Before the fearsome Darkseid established his ruthless rule over the hellish world of Apokolips, it was Yuga Khan – his own father – who sat on its molten throne and commanded absolute subservience. Forgotten for decades since his first and only Silver Age appearance, Yuga Khan was triumphantly resurrected in the modern age by DC comics as a key player in Jack Kirby‘s cosmic Fourth World saga.
As the prodigal father of the dread Lord of Apokolips, Yuga Khan is a profoundly powerful New God who craves ultimate knowledge and control. Exiled long ago by his upstart son, Yuga Khan reemerges from legend ready to reclaim his former seat of power – and he won‘t let anyone stand in his way.
Origins
As part of Jack "King" Kirby‘s ambitious attempt to create an entire new universe within DC comics, Yuga Khan was introduced as an integral part of the New Gods mythology. Named after the four yugas (epochs) in Hinduism, Kirby envisioned the Fourth World as containing two warring planets – New Genesis representing paradise, and Apokolips as a hellish dystopia.
The backstory goes that eons ago, the Old Gods waged a legendary war called Ragnarok that destroyed themselves and the world. From the ashes emerged New Genesis and Apokolips, inhabited by the immortals known as the New Gods. These new deities evolved into benign and benevolent beings on New Genesis, ruled by the Highfather. In contrast, Apokolips decayed into a totalitarian horrorscape lorded over by the iron-fisted and cruel despot, Darkseid.
Darkseid and Highfather go on to wage war against one another in an eternal conflictreflecting the Manichean concept of good versus evil. But what of Darkseid‘s father who precedes him? Who is this shadowy Yuga Khan said to be the very first ruler of Apokolips?
"Before the savage boy who would become Darkseid, there was only Yuga Khan. Whose hands built and whose blackened heart beat with the drums and pipes and roar the factories of Hell."
The Return of the Prodigal Father
After his brief debut in a 1967 issue of Superman‘s Pal Jimmy Olsen, Yuga Khan promptly faded into obscurity for over two decades. His tale was finally expanded to epic proportions in 1990‘s New Gods (Volume 3) #12, which saw the prodigal father make his unexpected return to Apokolips.
In one of the most dramatic coups ever depicted, Yuga Khan challenges and defeats Darkseid to reclaim total dominion over Apokolips. The people of Apokolips watched, awestruck, as Darkseid fell to his knees before his resurrected father in titanic confrontation. Even Desaad and Granny Goodness – two of Darkseid‘s most devoted lieutenants – are quick to betray him and return to the former ruler‘s side.
What follows is a Fourth World epic centered around Yuga Khan consolidating absolute power and inflicting humiliation upon humiliation on his only son Darkseid. But what motivates the long-exiled tyrant‘s dramatic return and ruthless quest for sovereignty? The answer lies in his obsessive search for the enigmatic Source.
"I am Yuga Khan. Ruler Supreme of Apokolips. The true and original Dark Lord… Searching. Always searching for that from which all things emanate!"
Yuga Khan defeating Darkseid to reclaim his throne (art by Paris Cullins)
The Lust for the Source
Since the dawn of his cruel existence, Yuga Khan has been consumed by an all-encompassing obsession – to find and master the Source. As the ultimate fountainhead of all reality in the Fourth World, the Source is described by Metron as:
"A glowing orb of re-creation spinning at the center of infinity! It‘s everything that ever was and everything that will be!"
To gaze into the Source means comprehending the totality of existence and the fundamental truths underpinning reality itself. This tantalizing prize proves too irresistible for Yuga Khan, who styled himself as a seeker of absolute knowledge and transcendence. Imprisoning his son as a decrepit slave, Yuga Khan utilizes Darkseid‘s advanced technology to breach dimensions and tract down the Source.
But the boundless power emanating from the Source begins to overwhelm and poison the minds of Yuga Khan and his acolytes. As the Source‘s trippy, psychedelic effects plunge them into insanity, it is up to Darkseid to mount a rebellion against his possessed father to save Apokolips. But even in his addled, unstable state, Yuga Khan possesses enough raw power to go toe-to-toe with a whole pantheon of New Gods.
Powers and Abilities
As a member of the immortal race of New Gods, Yuga Khan shares their standard abilities like:
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Immortality: Cannot age, wither, or degrade.
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Invulnerability: Impervious to most forms of harm with accelerated healing.
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Superhuman Strength: Able to lift 100 tons with ease. Far stronger than any mortal or Oan.
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Speed: Think and react at lightspeed.
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Stamina: Requires no sleep, food, air or sustenance. Can operate endlessly.
In addition, eons of amassing mystical energies have elevated Yuga Khan into one of the mightiest beings in the cosmos. Described by Highfather as "power incarnate", his powers include:
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Energy Manipulation: Yuga Khan is essentially a being of pure energy who can discharge staggering amounts of energy or absorb it from other lifeforms and entire planets. His mere presence causes tremors and the atmosphere to warp and crackle.
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Mental Abilities: He can evolve, devolve, or rearrange minds at will. Telekinetically tore information from unwilling subjects while in another dimension.
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Teleportation: Open boomtubes to traverse space/time instantly.
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Size Alteration: Grow to titanic proportions at will. Towered over Metron‘s Mobius Chair.
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Force Fields: Generate immense polyhedral force fields. Withstood direct hits from space armadas.
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Reality Warping: Remolded and transmuted matter, buildings and weapons on a planetary scale during his fight with Darkseid.
His signature maneuver is snaring enemies with spiked constructs of crimson energy – which he also uses to leech off their lifeforces. Channeling his near-endless power, Yuga Khan aged, petrified and disintegrated multiple New Gods. When seriously threatened, he emits an omnidirectional explosion of discordant energies potent enough to dethrone deities.
Most impressively, upon returning to Apokolips, Yuga Khan demonstrated the ability to personally cut off and nullify the powers of all New Gods on the planet – forcibly downgrading them into weak mortals under his rule. This made Apokolips completely impregnable under his dominion.
"I summoned all of you here and then I summoned your powers unto myself! Hereafter you possess no special abilities that I have not granted you as a boon!"
The Fall of Yuga Khan
For all his bravado, Yuga Khan‘s second rise to power proved short-lived before suffering defeat and banishment once more. Despite attaining near-omnipotent abilities from interfacing with the Source, he lost control of it – lashing out irrationally at his followers.
This created an opportunity for his estranged son to spearhead a civil war on Apokolips by using ancient weapons against Yuga Khan‘s now-weakened mortal acolytes. Ultimately it took the magic lightning of Shazam – channeled through Lois Lane – to destabilize Yuga Khan enough for Darkseid to rip the Source energies out of his body.
Robbed of his newfound powers, a broken Yuga Khan then supposedly fled Apokolips in disgrace – condemned to the limbo of demon dimensions. Darkseid reclaimed his empire, more ruthless than ever. But given his propensity for resurrection, it may only be a matter of time before the prodigal tyrant returns again to terrorize Kirby‘s Fourth World.
The war for control over Apokolips between Darkseid and Yuga Khan is fueled by more than just a thirst for ultimate power. Lurking behind their epic, operatic clashes is a backstory loaded with enough dysfunctional family drama and soap opera twists to impress even the House of Atreus.
Yuga Khan fathered two sons – the elder being Izaya the Inheritor (later the Highfather of New Genesis) and the younger Uxas who takes the terrible name Darkseid. While Izaya/Highfather devotes himself to peacefully ruling New Genesis, Uxas/Darkseid grows into a cruel warmonger hungry for conquest and domination.
As teenagers, Darkseid murders his beloved brother Drax in a jealous rage over their mother‘s affection and inheritance. When Yuga Khan exiles him for this patricide, Uxas adopts his fearsome new moniker while amassing an army to eventually dethrone his father as well.
This convoluted backstory showcases why DC‘s cosmic Fourth World saga concocted by Kirby appeals more to mature audiences. Behind the bombastic action and visuals lies complex themes about family, betrayal, power and succession worthy of Shakespeare or Wagner.
The bizarre family tree behind the Fourth World mythos (art by Evan "Doc" Shaner)
Yuga Khan‘s second and seemingly final downfall came at the hands of Captain Marvel (aka Shazam) in the New 52 Forever Evil storyline in 2013. Written by Geoff Johns, this crossover event explained the Source Wall was broken after Darkseid‘s death, allowing Yuga Khan to return to the DC universe once more.
After using a special tuning fork weapon to incapacitate Darkseid, Yuga Khan again overpowers him. He seems poised to not only rule Apokolips but exploit the Source Wall‘s destruction to conquer the entire Multiverse itself.
In a last ditch gambit, Batman‘s emergency countermeasures teleport the magic-based hero Shazam directly to Yuga Khan‘s lair. While shocked by his immense power, Shazam is able to tap into the Source that Yuga Khan was communing with and use its energy to defeat him.
Yet in being so intimately connected to the Source, Yuga Khan and now Shazam become aware of a startling secret:
"There is something behind the Source. A mystery that gives it form."
Before he can elaborate further, Shazam is abruptly teleported away – leaving this bombshell unexplained. This cryptic statement establishes there are still deeper, uncharted layers to DC‘s cosmic landscape that remain unexplored.
What exists behind the Source according to Yuga Khan? Does this tie back into Perpetua or other Multiversal forces like the Judges of the Source? It adds to the endless intrigue and world-building potential of Jack Kirby‘s boundless Fourth World.