Dark Lord (also known as an Evil Overlord or Evil Lord) is a name or title often used in fiction to talk about a powerful villain, especially when pronouncing the real name is thought to bring bad luck. Such a villain would have evil henchmen, and usually seeks to dominate and/or destroy the world, galaxy, or universe. The Three Graces, here in a painting by Sandro Botticelli, were the goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility in Greek mythology. ... One popular concept of the villain, meant to mimic the purposely distinctive visage of villains from silent films of the early 20th century. ... Look up Luck in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The word henchman (irregular Germanic plural: henchmen) referred originally to one who attended on a horse, that is, a horse groom. ... The World in plate carrée projection The World In English, world is rooted in a compound of the obsolete words were, man, and eld, age; thus, its oldest meaning is age or life of man. Its primary modern meaning is the planet Earth, especially when capitalized: the World. ... NGC 4414, a typical spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices, is about 56,000 light years in diameter and approximately 60 million light years distant. ... The deepest visible-light image of the cosmos, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. ...

There is overlap with supervillains, but a Dark Lord is typically much more powerful (and feared) than a supervillain, they are often the only notable villain in their world, and the heroes who oppose Dark Lords are typically not (or not considered to be) superheroes. Doctor Doom, one of the most archetypal supervillains and his arch-enemies The Fantastic Four (in background). ... Batman and Superman, two of the most recognizable and iconic superheroes. ...

Origins

In a religious context, it usually means Satan or other similar entities who hold power over lesser fiendish creatures and seek to disrupt the comfort, security and lives of people, sometimes tragically, and definitely maliciously. Gustave Dorés depiction of Satan from John Miltons Paradise Lost Satan (Standard Hebrew: , Satan Tiberian Hebrew ; Koine Greek: , Satanás; Aramaic: , ; Arabic: , ) is a term with its origins in the Abrahamic faiths which is traditionally applied to an angel, demon, or minor god in many belief systems. ...

Types

Many of the clichés of a dark lord were based on totalitarian states with a fascist ideology. In a modern setting, they are sometimes megalomaniac dictators whose minions are depicted in outfits resembling Nazi troop uniforms, and the architecture of their hideouts, headquarters or laboratories is often in the geometric, modernist style common in the former Third Reich and Soviet Union. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Totalitarianism is a typology employed by political scientists, especially those in the field of comparative politics, to describe modern regimes in which the state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private behavior. ... Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ...

In fantasy novels, Dark Lords have become something of a cliché following the success of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, in which the Dark Lord is Sauron. The case of Sauron also started the habit of characters being too afraid to mention a Dark Lord by name: the Gondorians of Middle-earth as a rule never refer to Sauron by his name: they always call him either "The Enemy" or "The Nameless Enemy", even though they know he has a name. In Tolkien's legendarium Sauron is actually the second Dark Lord; he was the lieutenant of the first Dark Lord, Morgoth, until the latter's defeat. Morgoth's original name was Melkor, "He who arises in might"; "Morgoth" is a title or epithet meaning "dark enemy." haha For other meanings see Fantasy (disambiguation) Fantasy is a genre of art that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE (January 3, 1892 – September 2, 1973) is best known as the author of The Hobbit and its sequel The Lord of the Rings. ... The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... For other uses, see Sauron (disambiguation). ... One rendition of the flag of Gondor Gondor is a fictional country from J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth. ... A map of the Northwestern part of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age, courtesy of the Encyclopedia of Arda. ... A legendarium is a book or series of books consisting of a collection of legends. ... Morgoth Bauglir (also known as Melkor) is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth Cycle. ...

Following the example of Sauron, Dark Lords in fantasy are always depicted as immensely powerful, implacably evil creatures with an insatiable lust for power, who cannot be reasoned or bargained with. Only by their ultimate destruction can peace be restored. In religion and ethics, evil refers to the bad aspects of the behaviour and reasoning of human beings —those which are deliberately void of conscience, and show a wanton desire for destruction. ...

An iconic example of the Dark Lord is Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter series. His followers, the Death Eaters, call him by this title. Like Sauron, Voldemort is almost never mentioned by name, and lived in only a noncorporeal form for a period of time following the destruction of his body, only to rise again later as evil and bent on world domination as ever. Lord Voldemort (born Tom Marvolo Riddle on December 31, 1926) is the fictional arch-villain of the Harry Potter series. ... The Harry Potter books are an immensely popular series of fantasy novels by British writer J. K. Rowling. ... In the fictional Harry Potter series, a Death Eater is a follower of Lord Voldemort. ...

Two further examples are Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon and Ernst Stavro Blofeld from the James Bond series. Ming the Merciless is a fictional character appearing in the Flash Gordon comic strip. ... Flash Gordon is a science fiction comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond, first published on January 7, 1934. ... Blofeld redirects here. ... The James Bond 007 gun logo James Bond, also known as 007 (pronounced double-oh seven), is a fictional British spy created by writer Ian Fleming in 1952. ...

In Star Wars, Dark Lord (of the Sith) is an actual rank that is achieved by those who become Sith Lords. The most well-known Dark Lords of Star Wars are Darth Vader and Darth Sidious. The cover of the 2004 DVD widescreen release of the revamped original Star Wars Trilogy. ... In the fictional Star Wars universe, the Sith were a humanoid race who were enslaved by a group of warrior priests who follow the dark side of the Force and serve as the evil counterparts to the Jedi. ... Darth Vader (occasionally referred to as Lord Vader or simply Vader) is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, and has a principal role in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and... Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith, who often contacts his minions via hologram. ...

In the Legend of Zelda series, Ganon is often considered to be a Dark Lord. The F-Zero video game series feature a character who is a Dark Lord type - Deathborn. His subordinate, Black Shadow, also functions as a type of Dark Lord: he has a major henchman, Blood Falcon, in the games. The Legend of Zelda series (ゼルダの伝説 シリーズ; often shortened to just Zelda series) is a series of action-adventure video games created by Nintendo and industry legend Shigeru Miyamoto beginning in 1986. ... Ganon ) (also known as Ganondorf ) and misspelled as Gannon in the original NES Legend of Zelda and the CD-i Zelda titles) is the final boss and primary antagonist of several games in Nintendos The Legend of Zelda series. ... F-Zero is a futuristic fast-paced racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. ... Namcos Pac-Man was a hit, and became a cultural phenomenon. ...

The Warhammer universes created by Games Workshop are replete with Dark Lords. Horus the Great Betrayer, Abaddon the Despoiler, Asdrubael Vect (from Warhammer 40K), Archaon, Nagash, and Malekith (from Warhammer Fantasy) are merely the most prominent. Interestingly, in the Warhammer 40K universe, even the 'good guys' have their own Dark Lords. Lord Goge Vandire, the High Lords of Terra, the Grand Masters of the Inquisition, and Eldrad Ulthuan all fit the archetype of Dark Lord to varying degrees. The style of the Games Workshop logo is copied in the titles of many of their games Games Workshop (GW) is a British game production and retailing company. ... Abaddon the Despoiler In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000 and Battlefleet Gothic, Abaddon the Despoiler is Warmaster of Chaos, captain of the Black Legion, and rumoured to be the clone-progeny of Warmaster Horus. ... Archaon is a fictional character in Games Workshops Warhammer Fantasy wargame. ... In the fictional world of Warhammer Fantasy, Malekith is the King of the Dark Elves or Druchii as they refer themselves. ... Goge Vandire, 361st High Lord of the Administratum, is a character in the Warhammer 40,000 gaming universe. ... In the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, the High Lords of Terra are the supreme governing body of the Imperium of Man. ...

Dark Lords often do not actually engage in direct conflict with the heroes; frequently, they are dark gods or demons, exist in other dimensions, and/or maintain a dark, inaccessible fortress. They usually rely on a vast, shadowy network of minions, often with an extremely hierarchical structure. God is the deity believed by monotheists to be the supreme reality. ... St. ... :For other senses of this word, see dimension (disambiguation). ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... For the various types of hierarchy, see hierarchy (disambiguation) A hierarchy (in Greek: , it is derived from -hieros, sacred, and -arkho, rule) is a system of ranking and organizing things or people, where each element of the system (except for the top element) is subordinate to a single other element. ...

The frequency in which these clichés occur spawned the Evil Overlord List, a popular web site satirizing the mistakes Dark Lords (and any kind of major villain) commonly make. The Evil Overlord List is a popular list of planned actions for a competent Evil Overlord to avoid the common and not-so-common blunders committed by preceding Evil Overlords in popular fictional works. ...

Frequently, villainous characters in fiction will display numerous Dark Lord mannerisms, but will mainly belong to another genre of fictional villain. However, very few villains in fiction are able to balance out more than one genre of fictional villain. One such rare example is Davros from Doctor Who, whose position as creator of the Daleks and later ruler of their empire marks him both as a Dark Lord and as a mad scientist. Generally, however, villains are either one or the other, not both. Davros is a character from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, responsible for the genesis of the Doctors deadliest enemies, the Daleks. ... Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC about a mysterious time-travelling adventurer known only as The Doctor, who explores time and space with his companions, fighting evil. ... The Daleks (pronounced DAH-lecks; IPA: ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Caucasian, male, aging, crooked teeth, messy hair, lab coat, spectacles/goggles, dramatic posing — one popular stereotype of a mad scientist. ...

These conditions are usually caused either by the format of the story in which the villain appears, or because of the villain’s modus operandi. For example, Ming the Merciless and Darkseid are alien despots and could fall under the category of alien invaders. However, they exist within stories of such operatic nature, with elements of swashbuckling adventure and mythological analogy, that they are considered specifically to be Dark Lords. Alternatively, comic book villains The Kingpin and the 1990-era Lex Luthor could be considered modern-day versions of a Dark Lord, but more closely fall under the categories of a crime lord or a mad scientist, respectively. This is mostly due to these characters both traditionally seeking a public identity as a businessman, even a philanthropist at time, while keeping their criminal activities secret. This is at odds with one of the hallmarks of a Dark Lord, which is that they act from or deliberately seek out a position of legal authority, albeit often self-appointed (such as Doctor Doom), and even their most nefarious deeds are often public knowledge. Luthor and the Kingpin, however, would both be sought out by the authorities if their activities ever came to light. A similar point could be made about Kim Newman's recurring villain, the media mogul Derek Leech, although he is perhaps closer to the archetype than his comic-book counterparts. Modus operandi (often used in the abbreviated form MO) is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as mode of operation. ... Ming the Merciless is a fictional character appearing in the Flash Gordon comic strip. ... Darkseid is a fictional character, a DC Comics supervillain created by Jack Kirby as part of The Fourth World series of comic books in the early 1970s. ... The Kingpin and Daredevil. ... Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a DC Comics supervillain and Supermans nemesis. ... Doctor Doom, real name Victor von Doom, is a Marvel Comics supervillain. ... Kim Newman (born July 31, 1959) is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. ...

The White Witch, Jadis, from The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis and the black-robed femme-fatale Winnowill from the comic-book series Elfquest are examples of female Dark Lords, although because the term "Lord" is masculine they are not referred to as Dark Lords. In the aforementioned Star Wars universe, of the four known female Dark Lords of the Sith, only one is referred to as Dark Lady of the Sith. Jadis the White Witch is the chief villain of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published book in C. S. Lewiss Chronicles of Narnia, (the sixth published book was a prequel, and in some modern editions is called the first book of the series). ... The Chronicles of Narnia or Narnia Heptalogy is a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C.S. Lewis. ... Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an Irish author and scholar. ... Mata Hari, exotic dancer and convicted spy, made her name synonymous with femme fatale during WWI. A femme fatale is a stock character, usually a villainous woman, who deceptively misleads and ensnares the hapless hero and/or other males in order to gain some end they would not freely help... In the Elfquest comic book series, the female elf character Winnowill, of the Gliders of Blue Mountain, is the seductive but deadly enemy of the Wolfriders. ... Elfquest #5, 1979. ...

See also

• Evil Overlord List
• Dark Lords