Liberators (comics)
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The Liberators are a group of fictional characters published by Marvel Comics who appear in comics set in the Ultimate Marvel universe. They were created by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch and appear in Ultimates 2.
The Liberators are a superhuman task force from a coalition of nations opposed to the United States' foreign policy. This coalition is made up of China, Syria, North Korea, Iran, and rogue elements of the French and Russian governments. The Liberators and their overseers are an opposing counterpart to the Ultimates and S.H.I.E.L.D., respectively.
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[edit] Members
- Colonel Abdul al-Rahman (Iran) first appears in The Ultimates 2 #7 as a thin and sickly 17 year old Iranian teenager who witnesses Captain America's invasion of his country. Outraged, he volunteers for an experimental program and becomes the only other person to survive the Super-Soldier process. He wields a weapon resembling a double-bladed lightsaber.
- The Abomination (China) - real name Chang Lam, he is The Liberator's version of the Hulk. He possesses equal strength and retains his genius intellect. He is light green and gigantic, but is bald, has pointed ears, scales on his shoulders, and a tail.
- The Crimson Dynamo (China) - real name Alex Su, he is an analogue of Iron Man who has been fused with his titanium V-R war suit and can fight independently or with his 50 giant-sized duplicates.
- Perun (Russia) - a "Soviet Thor" who appears to have the same belt and vest that Thor wore and wields a hammer and a sickle with both hands. Named after the Slavic god Perun.
- Hurricane (North Korea) - A woman with superhuman speed, the Liberators' version of Quicksilver.
- Swarm (Syria) - A mutant woman with the ability to control any insect, millions at a time.
- The Schizoid Man (Russia) - A man augmented with stem cells stolen from Jamie Madrox that give him the same ability to create duplicates of himself. Prior to his assignment to the Liberators, he is said to have single handedly stopped riots in Russia.
[edit] Collaborators
- Loki (Asgard) - Reveals himself to be the Norse God of Mischief who has aided the Liberators to cause World War III. Although he isn't officially commissioned by the organization that controls The Liberators, he tags along with them and he seems to be responsible for multiple events that occur during Ultimates 2.
- Black Widow (Russia) - Natasha Romanova, a former KGB operative during the Cold War and former Black Operative in the Ultimates. The infamous "Ultimates Traitor" whose identity remained concealed for a duration of the arc. Her motives for the betrayal range from revenge for turning her formerly glorious country into a nation of "hookers and gangsters" to extorting money from Tony Stark.
- Ant-Man (USA) - Henry Pym, expelled member of the Ultimates. He creates the Ultron robots used by the Liberators for peace keeping following the invasion. In issue 12 he says to Quicksilver that he was working for the Ultimates the whole time, and infiltrated the Liberators, this has yet to be determined as true.
[edit] Invasion Forces
The Liberators are controlled by a group of high-ranking officials and military personel, in a secret facility in France. The briefing also detailed the foot soldiers to be used in the invasion, whose special suits grant them enhanced strength and flight but consume their bodies within a month. Other elements of the invasion included an armada of military zeppelins used for transport, fifty piloted giant-sized duplicates of the Crimson Dynamo and a medical staff.
After Hawkeye's capture, he is guarded by masked coalition soldiers with a circular logo of a black fist on a red background, which also appears on Colonel al-Rahman and Hurricane's uniforms.
[edit] Fictional Team Biography
The Liberators first appear in Ultimates 2 #9. Previously in the series, Thor's brother Loki and the traitorous Black Widow have sent the Hulk into hiding, kidnapped Hawkeye, and tricked S.H.I.E.L.D. into arresting Thor and Captain America.
In Ultimates 2 #9, the Liberators' contingent forces bring down all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarriers on the Triskelion, and the Liberators appear and begin their attack on America. The coalition's soldiers slaughter the Ultimate Reserves and capture General Nick Fury, Betty Ross, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. They then topple the Statue of Liberty, in a fashion similar to the toppling of the statue of Saddam Hussein during the fall of Baghdad.
The Ultron robots Hank Pym created keep the peace and minimize civilian casualties during the occupation. All the Ultimates, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man are by this time captured and accounted for, except for the Wasp. Loki plans a public execution of all U.S. superhumans and the President at midnight.
Ultimates 2 #10 flashes back to an overview of the powers of each member of the Liberators, in the form of a presentation given beneath the Louvre in Paris, France. Also in this issue, Hawkeye escapes his captors, and Black Widow reveals herself as a traitor to Iron Man, who disables her after downloading information on the Liberators from her via the nanites he gave her back in issue #4.
In Ultimates 2 #11, Hawkeye frees Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Betty Ross and General Fury. Captain America is freed by The Wasp. After joining forces with Hawkeye and the others, the group is attacked by dozens of coalition soldiers, The Swarm, Hurricane, and The Abomination. In the final pages, Hulk arrives.
In Ultimates 2 #12, the Hulk fights and kills The Abomination, Captain America defeats and kills the Colonel. Quicksilver proves himself faster than Hurricane by tackling her at increasing speeds until she liquifies. Wasp injects herself with the Giant-Man formula and steps on Swarm. Nick Fury and Betty Ross rescue the President while Hawkeye evacuates the Vice President. Iron Man descends in a suit more like a ship than an armor, and destroys the Crimson Dynamo and his robots. Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and the EDI super-soldiers fight off the rest of the Liberator's soldiers. Only Perun remains.
His group's success in peril, Loki reveals his full powers, rising above the fight and turning the sky orange. The Scarlet Witch responds by summoning Thor in the final page of issue #12.
The Liberators later appear in Ultimate X-Men #75 as holograms during a Danger Room exercise.
