Meeting Thy Maker- A review of "The Death of the New Gods"

“Choosing the path of the warrior is to choose a violent death. The story nearly always ends thus. You accept this fate as part of the life, something unavoidable. But deep within you do not believe it. Death is something your adversary should fear, for defeat is not an option you ever consider. It is intentionally left out of the equation. It is not a possibility until it becomes inevitability. Only then can the spirit be honestly judged. The urge to flee becomes overwhelmingly enticing. The grim determination to stay strong until the very end is what makes a hero. To meet one’s fate in a cosmically grand manner…to depart in an astral blaze of glory if you will, well, that is what makes you a god!”

-        - Orion, adopted son of New Genesis, son of Darkseid The Destroyer, ruler of Apokolips.

One might look at a comic book and think there is no literary merit to be had there. “There are pictures in it. How can I take it seriously?” they say. “It is a story about superheroes who wear tights. This is beneath me” some say. “It is a freaking comic book not an actual book” many will say. Considering the popularity of comic books these days in terms of their readership, movie adaptations, and merchandise those three criticisms have pretty much gone the way of the dodo bird in the hearts and minds of the masses. Comic books and graphic novels (their more adult style “big brother”) have grown immensely in popularity and are more accepted. Adapting a comic and/or graphic novel into a movie is big business now. The selection of which story will be put to the big screen is a process that is unknown to me. In my opinion just because it was a comic book, graphic novel, or book does not necessarily mean it will translate well into a movie. Some stories are best left to their original medium and some stories might benefit better as an animated feature as opposed to a feature length film. 

          In the world of comics there are two main superpowers. DC Comics home of Batman and Superman and Marvel home of Spiderman and Wolverine. It is fair to say that Marvel is winning the war the same way Coca-Cola is beating Pepsi and Apple is beating Microsoft. Both DC and Marvel have created iconic characters and growing up I drifted more to Marvel. As I got older and got back into reading comic books I found that DC was garnering my attention. The adventures of Batman in Gotham City resonated well with my big city living personality. Also DC Comics stories often drifted into outer space and concepts ripped right from theoretical astrophysics had me glued. Time travel and parallel universes were popular topics. The entire DC universe centred on a central main storyline called “The Crisis”. Every character is in some way shape or form connected to this crisis which spans parallel universes. It can become a rather confusing prospect to decipher all that is going on in the DC universe and believe me I have tried on numerous occasions. There are some characters though that certainly act like and hint that they are the true masters and puppeteers holding all the cards. These characters were invented by the late Jack Kirby, a famous comic book artist and writer. The characters he created are called “The New Gods”. “There was a time when the old gods died.” Or so the story goes. The New Gods now hold the mantle that previous Gods of yesteryear once grasped. Gone are the days of Olympian deities and hence fourth is the reign of the New Gods. 

          The New Gods are epic on the grandest of scales and I find you either hate them or you love them. I love them. I love their epic storylines and how what they do often has a trickle down affect to everyone else. The New Gods are split into two camps. New Genesis (the good guys) and Apokolips (the bad guys), each had tremendous characters of immense depth but the one character who truly carried the whole grandness and an arrogantly boasted that he basically carried the fate of the universe and multiverse was the alpha dog of Apokolips. His name is Darkseid and he is the self-proclaimed supreme king of all bad guys. There is no denying his power and strength. He can rival Superman easily and has taken down the man of steel on numerous occasions. At the same time Superman has taken down Darkseid on numerous occasions as well. What fascinates me about Darkseid is the fact that although he can beat you with brute force or by simply ordering his powerful and vast military to simply blow you away he actually seems to enjoy defeating his opponents with his words, he engages them in a chess of match of wills and enjoys manipulating his enemies into a corner where he can either easily crush them or have his enemies unwittingly kill themselves. He is a brilliant master manipulator that toys with beings before eliminating them. 

          The Death of the New Gods is a story that was not all that well received by critics and DC Comics fans. Quite frankly I have no clue why. It is brilliant, intelligently written and answers fundamental questions in a fascinating way regarding some of the most epic and powerful fictional characters ever created. In the story, the New Gods have found themselves being stalked, hunted down, and murdered. A most puzzling scenario considering for centuries they have most boasted dominance as “Gods”. It appears that even the Gods of Apokolips and New Genesis must answer to a higher power. This higher power is referred to as “The Source” the being responsible for all of creation in the multiverse. This Source has been referenced as perhaps being the more familiar Judeo-Christian God that most of the world is familiar with. A being of omnipotent power that is worshiped, revered, and feared. A being that holds all the cards and pulls all the strings, now imagine for a second coming into contact with “The Source”, imagine literally meeting your maker. That is the prospect the New Gods must face as Superman helps them find just who is the mysterious killer? As it turns out, it is the very source, their maker, the being that many have worshiped as their hope is the one who is killing them off. Now The Sources reasoning for terminating the beings that it has created is a most cruel answer and one that cuts to the very soul of any individual if they were to hear such reasoning from their “God”. Nefarious Darkseid summed it up brilliantly:

“It is said the value of any quest in the journey itself. Myself, I believe the destination should be the goal. But quests for holy grails are another matter entirely. Seeking enlightenment is like playing recklessly with a double-edged sword. The truth can be a marvelous boon or a devastating realization.”

          “The Source” or “God” however and whomever you want to refer to it as is a being of truly supreme power. Despite this even this being in not unfamiliar to making mistakes. “Infallibility is a boast only a fool would claim. My universe is a very improvisational work-in-progress.” That is how the Supreme Being explains it to Metron, a God who is very much the philosophical intellectual of New Genesis. The Source has come to the conclusion that due to events he created mistakes have been made and he must clean the slate of his creation in order to reset creation and do things the way it had originally had intended. Those that worshipped the source were to be simply terminated regardless of their levels of devotion. When his most devout and loyal follower, Mr. Miracle questions how The Source could be so cold and callous when faced with killing off his creations The Source states “Micro-management is not my province. My concerns have always been beyond the individual.” This is certainly a most cruel lesson for anyone to hear from their supposed lord and saviour. The Source follows through and literally kills off everyone leaving mighty Darkseid for his final kill. This unfortunately proves to be a most difficult task. Darkseid refuses to go down without only a fight but a strategy to beat The Source at its own game. “A lesser being would have sought merely to escape the fate you planned for the New Gods. But where others would have seen only peril, Darkseid perceived opportunity!”

          The events of the battle between The Source and Darkseid would have immense ramifications for the entire DC universe and nearly lead to the collapse of reality itself. Knowing Darkseid, he wouldn’t have it any other way. Death of the New Gods is a fascinating story about man coming into direct contact with their maker and asking fundamental questions that ultimately lead to a devastating and harsh reality. It is very well-written and one of my favourite reads of any genre. It also has some of my favourite quotes of dialogue ever. 

“I have to admit that part of me has always been bothered by the citizens of New Genesis claiming Godhood. The boast always struck me as being somewhat arrogant and unseemly. Until, I witnessed Orion’s final confrontation and realized that this is how a God would die.”

These are the words of Superman just prior to Orion’s final battle. If you want to read something that is on an epic scale and talks at a level much higher than the base trivial nonsense that we consume our lives with on a daily basis then Death of the New Gods is for you.