The War (comics)

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The War
Publisher Marvel Comics
Schedule Monthly
Format limited series
Number of issues Four
Creative team
Writer(s) Doug Murray
Artist(s) Tom Morgan

The War was a four issue comic book limited series, published by Marvel Comics. The final publication in Marvel's New Universe line, it resolved a number of unfinished plotlines and radically changed the New Universe setting.

Contents

[edit] Major Characters

[edit] The Platoon

  • Major Kathi Blizzard: The ability to telepathically interface with up to a dozen people.
  • Captain Jack Magniconte: Superhuman strength and endurance. Former leader of Kickers, Inc.
  • Sergeant Haldeman: Possesses the ability to project extreme grief (which he calls Weltschmertz) into the minds of others. Haldeman is a drill sergeant.
  • Christopher Barrett (Metallurgist): Has a 1949 Chevy hubcap that he can apparently control with his mind. He's able to use it to fly.
  • Jacob Lao (Norad): Able to create force fields against radiation
  • Bob Loeser (Pretty Boy): Has the ability to blend in to social situations, looking like somebody familiar to whoever looks at him
  • Jonathan Matthews (Mapper): Powers unrevealed, though presumably related to mapping
  • Garth Mengeling (Gridlock): Able to create tubes of force in geometic forms.
  • Gaylord Picaro (Pitt Bull): Superhuman size, strength, and endurance.
  • Brian Pickett (Troll): Powers unrevealed. Pickett dies early in the mini.
  • Vincent Sahno (Shooter): Possesses superhuman accuracy with firearms.
  • Jeff Walters (Blur): Possesses superhuman speed. Former member of DP7.

[edit] Others

  • Harlan Mook (Blowout): Has the ability to teleport, with the unusual twist that the space he leaves explodes. The greater the distance he teleports, the greater the explosion. He becomes an assassin working for the Ayatollah of Iran after being converted by paranormal persuasion.
  • Lieutenant Keith Remsen (Nightmask): Possesses the ability to enter the dreams of others. He feels responsible for Mook, and uses his abilities to try and stop him.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The War is a sequel to The Pitt and The Draft. The Pitt told of the Black Event, the accidental destruction of Pittsburgh by Ken Connell, weilder of the Star Brand, a vast cosmic energy source. This destruction, mistaken by the U.S. government for a nuclear attack, is blamed on the the then-Soviet Union, and led to The Draft-- a selective conscription of the New Universe's super-powered Paranormals.

In The War #3, the conflict leads to a general exchange of nuclear missiles, but before the missiles impact, the Star Child, the son of Ken Connell who acquired the Star Brand's vast power while still in the womb, destroys the missiles, but this does not end the conflict; so the Star Child temporarily disables all weapons of war on Earth, and announces his existence and powers to the entire planet, demanding that the fighting cease.