| New Genesis | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | The New Gods #1 (Feb, 1971) |
| Created by | Jack Kirby |
| In story information | |
| Type | Planet |
| Notable people | Orion (comics) Highfather Mister Miracle Lightray |
| Notable races | New Gods |
| Notable locations | Necropolis |
New Genesis is a fictional planet in the DC Comics Universe (or rather, in a parallel dimension adjacent to it). This planet, along with Apokolips, is speculated to be near the constellation Orion. It is the home-planet of the New Gods from Jack Kirby's Fourth World metaseries.
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New Genesis and its dark counterpart Apokolips were spawned by the destruction of Urgrund, the world of the "Old Gods" (initially implied to be the gods of classical mythology, though versions of these characters have since been revealed to still exist in the DC Universe). New Genesis and Apokolips are locked in an eternal war, symbolizing the struggle of good and evil on a grand mythic scale. New Genesis is ruled by a being known as the Highfather, a spiritual leader who maintains his people's connection to the primal energy field known as The Source. The original Highfather, Izaya the Inheritor, has since perished and been replaced by Earthling superhero Takion, a living conduit of The Source. In contrast to the industrial wasteland of Apokolips, New Genesis is a veritable paradise covered in lush forests and grasslands. The only urban location is Supertown, a floating city designed not to affect the planet's surface.
Both Apokolips and New Genesis were seemingly destroyed in a final conflict, similar to that which destroyed Urgrund, home of the Old Gods prior to Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle mini-series. However, the final issue of that series implied that the story's earlier events were merely visions seen by the hero as part of an elaborate test by the New God Metron. It seems that none of these events actually occurred, as the miniseries Death of the New Gods takes place on New Genesis and Apokolips in the first issue, and many of the new gods and other Fourth World characters are seen in their standard style throughout much of Countdown, Countdown to Mystery, and Superman/Batman. In addition to New Genesis and Apokolips still being in existence and the characters being portrayed as they have always been, there is no mention of any of the Seven Soldiers events.
It has since been revealed that Seven Soldiers is indeed part of established history, as its characters reappear in the Final Crisis and its events are referenced. It transpires that when Darkseid died (when, and how, a subject of some controversy in itself) he fell back through time. He, and many of the other New Gods, then incarnated in pre-existing human bodies. Most, if not all of these perished during Final Crisis, releasing their godly essence.
At the end of the Death of the New Gods mini-series, with all the gods now dead, the Source entity merges Apokolips and New Genesis into a single planet and indicates that it will possibly be repopulated.
At the end of this story, in issue #7, the New Gods of Supertown were reborn on Apokolips, itself reborn as New Genesis.
There are two types of inhabitants of New Genesis. The first are called the "gods" or "New Gods" (the upper class), a race of powerful immortals. The gods live in Supertown. The "bugs" (the lower class) evolved from "micro-life" spread on the planet's surface during the gods' war. They live on the planet's surface, in hives or the "Bug Mound". There is occasionally prejudice between these two races, as many of the gods consider the bug-people to be a lesser species.
As it exists in a parallel dimension, travel between New Genesis and other worlds is only possible via technology known as the boom tube, dimensional gateways whose creation is signified by a sonic boom. It has been said that in their world, the gods of New Genesis are of gigantic stature and that travel through the boom tubes rescales them to mortal proportions.[1]
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