Born On The Fourth World: Part VIII
Forever People #2, May 1971
The Forever People are stopping traffic. Not by their outlandish appearance, but by parking their Super-Cycle in the middle of a busy interchange. The opening caption questions if the quixotic quintet are ‘bystanders of participants in an ominous and perhaps final Super War!’ (Super War! being the title of this chapter). The former seems to be the case, as they all stand in the middle of the road, admiring the city (presumably Metropolis) and ignoring the angry cacophony of car-horns.
The cops try to move them along as Mark Moonrider explains that they are trying to ‘establish proper coordinates.’ Frustrated motorists shake their fists at the ‘motorized hippies’ and tell them to ‘get that custom-made concrete mixer outta here!’
Big Bear grins, oblivious to the verbal abuse and asks, ‘What’s a hippie?’ A jeering bystander explains, ‘All ya gotta do is show him a bathtub- an’ if he runs- he’s a hippie!’ Big Bear joins in the laughter, embracing the man in a crunching bear-hug. ‘Thank you, for the experience, Brother!’ says the jovial giant, leaving the bystander squeezed senseless on the concrete, adding, ‘Even the brother was overcome by this joyous emotional release!’
The cops are losing patience, and the heroes finally take the hint. They climb aboard the Super-Cycle and perform a sensor-sweep to find a better place to park. Big Bear reckons he has found a suitable location. Moonrider instructs him to ‘phase-out without jarring the universe.’ They vanish into thin air, leaving the cops perplexed and the motorists relived.
Meanwhile, deep beneath their feet, Mantis screams. He is being dragged out of his power pod by some funny-looking dudes. ‘Don’t rouse me!’ yells Mantis. ‘My body will lose its precious gain of voltage!’ But the funny-looking dudes are having none of it. They drag Mantis from the pod and cast him at the feet of Darkseid!
Mantis, in his green wing-suit and a gold, horned face-mask, rolls around the floor yelling at Darkseid. Although clearly powerless before the God of Evil, Mantis is surprisingly insolent. ‘Am I not one of you- and all who live on Apokolips?’ says the barely conscious pod-dweller. Darkseid concedes that Mantis could give him a run for his money, but that, ‘Your biology ever betrays you.’ Clearly Mantis needs his power pod to keep him topped-up.
Even though depleted, Mantis tells Darkseid that he claimed the Earth as his own first. Darkseid says that he is happy for Mantis to enslave the Earth, but warns him not to interfere with own his search for the the Anti-Life Equation. ‘Done!’ says Mantis as Darkseid allows him to return to his power pod. ‘Unleash the Terrors of the night!’ says Darkseid. ‘Make man cringe! Make him tremble! Make him fear!’ Mantis agrees and rolls back into his pod for a nap.
On the surface, The Forever People rematerialise in an abandoned district of the city, earmarked for ‘urban renewal.’ Mother Box pings a warning, to which Big Bear and Serifan scoff. There seems to be nothing in this derelict place that could harm them. A child on crutches appears, asking ‘Are you guys UFOs?’ The boy is named Donnie and he welcomes the Forever People to the neighbourhood. They park the Super-Cycle in an abandoned Fire Station, as Mother Box continues to signal danger, just as a man appears, waving a gun at them.
This is Donnie’s Uncle Willie, a local security guard. Accusing the Forever People of being, ‘motor cycle savages!’ Willie threatens the group, despite Donnie’s reassurance that they mean no harm. Beautiful Dreamer steps forward, before Vykin can use Mother Box to subdue the gunman. Calmly, she explains that, ‘Uncle Willie is only confused- like a man in a dream,’ and proceeds to probe his mind for ‘the kind of images Uncle Willie knows and likes.’ Dreamer then psychically alters Willie’s perception, so that the heroes’ far-out costumes appear to him as regular civilian clothes. This causes the security guard to relax. He lowers his gun and greets the newcomers, inviting them to take their pick of any the abandoned buildings.
Later, as the clock strikes midnight, beneath the earth, Mantis emerges from his power pod. He is finally recharged. He blasts a hole to the surface and says to himself, ‘If Darkseid doesn’t break our pact, I’ll be left free to conquer!’
Meanwhile, the Forever People are settling in to their new home. Donnie helps them sift the derelict buildings for useful fixtures and fittings. Moonrider observes Serifan watching old Westerns on a broken TV and says, ‘It is a pure representation of early, post-atomic middle-class home visuals!’ Donnie cannot understand how Serifan is getting a picture on a TV that is clearly broken. Serafin explains that he is using one of the cosmic cartridges off his cowboy hat. He hands one of the silver bullets to Donnie, who immediately experiences the annihilation of self and a psychedelic omnipresence. ‘I’m everywhere at once!’ says the boy. ‘I-I see- everything- and everything moves and makes a kind of beautiful noise!’ ‘Harmony is the word, Donnie!’ explains Serifan. ‘You’re listening to all there is!’
But, Donnie’s come-down is a just as instantaneous, as the TV news explains that Mantis is destroying the city! Serifan rounds up the other Forever People. Mantis is known to them all; Moonrider exclaims, ‘He is as much feared as Darkseid himself!’ Deciding that the Infinity Man is the only one who could stand a chance against such a foe, the five put their hands on Mother Box and shout the magic word, ‘Taaruu!’ The Infinity Man arrives with ‘an awesome, indescribable crash of cosmic thunder!’ Immediately, he zones-in on Mantis’s evil thought-waves and flies to intercept.
The police try in vain to subdue the rampaging Mantis, but even their ‘new, heavy-calibre rifles’ are useless against the monster. The Infinity Man arrives, throwing an almighty left-hook and declares, ‘The Infinity Man is your match Mantis!’ Reeling, but not out, Mantis counters by using his cold-touch to freeze Infinity Man in a block of ice! Thus subdued, Mantis continues his horrific assault on the city.
From a distance, two figures watch the unravelling chaos. The first is Darkseid, who grudgingly admits that Mantis is pretty good at smashing up stuff. The second is Darseid’s master torturer, DeSaad - here making his debut appearance. DeSaad is wearing some kind of weird, throat-mounted fear-gathering device. Darkseid asks as to the city’s ‘fear quotient.’ His creepy sidekick stares, bug-eyed and announces that it is, ‘spiralling to a lovely high-pitch, O’Darkseid!’
Stuck in his block of ice, the Infinity Man marshals his strength and calls upon ‘powers gained in the distant regions- where natural laws do not apply!’ It turns out he can ‘manipulate the atoms’ of the ice and free himself. Which he does and continues his punch-up with Mantis. Eventually, after some toing and froing, the Infinity Man uses his ‘Infini-beam’ to release all of Mantis’ stored energy in ‘one vast rush!’ Mantis flees, his energy draining away behind him, back to his power pod, beneath the earth.
With the immediate danger over, The Infinity Man reverts back to The Forever People. ‘It is war in earnest now,’ says Vykin. They all concede that while Mantis is a threat, the bigger threat is Darkseid and his search for the Anti-Life Equation. Meanwhile, the god in question is lurking, with DeSaad, around the power pod of Mantis - who is, once more, cocooned inside. ‘Darkseid waits,’ says the Lord of Apokolips, ‘like a silent stone… waits and plans to flush his prize from its cover, DeSaad.’
Darkseid’s search for the Anti-Life Equation continues…