Genesis was a 4-part comic book event miniseries/crossover published by DC Comics, which had tie-ins with most of DC's ongoing series set in the DC Universe. The miniseries itself was published weekly in August 1997, written by John Byrne, with art by Ron Wagner and Joe Rubenstein. Subsequently regarded poorly by both comic fans and professionals, the crossover has been largely ignored and is not accomadated in current DC Universe continuity. DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... Highfather is a comic book character. ... Darkseid (pronounced dark-side) is a fictional alien supervillain published by DC Comics. ... Superman is a fictional character and comic book superhero , originally created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian artist Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Reef. ... John Lindley Byrne (born July 6, 1950) is a British-born naturalised American author and artist of comic books. ... John Lindley Byrne (born July 6, 1950) is a British-born naturalised American author and artist of comic books. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... A miniseries (sometimes mini-series), in a serial storytelling medium, is a production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. ... A fictional crossover occurs when two or more otherwise separated fictional characters, stories, settings, universes, or media meet and interact with each other. ... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... Cover to the History of the DC Universe trade paperback. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... John Lindley Byrne (born July 6, 1950) is a British-born naturalised American author and artist of comic books. ... Cover to the History of the DC Universe trade paperback. ...

Plot

The storyline centered on the New Gods and their traditional enemy Darkseid, but involved all of DC's super-powered characters either directly or implicitly. It retconned the source of all super powers in the DC Universe to "the Godwave", an interstellar phenomenon that had previously created gods on various planets through the universe (e.g. on Earth the Greek, Egyptian, and Norse pantheons). This wave eventually traveled far enough along that it reflected back. On its second pass, it empowered superheros of all types in the 20th century. This phenomenon manifested itself in various ways, as a kind of grand unified theory tying together the Source, the Green Lanterns' power rings, the Speed Force, the power of Shazam, Kryptonian abilities, gifts from the Olympian gods, etc. It has been suggested that Tales of the New Gods be merged into this article or section. ... Darkseid (pronounced dark-side) is a fictional alien supervillain published by DC Comics. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Grand unification, grand unified theory, or GUT is a theory in physics that unifies the strong interaction and electroweak interaction. ... Within the DC Comics Universe, the Source is the non-religion-oriented equivalent to God/Goddess/Jehovah (etc. ... For the DJ, see DJ Green Lantern. ... Wally West, Barry Allen, Johnny Quick, and other users of the Speed Force from Flash #150. ... Shazam is a comic book character created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck for Fawcett Comics. ... Lara, Jor-El, and Superman on Krypton. ... The Olympian Gods are mythological dieties who appear in the Wonder Woman, Shazam and Aquaman comics. ...

The focus of the series is how the wave is threatening reality when it finally rebounds back to its originating spot.

Darkseid's attempt to seize the power of the Godwave disrupts these abilities, either neutralizing them or altering them drastically into other powers.

The heroes of Earth and the New Gods, those still active, battle to prevent Darkseid from accomplishing his plans.

The wave also had the after-effect of making humans feel like there was nothing left to live for.

Trivia

• The story was described by Byrne as "the most important and significant thing that has ever happened to these heroes, but it doesn't really change anything," quoting a statement by Jim Shooter about the best kinds of superhero stories.

Cover image of Harbinger #1 from Valiant Comics Jim Shooter (born September 27, 1951 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American writer, occasional fill-in artist, editor, and publisher for various comic books. ...

Criticism

• The main story and the tie-ins were widely criticized, for the retcon changing the nature of the various heroes' powers, for the lack of other consequences of a story which had been promoted for its importance, and for the quality of the story itself.^[1][2]

References

External links

• The Unofficial Genesis index
• The Superman Database - Full list of every issue of “Genesis” ever published w/ Cover Art and more.