Born On The Fourth World: Part V
New Gods #1, March 1971
It begins with an epilogue.
A caption tells us that, ‘There came a time when Old Gods died!’ Prior to bringing his Fourth World series to DC, Jack Kirby had been drawing The Mighty Thor for Marvel. The epilogue we see depicted on page one of New Gods #1 is clearly meant to be Ragnarok, the final cataclysm of Norse mythology. The home of the Old Gods is seen ‘split in great halves and filled the universe with the blinding death-flash of its destruction!’ Kirby is cleaning his slate. His previous work for his previous employer is wiped away, along with Norse Gods themselves.
All that remains are, ‘two molten bodies, spinning slow and barren - clean of all that had gone before.” There then follows an age of silence and darkness, before we pick up the story in the present day.
Orion Fights For Earth, begins with the titular New God soaring through space, grim-faced, propelled by a strange, harness-frame thing. “I have heard the word,” he says to no one in particular, “It is Battle!” Orion has been summoned. We are told that he is ‘the protector’ and the ‘wieldier of the Astro-Force.’
Orion is heading back to his home planet, New Genesis. As he gets near, he is met by Light-Ray, an old friend and a New God, who appears like a comet, welcoming Orion home. Orion follows Light-Ray down to the surface of New Genesis - a lush, green world of unspoiled forests, lakes and mountains. Above the planet floats a vast, golden city. The city is not named ‘Supertown’ here, assuming this is the same place the Forever People came from. Maybe ‘Supertown’ is just a nickname coined by the young, hip-cat New Gods?
Light-Ray is pleased to see Orion, telling him that he aught to stay on New Genesis and ‘learn to laugh again!’ Orion reminds Light-Ray that having to ‘wield the mighty power of the Astro-Force’ is ‘a grim and fearful responsibility!’ Light-Ray eventually concedes Orion’s point and takes him to see the High-Father.
The High-Father is the leader of New Genesis. He is white-haired and bearded, carrying what appears to be a shepherd’s crook. He listens to a choir of children singing as Orion approaches. After bowing to the choir, Orion is lead by High-Father to the Source Wall. The Wall, we are told, ‘lived even as the Old Gods died!’ The Source is, ‘Eternal! It is the Life-Equation!’ and High-Father’s crook, the Wonder-Staff, is somehow connected to the Source.
Fading into existence beside them, a third figure appears, seated in a green techno-throne, dressed in a cosmic gimp-suit. This is Metron, similarly summoned by the High-Father to witness the writing on the wall, quite literally. Orion is disgusted by this newcomer, saying, ‘For a scrap of knowledge you would sell the universe into slavery!’ Metron does not disagree.
A fiery hand appears and writes on the Source Wall in flame, ‘Orion to Apokolips- Then to Earth- Then to War!’ Orion decides to follow the Source’s advice and travel to Apokolips. As he leaves, Metron mutters cryptically, ‘Who is more ready to fight the father than the son?’ High-Father warns Metron to be quiet. Metron wonders how anyone as fierce as Orion could be born on New Genesis. High-Father admits that Orion was, in fact, born on Apokolips. He instructs Metron to keep this secret as it is too soon for Orion to know.
Orion is back in his Astro-Harness, hurtling through space, towards the dark, twin-world of the New Gods - Apokolips; A grey, industrialised sphere of fire and ash. As he approaches, Orion is intercepted by a squad of Para-Demons, flying, green and yellow clad, goggle-wearing gargoyles, not dissimilar to flying monkey’s from The Wizard of Oz. Unleashing the might of the Astro-Force, Orion takes out the squad with ease. Even the rallying Dog Cavalry, waiting for him when he arrives on the planet’s surface, is no match for Orion’s ferocity. ‘He has the strength of Darkseid himself!’ comments one soldier, in a foreshadowing way.
Whither, Darkseid? We see his colossal statue, but ‘The Wielder of Holocaust’ himself is nowhere to be found. Nor are his most elite warriors. As if taking umbrage at his implied lack of elite qualities, someone called Kalibak appears! “Who is more fit to rule in Darkseid’s absence?’ says the big hairy guy, in his pants, waving a club. He claims to be more than a match for Orion. The Wielder of the Astro-Force is only too happy test this theory, when a mysterious energy barrier appears, separating the two combatants.
Metron is here, his ‘Mobius Chair’ generating a force field to keep Kalibak at bay. Metron informs Orion that Darkseid is already on Earth and is constructing a ‘Mass-Director Unit’ to scan every human mind and discover the Anti-Life Equation. Once Darkseid has it, creation will be his to command! Orion does not trust Metron, saying, ‘I feel! I anger! I fight! And you are like your cold machines!’ Metron replies that he serves life in his own way, showing Orion four human subjects, strapped into a diabolical machine. Darkseid had been using the machine scan the human’s minds, for any trace of the Anti-Life Equation.
Metron begins to fade away, instructing Orion to leave for Earth as he does so. Using the Astro-Force, Orion frees the four humans, just as Kalibak attacks! Orion protects the humans from Kalibak’s assault, guiding them into a Boom-Tube, back to Earth. As Orion follows the four into the Boom-Tube, Kalibak hurls his Beta-Club at his escaping adversary. Too late, the clubs smashes the Boom-Tube generator, with Orion and the humans safely back on Earth. But how safe can they truly be? ‘Darkseid! I have come!’ says Orion. ‘The battle begins!’
It ends with a prologue.
Somewhere. out there on Earth, Darkseid responds; ‘I hear you, Orion! The battle begins!’
THE BATTLE BEGINS!
Highfather is maybe my favorite New God because he represents the most obvious Jewish influence on the series, what with being called "Iziyah" and reading the word of the Source from a wall with flaming letters.