vol. 2 #40.
• The Source - the universal spirit from Jack Kirby's Fourth World cosmology.
• The Presence - the unseen Abrahamic God from Grant Morrison's angel mythology.

Many references to similar beings appear to be obvious references to God, but they are sometimes revealed to be other entities in the DC Universe. For example the voice that gave powers to the heroes Hawk and Dove was retconned into belonging to a Lord of Order and a Lord of Chaos.

Some Biblical events are assumed to be fact in the DC Universe, but they often involve significant artistic license. For example: it was Eclipso (the original agent of God's Wrath) who caused the Great Flood and it was his replacement, the Spectre, who unleashed the ten plagues on Egypt and later parted the Red Sea for Moses. The DC Universe is repeatedly shown to have been created via a variation of the Big Bang and humans evolved from apes, yet paradoxically it also has a Garden of Eden and a version of Lilith, Adam's first wife (e.g. Peter David's [Supergirl (Linda Danvers)|Supergirl]]' series).

[edit] Vertigo Comics

In the 1980s the mainstream superhero comics spawned a series of spin off comics and graphic novels that took an increasing sophisticated and mature attitude towards their stories. The Vertigo imprint was formed as an umbrella for these new books and to mark them as distinct from the rest of DC's superhero comics. Since then the fictional superhero and Vertigo continuities, and their representation of God, have increasingly diverged. The Vertigo Comics are not covered by the Comics Code so they can be less restrained in their treatment of Biblical mythology and God.

In Neil Gaiman's Sandman mythos God and his angels is shown as residents of the Silver City, a place that is styled upon Heaven, but is explicitly referred to as a separate place. Within the city there are two towers. At the top of the tallest tower, the Tower of Unendingly High, is the Primum Mobile, the Throne of Light, where God resides. Angels can only approach the Throne if they are summoned there. The second, shorter tower contains an audience chamber where the voice of God, the Logos, can be heard.

A significant character in the Sandman series is the fallen angel Lucifer Morningstar, the ruler of Hell and eldest of the angels. In that series he renounces his throne and leaves Hell. His story, and the Biblical mythology surrounding him, is expanded upon in Mike Carey's Lucifer series. God, The Presence, in that series is referred to by name as Yahweh. He is the father of Lucifer and Michael Demiurgos (Lucifer #26 (July 2002)).

[edit] Other Media

The Hand of the Creator, from the Green Lantern comics and the Crisis, made an appearance in the Justice League Unlimited episode "The Once and Future Thing, Part 2: Time Warped". It is seen towards the end of the episode when Batman and Green Lantern chase Chronos to the beginning of time. Chronos hoped that by traveling to the beginning of time he could become God.