Lords of Chaos and Order

The Lords of Chaos and Lords of Order are complementary groups of supernatural entities with godlike powers that appear in DC Comics. They have also been retconned into the histories of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld, Doctor Fate, Kid Eternity, the Phantom Stranger, Shazam, Hawk and Dove and The Sandman. The first Lord of Order to appear in comics was Nabu in More Fun Comics #67 (May 1941)[1] created by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman. Nabu's first appearance was later retconned to be in More Fun Comics #55 (May, 1940),[2] where he was inside the helmet, though not explicitly stated in the story. However, the concept of the Lords of Chaos and Order was introduced years later. The term never appears in Golden Age stories.

Lords of Chaos and Order
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearance(retcon): More Fun Comics #55 (May 1940)
(actual): DC Special Series #10 (Jan, 1978)

The war between Order and Chaos

Chaos and Order have been fighting a never-ending battle for aeons, characterized by an endless cycle of reversals for domination back and forth between the two sides. Originally, the struggle was depicted between Good (Order) and Evil (Chaos). However, later interpretations cast it as a struggle between stagnation (Order)[3] and anarchy (Chaos).[4]

The two opposing forces are bundles of mystical energy who usually depend on servants to accomplish their goals. They can take physical form by possessing a living being, as in the case of Nabu or Mordru, or empower humans to act as their agents, as in the case of Terataya and T'Charr (a Lord of Order and a Lord of Chaos respectively), who empowered Hawk and Dove to act in their stead.

Both sides have otherwise maintained a tenuous balance of power concerning their involvement in outside conflicts. For instance, when the Spectre appealed to the Lords of Order to allow their followers on Earth to join the defense of Earth from a massive invasion orchestrated by the Dominators, he was turned down. They argued that intervening in this conflict would mean that the Lords of Chaos would retaliate by aiding the invaders, thus escalating the battle to a monumentally disastrous scale that would devastate all concerned.

A Lord of Order and a Lord of Chaos were also sent to the Dreaming as representatives of their realms. Kilderkin of Order manifested as a lidless box with a servant djinn holding it, and Shivering Jemmy of the Shallow Brigade of Chaos as a young blonde girl with a balloon.

Infinite Crisis
Main article: Infinite Crisis

During the events of Day of Vengeance, Eclipso seduced the Spectre into slaughtering most of Earth's magic users after she claimed that magic was the source of all of Earth's evil. The Spectre's rampage on magic users resulted in the death of the wizard Shazam, the destruction of the Rock of Eternity, and the release of the forces contained within it, which included the Seven Deadly Sins and numerous other demons.

In the Day of Vengeance Special, Nabu called together a team of magical beings to stop the Spectre and seal the Seven Deadly Sins. Nabu confronted the Spectre, whose anger grew so great that the Presence took notice and sent the Spectre to his new host. In the process, Nabu died, and with him, the Ninth Age of Magic. Before his death, he gave the helmet of Doctor Fate to Detective Chimp to give to the new Doctor Fate. Although Nabu and his spirit would no longer be a part of the helmet, it would still have significant powers. After a failed attempt by Detective Chimp to put the helmet on, he asked Captain Marvel to throw the helmet down to Earth and let it land where it will, allowing fate to pick the next Doctor Fate.

The deaths of the Lords of Order and Chaos caused magic to break down into its basic raw state, triggering the end of the Ninth Age of Magic and the beginning of the Tenth. Amethyst and Mordru are the only known Lords to have survived into the Tenth Age.

Members of the Lords of Order and the Lords of Chaos

Lords of Order

The most prominent Lord of Order is Nabu, who empowered and occasionally possessed various humans through the Helmet of Nabu who acted as Doctor Fate. Originally, Doctor Fate was depicted as an agent for Order, or the forces of good. When the standings of the sides were revised, Fate's role was changed so that he was now a balancing force between Order and Chaos. The god Tynan from Darkworld was also an agent of balance.

Members of the Lords of Order include:

Agents of the Lords of Order

Agents of the Lords of Order include:

Lords of Chaos

The most prominent Lord of Chaos is Mordru, who has plagued the Legion of Super-Heroes, Doctor Fate, the Justice Society of America, and various other heroes for years. He has attained virtual omnipotence, only to be defeated by Doctor Fate and the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Members of the Lords of Chaos include:

Agents of the Lords of Chaos

Agents of the Lords of Chaos include:

  • Anti-Fate
  • Doctor Chaos[24]
  • Garn Daanuth - Arion's brother.
  • Hawk
  • Kestrel - A human-like monster created by Gorrum and M'Shulla.
  • Kid Eternity - He was an agent of the Lords of Chaos before he defected to the Lords of Order.
  • Weaver - An agent that came from ancient Atlantis.
  • Flaw - Child's monstrous familiar.

Worshippers of the Lords of Chaos

Worshippers of the Lords of Chaos include:

Balancers

Balancing forces between Order and Chaos include:

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

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, however he 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. However before dying, Kent reveals that the Lords of Order are responsible for the impending Armageddon conflict as they 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.

References
  1. "More Fun Comics Vol 1 67". DC Database. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  2. "More Fun Comics Vol 1 55". DC Database. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  3. "Lords of Order". DC Database. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  4. "Lords of Order". DC Database. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  5. All-Star Squadron #47 (July 1985)
  6. Secret Origins (vol. 2) #24 (March 1988)
  7. JSA #48 (July 2003)
  8. "Lords of Order". DC Database. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  9. "Lords of Order". DC Database. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  10. "Lords of Order". DC Database. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  11. Warlord #57 (May 1982)
  12. "Lords of Order". DC Database. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  13. "Lords of Order". DC Database. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  14. "Lords of Order". DC Database. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  15. Day of Vengeance: Infinite Crisis Special (March 2006)
  16. Secret Origins (vol. 2) #43 (August 1989)
  17. "Lords of Order". DC Database. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  18. "Ynar (New Earth)". DC Database. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  19. "Djinn". DC Database. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  20. "Dawn Granger (New Earth)". DC Database. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  21. "Gray Man I (New Earth)". DC Database. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  22. "Kid Eternity". DC Database. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  23. "Captain Marvel". DC Database. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  24. New Adventures of Superboy #25 (Jan. 1982)
  25. Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "The Fate of Equinox!"
  26. Fate #0 (October 1994)
  27. Warlord #61 (September 1982)
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