Publication history
The protagonists of the series are a group of young New Gods from New Genesis who were on a mission to oppose Darkseid on Earth, and talked, dressed, and acted much like the flower children 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 to summon the powerful hero Infinity-Man. The group travels by use of their Super-Cycle. The first issue of their title also introduced the Boom Tube, a type of portal used by the 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 in issue #3. Issues #9 and 10 guest-starredOriginal 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 Mother Box. Since then, their marriage and daughter has been voided by a retcon during John Byrne's '' Jack Kirby's Fourth World'' series. When last shown, Dreamer was romantically involved with Takion. In thePowers 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 is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant. She has psionic powers that allow her to create illusions and to scan people's minds to produce familiar 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 ofPowers and abilities
Bear possesses superhuman strength that is further enhanced by a flow of high-density atoms. He is also the pilot of the Super-Cycle and an avid Earth history buff.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 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 never occurred, leaving Mark with only his friends.Powers and abilities
In addition to being extremely long-lived, Mark has superhuman strength and reflexes and is 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 that enables him to generate lethal bolts of electricity.Serifan
Serifan is the youngest member of the group, as well as 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
Serifan possesses limited telepathic powers, and wields "cosmic cartridges" that serve various purposes when wielded. For example, the cartridges can link Serifan to the Source, create force fields, drain energy, manipulate gravity, modify atomic density, generate intense heat, power vehicles, and stun others. His "Blue Cartridge" can manipulate life force and was used to helpVykin
Throughout the Kirby run, Vykin was referred to as "Vykin the Black". He was the secondPowers and abilities
Like all New Gods, Vykin is functionally immortal and all his physical attributes are superhuman. He can manipulate magnetism and is skilled in working with complicated machinery. Vykin has a keen mind and is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant. It is Vykin who carries the Forever People's Mother Box, a kind of sentient computer, and is attuned to her frequencies. He is also a language major and a skilled tracker. He is considered "second only to Metron in wisdom".Infinity-Man
Infinity-Man is Drax, the older brother of Uxas, 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 that they have an arrangement with him. The Infinity-Man's powers were never fully cataloged other than having some direct link to the Source, and the suggestion that since he originated from outside our universe, he was not bound by its physical laws. He was shown capable of flight, super-strength, enhanced vision powers, infini-beams, the ability to negate gravity and convert it into a repulsive force, restructuring atoms to pass through solid matter, and redirecting the flight path of bullets.Fifth World
The Super Young Team are the contemporary Fifth World incarnations of the Forever People. Created by writer Grant Morrison in the early "52" stages of their DC Universe '' Final Crisis'' storyline, they are influenced by American super-heroes and Japanese pop culture, and were first mentioned in '' 52'' #6. This group recruits Sonny Sumo, a powerful fighter who assisted the original Forever People in the first series.Other versions
The Un-People, a fusion of the Forever People andIn other media
Television
* The Forever People make a non-speaking appearance in the '' Justice League'' episode "Twilight". * The Forever People appear in '' Young Justice'', with Vykin voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson, Big Bear by Bill Fagerbakke, Beautiful Dreamer by Grey DeLisle, and Serifan by Dee Bradley Baker while Mark Moonrider has no dialogue.Film
An alternate universe variant of Mark Moonrider makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in a flashback in '' Justice League: Gods and Monsters''.Video games
The Forever People appear as character summons in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''.Miscellaneous
The Forever People appear in the ''Justice League: Gods and Monsters'' tie-in comic as experiments created by Doctor Psycho.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'' #4: "The Hunger Dogs"; "On the Road to Armagetto!" (previously unpublished), 424 pages, March 2008, (hardcover); December 2012, (paperback)See also
* Jack Kirby bibliographyReferences
External links