Warning: contains spoilers for John Stewart: Emerald Knight #1!With one revelation, DC has fixed final offense on Esak of New Genesis, who seeks to give birth to a new race of gods, and during the fight, readers learn that Orion, Metron and the other denizens of the Fourth World are worshiped across the cosmos–including some surprising places.
The issue, written by Geoffrey Thorne, illustrated by Marco Santucci, colored by Michael Atiyeh and lettered by Rob Leigh, opens with the surviving Green Lanterns liberating people formerly enslaved by Esak; some have become stranded on a distant planet. As Green Lantern Kenz laments their situation, John Stewart appears to them as the Emerald Knight. He explains Esak’s plan to create more New Gods, to which Kenz replies there are already thousands of these beings in the universe–and they are in fact worshiped by various alien races. Kenz informs John that her people worship either Himon or the Dreamer, the war-like Khunds follow the Code of Orion and the Coluans (Brainiac’s people) worship the stone-cold intellect of Metron, despite any claims to the contrary.
The Fourth World Saga, which includes the New Gods (such as Esak), Mister Miracle and the Forever People, was created by Jack Kirby upon defecting to DC Comics in 1970. The New Gods, created upon the destruction of the Old Gods, were led by either Highfather of New Genesis or Darkseid of Apokolips. Using various agents , these two factions battle for supremacy throughout the DC Universe, in a struggle of truly cosmic proportions. Despite having “Gods” in the name, very few stories have shown Orion, Lightray and the rest actually being worshiped by anyone–but now that has changed, as DC reveals that the New Gods have adherents throughout the universe.
The New Gods Are Now Living Up To Their Name
The revelation that the residents of the Fourth World are worshiped as actual deities gives them new meaning and purpose in the DC Universe, making them truly worthy of the name “gods.” More often than not, stories involving the New Gods or such as Mister Miracle, ing the Justice League. While the integration of the Fourth World characters into the DC Universe provided for some truly amazing stories, in a way it was a betrayal of Kirby’s initial vision. The New Gods were born from the ashes of their predecessors, who had been worshiped and revered throughout the universe. Revealing that they still have followers in the present day gives them new significance in the DC Universe.
And this new status for the New Gods restores them to some of what Jack Kirby intended. Kirby was fascinated by the various mythological traditions from around the world, and incorporated some of it into his sprawling Fourth World saga. Subsequent generations of creators have made them more like conventional superheroes, but now DC has fixed this, giving new meaning to Darkseid and the New Gods.
John Stewart: Emerald Knight #1 is on sale now from DC Comics!
