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Genesis
Synopsis | Review
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"The scroll of names of those who have failed in
what we are about to attempt is longer than could be read in a human
lifetime!" |
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ISSUES: |
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4 issues, weekly, Oct. 1997. |
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WRITER(S): |
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John Byrne. |
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ARTIST(S): |
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Ron Wagner, Joe Rubenstein. |
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MAJOR HEROES: |
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Superman, the New Gods, most major DC heroes. |
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MAJOR VILLAINS: |
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Darkseid, Ares. |
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SUPPORTING CAST: |
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The Spectre, two members of "the Old
Gods," Darkseid's legions and underlings, a human police
officer named Mike Schorr. |
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THE PLOT: |
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DC's most powerful heroes find their powers
seriously disrupted or negated. The reason is complicated, but
it involves the New Gods. They must defeat Darkseid in order to
put things right again. |
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TRIVIA: |
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The "Kurtzberg Field," a
"low-level back radiation that's always at a constant,
stable level," was named in honor of Jack Kirby, creator of
the New Gods and countless other comic-book characters (his real
name was Jacob Kurtzberg). |
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RECOMMENDED READING: |
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The New Gods series (1971), which
introduced Jack Kirby's pantheon to the DC Universe and was
reprinted in paperback in 1997; The New Gods (1989
series); The New Gods (1995 series). |
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OTHER SITES: |
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John
Byrne on Genesis: Mania Magazine |
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SUPERHEROES ARE LITERALLY falling out of the
sky, as the most powerful heroes in the DC Universe find their powers
out of control, altered, or gone. The Flash's speed sputters, Green
Lantern's ring is erratic, and Superman's new powers surge out of
control during a fight. Hope is also disappearing, as ordinary humans
give in to fear and despair for no apparent reason.
Bad as this seems, it's not limited to Earth; while the heroes look
into the cause of their powers going haywire, the New Gods surmise that
the only one in the universe with the means and the will to cause such
universal power fluctuations is Darkseid, the supremely evil dictator of
Apokolips (see Legends).
Their suspicions are confirmed when a search of the dark planet reveals
that Darkseid and his minions are nowhere to be found. While they
consider their next move, the gods of New Genesis are visited by one of
"The Old Ones," who says he comes to prevent the age of
"the Fourth World" from being swept away.
Back on Earth, an alien armada approaches as the heroes convene in
the JLA's new headquarters on the moon. People panic, and the earth's
non-super powered heroes struggle to keep the peace. We soon learn that
the invaders are the heroes of other worlds, who have tracked the source
of the power problem to our planet.
Through a melding of minds, Highfather attempts to explain what is
happening. Eons ago, a world destroyed itself and released a "Godwave,"
which seeded all worlds with the power of divinity and gave birth to the
gods. Once the Godwave expanded to the full limits of the universe, it
doubled back on itself, creating the potential for power in mortals. As
the Godwave contracts, it threatens to explode again, wiping out
everything that was created before. But Darkseid won't let that happen,
because he wants to harness the Godwave's energy for himself. Our only
hope is for a randomly chosen number of heroes to travel into the
Godwave itself to prevent him from seizing it.
At the edge of the Godwave they find Darkseid, who sends his troops
against them while he prepares to absorb the wave's power. After the
Spectre tries to warn Darkseid that his plans will fail, he enters the
Source itself, after which the source begins to "scream."
Everything the heroes feared comes true -- and the source explodes. The
apocalypse is upon us. All hope is lost. Only one weapon is powerful
enough to make everything right again, and so the heroes with the help
of the New Gods use it to save the day.
MAN, THOSE DC HUMANS have short memory spans.
While an alien armada covers the planet, the "greater
majority" of human beings, "despite all evidence to the
contrary, have struggled to maintain in their minds the conviction that
in all the universe this was the only world."
Heck, just last year an alien helped save them from the Sun-Eater.
Before that, giant spinal fluid-sucking aliens made all the headlines.
And before that, aliens conquered Australia and almost the rest of the
world. And let's not forget all the aliens walking around in capes with
big red S's on their chest.
And now we're told that the humans are shocked to see an alien
invasion? Geez, it happens so often in the DC Universe that I'm
surprised people there don't use it as an excuse for being late for
work. ("Sorry I'm late, boss, but this huge alien spaceship blew up
the Brooklyn Bridge." "What, again?")
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"Jim Shooter used to say the best kind of story you
could do is the most important and significant thing that has
ever happened to the hero, without it changing anything.
Basically that is what Genesis is. It's the most important and
significant thing that has ever happened to these heroes, but it
doesn't really change anything."
- John Byrne
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Sorry, I know we're dealing with people in tights who shoot lightning
from their hands, but a little nod to continuity every once in a while
would be nice. At least we're told why Earth is always at the centre of
these cosmic events: Highfather explains that "there is something
in the nature of your world which makes it a cosmic nexus." Lucky
us.
Actually, this series does attempt to explain a lot of things about
the DC Universe, like why all of Earth's superheroes seemed to appear
all at once in the 20th century, and how the gods of the ancient
religions came to be. In a universe where the title "god" is
given to just about anyone stronger than Superman, this mini-series is
perhaps the closest we'll get to seeing God in the DC Universe.
John Byrne is no slouch when it comes to creating vast, cosmically
scaled stories, but this one missed the mark. First, keeping on top of
this story means a lot of reading; I knew a bit about the New Gods
mythology, but I didn't know where the character Takion fit into things,
and the huge cast of characters from titles I've never read left me
confused at times. Second, the final revelation in which the real
villain reveals himself is a literal deus ex machina that just
seems too pat for the story. Even more patience-testing was the way in
which the heroes defeated him. No spoilers here; let's just say I kept
hearing the song "All You Need Is Love" while reading the
final pages.
The art itself is angular and rushed, and it's inferior to the
previous crossover event, The
Final Night. I just didn't get a sense of the cosmic grandeur of
the whole thing, although the scenes on Earth were all right. Wagner's
style is probably better suited for Batman-type stories; gritty and grim
with a lot of shadow.
But the story itself is the main drawback. We are led to believe this
is the most important mission of the heroes' lives, that this is not
just the end of their planet, but the end of everything, and the entire
cosmos will be destroyed if they fail. Again. All of Creation rests on
our heroes' shoulders.... Now balance this against the picture of a
cocky Superboy mouthing off to Darkseid. For a near-omnipotent god of
evil, Darkseid's got a lot of patience around snotty little brats. If it
were me, I would've wiped the smirk off the young punk's face
permanent-like.
Ultimately, this crossover shows the problem when you keep raising
the stakes -- sooner or later, you have to admit that all the heroes of
one piddly world like ours just aren't up to fighting these cosmic
battles. And they look damn silly just standing there when the really
big boys start duking it out. |
