The New Gods Captures One of the Superman Movie’s Most Important Themes

James Gunn’s Superman is beloved because it is an incredible movie that is not only a really fun watch with a great plot, but captures one of the most important themes of a Superman story. It shows Superman being a beacon of hope and kindness in a world that has cynically given up to the complicated chaos that infests our everyday, and if you want another story that beautifully shows beating back the darkness with light, look no further than Ram V. and Evan Cagle’s New Gods. The denizens of Fourth World are on the run, their home destroyed, and the end of all things seems to be a foregone conclusion, but through it all the story shows us the power of finding hope in the ones around us, and how powerful that hope is.

The Reckoning of All Has Come

The balance of all things has been shifted towards darkness. Darkseid, the embodiment of evil and meant to provide eternal challenge to hope, seemingly died, but in actuality ascended to become one with the Absolute Universe. He is gathering his army and power for a final strike against all things good, aiming to wipe out everything at once. Nobody knows the truth of Darkseid’s plan, thinking that he really died after merging with the Spectre, but with his absence there is a hole in how the universe functions. From the great darkness that is seeping into the universe, a new threat named Karok Ator rose, and his goal is to eliminate all of the New Gods. He already decimated Apokalips, and then set his sights on New Genesis. He was unstoppable, and tore through their defenses like nothing, even overcoming Highfather’s ability to alter reality. He set up the execution of Lightray, the New God of Light and Hope, and forced the deities to flee.

At the same time, the final New God has been born on Earth in the form of a young boy adopted by a normal human family, and everyone has their sights on him. Metron pushed longtime villain Maxwell Lord to support Darkseid’s Omega mentality, and worked with the survivors of Apokalips to capture the young boy, while Orion was tasked by Highfather to murder the innocent child. Metron is on nobody’s side, and seems to have some plan outside of everyone’s perspective to see what happens, but things have never looked grimmer for the New Gods. Beaten, bloodied, and mourning their losses, with nowhere else to go they landed on Earth, seeking asylum. Earth’s governments were very hesitant and outright hostile to the idea of housing the New Gods, and Highfather himself has lost his faith. He renounced his title, going once again by simply Izaya, and surrendered himself to his brooding, but not all is lost. Hope isn’t gone yet.

The Deeper the Darkness, the Brighter the Hope

Orion will always follow his father’s will, but even he didn’t want to kill a child, so he asked Mister Miracle to save the boy. Miracle lived on Earth longer than any other New God, making it his home with his wife Big Barda and their baby girl Olivia. Even as Metron worked to ensure things got worse and worse, he noted that from all this evil miracles could rise, and despite the dangers Mister Miracle and Big Barda stood up to rescue the boy, named Kamal. They refused to give up. When the rest of the New Gods arrived on Earth, the Justice League helped them at every turn, with Green Lantern John Stewart constructing them a place to live using his ring and their ship. The League stood up against the governments, saying that while some of them weren’t sure about the New Gods staying indefinitely, they also could not turn away people that needed help.

The New Gods threw a feast to commemorate their new home and mourn the ones they lost, and invited the Justice League to join in. Through their talk and the camaraderie they all share, everyone felt the pain lessen just a bit. Izaya couldn’t pull himself out of his own dark thoughts, and wondered if there was any point to continuing, until Mister Miracle and Big Barda brought Olivia to see her grandfather for the first time. In a beautiful page without words, Izaya held his granddaughter, and the entire world seemed a bit brighter, going from blues to bright pinks. 

The New Gods are in a bad spot, and things are likely only going to get worse from here, given the powers moving against them, but they aren’t too far gone. Even after all the death and destruction they’ve faced, there are reasons to hold on to hope. Earth’s heroes stand with them to lift their burdens, and even the soft smile of a child promises a whole world of new, amazing possibilities. It’s easy to get lost in the darkness, but this book reminds us all that no matter how dire things are, there are reasons to keep going, and there are beautiful things worth holding on to. Hope springs eternal, and this comic shows us exactly how powerful hope is. Definitely recommended to anyone who wants to see the power of hope in all its glory.

New Gods #8 is on sale now!

5 Best Darkseid vs Superman Battles, Ranked