Who's This? An old New God.
The facts: Highfather is the leader of the New Gods of New Genesis, first appearing in New Gods #1 (February-March 1971) and of course created by Jack Kirby. He usually plays a role in New Gods stories, though he was (temporarily) killed in Genesis and succeeded by Takion. Highfather has also appeared in Fourth World stories in the DCAU, Young Justice, and Justice League: Gods and Monsters.
How you could have heard of him: Highfather is currently starring in a New Gods series.
Example story: New Gods #7 (March 1972) "The Pact!" by Jack Kirby with Mike Royer
Now, I've used this issue before as a spotlight for Darkseid. But we're looking at it from the OTHER seid, I mean, side. One thing Kirby makes plain in "The Pact!" is that Highfather, though now a kind of Abrahamic figure, was the Orion of his day. A young warrior who went by Izaya the Inheritor, walked with a cool stick, and had a beautiful wife who wanted him to sing for her.
And of course, a kick-ass action hero. As he got to prove when Steppenwolf made his move on his picnic!
In this circumstance, he's outmatched (or at least outnumbered) and it's poor Avia who gets killed by Darkseid's uncle. I think they should have made more of this over the years, but I barely ever think of Highfather specifically fighting Steppenwolf.
Young Darkseid is also present and zaps Izaya before he can retaliate, lamenting the fact that now New Genesis and Apokalips are surely at war. Steppenwolf refuses to check on the fallen hero's condition, taking his death for granted indeed. But as we know, Izaya was not dead and would return to avenge Avia as a mysterious helmeted warrior.
The old general would be resurrected in due course, but I guess Izaya's taste for vengeance is satiated here. It's not the end of the war, that's for sure, and each new atrocity weighs on Izaya.
"Highfather" sounds like a title, but to get there, perhaps Izaya has to shed his old name, shed the tainted warrior that he is, reject all he's become!
It's getting mythical up in here! He screams: "IF I AM IZAYA THE INHERITOR - WHAT IS MY INHERITANCE!?" and the Source is revealed to him. In other words, the prophet has gone to the mountain and had a Revelation. In the clothes of peace, he returns with a new staff, that of the shepherd, and instigates the famous exchange of sons to end the war. It's also aged him some!
Transformation complete. He speaks, and people listen. Even young, violent Orion trusts him. So passes Highfather into the realm of supporting players, an Odinesque dad for Orion to disappoint. But he's seen it all before. He used to BE Orion, and he found a better way. I'd love to read more Izaya stories, honestly, but they could only ever act as a compare/contrast exercise for understanding the next generation of New Gods.
Who's Next? An Amazon Queen.
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