Over the past several years, a handful of DC Universe villains have found themselves becoming prophets for something bigger than themselves, arguing for evil as a faith in the face of heroes like the Justice League. Notably, Lex Luthor spent the better of part of Scott Snyder's Justice League preaching ideals of doom in the form of the unleashed Perpetua.

However, Luthor wasn't the first DC villain to become a herald for an unbelievably evil cosmic being. Years earlier, the mostly forgotten Justice League villain Libra resurfaced as Darkseid's prophet in Final Crisis. Now, we're taking a closer look at this forgotten DC foe and breaking down why now is the perfect time for him to reappear.

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WHO IS LIBRA?

Libra DC 1

Libra was introduced in the story "Balance of Power," featured in Justice League of America #111 by Len Wein, Dirk Dillin, and Dick Giordano. He was one of the founders of the first Injustice Gang, alongside Brain Storm and Black Star. The three recruited Chronos, Mirror Master, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Shadow-Thief and Tattooed Man for a scheme to bring down the heroic team. Libra provided the assembled villains with their secret weapon: a device that would allow them to steal the powers of the assembled Justice League members, and transfer them to Libra.

The device is able to strip Green Lantern's ring of its power and Superman of half his might. It even can take more abstracts aspects from certain beings, such as robbing Batman of some of his remarkable intellect. After leaving his nominal allies for the authorities as a distraction and taking the Justice League captive, Libra uses the device to try and claim half the energy of the entire universe in an attempt to become a god-like being. But the universal awareness becomes too much for his mind and quickly overwhelms him. His thoughts became too disjointed to even keep his atoms in their proper structure, and his body faded away to become part of the galaxy he had wished to control.

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HOW DID HE RETURN FOR FINAL CRISIS?

Libra as a New God of Apokolips

The history of Libra was revealed during Final Crisis: Secret Files. Revealed to have been born Justin Ballantine, the future villain lost his mother when their alcoholic pharmacist made a mistake measuring out her medicine she needed. His father soon descended to alcoholism as well but fell to his death after threatening to beat his son with his precious telescope. Following his disappearance at the conclusion of Justice League of America #111, his essence drifted through the universe until it was discovered by the New God of Apokilios, Desaad. Along with Granny Goodness, and Darkseid, he was able to restore Libra to a physical form. Libra became a loyal follower of Darkseid and was effectively transformed into a New God and a physical representation of the Anti-Life Equation itself.

In the lead-up to Final Crisis, Libra returned to Earth as an acolyte of Darkseid. He rallied many of the supervillains into a new Secret Society with the promise that they could finally bring down their various foes. To prove this, he helps an early convert, a minor villain called the Human Flame, to capture and execute the Martian Manhunter. But in secret, Libra uses a helmet to force the Anti-Life Equation into the Human Flame's ears, taking him over and turning him into a mindless servant of Darkseid.  He soon spreads the Anti-Life around the world and leads the Secret Society during Darkseid's reign, spreading his influence globally. But ultimately, he proves too evil even for the likes of Lex Luthor and Doctor Sivanna. Sensing an opening, Lex seemingly kills him, but his attack leaves nothing but a ruined cloak, hinting at his possible survival.

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WHY LIBRA SHOULD RETURN

Libra would make perfect sense as a villain considering many of DC's current overarching villains, so it's surprising to see him still absent. A Post-Rebirth era version of the character could make for a fitting avatar for cosmic-level villains like Barbatos or Perpetua. His lack of actual on-panel death and ties to the New Gods could easily make a way for his return, especially as some unkillable voice preaching for the darkest beings in existence. When Libra perished in Final Crisis #6, Luthor and Sivanna even commented on how obvious the eventual return of Libra could be.

Libra made for a surprisingly memorable villain in his role as the herald of Darkseid. His attitude fits in perfectly as a devout follower of evil, which would make him a perfect figure for some of the universal concepts of "evil" and "doom" that have been floated around by Barbatos and Perpetua. He could even be seen as a counterpoint to Luthor, who has lost his faith in Perpetua due to the events of Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen. With Perpetua and the Batman Who Laughs now working together, Libra could be just the kind of disciple they're looking for.

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