AVENGERS/SQUADRON SUPREME '98
Annotation by Sean McQuaid
(Published July, 1988, simultaneous with books cover-dated September)
"To Challenge a Champion!"
By Kurt Busiek (plot), Kurt Busiek & Len Kaminski (script)
& Carlos Pacheco
(pencils), with Batt/Russell/Wiaceck/Vey/Neary (inks),
RS/Comicraft/DL
(letters), Tom Smith (colors), Tom Brevoort (editor) and Bob
Harras
(editor-in-chief).
Avengers Assembled: Thor, Iron Man, Giant-Man,
Captain America, Hawkeye,
Scarlet Witch, Vision [II], Wonder Man, Firestar and Justice (as
members);
Swordsman [II] & Magdalene (as honorary members).
Other Characters: Squadron Supreme (Doctor
Spectrum, Hyperion,
Power Princess, Whizzer II, Skylark, Moonglow II, Shape &
Haywire) and
Imus Champion.
Note: This story takes place between Avengers
(v3) # 7 and Avengers (v3) # 8.
EXTERIOR COVER
This issue's cover illustration (drawn by Carlos Pacheco &
inked by George
Perez) features the Avengers (Firestar, Justice, Thor, Captain
America,
Scarlet Witch, Iron Man & Hawkeye) and the Squadron Supreme
(Skylark, Shape,
Haywire, Whizzer, Power Princess, Hyperion, Doctor Spectrum &
Moonglow) in
the hands of a symbolically huge Imus Champion.
INTERIOR COVER
The events of Avengers (v3) # 5-6 are recapped: criminal
billionaire Imus
Champion manipulated the otherdimensional heroes known as the
Squadron
Supreme into attacking the Avengers, but the Avengers freed the
Squadron
from Champion's mind control. For more information on the
Squadron and their
background, see the EMA annotations for Avengers (v3) # 5-6
PAGE 1
Justice holds a statuette of Avengers founder Henry Pym
(currently known as
Giant-Man), depicted in his guise as the original Ant-Man.
Portraits of
Pym and the other founding Avengers, more clearly visible on page
2, can be
seen in the background.
The other figure in the statuette is Nash, one of Pym's favorite
ants.
Pym could communicate with and control ants using the cybernetic
helmet he
wore as Ant-Man, and ants often assisted Pym in his adventures.
Nash
first appeared in Avengers (v1) # 93 as part of a trio of ants
(Crosby,
Stills & Nash, christened after the popular musicians of the
same names)
who accompanied Pym on a journey into the Vision's android body.
Crosby
died during that adventure, but Nash survived to join Pym in
subsequent
exploits before dying himself, years later, in the Giant-Man
limited
series (which ran as a supporting feature in part of the print
run of
Avengers [v1] # 379-382 under the Marvel Double Feature banner).
There's a certain symmetry to this scene, continued on page 2.
Justice and
Firestar are the team's newest recruits, and Justice is speaking
reverently
of the team's original members. It's a nice moment, fostering a
sense of
the group's rich ongoing history.
PAGE 2
Justice and Firestar are in the upstairs hall of Avengers
Mansion, which
apparently serves as a sort of de facto trophy room. On the wall
in
front of Justice we can see portraits of the founding Avengers:
Giant-Man
and the Wasp, Thor, the Hulk and Iron Man (in his third armor) as
they all
looked circa Avengers (v1) # 2-5. Below the portraits are
statuettes of
Avengers members Wonder Man, Captain America and Hawkeye. The
Wonder Man
statuette appears to depict Simon in his original costume, posed
as he was
in his debut appearance on the cover of Avengers (v1) # 9.
The spiny costume in the display case in the foreground at left
is the
battlesuit of longtime super-criminal Alexander Gentry, better
known
as the PORCUPINE. Gentry was a U.S. government weapons designer
who
invented an armored battlesuit coated in sharp, protective quills
and
outfitted with a host of concealed miniature weapons. Convinced
that the
government would give him virtually no credit or reward for his
brilliant
designs, Gentry kept the suit to himself and decided to use it
for personal
gain as a costumed criminal called the Porcupine. Gentry was
defeated by
the original Ant-Man (Hank Pym), who soon defeated Porcupine a
second time
in his new guise as Giant-Man. Despite these defeats, Gentry
continued to
pursue a long, undistinguished criminal career that brought him
into
conflict with heroes such as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men,
Captain America,
the Defenders, Iron Man, the original Yellowjacket (Pym in yet
another
costumed identity), the Wasp, Nighthawk and Nomad.
Eventually, however, Gentry grew weary of his unsuccessful
criminal
career and decided to sell his suit to the highest bidder so that
he could
retire comfortably. Unfortunately, the Porcupine had long since
developed a
reputation as a loser. As a result, most criminals and criminal
organizations had no interest in the Porcupine armor, and the few
offers
Gentry did receive were insultingly low. Desperate, Gentry took
the unusual
approach of offering to sell his battlesuit to the Avengers for a
fair
price, arguing that this would prevent the suit from falling into
criminal
hands. Captain America, intrigued by Gentry's offer, agreed on
the condition
that Gentry assist him in a sting operation aimed at capturing
members of
the criminal Serpent Society. Gentry reluctantly accepted the
terms, but
was fatally wounded in the process of helping Captain America
capture
several Society members. Captain America tried to console the
dying Gentry
by praising him for assisting in the capture of dangerous
criminals, and
assured Gentry that he was a worthy opponent, but the despairing
Porcupine
insisted with his dying breath that he was an insignificant
loser. After
Gentry's death, Captain America had the Porcupine battlesuit
displayed in
Avengers Mansion, labeled "Battle Armor of the
Porcupine--Honored Foe of the
Avengers".
Mister Hyde smashed the Porcupine display when he and the other
Masters of Evil invaded Avengers Mansion in Avengers (v1) #
273-277, but
the display has obviously since been reconstructed, perhaps when
the Mansion
itself was restored by Ute the Watcher in Avengers (v1) # 375.
The Porcupine first appeared in Tales to Astonish # 48. His
subsequent appearances included Tales to Astonish # 53, Fantastic
Four
Annual 3, X-Men (v1) # 22-23, Captain America (v1) # 130 &
158-159,
Defenders # 37-38 & 63-64, Iron Man (v1) # 127 and Avengers
(v1) # 167.
He extensively redesigned his battlesuit into the model shown
here in
Captain America (v1) # 285 (the original Porcupine armor was much
bulkier,
much spinier, and looked, in Luke Cage's words, like a
"walking haystack").
The Porcupine died in Captain America (v1) # 315.
The marionettes hanging in the foreground at right were carved by
gypsy
shaman Django Maximoff in the likeness of his adopted children
Wanda and
Pietro, better known as the Avengers members Scarlet Witch and
Quicksilver.
The puppets were carved from the mystical wood of Wundagore
Mountain,
and the lonely, slightly mad Django used them to entrap the
siblings' souls
in the dolls so that they would all be together as a family
again. The
Avengers forced Django to free Wanda and Pietro, who forgave the
sad old
man for his desperate actions and spent some family time with him
before he
died. The Wanda puppet was later lost when the dying Django and
the Avengers
used it to exorcise the demon Chthon from Wanda and trap the
demon in the
doll, which was then buried in an avalanche. Django was a
toymaker by trade,
though, so he may have carved one or more copies of the Wanda and
Pietro
marionettes, two of which we see here. Django and his puppets
appeared in
Avengers (v1) # 173, 181-182 & 185-187, much of which is
collected in
the Avengers: Yesterday Quest paperback.
Behind and below the marionettes we can see the Cask of Ancient
Winters,
which Thor brought to the mansion recently in Avengers (v3) # 6.
Avengers
butler Edwin Jarvis said at the time that he would put the cask
on display
in the upstairs hall, and he has apparently done so since then.
In the distant background at left, we can see a display case
containing the
heads of various models of ULTRON, the rogue robot created by
Henry Pym
years ago. Ultron somehow developed a brilliant but malevolent
consciousness
defined by a hatred of Pym and, by extension, hatred of the
Avengers and all
humanity, whom Ultron regards as inferior. As such, Ultron has
repeatedly
attempted to destroy Pym, the Avengers and the entire human race,
sometimes
in concert with human villains such as the Masters of Evil.
Ironically,
Ultronís own creations--his robotic mates Jocasta and Alkhema,
and his
android servant the Vision--have all turned against him over the
years;
Jocasta and Vision even joined the Avengers. The Avengers and
other heroes
have repeatedly destroyed Ultron, but he inevitably reconstructs
himself in
a more advanced form and returns to menace the world anew.
Ultron first appeared in Avengers (v1) # 54. His appearances
include: Avengers (v1) # 54-55 (as Ultron-5, alias Crimson Cowl,
formed
second Masters of Evil in unsuccessful attempt to destroy
Avengers);
Avengers (v1) # 57-58 (as Ultron-5, created Vision II as a weapon
to use
against Avengers; destroyed by Vision II; revealed to be a rogue
creation of
Henry Pym obsessed with destroying humanity in general and Pym in
particular); Avengers (v1) # 66-68 (reactivated as Ultron-6;
incorporated
the super-metal adamantium into his robotic body; destroyed by
Avengers);
Avengers (v1) # 127 (reactivated as Ultron-7; disrupted wedding
of
Quicksilver and Crystal in Attilan); Avengers (v1) # 134-135
(Ultron-5
depicted in flashbacks to the Visionís origins); Avengers (v1) #
161-162
(reactivated as Ultron-8; created robotic mate, Jocasta, who
turned against
him; defeated by Avengers); Avengers (v1) # 170 (behind the
scenes);
Avengers (v1) # 171 (battled and deactivated by Avengers;
rejected by
Jocasta); Avengers (v1) # 201-202 (reactivated as Ultron-9,
deactivated by
Avengers); Avengers: Emperor Doom (temporarily brainwashed by
Sub-Mariner
and Purple Man into serving Doctor Doom); West Coast Avengers
(v2) # 1-2
(as Ultron-12, with Grim Reaperís Lethal Legion, abducted Hank
Pym and
Wonder Man; defeated by Avengers); West Coast Avengers (v2) # 6-7
(Ultron-12
evolved beyond its hatred of Pym and humanity, reconciling with
Pym;
Ultron-12 destroyed by reactivated Ultron-11; Ultron-11 destroyed
by
Wonder Man); Avengers (v1) # 280 (revealed to have
mind-controlled Edwin
Jarvis into working with Masters of Evil); Avengers West Coast #
65-68 (as
Ultron-13, conspired to "robotize" humanity into his
"androne" slaves; with
Grim Reaper, defeated by Avengers); Avengers West Coast # 89-91
(evolved
into "ultimate" Ultron, escaped Vault, created robotic
bride Alkhema and
conspired with her to slaughter humanity; with Alkhema, defeated
by Avengers
and hurled into outer space); Avengers West Coast Annual 8
(conspired to
wipe out humanity; plans thwarted by Alkhema and Avengers;
captured by
Avengers).
Ultron appeared most recently in the Vision limited series, when
he was one of several sentient robots infected by a disease that
caused
mental delusions. Ultron then believed himself to be an aging
drunkard, and
was last seen in the custody of his estranged "son",
the Vision.
As Vance says, Hank Pym discovered the subatomic particles
(dubbed
Pym Particles) that make it possible to instantaneously shrink or
enlarge
matter by either accruing mass from another dimension or shunting
mass to
the same dimension. In recent years, that dimension was revealed
to be a
prison realm used by the alien race known as the Kosmosians, who
have
interacted with Earthlings on several occasions. The Kosmosians
use the Pym
particles for various applications in their world, including the
manufacture
of robotic Growing Men for the time tyrant Kang. Hank Pym is the
principal
manufacturer and user of Pym particles on Earth, but other past
and present
users of Pym particles include Janet Van Dyne (alias Wasp), Clint
Barton
(alias Hawkeye/Goliath II), Bill Foster (alias Black
Goliath/Giant-Man II),
Scott Lang (alias Ant-Man II), Erik Josten (alias Power
Man/Smuggler/Goliath
III/Atlas) and Rita DeMara (alias Yellowjacket II).
As Vance says, Pym developed a means of electronically
communicating
with insects, an ability he has used in all of his identities as
a costumed
adventurer, beginning with his guise as Ant-Man. Scott Lang
currently uses
the same technology as the second Ant-Man. The Wasp can grow
natural
antennae that perform the same function, thanks to genetic
mutations
engineered by Pym.
As Vance says, Pym was a pioneer in the fields of robotics and
artificial intelligence, his most significant and most infamous
creation
being Ultron, an artificial human-like intelligence gone
criminally insane.
Pym also created the lesser-known and less groundbreaking Rover,
a robotic
vehicle with a simplistic, dog-like intelligence.
As Vance says, Pym's early adversaries included Egghead (Elihas
Starr) and the Human Top (David Cannon, now known as the
Whirlwind). Egghead
was a brilliant scientific genius who used his skills for
criminal gain, and
was arguably Pym's greatest foe. He formed and led criminal
groups such as
the second Emissaries of Evil and the third Masters of Evil, with
whom he
conspired to frame Pym for treason and various other crimes. Pym
defeated
Egghead's Masters single-handedly in the end, though, and Egghead
himself
was accidentally killed when Hawkeye prevented him from shooting
the
victorious Pym in the back.
Egghead first appeared in Tales to Astonish # 38. His Avengers
appearances include Avengers (v1) # 63-65 (with Puppet Master and
Mad
Thinker, conspired to rule world; kidnapped Black Widow;
threatened Earth
with orbiting death ray, thwarted by Barney Barton and Avengers;
killed
Barney Barton; hired Swordsman to kidnap Hank Pym; defeated and
captured by
Goliath II); Avengers (v1) # 217 (framed Hank Pym for treason);
Avengers
(v1) # 222, 224 & 227-230 (formed third Masters of Evil,
abducted Hank Pym,
defeated by Pym, accidentally killed by Hawkeye while trying to
kill Pym).
Whirlwind (formerly the Human Top) last appeared in Avengers (v3)
# 4, when he was apprehended by Justice and Firestar. For more
information
on Whirlwind, see the EMA annotations for that issue.
Vance's comparison of Pym to Da Vinci is apt since Da Vinci, like
Pym, was a multi-talented man who applied his genius to a wide
variety of
endeavors.
PAGE 3
The Avengers are engaged in a workout in their mansions's
training
facility, nicknamed the Playroom. Hawkeye's feet are locked into
a machine
similar to the one he trained on at the western Avengers
Compound, a machine
first seen in West Coast Avengers (v2) # 42; the mechanism spins
Hawkeye
around in various directions at various speeds, in positions
ranging from
upright to upside down, and tests his ability to hit targets
under these
random conditions.
PAGE 4
Panel 1:
Present in addition to the active Avengers are honorary members
the
SWORDSMAN (Philip Jarvert) and MAGDALENE, warriors from an
alternate Earth
who came to the Avengers' world as pawns of the madman Proctor,
but rebelled
against him and joined the Avengers instead. They were last seen
in
Avengers (v3) # 1-4, when they aided the Avengers against Morgan
Le Fay and
the Whirlwind before declining an offer of full Avengers
membership.
Panel 2:
This exchange confirms what previous stories have already hinted
at:
that the supposedly deceased Wonder Man, whom Wanda has been
summoning back
to life repeatedly of late, will only appear if and when Wanda
truly needs
him. She can't simply make him appear anytime she wants him.
PAGE 5
Panel 6:
One wonders if Cap has decided to maintain a reservist roster of
two on a
regular basis, since he invites Swordsman and Magdalene to fill
the reserve
slots vacated by Firestar and Justice. Said slots had been
offered to
Firestar & Justice on the spur of the moment before, but it
now seems that
Cap intends to make them a standing policy. Whether the reserves
will expand
beyond two members (as they have in the past) remains to be seen.
PAGE 6
Panel 1:
Swordsman and Magdalene refuse full Avengers membership for the
second time,
citing the same reasons they gave in Avengers (v3) # 4: that they
feel out
of place on the Avengers' world, and that being with the
Avengers' drives
home that sense of discomfort since the couple were Avengers on
their own
worlds before they were destroyed. Swordsman, for instance, was
once
portrayed as being greatly disturbed by an encounter with an
alternate
Hawkeye since he and his world's Hawkeye were good friends. Being
around
this world's Hawkeye and the other Avengers may simply be too
uncomfortable
for Swordsman and Magdalene.
Panel 2:
Cap speaks truthfully when he says he knows what it's like to
feel out of
place: after all, he's a man from an entirely different era (the
1940s),
and missed out on decades of history while he was in suspended
animation
following World War II. When the Avengers revived him and
reintroduced him
to the modern world, he felt very much out of place at first.
PAGE 7
Panels 2-3:
The Avengers lost the right to launch quinjets within New York
City airspace
some time ago, but apparently regained it as of the first issue
of the
current series; however, they apparently require FAA approval for
any
given flight plan now.
PAGE 8
Panel 1:
Pictured here are most of the early members of the Squadron
Supreme (the
picture is symbolic rather than a flashback to an actual
gathering since
some of the costumes shown here conflict with each other in terms
of
chronology): Hawkeye (II), Lady Lark (now Skylark), Cap'n Hawk,
Nuke,
Arcanna (now Moonglow), Amphibian, Power Princess, Nighthawk,
Doctor
Spectrum, Tom Thumb, Hyperion and Whizzer (II). Of the early
Squadron
members (those active prior to the Squadron's Utopia Program),
the only
one absent is the Skrullian Skymaster.
Current Squadron members Lady Lark, Arcanna, Power Princess,
Doctor
Spectrum, Hyperion and Whizzer are wearing their original
costumes. Spectrum
is brandishing his power prism, the alien crystal that formerly
served as
the source of his energy powers. For more information on Lady
Lark, Arcanna,
Power Princess, Doctor Spectrum, Hyperion and Whizzer, see the
EMA
annotations for Avengers (v3) # 5-6.
The second HAWKEYE (Wyatt MacDonald) was an expert archer who
used
his skills as a costumed crimefighter and was invited to join the
Squadron,
becoming the team's first recruit since its founding. He served
faithfully
for years, later changing his costumed alias to Golden Archer
(II), forming
a close friendship with teammate Doctor Spectrum and a
long-running romance
with fellow member Lady Lark; however, in the early days of the
Squadron's
Utopia Program (an attempt on their part to solve all of
society's problems
by temporarily usurping control of the U.S. government), the
archer was
traumatized by a near-death experience at the hands of an angry
mob. This
unnerved him, and he was further shaken by the fact that Lady
Lark no longer
seemed to be in love with him, instead turning to his bitter
rival, Blue
Eagle. His confidence eroding, the archer made two major
mistakes: he
was captured by the Institute of Evil and coerced into betraying
the
Squadron to them, and he used the Squadron's "behavior
modification"
technology to brainwash Lady Lark into loving him more
passionately than
ever. When the Squadron found out about the latter incident, they
expelled
him from their ranks in disgrace.
Eager to redeem himself somehow, MacDonald adopted a new identity
as
Black Archer and joined the Redeemers, a group organized by
former Squadron
founder Nighthawk to oppose the Squadron's Utopia Program since
it infringed
on various civil rights despite its good intentions, and could
become a
despotic tyranny in the wrong hands. When the Redeemers and the
Squadron met
in battle, it was Black Archer who struck down Doctor Spectrum,
shattering
his power prism (which led to its energy powers being somehow
transferred to
Spectrum himself). Heartsick at having struck down his best
friend, the
archer threw down his weapon and caught Spectrum as he fell from
the sky,
saving his life; but Spectrum's enraged teammate, Blue Eagle,
fatally
bludgeoned Black Archer from behind moments later. His death was
mourned by
the Squadron thereafter, especially Lady Lark (now Skylark), who
loves the
archer to this day. She is mercifully unaware of how MacDonald
forced her
to love him, and is also unaware of the fact that it was her
close friend
Blue Eagle who killed him. The Squadron has apparently decided
that
knowledge of either of these things would be too painful for her.
Like his former namesake, the original Hawkeye, Black Archer was
a
highly trained athlete, physical combatant and archer, armed with
a bow and
a wide array of specially designed "trick" arrows.
The Squadron were created as parodies of DC's Justice League of
America, and MacDonald is the Squadron's equivalent of the JLA's
Green
Arrow. Both are costumed archers, both had long love affairs with
a
hypersonic-voiced martial artist (Green Arrow's Black Canary and
Golden
Archer's Lady Lark), both had friendships with their team's
incarnation of
Green Lantern (JLA's Green Lantern and the Squadron's Doctor
Spectrum), and
both feuded with their team's resident stuffy birdman (the JLA's
Hawkman and
the Squadron's Blue Eagle).
MacDonald first appeared as Hawkeye (II) in Avengers (v1) # 85,
when
he and his fellow Squadron members mistakenly battled the
visiting Avengers
in the belief that they were communist agents. He first appeared
as Golden
Archer (II) in Avengers (v1) # 141-142/144/147-149, when he was
among the
Squadron members manipulated into battling the Avengers by the
Serpent
Cartel. He later appeared in Defenders # 113-115, when the
Defenders
(whose ranks then included Vision [II] and Scarlet Witch) helped
the
Squadron free their world from the control of Overmind and Null
the Living
Darkness. After that, the tale of his downfall and death unfolded
in the
Squadrom Supreme limited series. He became Black Archer in
Squadron
Supreme # 10 and died in Squadron Supreme # 12.
MacDonald is wearing his original Hawkeye costume in this
illustration. He later wore different outfits as Golden Archer
(II) and
Black Archer.
CAP'N HAWK (James Dore) was the son of Jonathan Dore, who
invented a winged
flying suit that he used as a World War II era adventurer called
the
American Eagle. When Jonathan retired, he passed on his wings to
his son,
James, who became a costumed crimefighter as the new American
Eagle. James
was invited to join the Squadron, becoming the group's third
recruit, and
soon changed his alias to Cap'n Hawk. Years later, he changed his
alias
again to Blue Eagle, a name that echoed his father's title but
was still
uniquely his own. Though one of the more aggressive, impatient
and
self-righteous members of the team, Blue Eagle served long and
well with the
Squadron, becoming one of their most dedicated and capable
members. He had a
long-running feud with his teammate Golden Archer, a feud that
intensified
when they became rivals for the affections of the archer's
longtime lover,
Lady Lark. When a desperate Golden Archer used the Squadron's
behavior
modification technology to brainwash Lark into loving him, he was
expelled
in disgrace. Blue Eagle in particular was outraged over the
archer's
betrayal of the group's trust, and especially his violation of
Lady Lark.
When the archer subsequently battled the Squadron as Black Archer
alongside
the Redeemers, a furious Blue Eagle bludgeoned the archer to
death with his
mace. Minutes later, however, Black Archer's teammate Lamprey
killed Blue
Eagle by leeching the power from his wings, causing Dore to fall
to his
death. The Squadron mourned Blue Eagle's demise, and his close
friend Lady
Lark (unaware of the fact that he had killed Black Archer)
adopted his wings
in his memory, becoming the heroine known as Skylark.
Blue Eagle's winged costume allowed him to fly at great speed
with
considerable range and maneuverability. He was a collector of and
an expert
in the use of various antique weapons, such as swords, nets,
slings and so
on. His favorite weapon was his mace.
Blue Eagle is the Squadron's equivalent of the JLA's Hawkman,
another winged hero who specializes in the use of antique
weapons. Blue
Eagle's feud with Black Archer mirrored Hawkman's feud with the
JLA's
Green Arrow.
Dore first appeared as American Eagle (II) in Avengers (v1) # 85,
when he and his fellow Squadron members mistakenly battled the
visiting
Avengers in the belief that they were communist agents. He first
appeared as
Cap'n Hawk in Avengers (v1) # 148-149, when he was among the
Squadron
members manipulated into battling the Avengers by the Serpent
Cartel. He
later appeared in Defenders # 113-115, when the Defenders (whose
ranks then
included Vision [II] and Scarlet Witch) helped the Squadron free
their world
from the control of Overmind and Null the Living Darkness. He
became Blue
Eagle in Squadron Supreme # 1 and died in Squadron Supreme # 12.
Dore is wearing his Cap's Hawk costume in this illustration. He
wore
different outfits as American Eagle (II) and Blue Eagle.
NOTE: Jonathan and James Dore have no known connection to Jason
Strongbow, a
costumed adventurer known as the American Eagle on the Avengers'
Earth.
NUKE (Albert Gaines) was a factory worker whose exposure to
nuclear waste
gave him the ability to generate and manipulate nuclear energy.
Calling
himself Nuke, he became a costumed crimefighter and joined the
Squadron
Supreme as their sixth recruit. Shortly after the Squadron
embarked on its
Utopia Program, Nuke learned that his bodily radiation levels had
been
increasing, and that they were responsible for the fatal cancer
contracted
by his parents. Mad with grief and guilt, Nuke swore vengeance on
his
teammate Tom Thumb when Thumb failed to find a cure for cancer.
When Nuke's
parents died, the insanely grief-stricken Nuke even tried to kill
Thumb,
but was opposed by another Squadron member, Doctor Spectrum, and
Nuke
accidentally killed himself in the ensuing battle.
Nuke's body constantly generated nuclear radiation which he could
harness for a variety of effects, such as flight and energy
blasts. He
is the Squadron's equivalent of the JLA's Firestorm, another
brash young
hero with nuclear powers.
Nuke first appeared in Defenders # 113-115, when the Defenders
(whose
members then included Vision [II] and Scarlet Witch) helped the
Squadron
free their world from the control of Overmind and Null the Living
Darkness.
The events leading up to his death unfolded in Squadron Supreme #
1-2, and
he died in Squadron Supreme # 3.
Nuke is wearing his original costume in this illustration, but
switched to a different outfit with radiation containment
properties shortly
before his death.
AMPHIBIAN (Kingsley Rice) is a mutant born with the ability to
survive
underwater indefinitely, an ability he used as a costumed
adventurer. He
became a founding member of the Squadron Supreme and served
faithfully
with them for many years until the group embarked on its Utopia
Program,
which Amphibian regarded as ethically dubious. He resigned in
protest when
the Squadron began using brainwashing technology and returned to
the oceans,
where he has lived a life of solitary seclusion since then.
Amphibian can survive in either air or water indefinitely. He
possesses superhuman strength, durability and sensory acuity
necessary to
survive and function in the ocean depths. He is capable of
communicating
with certain forms of marine life.
Amphibian is the Squadron's equivalent of the JLA's Aquaman,
another
aquatic hero who communicates with sea life. Amphibian's
resignation from the
Squadron was echoed in DC's Kingdom Come limited series, in which
Aquaman
forsook the Justice League during a time of global crisis and
retired to the
sea. Amphibian appears here in his original costume.
Amphibian first appeared in Avengers (v1) # 148-149, when he was
among the Squadron members manipulated into battling the Avengers
by the
Serpent Cartel. He later appeared in Defenders # 113-115, when
the Defenders
(whose ranks then included Vision [II] and Scarlet Witch) helped
the Squadron
free their world from the control of Overmind and Null the Living
Darkness.
His estrangment and resignation from the Squadron occurred during
the
Squadron Supreme limited series.
NIGHTHAWK (Kyle Richmond) was born the heir to a pharmaceuticals
fortune that
he inerited when his father died of a heart attack. Shortly after
his
father's death, Kyle was shocked to learn that much of the family
fortune
had been amassed through unethical means. Hoping to make up for
the misdeeds
of his father, Kyle became the costumed crimefighter known as
Nighthawk. As
Nighthawk, he was one of his world's most celebrated and
respected heroes,
matched in deeds and reputation only by the super-powerful
Hyperion, who
quickly became Nighthawk's recurring ally and close friend. The
duo became
even more legendary when they joined other heroes in forming
their world's
finest super-team, the Squadron Supreme.
The Squadron suffered their first major setback when the Serpent
Cartel (a coalition of business interests and political forces
secretly
serving the demon Set through the influence of the Serpent Crown)
took
over the United States government, manipulating the Squadron into
a conflict
with the Avengers. The Avengers helped the Squadron see the
Cartel for what
it was, and the Squadron soon ousted the Cartel from American
politics,
after which Nighthawk decided he could better serve the country
by running
for the presidency. He was elected by a landlside, and retired
from
crimefighting to become one of the most popular and effective
American
presidents in the history of the Squadron's world. Unfortunately,
he was
one of the first people brainwashed years later by the Overmind,
an alien
who conquered the Squadron's Earth on behalf of the demonic Null
by mentally
enslaving key political and military figures, as well as most of
the
Squadron. The Squadron eventually defeated Overmind and Null with
the aid
of the Defenders, but not before their world had been thrown into
social
and political turmoil by the Overmind's short-lived global
regime. Richmond
resigned from the presidency since the general public was unaware
of how
the Overmind had controlled him, and Richmond figured few people
would
believe the truth.
With post-Overmind America in a state of social and economic
collapse, the Squadron decided to embark on their Utopia
Program--an
ambitious plan to not only restore stability to the United
States, but also
to eliminate all of the country's social ills; however, the
program's
implementation would require the Squadron to assume control of
the United
States government and suspend certain civil liberties, making it
a
controversial plan even among the Squadron's own membership.
Nighthawk in
particular was vocally opposed to the Utopia Program from the
start, and
resigned from the Squadron in protest when a majority of the
group's
members voted to undertake the Utopia plan.
While the Squadron set about implementing its Utopia Program,
Nighthawk gathered various allies who were also opposed to the
Squadron's
actions, organizing them into a group known as the Redeemers. A
year after
the Utopia Program began, the Squadron had achieved most of their
goals
in terms of achieving a model U.S. society, and were in the
process of
handing power over to civilian politicians when Nighthawk's
Redeemers
attacked in hopes of forcibly persuading the Squadron to
dismantle the
Utopia Program, since Nighthawk feared its powers could be abused
in the
hands of rulers less benevolent than the Squadron. Several
Redeemers and
Squadron members were killed in the battle that followed,
including
Nighthawk (who was murdered by Squadron member Foxfire), and no
side won a
decisive physical victory, but Nighthawk's arguments had finally
convinced
Hyperion of the Utopia Program's flaws. Speaking on behalf of the
Squadron,
Hyperion conceded victory to the Redeemers and resolved to
dismantle the
Utopia Program. Nighthawk was mourned by all as a fallen hero.
Nighthawk had no superhuman powers but was a highly trained
athlete,
acrobat and unarmed combatant with a keen tactical mind. He
appears here in
his original costume, but he went on to wear two other Nighthawk
outfits
before his death.
Nighthawk is the Squadron's equivalent of the JLA's Batman, an
ordinary human driven to fight crime in a dark costumed guise
using only
his mental abilities and physical skills. His friendship with
Hyperion
echoes Batman's friendship with Hyperion's JLA counterpart,
Superman.
Nighthawk first appeared in Avengers (v1) # 85-86, when he and
his
fellow Squadron members mistakenly battled the visiting Avengers
before
joining forces with them to battle Brain-Child. He later appeared
in
Defenders # 112-115, when the Defenders (whose ranks then
included Vision
[II] and Scarlet Witch) helped the Squadron free their world from
the
control of Overmind and Null the Living Darkness. The rest of
Nighthawk's
life and death was chronicled in the Squadron Supreme limited
series.
NOTE: Nighthawk is not to be confused with his counterpart on the
Avengers'
Earth, the Kyle Richmond also known as Nighthawk. Nighthawk [II]
was
empowered, outfitted and christened in imitation of the
Squadron's Nighthawk
by the Grandmaster, an alien who had employed the Squadron
Supreme as pawns
in the past and hoped to duplicate their successes with his own
criminal
version of the Squadron, which he dubbed the Squadron Sinister.
This
criminal Squadron (including Nighthawk II) first appeared in
Avengers (v1)
# 69-70, when they unsuccessfully battled the Avengers. Nighthawk
II soon
reformed and joined the Defenders, becoming a mainstay of that
informal team
for most of its history until his apparent death. He has recently
returned,
however, and is currently starring in his own limited series.
TOM THUMB (Thomas Thompson) was a genius dwarf who used his
intelligence
and his inventions to become a costumed crimefighter. Impressed
by his
exploits, the Squadron invited him to join their ranks and he
became their
second recruit. Though one of the least physically powerful
Squadron members,
Tom became utterly indispensable to the group as the principal
source of
their advanced technology. When the team embarked on its Utopia
Program,
Tom Thumb was responsible for designing and building many of the
devices
that made the program's implementation possible, including a
Hibernaculum
facility designed to keep recently deceased human beings frozen
in stasis
until science found a way to revive them. Ironically, Tom himself
became the
first resident of the Hibernaculum when he died of cancer. Shy
and
introverted, Tom had no truly close friends in the Squadron apart
from AIDA
(Artificially Intelligent Data Analyzer), a sentient computer of
his own
creation, and Ape-X, a super-intelligent cyborg ape who became
Thumb's
scientific collaborator after she joined the Squadron.
Tom Thumb was an innovative expert in a wide variety of
scientific
and technological fields, including computer science, medicine,
psychology,
force field technology and spacecraft design. He was gifted with
total
recall and great manual dexterity. When in battle, he utilized a
variety
of high-tech weapons and devices of his own creation.
Tom Thumb is the Squadron's equivalent of the JLA's Atom, both
being brilliant scientists known for their small stature. In some
ways,
though, Thumb is more like DC's original Atom from the Justice
Society
of America. Like the original Atom, Tom Thumb derives his alias
from the
fact that he is simply short in stature. The JLA's Atom is a
normal-sized
man who can shrink to tiny sizes at will.
Tom Thumb first appeared in Avengers (v1) # 85, when he and his
fellow Squadron members mistakenly battled the visiting Avengers
in the
belief that they were communist agents. He later appeared in
Avengers (v1)
# 148-149, when he was among the Squadron members manipulated
into battling
the Avengers by the Serpent Cartel; and Defenders # 113-115, when
the
Defenders (whose ranks then included Vision [II] and Scarlet
Witch) helped
the Squadron free their world from the control of Overmind and
Null the
Living Darkness. Tom Thumb died in Squadron Supreme # 9.
Tom Thumb is wearing his original costume in this illustration.
Towards the end of his life, he usually wore plain coveralls or
other work
clothes since he no longer concealed his secret identity.
The SKRULLIAN SKYMASTER (real name possibly Skarnax) was an alien
Skrull explorer who was stranded on Earth when his spacecraft
malfunctioned.
Rescued by human astronaut Joe Ledger, the grateful Skrull gave
Ledger a
power prism which Ledger used to become the costumed hero known
as Doctor
Spectrum. The Skrull himself also became a hero on Earth, and was
known as
the Skrullian Skymaster, or simply the Skrull for short. He and
Doctor
Spectrum became founding members of the Squadron Supreme, but the
Skrull
only served for a few months before Squadron member Tom Thumb
repaired his
ship, after which the Skrullian Skymaster returned to his space
travels.
The Skrullian Skymaster was superhumanly strong, and possessed
the
natural shape-shifting abilities of the Skrullian race.
The Skrullian Skymaster is the Squadron's equivalent of the JLA's
Martian Manhunter, another green-skinned, shape-shifting alien
who joined
a human super-team after being stranded on Earth.
The Skrullian Skymaster (usually referred to simply as the
Skrull)
first appeared in a flashback cameo in Squadron Supreme # 1, and
has made
hardly any appearances outside of flashback cameos and
informantional
volumes. Mark Gruenwald had originally planned to use him more
prominently
in the Squadron Supreme limited series, but giving the Squadron
their own
book was a touchy business to begin with since they were based on
DC's
JLA characters, and DC was opposed to the addition of Skrullian
Skymaster
since he obviously duplicated their Martian Manhunter, who had
just returned
to a position of prominence in the JLA by that time. All that
being the case,
Gruenwald wrote the Skrullian Skymaster out of the Squadron
series almost
entirely, and tried to avoid the creation of further overt JLA
parallels in
general. As a result, most of the Squadron's later members (the
ones who
joined during the limited series) were not Justice League
counterparts like
the early Squadron members (though one of them, the Shape, could
be
construed as a spin on JLA members Elongated Man and Plastic
Man).
Squadron members not present in this illustration apart from
Skrullian
Skymaster include Ape-X, Doctor Decibel, Foxfire, Lamprey,
Quagmire,
The Shape, Redstone, the original Moonglow, the original
Thermite, Haywire
and Inertia, all of whom joined in the Squadron Supreme limited
series.
Decibel, Foxfire, Lamprey and Thermite died over the course of
the limited
series, during which Ape-X became catatonic and Quagmire was lost
in action.
Quagmire later turned up on the Avengers' Earth as a
super-criminal. Inertia
and Redstone died in the Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe
graphic
novel, during which Moonglow retired from adventuring. Of the
later
recruits, only Haywire and Shape remained with the Squadron as of
the SS
graphic novel's conclusion.
PAGE 9
Panels 1-2:
As Hawkeye says, the Squadron didn't act very grateful when the
Avengers
freed them from mind control yet again during the recent events
of
Avengers (v3) # 5-6; but as Captain America points out, the
Squadron have
good reason to be more frustrated than anything else. They've
been trapped
on the Avengers world for months now, holed up in Project Pegasus
while
they seek a way home, and they must be annoyed at how often
they've been
defeated and/or rescued by their counterparts, the Avengers.
It's interesting that Cap is the one to stick up for the Squadron
here since
he was rather judgmentally critical of them in Avengers (v3) # 6.
Perhaps
he feels guilty about that. In fact, Cap is diplomatic and
conciliatory
toward the Squadron throughout this story, a welcome development
since the
character had generated some reader criticism in recent months
after his
somewhat uncharitable treatment of both the Squadron and prodigal
Avengers
member Warbird in Avengers (v3) # 6-7.
PAGE 10
The Squadron's reaction to the Avengers' arrival is a bit
over-the-top, but
not entirely implausible given factors discussed later on page
12.
The sword and shield formed by Doctor Spectrum are highly
reminiscent of the
energy weapons wielded by the senior Green Lantern (Alan Scott)
in DC's
Kingdom Come limited series, a clear homage to KC artist Alex
Ross on the
part of Carlos Pacheco. It's a fitting homage, too, since Doctor
Spectrum is
Marvel's version of DC's Green Lantern.
PAGE 11
Panels 6-9:
Busiek seems to be characterizing Haywire very much as an
in-your-face
practical joker (for which there is some basis in the Squadron's
previous
appearances, though not quite to the extent indicated here). Like
the
kinder, gentler Cap of this story, the wacky Haywire seems to
answer certain
reader concerns, in this case a general opinion of Haywire as the
most
blandly indistint and pointless member of the Squadron.
PAGE 12
Panels 5-6:
Busiek provides some nice explanations here for why the Squadron
overreacted--
not only because of the current threat (which the Avengers might
have been
a part of), but because of how touchy the Squadron are about mind
control,
having been victimized by it so many times before. Busiek also
provides an
intriguing explanation for why the Squadron have seemed so
consistently
vulnerable to mind control in the past: the fact that they had
little
experience with mind control prior to encountering people from
the Avengers'
universe, that their mind-controlling foes all originated in the
Avengers'
universe, and that as a result of this they may be lacking in a
degree of
immunity to mental domination possessed by the inhabitants of the
Avengers'
universe. In other words, as fans have speculated for years, the
Squadron
may be especially susceptible to mind control. It's also nice to
see
Hyperion come across as intelligent, rational and reasonable in
this scene,
since Busiek has tended to portray him as a boorish, ill-tempered
lout
until now. By touching on Hyperion's smarter side in this story
while still
incorporating the character's aggressive temper, Busiek comes
closer to a
more convincingly unified take on the character that incorporates
all of
Hyperion's past portrayals: the angry strongman of the Thomas
& Englehart
stories, and the rational statesman of the Gruenwald stories.
PAGE 14
As Hawkeye says, he and the Avengers fought Imus Champion once
before, in
Avengers (v1) # 109. Imus was last seen as the mastermind behind
the
manipulation of the Squadron Supreme in Avengers (v3) # 5-6. As
Champion
says, his interest in "the collection of...singular
artifacts" is a recent
development. In a way, it makes him very much the mortal
equivalent of
the Avengers' alien foe the Collector, an Elder of the Universe
obsessed
with collecting objects and beings that he deems unique. One
wonders why
Busiek gave Champion this Collector-esque modus operandi when the
Avengers
already count a similarly equipped villain among their frequent
foes.
PAGE 16
Panel 2:
Hyperion's "atomic vision" refers to superhuman powers
stemming from his
eyes, including the projection of energy beams and an ability to
see much
further and with far greater acuity than a normal human, the
equivalent of
Superman's heat vision and telescopic vision.
Panels 4-5:
Justice and Firestar remain true to form: Vance is giddy with
fanboy
enthusiasm over the prospect of battle, while the more sensible
Firestar
appreciates the gravity of the situation and is only interested
in a safe
resolution to the crisis.
Vance's Whirlwind comment refers back to Avengers (v3) # 4, when
he and
Firestar captured the super-criminal by that name.
Panel 6:
Foreshadowing, anyone? After Vance lecturing Firestar on the
significance of
Hank Pym's ability to communicate with ants, one can see a Hank
Pym rescue
in the offing given the juxtaposition of an ant in the foreground
with
Firestar thinking about how she wants to get a message out.
PAGE 17
Panel 2:
The prank Haywire describes sounds very much like a similar trick
he pulled
on Inertia in the SS: Death of a Universe graphic novel, when he
used his
tanglewire to tear off Inertia's bikini while they were playing
frisbee.
She returned the favour by using her power to tear off his
trunks, after
which they engaged in some outdoor lovemaking.
INERTIA (Edith Freiberg) was a superhuman adventurer with the
ability to
transfer inertia (momentum) from one object or person to another.
She
and Haywire were recruited into Nighthawk's Redeemers, where the
two of them
first met, and then joined the Squadron Supreme on behalf of the
Redeemers as
double agents, falling in love along the way. Haywire and Inertia
both
survived the Redeemers' overthrow of the Squadron's Utopia
Program, and
they stayed on as members of the Squadron thereafter until
Inertia was
killed in an effort to halt the Nth Man, whose expansion then
threatened to
consume their universe. Haywire and Inertia both first appeared
in Squadron
Supreme # 10. Inertia died in the Squadron Supreme: Death of a
Universe
graphic novel.
Panel 3:
Hawkeye's comment about Haywire "getting on [his] nerves so
easily in the
past" is curious since they've only met on three occasions
(Avengers [v3] #
5-6 and this comic book), all of them quite recent, and this
story is the
first time they've had much in the way of noteworthy interaction.
As Hawkeye
says, though, this somewhat overbearing characterization of
Haywire is
reminiscent of Hawkeye's own younger days.
Panel 4:
Hawkeye's mental remark about having more in common with Hawywire
than he
thought refers to the fact that Hawkeye's own wife, Mockingbird,
was killed
in action, just as Inertia was. Mockingbird died in Avengers West
Coast #
100.
PAGE 18
Brain mines are mind control devices that are effective once
attached to a
victim's head. Though Champion refers to his weapon as an Eternal
brain
mine, I was under the impression that these gadgets were
primarily
employed by the Eternals' traditional enemies, the Deviants.
After subduing Hawkeye & Haywire, Champion says there are
sixteen heroes
left to defeat. Apparently, Champion's many skills don't include
counting:
even if he were to count Wonder Man (and Wondy's existence seemed
to be
news to Champion later on), there are only sixteen heroes in
total to begin
with. After Hawkeye and Haywire are subdued, there are only
fourteen heoes
left (and Champion is
probably only aware of thirteen of them).
PAGE 19
Panel 1:
Scarlet Witch and Moonglow compare notes on the mystic arts,
notably the
increasingly erratic nature of Wanda's own mystical abilities.
Panel 3:
The Wand of Watoomb is an immensely powerful mystical talisman
that has
appeared in previous Marvel stories. I last saw it used by the
sorcerer
Xandu against Doctor Strange.
PAGE 21
Panels 1-3:
Very nice, thought-provoking little sequence here. Hyperion talks
about how
he gave up his secret identity (cartoonist Mark Milton) when the
Squadron
embarked on its Utopia Program, believing his Mark Milton
activities to be
a superfluous diversion--but now he wonders if that might have
been part of
the problem with the Squadron's Utopia Program, the fact that
giving up
their "civilian" guises, their lives among ordinary
humans, made them lose
touch with the perspectives and values of the people they were
trying to
help. In short, the Squadron lost touch with their humanity, grew
more
arrogant, and made mistakes accordingly. This is almost exactly
what
happens to Hyperion's DC counterpart, Superman, in the Kingdom
Come limited
series: he abandons his Clark Kent secret identity, leads the
Justice League
in a misguided attempt to forcibly impose order on society, and
resumes his
Clark Kent identity after seeing the error of his ways. DC's
Kingdom Come
echoed many of the characterizations and plot threads from
Marvel's earlier
Squadron Supreme limited series, the Hyperion-Superman comparison
being only
one of many parallels between the two books.
Thor's reference to being "forced into a human guise"
refers to recent
events in his own ongoing series, where he has been forced to
assume the
guise of Jake Olson, a paramedic accidentally killed during one
of Thor's
major battles. A mysterious higher being known as Marnot forced
this
transformation on Thor for reasons as yet unclear, though it
echoes Odin's
earlier attempt to teach Thor humility by trapping him in the
frail mortal
form of Donald Blake.
It's oddly logical that Hyperion and Thor would confide in each
other like
this, since each is without a truly godlike peer in his
respective group.
Hyperion might be the only one here who fully understands what
Thor's going
through, and vice versa.
Panel 4:
Hemidall is the watchman of the Asgardian gods, renowned for his
supernaturally keen eyesight.
Panel 7:
"Great Scott!" Nice bit of Superman-esque dialect from
Hyperion.
PAGE 22
The WIZARD (Bentley Wittman) is a scientific genius whose many
inventions
and feats of intellectual skill made him a major celebrity until
he began
attacking superhuman heroes in the jealously misguided belief
that they
would steal the public spotlight from him. The Wizard has since
become
infamous as a master criminal, both alone and in concert with
various other
super-criminals. His first foe was the second Human Torch (Johnny
Storm),
and their battles led to the Wizard's recurring enmity with the
Fantastic
Four, an enmity which so obsessed the Wizard that he founded and
led a
criminal equivalent of the Torch's super-team known as the
Frightful Four.
The Wizard's one notable conflict with the Avengers was his
involvement in
the "Acts of Vengeance" conspiracy against them, a
scheme engineered by Loki
(during which the Wizard appeared in Avengers Spotlight # 26,
Avengers [v1]
# 312-313, Avengers West Coast # 55 and Avengers Spotlight # 29).
The Wizard
first appeared in Strange Tales (v1) # 102.
The Wizard's principal weapons include his wonder gloves, also
known
as his power gloves. They magnify the force of their wearer's
blows and
increase their wearer's weightlifting ability to superhuman
levels. The
gloves can generate electrical energy, concussive force, force
fields and
vortexes.
SETH is Marvel's equivalent of the mythological Egyptian serpent
god Set
(the name of an elder demon in the Marvel Universe), and a major
recurring
foe to Thor. He is also an enemy of Khonshu, patron god of the
former
Avengers member Moon Knight. Seth's legions once battled various
members of
the Avengers in West Coast Avengers (v2) # 41. Seth first
appeared in Thor
(v1) # 240.
PAGE 23
This sequence is, at best, implausible. Champion's string of
victories in
this story seems a bit unlikely in general, but this is one of
the weakest
moments since Champion's victory relies on a chance mishap,
Hyperion getting
pinned by Thor's hammer. Why Hyperion decided to grab Thor by the
hammer is
beyond me, as is how Hyperion ended up under the hammer in the
process.
PAGE 24
Panel 1:
As Iron Man's thoughts indicate, he was probably teamed with two
high-speed,
high powered Squadron members since he'd be one of the few
Avengers able to
hold his own against them if the Squadron turned against the
Avengers once
more.
Panel 2:
Whizzer's real name is Stanley Stewart. His wife and daughter,
Madeline and
Tina, are mentioned here.
Panels 2-3:
Iron Man's sympathetic thoughts about the Squadron's exile echo
similar
observations he made in Avengers (v3) # 6 after seeing a sketch
of the
Whizzer's family in his quarters.
PAGE 25
Panel 4:
In addition to the wonder gloves, Wizard's principal weapons
include his
anti-gravity discs, which negate the force of gravity on whatever
they
attach to. The Wizard uses specially manipulable models of these
discs in
his own costume to give himself the power of flight, but also
uses
pre-programmed versions of the discs as weapons: these discs
(such as the
one Champion has here), coated with an adhesive that makes them
very
difficult to dislodge, will propel their target into the upper
atmosphere if
they are not not removed or disabled.
PAGE 26
Panel 5:
Another Alex Ross homage from penciler Carlos Pacheco: Doctor
Spectrum
generates a sword and a suit of armor that look very much like
the
costuming and weapon of the senior Green Lantern from Kingdom
Come.
PAGE 27
Panels 1-5:
The Zodiac Star-Blaster (also known as the Star-Blazer) is an
energy weapon
formerly employed by the leading figures in the original Zodiac
crime cartel,
most of whom were killed in West Coast Avengers (v2) # 26-29.
Taurus
(Cornelius Van Lunt), the last survivor of the original Zodiac,
was wielding
a Star-Blaster when he died in battle with Moon Knight in West
Coast
Avengers # 29. Zodiac first appeared in Avengers (v1) # 72. The
Star-Blaster
first appeared in Avengers (v1) # 120.
As Champion says, Spectrum's powers are vulnerable to ultraviolet
rays, which
disrupt his energy constructs. This was originally a property of
his power
prism, but his body apparently has inherited the same
vulnerability since
being permeated with fragments of the prism.
PAGE 29
Another fascinating bit of character interplay from Busiek here,
as Power
Princess cautions Firestar against letting Justice determine the
direction
of their life together. It's a nice bit of characterization for
both
characters, and it's an intriguing echo of Busiek's own Winged
Victory
character from his Astro City series, a character who acts as a
counsellor
to women as well as a crimefighter, and a character who, like
Power Princess,
owes more than a bit of her conceptual inspiration to Wonder
Woman.
PAGE 31
Another of Champion's more improbable victories here: Champion
doesn't hit
Power Princess with a wonder glove, but is still somehow able to
down her
with one punch despite her superhuman physiology and armored
helmet. And
Firestar should have been able to toast the toppling tree with
ease.
PAGE 34
Concealed gas emitters were indeed among the many weapons in the
Porcupine's
armor, and this sequence makes the opening scene's inclusion of
the
Porcupine suit a nice piece of foreshadowing.
PAGE 36
And speaking of foreshadowing, all of Justice's talk about Hank
Pym in the
opening scene seems to have inspired Firestar to call him to the
rescue,
as hinted by her encounter with an ant on page 16. GIANT-MAN
(Hank Pym,
a.k.a. Ant-Man) was last seen in Avengers (v3) # 1-4, when he and
the
Wasp downgraded to inactive Avengers membership status after
helping to
reestablish the team's active roster.
PAGE 37
Panel 3:
Multiple readers (including myself) were surprised and perplexed
at the fact
that Firestar can apparently communicate with ants. Nice idea for
a plot
twist, in a way, but the complete and total lack of any
explanation for how
she accomplished this makes for a rather hokey climax.
Panel 6:
Lurch (originally played by Ted Cassidy) was the immensely tall
butler on
the Addams Family television show, which spawned a couple of
movie spinoffs.
PAGE 38
Panel 1:
Champion has generally been dismissed as a small-timer in the
past since
he fought the team only once and did so in the course of enacting
a
needlessly complex, absurdly grandiose, downright weird and
ultimately
unsuccessful scheme to salvage some sunken nerve gas by
submerging the
entire western American coastline. The current Champion storyline
seems to
have been Busiek's attempt at making Imus seem somewhat more
formidable, but
he may have laid it on a bit too thick in this issue, what with
Champion's
implausible (to put it mildly) series of victories over the
heroes and Cap's
speech in this panel about how Champion shouldn't be
underestimated again.
Panel 2:
Super-heroing may not be Firestar's dream job, but not even the
jaded Ms.
Jones is immune to the thrill of a compliment from Captain
America. Nice
moment.
Panel 5:
"The Crisis" in the Squadron's universe that Iron Man
refers to here is
the group's battle with the Nth Man (Thomas Lightner), a being
from the
Avengers' universe who was expanding throughout the multiverse
and absorbing
entire universes. Lightner was transformed into the Nth Man by
the Nth
Projector, a dimension-spanning device created by Roxxon Oil in
hopes of
hurling Project Pegasus into another universe. Lightner was
Roxxon's double
agent inside Pegasus (which Roxxon regarded as a threat to the
oil and
gas industry) and was supposed to use the Nth projector to wipe
out the
facility, but he decided instead to expose himself to the
projector in hopes
of gaining superhuman power and became the Nth Man. Quasar (III),
Thing,
Bill Foster (then known as Giant-Man II), Thundra and the
Aquarian joined
forces to expel Nth Man from the Avengers' universe, but he went
on to
threaten other universes, including the Squadron's. The Squadron
failed
to stop him, and several of their number died in the process, but
the crisis
ended when Arcanna's baby boy Benjamin voluntarily assumed the
Nth Man's
form and gave Lightner back his physical humanity in exchange.
The Squadron
found themselved stranded in the Avengers' world shortly
thereafter.
Roxxon's initial attempts to destroy Project: Pegasus,
culminating
in the creation of the Nth Man, were chronicled in Marvel
Two-In-One #
53-58. The Squadron's confrontation with the Nth Man and
Lightner's
abandonment of the Nth Man form happened in the Squadron Supreme:
Death of
a Universe graphic novel.
The repeated references to the Nth Man disaster as "The
Crisis" are
ironic since the Squadron Supreme's universe is Marvel's version
of the
DC Comics universe, and the DC universe's greatest catastrophe
was the
Crisis on Infinite Earths, also known simply as The Crisis. And
in both
DC's Crisis and the Squadron's "crisis", the heroes
fought to save their
world from an oncoming wave of white nothingness that was
devouring
universes.
PAGE 39
Panels 1-3:
Magdalene is able to open space warps by using her staff as a
focus. The
precise nature and source of this ability has never been
revealed, though
she has been shown to be able to traverse dimensions as well as
space.
Panels 4-6:
Haywire's past characterization revolved principally around his
romance
with Inertia, and he had no other relationships within the
Squadron, nor
any private life outside the Squadron to speak of, so it makes
sense that
he doesn't see any future for himself in the Squadron's world now
that
Inertia is gone. Some readers (myself included) had wondered why
Squadron
Supreme writer Mark Gruenwald bothered to keep Haywire in the
Squadron after
killing off Inertia since Haywire didn't really seem to fit in
(he's the
only young member of the Squadron left, he's the only surviving
Squadron
member who was loyal to Nighthawk's Redeemers, and he's the only
surviving
Squadron member who doesn't seem to parallel a JLA character).
Happily,
Busiek seems to have something else in mind for him.
Note that Hawkeye seems stunned at Haywire's decision to stay.
For
some thoughts on Hawkeye's attachment to Haywire and what it
might mean, see
the "Thunderhawk" post for some purely speculative
thoughts on the matter.
PAGE 40
Panel 2:
Haywire says he wants to visit the Pacific Northwest while he
figures out
what to do with his life. Interesting travel plan, since that's
where Avengers writer Busiek hangs out...and that end of the
country is
also where another Busiek-written super-team, the Thunderbolts,
are
hanging out these days. Might Haywire be running into them at
some point?
Panels 3-5:
It's never made clear what sort of world Swordsman and Magdalene
would
be comfortable in since the Avengers' world is inadequate for
their needs,
especially since odds are slim that they'll find a world that's
as welcoming
as this one yet different enough to not raise unpleasant memories
of the
sort Swordsman mentions earlier. Apparently, though, they're
willing to
take the chance, and we'll have to take their word for it when
they say this
is what's best for them. Presumably they're a loose end that
Busiek wanted
tied up, and bringing them in on the dimension-spanning Squadron
case was a
way to take care of it without simply writing them out for the
sake of
writing them out.