Genesis (DC Comics)

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Genesis

Genesis #2 featuring Highfather,
art by Alan Davis

Publisher	DC Comics
Schedule	weekly
Format	mini-series
Publication dates	Issue #1-4 October 1997
Number of issues	4
Main character(s)	Highfather Darkseid Superman

Creative team as of October 1997
Writer(s)	John Byrne
Penciller(s)	Ron Wagner
Inker(s)	Joe Rubinstein
Colourist(s)	Patricia Mulvihill
Creator(s)	John Byrne Ron Wagner

Genesis was a 4-part comic book event miniseries/crossover published by DC Comics, which had tie-ins with most of DC's ongoing series set in the DC Universe. The miniseries itself was published weekly in August 1997, written by John Byrne, with art by Ron Wagner and Joe Rubenstein.

1 Plot
2 Trivia
3 Criticism
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The storyline centered on the New Gods and their traditional enemy Darkseid, but involved all of DC's super-powered characters either directly or implicitly. It retconned the source of all super powers in the DC Universe to "the Godwave", an interstellar phenomenon that had previously created gods on various planets through the universe (e.g. on Earth the Greek, Egyptian, and Norse pantheons), and when reflected back empowered superheroes on Earth in the 20th century. This phenomenon manifested itself in various ways, as a kind of grand unified theory tying together the Source, the Green Lanterns' power rings, the Speed Force, the power of Shazam, Kryptonian abilities, gifts from the Olympian gods, etc. Darkseid's attempt to seize the power of the Godwave disrupts these abilities, either neutralizing them or altering them drastically into other powers. The heroes of Earth and the New Gods prevent this from happening.

[edit] Trivia

The story was described by Byrne as "the most important and significant thing that has ever happened to these heroes, but it doesn't really change anything," quoting a statement by Jim Shooter about the best kinds of superhero stories.

[edit] Criticism

The main story and the tie-ins were widely criticized, for the retcon changing the nature of the various heroes' powers, for the lack of other consequences of a story which had been promoted for its importance, and for the quality of the story itself.^[1]^[2]

[edit] References

^ What in the *world* were they thinking? I've long been a fan of the Fourth World characters, and I've long been a fan of John Byrne. This has almost sworn me off of both. In fact, I decided by the end of GENESIS that I was no longer interested in JACK KIRBY'S FOURTH WORLD. SUPERSCRIPTS: Notes from the Editor
^ John Byrne is no slouch when it comes to creating vast, cosmically scaled stories, but this one missed the mark. The Unofficial Comics Crossover Index