Jack Kirby based Barda's physical appearance on Lainie Kazan, who had recently appeared topless in Playboy.[2]Mark Evanier, Kirby's assistant on the Fourth World comics, has explained the genesis of the character: "Jack based some of his characters (not all) on people in his life or in the news... the characterization between Scott 'Mister Miracle' Free and Barda was based largely—though with tongue in cheek—on the interplay between Kirby and his wife Roz".[3]
Fictional character biography
Barda is a member of the race known as the New Gods, and was born on Apokolips about 250 years ago.[4] Her mother was Big Breeda, whom Barda was taken away from at an early age to be trained as a warrior at Granny Goodness' orphanage.[5] Granny grooms Barda to lead the Female Furies.[6] However, during a raid, Barda meets Scott Free, Darkseid's adopted son, who she falls in love with.[1]
Barda risks her own safety to work with the rebel cell led by the New God Himon after enforcer Willik kills most of Himon's cell. This includes one of Barda's people, Auralie, who is tortured to death for dancing, a crime on Apokolips. Moments later, Himon kills Willik with a bomb. Barda, the Furies, Himon and Metron help Scott escape Apokolips. Darkseid himself calls for Scott to return but does not stop him, as Scott's escape can reignite his war with New Genesis. Barda, not emotionally prepared to escape herself, stays behind.[7] Eventually, Barda turns her back on Granny Goodness and comes to Earth.[8] Once there, she finds that Scott has become Mister Miracle. For a while, Barda's Furies assist Scott in his showmanship efforts[9] but they return to Apokolips by themselves. Scott and Barda are married by Scott's birth father, Highfather of New Genesis.[10][11]
For a number of years, Barda follows Scott and Oberon on tour. Eventually they retire from superheroing and move to Bailey, New Hampshire.[12] Despite their best attempts, a normal life eludes them. Disasters plague them and eventually Barda, Scott, and Oberon move toGreenwich Village. There, Barda forms a defense-training program for women called the New Female Furies.
Justice League
Though naïve regarding Earth customs, Barda relishes her roles of wife and housekeeper, but when duty calls she never hesitates to assume the posture of a warrior; and when Scott joins the Justice League, Barda participates in several missions.[13] In one instance, while training Fire, her weapon, the Mega-Rod, is stolen. With the assistance of her husband and the Huntress, she gets it back, but not before many innocent people are killed by its wielder, who was unable to resist its influence. Barda also led a JLA mission to rescue her husband after he was lost in space. The mission was a result of Manga Khan selling Scott to Granny Goodness. Her teammates included Martian Manhunter, Rocket Red, and G'nort. In an attempt to dissuade their successful pursuit, Manga Khan hired Lobo, paying him in dolphin feed, to kill them. He almost does, before Barda teleports him to a random location directly behind Guy Gardner.
For a time, Barda mourns Scott, believing him slain in a battle with Despero, but it was a robot double that was destroyed, as part of a plan by Khan.[14]
After their time with the JLI, the two leave Earth for New Genesis,[15] but, they soon return[16] and take up temporary residence aboard the Justice League Refuge. During this period, the couple separate briefly due to Scott's lack of consideration for her feelings. Barda perishes, but is reborn via Scott's temporary access to great cosmic power.[17]
Barda has served as a member of the JLA in her own right as well. At Takion's order, she and fellow New God Orion are sent as agents of New Genesis to serve on the team. Takion predicted that the Earth faced a grave threat.[18] Their mission is to help mobilize Earth's heroes against the omnipotent Mageddon. Over time, they become involved with several other JLA missions. Adam Strange, needing help with an alien invasion, enslaves the JLA as part of a bluff. The League works for days, turning the planet into a giant teleportation beam. The aliens are sent off to the prison planet of Takron-Galtos, which Barda had mentioned several times during the ordeal. In another instance, Barda is badly wounded fighting the Queen Bee, a member of the newly reformed Injustice League. Once Mageddon is defeated, Barda and Orion resign from the JLA.[1][19]
After the League
Barda and Scott then reside in the suburbs of Connecticut and are active adventurers.[20] Barda never hesitates to lend a hand to her friends when her power and expertise are needed.
A similar-looking character named Little Barda appeared as a member of the Teen Titans in 52 #21; the character leaves the group in the same issue. Her relationship to Big Barda is unknown, though she escaped from Apokolips with Power Boy.
In a confrontation with the Secret Six, she engaged Knockout, another ex-Fury, in hand-to-hand combat. Although the fight is long and continues amid other larger concerns for her team, it ends in a draw.
Big Barda is killed in the first issue of Death of the New Gods; her funeral occurs in the second issue of the series. Infinity-Man is later revealed as the killer. He had been slaughtering all the 'New Gods' in the name of restarting a new age of deities.[1]
In The New 52 (a 2011 reboot of the DC Universe), Big Barda and Scott are seen on Earth 2.[24] They are later seen with many of the comrades in Supertown.[25] Big Barda and Mister Miracle are recruited by Batman to assist Los Angeles when flooding sea waters threaten all coasts.[26]
Powers and abilities
Barda is a New God, a race of genetically enhanced beings who evolved godly abilities from their proximity to the Source. This gives Barda a level of strength roughly parallel to Wonder Woman as well as a high resistance to injury approaching invulnerability. She is similarly resistant to disease and most toxins. As a former Female Fury trained by Granny Goodness, Barda is a master combatant in swordsmanship and raw brawling, which - in conjunction with her raw strength and grit - make her an immediate match for Wonder Woman.[27][1]
In combat, Barda wears Apokoliptian battle armor, which enhances her already impressive durability. In addition, Barda uses a high-tech weapon called the "Mega-Rod". It enables her to fly, generate energy, teleport, and manipulate gravity.
Other versions
An alternate timeline variant of Big Barda appears in Kingdom Come.
"Big Bard", a gender-flipped version of Big Barda, appears in Superman/Batman #24.
Big Barda appears in DC Super Hero Girls and its tie-in films, voiced by Misty Lee.[31] This version is a member of the Female Furies who later shows interest in attending Super Hero High.
The DCAU incarnation of Big Barda appears in the tie-in comics Batman Beyond (vol. 2), Justice League Beyond and Superman Beyond: Man of Tomorrow.
^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 38. ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 141. ISBN978-1-4654-8578-6.
^Wallace, Dan (2008). "Female Furies". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.). The DC Comics Encyclopedia. New York: Dorling Kindersley. p. 120. ISBN978-0-7566-4119-1. OCLC213309017.
^ abcdefg"Big Barda Voices (DC Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved June 13, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
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