DC’s New Gods could have easily been part of Marvel’s Thor mythology. Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Saga was a sweeping epic that saw DC’s mightiest God’s battle against one another for power, balance and the anti-life equation. The series introduced and popularized beloved heroes and villains, including Mister Miracle, Orion, Darkseid, and Big Barda. The New Gods are important, influential DC characters. However, Jack Kirby originally intended them as a part of an entirely different universe, as Marvel Gods in Thor.
Jack Kirby wrote the outline that would become New Gods while writing his Tales of Asgard series for Marvel. He planned on blowing things up following Ragnarök and introduce the New Gods in the aftermath of destruction. However, his relationship with Marvel at the time wasn’t great and he wanted control over the characters. So, instead of continuing on and bringing New Gods to Marvel, he kept the rights and when he moved to DC two years later, he decided it was the perfect time to start his epic.
The influence of Thor and Asgard is clear from the opening page of New Gods #1. The book starts with an epilogue stating the old gods have died in a fiery holocaust, he’s referring to the Asgardians meeting their end in Asgard. Kirby didn’t admit he was referencing Marvel characters, but it doesn’t take a detective to figure out the old Gods perished in a Ragnarök-like event. His Tales of Asgard (Thor #128) aftermath book reads like the start of the New Gods.
Kirby’s eventual move to DC gave him more control and profits from his own creations. He notoriously wasn’t compensated fairly for his work creating iconic characters including The Hulk, Thor, the X-Men, and Captain America, until a lawsuit settlement after his death. With more control over New Gods, it allowed him to create a whole universe and characters from scratch. Kirby opted to make the New Gods series a poetic battle between good and evil, New Genesis versus Apokolips, Highfather versus Darkseid. The saga is some of the most ambitious work he the comic’s legend has ever done. It’s also unquestionably influenced by Kirby’s work on Thor.
It is sad how Marvel treated Kirby. It is sort of crazy to think how different both Marvel and DC would be now if the New Gods spawned off the heels from a Thor story. Thor’s legacy would be entirely different and iconic runs post-Kirby might have never happened. Meanwhile, Darkseid wouldn’t exist in DC continuity - there would have to be a totally different big bad in the universe. The New Gods in Marvel represent a huge what if?
The New Gods have seen a rebirth of sorts, following a critically acclaimed run of Mister Miracle by Tom King and Mitch Gerads. The arc repopularized the characters, and King is co-writing on the upcoming New Gods movie, which will be directed by Ava Duvernay. Kirby’s creations have lived on and have been put into the proper hands.
It might not have been the prettiest route to take, but Kirby ultimately made the right choice by leaving Marvel and saving the New Gods for their own DC story. While he’ll always be remembered for his incredible creations at Marvel, his work on creating the New Gods will forever be remembered as some of the best one-man stories in comic history - even if they were originally intended for Marvel. Kirby is the king for a reason.
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