#highfather izaya

[celticcatgirl2]

“…I mean it can also mean he just wanted to try Dave’s edge of the Universe BBQ…I can’t blame him the ribs are really like nothing else…”

#shut up alex #personal #dc #dc comics #dc universe #titans #the wizard shazam #ganthet #hera #hera dc #highfather #izaya #highfather izaya #phantom stranger #spectre #jim corrigan #the spectre

[hollow-keys]

[New Gods (1971) #1]

I've been reading the Fourth World and this moment stuck with me.

#orion #highfather izaya #metron #new gods #dc comics #📨

[radioactive-earthshine]

If New Genesians bow to their young then there was a time when Highfather Izaya bowed for the last time to Orion.

#new gods #highfather izaya #orion #orion dc #orion of the new gods #new genesis #fourth world #jack kirby #FEELS #i'm on my bs again in between writing this fic #fic ideas

[dailydccomics]

a father ♡ Superman: The Coming of the Supermen #6

#clark kent #rafi free #lois lane #dc comics #superman #superfam #highfather #izaya #dc #kal el #clois #coming of the supermen #orion #comics #<3

[cgbcomics]

#highfather #izaya #new gods #dc comics #80s comics

[comicbooksaregood]

Mister Miracle

Volume: 4

Issue: 12

Writers: Tom King

Pencils: Mitch Gerads

Inks: Mitch Gerads

Colours: Mitch Gerads

Covers: Nick Derington

DC

#Mister Miracle #DC #Tom King #Mitch Gerads #Nick Derington #Big Barda #Jacob Free #Darkseid #Granny Goodness #Kanto #Forager #Funky Flashman #Highfather (Izaya) #Lightray #Oberon

[shadethechangingman]

[ID: Two closeups of a comic book panel. Busts of Darkseid, Kalibak, Metron, Highfather, Orion, and Lightray are shown, all in blue. End ID]

New Gods cameo in Wonder Woman (1987) #193

art by Jerry Ordway, P. Craig Russell, Trish Mulvihill

#dc #dc comics #new gods #wonder woman #jerry ordway #metron #lightray #orion #darkseid #desaad #kalibak #highfather #izaya #fourth world #justixw league comix

[rsingh1996]

Doodling today

#highfather #new gods #izaya #asa mitaka #yoru #chainsaw man #shiva #art

[dc-tournaments]

Why do they deserve to win?

Highfather

Poison Ivy's Dad (TW abuse)

#dc #worst dad tournament #izaya #highfather

[doctorslippery]

(via Nexus of all realities on Instagram: “"Spectre Alfred" Absolutely did not see this coming but it was awesome. Alfred becoming the fricking Spectre. It's kinda silly and…”)

#instagram #batman #damian wayne #alfred pennyworth #izaya #highfather #spectre

[onlylonelylatino]

Superman and Highfather by Steffano Raffaelle

#superman #highfather #new gods #izaya the inheritor #steffano raffaelle #dc comics #modern age #rachel pollack

[upagainstthesunset]

Okay I had saved last rb in my drafts for a time when I was at the computer to type up my own thoughts that this brought up.

It would make sense that if Darkseid/Apokolips is "evil" (read: villain), then the opposite being Highfather/New Genesis is "good" (read: hero). That stands to reason for like 90% of super hero comics in DC. But interestingly, it's not a perfect 1:1 for New Gods. Yes Orion stood against Darkseid and swore to take down his own father if it was the last thing he did, but he would do so with his own hands. Not with weapons or armies. The Fourth World publication history became a bit of a mess, but in-universe that seemed to be the original plan.

And what's interesting is even that good vs evil thing isn't quite exactly right. It's more that the evil is oppression, and the opposite of oppression is free will. That is what those on New Genesis represent.

[ID: Two comic panels from New Gods (1971) #1. In the first Highfather and Orion bow to a group of children who had been singing. Highfather says, "First we boy to the young -- they are the carriers of life! They must remain free, Orion! Life flowers in freedom!" Orion replies, "In this cause I live as well."

In the second, the two walk through a darkened corridor. Orion says, "There is danger, then! Life and freedom are threatened--" To which Highfather says, "On a scale never before attempted! Come! We go to the chamber of the Source!" /END]

--

And as OP mentioned, it also wouldn't have been Highfather to fight against Darkseid anyway, because long, long ago Izaya the warrior had already done that. For many years! To the point of tearing apart all the universe around them. He looked at the destruction, the broken life and festering remnants of war, and saw that his actions were no better than Darkseids since in the end it all led to ruin. So he sought to find himself, and he did.

[ID: Two comic panels from New Gods (1971) #7 of Izaya. The first with his face in his hands. He wears gold, red and black armor and says, "We are worse than the old gods! They destroyed themselves!! We destroy everything!! This is Darkseid's way! I am infected by Darkseid!! To save New Genesis -- I must find Izaya!!"

In the second he rips off the shirt of armor and throws his staff. He yells into the sky, "I tear off my armor! I reject this war-staff as a weapon!!! I reject the way of war!!" /END]

--

That was all back in 1971. Since then several others have written Highfather and Orion, and even more have written Darkseid. Now for comparison, let's jump to 2013 and 2014 to see what New 52 gave us, since that seems to be what a lot of newer canon is based off of, and what many fans are familiar with...

If I recall correctly, the New Gods make an appearance first in Wonder woman. You can see even from a cover from this arc that the Highfather described above doesn't really seem like the one they're portraying. This cover would have you believe he is a dictator.

[ID: Cover of Wonder Woman (2011) #22 with the tagline "For the Glory of New Genesis" written in a blocky font with backwards R's. The image is a giant bust of Highfather with Wonder Woman and Orion flying in front. It is colored red and yellow and highly stylized to look soviet in appearance. /END]

--

Then In Superman we see Orion acting kind of like a jerk to be honest. In the past he had acted honorably and wanted to protect innocents. Yes he has violence and destruction running deep within him, but the whole point was that he could be something more. I don't remember a single time where he was vying for "the throne", so I really don't know where that line came from.

[ID: Two panels from Superman (2011) #18 of Orion. The first is after defeating a monster. He says with an angry wrinkled face, "But seriously... You can't even muster a 'thank you'?"

In the second he has a smoother face and thinks "Is this why I'm so angry? Because I'm tired of being treated more like an errand boy than an heir to the throne?" /END]

--

And the last item to point out is from Godhead (my beloathed) where Highfather and all of New Genesis is portrayed as a warring planet that attacked OA (if I remember right, I try not to think of this story as much as possible). Here you can see Highfather is shown as an armored leader of thousands of troops. This to me is the antithesis of what Highfather stands for, and a slap in the face of the character building Jack Kirby did. Was this meant to be before he denounced war? I can only hope so given the armor colors. But it doesn't seem to be the case since this is taking place when Orion is already a full adult.

[ID: A comic panel from Green Lantern/New Gods: Godhead #1. Highfather stands on a balcony far above thousands of troops standing in formation. He wears heavy gold, red and black armor. Narration reads, "Every since -- for time beyond measure -- we have readied for the next battle with Darkseid. We know not when the final confrontation will come... only that it will." /END]

--

So in all of the above you can see how newer readers (if you can call 2014 new), might really think that Highfather is meant to actively fight Darkseid, and that Orion is his warrior son who is next in line for some great throne. And that's really a shame because New Gods was a story about real human emotion and choices, even if it was about gods. Jack Kirby explicitly wanted to make a story for modern audiences where the gods represented the people of today!

Anyway, I've been meaning to express this whole concept of N52 New Gods and why it's such a disservice for a while now, and that last ask/reply gave me the courage to sit down and do it. There's so much more than this that we could go into, so consider this scratching the surface. And like OP of that reply, I too don't really know what tf is going on with New Gods right now, especially if their horribly out of character appearance in Action Comics from just over a year ago is canon. I think once again they're off in limbo and writers don't really know what to do with them. Sadly all too common.

#katetakes #new gods #fourth world #highfather #darkseid #orion #newgodsmeta #wow this post took me literally an hour to put together jeez

[kara-zor-els]

reading the new gods had the weird side effect of making me obsess over justice league: gods and monsters again (which I watched years ago with 0 fourth world context) because it's honestly the perfect elseworlds for it, even if the new gods (sans Bekka, who is a main character) only showed up in a 10 minutes flashback. Soooo many interesting things are implied to be going on, primarily:

The pact never happened. This led to Orion being raised on Apokolips and being seemingly on good terms with Darkseid

The peace treaty only happened when Orion was an adult. By that we can kind of assume that the war lasted far longer, which is mainly important for my next point.

Highfather betrayed Darkseid, killed him, and led a full on attack on Apokolips. This, in combination with the pact not happening, implies that Izaya never had the moment of revelation during the war that led him to put down his weapons and become a pacifist.

Scott was raised on New Genesis and is a warrior

Barda still defected to New Genesis.

Darkseid (and Apokolips in general) seems to be... not as bad? I'm guessing that this might be a cosmic byproduct of Highfather being not particularly a good guy to maintain balance. Hence, I'm also going to assume that Suli survived. This us 100% canon to me

Bekka is Highfather's granddaughter, but I don't think she's Scott's kid? Maybe she's adopted, or Himon is Highfather's son.

#Anyway I just think it's neat #justice league gods and monsters #the new gods #fourth world #Orion #Darkseid #highfather #Bekka #Big barda #Scott free

[radioactive-earthshine]

👋 hello! I’m submitting the “go back to sleep, it’s okay” prompt - any character(s) (also happy birthday)

Thank you for the prompt. I decided to do some hurt/comfort with Highfather Izaya and Orion.

On AO3.

Words: 1521

Summary: Ten years of living among the New Genesians surely would have proven that young Orion was nothing like his biological origins on Apokolips and he was deserving of their respect and love as one of their own. However, even during peace bitterness and mistrust ruled for some and Orion takes notice and he begins to question if they are right to doubt him. Highfather Izaya puts a stop to that.

#thank you!!! #new gods #fourth world #orion of new genesis #orion of the new gods #highfather izaya #hurt/comfort #my writing #yo i wasn't really raised by any parents so i just sort of guess #this is not incest in any way shape or form #word vomit for a title

[dailydccomics]

Clark went to hell and back for that boy ♡ Superman: The Coming of the Supermen (2016)

#kal el #clark kent #dc comics #rafi free #lois lane #superman #orion #kalibak #dc #new gods #the coming of the supermen #granny goodness #comics #izaya #highfather #big barda #apokolips

[autisticcassandracain]

Free story idea I'll probably never write but am kind of obsessed with: Scott and Lightray role reversal where Scott grew up on New Genesis and Lightray was traded to Apokolips.

Basic set up: Scott, as a little baby child, was supposed to die when Steppenwolf killed his mother. He survived, narrowly, but Izaya hid that from Apokolips in fear of retaliation. So when the pact happened, Izaya's son, presumed dead, wasn't on the table; instead, (quite literally) the brightest child on New Genesis was traded.

So Scott grows up hidden on New Genesis as the son of Highfather, with his big brother Orion. And the thing is, he loves his home, his father, his brother, but by the time he hits young adulthood he's positively gnawing at the bars. He's going stir crazy from his limited movement; even in New Genesis he has to be careful, because after all these years, he's still hiding from Darkseid, who might change the pact if he hears Izaya's son is still alive, or even flat out kill him, breaking the truce in the process. It's not something anyone is willing to risk, least of all Highfather and Orion.

But Scott is not the type to accept limitations on his freedom, and on top of that, the longer he hides away, the more guilty he feels. He's not stupid, he knows that he should have, by all rights, been the one traded in the pact. But Highfather prioritized his safety and took the out that him being presumed dead offered, and another kid took the fall instead. How is that fair? It's not like Lightray is any less important than him. Scott may have been too young to make informed decisions or understand what was happening when the pact occured, but now, as an adult, he's becoming increasingly dissatisfied with being protected at the cost of other peoples lives.

If only he could help in some way – he's no fighter, but he's crafty and creative. Surely, even if he wouldn't he terribly useful on a battlefield (and has no real desire to enter it to begin with), he could at least do something for the kid that got traded in his place? Help him escape, perhaps? He's already capable of giving even New Genesis the slip, Apokolips can't be that much harder...

Meanwhile, Darkseid was fully planning on pulling the same basic gambit with Lightray as he would have with Scott: torment him until he decides to escape at all costs, breaking the pact. So Lightray was put in Granny's Orphanage, ostensibly a normal student, with Granny reporting back on him to Darkseid. And things would've gone roughly like they went for Scott, if it weren't for one thing: Lightray's intelligence.

Where Scott was, as far as we can tell, a perfectly average student, Lightray quickly proves to be exceptional. His fighting is largely mediocre (relatively peaking, of course), but he still wins a vast majority of sparring matches, even when his opponents far outmatch him in skill, resources, numbers, or all three. He does this by simply outsmarting them, figuring out positively brilliant strategies even under the effects of Granny's mind-altering drugs. Granny reports this back to Darkseid, baffled and annoyed, lamenting about cowardice and rebellion; children in Granny's Orphanage are not supposed to think, after all.

But Darkseid quickly realizes that the pact handed them far more than just a symbolical light, an easy way to end the truce; it handed them a weapon. Child of New Genesis Lightray may be, Darkseid reads Granny's reports of cunning, manipulation, underhanded and even ruthless strategy and sees himself. On New Genesis, Lightray may have been a formidable enemy, but now, Darkseid has the opportunity to mold him into a surprise weapon. A cunning strategist, perhaps even on a similar level as himself, completely loyal to Apokolips, but easily able to win New Genesis' trust if necessary. A perfect potential spy. Lightray still has some of that pesky New Genesis kindness, but nothing a little careful manipulation won't fix. But the brute force of Granny's Orphanage won't bend him into the right shape; a little more subtlety is required here.

So Darkseid takes Lightray from Granny's Orphanage and only lies to him a little bit. He tells Lightray about the pact, about how he was traded for convenience's sake; Darkseid even graceciously admits that he'd originally planned to use Lightray much the same way, but had realized his mistake and decided to give him a chance instead. Darkseid sees how special Lightray is, how much more he could be than just a bargaining chip; Darkseid could make him great, give him power and, more importantly, a place to belong. Lightray could be important, and important things aren't easily traded away, are integral to their home and respected as peers. He could have a place here if he just listens to Darkseid, and why shouldn't he? What has New Genesis, what has Highfather given him? At least Apokolips, Darkseid is giving him a chance, believes he can be more than a bargaining chip. Highfather sees him as nothing but a tool, but Darkseid gets him, believes in him, believes he is more. Between the two of then, who has earned Lightray's loyalty?

So Lightray grows up as Darkseid's adopted son, favored even over Kalibak for his merit, risen above his origins as a bargaining chip, and only feels a little weird about it all. Just a little bit. Somewhere in the back of his mind, there is an instinctive part of him that cringes when a hunger dog rebel begs for mercy while being tortured to death, but that's just his New Genesis weakness, and he's long since overcome it. It's nothing Darkseid holds against him, as long as Lightray fights it. His origins don't define him, and he's grabbed the knife and chosen Darkseid's strength over New Genesis' weakness.

They were planning on having him 'escape' Apokolips and slotting him into New Genesis as a spy, but a golden opportunity drops straight into their lap. A New Genesian manages to sneak straight into Lightray's room, in the heart of Darkseid's home. The only one they know with the skill to pull that of is Himon, but this is clearly someone else.

This is Highfather's son, remarkably alive despite all information to the contrary, and doesn't that just reinforce everything Lightray's ever been taught? Highfather had been unwilling to sacrifice his own son, as Darkseid had done, and had instead cowardly offered up Lightray as a sacrificial lamb. Well, joke's on them, this lamb has grown into a wolf, and is ready to earn his spot in the pack. Highfather's son is called Scott Free (which is really just salt in the wound, isn't it) and is here to break him out, take him back to New Genesis, and it's a little before schedule, but they can't possibly pass up this opportunity.

Scott returns home to New Genesis, having successfully rescued Lightray and feeling pretty good about himself, not understanding why Orion is so spitting mad at the whole thing. He knows this means war, and that's awful, but this truce was never going to last, and they all know it. And now that he's seen the horrors of Apokolips for himself, he can't help but want to do something about it. He may be no fighter, but he thinks he can work with Himon; Himon's methods seem to fit very well with Scott's strengths. He can help, but his father still forbids him to leave New Genesis, and Orion insists that Darkseid is planning something, that it's too dangerous. Scott is inexperienced, naive, and must be protected at all costs, and if they think they can actually successfully keep him in one place they're idiots. It's only a matter of time before he gives them the slip.

Orion knows this damn well, but that's not going to stop him from trying to keep Scott from walking straight into an enemy trap. He doesn't trust Lightray, not even a little bit; he still remembers what Darkseid is like, and he knows, knows that Lightray would never have been allowed to live as his son if he wasn't useful to him in some way. Orion would bet his astro harness Lightray is a spy, but what can they do? Highfather refuses to lock Lightray up without concrete proof that he's a traitor, and they obviously can't send him back to Apokolips. If Scott goes through with joining Himon, he'll be in the middle of enemy territory, with a spy to report back to Darkseid on it. Orion can't allow that to happen, no matter what. But he can't just babysit Scott, even if Scott would've allowed him to do that; with the war starting, Orion is needed on the front lines. He doesn't know how to balance the need to protect his brother with his duties towards New Genesis and the universe at large.

Lightray, meanwhile, is having a bit of a culture shock. New Genesis is, for the most part, exactly what he'd been told to expect: bright, soft, holier-than-thou, all-around fake and weak. But it's still a shock to go from dark Apokolips to bright New Genesis, and to his alarm he can feel the effects already. In the sunlight, he is physically stronger and much more comfortable. He settles in easy, feels content in a way he rarely (never) felt on Apokolips. No matter how much he tries to remind himself that these people betrayed them and he's here to destroy them, he fits on New Genesis in a way he never did on Apokolips, and that scares him, a little bit. Because he knows he'll never have a place here; he'd be a tool at best, and an interloper at worst. Orion's hostility, though a significant hurdle in the plan, is almost welcome; it's familiar, and makes it easier to remind himself that he does not, in fact, belong here.

And then, there is one more complication: Scott Free. Scott Free, Highfather's hidden son, for whose sake he was traded, who is naive and reckless and easy to manipulate, and genuine in a way that completely throws Lightray for a loop. Highfather lies, pretending to trust Lightray despite obviously agreeing with Orion's suspiscions, apologizing for trading Lightray even though he'd surely do it again without hesitation, claiming to respect New Genesis' youth above all despite how obviously untrue that is. It's easy to look at him and see confirmation of everything Darkseid told him about New Genesis.

But Scott tells Lightray he never should've been traded in his place and honestly seems to believe it. He defied orders to come 'rescue' Lightray because he believed it was more important than the continuation of the pact. He's weak, in many ways, but he sees the world how it could be, not the way it is, and has a bright resiliance to him, which Lightray stubbornly refuses to compare to anyone he's met, especially not one Aurelie, the Fury who'd been revealed to be part of Himon's rebels. Scott Free will either die painfully or waste the rest of his life away imprisoned, and Lightray finds himself making just a few too many excuses for why that bothers him.

When Scott Free finally escapes Orion and Highfather's watch to go join Himon, Lightray does not immediately report to Darkseid. He contacts Big Barda instead. It's not treachery, he tells himself. Big Barda is wholly loyal to Darkseid, the leader of the Furies, and will get the job done; besides, he'll report to Darkseid soon enough. He still refuses to think about Aurelie, and how closely Barda stuck to Lightray's side afterwards, drawn to him for reasons they both knew but refused to acknowledge. When he hears back about Barda's defection and her and Scott's escape to Earth, he is obviously very shocked and not even a little bit relieved the plan he didn't have worked.

Then the anti-life equation is discovered on Earth, and suddenly Lightray is told by Darkseid that discovering its location should be his top priority. Orion is sent to look for it as well, to protect it, and Lightray, seeing an opportunity, insists to go along. To his surprise, Orion actually agrees. Orion, for this part, just wants to get Lightray as far away from New Genesis as possible, and is working on a 'keep your friends close, but your enemies closer' logic. So off they both go, on the universe's most high-stakes and hostile buddy road trip.

#My posts #infodumping #Lightray #Orion #Scott free #Fourth world #I like this au bc it does what role reversals do best: force you to question which parts of a character are innate #Lightray is characterized as the kindest of new genesis but this is tied heavily to his sheltered upbringing on new genesis #We also see him mostly prioritize orion as his personal friend; this is unlike highfather and orion who are both big picture thinkers #Don't get me wrong lightray has a strong sense of justice but he's a little more prone to ruthlessness than you'd expect #And this au would rlly bring that out; some of his kindness is innate I believe but itd be duppressed like orion supresses his anger #On the other hand Scott's most defining attribute of fucking bailing on everything is still there its just twisted #Bc Scott in canon almost never seeks out danger and doesnt really feel responsible for fighting apokolips #But thats easily read as being bc he went through hell already so he jus wants to get away now #He already has a strong sense of justice in canon and is incapable of not helping ppl if they're in front of him #So in an au where he grew up on new genesis i DO think he'd be inclined to join himon in a way he didnt in canon #Bc that sense of justice would've been nurtured and never had to be stamped out or overridden for the sake of survival #Also sidenote I think a cool way for the plot of this au to go would be for barda + scott to join with the forever people #And find shilo norman as having the anti life equation #You could also have scott getting the equation if you want #I personally like the idea of thaddeus brown passing it onto him #Obvs both of those directions would be more AU than just the role reversal but I think they're Neat