Earth's Mightiest Annotations:
AVENGERS vol. 3 no. 5
by Sean McQuaid

The SQUADRON SUPREME are the foremost super-heroic team of an otherdimensional alternate Earth sometimes referred to as Other-Earth or Earth-S. They started out as a recurring in-joke of sorts since the Squadron Supreme is a shamelessly blatant imitation of DC Comics’ Justice League of America, so the Squadron were occasional guest stars and frequent fall guys in Marvel comics like Avengers, Defenders and Thor. They’d show up and mistakenly battle some Marvel heroes who invariably beat the Squadron in the end (Take that, DC!), then join forces with the wiser and more formidable Marvel heroes against some common threat, usually a threat to the Squadron’s world that the Squadron couldn’t handle itself. In recent years, though, the Squadron became stars in their own right after Marvel writer-editor Mark Gruenwald did a brilliant limited series featuring the team, followed by a Squadron graphic novel and a lengthy supporting role for the group in Gruenwald’s Quasar series. Since their Quasar stint, the Squadron have been stranded on the Avengers’ Earth (Marvel’s "mainstream" Earth) and based at the energy research facility Project: Pegasus. Current Squadron members include Hyperion, Power Princess, Whizzer (II), Doctor Spectrum, Skylark, Moonglow (II), Shape and Haywire. The Squadron first appeared in Avengers (v1) # 85-86. They also appeared in Avengers (v1) # 141-144 and 147-149, which was the first Avengers storyline illustrated by George Perez.

HYPERION (true name unknown) is the most powerful and respected hero of Earth-S, a founding member and longtime leader of the Squadron Supreme. A partial amnesiac with no memory of his early childhood prior to his adoption by the kindly Miltons, he developed great superhuman powers as he grew up, and his foster parents encouraged him to use those powers for good. Thanks largely to the Miltons’ influence, he adopted a costumed identity as the crimefighter Hyperion while working as a newspaper cartoonist in Cosmopolis. As Hyperion, he became his world’s foremost hero and the leading figure in the Squadron Supreme.

After the alien Over-Mind’s short-lived but devastating conquest of Earth-S, Hyperion led the Squadron’s benevolent takeover of Earth-S’s United States government and the implementation of their "Utopia Program" designed to solve all of society’s problems, but he later led the Squadron in resigning from power and dismantling the "Utopia Program" after dissident Squadron member Nighthawk convinced Hyperion that the governmental system established by the Squadron, while effective, infringed on too many civil liberties and might be abused by future rulers. Hyperion remains the Squadron’s leader, though, and has recently begun a romance with fellow founding member Power Princess, whom he plans to marry. Both were among the Squadron members recently stranded on "mainstream" Earth. During this otherdimensional exile, Hyperion learned that he is the last known survivor of Earth-S’s Eternals, a subspecies of immortal superhumans created through genetic alteration of early humans by the alien Celestials.

Hyperion’s physiology metabolizes cosmic energy that extends his lifespan indefinitely and gives him a near-limitless capacity for physical regeneration, healing any wound short of complete disintegration. He has tremendous superhuman strength (sufficient to press 90-100 tons), stamina, durability, speed, agility and reflexes. He can fly at great speeds and project infrared heat beams from his eyes. He is utterly invulnerable to conventional injury, but he is somehow susceptible to the radiation of the isotope argonite, which greatly weakens him when he is in its presence. It has been theorized that prolonged exposure to a sufficient quantity of argonite might kill Hyperion, or at the very least weaken him sufficiently for him to be slain by conventional means.

Hyperion is the Squadron’s version of the Justice League’s Superman. Both were raised by kindly foster parents, both worked for a major metropolitan newspaper, both are vulnerable to a radioactive rock, and they both have roughly the same array of super-powers. Ironically (though perhaps not unintentionally), Hyperion’s costume has the same color scheme as that of the original Captain Marvel, a popular Fawcett character whom DC sued into retirement for being too much like Superman.

Hyperion first appeared in Avengers (v1) # 85-86, in which he and his fellow Squadron members teamed with the visiting Avengers (Vision, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and Goliath II) to defeat Brain-Child. Later, in Avengers (v1) # 141-149 (minus unrelated fill-in issues 145-146), the Serpent Cartel manipulated Hyperion and the rest of the Squadron into battling the Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Beast and Hellcat) until Beast forced the Squadron to realize how corrupt the Cartel was, ending their conflict. Later still, Hyperion and the Squadron teamed with the Defenders (whose membership included various past and future member of the Avengers) to defeat Over-Mind and Null in Defenders # 112-115.

POWER PRINCESS (Zarda) is the most powerful and respected heroine of Earth-S, and a founding member of the Squadron Supreme who has served as the group’s leader in the past. Zarda comes from Utopia Isle, whose inhabitants are a genetically augmented and technologically advanced offshoot of humanity equivalent to "mainstream" Earth’s Inhumans. The Utopians sent Zarda to the outside world as a cultural ambassador in the 1940s, and she became a costumed adventurer known as Power Princess, co-founding Earth-S’s first super-team, the Golden Agency, while battling the Axis powers during World War II. When the United States dropped nuclear bombs on Japan, the Utopians left Earth-S in fear of a global nuclear conflict, but Zarda stayed behind and settled down with sailor Howard Shelton, whom she’d rescued and fell in love with during the war. When a new generation of super-heroes emerged decades later, the still-youthful Power Princess joined forces with some of them to found the Squadron Supreme. As a member of the Squadron, Power Princess was one of the principal architects of the group’s "Utopia Program", through which they temporarily assumed control of the United States government and tried to cure all of the nation’s social problems. During that period, the criminal Hyperion from "mainstream" Earth’s Squadron Sinister secretly abducted and replaced the Squadron Supreme’s Hyperion, murdering Howard Shelton and beginning a romance with Zarda. When the real Hyperion returned and destroyed his criminal counterpart in battle, Zarda realized she had fallen in love with the true Hyperion and began a romance with him. The couple, who plan to marry, were among the Squadron members recently stranded on "mainstream" Earth.

Thanks to her superior Utopian physiology and mental/physical conditioning, Power Princess has superhuman strength (sufficient to press 20 tons), speed, stamina, agility and reflexes, and she ages far more slowly than normal humans. She is superhumanly resistant to injury, but not quite to the point of being bulletproof; as such, she sometimes wears steel alloy armor. She is one of the most experienced and capable hand-to-hand combatants on Earth-S, skilled in acrobatics and discus throwing. She carries a transparent, virtually indestructible shield composed of an unknown material perfected by Utopian scientists; the shield repels most attacks and can also be used offensively as a throwing disc. The shield also grants her the power of flight while she is contact with it.

Power Princess is the Squadron’s equivalent of the Justice League’s Wonder Woman. Both come from idyllic island civilizations (Utopia Isle and Paradise Island), both are superhumanly strong warrior women, and they both fly using transparent accessories (Power Princess’s shield and Wonder Woman’s robot plane). Like the Golden Age Wonder Woman, Power Princess came to human civilization as a cultural ambassador during World War II, joined her world’s first super-team (the Golden Agency instead of Wonder Woman’s JSA) and married a serviceman whom she rescued and fell in love with during the war (Howard Shelton instead of Wonder Woman’s Steve Trevor); like Shelton, the Golden Age Wonder Woman’s Steve Trevor aged faster than his superhuman sweetheart. Power Princess currently wears her second costume, adopted in the Squadron Supreme limited series.

Power Princess first appeared in Defenders # 112-115 when she and the rest of the Squadron teamed with the Defenders to defeat the Over-Mind and Null.

The WHIZZER (Stanley Stewart) was a postman who gained the power to move at superhuman speed after passing through a mysterious fog bank. Stewart decided to use his powers as a crimefighter called the Whizzer and became a founding member of the Squadron Supreme. Though he has suffered crises of confidence, the Whizzer has been a staunch member of the Squadron for years. His closest friends include teammates Doctor Spectrum and Arcanna; like Arcanna, Whizzer has a family outside the Squadron: a wife (Madeline) and a daughter (Tina). He is among the Squadron members who were recently stranded on "mainstream" Earth.

The Whizzer is superhumanly swift, enabling him to perform feats such as running up walls, running across liquid surfaces and creating cyclones by running in circles. He has limited resistance to friction but wears goggles to fully protect his eyes from the adverse effects of moving at superhuman speeds. He needs at least eight hours of deep sleep after extensive, prolonged used of his speed, and he must periodically ingest large amounts of food to fuel his superhuman metabolism.

The Whizzer is the Squadron’s equivalent of the Justice League’s Flash (Barry Allen): both are superhumanly swift crimefighters, both are low-key nice guys, both are married, and each is a good friend of his group’s Green Lantern (in Whizzer’s case, he’s pals with the Squadron’s GL equivalent, Doctor Spectrum). The Whizzer is wearing a new costume (his third) as of this story, an outfit designed by Avengers artist George Perez. Whizzer’s previous costume, a solid yellow outfit with black and white details, was more reminiscent of the Flash’s costume, a solid red outfit with yellow and white details.

The Whizzer first appeared in Avengers (v1) # 85-86, when he and the other Squadron members teamed with the Avengers to defeat Brain-Child. Later, he was among the Squadron members who encountered various members of the Avengers and the Defenders in Avengers (v1) # 141-149 (minus unrelated fill-in issues 145-146) and Defenders # 112-115.

Stanley Stewart is the second Whizzer. The original Whizzer was the late Bob Frank of "mainstream" Earth, a super-swift 1940s crimefighter who was an honorary member of the Avengers prior to his death. There is no known connection between the first and second Whizzers apart from the fact that they’re both super-speedsters with lame origins (they got their powers from a mongoose blood transfusion and a mysterious fog bank, respectively). A third Whizzer, James Sanders, was given chemically induced super-speed powers by the Grandmaster in imitation of the second Whizzer, whom Grandmaster had once employed as an unwilling pawn. The third Whizzer remains active as a super-criminal on "mainstream" Earth today but has long since changed his alias to Speed Demon to avoid confusion with the deceased original Whizzer.

DOCTOR SPECTRUM (Joseph Ledger)

Joe Ledger was a pilot and NASA astronaut who encountered and rescued an alien Skrull explorer during a space flight. The grateful Skrull gave Ledger a power prism, an alien crystal with which Ledger could generate and manipulate multicolored energy in near-limitless ways through the application of will power. Adopting the costumed identity of Doctor Spectrum, Ledger became a crimefighter, as did the stranded Skrull in the guise of the Skrullian Skymaster. The two heroes became founding members of the Squadron Supreme, and Ledger remained with the group long after the Skrull repaired his ship and returned to outer space. During the Squadron’s implementation of the "Utopia Program", Spectrum accidentally killed his insane teammate, Nuke, in combat and became a pacifist, vowing to use his powers in nonviolent ways. Soon afterward, Spectrum became romantically involved with new teammate Foxfire, the first great love of his life. Their romance was cut tragically short, though, when dissident Squadron member Nighthawk led his Redeemers in an assault on the Squadron intended to convince the Squadron to abandon their "Utopia Program". The Squadron did agree to abandon the program in the end, but not before a bloody battle in which Spectrum reluctantly abandoned pacifism and various Redeemers and Squadron members were killed, including Foxfire. Minutes before Foxfire’s death, Spectrum’s power prism was shattered in battle, showering him with its fragments. When Redeemers member Mink murdered Foxfire, a grief-stricken Spectrum instinctively lashed out at Mink with an energy blast and discovered that he still had his powers thanks to the many fragments of the prism that had imbedded themselves in his skin. He remains an active member of the Squadron to this day, and was among the Squadron members recently stranded on "mainstream" Earth.

Through mental concentration, Doctor Spectrum can fly at supersonic speeds; emit concussive force, light, heat and other forms of radiation; form mentally manipulable energy constructs that remain solid so long as he concentrates upon them; and survive in outer space or other hostile environments through the generation of a protective energy field. Spectrum’s body turned chalk-white after the explosion of his power prism, but it takes on the colors of his energy projections when he is using his powers; these colors vary depending on the type of energy Spectrum is manipulating. The power prism’s energies could be disrupted by ultraviolet radiation, so Spectrum’s powers might still be adversely affected by ultraviolet rays. He is a skilled pilot of various jets and spacecraft, and has a high aptitude for understanding and utilizing technology.

Doctor Spectrum is the Squadron’s equivalent of the Justice League’s Green Lantern. Both are dashing test pilots, both wielded alien energy talismans manipulated via will power and both use their energies to form solid objects. Doctor Spectrum has close friendships with the Whizzer (the Squadron’s equivalent of the Flash) and the late Black Archer (the Squadron’s equivalent of Green Arrow), similar to Green Lantern’s close friendships with Flash and Green Arrow. Doctor Spectrum has resumed wearing his original costume of late, after wearing a maskless, caped version of the outfit during the Squadron’s "Utopia Program" period.

Doctor Spectrum first appeared in Avengers (v1) # 85-86 when he and the rest of the Squadron joined forces with the visiting Avengers to defeat Brain-Child. He also participated in the Squadron’s subsequent encounters with the Avengers and the Defenders in Avengers (v1) # 141-149 (minus unrelated fill-in issues 145-146) and Defenders # 112-115.

SKYLARK (Linda Lewis) was a pop music vocalist whose career ended when an accident severed her vocal cords; subsequent experimental surgery by Doctor Anton Decibel restored Lewis’s voice, but she was still unable to sing since her reconstructed vocal cords were superhumanly powerful and could injure listeners if she raised her voice above a normal speaking tone. Using her new abilities as the costumed crimefighter Lady Lark, Lewis was invited to join the Squadron Supreme and became the team’s fourth recruit. She had a lengthy romance with teammate Golden Archer (previously known as Hawkeye [II]), but the two grew apart over the years and she refused his proposal of marriage shortly after the Squadron embarked on its "Utopia Program". The desperate Golden Archer then used the Squadron’s behavior modification machine (a device the Squadron used to brainwash criminals into reforming) to brainwash Lady Lark into blindly adoring him, but the Squadron expelled him in disgrace after learning what he’d done. Lady Lark, still madly in love with the archer, quit the Squadron to pursue him but returned to the group after he’d died in battle with the Squadron as Black Archer, a member of Nighthawk’s Redeemers; ironically, the same battle also claimed the life of Lady Lark’s close friend and Squadron teammate Blue Eagle, who had been the archer’s rival for Lark’s affections prior to Lark’s brainwashing. Not knowing that Blue Eagle himself had killed the turncoat Black Archer (the Squadron thought this knowledge might be too painful for her), Lark adopted the late Blue Eagle’s wings and rejoined the Squadron as Skylark. She remains an active Squadron member today, and was among the Squadron members recently stranded on "mainstream" Earth.

Skylark can achieve sonic and hypersonic effects with her voice ranging from shattering objects to upsetting others’ equilibrium, not to mention a great capacity for sheer, deafening noise. The artificial wings she inherited from Blue Eagle enable her to fly at great speeds.

Skylark is the Squadron’s equivalent of the Justice League’s Black Canary. Both were heroines with sonic scream powers, and each had a long-running but ultimately doomed romance with her group’s resident archer (Skylark’s Golden Archer and Black Canary’s Green Arrow); however, Skylark’s recent adoption of Blue Eagle’s wings establishes a significant difference between the two heroines, as does the loss of Black Canary’s sonic scream power in recent years. Skylark currently wears a slightly altered version of her second costume (adopted in the Squadron Supreme limited series), though the extremely short haircut is a new Perez design.

Lady Lark first appeared in Avengers (v1) # 85, when she and other Squadron members battled the visiting Avengers in the mistaken belief that the Avengers were communist agents. Lady Lark also participated in the Squadron’s subsequent encounters with the Avengers and Defenders in Avengers (v1) # 141-149 (minus unrelated fill-in issues 145-146) and Defenders # 112-115. She became Skylark in the Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe graphic novel.

MOONGLOW (Arcanna Jones) was born with an aptitude for magic and various psychic powers that developed as she matured. Originally employed as a medium, Arcanna later decided to support her husband (Phillip) and children (Drusilla, Katrina and Andrew) as a professional crimefighter, using her supernatural skills to capture criminals for profit. Her exploits attracted the attention of the Squadron Supreme and she accepted their offer of membership, becoming the group’s fifth recruit and forming close friendships with Squadron teammates Whizzer and Shape. At the conclusion of the Squadron’s "Utopia Program", Arcanna gave birth to her fourth child, Benjamin Thomas Jones, who was destined to become Earth-S’s next sorcerer supreme; however, baby Benjamin inherited his mystic powers prematurely when Earth-S’s existing sorcerer supreme, Professor Imam, died in a conflict with the universe-devouring Nth Man, a conflict Benjamin ended when he voluntarily assumed the Nth Man’s form and allowed Lightner (the former Nth Man) to take his place as Earth-S’s sorcerer supreme. The Squadron’s universe was saved, but Benjamin Thomas was gone, departed for realms where he would not threaten the Squadron’s Earth. Arcanna remains an active member of the Squadron and was among the Squadron members recently stranded on "mainstream" Earth. She originally used no costumed identity, but has recently adopted the costumed guise of Moonglow, an identity abandoned shortly beforehand by another Squadron member who quit the group after a brief membership and retired from adventuring (the original Moonglow was illusionist Melissa Hanover).

Moonglow can magically manipulate natural substances and forces, and has especially strong control over wind, wood and water. She can also cast realistic illusions and project mystical force bolts. She has various psychic powers, including an ability to sense and perceive magical forces.

Moonglow is the Squadron’s equivalent of the Justice League’s Zatanna. Both are female mystics with an affinity for natural substances, and both originally wore fishnet stockings, to say nothing of how similar the name Arcanna is to the name Zatanna. Arcanna’s Moonglow costuming is an illusion, one she first adopted in the Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe graphic novel.

Arcanna first appeared in Defenders # 112-115, when she and the rest of the Squadron teamed with the Defenders to defeat Over-Mind and Null. She became the new Moonglow in the Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe graphic novel.

The SHAPE (Raleigh Lund) is a mentally challenged superhuman who can shift almost all of his bodily mass from one area of his malleable form to another, altering his physical shape at will. A gentle, simple soul who apparently strayed into crime under the influence of others, the Shape was a member of the criminal Institute of Evil until the Squadron captured the Institute and "behavior modified" them into reforming and joining the Squadron. As a member of the Squadron, the Shape then participated in the implementation of the Squadron’s "Utopia Program", an ambitious plan to cure all of America’s social ills. Renegade Squadron member Nighthawk opposed the Squadron’s "Utopia Program" since it overturned the democratic process and infringed on various civil liberties, so he organized a resistance group called the Redeemers. Intending to recruit Shape for the Redeemers, Nighthawk undid Shape’s behavior modification, but Shape had become genuinely fond of the Squadron and remained loyal to them. The Shape remains an active member of the Squadron today and was among the Squadron members recently stranded on "mainstream" Earth. His closest friends include teammate Arcanna Jones and her children, whom Shape often baby-sits.

The Shape can shift most of his mass from one area of his body to another at will, altering his entire shape; when he is relaxed, most of his mass settles into his legs and lower body. He has slightly superhuman strength (sufficient to press between 800 pounds and 2 tons) and superhuman durability, enabling him to resist temperature and pressure extremes, burning, lacerations, ballistic penetration and most impacts without sustaining injury. His entire body is rubbery and malleable, and he can use his shifting mass to elongate, compress or enlarge various parts of his body, sometimes forming them into non-humanoid shapes such as hammer-like fists or a trampoline-shaped torso. His bones can stretch to five times their natural length, and he has a high physical pain threshold; however, he is not totally invulnerable, and his shape-shifting repertoire is limited by his low intelligence. The source of his superhuman powers remains unknown, but he may be a mutant.

The Shape first appeared in Squadron Supreme # 5. While he does not seem to be closely based on any Justice Leaguer, his powers do resemble those of Justice League members Elongated Man and Plastic Man.

HAYWIRE (Harold Danforth) was a superhuman adventurer who joined Nighthawk’s Redeemers to oppose the Squadron’s "Utopia Program", joining the Squadron himself as a double agent until the Redeemers were ready to strike. When the Redeemers succeeded in defeating the Squadron and convincing them to abandon the "Utopia Program", Haywire remained with the Squadron, as did his girlfriend and fellow Redeemer, Inertia; however, Inertia was killed in the Squadron’s subsequent battle with the Nth Man, devastating Haywire. He remains an active member of the Squadron, and was among the Squadron members recently stranded on "mainstream" Earth.

Haywire can form almost unlimited quantities of a steel-like "tanglewire" from his fingertips. He uses these strands as grappling wires to swing from place to place, and uses larger quantities of the tanglewire to ensnare and bind his opponents. He can form the tanglewire into basic shapes, but he cannot produce it in complex configurations; he can, however, use single strands of the tanglewire to perform delicate operations such as lock picking. The tanglewire is extremely tensile and durable; only omnium and adamantium can cut through it. It is resistant to temperature and pressure extremes. The tanglewire remains solid indefinitely unless Haywire consciously wills it to dissipate; unconsciousness or other lapses in his concentration do not affect the tanglewire’s solidity once he has generated it. Haywire wears padded leather gloves that enable him to safely handle his tanglewire when necessary. Š

Haywire first appeared in Squadron Supreme # 10. Like most of the newer Squadron members, he does not seem to be based on a Justice League character. He continues to wear his original costume.