By Ian T. Wilson
Word Count: 249
Rating: G (suitable for all audiences)
Summary: A short biography of DC Comics character Steppenwolf
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another Superhero Sunday. I’m Ian Wilson, purveyor of obscure facts about comic book characters. Today, I’ll be turning things around a bit; I’m making this Supervillain Sunday. I’ll be discussing Steppenwolf. No, not the rock band.
If you’ve seen Justice League you already have a good idea of who Steppenwolf is. General Steppenwolf is the uncle of Darkseid, Dark Lord of Apokolips. You’ve probably heard me mention Darkseid before. If you recall, Apokolips is an entire planet run as a Fascist dictatorship; New Genesis is it’s antithesis. Get the picture? OK, back to Steppenwolf.
During Steppenwolf’s time, Apokolips was headed by his sister, Heggra, mother of Darkseid. Steppenwolf is a warmonger; he would like nothing better than to start a war with New Genesis. He prefered quick, destructive attacks that left the enemy devastated. He was born to be wild. Sorry, that reference was begging to be made. Steppenwolf has mastered many weapons and many forms of combat and he has superhuman strength and endurance.
During one of his attacks on New Genesis, Steppenwolf killed Avia, the wife of Izaya the Inheritor; an action that we would regret later. Izaya’s desire for revenge fuelled a war between New Genesis and Apokolips that lasted for decades and devastated both planets. Eventually, Izaya got his revenge; he killed Steppenwolf in battle, but at a great personal cost.
Steppenwolf was created by Jack Kirby and first appeared in New Gods #7 in 1972