Highfather (Izaya)
Once the mighty warrior king of New Genesis, Izaya's like was flipped upside
down when his wife Avia was murdered by Steppenwolf of Apokalips in an attempt
ion his life. Darkseid approached Izaya afterwards, and humiliated the king by
keeping him alive and presenting the image to his troops that he was in fact
dead. Izaya wandered the lands of New Genesis for some time, until he was
suddenly approached by a symbol of the Source, which transformed his walking
stick into a golden staff, raising his to godhood as the Highfather of New
Genesis. Highfather returned to his kingdom and led his New Gods against the
evil forces of Darkseid and Apokalips.
After years of war, the two worlds struck a peace accord, which involved the
exchange of the two heirs of these worlds. While Izaya's son, Scott Free, was
given to Darkseid, Darkseid in turn gave his son Orion to Highfather.
However, in this trade, Highfather would prove to be the winner; while his
true son would live amongst the denizens of Apokalips and learn to rebel against
the system, he would tame Orion's brutal being and persuade him to serve New
Genesis. Both these machinations proved to be successful: Scott Free escaped
Apokalips to eventually reunite with Highfather and New Genesis, and Orion
became a loyal follower and step-son, to Highfather, battling Darkseid and his
agents for years to come.
| "Highfather represents the people we hope are out there. Guys,
maybe, with common sense in high places"- "The King,"
1984 |
Recently, upon learning of Darkseid's plans to destroy the Source Wall and
control the Source itself, he gathered other elder gods, including Zeus, Jove,
Odin and Ares together to fight Darkseid. However, this plan quickly fell apart,
as Ares rebelled against the other gods, and in the end killed Highfather.
While Ares was later imprisoned on the new Source Wall (he later still
escaped and has resumed his role of god of war on Earth), Highfather remained
deceased...until very recently. After Izaya's death, Takion assumed the role of
Highfather (after Scott Free turned down the offer); this role would prove to be
challenging for the young god. He asked for some sort of help from Highfather,
who was now one with the Source, and he got it: Highfather briefly returned to
resurrect Supertown, the New Genesis home of the New Gods, to its former glory,
giving the forces of New Genesis a new hope in the come battles against Darkseid
and his armies.
Weapon of choice: his golden staff, which can summon power from the Source.
It's not really used for offensive purposes, though.
----------------------------------------
Avia
Avia was Izaya/Highfather's loyal wife, whom he loved deeply. Being a
warrior king, he needed a woman to keep him in touch with his soul and away from
the battle: Avia was that person. But that ended when Steppenwolf led a raid on
New Genesis to kill Izaya. As he was about to do so, Avia threw herself before
Steppenwolf and was killed in Izaya's place. This led Izaya to kill Steppenwolf
and foil the raid. But his wife was dead, and Izaya would never be the same.
Big Barda
Big Barda was trained in the orphanage of Granny Goodness, and was taught by
Granny herself. She was the leader of the Female Fury Battalion. During one
rebellion raid, she met a feisty young man named Scott Free. She realized he was
unlike any man she had ever met, and soon discovered something that she had
never known of: she was in love. When Scott Free sought to escape Apokalips to
Earth, Barda, knowing full well she would risk her career and life, helped Scott
escape. Some time later, as her affections for Scott grew, she turned her back
on the only home she ever knew and went to Earth in search of Scott Free. She
found him as an escape artist, under the guise of Mister Miracle. She and Scott
fell even deeper in love, and not long after were married by Scott's estranged
father, Highfather.
Barda stayed on Earth with Scott and his friend Oberon, and together they
toured across America with his act. They eventually decided to settle down in
the small town of Bailey, New Hampshire, where she put aside her warrior ways
(most of the time) to become a loyal wife. After various disasters from both the
town and Apokalips, they abandoned the town life and moved to Greenwich Village,
New York. Since then, she's bounced back and forth from Earth to New Genesis.
During a battle with the Furies, she was killed; but Scott battled the Black
Racer himself and risked all he had to save his wife, proving that her love for
him was quite appreciated.
Recently was appointed to join the JLA by the new Highfather, Takion. But
she still stays loyal to both her duties as warrior and as a loving wife and
companion to her husband Scott.
Weapon of choice: a Mega-rod, just like Granny's, which draws power from her
own strong will. She is also a very strong woman, with superhuman strength.
Black Racer
The Black Racer is the Source's harbinger of death. With one touch, he can
kill and send them into the Source. He was summoned to Earth by Sgt. Willie
Walker, a Vietnam veteran who was paralyzed and wished to die; the Black Racer
was thereby subconsciously summoned, and when he touched Walker, the paralyzed
man was healed, but became the new Black Racer. Walker now lies in a coma, but
whenever the Black Racer is summoned, he is transformed and performs his
mission, then always returning to his comatose state.
The Black Racer can phase through objects and travel at the speed of light
with his celestial skis (yes, that's right, "celestial skis.).
Fastbak
A native of New Genesis, Fastbak earned his reputation in Supertown as being
a young speedster, flying recklessly around the floating city. Over time,
though, he has matured greatly. He is not a warrior like Orion and others, but
he serves rather as a valuable aide in reconnissance and rescue missions.
He possesses aeropads in his boots, which allow him to travel and move at
superhuman speeds.
Forager
Forager was brought up in the bug colony of New Genesis. He was sent by the
Queen-Widow and Prime-One, leaders of the colony, to get help from the New Gods
of Supertown to help them fend off extermination by Mantis, an agent of
Darkseid. Orion and Lightray helped Forager and the bugs defeat Mantis and save
the colony.
He stayed an ally to the gods of Supertown for years to come. But over time,
an uneasy relationship formed between he and Orion, who seems to resent
Forager's upbringing. When the New Gods and the rest of the known universe was
threatened by Anti-Life, Forager was sent to Earth to team with Batman in
defeating a rogue agent of Darkseid, now under the control of Anti-Life, from
his plans of blowing up the planet. Forager, realizing the creature's mission
was about to be accomplished, sacrificed his life to save Batman, Earth and the
rest of the universe from being overtaken by Anti-Life.
Orion was ordered by Highfather to escort Forager's body to the bug colony
for the funeral pyre. There, he finally put aside his resentment to Forager and
his background, and acknowledged his late ally as a true hero.
Forager was an exceptional fighter, with the ability to run at great speed
and jump at superhuman levels. He always carried a shield for protection and had
adhesive pads in his boots which allowed him to stick to walls and objects.
Weapon of choice: an acid-pod, which he used to shoot streams of acid.
Forever People
The Forever People were all born on Earth, in different time periods, and
were chosen by Highfather to be taken to New Genesis and brought up there. When
Darkseid captured Beautiful Dreamer, the other Forever People went to Earth to
rescue her; Darkseid later released her willingly. They battled minions of
Darkseid, like Glorious Godfrey and Mantis, on their adventures to Earth. The
Forever People have the ability to summon a being called the Infinity Man, which
exchanges places with the People, sending them temporarily into "limbo" until
the Infinity Man. When Darkseid realized their threat to his plans, he first
blocked him in another dimension, where he temporarily lived on a planet called
Adon; for some time they could not summon the Infinity Man. When they freed him,
Darkseid sent Devilance the Pursuer to destroy the Infinity Man; he did, but
also destroyed himself. This event stranded the Forever People on Adon for some
time, during which they civilized the planet.
But the mysterious dark force known as the Dark destroyed what they had
created on Adon. The Forever People's Mother Box, destroyed while creating this
civilization called Forevertown, took the form of a spirit called Maya, and
transported the Forever People to Earth, where they battled the Dark and their
agent, Fyre. Maya was destroyed by the Dark, but the Infinity Man, once thought
destroyed himself, returned to help the Forever People defeat the Dark.
Since then, they have returned to New Genesis, where they live their lives
to this day.
The Forever People have in their possession a Super-Cycle, which carries all
five of them and has the ability to fly, travel through teleportation, and
intangibility.
--------------------
Beautiful Dreamer
Beautiful Dreamer is married to Big Bear, and together they have a child,
named Maya, after the spirit of their old Mother Box.
Since then, apparently their marriage has been voided by the magical powers
of the 'retcon'; currently, Dreamer is romantically involved with Takion, the nw
Highfather of New Genesis
Dreamer has psionic powers, which she can create illusions with. She has
also been able, like other New Gods, to sense fluctuations within the
Source.
Big Bear
Big Bear is married to Beautiful Dreamer, and together they have Maya, their
daughter. Of course, thanks to the 'retcon,' that marriage, and their daughter
Maya, never even happened.
Big Bear has superhuman strength and can mentally alter the density of
objects.
Mark Moonrider
Mark, while on Adon, fell in love with and later marries one of the natives,
Mina. They had 3 children together, but when the Dark took over Adon, they were
all reverted to savagery, leaving Mark with only his friends.
He has a "megaton touch," which allows him to shoot bolts of energy from his
hands.
Serifan
Serifan is the unruly one of the bunch. With no super-powers, he is usually
the most vulnerable. The Dark saw this and possessed Serifan, unsing him to
conquer Forevertown and plague the Forever People. After the Dark was defeated
he returned to his normal self.
Serifan has no super powers, but he always carries "cosmic cartridges,"
which can generate a anti-gravitational force or create force fields.
Vykin
When they 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, yet
creating Forevertown. But when the Dark overtook and reversed the effects of the
Mother Box, Vykin was brought back to life; his death having been reversed by
the Dark.
Recently he was reunited with his mother, Valkyra, on New Genesis, but lost
her when she sacrificed her life to save her lover Orion.
Vykin has magnetic powers which allow him to attract or repel to objects of
either iron or steel.
Himon
Himon is a brilliant scientist who lives on Apokalips.
| "Himon
is a survivor in a very, very hard world. He inspires people."- "The
King," 1984 |
He discovered the "X-element," which
possesses teleportational powers. He is the sole voice of good on a planet of
pure evil. He was the mentor of Scott Free, and with his help (lots of people
helped Scott Free) he helped him escape Apokalips. Though thought dead at the
hands of Darkseid and his troops for some time, he was in fact alive; even
Darkseid realizes that Himon's good is necessary on Apokalips. He has a
daughter, Bekka, who was a lover of Orion for some time. He and his daughter
briefly escaped Apokalips to live on New Genesis, but for reasons unknown, he
has returned to Apokalips to continue his studies and research.
Infinity Man
The Infinity Man was once a man named Astorr, who was a warrior of a distant
planet. One day he came into the possession of a horribly burnt man, named Drax,
who was the brother Darkseid. He brought Drax back to good health, but soon
after he died of old age. Before his death, he passed his role as the Infinity
Man to Drax, his friend and student. Drax served as the Infinity Man until he
was summoned by Highfather, where he was transported to New Genesis to be the
aide and protector of the Forever People.
He served the Forever People for many years. Whenever he was needed, the
Forever People would all touch their Mother Box and recite the word "Taaru,"
which summoned the Infinity Man, which likewise sent them into "limbo" until he
returned them to their rightful place. Darkseid was able to place the Infinity
Man in another dimension, where he made his home on a planet called Adon. When
the Forever People freed him from this dimension, he confronted Devilance the
Pursuer, he was destroyed, therefore stranding the Forever People on Adon. Years
later he was brought back through the combined efforts of the Forever People and
Maya, the spirit of their destroyed Mother Box, and helped his friends defeat
the Dark.
He possesses an anti-gravity power that enables him to fly, as well as
superhuman strength and magnetic energies which allow him to project powerful
force bolts and rearrange and manipluate the molecular structure of objects
Lightray
Lightray was once a boy of Supertown named Sollis. He was a lively young man
who made friends with Orion, and has remained so ever since. One day, he, Orion
and Metron encounterd a group of energy-enhanced soldiers from Apokalips. They
blasted Sollis with enormous amounts of solar energy beams, which knocked the
young man into a coma. After much hard work, Metron was able to revive Sollis.
But his life was altered forever: his body absorbed the blasts he had been
bombarded with. Over time heleared to master these powers, and changed his name
to, appropriately, Lightray.
| "He's
a very positive character and a virtuous character...he's the kind of a
guy you would expect a fair deal from."- "The King," 1984
|
Over the years he has been a dependable warrior fighting for New Genesis. He
was one of the first of New Genesis to go to Earth, along with Orion, and there
he met Eve Donner, whom he has visited often since then and has formed a close
relationship with. After the apparent death of Mister Miracle, Scott Free, both
he and Orion joined the Justice League of America for a short time to honor his
memory.
Recently, when the Source was contaminated due to the death of Darkseid
within it, Lightray was deeply affected by it, and seemingly transformed into a
dark verison of his former self. He led warriors of New Genesis against others
of New Genesis. It took the force of Orion, who didn't want to hurt his
long-time friend, to stop Lightray from destroying New Genesis and everyone on
it. Highfather, having visited Arkham Asylum on Earth, constructed an asylum on
New Genesis, and Lightray was sent there until the Source had been purified and
his dark side was gone. He has since returned to action and is as trusted as he
ever was.
Lightray, thanks to his powers, has the ability to fly. He can also generate
and project solar energy.
Lonar
A recluse on New Genesis, Lonar has never really been a warrior, but rather
an explorer of the lands.He has a horse named Thunderer, which be obtained while
visiting a city of the Old Gods on New Genesis.
Metron
Metron is a supreme explorer, scientist and inventor. He considers him
neither good nor evil, but a collector of knowledge, who works for his own
selfish reasons. However, he usually allies himself with the forces of New
Genesis.
Metron's first frey into the affairs of the New Gods' world was when he
learned of the discovery of the "X-element," a starnge material which possessed
teleportational properties. He bargained with its possessor Darkseid, to allow
him to have the material; in turn, he would assist Darkseid develops weapons of
war for Apokalips. In this way, Metron is partly responsible for the outbreak of
war between the two planets of the New Gods. Whether it was guilt or his own
selfish reasons, he soon allied with the forces of New Genesis; with Orion and
Lightray, the chief warriors of New Genesis, and with Scott Free, whom he
observed on Apokalips and helped him in his escape. He shared the technology of
the "boom tube" with Highfather when Darkseid threatened to break his pact with
New Genesis, and revealed secrets of Darkseid's plan to invade and conquer Earth
to Orion when the pact was broken.
| "There's never been a god like Metron; there's never been an
academic god. but we have him now."- "The King,"
1984 |
After years of war, Metron returned toi his mission of gaining knowledge
from all over the universe. He used his Mobius Chair to travel through time,
space and other dimensions in order to obtain more and more knowledge about the
cosmos. On one journey, he encountered the Anti-Life in a sperate dimension.
After confronting this spectacular sight, he was overcome with awe, which
literally damaged his mind and sent him into a comatose state. He was discovered
in this state by Darkseid, who teamed with Highfather and various heroes of
Earth, and together they battled the Anti-Life, which had sent some of its power
into the New Gods and Earth's dimensions when Metron entered its dimension.
Metron awoke frm his coma after the battle was over, unaware, and most likely
ignorant, of the sacrifices and losses that resulted from, basically, his
doings.
Since Metron's voyage for knowledge will one day, he hopes, lead him to
penetrate the Source itself, he does all he can to learn more about it. So when
Desaad approached him recently to break Darkseid from imprisonment on the Source
Wall, he agreed, in order to hopefully find out even more about that which he
sought to understand. Although he probably knows as much now as he ever has
about the Source of all things, he nonetheless travels the cosmos in constant
search of information.
Mister Miracle
Scott Free is the son of Izaya the Highfather of New Genesis, and in a pact
between the warring worlds of New Genesis and Apokalips, he was traded to
Darkseid, the ruler of Apokalips, in exchange for his son Orion. Scott was
thrown into the orphanage of Granny Goodness, who was, sadly enough, the only
parent he ever really had. She put him through hell, just like all her other
"children," to the point where he could stand no more. He often caused terouble
and rebelled against his captors and trainers. In one rebellion, he met Big
Barda, the leader of the Female Furies. He was able to escape her fury, but in
fact he had impressed her, and over time she began to have feelings for him.
With the help of various parties (his mentor Himon, Metron, Barda and even his
father Izaya on New Genesis), he escaped Apokalips to Earth. There, he met an
escape artist named Thaddeus Brown and his friend Oberon. Brown was soon killed
by the criminal Steel Hand, and Scott avenged his new friend's death by taking
on the identity of Thaddeus Brown's stage act and brought Steel Hand to justice.
Mister Miracle was born.
| "Scott
Free...told them [Darkseid and pals] 'Let me alone and let me find out who
I really am' And eventually that's what we all do."- "The King,"
1984 |
Eventually, Big Barda found Scott on Earth, and they were happily reunited.
The two fell deeply in love, and some time later, were marries by Highfather
himself. The two of them, as well as Oberon, travelled America with their act,
and battled the various threats from both Earth and Apokalips as well.
Mr. Miracle, aiding the super-heroes of Earth, joined the newly-reformed
Justice League of America. But he and Barda still lived together, finding a
secluded home in Bailey, New Hampshire to retreat to. In a battle with the
reborn Despero, Scott was apparently killed, causing his friends Orion and
Lightray to join the Justice League in his memory. But Scott was not dead at
all; he had been transported onto the spacecraft of Manga Khan, an occassional
foe of the JLA who once captured him to sell to Granny Goodness. After some
time, Khan returned Scott to Earth, much to the relief of his wife and friends.
His days with the Justice League behind him, he left the super-hero business for
a time, mving from New Hampshire to Greenwich Village, New York. Not long after,
he returned to New Genesis with Barda and Highfather.
Since then, Scott has bounced back and forth from Earth to New Genesis and
back. Although their marriage has had its rough times here and there, Scott and
Barda stick together. When Barda was killed by the Furies, Scott battled the
Black Racer to get her back, and he did. And when it came time for Scott to take
the rank of Highfather after Izaya's death, he turned down the position and
abandoned his godpowers for a more solitude life with his wife on Earth. He
still performs the occassional carnival acts as Mr. Miracle: Escape Artist, and
he still frequents New Genesis, but his super-hero days have taken a backseat as
of late.
Whatever super-powers he had are gone, after he had the wizard Shazam take
them away. He has always relied on technological gadgets, concealed within his
costume, and his quick wits. He transports himself with aero-discs, which he
obtained in his days on Apokalips. And most of all, like all the New Gods, he is
always equipped with his trusty Mother Box.
Orion
The son
of Darkseid and Tigra, Orion, along with his mother, were banished upon his
birth to the depths of Apokalips, where Orion was soon trained to be a killer by
Granny Goodness. In the peace agreement between New Genesis and Apokalips, he
was traded to New Genesis, where he
| "Orion's masking of his true face with the handsome one symbolizes
any individual's attempt to conceal his evil desires and drives"- Peter W.
Dodds Jr., 1984 |
at first did not fit in at all.
But soon, under the guidance of Highfather, Orion's brutal and unruly self was
calmed, and over time, a more mature and almost philosophical warrior emerged.
When he learned that Darkseid was his true father (a happening that Darkseid
hoped would return Orion to his side), it only strengthened Orion's hatred
toward Darkseid and his determination to destroy him.
Although no longer under Darkseid's control, Orion has nonetheless inherited
his father's savagery, and in thew heat of battle that dark side has come to
light (from the various agents of Apokalips that Orion has viciously destroyed
over the years to the events on Thanagar in Cosmic Odyssey, when Orionm
murdered hundreds and thousands of Thanagarians to provide a distraction for his
and Superman's mission there to stop the Anti-Life force threatening the
planet.)
When Darkseid has threatened Earth, Orion has always been at the head of New
Genesis' forces to stop him. He travelled there to protect various humans who
were captured by Darkseid for his search for the anti-life equation, and on two
seperate occassions,. he has been a member of the Justice League of America (the
first, with Lightray, after the "death" of Scott Free, and the second, with Big
Barda, after being appointed by Takion to join them in order to prepare for the
coming of Mageddon.)
In the recent past, Orion has been deeply affected by the evil of his father
Darkseid. The first came when after he and Darkseid had entered the Source,
Orion killed him there. Over time, the death of Darkseid greatly affected all of
the New Gods, as his death in the Source had tainted it, causing New Gods to
kill their fellow New Gods on New Genesis. Not onyl that, but Orion's demeanor
became more and more brutal, until the truth arose: Darkseid has somehow become
part of his son, and he soon split from his son (quite literally) to become his
own self once again. Not longer after this, Orion was seemingly killed by Desaad
on Earth; however, Orion, on his way to becoming one with the Source, managed to
take Desaad with him. Soon after, Highfather was able to extract Orion from the
Source; but again, this Orion seemed more evil and savage than before. Upon
confronting the Female Furies, who were trying to invade New Genesis, their
leader Bernadeth seemed to almost recognize Orion as someone else. After both
Highfather and Darkseid realized something was wrong, Highfather, along with
Takion, was able to vanquish the evil spirit within Orion: it turned out that
Desaad has been fused with Orion since they entered the Source together.
Orion remains a valiant warrior, and now seems determined to end his
father's madness once and for all. He finally did so in the fire pits of Apokalips. Despite
the claims by his mother Tigra that Darkseid may not actually be Orion's father,
he set out to one day fulfill the prophesy the Source Wall gave him years before.
Following her death at the hands of a crew of Darkseid's Suicide Jockeys, Orion
swore revenge, which he got when, after a brutal battle before the populations of both
New Genesis and Apokalips, he deflected Darkseid's Omega Beams, which reduced
his father to a pile of ash.
The King is dead. Long live the King.
Weapon of choice: his brute strength and his astro-glider, which allows him
to fly through space and use the "astro-force" as a weapon.
Takion
Takion was once Josh Sanders, a blind young man, who as fate would have it
was chosen by Highfather to become the living embodiment of the Source. He was
elevated to godhood and renamed Takion. He serves as a conduit and avatar,
between the Source and the New Gods of New Genesis.
He is a relative newcomer to the world of the New Gods, so when he was
chosen to become the new Highfather, many were amazed, especially Takion
himself. But he has taken on the task to the fullest, using it as a chance to
further explore the extent of his powers and his being. Since becoming
Highfather, Takion has gained advice from the late Izaya and has been involved
with Beautiful Dreamer.
Takion can manipulate matter and energy of all forms. He is a being of
limitless power, so there is very little Takion cannot do.
Valkyra
Most of the entry written by
Azmodi
The woman known as Valkyra lives at the south pole of New Genesis in a huge
citadel. There, she practices her arts of war all-day and all-night. So
well-versed is she in the practices of combat that Highfather sent the young
Orion to her so that she might train him to be a warrior. She did train him
until adulthood, and he then became the greatest warrior in the history of New
Genesis, surpassing even Valkyra herself.
Recently, Valkyra's citadel was destroyed by the forced separation of
Apokolips and New Genesis, and she was captured by an ancient weapon buried in
the planet's crust. But, Orion saved her life and managed to destroy the
creature, a remnant from the war of the Old Gods.
In a current battle with his brother Kalibak, Orion was in danger of being
killed by his step-brother. The Black Racer arrived and was prepared to take
Orion's soul into the Source; but Valkyra managed to sacrifice her life to save
Orion and threw herself in the Racer's place, thereby taking his place in the
Source.
Valkyra is also Vykin's (of the Forever People) mother. She disapproves of
his embracing of science and contact between them is limited.
Information collected from the New Gods Secret Files and Origins and
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe (the comic and the
deluxe edition series)
The quotes are collected from "The Gods Themselves" by
Peter W. Dodds, which appeared in Amazing Heroes #47, May 15, 1984.
