Editing The Darkness

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|tab1 = Overview
|tab2 = Synopsis
|tab3 = Abilities and Weaknesses
|tab4 = [[Killed by The Darkness|Major Kills]]}}
{{RecurringCharacters
|name = The Darkness
|image = <tabber>
|-|
Human vessel=[[File:The Darkness 1515322.png|250px]]
|-|
Real form=[[File:Darkness rolling.gif|250px]]
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|season = [[Season 10|10]]-[[Season 11|11]], [[Season 15|15]]
|category = [[Primordial Entities|Primordial Entity]]
|family = [[God]] {{c|twin brother}}<br>[[Mike Schneider]] {{c|biological father of Amara}} †<br>Janie Schneider {{c|biological mother of Amara}} †<br>Amara Schneider {{c|vessel}}<br>[[Archangels]] {{c|nephews}}<br>[[Angels]] {{c|nieces and nephews}}<br>[[Jane]] {{c|grandniece}} †<br>[[Jack Kline (Nephilim)|Jack]] {{c|grandnephew}} <br>[[Queen of Sheba]] {{c|grandniece}} †
|status = Alive {{c|In [[Jack Kline (Nephilim)|Jack]]'s body}}
|affiliation = [[God]]<br>[[Lucifer]] {{c|formerly}}<br>[[Dean]]<br> {{c|formerly}} <br>[[Crowley]] {{c|formerly}}<br>[[Rowena]] {{c|formerly}} <br> [[Jack Kline (Nephilim)|Jack]]
|actor = [[Emily Swallow]] {{c|adult}}<br>[[Gracyn Shinyei]] {{c|child}}<br>[[Yasmeene Ball]] {{c|preteen}}<br>[[Samantha Isler]] {{c|teenager}}
|Title/Alias = Yin<br>Dark<br>Nothingness<br>Destruction<br>Amara<br>[[God (Title)|Goddess]] {{c|by [[Sydney]]}}<br>Aunty Amara {{c|by [[Lucifer]]}}<br>Giant crazy fart {{c|by [[Sam]] and [[Dean]]}}<br> Alpha and Omega
|occupation=}}
{{Quote
|Balance…something we've never tried before…creation and destruction, light and dark, brother and sister united again, but on behalf of one world-- this [[Earth|world]]. True balance. The way it was always meant to be.|Amara to [[God]] suggesting they merge for the first time.|''[[Unity]]''}}
'''The Darkness''', often called by her other name '''Amara''', is a supremely powerful [[Primordial Entities|primordial entity]] who has existed since the beginning of time alongside her brother, [[God]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg3W2bqpZSE/ ''Supernatural Season 11 - Jeremy Carver Interview'' - Youtube]</ref><ref name="Gimme Shelter">''[[Gimme Shelter]]''</ref>  and is likely the only being more powerful than him, Sometime later, her brother God created the [[Archangels]] to fight a terrible [[First War against the Darkness|war]] against her. since she was too strong for him to kill God sealed Amara away with the help of the Archangels by using the [[Mark of Cain]] as both a lock and key.<ref name="Brothers Keeper">''[[Brother's Keeper]]''</ref><ref name="Our Little World">''[[Our Little World]]''</ref> God revealed that he couldn't kill her even in her weakened state and she needed to exist with himself so reality would not be destroyed.<ref name="We Happy Few">''[[We Happy Few]]''</ref> Whilst the Archangels battled her and thus knew of her existence, she is so ancient and mysterious that the [[Demons]] and even the [[Angels]], did not believe she existed. However, [[Metatron]] knew about her and who she was, as he was God's scribe. Both [[Heaven]] and [[Hell]] thought it to be a "myth" or "scary bedtime story", told to keep others in line.<ref name="ReferenceA">''[[Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire]]''</ref>

When [[Rowena]] used [[Mark of Cain Removal Spell|a spell]] from the [[Book of the Damned (object)|Book of the Damned]] in order to free [[Dean]] of the Mark (which he gained from [[Cain]] to kill [[Abaddon]] and had been bearing it since), the Darkness was unleashed once again.<ref name="Brothers Keeper" /> While on Earth, The Darkness has taken the body of a female baby, Amara. Since regaining her power by consuming human and demonic souls, and, in one case, an angel's grace, she matured and grew into a young woman in just a few months. As a young woman, she developed a romantic attraction to Dean.

With Dean's help, the Darkness reconciled with her brother and departed the Earth with him, but not before leaving Dean [[Mary Winchester|a thank you present]].

Over two years later, the Darkness returned to Earth and was visited by her brother. She sensed that he was wounded and weakened, but she ultimately refused to help him, effectively leaving God trapped on Earth. Upon being approached by the Winchesters, she initially refused to take their side against her brother but changed her mind to protect God's creation. After learning that Dean betrayed her, the heartbroken Amara allowed God to absorb her in order to merge again, although she is not completely gone as Chuck told the Winchesters that Amara is still alive inside of him somewhere.

After Jack absorbs Chuck's power and becomes the new God, he states that he and Amara exist in harmony now.
==Personality==
[[File:AmaraII.jpg|thumb|275px|Amara]]

{{Quote|I spent millions of years crammed into [[Mark of Cain|that cage]], alone and afraid, wishing - begging - for death, because of [[God|you]]! (...) I'd die a million times! Murder you a million more before going back there! Tell me, if you won't change, why should I?!|Amara|''[[We Happy Few]]''}}
{{Quote|Now, you might be a -- an all-powerful being... but I think you're human where it counts.|[[Dean]] to Amara|''[[Alpha and Omega]]''}}

Due to her imprisonment, Amara had no knowledge or understanding of how [[God]]'s [[The Universe|universe]] worked. However, after feeding on various souls and studying important points in human history, she finally came to the conclusion that her brother had "screwed up" when he made the world, saying that [[Heaven]], [[Hell]], good, evil, and even [[humans|people]] seemed unimportant. When she was first released, she intended to remake the world as she saw fit: a world where nobody had to suffer, and instead lived blissfully for eternity. However, she also wanted to destroy everything that her brother had created to make him suffer.

In her younger forms, she was very impatient and easily became upset if she wasn't given what she wanted immediately, due to [[Crowley]] giving her whatever she wanted whenever she wanted it. As an adult, she said she deserved to have - and be - everything. As she was the beginning, so too would she be the end.

Both Lucifer and Amara alluded to their long-term plans, but with different connotations. Lucifer stated that, unlike God, whom he describes as "a master strategist," Amara is prone to tantrums and baldness of experience.

From the moment of her release, Amara became infatuated by [[Dean]], as he'd been the one to release her (from her point of view). She said it was destiny that she had been released, and that they would one day become one. When they met for the first time since Amara "grew up" and became an adult, she kissed him passionately, saying it was "the future" and the inevitable result of their first meeting. Chuck later confirmed that her attraction to Dean was real and not a result of Chuck's writing and manipulation.

[[File:AmaraHealsGod.gif|thumb|275px|Amara heals her brother.]]Eventually, it turns out that Amara was only interested in Dean because she did not want to be alone after taking revenge on God. She has even stated that she has loved God more than he could ever imagine. After getting her revenge, Amara began to lament her actions as, despite everything God did to her, she still loved her brother.

As God and his creation began to die, Amara really began to see beauty at all and admitted that along with the real reason for her actions: jealousy. Amara had been jealous of God for needing something else; something that was not her, but after he created life and made her consumed by rage. After releasing the jealousy and anger, Amara finally had what she really wanted all the time: her brother back what made her happy.

Despite her beliefs, Amara showed the ability to admit that she is wrong and to make amends as she did with God. It seemed she had built her vengeance so much that Amara never considered what would happen when she succeeded. After being confronted with the reality of what she did, she understood her mistake. She is also very grateful and resurrects [[Mary Winchester]] as a gift to Dean for helping her.

When God returns three years after the end of the war with Amara, he tells the Winchesters and Castiel that he and Amara have had a nice time reconnecting as a family. Amara has apparently developed a taste for playing keno now, showing that she has gained an enjoyment for at least some human things.

It's later revealed that although the two have grown closer, Amara remains annoyed with her brother and his refusal to change and has been taking some time away from God. She states that while she has accepted them existing together, she no longer wants to be in the same place as him and sees her brother as the same petulant, narcissistic being he always was while she has changed and adapted into the "better me". However, Amara still retains something of a grudge against God as seen with her taking pleasure in the fact that she is trapping him in much the same way as he once did to her.<ref name="Raising Hell">''[[Raising Hell]]''</ref>

Upon meeting her great-nephew Jack, Amara expressed remorse for not getting to know him better which she admits is her own fault and expresses a hope that they will have a chance later. Having greatly changed, Amara states that she is on neither Chuck or the Winchesters' side but that she simply wants to defend the Main Universe as she cares about it. Amara encourages Chuck to slow down and just enjoy his creation. Unlike before, Amara loves her brother's creation deeply and defends it against Chuck's arguments that it was all a failure.<ref name="Unity">''[[Unity]]''</ref>

==Characteristics==
{{Quote|I am being. She's nothingness.|[[God]]|''[[Don't Call Me Shurley]]''}}
The Darkness and [[God]] were the beginning of everything; prior to them nothing else existed.<ref name="Gimme Shelter">''[[Gimme Shelter]]''</ref> While walking among God's [[creation]], she took the form of an adult human woman, but her true form looks like a dark cloud that corrupts living beings when they come in contact with it.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> [[Death]] described her as an ancient and horribly destructive amoral force while God, her twin brother, described her as "nothingness".<ref name="Brothers Keeper" /><ref name="Don't Call Me Shurley">''[[Don't Call Me Shurley]]''</ref>

She is one of the two fundamental components of reality itself, the other being her brother God. If one of them is destroyed, reality ceases to exist.<ref name="We Happy Few" /><ref name="Alpha and Omega">''[[Alpha and Omega]]''</ref>

It is also implied that she would never change her nature; God himself tried to convince her that their creations could end up to be greater than themselves, but Amara always dismissed him and destroyed any world he created. Amara said that she only wanted solitude, whereas God wanted a "fan club", and Lucifer said she wanted nothingness. Even after being imprisoned since the dawn of time, she continued to wreak havoc upon the world as soon as she was unleashed and intended to annihilate all of existence in order to recreate the world the way she wants.<ref name="O Brother, Where Art Thou?">''[[O Brother, Where Art Thou?]]''</ref><ref name="Don't Call Me Shurley" />

However, despite wreaking havoc, Amara did show that she could see the beauty in the world, and willingly healed her brother to prevent the universe from being destroyed.

==Appearance==
In her human form/vessel, Amara had dark brown hair and fair skin. Her outfit gradually changed from pink to dark pink to red and then finally to black as she grew older.

As an adult, she kept her hair long and loose and wore a black dress with a v-neck. She wore black shoes and had noticeably black nails. In terms of height, she was shorter than Dean and the same height as God's human form.

After departing the Earth to reconcile with God, Amara began wearing more casual attire with a ponytail. When preparing to leave Chuck, she dons a suit with a yellow blazer, sunglasses, and her hair long and loose as she previously had it.

==Appearances ==
*[[Season 10]]
**''[[Brother's Keeper ]]''{{c|original form only}}
*[[Season 11]]
**''[[Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire]]''
**''[[Form and Void]]''
**''[[The Bad Seed]]''
**''[[Baby]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Thin Lizzie]]''
**''[[Our Little World]]''
**''[[Plush]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Just My Imagination]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[O Brother, Where Art Thou?]]''
**''[[The Devil in the Details]]''
**''[[Into the Mystic]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Don't You Forget About Me]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Love Hurts]]'' {{c|form taken by [[Sonja's Qareen|a]] [[Qareen]] and mentioned}}
**''[[The Vessel]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Beyond the Mat]]'' {{C|mentioned only}}
**''[[Red Meat]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Hell's Angel]]'' {{c|Human form and True form}}
**''[[The Chitters]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Don't Call Me Shurley]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[All in the Family]]''
**''[[We Happy Few]]''
**''[[Alpha and Omega]]''
*[[Season 12]]
**''[[Keep Calm and Carry On]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Rock Never Dies]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
*[[Season 13]]
**''[[The Rising Son]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[The Big Empty]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Various & Sundry Villains]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Good Intentions]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
*[[Season 14]]  
**''[[Lebanon]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Peace of Mind]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Absence]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Moriah]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
*[[Season 15]]
**''[[Raising Hell]]''
**''[[Atomic Monsters]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Last Call]]'' {{c|flashback only}}
**''[[Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven]]'' {{c|mentioned and flashback only}}
**''[[Galaxy Brain]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Destiny's Child]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Last Holiday]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Gimme Shelter]]''
**''[[Drag Me Away (From You)]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Unity]]''
**''[[Despair]]'' {{c|mentioned only}}
**''[[Inherit the Earth]]'' {{c|mentioned and flashback only}}
*''[[Supernatural: The Men of Letters Bestiary: Winchester Family Edition]]'' {{c|non-canon, mentioned only}}


==Trivia==
*Amara is the [[Big Bad|main antagonist]] of [[Season 11]].
*Other religions have similar concepts. 
**The terrible battle between God and the Darkness bears some similarities with the first day of creation in Genesis (God separated the darkness from the light).
**Erebus and Nyx/Nox in Greco-Roman Mythology, Erebus being the male primordial embodiment of darkness, and Nyx/Nox being the female primordial embodiment of night/darkness.
**The Darkness by far is most similar to Angra Mainyu, the brother of Ahura Mazda from Zoroastrianism. He is considered the opposite of Ahura Mazda and represents elemental darkness and evil.
*Amara's birth in the body of a human baby after she entered the world, and subsequent aging and maturing, closely mirrors the concept of God's birth on Earth as Jesus Christ in Christian mythology; thus, Amara can be thought of as the Darkness's messiah. Unlike Jesus, she sped up her aging rapidly by absorbing souls and she was not (to what we know) immaculately conceived.
*The name Amara occurs in many cultures and is ascribed a variety of meanings: "unfading" (Greek), "immortal" (Sanskrit) and "bitter" (Latin). In Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia, the word amara(h) means "anger" or "run amok". In Ethiopian legends, Amara is the name for paradise.
*The Darkness's release was felt by both [[Michael]] and [[Lucifer]] from within [[the Cage]], marking the first time since their imprisonment that both archangels have attempted to communicate with the outside world.
*Since she was sealed by and bound to the Mark of Cain, she is the true source of [[The First Blade]]'s power.
*The Darkness is the fifth entity that was sealed away and later unleashed, the first being a huge number of demons, the second being Lucifer himself, third being Death and the fourth being the Leviathans.
*Like previous major antagonists ([[Lucifer]] and [[Leviathans]]), The Darkness was sealed by God and released as either an unknown or unintended consequence by the series protagonists (Dean, Sam and Castiel) in their efforts to beat other antagonists or solve a major problem at the time, such as [[Lilith]], [[Raphael]], and The Mark of Cain.
*After [[Famine]] and [[Crocotta]], The Darkness is the third being in the series to consume or absorb human souls and [[demons]] for nourishment. However, unlike them, her consumption of souls is also her effort to make individuals that she likes a part of her and assimilate their traits into herself, rather than simple nourishment.
**In addition to [[soul]]s, she also consumes angelic essence and grace, including their very being and memories, which makes her the first entity to feed on humans, [[demons]] and [[angels]].
* Her release set off alarms in [[Heaven]] and [[Hell]] that, according to [[angels]] and [[demons]], hadn't gone off in "ever".
*[[Monsters]] also became aware of the Darkness' existence, and that it was coming. Some were building armies to make a stand and buy more time to survive.
*The Darkness shares a lot of similarities with the Great Darkness from ''Hellblazer''/''Constantine'', which was a major inspiration for [[Eric Kripke|Kripke]] and ''[[Supernatural]]''. They are named similarly and both existed before God created light and was released as a form of an engulfing blanket of thick smoke. The way in which Amara was finally "defeated" is also very similar to the way the Great Darkness was "defeated".
**The Darkness shares similarities with the First Evil from the series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', as both existed before the Universe, both can't be killed, both will exist even after the Universe ends, and are both considered the first destructive force to exist.
*Being God's sister and only kin makes her his only direct relative, unlike all other beings in the series that are only indirectly related to him, due to being his creations.
* God and the Darkness are often described in polar terms. The Darkness has described God as the "light" and herself as the "dark". However, the difference between them is later described in more abstract terms. Whereas God is "being", the Darkness is "nothingness." Lucifer remarks that he does not believe that the Darkness can create, only destroy. This dichotomy alludes to Jean-Paul Sartre's work ''L'Être et le néant'' (lit.: "Being and Nothingness"). God later confirms this, adding that dire consequences would result if the balance was upset by one of their deaths.
*The Darkness is one of the few Supernatural main antagonists not to be killed or destroyed at the end of her story arc. She is also the only main antagonist to not be defeated.
*The Darkness is the third Big Bad to realign themselves with good during Season 11, the other two being [[Metatron]] and [[Rowena]].
*God's relationship to [[Amara]] is similar to the Chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang, or the belief of contradictory forces being complimentary and interdependent, balancing each other out (such as light and dark, or life and death). Their similarities are furthered in ''[[Alpha and Omega]]'', as God and the Darkness are shown circling each other in their respective white and black smoke forms, seemingly referencing the symbol for Yin and Yang. This also supported by the fact Yang is supported as male or masculine and Yin being female or feminine.
* The [[Mark of Cain Removal Spell|spell]] to remove the Mark of Cain, and therefore the spell to release Amara, was found in the Book of the Damned. The book was written by [[Agnes (Book of the Damned)|Agnes]], after seeing "visions of darkness". It is unknown if the darkness pertained specifically to Amara, or the general dark nature of curses.
**It is unknown what would happen if somebody used the [[Mark of Cain Removal Spell]] on her if she is already released from her prison.
*The Shadow claimed The Empty existed before The Darkness or God and that the latter has no power there. It is unknown at this time if The Shadow is also that old or what his relationship to Amara is. However, this was later proven to be a lie and that many beings can revive someone from the Empty such as Death or God.
*The only thing confirmed to predate the Darkness is [[The Empty]].
*Amara has confirmed that she is not older than God but that they are actually twins. They came into being together and it was their separation that created existence in the first place. Their separation is both the Big Bang and the war in which God locked her away.
**Despite this, in ''[[O Brother, Where Art Thou?]]'', Amara declares that she was “the beginning”, and in ''[[Raising Hell]]'', God still seemed to consider Amara his "big sis", possibly because she is more powerful, or because, much like with naturally-born twins, she is simply the older twin, even if by a fraction of a second.
*Amara alluded to being one Cosmic Force when she and God came into existence together. She later would return to being one with Chuck and later fused with Jack when he absorbed God's powers. After joining with Jack he said that Amara and him were now in harmony.
* Despite being called the greatest evil in the Universe by Lucifer, the infamously evil being known as the Devil, she has shown more willingness to reform and change her ways of destruction and pettiness other Cosmic Being such as the Archangels (excluding possibly Gabriel) or even God.

==Quotes ==
{{Quote|No, God was the Light. I’m the Dark.|The Darkness|''[[O Brother, Where Art Thou?]]''}}
{{Quote|Y’know, yin and yang. Dark and light.|[[God]]|''[[We Happy Few]]''}}
{{Quote|There’s a harmony, a balance, in the universe. Light needs dark. Dark needs light.|[[God]]|''[[We Happy Few]]''}}
{{Quote|I mean, look. Y-You've got darkness and light.|[[God]]|''[[Alpha and Omega]]''}}
{{Quote|We are family. You're the darkness. I'm the light.|[[God]]|''[[Raising Hell]]''}}
{{Quote|Yes, yin, yang, balance of nature.|The Darkness|''[[Raising Hell]]''}}
{{Quote|We came into existence together. We are the same. (...) Chuck and I, we're twins. Creation and destruction, light and dark, balance. And when we split apart, all this was created.|The Darkness|''[[Gimme Shelter‎‎]]''}}
{{Quote|Balance-- something we've never tried before-- creation and destruction, light and dark, brother and sister united again, but on behalf of one world-- this world. True balance. The way it was always meant to be.|The Darkness|''[[Unity‎‎]]''}}

==See also==
*[[God]]
*[[Death]] 
*[[Mark of Cain]] 
*[[God and The Darkness]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[de:Die Finsternis / Amara]] 
[[ru:Амара]]

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[[Category:The Darkness]]
[[Category:Higher Beings]]
[[Category:Revenge Seekers]]
[[Category:Redeemed Characters]]
[[Category:Strongest of Species]]
[[Category:Main Villains]]
[[Category:Recurring Characters]]
[[Category:Characters whose actor played more than one character]]
[[Category:Season 10 characters]]
[[Category:Season 10 Villains]]
[[Category:Season 11 characters]]
[[Category:Season 11 Villains]]
[[Category:Season 15 characters]]
[[Category:Characters played by more than one actor]]