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A review by cleheny
Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus, Volume 1 by Jack Kirby
4.0
It’s been five years since I first read Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus, and I’m glad I’m revisiting it. I’m not a comics historian and don’t have much understanding or knowledge about comics creation (including the varied roles of those creators—writer, inker, etc.) beyond what you can pick up from internet searches. So, when I first read the Omnibus, I was most interested in the story that Kirby told and how it shaped later DC comics, the DCAU, and the DCEU. Re-reading it now, I can appreciate how Kirby layers the story through four comics: Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen, The Forever People, The New Gods, and Mr. Miracle. There are some clunky moments and portentous, unconvincing dialogue, but there’s also real power to the story.
The overarching narrative is Darkseid’s quest to obtain the “Anti-Life Equation,” which will give him the ability to eliminate individual thought and will throughout the universe so that only his will matters. He is convinced that someone on Earth holds the key to the formula in their subconscious, and most of the Apokoliptian schemes are designed to surreptitiously conduct that search and prepare Earth for Apokolips’ conquest. The New Gods and Forever People depict the conflict most directly, though the former is more of a war story and the latter an adventure tale. Jimmy Olsen is concerned largely with how the conflict plays out among mortal men: there are some Apokolips characters as antagonists, but the majority of villains and all of the heroes (except Superman) are from Earth. Mr. Miracle is, narratively, the least connected to the epic. It focuses on Scott Free, who escaped Apokolips’ brutality and indoctrination into Darkseid’s armies, and who resists frequent attempts to be captured and/or killed by his former tormentors. Although Kirby’s story ran longest with this comic (18 issues v. 15 for Jimmy Olsen v. 11 each for New Gods and Forever People), it exists slightly apart from the main narrative (at least through the first two volumes of the Omnibus).
Kirby’s epic starts a bit slowly but gathers steam as the reader is able to fit the various narratives together. We read three issues of Jimmy Olsen before we meet any of the Fourth World protagonists. Therefore, our introduction to the Fourth World is initially in glimpses, without any guidance/commentary from characters who know anything about the villains’ true motives.
• Jimmy Olsen focuses on the titular character and Superman, along with the new Newsboy Legion, the sons of Kirby’s original Legion. The “new” Newsboys are all carbon copies of their fathers, apparently with the same names; the new addition is “Flippa Dippa,” a black character who is always dressed for scuba-diving and whose dialogue most often focuses on water and what he can do in it. His speech is Kirby’s version of “jive” talk, which, almost 50 years later, makes for uncomfortable reading. But Flippa Dippa isn’t the only Newsboy saddled with stereotypical speech. “Scrapper” speaks as if he’s a wise-cracking street kid from the 40’s (his first line of dialogue is a model for his speech throughout: “Cahmaan inside, Olsen—don’t be a snob! Dis place won’t bite ‘cha!”).
• The Forever People tells the story of five young people from “Supertown” on New Genesis: Mark Moonrider (who appears to be the leader), Vykin the Black (who is, literally, black and carries the Mother Box—a super, sentient computer—with him), Serafin (inexplicably dressed as a cowboy but with special gadgets (which look like bullets) that stud his hatband), Big Bear (the big and hairy “muscle” who is also, of course, a gentle giant), and Beautiful Dreamer (the female character who can create illusions and whose dress reminds me of Flintstone’s female attire). They come to Earth to thwart Darkseid’s attempt to obtain the Anti-Life Equation. Together, they can summon the Infinity Man, an incredibly powerful fighter with multiple abilities. It is left deliberately ambiguous as to whether the five combine together to create the Infinity Man or physically exchange places with him and go to whatever dimension or far-off place he normally lives in. Sometimes, the dialogue indicates that they change places, but, in a crucial conflict at the climax of Forever People #3, Darkseid describes Infinity Man as “one—and many” and a “strange fusion of beings” that can be broken apart.
• The New Gods follows Orion, a warrior of New Genesis who has never quite fit in his people’s peaceful community and wonders about his place there, even as he is fiercely dedicated to his home. Orion arrives on Earth expressly to do battle with Darkseid and his forces. He is aided by four Earthlings (all Americans, of course) who he rescued from their captivity on Apokolips; their descriptions of themselves, mostly taken from #4, are classic examples of hokey character exposition: “I’m Victor Lanza! An insurance executive! A family man!”; “I’m Claudia Shane, simple but worried secretary!”; “And, me, young but cool, Harvey Lockman!” The fourth—Dave Lincoln—is a private investigator, which comes in handy as the four help Orion to investigate Intergang and its Apokoliptian allies.
• Mr. Miracle focuses on Scott Free, a young man raised in an orphanage who has otherworldly “gadgets” that help him assume the mantle of “Mr. Miracle,” super-escape artist. He is loyally assisted by Oberon, a dwarfish older man who was the previous Mr. Miracle’s sidekick. It gradually emerges that Scott is hunted by dangerous adversaries from Apokolips, but Oberon loyally sticks by him.
There is a lot to enjoy here, even though sometimes the enjoyment stems from the sheer weirdness and/or hokey-ness of the story. For example, Kirby’s first six issues of Jimmy Olsen concern Jimmy and company’s adventures in a hidden underground world composed of the Wild, Habitat, the Zoomway, and the “Project.” The story starts bonkers and doesn’t let up (the cover of the first issue shows Jimmy, riding a massive motorcycle, and with two dangerous-looking companions, running down Superman: Bearded thug: “Jimmy Olsen’s our leader! He gives the orders!” Jimmy: “Gun him down!”). It’s fascinating that Jimmy Olsen, of all people, is instantly accepted as a leader by both the Newsboy Legion and a tough-looking motorcycle gang. Oddly enough, the gang is equipped with guns that fire some kind of Kryptonite beam, even though they don’t seem to know who Superman is; why have such specialized weapons on hand if you’ve apparently never heard of the Kryptonian they could harm? Superman is bewildered by the Wild and Habitat (“I’ve a hunch I’ve wandered into a dropout society! Anything can happen here!”), but is quick to adopt hip lingo (“Sorry! But I can’t play your scene!”).
Their story progresses as Jimmy and the Legion learn of a secret government program (the “Project”) with which Superman is already familiar. Reading about the Project today, as well as Superman’s and Jimmy’s easy acceptance of it, is fascinating, because, if the story was told today, it’s impossible to imagine that the Project would be depicted as anything but a sinister government plan..
In the first volume, I think the best issue of The Forever People is #3, which introduces Glorious Godfrey, one of Darkseid’s Apokoliptian lieutenants, who appears as a revivalist preacher converting disgruntled people into unthinking Justifiers who will kill and brutalize other people in Darkseid’s name. When I first read this issue five years ago, I thought his congregations’ statements and reactions were exaggerated. But now, in early 2021, watching the rise of nationalism both here and abroad, along with fascist ideas, the issue ends up as quite unsettling.
Kirby’s world-building is the true joy of this first volume. Even though some of his ideas didn’t necessarily belong to the Fourth World in its initial conception (Mark Evanier’s afterword indicates that the Black Racer evolved from a Kirby sketch that wasn’t originally part of the cosmology), they fit together. Sometimes the fit may be rough, but it all works. The dialogue may be goofy at times, and some editorial decisions are clunkers (like Don Rickles’ two-issue feature in Jimmy Olsen), but it’s a fascinating and fun ride, overall.
The overarching narrative is Darkseid’s quest to obtain the “Anti-Life Equation,” which will give him the ability to eliminate individual thought and will throughout the universe so that only his will matters. He is convinced that someone on Earth holds the key to the formula in their subconscious, and most of the Apokoliptian schemes are designed to surreptitiously conduct that search and prepare Earth for Apokolips’ conquest. The New Gods and Forever People depict the conflict most directly, though the former is more of a war story and the latter an adventure tale. Jimmy Olsen is concerned largely with how the conflict plays out among mortal men: there are some Apokolips characters as antagonists, but the majority of villains and all of the heroes (except Superman) are from Earth. Mr. Miracle is, narratively, the least connected to the epic. It focuses on Scott Free, who escaped Apokolips’ brutality and indoctrination into Darkseid’s armies, and who resists frequent attempts to be captured and/or killed by his former tormentors. Although Kirby’s story ran longest with this comic (18 issues v. 15 for Jimmy Olsen v. 11 each for New Gods and Forever People), it exists slightly apart from the main narrative (at least through the first two volumes of the Omnibus).
Kirby’s epic starts a bit slowly but gathers steam as the reader is able to fit the various narratives together. We read three issues of Jimmy Olsen before we meet any of the Fourth World protagonists. Therefore, our introduction to the Fourth World is initially in glimpses, without any guidance/commentary from characters who know anything about the villains’ true motives.
• Jimmy Olsen focuses on the titular character and Superman, along with the new Newsboy Legion, the sons of Kirby’s original Legion. The “new” Newsboys are all carbon copies of their fathers, apparently with the same names; the new addition is “Flippa Dippa,” a black character who is always dressed for scuba-diving and whose dialogue most often focuses on water and what he can do in it. His speech is Kirby’s version of “jive” talk, which, almost 50 years later, makes for uncomfortable reading. But Flippa Dippa isn’t the only Newsboy saddled with stereotypical speech. “Scrapper” speaks as if he’s a wise-cracking street kid from the 40’s (his first line of dialogue is a model for his speech throughout: “Cahmaan inside, Olsen—don’t be a snob! Dis place won’t bite ‘cha!”).
• The Forever People tells the story of five young people from “Supertown” on New Genesis: Mark Moonrider (who appears to be the leader), Vykin the Black (who is, literally, black and carries the Mother Box—a super, sentient computer—with him), Serafin (inexplicably dressed as a cowboy but with special gadgets (which look like bullets) that stud his hatband), Big Bear (the big and hairy “muscle” who is also, of course, a gentle giant), and Beautiful Dreamer (the female character who can create illusions and whose dress reminds me of Flintstone’s female attire). They come to Earth to thwart Darkseid’s attempt to obtain the Anti-Life Equation. Together, they can summon the Infinity Man, an incredibly powerful fighter with multiple abilities. It is left deliberately ambiguous as to whether the five combine together to create the Infinity Man or physically exchange places with him and go to whatever dimension or far-off place he normally lives in. Sometimes, the dialogue indicates that they change places, but, in a crucial conflict at the climax of Forever People #3, Darkseid describes Infinity Man as “one—and many” and a “strange fusion of beings” that can be broken apart.
• The New Gods follows Orion, a warrior of New Genesis who has never quite fit in his people’s peaceful community and wonders about his place there, even as he is fiercely dedicated to his home. Orion arrives on Earth expressly to do battle with Darkseid and his forces. He is aided by four Earthlings (all Americans, of course) who he rescued from their captivity on Apokolips; their descriptions of themselves, mostly taken from #4, are classic examples of hokey character exposition: “I’m Victor Lanza! An insurance executive! A family man!”; “I’m Claudia Shane, simple but worried secretary!”; “And, me, young but cool, Harvey Lockman!” The fourth—Dave Lincoln—is a private investigator, which comes in handy as the four help Orion to investigate Intergang and its Apokoliptian allies.
• Mr. Miracle focuses on Scott Free, a young man raised in an orphanage who has otherworldly “gadgets” that help him assume the mantle of “Mr. Miracle,” super-escape artist. He is loyally assisted by Oberon, a dwarfish older man who was the previous Mr. Miracle’s sidekick. It gradually emerges that Scott is hunted by dangerous adversaries from Apokolips, but Oberon loyally sticks by him.
There is a lot to enjoy here, even though sometimes the enjoyment stems from the sheer weirdness and/or hokey-ness of the story. For example, Kirby’s first six issues of Jimmy Olsen concern Jimmy and company’s adventures in a hidden underground world composed of the Wild, Habitat, the Zoomway, and the “Project.” The story starts bonkers and doesn’t let up (the cover of the first issue shows Jimmy, riding a massive motorcycle, and with two dangerous-looking companions, running down Superman: Bearded thug: “Jimmy Olsen’s our leader! He gives the orders!” Jimmy: “Gun him down!”). It’s fascinating that Jimmy Olsen, of all people, is instantly accepted as a leader by both the Newsboy Legion and a tough-looking motorcycle gang. Oddly enough, the gang is equipped with guns that fire some kind of Kryptonite beam, even though they don’t seem to know who Superman is; why have such specialized weapons on hand if you’ve apparently never heard of the Kryptonian they could harm? Superman is bewildered by the Wild and Habitat (“I’ve a hunch I’ve wandered into a dropout society! Anything can happen here!”), but is quick to adopt hip lingo (“Sorry! But I can’t play your scene!”).
Their story progresses as Jimmy and the Legion learn of a secret government program (the “Project”) with which Superman is already familiar. Reading about the Project today, as well as Superman’s and Jimmy’s easy acceptance of it, is fascinating, because, if the story was told today, it’s impossible to imagine that the Project would be depicted as anything but a sinister government plan.
Spoiler
The DNA Project has taken cell samples from unknowing members of the populace (including Jimmy and the Legion) and created clones of these various individuals (although we only see clones of Jimmy and some of the Legion members). Superman proudly says that he shared his DNA with the Project, though no one seems to have been able to do anything with it. Jimmy is not at all troubled by the fact that there are seemingly-hundreds of clones of him acting as soldiers (a/k/a cannon fodder)) or that they don’t appear to have any independent will or character. The clones are also bred in Lilliputian, normal, and giant-size. The Project also manipulates human DNA to create new life-forms, “D.N. Aliens,” who are consigned to living out their lives underground, in the Project. All of this—stealing people’s genetic codes, creating clones to be soldiers, and keeping all of them confined in a vast underground cavern—is presented as something benign and positive. Today, it—and everyone’s approval of what it is doing—comes off as horrifying. But the story, which leads up to a possible atomic explosion beneath Metropolis, results in one of the most (unintentionally, I think) hilarious moments in the epic. Morgan Edge, the sinister owner of the media giant that acquired The Daily Planet, is in league with Darkseid and is forewarned of the nuclear disaster. He is able to flee at the last moment but returns when Superman and company are able to prevent the holocaust. When he returns to the office, his secretary comments that he left “rather hurriedly,” to which he replies, off-hand, “Well you see, I learned that Metropolis would suffer an atomic explosion!”, and his secretary doesn’t seem fazed by this at all! Maybe in Metropolis, that’s not a strange explanation for a fast exit.In the first volume, I think the best issue of The Forever People is #3, which introduces Glorious Godfrey, one of Darkseid’s Apokoliptian lieutenants, who appears as a revivalist preacher converting disgruntled people into unthinking Justifiers who will kill and brutalize other people in Darkseid’s name. When I first read this issue five years ago, I thought his congregations’ statements and reactions were exaggerated. But now, in early 2021, watching the rise of nationalism both here and abroad, along with fascist ideas, the issue ends up as quite unsettling.
Kirby’s world-building is the true joy of this first volume. Even though some of his ideas didn’t necessarily belong to the Fourth World in its initial conception (Mark Evanier’s afterword indicates that the Black Racer evolved from a Kirby sketch that wasn’t originally part of the cosmology), they fit together. Sometimes the fit may be rough, but it all works. The dialogue may be goofy at times, and some editorial decisions are clunkers (like Don Rickles’ two-issue feature in Jimmy Olsen), but it’s a fascinating and fun ride, overall.