Comic book creator Mark Waid returns to the world of Kingdom Come in the latest arc of Batman/Superman: World's Finest.
Created by Waid and Alex Ross back in 1996, Kingdom Come took place in an alternate future where anti-hero Magog led a faction of lethally proactive metahumans, eventually sparking a devastating war between the heroes.
In the new arc of World's Finest, the Batman and Superman of the main DC universe explore this other reality some time before the events of Kingdom Come - and in #21, published this week, they find themselves face-to-face with Magog's divine benefactor, the forgotten god Gog. There's spoilers for the issue ahead.
Batman and Superman traveled to the Kingdom Come world (designated in the DC multiverse as Earth-22) to reunite with Superman's long-lost sidekick Kid Thunder, who originated from this universe. Arriving on Earth-22, however, Superman and Batman learn that years have passed since Boy Thunder vanished and he is now an adult going by the moniker of Thunderman.
As the vengeful Thunderman fights against Superman, with Earth-22's Batman and Superman joining the skirmish, the battle is interrupted by the emergence of Gog. Towering over the world, this literal god on Earth is worshiped as the life-bringer, with many of the familiar heroes from Earth-22 eagerly flocking to greet their idol. The regular DC universe Batman and Superman can only watch in shock as they are confronted by heroes loyal to Gog.
Gog himself was never actually seen in Kingdom Come, with Magog bursting on to the scene on his own at the start of that story. It wasn't until 1998's New Year's Evil: Gog #1 by Waid and Jerry Ordway that Gog made his debut. His backstory is finally unveiled in the 1999 Kingdom Come sequel miniseries, The Kingdom.
Beginning 20 years after Kingdom Come, the sole survivor of the destruction of Kansas, William Matthews, creates a church around Superman, seeing him as a god. After Superman explains his own fallibility, William's sanity snaps, and, after receiving cosmic powers from the Quintessence, he sets out to kill Superman across multiple timelines.
The main DC universe presented its own version of Gog in the 2007 Justice Society of America storyline Thy Kingdom Come. This iteration of William was a priest who discovered an ancient underground city in Africa and was bestowed with the powers of a god to ascend. This Gog makes references to the bombing of Kansas during the Imperiex War and the events of Kingdom Come, before he is defeated by the Justice Society and imprisoned within the Source Wall.
It's not yet clear if the Gog appearing in World's Finest has any relation to William Matthews, especially given his appearance is set decades before the events of The Kingdom. With The Kingdom revolving around Gog traveling back in time, the Gog of this storyline could have changed his vendetta involving Superman at this point in history to subjugate Superman rather than destroy him.
World's Finest looks poised to finally resolve the origins of Gog, or at least the version of the godly villain linked to Kingdom Come. More than just a god whose gifts come with a twisted cost, Gog has had a complicated history with Superman across his previous history.
Superman and Batman came to Earth-22 expecting a reunion with Boy Thunder, only to incur his vengeance and the wrath of an entire world in service to the forgotten god.
Batman/Superman: World's Finest #21 is out now from DC.
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