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Big Barda is a powerful New God from Apokolips who fell in love with Mister Miracle and became a warrior for good. Although she was originally a member of the Female Furies, since leaving her home planet, she has joined the Justice League of America and the Birds of Prey.

Origin

Barda was bred at a Gestation Lab in Apokolips. The genes for these breeds were provided by selected few of Darkseid's choosing based on the qualities he desires the most: cruelty, avarice, ruthlessness, etc. However, Barda was a natural child, conceived by Big Breeda and another man she loved, but Darkseid took her away from her mother, put her in the Gestation Lab, and then sent to be raised at Granny Goodness' Orphanage, without ever knowing her mother.[1]

Female Furies

 Main article: Female Furies

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Big Barda and the Female Furies

Barda was born of the race of New Gods about 250 years ago, on Apokolips. She is a product of Granny Goodness' Home for Orphaned Youth. Granny's motto is "Die for Darkseid" (the planet's evil ruler). Granny groomed Barda to one day lead the Female Fury Battalion, a ferocious pack of women warriors. However, during a raid Barda met Scott Free, Darkseid's adopted son, and, sensing a peace about him, fell in love. Barda risked her own safety to help Scott escape from Apokolips.[2]

Eventually, Barda turned her back on Granny, and came to Earth herself. Scott has become an escape artist called Mister Miracle, and teamed with Oberon, his diminutive manager.[3] After some time, Scott and Barda married with the blessing of Scott's father, the Highfather of New Genesis.[4]

Wife and Hero

In a reversal of the stereotype associated with female characters at the time of her creation, Barda is physically more powerful than her husband, is more than willing to use her strength in battle, and is very protective of her husband. Though naive regarding Earth customs, Barda relished her roles of wife and housekeeper. However, when duty calls she never hesitates to assume the posture of a warrior.

For a number of years, Barda followed Scott and Oberon on tour. When Scott joined the Justice League, Barda participated in several missions. Eventually, they retired as superheroes and moved to Bailey, New Hampshire.[5] However, despite their best attempts, a normal life eluded them. Barda, Scott, and Oberon left Bailey and moved to a loft in Greenwich Village, New York City.[6] Under Oberon's advise, Barda joined the BBBW (Bad and Beautiful Babes of Wrestling), and her battling nature helps her becomes the new champion. Along with her wrestling friends, Barda formed a defense-training program for women called the New Female Furies.[7]

After an unexpected visit of her mother, Big Breeda, on New York, Highfather offered Scott to return to New Genesis and find his true heritage, and Barda followed her husband.[1] However, they soon returned to Earth and took up temporary residence aboard the Justice League Refuge. During this period, the couple separated briefly due to Scott's lack of consideration for her feelings.

Barda has served as a member of the JLA in her own right: at Takion's order, she and fellow New God Orion were sent as agents of New Genesis to serve on the team. (Takion predicted that the Earth faced a grave threat.) Their mission: to help mobilize Earth's heroes against the omnipotent Mageddon. Once Mageddon was defeated, Barda and Orion resigned from the JLA.

Sleez

Barda was in the Suicide Slums in Metropolis when she had her purse snatched. The mugger, who got away, was later killed by an Apokoliptan Ash-Crawler, who brought the purse to the depraved, disgusting, and evil, Sleez. Sleez then found Barda's Mega-Rod in the purse and used it against her when she came for it.

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Sleez forces Big Barda to wear a skimpy outfit and dance for him

Two days later, he forced Barda to wear a very short and skimpy outfit, barefoot and seemingly topless, and dance and perform implied sexual favors for him, while he filmed it all. Just when he was about to rape Barda, Superman arrived and tossed Sleez aside, helping Barda up from the floor, seeing as she had been forced to dance for quite awhile. Superman asked who she was, and if she was Wonder Woman under all the make-up. Brad took the distraction to grab the Mega-Rod and blast Superman repeatedly with it. Barda, who thought Superman was just another part in Sleez' scheme, almost killed Superman. But before she could act, Sleez took the Rod from Barda and dropped them both in a pit.[8] Sleez then sold the tape of him and Barda to a store that specializes in 'adult entertainment'. Darkseid's agents somehow got ahold of the tape and Darkseid showed it to Mister Miracle. Mister Miracle then went to find Barda who was, along with Superman, being controlled by Sleez forced to make an 'adult movie' with Superman. Mister Miracle arrived, and Superman went after Sleez, who seemingly perished in an explosion.[8]

The Supergirl from Krypton

 Main article: Superman/Batman: The Supergirl from Krypton


At one point, Superman gathers the whole Superman Family to challenge Darkseid for Steel's life. Barda demands to go with them, looking to spit on Darkseid's face, but Superman refuses on grounds that the presence of non-Kryptonian heroes would give Darkseid an excuse to retaliate against Earth.[9]

However, when Kara Zor-El is kidnapped by Darkseid, Barda accompanies Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman to Apokolips to rescue the young Kryptonian from his clutches[10] and fights the Female Furies together with Wonder Woman battle the Female Furies.[11]

One Year Later and Death

Later, Barda accepts an invitation from Oracle to become the heavy-hitter on the Birds of Prey.

In a confrontation with the Secret Six, she engages Knockout, another ex-Fury, in hand-to-hand combat. Although the fight was long and was continued above all other worries, it ended in a draw. Not long after this fight, Barda was killed by Infinity-Man.[12] At the end of Final Crisis, she is seen with a re-born New Genesis, implying that, perhaps, she's not really dead after all.[13]

Powers

  • Big Barda 0007

    Big Barda attacks a fighter plane

    New God Physiology: The beings of New Genesis call themselves Gods and live outside of normal time and space in a realm called the Fourth World. These New Gods have evolved due to their close proximity to the Source, a primeval energy, believed to be one of the ultimate foundations of the Universal Expression of Energy, along with their superior technology, into beings of genetic stability and evolutionary perfection. The denizens of New Genesis are immortal, stronger, faster, and smarter than homo sapiens, despite their resemblance to the same.
    • Immortality: Barda was born in the year 1748 (in human years). Like few other of the New Gods, Barda is functionally immortal, having ceased aging physically near the age of 30. Unless she falls in battle, Barda is immune to the ravages of time, and could easily live for thousands upon thousands of years.
    • Superhuman Durability: Even outside her armor, Barda is fairly difficult to damage. She is resistant to blunt trauma like punches, kicks, and blows from weapons like bats and maces, though not completely immune. unless the blows are dealt by a being with similar or greater strength than Barda, there just isn't a chance of injury. However, her invulnerability does not extend to bullets, laser-blasts, or other piercing/slicing weapons - her invulnerability is more akin to that of an Amazon, rather than a Kryptonian.
    • Superhuman Reflexes: Barda has an enhanced physiology which allows her to move her entire body at incredible speeds and with heightened accuracy. Despite wielding weapons and armor and even alien tech, she's able to move and flow with astonishing ease. Given the opportunity Barda can and will dodge bullets which would've normally bounced off her armor.
    • Superhuman Stamina: Barda's stamina and endurance is nothing short of amazing. Due to the naturally exhausting and extensive rigors of her life on Apokolips, Barda is able to manage her stamina on a certain amount of rest and sustenance (more than minimal) so that it seems she is able to constantly function, though this is not entirely the case. Tied directly to her strength and invulnerability, even her immunity to a certain extent, Barda can actually function at peak efficiency for almost 48 hours before needing to eat and rest off the stress.
    • Superhuman Strength: Barda's super strength comes from her heritage as a member of New Genesis, where all of the people of that realm are genetically superior to normal humans in their physical characteristics. She was later augmented by Darkseid to further increase her strength and stamina at least by twenty-fold. Barda's strength is in the megaton range, nearly on the order of Wonder Woman's, easily able to lift a weight well surpassing 100 tons.

Abilities

Weaknesses

  • Vulnerability to Radion: New Gods are vulnerable to a substance called Radion. It source is unknown and its effects are toxic only in sustained amounts or after explosive exposure. The average New God can be slain by an application of Radion from a Radion blaster or bomb. More advanced beings such as Barda, protected by their mother box, armor and sheer toughness, have been known to take two hits and survive. Because Radion is a rare material New Gods are not particularly wary of it during regular combat.

Equipment

Transportation

Weapons


  • Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.
  • Big Barda was created by Jack Kirby. He based her appearance off American actress and singer, Lainie Kazan, and her relationship with Scott Free off his own relationship with his wife, Roz Goldstein.
  • Big Barda likes playing Pokémon cards, she learned them from Sin.[17]
  • A similar-looking character named Little Barda appeared as a member of the Teen Titans in 52; the character leaves the group in the same issue. Her relationship to Big Barda is unknown.

Related

Footnotes



New Gods 02
Jack Kirby's Fourth World
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This character or group of characters are related to Jack Kirby's Fourth World, either the original concept and group of titles by Jack Kirby, or any of their subsequent adaptations by other creators. This template will categorize articles that include it into the Fourth World Characters category.

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Justice League member
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This character has been a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from the clutches of both interstellar and domestic threats.
This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Justice League of America members" category.

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Birds of Prey member
This character is or was a member of the Birds of Prey, a team of female super-heroes that go on special missions across the world, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Birds of Prey members" category.

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Female Furies member
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This character is or was a member of the Female Furies, an elite team of evil female warriors from the planet Apokolips who serve Darkseid. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Female Furies members."

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