Anti-Life Equation

The Anti-Life Equation is a fictional concept appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. In Jack Kirby's Fourth World setting, the Anti-Life Equation is a formula for total control over the minds of sentient beings that is sought by Darkseid, who, for this reason, sends his forces to Earth, as he believes part of the equation exists in the subconsciousness of humanity.[1] Various comics have defined the equation in different ways, but a common interpretation is that the equation may be seen as a mathematical proof of the futility of living, or of life as incarceration of spirit, per predominant religious and modern cultural suppositions.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

  1. ^ Sacks, Jason; Dallas, Keith (2014). American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1970s. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 40. ISBN 978-1605490564.
  2. ^ Misselhorn, John (2017). "Love of Anti?-Life". Jack Kirby Collector (71). TwoMorrows Publishing: 26–30. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  3. ^ Owen, Phil; Lincoln, Ross A. (March 18, 2021). "'Zack Snyder's Justice League': What You Need to Know About the Anti-Life Equation: The Snyder Cut added a crazy new wrinkle to the DC movieverse". The Wrap. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  4. ^ Hogan, Jonathan (2011). "Mythic Representation, Audience Interpretation, and the Anti-life Equation: Mythology and Symbolic Interactionism in Jack Kirby's "New Gods"". N.p.: Syracuse University. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  5. ^ Baisden, Gregory Scott (2011). Recombinant Mythology as Answer to the Anti-life Equation. United States: Pacifica Graduate Institute. ISBN 9781303299858.
  6. ^ Wein, Len; Leigh, Rob (2009). Final Crisis: Secret Files. United States: DC Comics.
  7. ^ Kirby, Jack (May 26, 2004). The Collected Jack Kirby Collector. United States: TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 87, 89, 94, 95, 191. ISBN 9781893905320.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  8. ^ Scott, Melanie (March 12, 2019). DC Comics Ultimate Character Guide (Ebook) (New ed.). DK Publishing. p. 10. ISBN 9781465486394.
  9. ^ Egan, James (2019). 1000 Facts about Comic Books (Ebook). Vol. 3. N.p.: Lulu.com. p. 113. ISBN 9780244606299.