The New Gods are one of DC’s most important franchises, despite not being extremely popular overall. The New Gods were created by Jack Kirby, the writer/artist creating a new mythology for the present day. Everyone knows at least one New God — the God of Evil known as Darkseid — and other than Mister Miracle, Big Barda, and Orion, the other New Gods are rather unknown. The New Gods are looking to play a huge role in the DC Multiverse moving forward, with Ram V and Evan Cagle tapped for the latest volume of New Gods. New Gods #1 set out the new status quo, with a new group called the Nyctari, beings who seemingly exist to share the gift of oblivion with the world. attacking New Genesis and Apokolips. New Gods #5 sees them attack New Genesis, with Highfather, the chief of the planet, caught by a most unlikely Nyctari — Grayven, the son of Darkseid. However, Highfather isn’t by himself, and Lightray comes to the rescue. Well, he tries to.
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Grayven and Lightray have a short but brutal battle, one that seemingly ends with the death of Lightray. Grayven and Lightray are definitely among the lesser known New Gods, but both of them have played something of an important role in the New Gods mythos. The return of Grayven and the death of Lightray are major developments, but most fans won’t really understand why it’s so important without looking into the characters.
Grayven and Lightray Are Esoteric but Important
DC classic Kingdom Come has Superman tell Orion that he thought the story of the New Gods was always one of the fathers and sons, of the old giving way to the new. This is a pretty accurate summary of the New Gods’ story, although not every son raises to the status of his father. That is the fate of Grayven in a nutshell. Grayven is the youngest of Darkseid’s three sons, and is also the least important of the God of Evil’s children. Darkseid is known for his disdain for Kalibak, the son he kept, and his fear of Orion, who is prophesied to destroy Darkseid, but Grayven is basically a non-factor in Darkseid’s life. His mother came from one of the worlds Darkseid conquered, and he’s rarely if ever done anything of note. However, as the son of Darkseid, he’s also one of the most powerful New Gods, with incalculable strength and even access to the Omega Effect. Grayven hasn’t really been seen very much since Death of the New Gods, a 2007 book that was part of the build-up to Final Crisis.
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Lightray is one of New Genesis’s most powerful and loyal soldiers. Lightray made friends with Orion, sent to New Genesis because of the peace deal between Highfather and Darkseid, acting as ray of sunshine in the dark world of Orion. His powers of flight, super strength, and invulnerability are pretty standard New Gods stuff, but he does have the power of photokinesis, allowing him to control light and its energies. Lightray was basically Orion’s sidekick, helping his friend acclimate to New Genesis and control his rage. Lightray is definitely a C-list New God, and hasn’t really done very much in the DC Multiverse lately. He was a part of the cast of Tom King and Mitch Gerads’ Mister Miracle, acting as Orion’s second in command.
The Loss of Lightray and the Return of Grayven Could Doom the New Gods
Darkseid has been gone since DC All-In #1. The peoples of New Genesis and Apokolips believe him to be dead, leaving a huge power vacuum in the universe. The Nyctari have stepped in, leading the kind of wars that Darkseid would if he was still around. Grayven joining the Nyctari is a big deal; we don’t know how powerful the Nyctari are, but we do know that Grayven is insanely powerful despite not doing very much with it. Grayven on their side gives them an advantage they wouldn’t otherwise have.
Meanwhile, the death of Lightray is something that is going to have consequences for the New Gods. Lightray is nowhere near the most powerful New God, but he’s loyal and always ready for battle. Lightray jumping into the fray to save Highfather is perfectly in character, and losing a soldier like that is going to have consequences, especially with Mister Miracle, Big Barda, and Orion dealing with a terrible prophecy that pits Miracle and Barda against Orion. Highfather doesn’t have any of his most useful soldiers on his side and the Nyctari are on New Genesis. Things are going to get bloody in New Gods.
New Gods #5 is on sale now.
