Dark Lord
Dark Lord (also known as an Evil Overlord) is a name often used to talk about a villain with evil henchmen, especially when the real name is thought to bring bad luck. Such a villain usually seeks to rule the world, galaxy, or universe.In "religious orders" (as opposed to entertainment literature) contexts, it usually means Satan or other similar entities who hold power over lesser fiendish creatures and seek to disrupt the comfort and lives of people, sometimes tragically, and definitely maliciously.
In fantasy novels Dark Lords have become something of a cliché following the success of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, in which the Dark Lord is Sauron. The case of Sauron also started the habit of characters being too afraid to mention a Dark Lord by name: the Gondorians of Middle-earth as a rule would never refer to Sauron by his name, because they are afraid it will bring Sauron there: they always called him either "The Enemy" or "The Nameless Enemy", even though they know he has a name. In the prequel "The Silmarillion", it is revealed that Sauron is the second Dark Lord; he was the lieutenant of the first Dark Lord, Morgoth, until the latter's defeat. Morgoth brought original evil to the world and created the Orcs by torturing and mutilating Elves.
Following the example of Sauron, Dark Lords in fantasy are always depicted as immensely powerful, implacably evil creatures with an insatiable lust for power, who cannot be reasoned or bargained with. Only by their ultimate destruction can peace be restored.
Among the Dark Lords in fantasy and science fiction are:
- Stephen Donaldson's Lord Foul, in The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series, has physical form but is apparently immortal; he seeks the wild magic contained within Covenant's white gold wedding ring so that he can smash the Arch of Time and destroy the Land.
- Darth Vader of the Star Wars movies is the Dark Lord of the Sith, but is merely the servant of Emperor Palpatine.
- The black-robed femme fatale Winnowill fulfils the role of a Dark Lord in the comic book series Elfquest.
- Shai'tan is the Dark Lord in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time. (See Characters in the Wheel of Time series)
- Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter books is a Dark Lord, and "Dark Lord" is also a name used for him.
External Links
- The Top 100 Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord: a list that makes fun of all the Dark Lord cliches and the mistakes that various Evil Overlords have made.