Jack Kirby’s Fourth World is an ambitious tale of good versus evil, represented by the cosmic war between the paradisiacal planet New Genesis and the dystopic world Apokolips. The story is told across five works that, surprisingly, barely tie into each other:
New Gods follows the adventures of Orion, a New Genesis warrior that is locked into war with the tyrannical ruler of Apokolips, Darkseid, who is also his father.
In Mister Miracle, the eponymous protagonist flees from Apokolips and tries to evade the agents sent to retrieve him, while also employing his skills to become an escape artist on Earth.
The Forever People are a group of space hippies who come to Earth and thwart Darkseid’s attempts to acquire the Anti-Life Equation, a phlebotinum capable of eliminating all free will across the universe.
In Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen, the titular reporter investigates the activities of a mysterious corporation, which turns out to be a faction of Darkseid’s army that is conducting biotechnological experiments on Earth’s life forms.
The series reaches its Grand Finale in Hunger Dogs, where Darkseid launches his final and most destructive assault against New Genesis.
Of these five titles, New Gods is easily the strongest one. As the embodiment of the Nature vs. Nurture trope, Orion is a compelling protagonist that comes across as both sympathetic and utterly terrifying. Issue 7, which depicts the beginnings of the New Genesis-Apokolips War, is a highlight, due in no small part to the incredible world building.
Mister Miracle is a close second, but it unfortunately suffers a massive drop in quality halfway through the run, as the Apokolips storyline is abruptly dropped in favour of silly conflicts against bizarre criminals, which are usually solved by the protagonist getting New Powers as the Plot Demands.
Sadly, the flaws don’t end there. Sometimes it feels as if Kirby didn’t have an end goal in mind and came up with plotlines by throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks. Characters introduced in one chapter inexplicably vanish by the next one. Potentially interesting concepts like the Source and the Mother Boxes get a few mentions but are barely touched upon.
Apart from Orion, Mister Miracle and Darkseid, the series has one of the blandest casts I’ve ever seen. I disliked Kirby’s take on Superman, as he never comes across as Jimmy Olsen’s “pal”, but as a caretaker who only exists to save him whenever a supervillain shows up. The Newsboy Legion are prominent supporting characters, but the most memorable thing about them is the ridiculous flying car they drive. The Forever People are by far the worst victims of the underdeveloped characterization, since they are all generic nice guys who are only distinguished by their (vaguely defined and rather contrived) super powers. Or, in the case of Vykin the Black (yes, that’s the character’s actual name), the colour of his skin.
The dialogue is often awkward and unnatural. We are treated to moments like Barda screaming "I’m a damn good bowler!" while throwing a boulder at some bad guys, which is supposed to be awesome, but comes across as painfully goofy. The panels are also accompanied by intrusive narration which, while a common feature in most comics at the time, still takes attention away from Kirby’s amazing artwork.
The final nail in the coffin is the fact the story reaches its end in a graphic novel marred by Executive Meddling, failing to deliver the epic confrontation between Orion and Darkseid that had been foreshadowed since the very first issue. While I appreciate that the conflict ends in a rather creative manner that doesn’t involve two guys beating the crap out of each other, it still feels like a let-down.
Overall, while Jack Kirby’s contributions to the comic book industry cannot be overstated, it’s tough to recommend Fourth World to modern readers. The series is at times brilliant, other times archaic. It reaches high highs, but also really low lows. I’d still encourage DC fans to give it a try, though, if only to see how the foundations were laid for some of the company’s most famous storylines.
ComicBook Did not age well...
Jack Kirby’s Fourth World is an ambitious tale of good versus evil, represented by the cosmic war between the paradisiacal planet New Genesis and the dystopic world Apokolips. The story is told across five works that, surprisingly, barely tie into each other:
Of these five titles, New Gods is easily the strongest one. As the embodiment of the Nature vs. Nurture trope, Orion is a compelling protagonist that comes across as both sympathetic and utterly terrifying. Issue 7, which depicts the beginnings of the New Genesis-Apokolips War, is a highlight, due in no small part to the incredible world building.
Mister Miracle is a close second, but it unfortunately suffers a massive drop in quality halfway through the run, as the Apokolips storyline is abruptly dropped in favour of silly conflicts against bizarre criminals, which are usually solved by the protagonist getting New Powers as the Plot Demands.
Sadly, the flaws don’t end there. Sometimes it feels as if Kirby didn’t have an end goal in mind and came up with plotlines by throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks. Characters introduced in one chapter inexplicably vanish by the next one. Potentially interesting concepts like the Source and the Mother Boxes get a few mentions but are barely touched upon.
Apart from Orion, Mister Miracle and Darkseid, the series has one of the blandest casts I’ve ever seen. I disliked Kirby’s take on Superman, as he never comes across as Jimmy Olsen’s “pal”, but as a caretaker who only exists to save him whenever a supervillain shows up. The Newsboy Legion are prominent supporting characters, but the most memorable thing about them is the ridiculous flying car they drive. The Forever People are by far the worst victims of the underdeveloped characterization, since they are all generic nice guys who are only distinguished by their (vaguely defined and rather contrived) super powers. Or, in the case of Vykin the Black (yes, that’s the character’s actual name), the colour of his skin.
The dialogue is often awkward and unnatural. We are treated to moments like Barda screaming "I’m a damn good bowler!" while throwing a boulder at some bad guys, which is supposed to be awesome, but comes across as painfully goofy. The panels are also accompanied by intrusive narration which, while a common feature in most comics at the time, still takes attention away from Kirby’s amazing artwork.
The final nail in the coffin is the fact the story reaches its end in a graphic novel marred by Executive Meddling, failing to deliver the epic confrontation between Orion and Darkseid that had been foreshadowed since the very first issue. While I appreciate that the conflict ends in a rather creative manner that doesn’t involve two guys beating the crap out of each other, it still feels like a let-down.
Overall, while Jack Kirby’s contributions to the comic book industry cannot be overstated, it’s tough to recommend Fourth World to modern readers. The series is at times brilliant, other times archaic. It reaches high highs, but also really low lows. I’d still encourage DC fans to give it a try, though, if only to see how the foundations were laid for some of the company’s most famous storylines.