Top 10 New Gods

So just chillin', listening to Ryan Daly's Secret Origins podcast last week, specifically Mister Miracle's, and isn't it always the way? It got me daydreaming about who my favorite New Gods are. I mean, the Fourth World is pretty important to me, and I don't talk about it nearly enough. Who's in here? Anyone born on Apokolips or New Genesis could make the cut, though yeah, none of the Forever People made the list (is anyone surprised?), and they don't have to have originated under Jack Kirby's sainted pencil, but it sure seems to help.

1. Darkseid. THE big bad of the DC Universe, I really first encountered him (like a couple of his friends) on later-day Super-Friends cartoons and loved him and his gravelly voice so much, he became my first Super-Powers action figure. I made him slam his desk so often and so hard, one of his arms has come off. Though his design is simple (and I haven't liked ANY attempt at making it more baroque), Darkseid remains a striking and intimidating figure. His quest for the Anti-Life Equation, the monuments in his likeness on Apokolips, his operatic family life, him absurdly showing up in Scott Free's (or Ambush Bug's) living room, and the Omega Beams that really don't need to be aimed, all help him get to #1. Darkseid is.

2. Mister Miracle. Every story needs a hero, and with all due respect to Orion, Scott Free is the shining beacon of the Fourth World. He is the Freedom Christ to Darkseid's God of Nihilism. He has a great origin, the son of Highfather swapped for Darkseid's and dumped in a torture orphanage instead of raised as a son, he seems to have his New God powers beaten out of him - he's the most "human" of them all - and spends his life playing escape artist and freeing others of their "anti-life". One of those liberated is Barda who becomes his wife (see below). He wears a costume that shouldn't work but does, had some fun adventures with Justice League International, and shout-out to Oberon who is a pretty great hetero life-mate (because I won't call him a sidekick).

3. Big Barda. Standing a foot taller than her husband, she's my kind of heroine, the brawny former Female Fury fell under Scott Free's spell, or rather, was freed from Darkseid's/Granny's, and became a great partner for Mr. Miracle. I love this marriage, and I love it when they get really domestic with the character. This warrior-born fuming after burning the roast, or whatever, is where my fondness comes from, but I like to see her kick ass as well. Another baroque costume that probably shouldn't work but does, and her alt-costume is a red battle/Ursula Andress bikini which is pretty cool too.

4. Lashina. Another Female Fury? So soon? Can't help it, in large part because the character was allowed to develop as Duchess, a badass member of the Suicide Squad. In full Apokolipsian gear, she's a terrifying S&M figure wielding killer straps, and belting out punishment. Between her and Barda, it makes me wonder if Jack Kirby had predilections similar to Robert Crumb's...

5. Granny Goodness. No Female Furies without someone to train them, right? Granny beats independence out of her "children" and is the most nightmarish headmistress imaginable, giving even the toughest superheroes on Earth the chance to brawl with a woman of a certain age and risk losing. Bonus points for Ed Asner lending her his voice in the DC Animated Universe. That's both insane and awesome.

6. DeSaad. Another of the Super-Friends foes, DeSaad is Darkseid's closest aide, as cruel as his master, but always risking oblivion-by-Omega Beam. Though he seems like a toady today, his history is intimately wrapped in Darkseid's, for it was he who poisoned Darkseid's first love at the behest of the Big D's mother Heggra, and was then forced by Darkseid to murder Heggra, making him the ultimate ruler of Apokolips. In other words, he pretty much made Darkseid what he is.

7. Orion. Darkseid's son, sent to live on New Genesis as part of a treaty, Orion has an interesting psychology in that his Apokolipsian wrath is always bubbling near the surface. He has both an pretty and an ugly face representative of his dual nature. I may have him at the back of this pack because I never thought much of his costume. So plain. Though I did like how they streamlined it in the New52's Wonder Woman book, I will admit.

8. Kalibak. The son Darkseid DID raise is a bit of a brute, but for some reason, I like bruiser-type New Gods. Not sure why. Sorry Metron. You had a cool chair, but you're just not active enough. Kalibak gets my sympathy for being the disappointment who Darkseid is always quick to dismiss in favor of even an adopted son, like a brainwashed Superman, for example (in Legends, among other places). The only thing that keeps Kalibak alive (or from not being resurrected) is that he is the progeny of the one person Darkseid truly loved. There's something almost sweet about that. You know, if Kalibak wasn't such a hateful monster.

9. Forager. Technically not a God, Forager and his people are essentially New Genesis' answer to insects. And that's why I like him: In the Fourth World, even BUGS are SUPERHEROES. He's the lowest of the low in that universe, and climbs up to heaven to appeal to his gods, and there's something great about that. That tribal-mask look is pretty damn distinctive too.

10. Knockout. Annnnnd if only to show that I'm quite willing to entertain the idea of New Gods not created by the King of Comics, I wanted to use this last spot to feature a NEW New God. Could have been Amazing Grace, the first such I thought was viable, but John Byrne's additions to the mythos (the other is Sleez) are rather rapey and unpalatable. No, much better to go with Barda's replacement in the Furies, pictured above smiling as she fights both Superboy and Valor. I mean! A very fun character, flirting with punches. Like several before her, she escaped Granny's stranglehold, and made a life for herself on Earth, joined the Suicide Squad and Secret Six, has had quite the longevity where other newbies mostly failed (Takion, anyone?).

I do give out honorable mentions. For example, I was sorely tempted to put the Black Racer on here, because it's sheer MADNESS to imagine the Angel of Death as a knight on flying skis, but I've always hated his color scheme. In the end, he's a poor man's Silver Surfer, I suppose. The Mantis action figure redesign is also a favorite, but that's not really the Mantis in the comics. I like the Deep Six, but none of the characters stand out. But look, it's your turn. Maybe you have an as-yet-unspoken love of Lightray. Or Beautiful Dreamer. Or Mokkari over at the Cadmus Project. Or Doctor Bedlam. Maybe you're all about one of the more obscure characters like Highfather's wife Avia, or somebody from the later years like Yuga Khan. Let us know in the comments.

At who's altar do YOU worship?