Stormwatch (comics)

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Stormwatch

Cover of Force of Nature graphic novel.
Publication information
Publisher Wildstorm
First appearance Stormwatch #1 (March, 1993)
Created by Jim Lee
Brandon Choi
H. K. Proger
Ron Marz
In story information
Base(s) SkyWatch
Member(s) Battalion
Fahrenheit
John Doran
Gorgeous
Black Betty
The Monstrosity
The Machinist
Paris
Nautika
Flashpoint
Cannon
Backlash
Synergy
Diva
Winter
Fuji
Hellstrike
Flint
Rose Tattoo
Jenny Sparks
Jack Hawksmoor
Swift

Stormwatch is a fictional United Nations-sponsored superhero team in the Wildstorm Universe of American comics. Stormwatch was created by Jim Lee in 1993. There have been several incarnations of Stormwatch with varying rosters, resources, and manifests.

Contents

[edit] Stormwatch

Stormwatch began in the comic book Stormwatch, published by Image Comics but owned by Jim Lee. Among the main early writers of Stormwatch vol. 1 were Jim Lee, Brandon Choi, H. K. Proger and Ron Marz; among the main early artists were Scott Clark, Brett Booth, Matt Broome and Renato Arlem. The Stormwatch team was run by the United Nations, and overseen from a satellite by their director, "the Weatherman". The Weatherman was one Henry Bendix, who had cybernetic implants connected to his brain to better monitor various world situations and his Stormwatch teams in action. His field commander was Jackson King, aka Battalion. Other members included Fahrenheit (a young American woman, a pyrokinetic), Hellstrike (an Irish police officer, an energy being), Winter (an ex-Russian Spetznaz officer, an energy absorber), Fuji (a young Japanese man, another energy being trapped in a large, super-strong containment suit), and Diva (a young Italian woman with sonic powers).

Later, Ron Marz, who had worked previously on Marvel Comics' Silver Surfer title and had developed Hal Jordan's Green Lantern replacement Kyle Rayner at DC Comics, took on the writing chores. Concurrently, James Robinson of DC's Starman fame was writing WildC.A.T.s. Robinson and Marz, under the editorial direction of Jim Lee, intertwined the storylines of the two books over the course of several months.

Also around this time, two two-issue miniseries were released, Stormwatch Team One (written by James Robinson) and WildC.A.T.s Team One (written by Steven Seagle). These two miniseries were also intertwined, and revealed that the groundwork for both teams had been laid by a core group in the mid 1960s, consisting of Saul Baxter (Lord Emp), Zealot, Majestic, John Colt (the template for Spartan), Backlash, a young Henry Bendix and Jackson King's father Isaiah, all of whom would be members of, or would figure prominently in the later Stormwatch and WildC.A.T.s teams. In this series, the term WildStorm, the publishing imprint's codename, was defined as a code term used by the United States Government, "Wild" referring to extra-terrestrial life forms and "Storm" referring to invading forces.

Robinson's WildC.A.T.s run and Marz's Stormwatch run culminated in the WildStorm Rising crossover event, during which, the memberships of both teams were disrupted, with Stormwatch having sustained casualties and the WildC.A.T.s mistakenly believed dead. After WildStorm Rising, Alan Moore took over writing on WildC.A.T.s. Later, after a second imprint-wide crossover, Warren Ellis took over writing Stormwatch with #37 (July 1996).

Warren Ellis' version of Stormwatch was heavily influenced by DC's Vertigo line and its notable authors, such as Alan Moore, Grant Morrison and Garth Ennis. Ellis injected more sexual and horror elements, thinly disguised political commentary, and criticisms of the United States government into the stories. The art was toned down from the more exaggerated '90's style which had dominated all of the early Image Comics, allowing readers to take the book more seriously. It was during this period that Ellis used Stormwatch to introduce the concept of the Bleed, a space between parallel universes which features heavily in Planetary and other comics set in the Wildstorm Universe.

By the end of volume one, Ellis had revised Henry Bendix as a manipulative villain, much as Grant Morrison did with the character of "The Chief" in his run on DC's Doom Patrol.

Ellis continued to write the book as it transitioned into Stormwatch volume 2, until the WildC.A.T.s/Aliens crossover of August 1998 — also written by Ellis — saw the Stormwatch team all but massacred by xenomorphs, the creatures from the Alien series of films. Conveniently, most of the Stormwatch characters Ellis had not created were killed off in this story. A group of the survivors became the main cast of Ellis' new series The Authority, including Ellis-created characters Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawksmoor, Apollo, and the Midnighter, as well as Swift (who debuted in Stormwatch v1 #28, written by Jeff Mariotte), and two new characters who were the successors of the Engineer and the Doctor from Ellis' Change or Die storyline. Stormwatch volume 2 ended with one final story taking place after WildC.A.T.s/Aliens, in which the United Nations laid to rest the institution of Stormwatch alongside its fallen members. The very last scene, a conversation between the former members of Stormwath Black, served to introduce the concept of the Authority and promote its upcoming first issue. Other survivors from the original team (including Battalion, Christine Trelane, and Flint) appeared in The Authority, and King and Trelane later became central characters in The Monarchy.

[edit] Stormwatch: Team Achilles

Main article: Stormwatch: Team Achilles

In September 2002 the Stormwatch series was revived. Stormwatch: Team Achilles, penned by Micah Ian Wright, followed a mostly non-superpowered UN troubleshooting team dealing with superhero-related problems.

A major theme of the series was the non-superpowered team leader's distrust of superpowered beings, and of necessity Team Achilles took a detailed and pragmatic approach to superpowers, showing how it was possible to use intelligence and tactics to overcome physically superior foes such as Team Achilles often faced. The Authority were more than once brought low during the series' run. The series later became a satire of politics and comic books, with segments where the team replaces a Strom Thurmond/Jesse Helms-like Senator with a shape-shifter, and a storyline where a Captain America-analog (revealed to be the reincarnation of George Washington) tries to overthrow the American government.

Wright was fired after it was revealed that he had lied about being a US Army Ranger, with the result that Team Achilles was abruptly cancelled with issue #23 (August 2004), in the middle of a storyline. The planned final issue, #24, was never published, though the finished script is available online. [1]

[edit] Stormwatch: Post Human Division

Main article: Stormwatch: Post Human Division

Stormwatch is one of several comic books to have been restarted following Wildstorm Comics' WorldStorm event. Starting in November 2006,[1] Stormwatch: Post Human Division is written by Christos Gage with Doug Mahnke handling the pencils. The series ended in issue #12.[2]

Several dead characters are back for this series, their resurrection being explained in the series. In this new series, Stormwatch is sponsored solely by the United States, but a branch office has been set up in New York. Entitled Stormwatch: P.H.D. (Post Human Division),[3] they are underfunded and overworked, their mission is to find "cost-effective" methods of saving the day. The series follows the branch office as their leader, former Weatherman Jackson King, tries to defeat superhuman menaces and balance the tight budget. The team consists of King, NYPD officer John Doran, a depowered Fahrenheit, a former Stormforce soldier codenamed Paris, a master manipulator and former moll to supervillains called Gorgeous, a former sorcerer's apprentice named Black Betty, a shape-shifting ex-supervillain and forensics expert named Dr. Mordecai Shaw a.k.a the Monstrosity, and an ex-supervillain and technology expert called the Machinist.

[edit] Members of Stormwatch

[edit] Stormwatch Prime

Character Real Name Notes
Stormwatch Prime

Team under Weatherman Henry Bendix prior to issue 1.
Backlash Marc Slayton Leader and instructor
Battalion Jackson King
Flashpoint Foster McClane Missing in action during Stormwatch #0, presumed dead between Stormwatch #1 and Stormwatch #6.
Nautika Maya Royko
Sunburst Karl Hansen

[edit] Issues #1-10

After the loss of most of the team, Stormwatch is restructured with new recruits prior to issue #1. Backlash is transferred to head of training.

Character Real Name Notes
Stormwatch One

Team under Weatherman Henry Bendix from issue #1 to 10, co-existent with Stormwatch Two
Battalion Jackson King Leader
Diva Alessandra Fermi
Fuji Toshiro Misawa
Hellstrike Nigel Keane
Winter Nikolas Andreyvitch Kamarov
Stormwatch Two

Team under Weatherman Henry Bendix from issue #1 to 10, co-existent with Stormwatch One.
Cannon Mitchell Saunders
Fahrenheit Lauren Pennington
Ion Killed in action in Stormwatch V1 #2
Lancer Killed in action in Stormwatch V1 #2
Strafe Malcolm King

[edit] Issues #11-26

Henry Bendix was stripped of his position in issue #11; replacing him is his second-in-command Synergy, aka Christine Trelane. Team assignments are variable from this point on, grouping operatives and assigning command as situations dictate.

Character Real Name Notes
Stormwatch

Team under Weatherman Christine Trelane from issue #11 to 26, co-existent with Stormwatch Prime.
Battalion Jackson King Leader, missing in action during Stormwatch V1 #16-25
Diva Alessandra Fermi Leader after Battalion's disappearance, killed in action in Stormwatch V1 #23
Fahrenheit Lauren Pennington
Fuji Toshiro Misawa
Hellstrike Nigel Keane Missing in action from Stormwatch V1 #25
Pagan Zarej also known as Fiend
Strafe Malcolm King Incarcerated following Stormwatch V1 #27
Undertow Ray Bailey Comatose from Stormwatch V1 #25 onward.
Winter Nikolas Andreyvitch Kamarov
Spartan Hadrian Former member of WildC.A.T.s; added to team after the disappearance of the WildC.A.T.s in Wildstorm Rising (prior to Stormwatch V1 #23), promoted to team leader after Diva's death, killed in action in Stormwatch V1 #27.
Stormwatch Prime

Team under Weatherman Christine Trelane from issue #11 to 26, co-existent with Stormwatch.
Flashpoint Foster McClane Incarcerated from Stormwatch Special #2 (occurring prior to Stormwatch V1 #22) through Stormwatch V1 #30
Nautika Maya Royko Resigned after Stormwatch V1 #22
Sunburst Karl Hansen Comatose after Stormwatch V1 #22

[edit] Issue #27 till Fire From Heaven

The team was rebuilt after the defeat of Despot (issue #27) and Henry Bendix was again Weatherman, with Synergy as his second.

Character Real Name Notes
"The New" Stormwatch

Team under Weatherman Henry Bendix prior to Fire From Heaven; directly commanded by Synergy from Stormwatch V1 #28-30
Blademaster
Comanche
Flint Victoria Ngengi
Prism
Swift Shen Li-min
Blitz Killed in action during Stormwatch V1 #30
Damascus Killed in action during Stormwatch V1 #30
Pagan Zarej
Stormwatch

Team under Weatherman Henry Bendix prior to Fire From Heaven; returned to duty in Stormwatch V1 #31
Battalion Jackson King Leader
Cannon Mitchell Saunders
Fahrenheit Lauren Pennington
Flashpoint Foster McClane Killed in action during Stormwatch V1 #36
Fuji Toshiro Misawa
Hellstrike Nigel Keane
Winter Nikolas Andreyvitch Kamarov
Stormforce

Team under Weatherman Henry Bendix prior to Fire From Heaven; non-superpowered military team under Weatherman's control.
Captain Ken Tucker
Nur Ansari
Marcel Bertrand
Harv Bowden
Rachel Daniels
Molly Perkins
Wilson Yee

[edit] After Fire From Heaven

After the Fire From Heaven crossover, a major restructuring of Stormwatch occurred in Warren Ellis' first issue. Battalion was transferred to head of training, and Synergy to head of recruitment. Molly Perkins was transferred from Stormforce to the Analysis Deck of Skywatch. Sunburst & Nautica were dismissed from active Stormwatch service and hired as Earth-based analysts for Skywatch. Blademaster, Cannon, Comanche, Pagan, Prism and Undertow were dismissed, with lifetime U.N.-provided salary and accommodations. Undertow is killed soon after.

Character Real Name Notes
Stormwatch Prime

Team under Weatherman Henry Bendix following Fire From Heaven
Winter Nikolas Andreyvitch Kamarov Leader, as well as leader of aggregate Stormwatch group during multi-team field operations.
Hellstrike Nigel Keane
Fuji Toshiro Misawa
Stormwatch Red

Team under Weatherman Henry Bendix following Fire From Heaven
Fahrenheit Lauren Pennington Leader
Flint Victoria Ngengi
Rose Tattoo unknown Killed in action during Stormwatch V1 #50
Stormwatch Black

Team under Weatherman Henry Bendix following Fire From Heaven
Jenny Sparks Jennifer Sparks Leader
Jack Hawksmoor Jack Hawksmoor
Swift Shen Li-min
"Secret" Stormwatch team revealed in volume two

Team under Weatherman Henry Bendix following Fire From Heaven
Apollo equivalent to DC's Superman. One of two survivors from the team's first mission.
Midnighter Lucas Trent equivalent to DC's Batman. One of two survivors from the team's first mission. His real name was revealed in Midnighter #10.
Impetus equivalent to DC's Flash. Did not survive the first mission. Reappeared as a zombie during the Devil's Night crossover; cut in half by Swift.
Amaze equivalent to DC's Wonder Woman. Shot dead during the first mission. Reappeared as a zombie during the Devil's Night crossover; killed again by Midnighter.
Lamplight equivalent to DC's Green Lantern. Did not survive the first mission. Reappeared as a zombie during the Devil's Night crossover; killed again by Midnighter.
Stalker equivalent to DC's Martian Manhunter. Did not survive the first mission.
Crow Jane equivalent to DC's Black Canary. Did not survive the first mission.

[edit] After "Change Or Die"

After the "Change Or Die" storyline, Henry Bendix was missing and presumed dead. Jackson King became Weatherman, and Molly Perkins became head of analysis. The Stormwatch field teams were restructured, and Stormwatch Black officially dissolved (but retained in secret).

Character Real Name Notes
Stormwatch

Team under Weatherman Jackson King
Winter Nikolas Andreyvitch Kamarov Killed in WildC.A.T.s/Aliens #1. Became one with the sun and was caged by the Authority in The Authority: Scorched Earth
Fahrenheit Lauren Pennington Killed in WildC.A.T.s/Aliens #1.
Fuji Toshiro Misawa Killed in WildC.A.T.s/Aliens #1.
Hellstrike Nigel Keane Killed in WildC.A.T.s/Aliens #1.
Flint Victoria Ngengi The only survivor.
Stormwatch Black

Team under Weatherman Jackson King
Jenny Sparks Jennifer Sparks Leader
Jack Hawksmoor Jack Hawksmoor
Swift Shen Li-min

After Skywatch is destroyed in WildC.A.T.s/Aliens #1, Stormwatch is dissolved. Stormwatch Black becomes the Authority at the end of the series, with the addition of former 'Secret' Stormwatch members Midnighter & Apollo as well as The Doctor II and The Engineer II)

[edit] Alternate-universe Stormwatch

In the "Bleed" storyline (Stormwatch V2 #7-9), our universe's Stormwatch watched events unfold in a parallel universe that had little to no knowledge of seedlings, Daemonites, or Kherubim. In this universe, Battalion had been removed from Stormwatch after a catastrophic attack on the Skywatch space station. He was replaced as Weatherman One by Jack Hawksmoor, with Synergy retaining her position as second-in-command. His bodyguard and personal assistant was Freefall (of Gen¹³), going by her real name, Roxanne. His maid at his home in the United States was Anna, also of Gen¹³. He commanded a version of Stormwatch employing over twenty-three super-powered beings; besides himself, Freefall and Synergy, there were exactly twenty field operatives, divided into five teams.

  • Other team leaders (team numbers unknown):

[edit] Other Characters Appearing in Stormwatch

[edit] S.T.O.R.M.

In the series Planetary, John Stone is a secret agent working for the agency known as S.T.O.R.M. in the 1960s. Its command center is known as S.T.O.R.M. Watch. As Planetary is written by former Stormwatch writer Warren Ellis and set in the same fictional universe, it is very unlikely that the similar names are a coincidence and S.T.O.R.M. is probably a precursor to Stormwatch. Indeed, in Planetary #11, John Stone takes Elijah Snow to a remote, little-known bar in Kazakhstan called "The Last Shot" - this is the same bar that Winter bring his Stormwatch teammates to in Stormwatch #46, during Ellis' time writing the series.

[edit] Collections

Warren Ellis' run on Stomrwatch has been collected into five trade paperbacks:

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Wildstorm
  2. ^ Review of Stormwatch PHD #12
  3. ^ Stormwatch: Post Human Division at the Comic Book DB
  4. ^ Force of Nature trade profile at DC
  5. ^ Lightning Strikes trade profile at DC
  6. ^ Change or Die trade profile at DC
  7. ^ A Finer World trade profile at DC
  8. ^ Final Orbit trade profile at DC

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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