| “ | There shall never be another dawn! | „ |
| ~ The Lord of Darkness' famous quote. |
| “ | I require the solace of the shadows and the dark of the night. Sunshine is my destroyer! | „ |
| ~ The Lord of Darkness demonstrating his limited understanding of subtlety. |
| “ | Every wolf suffers fleas. 'Tis easy enough to scratch! | „ |
| ~ The Lord Of Darkness |
The Lord of Darkness, also known as the Dark Lord or simply Darkness is the master of the underworld and the main antagonist of the 1985 fantasy movie classic Legend.
He was portrayed by Tim Curry.
History
Little is known about the Lord of Darkness. What is known is that the world was once a place of perpetual night, ruled over by him but when Light was born, he and his minions retreated beneath the earth. At some point there was a war during which wicked men came to the giant tree that is the entrance to his lair to make sacrifices to him. The Lord of Darkness rules over a fiery underworld filled with all types of strange beasts and nightmarish horrors including giants, demons and goblins. As the ruler of darkness, his weakness is sunlight and any object of light.
Legend
He orders his most evil goblin Blix, to kill the two unicorns, the source of light in the mortal world so that it will enter a neverending age of night and become his kingdom once more. His incompetent minions however, only succeed in killing one unicorn by severing its horn. With the other unicorn still in the world, dawn is still able to rise so Darkness resolves to capture the other unicorn however his plans are complicated when he falls in love with Princess Lily, an Elfin woman whose beauty has captivated him while she is trapped in the netherworld. He speaks to his father (who is presumably Satan) and asks what to do with her. His father's disembodied voice emanates from a huge fireplace, instructing Darkness to turn Lily to his side through hypnosis.
As he lures her in his chamber, Darkness charms Lily with an enchanted black dress, and as she dances, the dress merges with her. At the same time, the Lord Of Darkness comes through a mirror to meet her, in his true form. During this, Lily's beloved, Jack, Jack's friend Gump and their companions enter the Underworld, undetected and overhear the brief "talk" between Lily and Darkness as he reveals his plan to plunge the world into eternal night and that Sunshine is what can destroy him.
She tells him that she will be his, if she gets to kill the last unicorn herself.
During the ensuing "Dark Ceremony" that will signal an apocalyptic ice age with the sacrificed blood of the unicorn, Darkness prepares to sacrifice the last unicorn before the gates of the dark void that surrounds the world however Lily breaks the chain holding the unicorn and it manages to escape. Angrily Darkness knocks her unconscious and Jack reveals himself and attacks Darkness before he attempts to kill her. The two warriors engage in a final battle as they sword duel each other.
Finding himself outmatched, Jack grabs the horn of a murdered unicorn and stabs Darkness through the heart with it. As the sun rises, Jack's companions use the mirrors to reflect the sunshine, chanelling its rays into the Lord of Darkness's lair. The gates of the void then open and Jack sends the Dark Lord hurtling through into oblivion. In the U.S. version of the movie his laughter is heard before the ending credits, implying that he may yet return. This does not occur in the original or Director's Cut of the movie.
Appearance
The Lord of the Darkness could change his form, however he was always was huge. When he first appears he has dark blue skin, long, sharp, glowing leather claws, two enormous black horns, sharp teeth, a long, pointed chin, cloven hooves and glowing, yellow-snake like-eyes. In his second appearance, he was a hooded figure, hovering in the air, wearing long, flowing, ragged robes, his face invisible. His final form is the same as his first but with blood-red skin. In this form he wore a black cape along with black trousers made from fur and leather. In promotional images for the film, he is often shown holding a staff however he never displays this in the film.
Powers and Abilities
In addition to his considerable physical strength, the Lord of Darkness can shoot fireballs out of his fingertips and create illusions. At one point in the film, he enters the room by stepping through a mirror, leaving it intact, suggesting that he has teleportation abilities and can manipulate matter. He is a formidable sword fighter and is capable of charming or intimidating people into doing what he wants, making him a master of psychological manipulation, alluded to by his statement that he can influence people through dreams which he claims to be his "speciality". The Lord of Darkness also has shape-shifting abilities, assuming three different yet similar forms over the course of the film. In one of his forms, he shows the ability to fly.
Personality
The Lord of Darkness is pure evil yet charismatic and charming. He shows a strangely human side in his attraction to Princess Lilly. He is captivated by her purity and innocence which stand in stark contrast to his own dark soul yet he is also greatly amused by the idea of corrupting her innocence. A sadist, he seems almost aroused by the prospect of watching Lilly sacrifice the unicorn. Although Darkness believes himself to be in love with Lilly, in all likelihood, he merely lusts after her. Nevertheless, he offers her his heart and states that he wishes to spend eternity with her. Darkness's true passionate nature is alluded to by the terrifying rages that he will fly into whenever he is defied or thwarted, though he usually conducts himself with an aura of amused indifference and cold calculation. He presents Lilly with a magnificent, if somewhat disturbing feast of fine food and wine and gives her beautiful jewelry along with a magnificent gown, showing a cultured and sophisticated side to his personality. Like most archetypal villains, his pride and arrogance lead to his downfall. He is contemptuous of most people and things, describing goodness as "disgusting", referring to Jack as a "little boy" and holding his minions in disdain. When Lilly flatters his ego, pretending to be charmed by him and offering to kill the unicorn, he readily believes her.
