Gødland

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Adam Archer

Publisher	Image Comics
First appearance	Gødland #1
Created by	Joe Casey and Tom Scioli

Characteristics
Alter ego	Adam Archer
Affiliations	Maxim, Cosmic Fetus Collective
Abilities	Superhuman strength, flight, energy projection and manipulation, teleportation

Gødland is a comic book by Joe Casey and Tom Scioli, published by Image Comics since 2005.

The series was conceived as both a homage to and a revival of the Cosmic Superhero Epic as told by many great comic writers of the 70s like Steve Engelhart, Jim Starlin and Jack Kirby. The style of the series is strongly inspired by Kirby's style in his Eternals and The Fourth World series. While obviously strongly inspired by this series, Casey and Scioli add their own twist on the stories with a little humor.

The main character of the series is astronaut Adam Archer. As the sole survivor of an ill-fated journey to Mars, Adam Archer meets the alien entities known as the Cosmic Fetus Collective, who transform him into a cosmic being and instruct him in the uses of his new powers. Archer is sent back to Earth as the first human to be touched by universal enlightenment.

The series starts four years later. Archer has become a famous superhero, but is distrusted by government and the public. The military have provided him with a base, Infinity Tower, from where Archer and his three sisters, Neela, Angie and Stella, protect the Earth. Neela, an astronaut and military commander, resents that her brother's powers overshadow her own talents and that she is forced to keep an eye on him instead of pursuing her own career. Angie, a fighter pilot, is a rebellious spirit, while Stella, who oversees communication with her brother, is clear-headed and rational.

On his adventures, Adam comes into conflict with many bizarre supervillains like Basil Cronus, a floating skull in jar on a quest for the ultimate high, Friedrich Nicklehead, Discordia and her father the Tormentor and his army of Superman-Mice.

On his first adventure, Adam saves the giant, dog-like alien Maxim, who turns out to know about the Cosmic Fetus Collective. Maxim was enhanced by his own species and sent to Earth to contact Archer and prepare him for his destiny. He is rather disappointed with the human race though, who are further from enlightenment than he would have hoped. Nevertheless he is fully committed to his task as a mentor to Adam.

There is a space-god named Iboga who plays an important part in the series cosmology.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Neela has left her family and joined up with a private consortium who want to fly to the stars. Villainess Discordia's head exploded during her trial, but Nicklehead has sent his servant to collect her body.

Adam has saved the world from an alien invasion, only to be met with distrust and lawsuits. Archer has become annoyed with humanity's distrust of him and their worship of superhero Crashman, but Maxim is about to show him more about his origin.