Read: Rann-Thanagar Holy War #6

Issue: Rann-Thanagar Holy War #6
Title: "The Demiurge"
Published Date: Dec 2008
Generation: Modern Carter
Retcon Status: In Continuity

Summary: After the events of last issue, Synnar the Demiurge and Deacon Dark are in command of the cloaked Thanagarian fleet over Rann, and have somehow established a fortified base on the surface.   Not only that, but they have established a forcefield around the planet which prevents also communication and teleportation.  But, Adam Strange, Hawkman, and The Weird receive backup in the form of Comet, Starman, Animal Man, Bizarro, Tigorr, and Starfire since Comet can still use his teleport powers.  But things get even worse when Sardath informs the heroes that Lady Styx's armada is en route now as well!

Needing intel, Adam has Comet telepathically spy on Synnar.  Up on the ritual ziggurat erected earlier, Synnar tells Deacon Dark of how he came to be:  Before time and space existed, The Supreme One created the Demiurge to be the architect of His universe.  And he created the celestial, the mortal, and everything in between.  Done with his work, the Demiurge watched over his creation while the Supreme One took care of His business, including the creation of the angels... and their eventual casting out.  Angry at his work being cast aside by the Supreme One, the Demiurge began to reabsorb his creation into himself and build power.  This lead to the only possible outcome, as all of the Supreme One's wrath and creations were targetted at the Demiurge.  Afterwards, the Demiurge's very existance was striken from history, dubbing him "The Nameless" for all eternity.  But, the Demiurge played gambit and survived, existing on a subatomic level to avoid detection.  And over the span of all time, he slowly built himself up, from crystalline lifeforms, to organics, to sentient life, to other dimensions, and cybernetic networks.

Eventually deciding to create a personification of himself, the Demiurge took cosmic dictator Tarus Deltar and transformed him into Synnar.  But the plan unraveled thanks to the Justice League, and it has taken nearly two decades to get back to this point, with Synnar The Demiurge ready to spread his word throughout the universe.  With Deacon Dark caught up, Synnar kicks Comet out of his head, having known he was being spied on the entire time.  And with Comet busy spying, Bizarro is free to attack the Inquisitor robots.  Synnar, however, is unimpressed, and effortlessly blasts Bizarro with an eye beam.  With their heavy hitter down, the heroes are desperate, and running out of options.

Review: And here is where the whole purpose of this miniseries comes to bear, as Starlin lays his latest cosmic heavy out on the table for us to peruse.  And what a heavy he is: the Demiurge from the Age of Plato, God's Architect, building himself up into a force strong enough to overthrow God Himself.  I'm sorry but that's freaking awesome.  Synnar The Demiurge is one of the best villian concepts I have heard in a long time, right up there with Geoff Johns' take on the Reverse-Flash, and light years better than overhyped junk characters like The Hood.  And while Synnar may have started out as a Thanos clone, adding this element of the Demiurge to mix transforms him into a unique celestial threat who should be on the level of folks like Mongul and Darkseid.  Of course, DC won't use him like that, but if only Starlin uses him, maybe that's for the best.

The rest of the issue is chess board manuvering, necessary but not the focus.  Starlin is clearly in his element and enjoying himself playing in the cosmic sandbox.  

Image: Rann-Thanagar Holy War #6, 2008, Jim Starlin.