The Light

The Light's History

The Light is, in its current incarnation, a council comprised of self-proclaimed enlightened members whose primary goal is to precipitate mankind's next evolutionary step, thus placing it on the center stage of the cosmos. The first version of the Light was formed in the second millennium BCE by Vandal Savage and Ishtar.

Early history

The origin of the group dates back to the second millennium BCE, when Vandal Savage, who was then known as the Babylonian demigod hero Marduk, and his daughter Ishtar saved their city from an invader. For their heroic feet in leading their people through their darkest hour, the duo became henceforth known as "The Light". Over the following centuries, the group came and went as needed.

The most recent iteration of the group was founded somewhere between 2006 and 2007, after the Justice League was publicly announced, to counteract the latter's role in preserving society's "calcified status quo". According to Savage, the League inhibited mankind by protecting it from disaster, crime, and tragedy—factors needed for humanity to evolve. After a conversation with Ra's al Ghul, Savage extended invitations to Ra's, Lex Luthor, Queen Bee, Ocean-Master, Brain, and Klarion, thus securing clout on different spheres of influence (the underworld, business, politics, the sea, science, and magic, respectively).

The Light created or co-opted networks of operatives, placed key individuals in key positions, and explored the boundaries of all new technology. Genetic engineering, biochemical engineering, robotics, nano-robotics, techno-sorcery, and all conceivable methods of mind control were all explored by the Light in its quest to accelerate human evolution. A resurgent Earth "taking its rightful place at the center of the cosmos" appears to be the Light's ultimate goal.

The Light used to communicate with their operatives through separate screens obscured by bright white light in order to conceal their identities.

The identities of the leaders were known only to a very select group of individuals that worked with them. They maintained their individual bases, as well as a central headquarters in Khüiten Peak.

2010

The Light has masterminded several key events, including:

• The capture of Speedy, and deploying a clone as a sleeper agent to infiltrate the Justice League.
  
• Creating genomorphs at Cadmus, including Match and Superboy.
  
• Staging four simultaneous attacks by ice-themed villains, and arranging to bring all of them to Belle Reve, with the intention of using their combined abilities to break all the prisoners out.
  
• The League of Shadows' assassination of CEO Selena Gonzalez.
  
• Kobra's takeover of Santa Prisca, and the synthesis of Kobra-Venom.
  
• The League of Shadows' kidnapping of Dr. Serling Roquette and subsequent use of the Fog to steal information from STAR Labs and Wayne Tech.
  
• Klarion's attempt to steal the Helmet of Fate.
  
• The retrieval of an echinoderm from Poseidonis, and after it was moved to the surface world, its theft from STAR Labs.
  
• Psimon's study of an extraterrestrial Sphere in Bialya and later his attempt to kidnap and hypnotize Superboy.
  
• Lex Luthor and Ra's al Ghul's ploy to reunite North and South Rhelasia as a single country with LexCorp as a major investor, essentially placing the country under the control of the Light.
  
• Breaking Riddler out of Belle Reve Penitentiary, and allowing Hugo Strange to become warden.
  
• The Brain's experimentation on Kobra-Venom using animals in northern India and Bwunda as test subjects.
  
• The Injustice League's appearance and global attack, used partially to test Kobra-Venom-enhanced plants and partially as a means to misdirect the heroes away from the Light's true members so that they could continue to operate in secret.
  
• Delaying an essential operation on Queen Perdita (the reigning monarch of Vlatava) with the use of five snow fortresses covering the continental United States, as well as deploying Vandal Savage to delay Kid Flash, as a favor to Count Vertigo and as a means to get Vlatava under the Light's control through him.
  
• Putting the entire Justice League under their mind control.
  
• Raiding Cadmus to secure Match and Speedy.
  

2011-2015

• Ousting Ocean-Master after he was disgraced.
  
• Awakening Tiamat in a failed attempt to obtain the Tablet of Destiny.
  
• Forming an alliance with the Kroloteans.
  
• Forming an alliance with the Reach.
  
• Facilitating the murder of scientist and previous Blue Beetle, Ted Kord in a failed attmept to obtain the Scarab.
  

2016

• Assembling their Krolotean partners in Malina Island, in order to destroy them with one fell swoop.
  
• Replacing the disgraced Ocean-Master with Black Manta.
  
• Abducting humans for their new partner.
  
• Destroying an Earth-Mars communication satellite, in part as a test of loyalty for Aqualad.
  
• Sending agents to infiltrate Mount Justice, and spirit away Blue Beetle.
  
• Replacing Sportsmaster with Deathstroke.
  
• Pulling strings to ensure four meta-powered teenagers would not fall into the clutches of the Reach
  
• Secretly forcing the revelation of the Reach's hidden fleet by goading an alien warlord to destroy the Earth
  
• Using the media to manipulate public opinion against the Reach
  
• Empowering teenage operatives to liberate Reach captives, to allow their enforcer to spirit away the Warworld's crystal key,
  
• Allowing the Reach's enemies to use Light-controlled territory to cleanse the Reach's agents, in order to weaken them further
  
• Despite publicly partnering with the Reach to distribute a drink laced with an additive designed to render humans subservient in a few generations, secretly adding a neutralizing agent to prevent the same.
  
• Orchestrating a summit designed to lure the Reach's head of security from his post.
  
• Creating a virus designed to crash Reach technology.
  

The Light's plans were thrown into disarray following Aqualad's successful deep-cover infiltration:

• Aqualad revealed to the Reach that the Light had arranged to bring Earth to their attention, was using them for their own ends and was responsible for their recent set-backs. This resulted in the immediate dissolution of the Light's partnership with the Reach.
  
• Following the revelation and subsequent battle with the Team, the Light was splintered into several factions:
  
[list]

• Key members and operatives, including the Brain, Black Manta, Monsieur Mallah, and Deathstroke were captured.
  
• Ra's al Ghul was mortally wounded in the fracas; although he would be resurrected, it would take time before he could once again return to the forefront.
  
• Lex Luthor and Queen Bee were largely unaffected, with Luthor even earning accolades for helping the heroes of Earth save it from certain destruction.
  
• Vandal Savage and Klarion escaped to the Warworld and left Earth for Rimbor, and subsequently, Apokolips. Savage's confidence, however, left no doubt that the Light remained resilient, and though weakened, will continue to play a part in events.
  

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2018

• Sending Lady Shiva's daughter to kill Joker.
  
• Replacing Ra's al Ghul, Brain, and Black Manta with Deathstroke, Ultra-Humanite, and Gretchen Goode.
  
• Making Lady Shiva the Light's new enforcer.
  
• Creating meta-human trafficking rings in order to supply the Light and Apokolips with an army of meta-teens which are transported to the Orphanage for safe-keeping.
  
• Lex Luther using his position as UN secretary-general in order to put restrictions on the Justice League and turn public opinion against them.
  
• Supply meta-teens to alien agents of Apokolips in order to cause turmoil across planets like Rann, New Genesis and Thanagar.
  
• Saving the Earth from a Starro invasion using the Warworld.
  
• Hiring Lobo to kill Forager to find out about Nightwing's team.
  
• Having Lady Shivia kill Ocean-Master to stop him from using the nuclear option; killing the Justice League's families.
  
• Using Terra as a spy to gather intel on Nightwing's team, the Team and the Outsiders.
  
• Sending Onslaught to capture meta-teens from the Meta-Human Youth Center.
  
• Klarion conducting Project Rutabaga.
  
• The League of Shadows orchestrating a B.I.F. attack in Bwunda in order to make the Outsiders look bad.
  

2019

[*]Having Ultra-Humanite capture Halo with help from Helga Jace.
[*]Giving Terra an antidote chip so she and Geo-Force could break free from Helga's control chips and be kept exactly where they want them.
[*]Creating Infinity, Inc. to become more popular than the Outsiders.
[*]Giving the Team coordinates to the Orphanage to stop Granny Goodness from using the Anti-Life Equation.
[*]Breaking Baron Bedlam out of jail in order to take over Markovia.
[*]Ordering Terra to kill Beast Boy on live TV in order to generate a mandate for meta registration laws, thus declaring the [*]Justice League outlaws and supplying the Light with meta-humans under their control.
[*]Terra did not go through with the plan, but in the fallout Brion Markov turned against the Outsiders and usurped the throne. Brion was under the influence of Zviad Baazovi.
[*]Luthor was unable to follow through with meta-human registration after his involvement in meta-trafficking was exposed and he was forced to reisgn as UN secretary general.
[*]Replacing Gretchen Goode with Zviad Baazovi.

2020

[*]Having King Brion invite meta-humans into Markovia.
[*]Ultra-Humanite and Helga Jace creating new meta-humans with Tar in Markovia with voluntary subjects.
[*]Having Cassandra Savage pretend to defect from the League of Shadows in order to steal information from the Justice League's computer system.
[*]Vandal Savage personally asking his son Doctor Fate to help save Earth from the dispute between Klarion and Child.

• Savage evacuating all members and agents of the Light onto the Warworld and safe guard Earth's history as a precaution in the potential fallout between Klarion and Child.
  
• Savage personally petitioning the Lords of Chaos to withdraw their support of Child.