The New Gods are returning to comics with a fresh ongoing title that promises to be epic and deadly, as the end of the world is officially coming. As a part of DC's All In initiative, some heroes are getting fresh starts, while others might just get their final farewell. Marvel has already gotten its chance to adapt the Thor Ragnarök epic from the page to the screen, but it's time for DC to try its hand at a historical crisis, perfect for a comic universe filled with such Crises: Ragnarök is coming to the DCU.
Ragnarök is like a forest fire: a natural culling of dead trees to allow for new life to grow.
During SDCC, ScreenRant sat down with writer Ram V to talk about his previous work as well as his upcoming series New Gods with artist Evan Cagle. Moving on from the "Gotham Nocturne" tale in the pages of Detective Comics, where Batman faced a mythological threat that nearly tore the city apart, V is ready to tackle the ultimate mythological reality of Jack Kirby's celebrated heroes of New Genesis, who are included in released art by Pete Woods.
V teases that his New Gods series with Cagle is not just going to be a simple, contained story, but one that will reckon with all the DC Universe, saying,
I'm taking the structure of the larger conflict quite literally from the sort of new end of the world and mythology. It's the new Ragnarök, if you will.
The very name of the "New" Gods seems to take on a whole ironic tint if they really are going to be facing this new Ragnarök — otherwise known as the end of the world.
What Is Ragnarök?
DC Isn't a Stranger to a God-Like Crisis
Ragnarök is a mythological concept comprising an apocalyptic event where the gods of light and dark battle each other to the death, resulting in a cataclysm affecting all reality.
Ragnarök is Old Norse for "the Twilight of the Gods" — or as medievalist Andy Orchard translates it, "the Doom of the Powers." It is a mythological concept comprising an apocalyptic event where the gods of light and dark battle each other to the death, resulting in a cataclysm affecting all reality. While Ragnarök itself is an Eddic mythological concept, relating to the gods of the Norse pantheon, the essence of an apocalyptic battle between good and evil is common throughout most Western cultures.
The prophetic tale of Ragnarök is akin to the prophetic Revelation of St. John of the Bible as well as the fundamental eschatology of Zoroastrianism, where light clashes against darkness in a battle where light finally wins. Ragnarök, however, famously has a more tragic shade to it. During the fight, many of the Norse gods perish, such as Odin, Thor, and Loki, painting a much grimmer picture of what is in store for the New Gods (especially considering how Loki just might have made his DC debut).
Ram V Is Well-Prepared for DC's Mythology
"Gotham Nocturne" Sent Fans on a Mythical Quest
V knows mythology, and he showcased this in the multi-year "Gotham Nocturne" arc in Detective Comics, wherein Batman becomes more of a mythological symbol fighting werewolves instead of just a vigilante cuffing bank robbers. This run's villain is Tenclaw, a werewolf who is Batman's perfect mythological foil. The symbol of Batman as a night predator started to gain traction when Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo introduced the Court of Owls during their New 52 run on Batman, and then Ram V perfected that idea, letting legend fight legend.
Tenclaw turns Gotham into a nightmare land more akin to the fantasy genre than a crime epic. Suddenly, it's not just bats and owls, but a Batman who must rely on a magic he's never been fond of if he hopes to keep his city. Now, V takes to the stars to challenge Kirby's Fourth World with these very same ideals. If he can do it in Gotham, the celebrated writer can do it with gods who are already mythological in nature — modern mythology, in fact.
The New Gods Exist at the End of the World
Ram V Speaks on Jack Kirby's Modern Mythology
Not only is V well-versed in mythological themes, but he understands Kirby's contribution to comics. Mythology is the storytelling prowess of humanity through the ages, and in a world of reruns and sequels upon sequels, V understands just what Kirby's goal was: just as the gods were created once, so we can create New Gods again. V goes on to say:
[New Gods] was really fertile ground where really nothing had been planted in recent history. Also, I have a great love of mythology and mythological stories. So it felt like the New Gods are the sort of contemporary mythology in the DCU.
By putting the New Gods through the ringer of a new Ragnarök, V is compounding old themes with new heroes. The story of the New Gods, which hasn't received an ongoing title in some time but does have the honor of having a canceled movie in the DCU, was always going to end here. Considering that every myth with a prophesied cataclysm ends in this way, it was only a matter of time. The New Gods might just be entering their final saga this winter.
Will the New Gods Survive This New Ragnarök?
Darkseid Is the Infamous Villain of the New Gods
Metaphorically, Ragnarök is like a forest fire: a natural culling of dead trees to allow for new life to grow. Out of the deaths of gods, their children rise up in a beautiful new world that is akin to a paradise — before the next threat comes along, that is. This pattern is just how the New Gods were created: when the old gods died, the New Gods took their place. The Gods of the Iron Age and onward often sacrificed themselves to make way for something new, and even DC's New Gods need to die to birth newer gods.
Whether V will follow this mythological trope by retiring Kirby's gods and replacing them with powerful new gods for a new millennium remains to be seen, but fans can trust that V will present a mythologically satisfying Crisis — and maybe even a farewell to these heroes. Kirby was brave enough to invent a whole pantheon, and now V might just be preparing fans for the same.
Will the New Gods Survive Their Next Adventure?
Mister Miracle, Big Barda, Orion, and More Are Key to the DCU
Promising as well to feature the likes of Superman and other DC heroes, V and Cagle's New Gods will not just be a standalone story in the outer reaches of space. The fate of the New Gods will be entirely linked to the fate of DC as a whole. As V says,
This book exists because of things that happened in the DCU. The story, their conflict exists because of those reasons. And by the middle of the book, they are squarely embroiled in the conflict and the trauma that the greater DCU finds itself.
While some fans might be comfortable with a few tangential DC heroes perishing, Superman is most certainly a notable "god" of the DC "pantheon." That means the Doom of the Powers might just come to heroes such as him, too.
One thing is certain: the word Ragnarök cannot be spoken unless devastation is near. The end of the world is nothing to exaggerate, and if anything, Darkseid and the New Gods of the Fourth World are going to endure their hardest trial yet. Not since Kirby has there been a writer that understands mythology so well as to bring the stories of the New Gods to their ultimate and inevitable conclusion. Every god dies eventually, new or old. It's coming, whether they're ready or not. Twilight is falling - prepare for Ragnarök.
While New Gods #1 does not yet have a specific release date, it will be available by the end of 2024 from DC Comics.
