Presence (DC Comics) - DC Comics

DC Comics

The religious cosmology of the DC Universe is complex with many pantheons of deities co-existing alongside each other. 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. According to writer Greg Rucka in an interview about his Final Crisis: Revelations miniseries, "The sort of unspoken rule in the DCU is that God sits above all others. And then below that you can have your New Gods and your Greek gods and whoever else you want."

DC's superhero comics have always drawn upon Judeo-Christian beliefs 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 the Judeo-Christian deity directly. The comics are published under the Comics Code, a 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." Later revisions of the Code are phrased in terms of respecting religious beliefs and religious institutions, which may account for the 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 the Presence" that spoke to and empowered Jim Corrigan as the Spectre in More Fun Comics #52. 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 of America. When the Voice uttered the first word, it created "The Word", and it was already being tracked by Destiny in his book.
• 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. It was first seen in Green Lantern vol. 2, #40. In Crisis on Infinite Earths #10, the Hand was turned into a predestination paradox as the hand of the villainous Anti-Monitor, who tried to rearrange all existence at its starting point, but failed.
• The Source – The universal spirit from Jack Kirby's Fourth World cosmology.
• The Presence – The unseen Judeo-Christian deity from Grant Morrison's fictional angel mythology.
• Wally – A being claiming to a manifestation of God who appears in the form of a young boy wearing a baseball hat. He first appears in Peter David's Linda Danvers/Supergirl series. A similar character later appears in the same author's Fallen Angel series.

Many references to similar beings appear to be obvious references to the Judeo-Christian sect's supreme deity, but they are sometimes revealed to be other entities in the DC Universe. Some events from Judeo-Christian mythology are assumed to be a part of the fictional timeline of 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 mythological 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 human evolution through natural selection, yet paradoxically it also has a Garden of Eden and a version of Lilith, Adam's first wife (e.g., Peter David's Supergirl series). A hint to reconcile this occurs in a Sandman issue (reprinted in Fables and Reflections) in which Cain, Abel, and Eve tell a story to Daniel Hall (grandson of Carter Hall) about their past, and Abel says, "Oh, this whuwasn't on Earth, thuh thu--" before being hushed. Since the end of the series, the Presence has vacated his creation, and his granddaughter Elaine Belloc has taken his place.

In another story, the fallen archangel Asmodel invades the Silver City with an army of Bull Host angels and Neron's demons to claim the Throne of God, only to be told by Zauriel that the Presence was not, in actuality, truly sitting upon a throne in the highest Heaven—he was part of everything and everyone, part of Heaven and Earth and perhaps even Hell itself, and thus could never be dethroned by any rebel, be they mortal or angel. Asmodel is stripped of his angelic powers and condemned to Hell by the Presence to burn for eternity for his treachery.