Big Barda Redesign

As many of you know, I've been redesigning the DC Universe as part of a project displaying my own head canon versions of these characters. Just last week I asked you all for input in terms of who you wanted to see done next in the series. I received a few responses and one of them was from Celestialhost, who requested that I do Big Barda. Since I'd actually already drafted her design, I fast-tracked it and finished it up to post it.

Now, if you haven't gotten in your requests and suggestions yet, I encourage you to head on over to this blog entry for the guidelines - femmes-fatales.deviantart.com/…. I'm taking your suggestions into serious account and will be drawing the characters that are requested the most. Get your opinion heard by leaving your top five in the journal linked in this paragraph. Now onto Barda!

Once the prized general in Darkseid's army, the titaness known as Big Barda abandoned her post in order to lead a rebellion against the despotic God. Alongside her husband Scott Free, Barda has worked tirelessly to sabotage Darkseid's regime and is dedicated to righting the wrongs she committed when in his employ. She recently teamed up with Captain Marvel and the rest of the Justice Society (*see those redesigns for more info on that team!) to rescue his sister Mary Batson from Granny Goodness' influence. True to her warrior nature, Barda is a tough woman who has become embittered due to the horrors she has seen around her. Nevertheless, she remains hopeful that someday she can settle down into domestic bliss after overthrowing Darkseid.

Design-wise, Big Barda was extremely difficult to design for. This is a woman who has two iconic looks, which means that it's hard to gauge her style. I looked at alternate versions of the character, such as in the Ame-Comi universe, in order to help with this look. In the end, I wanted to go for something much simpler and more elegant than what she typically wears. I was also inspired by Xena (whose influence also seeped into my head canon narrative for Barda) and Wonder Woman. The biggest difference here is that her chest is slightly exposed and she's not wearing that weird Egyptian-looking helmet. I wanted to play around with her image, in trying to make her seem tough but also very feminine. The thing about Barda is that she toys with the concept of femininity and masculinity. That meant giving her bulging muscles, but also showing that she's not above flaunting her physique. I hope you guys like it!

As always, feel free to leave a thoughtful comment below letting me know what you think!

Enjoy!