Dark Circle

For other uses, see Dark circle (disambiguation).

The Dark Circle is a criminal organization appearing in media published by DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of the Legion of Super-Heroes. They first appeared in 1968, created by Jim Shooter as a criminal organization founded by five members and consisting of them and their clones.

Dark Circle
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Adventure Comics #367 (April 1968)
Created by	Jim Shooter
In-story information
Member(s)	Ontiir Grullug Garkush Norak Kun Gorgoth Rolind Siepur

The Dark Circle concept was later modified to consist of members from five core worlds instead of clones. A later version, introduced following the Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! reboot, was led by Brainiac 4 and had several known Legion enemies among their ranks instead of generic masked henchmen.

Fictional history

The Dark Circle first appeared in Adventure Comics #367 (1968) as an insurgent group planning to conquer the United Planets in the 30th century.^[1] It is composed of only five people and armies of clones created from them.^[2]

Following a five-year time skip, the Circle is portrayed as a philosophical movement that rejects intellectual knowledge and is said to have existed for millions of years.^[3] Members of the Dark Circle wear hoods with a prominent dark circle (zero) over the face.

Post-Zero Hour

In post-Zero Hour continuity, the Dark Circle is an ally of the Affiliated Planets, a rival political group to the United Planets. It is led by Brainiac 4 and consists of the leaders of the Khunds, the Gil'Dishpan, the Dominators, and the Sklarian Raiders. Brainiac 4 later kills the Dark Circle when they realize the level of her insanity.

Members

• Ontiir - A member of the Dark Circle from the planet Tsauron. He is later killed by Kimball Zendak.
• Grullug Garkush - A member of the Dark Circle from the planet N'cron.
• Norak Kun - A member of the Dark Circle from the planet Naltor.
• Gorgoth - A member of the Dark Circle from the planet Fresish.
• Rolind Siepur - A member of the Dark Circle from the planet Arane II.

Other versions

• An alternate universe iteration of the Dark Circle appears in Tangent: Superman's Reign #3. This version is a necromancy cult, with Etrigan the Demon, Bane, and Sargon the Sorcerer as prominent members.
• An unrelated Dark Circle, led by Tala, appears in Phantom Stranger #20.^[4]

In other media

• The Dark Circle appears in the Legion of Super Heroes (2006) episode "In Your Dreams", with Grullug (voiced by Dave Wittenberg) and Ontiir (voiced by Bumper Robinson) as prominent members.^[5][6] This version of the group are mercenaries who utilize cloaking technology.
• The Dark Circle appears in Legion of Super-Heroes (2023), with Mon-El as a prominent member. This version of the group was founded by Brainiac in the 21st century to enable his resurrection and persists into the 31st century. It has also gone by many names such as Black Zero, Ouroboros, and the Beginning and the End.^[7][8][9]