Can someone recap Immortal Men for me? Thanks

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I was really jazzed about this series when it was first announced, but my enthusiasm quickly died after I read the incomprehensible first issue. To be fair, I realized that the title wasn't going to be about what actually interested me about the concept, namely all the cool forgotten immortal heroes from across DCU history. I mean, I would have been totally in for a mini-series about the pulpy black Mystery Man from Harlem. Add onto that the fact that it quickly became obvious that Jim Lee wasn't going to be able to deliver the art, I knew this book was doomed.

That said, I'm curious if anything cool came out of the book. Any new or interesting ideas get introduced? I've always been a sucker for the original Immortal Man character, although I thought making him and Resurrection Man separate characters was kinda pointless and dumb.

Could anyone who actually read all of Immortal Men fill me in on what happened in the book?

[Korath]

Basically :

Around the same time has Vandal Savage became immortal, five siblings from the Tribe of Bear stumbled upon a similar (or the same) asteroid which had granted Savage his immortality. Each of them ascribed to an ideal (Conquest, Action, Knowledge, Art, and Wisdom, if I remember right) and created a House to promote this idea, from prehistoric times to nowadays.

They discovered that nothing could kill them (save something forged from their blood) and that they could pass on their immortality to other beings by sharing blood with them. Sadly, the leader of the House of Conquest (the Eternal Woman I think? I don't remember her title) joined with the Batman Who Laugh because she wanted to basically, well, conquer the world I guess. She assaulted the House of Action led by the Immortal Man, killed most of its members and used their blood to forge a weapon able to kill him and proceeded to do just that.

At the end of the series, her mobile base was revealed and Caden and the surviving Immortal Men out in the open.

What was interesting was that Duke Thomas's mother had been approached by the Immortal Man, there has been hints that Gnomon (who could be Duke's biological father) was a member of the House of Action himself, or at least an Immortal member of one of the Houses, and that a lot of mystery was left for us to discover.

Sadly, Immortal Men has basically been retconned out by Catwoman's current volume, since Immortal Man appeared in there, none the worse to wear, without any hint that he died, had a family or an House.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Basically :

Around the same time has Vandal Savage became immortal, five siblings from the Tribe of Bear stumbled upon a similar (or the same) asteroid which had granted Savage his immortality. Each of them ascribed to an ideal (Conquest, Action, Knowledge, Art, and Wisdom, if I remember right) and created a House to promote this idea, from prehistoric times to nowadays.

They discovered that nothing could kill them (save something forged from their blood) and that they could pass on their immortality to other beings by sharing blood with them. Sadly, the leader of the House of Conquest (the Eternal Woman I think? I don't remember her title) joined with the Batman Who Laugh because she wanted to basically, well, conquer the world I guess. She assaulted the House of Action led by the Immortal Man, killed most of its members and used their blood to forge a weapon able to kill him and proceeded to do just that.

At the end of the series, her mobile base was revealed and Caden and the surviving Immortal Men out in the open.

What was interesting was that Duke Thomas's mother had been approached by the Immortal Man, there has been hints that Gnomon (who could be Duke's biological father) was a member of the House of Action himself, or at least an Immortal member of one of the Houses, and that a lot of mystery was left for us to discover.

Sadly, Immortal Men has basically been retconned out by Catwoman's current volume, since Immortal Man appeared in there, none the worse to wear, without any hint that he died, had a family or an House.

Ah, I see. So, the entire series has been ignored only a couple years after it was published?

Would it be worth checking out for cheap, or is the entire series as much of a mess as the first issue was?

[Korath]

Ah, I see. So, the entire series has been ignored only a couple years after it was published?

Would it be worth checking out for cheap, or is the entire series as much of a mess as the first issue was?

It's... it's kind of a mess until the end. But there is some genuinely great moment, bold ideas and the likes here and there. I definitively recommend getting the trade : it's not too costly on Amazon or even Comixology when they have sales.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

It's... it's kind of a mess until the end. But there is some genuinely great moment, bold ideas and the likes here and there. I definitively recommend getting the trade : it's not too costly on Amazon or even Comixology when they have sales.

Thanks again. If I can find it for cheap, I might check it out. How many issues did Lee actually do? Two?

[Korath]

More like two-third of one, if you ask me

[lemonpeace]

did someone say "an excuse to post a tin foil theory"?

so I'm rereading Immortal Men in preparation for updating the Metahuman page on DC's wiki and the most obvious thing slapped me in the face:

this is The Constant of the House of Knowledge (self-evident) and one of the 5 original Immortals of the Bear Clan; he has a sun for a face. this got me thinking, I think Duke Thomas directly descends from the Constant.

First of all, he's obviously one of the first 6 metahumans, meaning he is likely the ancestor of at least 1/6th of the metahumans in earth already, but there's a clear golden-yellow solar visual motif going on with his mask-headdress thing, which he shares with Gnomon, who also is an immortal (remember, due to his biological connection, Duke could sense Gnomon telling the truth).



Duke, his mother (Elaine Thomas), and Gnomon seem to have a familial disposition for photosensory powers, abilities that would fit right into the House of Knowledge, who seek information and knowledge.

then there's also this panel where we see The Constant observing the construction of (presumably) the Great Library of Alexandria

you see, each house traveled to, influenced, and implemented their philosophy for mankind in a different region of the world; Conquest to the Roman Empire, Expression to the Vatican in Italy, Harmony to Bodh Gaya (seen under the Bodhi Tree, implying an influence on Buddhism), and Action having an influence on America (it's a little unclear). Now, as a Nigerian with a love of both comics and pre-colonial African history, nothing irks me more than when people lazily only think to use Egypt as pretty much the only example of pre-colonial civilization in Africa BUT, in this case, it's a handy indicator of what region of the world is domain of the House of Knowledge - Africa. Which would mean members of his House would likely consist of Africans and the African diaspora, and he (The Constant) himself would likely be black as well. also keep in mind, in the original story pitch for the Immortal Men, The House of Knowledge [then: Wisdom] are scholarly monks who study everything about the world and hoarding the knowledge rather than sharing.

here's my theory, I posit Gnomon is or was either a member or the House of Knowledge, The Constant's direct descendant, child, or (more wildly and unlikely) is The Constant himself in disguise or under an alias. Jim Lee, who worked on Immortal Men early on, did say Duke was meant to cross paths with the Immortal Men down the line, I believe this was how he was meant to connect. if I were to connect the dots here on how they were going to go about this, I think Gnomon was going to be a member of the House of Knowledge who got ambitious and grew tired of only learning about things. so, for whatever reason, he specifically picks Elaine (maybe she has some metahuman ability that is compatible with Gnomon and would result it a stronger child) and breaks off from the House of Knowledge. at which point The Immortal Man approaches Elaine to join him instead of siding with Gnomon but instead she rejects both and escapes to Gotham, with the key to Gnomon's plan; Duke. So Gnomon works on his machinations while he looks for Duke and Elaine. eventually tracking them to Gotham during the events of the miniseries Batman and The Signal.

[J. D. Guy]

I was really jazzed about this series when it was first announced, but my enthusiasm quickly died after I read the incomprehensible first issue. To be fair, I realized that the title wasn't going to be about what actually interested me about the concept, namely all the cool forgotten immortal heroes from across DCU history. I mean, I would have been totally in for a mini-series about the pulpy black Mystery Man from Harlem. Add onto that the fact that it quickly became obvious that Jim Lee wasn't going to be able to deliver the art, I knew this book was doomed.

That said, I'm curious if anything cool came out of the book. Any new or interesting ideas get introduced? I've always been a sucker for the original Immortal Man character, although I thought making him and Resurrection Man separate characters was kinda pointless and dumb.

Could anyone who actually read all of Immortal Men fill me in on what happened in the book?

Not gonna lie, it bums me out to hear someone ascribe "incomprehensible" to the first issue of Immortal Men.

The book had the makings of a doorstopper epic to be. That was evident to me via the first issue and how it delivers its story. (It made wonderful use of narration boxes, which helped give it that feel.) It is likely I'll always have feelings of sorrow for this book not unfolding into the epic it was destined to be, Jim Lee or no Jim Lee. I'm just that confident in what could have been based on what was that I reckon it'd have made its own gold mine of continuity and story ideas for the future if it was allowed the room to grow that it needed.

[J. D. Guy]

did someone say "an excuse to post a tin foil theory"?

Still loved this insight! Still wish it would/could be followed up on. Maybe one day.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Not gonna lie, it bums me out to hear someone ascribe "incomprehensible" to the first issue of Immortal Men.

The book had the makings of a doorstopper epic to be. That was evident to me via the first issue and how it delivers its story. (It made wonderful use of narration boxes, which helped give it that feel.) It is likely I'll always have feelings of sorrow for this book not unfolding into the epic it was destined to be, Jim Lee or no Jim Lee. I'm just that confident in what could have been based on what was that I reckon it'd have made its own gold mine of continuity and story ideas for the future if it was allowed the room to grow that it needed.

It's a shame, the concept sounded great and was easily the New Age of Heroes title I was most excited for, but I couldn't make heads or tails of what the creators were trying to accomplish with that first issue. It's not that I was looking for something more mainstream or easily digestible. I love it when comics make big swings and get ambitious. Morrison & Sharp's The Green Lantern is a great example of a book that is not playing it safe in terms of getting weird and challenging the reader to keep up. However, with Immortal Men, they bit off more than they could chew and it fell flat on its face immediately.

[J. D. Guy]

It's a shame, the concept sounded great and was easily the New Age of Heroes title I was most excited for, but I couldn't make heads or tails of what the creators were trying to accomplish with that first issue. It's not that I was looking for something more mainstream or easily digestible. I love it when comics make big swings and get ambitious. Morrison & Sharp's The Green Lantern is a great example of a book that is not playing it safe in terms of getting weird and challenging the reader to keep up. However, with Immortal Men, they bit off more than they could chew and it fell flat on its face immediately.

In that case, I disagree. I felt they bit off exactly what they could chew, 'cause their premise had just that big of an appetite. They just needed time given to finish chewing.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

In that case, I disagree. I felt they bit off exactly what they could chew, 'cause their premise had just that big of an appetite. They just needed time given to finish chewing.

I'm glad the series worked for you, but a first issue has to strike a tricky balance in how it unpacks those big ideas, otherwise all those concepts and ideas end up being wasted, which is exactly what happened with Immortal Men. Ambition alone isn't enough.