How much does the Dark One know?

[Aidan]

As it becomes clear that the Dark One is the key to defeating the Snarl, I wanted to see how much we know of what the Dark One knows about the Snarl. Such questions include, does the Dark One know about the Eastern God's? Does the Dark One understand why his quiddity makes him unique? And why he is the unique opportunity?

I am assuming that we will be given more info on these questions in upcoming strips, but I wanted to see what we know now.

[Rrmcklin]

I assume he's aware of all of those things, yes. What Thor has said so far doesn't actually make sense if he doesn't.

[factotum]

I disagree there--there's nothing to indicate that the Dark One is aware his purple quiddity makes him special, because if he *did* know, he'd be attempting to use it as a bargaining chip to get better treatment for goblinoids, rather than relying on the Plan as he is.

As for what the Dark One knows about the Snarl, very little, I would say. He knows about as much as Shojo revealed in his scribble, because the scribble section of SoD matches up quite closely with that. He definitely knows the Snarl can kill Gods, because otherwise the threat to release it into the Outer Planes wouldn't have any power.

[Rrmcklin]

I mean, that assumes the Dark One believes they can be bargained with in good-faith, without a threat attached. The circumstances of his life and ascension, and his relations to the other gods as described by Thor does not make me assume he would give them that benefit. Or even that he's wrong to not do so.

Plus, Rat and Tiamat telling him the other stuff but not about quiddities would strike me as out of place. And his cutting ties with Loki makes it sound (at least to me) that he figured that Loki wanted to use him and was unhappy about it.

[Liquor Box]

I think The Dark One knows a lot. The latest comic says that Loki was going to tell TDO the secret of the Snarl, but that he figured it out himself.

The fact that he hasn't negotiated with the gods can be explained many ways. Maybe he predicted (correctly on the basis of panel 4) that the other gods would be unwilling to negotiate. Maybe his natural instinct is to revert to blackmail over negotiation.

[Synesthesy]

I bet that the Dark One has never entered the graveyard of past worlds, so he doesn't know how many world there were before this one.
Second, he doesn't know that his own purple quiddity could be enough to make a deal with the older gods, and surely he doesn't know that Thor would now accept a deal.
Third, he maybe doesn't know the details on how the Snarl was born. Because from what we now know, the Dark One's plan cannot work: when he'll try to blackmail the other gods, the simple discussion of an agreement can cause an argument that will make another 4 colours Snarl.

[martianmister]

More than even Thor could expect.
Because he is the snarl.

[Gift Jeraff]

Such questions include, does the Dark One know about the Eastern God's?

Yes, because in SoD Redcloak tells Xykon the Snarl killed several gods he would've never heard about.