DARK is the criminal organization appearing in the 1970's manga Android Kikaider and its tokusatsu and anime adaptations.
It is led by Professor Gill and specializes in the creation of advanced androids and animal-themed robots called Destructoids, which it utilizes to carry out crimes for Professor Gill.
The organization was called "the death merchant" due to its business of selling robots possessing destructive capabilities to countries currently at war. With one country in possession of a powerful robot, the opposing country has no choice but to purchase one as well.
DARK's ultimate goal is to use the money gained from their sales to fund the creation of the powerful android, Giant Devil, which they will use to control the world.
In Professor Gill's strive for world domination, he sought to create an army of robots and superweapons to oppose the world's governments and armies, capturing scientists to do so. DARK's operations range from taking control of lands and producing secret projects. Most who attempted to find out about DARK were either killed or captured.
The first 13 Destructoids were created with the help of Doctor Komyoji, the creator of the Kikaider brothers, who was unaware of Gill and DARK's true nature at the time.
In all versions of the story, DARK is eventually taken down by Jiro/Kikaider after many battles with the Destructoids and Hakaider.
Later Gill is revived as Gill-Hakaider and forms the Hakaider Squad along with three DARK scientists whose also had their brains placed in cyborg bodies.
List of Destructoids
- Gray Rhino King
- Green Mantis
- Orange Ant
- Blue Buffalo
- Yellow Jaguar
- Black Horse
- Blues Kong
- Carmine Spider
- Red Condor
- Scorpion Brown
- Gold Wolf
- Silver Cat
- Pink Tiger
- Silver Tortoise
- Golden Bat
- Lady Lipstick-Red Jellyfish
- Red Hornet
- Black Chameleon
- Helmet Crab Rouge
- Green Waterbug
- Purple Rat
- White Saw Shark
- I tre fratelli Yellow Antlions
- Peach Armadillo
- Bitter Orange Snail
- Emerald Green Mammoth
- Violet Top Shell
- Red Devil Tigerfish
- Sponge Green
- Madder Red Squid
- Octopus Gold
- Blue Electric Eel
- Devil-Face Crab Red
- Black Porcupine & Young Porcupine
- Black Crow
- Multi-Colored Sand Lizard
- Stag Beetle Blue
- Starfish Purple
- Hakaider
- Angler Brown
- Katydid Gray
- Red Mine Toad
- White Bone Flying Squirrel
Trivia
- DARK has a few similarities with Shocker from Kamen Rider and Black Ghost from Cyborg 009: Both appears in series created by Shotaro Ishinomori. They sell advanced weapons in order to perpetuate the conflicts arounds the world and get more money. They are terrorist organisations whit armies of monsters of the week. They had part in the creation of the heroes.
- in the movie Kikaider Reboot, DARK stands for Defense Advance Research by Komyoji.
