Who Are Nightwing & Flamebird? Kryptonian Gods Explained

DC Comics are filled with various powerful entities, and it’s inevitable that some of them will be gods, both in title and in powers. While on the pages of the comics, we mostly meet gods with Greco-Roman backgrounds, and some of the most powerful superheroes are descended from them, a few different gods are inhabiting various different planets around the Universe. Just an example of this are Flamebird and Nightwing, a pair of gods hailing from Krypton, which is an elusive place in itself, and this is why we decided to explore them in a bit more detail. So, who are Flamebird and Nightwing & How powerful are they?

Flamebird & Nightwing were a pair of dragon-like gods from Kryptonian mythology that took part in the cycle of creation and destruction. They were brother and sister but eventually fell in love. They are most notable for being reincarnated occasionally. Flamebird and Nightwing’s romance was doomed to fail when Vohc, their third jealous brother, trapped Nightwing in the phantom zone. Currently, Nightwing is manifested as Lor-Zod and Flamebird as Thara Ak-Var.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, it’s time to dive into the Kryptonian pantheon in a bit more detail. If you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading!

Rao created Nightwing and Flamebird

And while Krypton was explored relatively more than any other planet in DC stories, there’s still much we don’t know about the place. We do know, however, that its culture and civilization were highly advanced, and it is to be expected that they will have their own mythologies and gods they worship.
This leads us to their pantheon of gods, which Rao, the chief among gods for Kryptonian is on top of.

Rao was worshiped for a long time, and with Kryptonian leader Jaf-El, he was pronounced the sole and only god of all Krypton. Rao was regarded as the Sun God and an omnipotent being in control of all creation. It manifested in various aspects that are regarded as his children. Thus he created several secondary gods for specific purposes.

He created Vohc, whose task was to basically create various creatures, flora, and fauna in order to populate Krypton with as many creations as possible.

Flamebird was created to destroy Vohc’s creations so that the cycle of life and death can continue, and Vohc has a reason to create even more new creations.

Nightwing was created to hunt and kill primordial evils who lingered in the shadows and were thus inaccessible to Rao because he always walks in the light. Since Nightwing was created to dwell in the shadows, he couldn’t be in the presence of Rao and other gods.

Vohc, Nightwing, and Flamebird maintained balance until they fell in love

The three gods created by Rao had their own purpose and job to do. Vohc created, Flamebird destroyed, and Nightwing kept the world of the living free by hunting terrors in the dark.

But since he was created for dark, he was never able to go among the rest of the gods. Vohc, since he was the builder of everything, eventually met Nightwing in the twilight. The two became friends, and it pained Vohc to see his brother suffering in such loneliness.

He got the idea to bring the eternal light to Nightwing, and so he met him with Flamebird. Vohc never anticipated that Nightwing and Flamebird would fall in love so madly, and it wasn’t a problem, except Vohc was also in love with Flamebird.

At first, the relationship between Flamebird and Nightwing did not bother him. He was happy to ease his brother’s suffering. He was still free to love Flamebird and create tributes for her.

Flamebird destroyed Vohc’s most cherished creation

Vohc loved Flamebird deeply and decided to create the pinnacle of his own creations, a tribute to Flamebird. A dragon similar to her in both powers and looks. Flamebird marveled at her own image, but only shortly.

As she was preparing herself to destroy Vohc’s newest creation, he begged and begged, but it fell on deaf ears Flamebird proceeded to destroy his newest creation, and it broke something with Vohc’s, and he slid further into the madness as time passed by.

Vohc trapped Nightwing in the phantom zone

Crazed by his heartache and jealousy, Vohc continued to create, but there was no joy in it. Flamebird destroyed something he loved, so she will destroy something she loved – Nightwing. He created a crystalline structure containing all the void that his father Rao so abhorred, a complete absence of existence.

When Flamebird visited to see his newest creation, he marveled at the structure but was curious about what it was. Vohc told her that everything would be revealed in time, and Flamebird proceeded to destroy the crystal that contained Nightwing, which Vohc had previously trapped inside it, and with this act, Nightwing was trapped in the phantom zone, becoming a phantom himself.

When Flamebird figured out what happened, she pleaded with Vohc to release Nightwing, but he refused. He told Flamebird that she should love him and not Nightwing. He spent his entire existence building tributes for her, and yet she fell in love with a betrayer of friends.

Vohc agreed to let Nightwing out under one condition only. Flamebird needs to renounce her love for Nightwing. She refused since she couldn’t deny her purpose and her heart.

Vohc, then enraged, renounced her true purpose and proclaimed himself Vohc the breaker instead of Vohc the builder. Hearing about this, Rao renounced Vohc as well, cursing him for his abominable acts.

Flamebird and Nightwing periodically reincarnate

Both Flamebird and Nightwing are destined to search for each other for eternity, and so they periodically reincarnate, and various different heroes over the years have assumed their identities. Nightwing’s latest reincarnation is Lor-Zod, and Flamebird’s latest reincarnation is Thara Ak-Var