The Source is a metaphysical concept created by writer-artist Jack Kirby for his Fourth World series of comic books. It first appeared in New Gods #1 (February 1971).
41-579: The Source is a cosmic force and the source of everything that exists. It is protected by the Source Wall, a barrier containing statues of those who fail to pass it. In Death of the New Gods , the Source orchestrates the eponymous event to build a new "Fifth World" and merges Apokolips and New Genesis into a single planet. In The New 52 , the emotional entities sacrifice themselves by entering
82-516: A 1986 interview Kirby recalled that "the Forever People were the wonderful people of the '60s, who I loved. If you'll watch the actions of the Forever People, you'll see the reflection of the '60s in their attitudes, in the backgrounds, in their clothes. You'll see the '60s. I felt I would leave a record of the '60s in their adventures." In 1988, a six-issue Forever People limited series by writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Paris Cullins
123-471: A little less obtrusive. Jack didn't like the character and didn't want to do it. He didn't feel he should be doing someone else's character. ... He doesn't want to trample on someone else's vision. Carmine [Infantino, DC Comics publisher and Deadman's co-creator] said the character hadn't sold and he wanted the Kirby touch on it." The series ended on a cliffhanger , with the Forever People stranded on Adon. In
164-430: A prisoner when they are only carrying empty chains. In addition, she has been able to feel the fluctuations within the Source. Big Bear had been married to Beautiful Dreamer, and she had been pregnant with their daughter. A shift in time resulted in the marriage never happening and the child never having existed. This traumatized Beautiful Dreamer for a time. In Forever People #7, he was shown to have been responsible for
205-517: Is killed by a mysterious assailant whom he recognizes. Superman, Scott Free and Orion battle Darkseid's shadow demons, and discover that Darkseid has obtained a portion of the Anti-Life Equation, which is still not as strong as Free's full control. Stalemated, Darkseid tells the heroes that he knows what is causing the murders, but that even knowing that he will die, he sees a chance to gain advantage, though he'll still not reveal his plot to
246-560: Is killed in their kitchen while his back is turned. The Justice League comes to investigate Barda's murder. Dr. Mid-Nite performs an autopsy which doesn't reveal how she was killed. Mr. Miracle contemplates using the Anti-Life Equation to bring his wife back, but stops himself. He receives an urgent summons back to New Genesis . Superman and Mr. Miracle bring Barda's body back to New Genesis. Darkseid asks Desaad to investigate these murders by having him examine Justeen, who
287-689: Is now using an agent to eliminate the Fourth World in order to bring about the Fifth World, which will be perfect. The Source agrees to Metron's request that he be allowed to witness the end of the Fourth World. The reunited Source reveals how Miracle's beliefs were not of its doing. Miracle, feeling manipulated and betrayed by the Source, requests to be killed and he is. Disgusted at the Source's ruthless treatment of its most loyal follower, Metron demands to be killed as well and The Source grants Metron's request. The Source travels to Apokolips to engage
328-407: Is well-trained in hand-to-hand combat. He possesses a Megaton Touch . With it, he can cause a tremendous explosion, and no doubt could easily kill with it if he and his companions were not sworn never to take a life. Used at low intensity, it can cause a severe shock. On one occasion he used his megaton touch to turn solid rock into molten lava. Serifan is the youngest member of the group, as well as
369-457: The Boom Tube . Their own title, The Forever People , debuted in 1971 and lasted 11 issues. They mainly fought Darkseid's forces, such as Glorious Godfrey in issue #3. Issues #9 and 10 guest-starred Deadman ; according to writer/artist Jack Kirby 's assistant Mark Evanier : "We were ordered to put Deadman into New Gods , but we slipped him into Forever People instead, where he was
410-518: The Commander, who rode a winged robotic horse. Later on, she sacrificed her life to save her lover Orion . Like all New Gods, Vykin is functionally immortal and all his physical attributes are superhuman. Also, Vykin The Black possesses "Magno-Power", which enables him to project magnetic energy. He can mentally trace atomic patterns, and is therefore good at tracking. He has an intuitive grasp of
451-521: The Fifth World. Superman witnesses all of this and returns home. As part of the lead-in to the limited series, a number of New Gods were seen being tracked and killed in a number of other DC titles: DC's second weekly limited series Countdown ties into the Death of the New Gods limited series in several issues; after a battle in the clouds above Metropolis, Lightray was killed in Countdown #48 by
SECTION 10
#1732775601731492-547: The Forever People were stranded on Adon, Mark Moonrider thought it would be advantageous to civilize the people of the planet. When Vykin used their Mother Box to do so, it overloaded and was destroyed, killing Vykin in the process, but managing to create Forevertown . When the Dark overtook and reversed the effects of the Mother Box, Vykin was brought back to life. Recently he was reunited on New Genesis with his mother, Valkyra
533-611: The New Gods , the human origin of the Forever People was retconned , and it is hinted that the five were to have been the first of the next evolution of the New Gods — godlings becoming more than the sum of their parts. Furthermore, the group are killed by Infinity-Man. In the Final Crisis Sketchbook , the Forever People (along with other members of the New Gods) are given updated looks, which Grant Morrison calls "more gothic art school student than flower power". In
574-613: The Source to replenish the emotional spectrum. In DC Rebirth , Perpetua is sealed in the Source Wall billions of years prior before being freed when it is cracked in Dark Nights: Death Metal . Furthermore, John Stewart absorbs the Source's power and meets its physical form, which resembles Jack Kirby. Death of the New Gods Death of the New Gods is an eight-issue comic book limited series published in 2007 and 2008 by DC Comics . It
615-506: The cartridges tune the wielder into the "cosmic Harmony" that is linked to the Source . His "Blue Cartridge"can manipulate life force and was used to help Deadman merge with a "Follower", an organic machine designed to act as his physical body. Throughout the Kirby run, Vykin was referred to as "Vykin the Black". He was the second black superhero to appear in a DC comic book, preceding Kirby's Black Racer by approximately seven months. When
656-579: The characters, others have presented them with mixed results. Looking back I'd say at least half of the past New Gods series have done more harm than good. So for me, Death of the New Gods is half honoring Jack Kirby, half mercy killing". He also commented that "they started building Countdown around Death of the New Gods because it was way ahead of everybody else. They started catching up with me, and I'm having to change my ending to adjust to what they're doing in Countdown . Up until now, I've been telling everybody I'm killing them all. One survives. And he
697-561: The early "52" stages of their DC Universe Final Crisis storyline, they are influenced by American super-heroes and Japanese pop culture, and were first mentioned in 52 #6. This group recruits Sunny Sumo, a powerful fighter who assisted the original Forever People in the first series. The Un-People , a fusion of the Forever People and Marvel Comics group the Inhumans , appear in the Amalgam Comics one-shot Challengers of
738-535: The event itself, Japan's pop culture team, the Super Young Team, are revealed to be the Fifth World incarnation of the Forever People. The Forever People appear in The New 52 series Infinity Man and the Forever People . Serifan is depicted as female and Vykin's sister. During the original Kirby run, Beautiful Dreamer had been linked romantically to Mark Moonrider, although outside of hand-holding,
779-436: The exact nature of their relationship was never directly specified. In the 1988 miniseries, it was established that Dreamer had been married to Big Bear, and together they had a child, named Maya after the spirit of their old Mother Box . Since then, their marriage and daughter has been voided by a retcon during John Byrne 's Jack Kirby's Fourth World series. When last shown, Dreamer was romantically involved with Takion ,
820-410: The full extent of the death toll when on screens shows the New Gods who have been killed and others who are still missing. The Forever People are shown to be missing and two of them are prime suspects as Serifan and Beautiful Dreamer are both seen leaving two of the murders. Orion blames Darkseid ; Takion asks him to hold off until further information can be revealed. Mister Miracle 's wife, Big Barda ,
861-521: The hands of Uxas while attempting to harness the Omega Force for himself. No explanation was given as to why he was involved with the Forever People other than Big Bear's offhanded comment that they have an arrangement with him. The Infinity-Man's powers were never fully cataloged other than having some direct link to the Source , and the suggestion that since he originated from outside our universe, he
SECTION 20
#1732775601731902-474: The historical event that led to the legend of King Arthur . A skilled hand-to-hand combatant, Big Bear is among the strongest of the children of New Genesis, making him superstrong by human standards, capable of bending steel and hurling giant redwood trees almost effortlessly. Big Bear's atomic structure is reinforced by a constant flow of so-called high-density atoms, and he is able to store an excess of free-flowing atoms which he can direct at will to reinforce
943-468: The last New God, Darkseid, who has taken a serum giving him access to the power of the Anti-Life portion of the Source. The Source and Darkseid battle as Superman watches. Darkseid reveals that the Source's plan was to wipe out the New Gods and create the Fifth World. The Source then releases Orion's ghost to attack Darkseid, who flees. The Source merges New Genesis and Apokolips into one planet to create
984-694: The mortal Gog from resurrecting the old god of the same name. IGN gave Death of the New Gods #1 a 7.3, which corresponds to "decent", and for issue #8 a 4.8, which corresponds to "poor". The series has been collected into a single volume: Forever People Forever People are a group of extraterrestrial superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . They first appeared in Forever People #1 ( cover-dated February-March 1971), and were created by Jack Kirby as part of his " Fourth World " epic. The protagonists of
1025-514: The most vulnerable. The Dark saw this and possessed Serifan, using him to conquer Forevertown and plague the Forever People. After the Dark was defeated he returned to his normal self. Serifan possesses limited telepathic powers, and wields "cosmic cartridges" that serve various purposes when wielded. For example, the cartridges can be used to create protective force fields, drain energy from people, manipulate gravity, modify atomic density, generate intense heat, power vehicles, and stun opponents. Also,
1066-504: The mysterious god-killer, with his last words being "Infinite... Infinite...." Sleez was killed in #46 by the god-killer, who proclaimed "So Begins The End!" as he blew a hole through Sleez; the Deep Six were all slaughtered in Countdown #38. The new Forager investigated the murders at the request of New Genesis , and later visited Earth to recruit Jimmy Olsen to help her after the death of Big Barda . In Countdown #19, Bernadeth
1107-496: The natives, Mina. They had three children (Merry, Wendy and Starbright), but when the shift in time caused by the Darkness' actions undid the events which 'evolved' the natives, this marriage now never had occurred, leaving Mark with only his friends. In addition to being extremely long-lived, Mark has superhuman strength and reflexes and is resistant to conventional injury. Also, he has a keen mind with good leadership skills and he
1148-626: The new Highfather of New Genesis. In Superman & Batman: Generations 3 , she marries Superman, and has his children, Lar-El and Vara. All three are killed by Darkseid. Like all the children of New Genesis, Beautiful Dreamer possesses the advanced physiology of a New God; she is extremely long-lived, has a limited degree of superhuman strength, resistance and reflexes. She is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant. She has psionic powers that allow her to create illusions and to scan people's minds to produce familiar images. These illusions are powerful enough to, for example, make someone believe they are leading
1189-479: The power of his already awesome punch. He is also the pilot of the Super-Cycle and an avid Earth history buff. During the original Kirby run, Beautiful Dreamer had been linked romantically to Mark Moonrider, although outside of hand-holding, the exact nature of their relationship was never directly specified. In the 1988 miniseries set on Adon, Mark was shown to have fallen in love with, and later married, one of
1230-584: The secret. In the past, Metron speaks to the glowing ball of light, which reveals itself as the Source and the cause of the death of the New Gods. Long ago, the Source was attacked by the Old Gods and split into two, light and dark. The light side recovered and brought about the Death of the Old Gods, and then attempted to recreate existence, but could only manage to make the flawed Fourth World due to its imperfection. It attempted to reunite with its darker part, but
1271-542: The series are a group of young New Gods from New Genesis who were on a mission to oppose Darkseid on Earth, and talked, dressed, and acted much like the flower children of the 1960s. In addition to the individual abilities and equipment of the members, the group can join together using the technology of a Mother Box to summon the powerful hero known as the Infinity-Man . The group travels by use of their Super-Cycle. The first issue of their title also introduced
Source (comics) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-435: The three heroes. Superman, Orion, and Mr. Miracle discover that the Forever People have been murdered as well. Free resurrects the Forever People and demands that they tell him who has killed them. While each one recounts his or her death, Big Bear mentions that the killer was "the last person we'd expect to see". They disintegrate before they can tell Free anything clearer, claiming that they have been ordered not to reveal
1353-464: The workings of complicated machinery. Vykin has a keen mind and he's a skilled hand-to-hand combatant. It is Vykin who carries the Forever People's Mother Box, a kind of sentient computer, and is attuned to her frequencies. He is also a language major. Infinity-Man is Drax, the older brother of Uxas, who would later become Darkseid of Apokolips, and became the Infinity-Man after treachery at
1394-464: Was also murdered. Superman and Mr. Miracle arrive on New Genesis. Orion is insulted by Superman's presence and attacks him. Metron arrives and reveals what the cause of death is to all the New Gods. Darkseid has also come to the same conclusion: their souls have been taken from them. Darkseid wonders if all his theories on the Anti-Life Equation were actually true. While searching the Wall for clues, Takion
1435-593: Was confronted by the god-killer. In Countdown #10, Granny Goodness is killed by the god-killer, once more. The effects were also felt in other DC titles. In Birds of Prey #109, Knockout was killed, by a figure whose silhouette precisely matches that of the elusive New God, the Infinity Man . In the Outsiders - Five of a Kind: Thunder/Martian Manhunter one shot, Speed Queen of the Female Furies
1476-547: Was delayed by the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths , which unified alternative realities and created an impenetrable Source Wall. The Source then orchestrated the events of Infinite Crisis , apparently subtly manipulating Alexander Luthor , and later the events of 52 to bring back the Multiverse, and freeing its dark half, which had taken the form of the Anti-Life Entity. The Source thus reveals that it
1517-654: Was fleeing from the God-Killer when she met a comatose Grayven , son of Darkseid. She was killed, though he escaped. Later, Grayven was tricked by the Martian Manhunter into returning to Apokolips, where he was killed as well. In Superman/Batman #42, Orion's wife Bekka was killed by the assassin. In Wonder Girl #5, while battling the novice Amazon, Bloody Mary is killed. The Infinity Man appeared in Justice Society of America #14 to prevent
1558-490: Was going to have a good death. I had to keep him around until the end". The series begins with Darkseid recalling how he first became aware of a growing crisis with the death of Willie Walker. Walker, who is the corporeal form of the Black Racer , is seen being killed by an unidentified figure who tears out his heart; the same fate that had met all the other New Gods who were killed. Orion , Himon , and others discover
1599-417: Was not bound by its physical laws. He was shown capable of flight, super-strength, enhanced vision powers, infini-beams, the ability to negate gravity and convert it into a repulsive force, restructuring atoms to pass through solid matter, and redirecting the flight path of bullets. The Super Young Team are the contemporary Fifth World incarnations of the Forever People. Created by writer Grant Morrison in
1640-420: Was published, showing what happens to the Forever People on Adon. This series reveals that the Forever People were originally humans who were saved from death and brought to New Genesis. They returned to Earth to oppose "the Darkness", a sentient but disembodied force of hopelessness. They were aided by a mysterious being, Maya, who is ultimately revealed to be the consciousness of their Mother Box. In Death of
1681-578: Was written and pencilled by Jim Starlin . The series follows the final days of the New Gods as they are stalked by a mysterious killer. The events of the series set the foundation for the 2008 storyline Final Crisis . Death of the New Gods was conceived by DC as a series that would lead- and tie-in to Final Crisis , much like Countdown to Final Crisis . Jim Starlin said in an interview that "I sort of think of this project as putting an ending to Jack's New Gods saga. Since Kirby's initial run on