Who Are Ava DuVernay's 'New Gods'?

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Orion, Big Barda and Granny Goodness await your attention.
If superhero stories, as many have argued, offer a contemporary mythology, then the Fourth World Saga at the center of New Gods, ups that ante considerably. The DC Entertainment property is getting its highest profile yet, with the news that director Ava DuVernay will be tackling a film adaptation of the project for Warner Bros.

So, who are the New Gods?

Since its creation in the early 1970s, when Jack Kirby abandoned the Marvel Universe to create something altogether new at competitors DC, the Fourth World Saga has endeavored to tell stories on a scope that make even the most cosmic of superhero epics seem unambitious by comparison. Not for nothing did the first issue of 1971’s New Gods open with the gloriously melodramatic narration, “There came a time when the old Gods died!”

Told, initially, across four separate comic book series running in parallel — and then, in subsequent years, through even more revivals, guest shots and graphic novels — the Fourth World Saga is a sprawling storyline with a truly vast cast of characters that would take a long time to fully introduce. In order to get a quick handle on DuVernay’s film project, however, here is a brief primer on some of the primary players.

Orion
The main character of the original New Gods comic book — which was occasionally called Orion of the New Gods during its run — Orion was Luke Skywalker years before George Lucas was telling stories about a galaxy far, far away. The son of arch-villain Darkseid, Orion was raised by Darkseid’s opposite number, Highfather, on the utopian planet of New Genesis, and has struggled to maintain balance between his bestial nature and the love and nurturing he was given as a child. At heart a savage warrior, he possesses a nobility of spirit that allows him to aspire for more than just conquest and violence — which might be good, considering he is also destined to face his father in battle and may, eventually, take over rulership of his father's planet, Apokolips.

Lightray
Orion’s best friend, Lightray is free of the internal struggles that plague the son of Darkseid. Instead, he’s a strident optimist whose devil-may-care attitude can seem at odds with the situations in which he constantly finds himself. But that doesn’t mean that he won’t fight — not only by Orion’s side whenever necessary, but he also will battle Orion’s darker nature when his comrade seems too close to giving in to his worst impulses.

Highfather
The ruler of the planet New Genesis, Highfather is the patriarch of the New Gods as a whole and the adoptive father of Orion. “Highfather” is actually a title for Izaya the Inheritor, the opposite number of Darkseid — his wife’s murder at the hands of Darkseid was one of the inciting incidents that started the war between New Genesis and Apokolips. His own son, Scott, was raised by Darkseid as part of a pact intended to postpone war; Scott went on to become Mister Miracle, a “super escape artist” who ran away to Earth in a failed attempt to avoid the war altogether. More than any other character in the saga, Highfather relies upon the Source, a cosmic force that represents all life, for guidance; the Source literally communicates to Highfather via messages written in flame.

Darkseid

The villain of the piece, Darkseid — pronounced “Dark Side,” as if “The Source” wasn’t enough of a sign that George Lucas took some inspiration from the Fourth World comics — represents a kind of cosmic fascism that seeks, not to put too fine a point on it, the eradication of all independent thought in existence. As much the inspiration for Marvel’s Thanos as he was an inspiration for Darth Vader, Darkseid is more understated and a more accomplished manipulator than either, and perhaps best introduced via the monologue delivered by one of his followers in the 1997 JLA comic book storyline “Rock of Ages”: “Who is beyond good and evil? Who is the prophet of anti-life? Who is the rock and the chain and the lightning? All powerful! All unforgiving! All conquering! Who is your new God now and forever?” Darkseid is.

Metron
Metron is a strange character in Kirby’s original New Gods conception — technically an observer who doesn’t chose sides, he’s been demonstrated to assist both New Genesis and Apokolips at different points of his comic book career. If each of the primary New Gods characters represent higher themes — Orion, man’s dual nature and struggle to transcend animal instincts; Darkseid, the evil in humanity that seeks to dominate and ultimately eradicate independence, and so on — Metron represents dispassionate curiosity and, at times, the dangers of such pursuit. He is assisted in his quest for knowledge by the Mobius Chair, which allows him to travel through space and time, not to mention offering up deus ex machina plot resolutions when writers require them.

Granny Goodness
Darkseid is far from alone on Apokolips, with all manner of minions and related toadies willing to do his bidding, whether it’s the mad scientist DeSaad, the charming but untrustworthy Glorious Godfrey or his monstrous son Kalibak. Perhaps the most interesting, though, is Granny Goodness, who trains orphans to become soldiers in Darkseid’s many armies. Using techniques including brainwashing and torture, she’s responsible for the creation of all kinds of warriors for the cause, whether it’s the nameless Parademons and Dog Soldiers, or the more colorful Female Furies, a group of women with specific skills whose very lives are in service to Darkseid’s whims. A wonderful, surreal fact: Granny Goodness was modeled after comedian Phyllis Diller, according to those close to Kirby.

Big Barda
Barda — Ava DuVernay’s favorite superhero, she revealed on Twitter — was once the leader of the Female Furies, having been raised since childhood by Granny Goodness. She abandoned both Darkseid’s service and Apokolips as a whole after falling in love with Mister Miracle, and instead devoted herself to fighting the nihilism at the heart of her former cause alongside her love, and later, husband. In many ways Orion’s counterpart — she, too, struggles against inner darkness in an attempt to fight for optimism and a better way that isn’t inherently inside her — Barda’s love for Mister Miracle provides an emotional anchor to the vast mythology at the heart of the Fourth World Saga as a whole, and makes her one of the most well-rounded characters in the entire epic. If DuVernay decides to use her as the point-of-view character for the movie, she’ll have chosen well.

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Who Are DC’s New Gods? Ava DuVernay’s Next Sci-Fi Epic, Explained

Despite the diminishing returns of the DC Extended Universe films as a whole, Warner Bros. still has quite an ambitious slate of upcoming superhero projects in the works. From Lobo to Justice League Dark to Booster Gold, it seems as though some of DC’s most unexpected properties are all destined to head to the big screen. Nevertheless, many were taken aback when it was announced that A Wrinkle in Time director Ava DuVernay would helm a film based on arguably one of the most out-there concepts in mainstream comics – the New Gods.

This isn’t just huge news for comic book fans, though. With A Wrinkle in Time, DuVernay broke new ground by becoming the first female person of color to direct a live-action film with a $100 million-plus budget. Now, she’s poised to repeat this landmark achievement at Warner Bros., which – in addition to being the second live-action DC Comics film to be directed by a woman after Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman – is likely to generate interest in The New Gods from non-comics readers, as well.

So, with that in mind, who and what are the New Gods, exactly?


Created in 1971 by the legendary Jack Kirby, the New Gods are beings who evolved to nigh-perfection because of their proximity to the Source – a limitless energy field responsible for all life in the known universe. However, the New Gods themselves actually live in a realm outside of traditional space and time; a realm known as the Fourth World. This realm was separated from the rest of the universe during a war that destroyed the Old Gods and their planet, Urgrund, which also resulted in the formation of the two planets the New Gods inhabit – New Genesis and Apokolips.

Essentially allegories for Heaven and Hell, New Genesis, ruled by the Highfather, is a beautiful and idyllic planet with an abundance of vegetation and wildlife, as well as a floating city called Supertown, while Apokolips, ruled by Darkseid, is a fiery and polluted industrial dystopia. Still, despite the stark contrast in the living conditions of their respective denizens, both New Genesis and Apokolips boast highly advanced technology, far beyond that of Earth.

And Apokolips were formed, the two planets became locked in an eternal war of good versus evil. Eventually, though, a peace treaty of sorts was reached when Highfather and Darkseid agreed to exchange their newborn sons. As such, Highfather’s son Scott Free (the future Mister Miracle) was sent to live on Apokolips, while Darkseid’s son Orion would be sent to New Genesis. However, both would grow up to become heroes in their own right, even serving stints on the Justice League.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s take a deeper dive into the history of some of the more prominent New Gods, themselves.





Who Are DC’s New Gods? Ava DuVernay’s Next Sci-Fi Epic, Explained
3 hours ago
by Jon Arvedon
in CBR Exclusives

Who Are DC’s New Gods? Ava DuVernay’s Next Sci-Fi Epic, Explained

Highfather

Formerly a warrior called Izaya the Inheritor, the New God who would eventually become Highfather developed a hatred for Darkseid when he, Steppenwolf and the warriors of Apokolips ambushed him and murdered his wife Avia. Soon after the attack, an injured Izaya was discovered by a woman named Vayla, who nursed him back to health. Eventually, the two fell in love and had a child.

After killing Steppenwolf in revenge, Izaya encountered the Source, which imbued him with divine wisdom. Taking the name Highfather, he returned to Supertown to share that wisdom with the other New Gods and to try to strike peace between New Genesis and Apokolips. To do this, he and Darkseid exchanged their heirs; Highfather’s son would be raised in Granny Goodness’ orphanage on Apokolips, while Darkseid’s son would be raised by Highfather himself. However, his true motive was to test his own son’s spirit while simultaneously redeeming the son of Darkseid – a task in which he ultimately succeeded.

Darkseid

Darkseid, whose real name is Uxas, was born to the royal family of Apokolips and from an early age, he longed to sit upon the throne. This longing soon grew into an obsession, and when his brother Drax attempted to claim the fabled Omega Force, Uxas murdered him and claimed it for himself. Taking the name Darkseid, he would eventually orchestrate the murder of his mother Heggra, at which time he was finally able to seize the throne of Apokolips.

Darkseid’s primary goal in life is to eliminate the universe’s free will and to reshape it in his image. As such, he became infatuated with the Anti-Life Equation, which can be used to assume full control over the thoughts and emotions of every living being. This often put him in contention with the heroes of Earth – most notably Superman – as Darkseid believed that fragments of the Anti-Life Equation existed within the minds of humans.


Mister Miracle

After being sent to Apokolips by Highfather, Scott Free was raised under the inhumane care of Darkseid’s minion Granny Goodness. As he grew older, he discovered he had an uncanny ability for escaping otherwise impossible traps, as well as an innate desire to rebel against the tyranny of Apokolips. To this end, he began being tutored in secret by an undercover Genesisian named Himon, which is when Scott first met his future wife Big Barda.

Thanks to Himon’s tutelage, Scott, and eventually Barda, were able to escape Apokolips and flee to Earth, where Scott became the protégé of a circus escape artist named Thaddeus Brown. After Brown was killed, Scott adopted the name Mister Miracle himself, and he and Barda – now married – would live a humble life as on-again, off-again heroes.

Orion

The second-born son of Darkseid, Orion spent much of his early life learning to control his inherited Apokoliptian rage, courtesy of not just Highfather but his close friend Lightray. By the time he finally came of age, Orion was a powerful warrior, nicknamed “The Dog of War,” and was completely dedicated to protecting the ideals of New Genesis.

At one point, Orion returned to Apokolips to confront Darkseid about his true heritage. This led to a battle, which Orion ultimately won, thus gaining control of Apokolips. However, this was merely a ploy by Darkseid to gain a better understanding of the Anti-Life Equation by observing Orion’s use of it. Their feud didn’t end there, though, as Darkseid would eventually shoot a Radion bullet back in time to kill Orion, although – because this is comics – Orion wouldn’t stay dead for long.

Big Barda


Born on Apokolips and raised by Granny Goodness, Big Barda was groomed from a very early age to lead a group of elite women warriors known as the Female Furies. However, during a mission, she encountered Scott Free, whom she quickly fell in love with. So much, in fact, that she decided to follow him to Earth when he fled Apokolips, and the pair was eventually married in a ceremony officiated by Highfather on New Genesis.

Barda and Scott tried living a simple married life on Earth, but their humble ambitions were often interrupted by Justice League-related missions. Nevertheless, Barda never hesitated to lend a hand whenever she was called upon.

Steppenwolf

If you happened to see Justice League, then you’re probably already somewhat familiar with Steppenwolf. The uncle of Darkseid, Steppenwolf was placed in command of Apokolips’ military forces during the reign of Heggra and remained in this position once Darkseid seized the throne.

After his death at the hands of Highfather in retaliation for killing his wife, Steppenwolf was resurrected by Darkseid, at which time he resumed his role in leading the Apokoliptian army. In fact, this would end up becoming a common theme, as Steppenwolf suffered several more deaths and resurrections over the years, with the most recent occurrence being in Justice League #42, part two of “The Darkseid War.”


Granny Goodness

Despite her seemingly innocent name, Granny Goodness is anything but good. A former peasant, Goodness rose through the ranks of Darkseid’s elite soldiers known as Hounds, impressing him so much that he placed her in charge of the group’s training facility, which she ironically referred to as an orphanage. There, she would use both torture and brainwashing to turn innocent civilians into ruthless killers willing to fight and die for Darkseid.


While running the orphanage on Apokolips, Goodness was tasked with raising Scott Free. However, he ended up becoming the first one to escape the orphanage, capturing the heart of Goodness’ protégé Big Barda, whom she had been grooming to one day take her place, in the process.

DeSaad

Although he was born on New Genesis, the unnamed youth who would later become DeSaad was corrupted by Darkseid and willingly followed him back to Apokolips. There, he became Darkseid’s loyal henchman and even killed the despot’s mother when ordered to do so.

Nevertheless, DeSaad’s loyalty had its limits. When tasked by Darkseid to retrieve Highfather’s staff from the Source Wall, instead of using it to recharge his master’s powers, he attempted to claim the Omega Effect for himself. However, it proved to be too much for him to handle, and while suffering from its horror, Darkseid simply absorbed the power from DeSaad.

It will certainly be interesting to see which of these characters, and how much of the Fourth World mythos, end up being incorporated into DuVernay’s New Gods film. Obviously, Steppenwolf and Darkseid seem like shoe-ins, given the fact that they already exist within the DCEU, but will WB and DC fully embrace Kirby’s trippy vision? Only time will tell.