Road to TDW30: Eclipso, Scourge of the World; Bruce Gordon, Benefactor of Humanity

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Can you believe this guy, this guy right here--Eclipso!--was the headline villain of a line-wide comic event?

After reading his past appearances, neither could I.

It definitely took a lot of finessing. When Eclipso first appeared he was...well, he was far less imposing.

House of Secrets #61

A Black Diamond, an Eclipse, and...Whatever

Eclipso first appeared in House of Secrets #61 in 1963. He was the alter ego of solar power researcher Bruce Gordon (who we are told in almost every issue is a great benefactor of humanity). Eclipso emerges from Gordon during the solar eclipse--any solar eclipse (except for one time when it mattered if he was in the part of the world that could see the eclipse).

This all started because Bruce Gordon traveled to Diablo Island to photograph an eclipse. Gordon was warned by the natives that if he tried to capture the sun god's image while it was dark, the sun god would naturally destroy the natives out of anger. Gordon ignored the warning, and during the eclipse he was attacked by the seer Mophir. During the scuffle, as the eclipse happened, Mophir scratched Gordon with a black black before falling off a cliff. Gordon kept Mophir's outfit as well as the black diamond (though he was unable to unlock any power the black diamond might have had).

House of Secrets #61

Fast forward to the opening of Bruce Gordon's Solar City. Gordon transforms into Eclipso for the first time. Eclipso changes into Mophir's old outfit, unlocks the power of the black diamond, and destroys Solar City. By holding the black diamond up to his eclipsed eye he can shoot a beam of black light.

At first only Gordon's friend Professor Bennett knows the secret of Eclipsio's identity. Gordon's fiancé Mona, who is also Bennett's daughter, is left in the dark. Gordon calls off their marriage in order to hide his secret. Mona suspects Gordon is Eclipso, but after being carried by Eclipse she is instead convinced that Eclipso is a robot (?!). 

Eclipso's great ambition is to take over the world, get rich, and control scientific research for...reasons (presumably to find a way to permanently separate from Gordon though that is often unclear).

Making It Up As They Go Along

House of Secrets #61 established that Eclipso and Gordon shared the same body, with Gordon turning into Eclipso when an eclipse began (most likely because during a solar eclipse solar corona rays bombard the Earth unimpeded--or something). Eclipse could use the power of the black diamond to project black light. And the only thing that could stop Eclipso was a bright light that put Gordon back in control.

But that's not all! Witness the growing power of Eclipso!

House of Secrets #63

> House of Secrets #62: Eclipso can hold the diamond in front of his uneclipsed eye to shoot ultra energy bolts.

> House of Secrets #63: Artificial eclipses (literally any time something slides in front of any light and creates the appearance of an eclipse) now turn Gordon into Eclipso.

> House of Secrets #66: Eclipso can lift and repel objects and people.

> House of Secrets #68: Artificial eclipses still turn Gordon into Eclipso, but real eclipses create an Eclipso separate from Gordon.

> House of Secrets #72: Eclipso gains light spectrum powers (yeah, I have no idea what that means) when he holds the black diamond up to his uneclipsed eye.

> House of Secrets #78: If Eclipso is already separate from Gordon during an eclipse, Eclipso turns into a giant monster.

And somehow, no matter how well Gordon, Mona (after she learns the truth), and Professor Bennett plan, Eclipso always outsmarts them because of plans he made during his previous appearances...which, I guess, the trio just forgot happened?

And neither Gordon nor Eclipso dare to kill the other because naturally they would die as well.

Green Lantern v2 138

Further Adventures

Eclipso popped up a couple times after House of Secrets, but his next significant appearance was in Green Lantern #136 and #138. Bruce Gordon was involved in a long running storyline about solar power in Green Lantern. Hal walks into Gordon's apartment just as Gordon transforms into Eclipso (it's unclear why a separate Eclipso isn't created). In the course of the fight Eclipso shoots black light from his black diamond and turns Hal into half positive/half negative. This is the first time the idea of Eclipso turning people evil is introduced. Ultimately Hal saves himself by wrapping himself in a giant piece of purple fabric (purple being the chromatic opposite of a negative image or some such), and Eclipso's plan to destroy his Gordon half separates the two men resulting in Eclipso being sucked out into space. Hal, the first character to learn Gordon's secret, is convinced Gordon isn't responsible for Eclipso's actions and also never gets around to revealing Gordon's secret.

Green Lantern #137-138 also saw a change in Eclipso's goal from money, scientific development, and generic world domination into a desire to plunge Earth into perpetual darkness. Eclipso returns in Green Lantern #182-186. First he secretly tries to blackmail Bruce Gordon, and then he again tries to plunge the planet into perpetual darkness. He soon ends up tangling with John Stewart and is seemingly killed by a laser.

The Phantom Stranger v3 #2

Later, in Outsiders #17-18, Eclipso is brought back to life by the tribe that Mophir belonged to (way back in the day) and for a time succeeds in his plan to cause unending darkness on Earth by causing a permanent eclipse. By the end of the adventure Eclipso is defeated and is sucked back into Bruce Gordon.

Possibly Eclipso's strangest modern storyline takes place in The Phantom Stranger #1-4. Eclipso is separate from Bruce again (though how it happened is unclear). He has received magical powers from the Lords of Chaos and is using his influence to amplify anger and hatred around the planet, a consequence of which is pushing the United States and Soviet Union to the brink of war. In the course of the story the Stranger tells Gordon, who has fallen into deep depression and desperation, that if it had not been Eclipso that inhabited Gordon it would have been something else. The overall story involves a cosmic/metaphysical struggle involving Lords of Chaos, Lords of Order, Lords of Darkness, and Lords of Light. This is the only story where Eclipso is working toward someone else's agenda. He also mentions the Heart of Darkness, but in context it's clear he is not talking about the same Heart of Darkness that will feature in Eclipso: The Darkness Within #1 At the end of the story Eclipso is once again presumed dead.

Starman #45

Eclipso's final appearance before "The Darkness Within" is in Starman #43-45. This story already adds a small retcon to Bruce Gordon's story: Gordon no longer acquires the black diamond from Mophir on Diablo Island while photographing an eclipse but instead finds it in a dig in South Africa and accidentally scratches himself with it (which might honestly make Gordon look more foolish). The story refers back to The Phantom Stranger with the Lords of Chaos hiring Lobo to kill Eclipso in revenge for Eclipso failing to destroy Earth. It also turns out that somehow Eclipso has once again reverted to sharing Gordon's body. Eclipso is also now capable of draining bright light and turning it into black light. The story ends with Eclipso being sucked back into Gordon.

But if you're going to headline a comic book event, you've got to be a lot more impressive than this. And so, the great Eclipso retcon occurs...