The Wicked + The Divine - 10 Most Shocking Twists

As if “gods as pop stars” wasn’t high concept enough, Kieron Gillen upped the stakes even more with the introduction of the Great Darkness.

This concept was introduced during an interview of Ananke by Cassandra where she explained that the gods and the Great Darkness have been at war for aeons, with the gods fighting for the good of humanity and the Darkness seeking to cease the development of the species. Ananke also revealed that her presence during each pantheon is due to the gods of the past needing someone to guide their future incarnations and prevent the Darkness from being triumphant.

Whilst the existence of a primordial evil force wasn’t the biggest twist the comic would deliver, the idea of an ongoing ancient war massively increased the scope of the narrative, showing how our heroes are fighting not just for themselves but for the future of humankind. This was also was the first time we properly got a peek at Ananke’s intentions, which explain, if not excuse, her brutality.

With Ananke dead as of issue 22, the only person with any insight into the Great Darkness is no longer with us (or so it seems… )