An obscure villain from a bygone era, Eclipso reared his two - toned face in a new crossover that would establish him as one of the greatest threats to the DC Universe. Told in two 56 page self titled specials written by Keith Giffen and Robert Loren Fleming and illustrated by Bart Sears, Eclipso told the tale of a cruel Lord of Chaos, freed from his prison inside the body of adventurer Bruce Gordon.

In Eclipso's debut special (with a plastic black diamond affixed to the cover of the direct market edition), the master of darkness could take possession of anyone that held black diamond shards while in a state of anger. Using this power, Eclipso amassed an army of the most powerful protectors of Earth, starting with the star-faring hero Valor and the unstable creature of the night known as the Creeper. As the special bled into summer annuals, roles were reversed and heroes became villains due to the accessibility of the black diamonds. The plague was put to an end when Vril Dox of the L.E.G.I.O.N. and a host of heroes stormed Eclipso's palace. There they fought off their possessed former friends until Starman valiantly sacrificed his life to end Eclipso's reign of terror.