Forever People are a fictional group of extraterrestrial

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

es appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

. They first appeared in ''Forever People'' #1 (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

d February–March 1971), and were created by

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...

as part of his "

Fourth World The Fourth World is an extension of the three-world model, used variably to refer to # Sub-populations socially excluded from global society, such as uncontacted peoples; # Hunter-gatherer, nomadic, pastoral, and some subsistence farming peoples ...

" epic.

Publication history

The protagonists of the series are a group of young

New Gods The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in ''New Gods'' ...

from

New Genesis New Genesis is a fictional planet appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A part of Jack Kirby's Fourth World mythos, the planet is home to the heroic New Gods led by the sage Highfather. New Genesis is the positive counterpart ...

who were on a mission to oppose

Darkseid Darkseid () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby to serve as the primary antagonist of his "Fourth World (comics), Fourth World" metaseries, and was firs ...

on Earth, and talked, dressed, and acted much like the

flower child Flower child originated as a synonym for hippie, especially among the idealistic young people who gathered in San Francisco and the surrounding area during the Summer of Love in 1967. It was the custom of "flower children" to wear and distribute ...

ren of the 1960s. In addition to the individual abilities and equipment of the members, the group can join together using the technology of a

Mother Box Mother Boxes are fictional devices in Jack Kirby's '' Fourth World'' setting in the DC Universe. The Mother Boxes appeared in the feature films ''Justice League'' and ''Zack Snyder's Justice League'' of the DC Extended Universe. History Created ...

to summon the powerful hero known as the

Infinity-Man Infinity-Man is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics, in the '' Fourth World'' storyline. Publication history Infinity-Man first appeared in ''Forever People'' #1 (February 1971). Fictional character biography Infinity-Man's story begin ...

. The group travels by use of their Super-Cycle. The first issue of their title also introduced the

Boom Tube The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in ''New Gods'' ...

. Their own title, ''The Forever People'', debuted in 1971 and lasted 11 issues. They mainly fought Darkseid's forces, such as

Glorious Godfrey Glorious Godfrey is a DC Comics supervillain who is part of The Fourth World series of comic books in the early 1970s. Publication history Glorious Godfrey first appeared in ''The Forever People'' #3 (June 1971) and was created by Jack Kirby. In ...

in issue #3. Issues #9 and 10 guest-starred

Deadman Deadman or Deadman's may refer to: * "Deadman" or "dead man", are alternative terms for a dead man's switch * "Deadman's foot" is another name for a Salamander in metallurgy * "Deadman anchor" is a buried object (log, concrete, block, etc.) used ...

; according to writer/artist

's assistant

Mark Evanier Mark Stephen Evanier (; born March 2, 1952) is an American comic book and television writer, known for his work on the animated TV series ''Garfield and Friends'' and on the comic book ''Groo the Wanderer''. He is also known for his columns and bl ...

: "We were ordered to put Deadman into ''

'', but we slipped him into ''Forever People'' instead, where he was a little less obtrusive. Jack didn't like the character and didn't want to do it. He didn't feel he should be doing someone else's character. ... He doesn't want to trample on someone else's vision. Carmine nfantino, DC Comics publisher and Deadman's co-creatorsaid the character hadn't sold and he wanted the Kirby touch on it". The series ended on a

cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

, with the Forever People stranded on Adon. In a 1986 interview Kirby recalled "The Forever People were the wonderful people of the ’60s, who I loved. If you’ll watch the actions of the Forever People, you’ll see the reflection of the ’60s in their attitudes, in the backgrounds, in their clothes. You’ll see the ’60s. I felt I would leave a record of the ’60s in their adventures." In 1988, a six-issue ''Forever People''

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

by writer

J. M. DeMatteis John Marc DeMatteis (; born December 15, 1953) is an American writer of comic books, television and novels. Biography Early career J. M. DeMatteis's earliest aspirations were to be a rock musician and comic book artist. He began playing in ban ...

and artist

Paris Cullins Paris Cullins is an Americans, American comics artist best known for his work on DC Comics' ''Blue Devil (DC Comics), Blue Devil'' and ''Ted Kord, Blue Beetle'' and Marvel Comics' ''Hyperkind''. Career Early career Cullins had sent DC Comics samp ...

was published, showing what happens to the Forever People on Adon. This series reveals that the Forever People were Earth-born humans—infants doomed to die but brought to New Genesis instead, gathered to protect the human race. They returned to Earth to oppose 'the Darkness', a sentient but disembodied force of hopelessness. They were aided by a mysterious being, Maya, who is ultimately revealed to be the consciousness of their Mother Box. During the events of ''

Death of the New Gods ''Death of the New Gods'' was an eight-issue comic book Limited series (comics), limited series published in 2007 in comics, 2007 and 2008 in comics, 2008 by DC Comics. It was written and pencilled by Jim Starlin. The series follows the final da ...

'', one of the miniseries that attempted to lead into ''

Final Crisis "Final Crisis" is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely b ...

'', the human origin of the Forever People was

retconned Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...

, and it was hinted that the five were to have been the first of the next evolution of the New Gods—godlings becoming more than the sum of their parts. In the ''Death of the New Gods'',

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

and

Mister Miracle Mister Miracle (Scott Free) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Mister Miracle'' #1 (April 1971) and was created by Jack Kirby. Publication history Mister Miracle debuted in ...

discover that the Forever People were murdered several months prior to the discovery of their bodies, and it is later revealed that an impostor posing as

Himon The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in ''New Gods'' ...

has been murdering the New Gods as an agent for

the Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

; but the murderer turns out to be Infinity-Man. In the ''Final Crisis Sketchbook'', the Forever People (along with other members of the New Gods) are shown to be given updated looks, which

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, w ...

calls "more gothic art school student than flower power". In the event itself, Japan's pop culture team, the Super Young Team are revealed to be the Fifth World incarnation of the Forever People. In ''

The New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...

'', the series ''Infinity Man and the Forever People'' makes some changes, where Serifan is now Serafina, Vykin's sister, and Beautiful Dreamer has been renamed Dreamer Beautiful. This series was cancelled as of issue #9 (May 2015).

Original members

Beautiful Dreamer

During the original Kirby run, Beautiful Dreamer had been linked romantically to Mark Moonrider, although outside of hand-holding, the exact nature of their relationship was never directly specified. In the 1988 miniseries, it was established that Dreamer had been married to Big Bear, and together they had a child, named Maya after the spirit of their old

. Since then, their marriage and daughter has been voided by a

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...

during John Byrne's ''

Jack Kirby's Fourth World "Fourth World" is a storyline told through a metaseries of connected comic book titles written and drawn by Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics from 1970 to 1973. Although they were not marketed under this title until the August–September 1971 ...

'' series. When last shown, Dreamer was romantically involved with

Takion Takion (Joshua Saunders) is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by Paul Kupperberg and Aaron Lopresti,''Takion'' #1 (June 1996) first appearing in an eponymous series in 1996 that lasted for 7 issues. Fictional ch ...

, the new Highfather of New Genesis. In '' Superman & Batman: Generations 3'', she marries Superman, and has his children, Lar-El and Vara. All three are killed by Darkseid.

Powers and abilities

Like all the children of New Genesis, Beautiful Dreamer possesses the advanced physiology of a New God; she is extremely long-lived, has a limited degree of superhuman strength, resistance and reflexes. She's a skilled hand-to-hand combatant. Also, she has psionic powers, with which she can create illusions. It seems there are no limits to the size or duration of these images. In addition, she has been able to feel the fluctuations within the Source.

Big Bear

Big Bear had been married to Beautiful Dreamer, and she had been pregnant with their daughter. A shift in time resulted in the marriage never happening and the child never having existed. This traumatized Beautiful Dreamer for a time. In ''Forever People'' #7, he was shown to have been responsible for the historical event that led to the legend of

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

Powers and abilities

A skilled hand-to-hand combatant, Big Bear is among the strongest of the children of New Genesis, making him superstrong by human standards, capable of bending steel and hurling giant redwood trees almost effortlessly. Big Bear's atomic structure is reinforced by a constant flow of so-called high-density atoms, and he is able to store an excess of free-flowing atoms which he can direct at will to reinforce the power of his already awesome punch.

Mark Moonrider

During the original Kirby run, Beautiful Dreamer had been linked romantically to Mark Moonrider, although outside of hand-holding, the exact nature of their relationship was never directly specified. In the 1988 miniseries set on Adon, Mark was shown to have fallen in love with, and later married, one of the natives, Mina. They had three children (Merry, Wendy and Starbright), but when the shift in time caused by the Darkness' actions undid the events which 'evolved' the natives, this marriage now never had occurred, leaving Mark with only his friends.

Powers and abilities

In addition to being extremely long-lived, Mark has superhuman strength, reflexes and he's very resistant to conventional injury. Also, he has a keen mind with good leadership skills and he is well-trained in hand-to-hand combat. He possesses a Megaton Touch. With it, he can cause a tremendous explosion, and no doubt he could easily kill with it if he and his companions were not sworn never to take a life. Used at low intensity, it can cause a severe shock. On one occasion he used his megaton touch to turn solid rock into molten lava.

Serifan

Serifan is the youngest member of the group. He's usually the most vulnerable. The Dark saw this and possessed Serifan, using him to conquer Forevertown and plague the Forever People. After the Dark was defeated he returned to his normal self.

Powers and abilities

Although Serifan doesn't have super-potencies, still he is stronger and more durable than any human. Also, Serifan is functionally a sensitive possessing limited telepathic powers. In his hatband Serifan carries "cosmic cartridges" that serve various purposes when wielded. For example, the cartridges can be used to create protective shock-repelli-fields, drain energy from people, create an anti-gravity effect or generate high gravitational force, modify atomic density, generate intense heat, power vehicles or to stun an opponent. Also, the cartridges tune the wielder into the "cosmic Harmony" that is linked to

and, in the case of the "Blue Cartridge", it manipulates the life force and allowed

to merge with a "Follower" and have a body of his own once again.

Vykin

Throughout the Kirby run, Vykin was referred to as "Vykin the Black". He was the first

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

superhero to appear in a DC comic book, preceding Kirby's Black Racer by approximately seven months. When the Forever People were stranded on Adon, Mark Moonrider thought it would be advantageous to civilize the people of the planet. When Vykin used their

to do so, it overloaded and was destroyed, killing Vykin in the process, but managing to create Forevertown. When the Dark overtook and reversed the effects of the Mother Box, Vykin was brought back to life. Recently he was reunited on New Genesis with his mother, Valkyra the Commander, who rode a winged robotic horse. Later on, she sacrificed her life to save her lover Orion.

Powers and abilities

Like all New gods, Vykin The Black is functionally immortal and all his physical attributes are superhuman. Also, Vykin The Black possesses "Magno-Power", which enables him to project magnetic energy. He can mentally trace atomic patterns, and is therefore good at tracking. He has an intuitive grasp of the workings of complicated machinery. Vykin has a keen mind and he's a skilled hand-to-hand combatant. It is Vykin who carries the Forever People's Mother Box, a kind of

sentient Sentience is the capacity to experience feelings and sensations. The word was first coined by philosophers in the 1630s for the concept of an ability to feel, derived from Latin '' sentientem'' (a feeling), to distinguish it from the ability to ...

computer.

Infinity-Man

is Drax, the older brother of Uxas, who would later become

of Apokolips, and became the Infinity-Man after treachery at the hands of Uxas while attempting to harness the Omega Force for himself. No explanation was given as to why he was involved with the Forever People other than Big Bear's offhanded comment to

in the first issue of "we've got an arrangement with the Infinity Man". The Infinity-Man's powers were never fully cataloged other than having some direct link to

. He was shown capable of flight, super-strength, enhanced vision powers, and the ability to negate gravity and convert it into a repulsive force.

Fifth World

The Super Young Team are the contemporary Fifth World incarnations of the Forever People. Created by writer

in the early "52" stages of their DC Universe ''

'' storyline, they are influenced by American super-heroes and Japanese pop culture, and were first mentioned in '' 52'' #6. This group recruits Sunny Sumo, a powerful fighter who assisted the original Forever People in the first series.

Other versions

Amalgam Comics

The Un-People are a superhero group in the

Amalgam Comics Amalgam Comics was a collaborative publishing imprint shared by DC Comics and Marvel Comics, in which the two comic book publishers merged their characters into new ones (e.g., DC Comics' Batman and Marvel Comics' Wolverine become the Amalgam C ...

universe. They are a combination of the Forever People and

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

' the

Inhumans The Inhumans are a fictional superhuman race of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many peop ...

In other media

Television

* The Forever People appear in the ''

Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...

'' episode "Twilight" Pt. 2. * The Forever People appear in the ''

Young Justice Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes. The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...

'' episode "Disordered" with Vykin voiced by

Kevin Michael Richardson Kevin Michael Richardson (born October 25, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, he has mostly voiced villainous characters in animation and video games. In film, Richardson voiced Goro in ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) ...

, Big Bear voiced by

Bill Fagerbakke William Fagerbakke ( ; born October 4, 1957) is an American actor. He voices Patrick Star in the animated series ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and played Michael "Dauber" Dybinski on the sitcom ''Coach''. He also appeared in 12 episodes of the sitco ...

, Beautiful Dreamer voiced by

Grey DeLisle Grey DeLisle (; born Erin Grey Van Oosbree; August 24, 1973), sometimes credited as Grey Griffin, is an American voice actress, comedian and singer-songwriter. DeLisle is known for various roles in animated productions and video games. On Sept ...

, and Mark Moonrider and Serifan voiced by

Dee Bradley Baker Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962) is an American voice actor. Much of Baker's work features vocalizations of animals and monsters. Baker's roles include animated series such as ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', ''Codename: Kids Next Door'', ...

. They arrived on Earth in order to reclaim the "New Genisphere" (the same sphere that the Bialyans found) where they run into Superboy and Wolf. They learn that Superboy had saved the New Genisphere. Superboy and the Forever People end up arriving at a nearby construction site where they stumble upon Intergang in the middle of a gold theft. The group witness Intergang using technology from Apokolips. Upon bringing their fight to the surface, the Forever People summon Infinity-Man who repels Intergang. When Superboy and the Forever People find a warehouse containing the weapons from Apokolips, they are ambushed by Desaad of Apokolips. During the Forever People's formation of Infinity-Man, Desaad throws a Father Box into the formation in order to control him. Desaad then has Infinity-Man attack Superboy and Wolf. With help from the New Genisphere, Superboy reclaims control of Infinity-Man. After Desaad retreats, the Forever People place the Mother Box in the New Genisphere to heal it and tell Superboy that they must take the New Genisphere to New Genesis. After an outburst from Superboy, and positive feedback from the Sphere itself, the Forever People let the New Genisphere stay with him. Big Bear returns in the third season. There are implications of a falling out between Big Bear and Beautiful Dreamer. Beautiful Dreamer appears in the episode "Quiet Conversations" explaining that they will need Metron's chair to fix Victor Stone. The Forever People appear in the fourth season. Big Bear has also made up with Dreamer.

Film

* An alternative universe version of Mark Moonrider makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in '' Justice League: Gods and Monsters''. He participated in the massacre of the Apokoliptians during the wedding of Bekka and Orion.

Collected editions

*''Jack Kirby's The Forever People'' collects ''The Forever People'' #1–11, 288 pages, October 1999, * ''Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus'' **Volume 1 collects ''Forever People'' #1–3, ''Mister Miracle'' #1–3, ''The New Gods'' #1–3, ''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' #133–139, 396 pages, May 2007, (hardcover); December 2011, (paperback) **Volume 2 collects ''Forever People'' #4–6, ''Mister Miracle'' #4–6, ''The New Gods'' #4–6, ''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' #141–145, 396 pages, August 2007, (hardcover); April 2012, (paperback) **Volume 3 collects ''Forever People'' #7–10, ''Mister Miracle'' #7–9, ''The New Gods'' #7–10, ''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' #146–148, 396 pages, November 2007, (hardcover); August 2012, (paperback) **Volume 4 collects ''Forever People'' #11; ''Mister Miracle'' #10–18; ''The New Gods'' #11; "Even Gods Must Die" from ''The New Gods'' vol. 2 #6; ''

DC Graphic Novel ''DC Graphic Novel'' is a line (comics), line of graphic novel Trade paperback (comics), trade paperbacks published from 1983 to 1986 by DC Comics. The series generally featured stand-alone stories featuring new characters and concepts with one ...

'' #4: "The Hunger Dogs"; "On the Road to Armagetto!" (previously unpublished), 424 pages, March 2008, (hardcover); December 2012, (paperback)

References

External links

DCU Guide: Forever People

''Forever People''
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

{{Authority control 1971 comics debuts 1972 comics endings 1988 comics debuts 1988 comics endings 2014 comics debuts 2015 comics endings Characters created by Jack Kirby Comics characters introduced in 1971 DC Comics aliens DC Comics extraterrestrial superheroes DC Comics deities DC Comics superhero teams DC Comics titles Defunct American comics New Gods of New Genesis

Publication history

Original members

Beautiful Dreamer

Powers and abilities

Big Bear

Powers and abilities

Mark Moonrider

Powers and abilities

Serifan

Powers and abilities

Vykin

Powers and abilities

Infinity-Man

Fifth World

Other versions

Amalgam Comics

In other media

Television

Film

Collected editions

See also

References

External links