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December 11, 2006
The overall CrossGen plot...
Thoughts on super-human characters and the CrossGen Comics
By Colin Glassey, December 11, 2006
Super-human characters have been a staple of stories since the very beginning. The earliest story out of Sumerian civilization is about the demi-god Gilgamesh and his wild demi-god friend Enkidu. The Greek myths are full of stories about super-men like Heracles, Jason, Beleraphon, Perseus, and more.
In the 1970s, Roger Zelazny wrote a number of classic stories (Lord of Light, Nine Princes in Amber) about demi-gods as realistic people with real problems and desires.
An attempt at something similar was made from 2001 to 2003 by a Miami based company called “CrossGen”. They published comic books and tried to tell a story of gods and power through the means of their comics.
Comic books have, from the very beginning, been the domain of super-men (starting pretty much with Superman) so the idea of comics dealing with super-men is nothing new. Still, the CrossGen story struck me as an interesting modern attempt to deal with the issues of super-men and what drives them.
Part 1 – The CrossGen Plot
The story (as can be surmised from various comics CrossGen published) is as follows.
In the Beginning was Atlantis – 100,000 B.C.E
A long time ago, a very human-like race existed on the island state of Atlantis on the planet Earth. Over time the Atlanteans figured out something important. They learned that they could escape their bodies and transcend, become one with the universe (essentially attain Nirvana). Following the Buddhist way of thinking, the majority concluded that transcending was only feasible/worthwhile if they gave up their emotions to be intellects only. However, not everyone in Atlantis agreed with the plan to transcend.
The first group, led by Capricia, did not wish to transcend because they felt an obligation to guide and protect the savage “true humans” who were living elsewhere on the planet. So this group agreed to “hide” during the transition (for reasons that make little sense). The second group, consisting really of only one individual named Solusandra, disagreed with the idea that emotions had to be given up in the transcended state. She insisted on transcending with her emotions intact.
The transcendence was a success. Those Atlanteans moved beyond mortal existence and gained access to vast powers. However, they did very little with such powers. They were content to observe and do nothing. They became idle gods. The one thing they did do was limit Solusandra, they removed her from the group mind and limited her to playing with just a small part of the galaxy.
Solusandra made use of her powers to create a group of demi-gods named “The First”. Danik, one of the leaders of the Atlanteans, was sent to watch Solusandra and over time he concluded that she was right and they were wrong. However, this conclusion came only after a long time.
In the mean time, the situation on Earth had developed rather oddly. Atlantis and all the people who stayed behind, was sunk under the ocean, those that stayed behind were locked in a state of suspended animation for 100,000 years. Oddly, the transcended Atlanteans did nothing, they made no move to fix the problem of their time-locked friends and they made no effort to help the “true humans” living and developing on Earth.
For reasons never explained, Solusandra grew bored of The First and left them. And for thousands of years (30,000? 50,000?) Solusandra disappears from the story. Danik apparently is interested in The First and so he creates two “fragments” of himself to monitor The First (two because The First have split into two warring factions). The First don’t do much from the time of this split till the start of the comic book series. Only Altwaal, the first creation of Solusandra has any vision for the development of the gods and so he leaves them to let them mature on their own. Altwaal’s strategy does not seem to work.
Earth in the Future – 3,000 C.E.?
Meanwhile humans on Earth eventually reached the 20th century and then passed it. They developed space flight. Somehow humans appeared on many planets in the galaxy, whether this was a matter of colonization from Earth or “creative work” by Solusandra was never explained.
Eventually, some thousand or two thousand years into the future (3000? 5000 CE?) two scientists (Charon and Appolyon) came up with an invention which would cause a technological type of transcendence. They used their machine and it had a curious effect. The population of the Earth largely “transcended” (but not the people living in Australia). However, they did not transcend like the Atlanteans had done 90,000 years earlier, instead they became semi-physical/semi-energy beings in an alternate dimension, a galaxy like our own but different. In this galaxy the two scientists, Charon and Appolyon, gained enormous power, allowing them to travel instantly from place to place, giving them immortality, and allowing them to channel vast energy at will.
Charon, driven somewhat mad by the transition, created new “fragments” of himself, each of which contained a part of his madness. These entities were creatures of chaos, murder, violence, and evil (they were called Lawbringers, for no good reason). Charon himself became rational but emotionally detached from such vital issues as life and death. He resolved to conquer this new galaxy, named “Negation Space”.
Negation Space
Over the next 10,000 years Charon succeeded in conquering the Negation galaxy. Early on he defeated and imprisoned Appolyon as well as one of his own Lawbringers who turned against him. His commanders were the people of Earth who had transcended with him. The rest of the Earth population had not gained nearly as much power as Charon but they had gained immortality. Over time they forgot all about Earth or about trying to return to their home world.
Note: it is not at all clear that time runs the same in the Negation dimension as in the “Bright” dimension. It could be that 10,000 years in Negation space is equal to much less time in the “Bright” space. This would logically give the Negation space an advantage if true. If it is not true then it is hard to explain what the Earth people have been doing for the 10,000 years that Charon spends consolidating control over his Negation galaxy. Given technological advancement and FTL ships, 10,000 years is enough to do all sorts of interesting things (colonize the galaxy; develop new ways of transcendence; harness the power of stars; etc.) For whatever reason, the technology on the Earth side seems static (and in fact not much advanced from 500 years from now).
People elsewhere in the “Bright galaxy” forgot about Charon and ignored his technology for transcendence (this is completely absurd and not the only absurdity). Similarly, this transcendence by much of the Earth’s population escaped the notice or interest of the Atlantean gods or The First (What do they do with their time? Play poker?).
The Creation of the Sigils – 13,000 C.E.?
Finally, less than 10 years before the start of the comics, Danik became convinced that Solusandra was right and his fellow Atlantean gods were wrong. He decides that he will change the power structure in the “Bright” galaxy by enlisting Solusandra’s help. Together they went through the “Bright” galaxy creating Sigil-Bearers who would have the power (eventually) to challenge the power of the Atlantean gods. After some 40 (or more) Sigil-bearers had been created, the other Atlantean gods figured out something was happening and they joined together to destroy Solusandra (not realizing the Danik was part of the plot?). However, their attempt to destroy Solusandra backfired and ALL the transcended Atlanteans were destroyed except Danik. Solusandra only partially survived, in a vastly weakened state with her memories gone.
At this point Danik has won, and the Sigil bearers no longer have a purpose. But immediately after this victory he discovers (through unknown means) that Charon’s forces have found (or will find) a way to cross the barrier to the “Bright” galaxy. The Negation galaxy, united under the immensely powerful Charon and his Lawbringers, is a threat which Danik can’t seem to fight (why not? As the only Atlantean god left can’t he close down “portals” from the Negation space as soon as they open? What sort of god is Danik?). The threat from the Negation is now the new purpose of the Sigil-bearers.
Apparently the new mission for the Sigil-bearers is to travel into Negation space and destroy Charon and end the Negation empire attacks into the “Bright” galaxy.
The comics now start and they cover a period of a few months or years.
1) In The First, none of the demi gods seem to have improved their powers over the years or learned anything. At the start of the comics, Danik’s fragment (named Enson) helps Seahn obtain one of the magic weapons of Atlwaal but Seahn soon loses it. The rest of the series is a complex power game which accomplishes little. Indeed while Solusandra brushes Ingra aside with a wave of her hand, she has to spend quite some time battling Giselle before she beats her, suggesting that Giselle has become more powerful than Ingra. Only Altwaal seems like he might be a challenge for Solusandra, and Altwaal was created by Solusandra so we know he wields just a portion of her power. {Earth: Seahn; Fire: Ingra; Air: Pyrem; Water: Orium}
2) In Sigil, Sam Rey learns to use his Sigil to perform god-like feats such as: carving up the planet Gaia into smaller, stable chunks; warping and destroying space ships from a distance. Sam Rey’s power is so immense that it calls into question the power of Danik and Solusandra as neither of them seems capable of such feats. Sam seems capable of destroying planets by himself. He is easily the most powerful Sigil-Bearer and he does things that are more dramatic than anything anyone else does in all the comics.
3) In Mystic, Giselle learns various forms of magic and becomes quite proficient at using her Sigil to power magic spells. This makes her very formidable in one-on-one battles. Her spells give her powers equal to (and perhaps superior to) anything any individual members of the First have, though there are indications that her powers are dependent on her location, unlike the First who are equally powerful everywhere.
4) In Scion, Prince Ethan transforms into a great warrior but his feats are on a small scale. He seems one of the less useful of the major Sigil-Bearers.
5) In Meridian, Sephia is like Ethan, only smaller and even less powerful. She is not much of a warrior and more of a healer. She seems the least capable of the major Sigil-Bearers.
6) In Crux, the initial team of Capricia, Tug, Gammid, and Galvin seem weak and ineffective. While they survive nearly constant assaults from Negation forces (the Negation seems to have remembered where to find Earth) they rarely win anything more than partial respites from the Negation attacks. Their powers (enhanced slightly by Danik) seem much less than the power of the First or Giselle or Sam Rey. Unlike the First they will die from old age, they can’t teleport, they can’t unleash death rays, they can’t wield magical spells, they can’t see distant events, and they can’t sense happenings on other worlds. Only when the Crux team manages to re-awaken the rest of the 1,000 Atlanteans who were in suspended animation, do they gain the ability to defeat a serious Negation military force. However, even massed together, the Atlanteans seem to be lacking the raw power of Sam Rey and they are internally conflicted and lacking a great deal of knowledge, because they have been asleep for the last 100,000 years.
7) In the Negation comic, the combination of the four Sigil-bearers, plus a member of the First, plus a partial First, are insufficient to beat even a single Lawbringer. Only the self destruction of a powerful magician from Giselle’s planet is able to kill a Lawbringer (suggesting that Giselle’s powers would be singularly effective against the other Lawbringers). While Kaine is a masterful commander and manages to keep his team alive despite incredible odds, the bottom line is they fail to make much of a dent in Negation power. At the end of the series they have three things in their favor and one against:
First they find and energize a resistance movement against Charon by rescuing a dissident Lawbringer from its prison.
Second they create a powerful version of Danik in the Negation space (this could have been done anytime but they lacked the knowledge to do it until the end).
Third, they rescue the demi-god Appolyon who is nearly as powerful as Charon and should prove a most useful ally in Negation Space, so long as he does not simply take over once Charon is defeated.
Against this must be set the fact that all the Sigil-bearers gave up the fight, the Atlaneans are either dead or exhausted, and the one member of the First who was on their side, joins Charon, bringing with her a great deal of knowledge and raw power to the Negation.
Several more things need to be mentioned. First, Solusandra is not dead and she suddenly wakes and sets out to regain her memories by visiting some of the Sigil-Bearers that she (and Danik) earlier created (this is described in the eight Solus comics). During this time the Sigil-Bearers have only been monitored by Danik, they have no clue where the sigils came from. Solusandra finally meets with Danik and regains her memories. She pledges to use her powers to fight against the Negation. This would seem to double Danik’s power. In fact, given that she created the First, it is hard to see how Solusandra can be defeated by anything the Negation and Charon can send against her.
Second, Altwaal chooses this time to return to the The First and reassert his control over all the gods. Altwaal seems to have a great deal of knowledge about the future and if the First were really united under his leadership, they would be a truly formidable force (though again, capable of breaking worlds apart like Sam Rey? It doesn’t seem like it).
(Copyright 2006 - Colin Glassey)
Posted by rakhier at December 11, 2006 05:13 PM