hollywoodreporter | If superhero stories, as many have argued, offer a contemporary mythology, then the Fourth World Saga at the center of New Gods, ups that ante considerably. The DC Entertainment property is getting its highest profile yet, with the news that director Ava DuVernay will be tackling a film adaptation of the project for Warner Bros.
So, who are the New Gods?
Since its creation in the early 1970s, when Jack Kirby abandoned the
Marvel Universe to create something altogether new at competitors DC,
the Fourth World Saga has endeavored to tell stories on a scope that
make even the most cosmic of superhero epics seem unambitious by
comparison. Not for nothing did the first issue of 1971’s New Gods open with the gloriously melodramatic narration,
“There came a time when the old Gods died!”
Told, initially, across four separate comic book series running in
parallel — and then, in subsequent years, through even more revivals,
guest shots and graphic novels — the Fourth World Saga is a sprawling
storyline with a truly vast cast of characters that would take a long
time to fully introduce. In order to get a quick handle
on DuVernay’s film project, however, here is a brief primer on some of
the primary players.
