# Granny Goodness
**Granny Goodness** is a fictional supervillain in [DC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-comics), one of the evil [New Gods](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-gods) of the planet [Apokolips](https://www.edgepedia.org/apokolips) who serves Darkseid by running the Orphanage, the brutal training institution where the children of Apokolips are tortured and brainwashed into fanatical soldiers.[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/granny-goodness) She was created by Jack Kirby as part of his Fourth World saga and first appeared in *Mister Miracle* #2 (May-June 1971).[2](https://www.comics.org/character/15706/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Created by | Jack Kirby, Fourth World saga[2](https://www.comics.org/character/15706/) |
| First appearance | *Mister Miracle* #2 (May-June 1971), story "X-Pit!"[2](https://www.comics.org/character/15706/) • [3](https://www.superman-boutique.com/en-gb/blogs/actualites/granny-goodness-l-orphelinat-d-apokolips-et-les-furies-feminines) |
| Role | Runs the Orphanage on Apokolips and commands the Female Furies[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/granny-goodness) |
| Powers | Enhanced strength, superhuman agility, master tactician, emotional manipulation[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/granny-goodness) |
| Affiliation | Darkseid's Elite[4](https://dcuguide.com/Granny_Goodness) |
| Alias | Athena[4](https://dcuguide.com/Granny_Goodness) |
| Physical data | Height 5' 10", weight 256 lbs, white hair, blue eyes[4](https://dcuguide.com/Granny_Goodness) |
| Base of operations | Apokolips[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/granny-goodness) |
## Origin and rise
Granny Goodness was not born into the aristocracy of Apokolips. She came from the Lowlies, the planet's peasant class, and was taken from her parents at a young age to be trained as one of Darkseid's loyal Hounds.[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/granny-goodness) After proving herself one of Darkseid's most effective soldiers, she was given command of his training camp for new minions, named "the Orphanage."[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/granny-goodness)
The nickname came late. Most New Gods do not age, but after many years she became a haggard old woman, and earned the name Granny Goodness.[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/granny-goodness)
## The Orphanage and the Female Furies
Inside the [Orphanage](https://www.edgepedia.org/orphanage), Granny tortured and brainwashed her trainees into fanatical soldiers willing to die for Darkseid's glory.[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/granny-goodness) As a scholar of Kirby's Fourth World writes, the Orphanage presents her as a "monstrous parody of motherhood, perversely alternating between cream-puffery and despotic 'discipline'"; she nags continuously, speaks with exaggerated warmth, and her aging body is drawn as a grotesque marker of her baseness.[5](https://imagetextjournal.com/how-can-i-refuse-you-mother-box-abjection-and-objectification-of-motherhood-in-jack-kirbys-fourth-world/) The walls of the Orphanage were covered with slogans in the manner of [George Orwell](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-orwell)'s *1984*, such as "You're not a liar, if you lie for Darkseid!"[6](https://marklewisdraws.com/2026/08/23/oh-my-goodness/)
Beyond the common soldiery, she trained the [Female Furies](https://www.edgepedia.org/female-furies), an elite corps of women warriors, and also the young Scott Free, son of Highfather of New Genesis, exchanged as a hostage in the peace treaty between the two worlds.[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/granny-goodness) • [7](https://www.dc.com/characters/new-gods) Scott escaped and became the escape-artist superhero [Mister Miracle](https://www.edgepedia.org/mister-miracle), and the former Fury Big Barda escaped alongside him.[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/granny-goodness) • [7](https://www.dc.com/characters/new-gods) When the centuries-long war between Apokolips and New Genesis moved to Earth, Granny was sent to run orphanages there, recruiting potential warriors for Darkseid.[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/granny-goodness)
## Notable storylines
Her most prominent deception came when she posed as the ancient Greek goddess [Athena](https://www.edgepedia.org/athena) to recruit several Amazons into her Female Furies.[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/granny-goodness)
In 2019 DC published *Female Furies*, a miniseries by writer Cecil Castellucci and artist Adriana Melo that reexamined Granny and her warriors through the lens of the Me Too era. Castellucci described Granny as a tragic character: power-hungry and capable, but kept under Darkseid's thumb so that she must serve his ambitions instead of her own, a woman who "works so hard and has been given the short shrift throughout her life, and a lot of that has to do with her gender."[8](https://www.dc.com/blog/2019/02/08/the-fourth-world-faces-up-female-furies-is-an-unsparing-look-at-abuse) Castellucci noted that Granny, as the only woman in Darkseid's inner circle, is given the matriarchal task of mother of orphans.[9](https://www.dc.com/blog/2019/12/23/female-furies-rise-and-rage-against-the-man-chine)
In the [DC K.O.](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-k-o) comic event of 2025-2026, she trains young heroes including [Thunderheart](https://www.edgepedia.org/thunderheart), Wonder Girl, and Stargirl under her control, and is opposed by [Jon Kent](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-kent-dc-comics) and a group of teen heroes.[10](https://comic-watch.com/comic-book-reviews/dc-k-o-the-kids-are-all-fight-1) • [11](https://bleedingcool.com/comics/dc-ko-the-kids-are-all-fight-special-1-preview/)
## In animation and film
In the [DC Animated Universe](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-animated-universe), Granny Goodness was voiced by [Ed Asner](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-asner), beginning with *Superman: The Animated Series*, and the casting of the gruff male actor as the grandmotherly villain became one of the character's best-known adaptations.[6](https://marklewisdraws.com/2026/08/23/oh-my-goodness/) • [12](https://dcanimated.com/jlu/jlu-bios/jlu-bios-granny/) In the *Justice League Unlimited* episode "The Ties That Bind," her world came crashing down when Darkseid disappeared after his last battle with Superman, leaving her struggling for power over Apokolips.[12](https://dcanimated.com/jlu/jlu-bios/jlu-bios-granny/) She also appears in *Zack Snyder's Justice League* (2021) as the commander of the Female Furies, Darkseid's personal special ops team.[13](https://www.dc.com/blog/2021/03/16/get-to-know-the-new-gods-of-zack-snyders-justice-league)
The character has been used widely since her debut. The Grand Comics Database records her appearances across mainstream DC continuity and multiple universes, a French translation of her name as Mamie Gâteau (1975), and formal membership in Darkseid's Elite and the New Gods from 1971 onward.[2](https://www.comics.org/character/15706/)
## Character design and interpretation
Kirby's design makes the name an irony: a grandmotherly figure in a full suit of armor and cape, holding a rod used to fight and discipline her subordinates.[5](https://imagetextjournal.com/how-can-i-refuse-you-mother-box-abjection-and-objectification-of-motherhood-in-jack-kirbys-fourth-world/) A gender-studies analysis of DC comics places her among characters depicted in bulky, physically domineering figures who wield more power than the average character, controlling an apocalyptic-scale army.[14](https://navajyotijournal.org/feb_2017_issue/feb_issueNJFeb2017_11.pdf) The DC role-playing game sourcebooks describe her orphanage staffed with trainers and torturers who mold footsoldiers into the next fighting class, and give her game statistics including immunity to aging and a Mega-Rod weapon.[15](https://files.spawningpool.net/docs/Vault2.0.-.TTRPG-Gamebooks/DC%20Heroes/2nd%20Edition/MFG244%20The%20Apokolips%20Sourcebook.pdf) • [16](https://files.spawningpool.net/docs/Vault2.0.-.TTRPG-Gamebooks/DC%20Heroes/5th%20Edition/DC%20Adventures%20-%20Heroes%20And%20Villains%201.pdf)
## References
1. [Granny Goodness, Official DC Character page](https://www.dc.com/characters/granny-goodness)
2. [Granny Goodness, Grand Comics Database](https://www.comics.org/character/15706/)
3. [Granny Goodness: the orphanage of Apokolips, Superman Boutique](https://www.superman-boutique.com/en-gb/blogs/actualites/granny-goodness-l-orphelinat-d-apokolips-et-les-furies-feminines)
4. [Granny Goodness, DCU Guide](https://dcuguide.com/Granny_Goodness)
5. ["How Can I Refuse You, Mother Box?!" Abjection and Objectification of Motherhood in Jack Kirby's Fourth World, ImageTexT](https://imagetextjournal.com/how-can-i-refuse-you-mother-box-abjection-and-objectification-of-motherhood-in-jack-kirbys-fourth-world/)
6. [Oh My Goodness!, marklewisdraws.com](https://marklewisdraws.com/2026/08/23/oh-my-goodness/)
7. [New Gods, Official DC Character page](https://www.dc.com/characters/new-gods)
8. [The Fourth World Faces Up: Female Furies is an Unsparing Look at Abuse, DC.com](https://www.dc.com/blog/2019/02/08/the-fourth-world-faces-up-female-furies-is-an-unsparing-look-at-abuse)
9. [Female Furies: Rise and Rage Against the Man(chine), DC.com](https://www.dc.com/blog/2019/12/23/female-furies-rise-and-rage-against-the-man-chine)
10. [DC K.O.: The Kids Are All Fight #1 review, Comic Watch](https://comic-watch.com/comic-book-reviews/dc-k-o-the-kids-are-all-fight-1)
11. [DC KO: The Kids Are All Fight Special #1 Preview, Bleeding Cool](https://bleedingcool.com/comics/dc-ko-the-kids-are-all-fight-special-1-preview/)
12. [Granny Goodness, The World's Finest DCAU bios](https://dcanimated.com/jlu/jlu-bios/jlu-bios-granny/)
13. [Get to Know the New Gods of Zack Snyder's Justice League, DC.com](https://www.dc.com/blog/2021/03/16/get-to-know-the-new-gods-of-zack-snyders-justice-league)
14. [Gender Presentation in Marvel and DC Comics, Navajyoti Journal](https://navajyotijournal.org/feb_2017_issue/feb_issueNJFeb2017_11.pdf)
15. [The Apokolips Sourcebook, DC Heroes RPG, Mayfair Games](https://files.spawningpool.net/docs/Vault2.0.-.TTRPG-Gamebooks/DC%20Heroes/2nd%20Edition/MFG244%20The%20Apokolips%20Sourcebook.pdf)
16. [DC Adventures: Heroes and Villains Vol. 1, Green Ronin](https://files.spawningpool.net/docs/Vault2.0.-.TTRPG-Gamebooks/DC%20Heroes/5th%20Edition/DC%20Adventures%20-%20Heroes%20And%20Villains%201.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Film characters and fictional worlds › DC Comics characters › Justice League and other DC heroes › Titles A to I*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license