| Squadron Supreme | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Avengers #85 - 86 (Feb. - Mar. 1971) |
| Created by | Roy Thomas & John Buscema |
| In-story information | |
| Base(s) | Rocket Central Squadron City |
| Member(s) | Original Team: Amphibian Doctor Spectrum Hyperion Nighthawk Power Princess Skrullian Skymaster Whizzer Later Additions: Arcanna Blue Eagle Golden Archer Lady Lark Nuke Tom Thumb |
| Roster | |
| See:List of Squadron Supreme members | |
The Squadron Supreme is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Squadron Supreme first appeared in Avengers #85 - 86 (Feb. - Mar. 1971) and were created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema.
As with the supervillain team the Squadron Sinister, the core members of the Squadron Supreme — Hyperion, Nighthawk, Doctor Spectrum, and the Whizzer — were based on characters published by rival DC Comics.[1]
Contents |
The Squadron Supreme are first encountered by four members of the team the Avengers - the Vision; Quicksilver; the Scarlet Witch and Goliath - who have arrived in the Earth-712 universe by mistake.[2] The Avengers are initially confused as several members of the Squadron Supreme have identical names and powers to the Squadron Sinister, a group of previously encountered villains.[3]
Although this was a deliberate choice by writer Roy Thomas, it created confusion in Marvel's production department, as the covers of Avengers #85 and #141 (Nov. 1975) claimed the issues featured appearances by the Squadron Sinister, when in fact it was the Squadron Supreme that appeared in both issues. After a brief battle, the Avengers assist the Squadron Supreme against the global threat posed by the mutant Brain-Child, before returning to their own universe.[4] The Squadron Supreme have another series of skirmishes with the Avengers engineered by the group the Serpent Cartel, but eventually team together and prevent the use of the artifact the Serpent Crown.[5]
The team features briefly in the title Thor, when the evil version of Hyperion attacks the Earth-712 version and then the Earth-616 Thor.[6] The Squadron appear in the title Defenders as mind-controlled pawns of the entities the Over-Mind and Null the Living Darkness, but are freed and aid the Defenders in defeating the villains.[7] Earth-712, however, is left in a post-apocalyptic state.
The Squadron Supreme were next featured in a self-titled 12-issue miniseries (Sept. 1985 - Aug. 1986) by writer Mark Gruenwald.[8] The series, which picks up from where Earth-712 was last seen in Defenders #114, reveals each character's origin and explains why the Squadrons Sinister and Supreme are similar: the Grandmaster creates the Squadron Sinister modelled on the already-existing Squadron Supreme of the Earth-712 universe.[9] The Squadron, led by Hyperion, believe they have the knowledge and power to recreate the world and create a Utopia. Nighthawk protests, believing that the Squadron should serve and not rule. The issue is put to a vote, with the so-called "Utopia Program" favored by the majority of the Squadron; Nighthawk, unable to agree with the decision in clear conscience, resigns from the team. The Squadron assume overall control of the government of the United States and remake the nation into a virtual utopia. The team implement a series of sweeping changes, including revealing their secret identities; instituting a program of behavior modification in prisons (inmates are forced to submit to a process that mentally inhibits their criminal instincts); enforcing a strict gun control policy; and developing medical technology to resurrect the dead.
Despite the economic and technological advances, there are setbacks. The Golden Archer abuses the behavior modification technology by forcing fellow member Lady Lark (who had just turned down his marriage proposal) to love him, resulting in his eventual removal from the team. Fellow member Amphibian becomes increasingly disgusted with the Squadron's methods, especially the behavior modification technology; his disillusionment eventually leads him to not only leave the Squadron, but abandon the surface world altogether. Nuke inadvertently kills his own parents (via unnoticed and uncontrollable release of radiation); after a rampage, he dies battling Doctor Spectrum. Tom Thumb, while developing many of the technologies used in the Squadron's Utopia Program, discovers he has cancer but chooses not to inform his teammates; he eventually succumbs to the disease.
Predicting a nightmarish outcome, Nighthawk, with the aid of his world's Sorcerer Supreme, Professor Imam, crosses the dimensional border into Earth-616 to solicit the aid of the Avengers. Although his request is denied, he is able to enlist the aid of three of his former enemies, who had fled to this Earth to escape the Squadron's actions.[10] Returning to his home world, Nighthawk is eventually forced to confront his old teammates with a new team, which also includes ex-Squadroner Golden Archer (now known as Black Archer). A brutal battle ensues in which several members of both teams are killed, including Nighthawk himself. A horrified Hyperion realizes Nighthawk was in fact right; that the Squadron, despite only having good intentions, had inadvertently created a totalitarian state, with themselves as its dictators. The Squadron surrenders, disbands, and returns control of the United States to the government.[11]
| Marvel Comics Alternate Universes | |
| Marvel stories take place primarily in a mainstream continuity called the Marvel Universe. Some stories are set in various parallel, or alternate, realities, called the Marvel Multiverse.
The Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe: Alternate Worlds 2005 designates the mainstream continuity as "Earth-616", and assigns another Earth-numbers to each specific alternate reality. In this article the following characters, or teams, and realities are referred to: |
|
| Character/Team | Universe |
| Squadron Supreme | Earth-712 |
Gruenwald, Ryan, and inker Al Williamson created a graphic-novel sequel Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe, in which the remnants of the team reunite to battle the Nth Man. Although successful, several members of the Squadron are killed, with the remainder (Hyperion; Doctor Spectrum; Whizzer; Power Princess; Lady Lark [now known as Skylark]; Moonglow; Haywire and Shape) marooned in the mainstream Marvel universe.[12] The Squadron encounter the hero Quasar, and relocate to the government facility Project Pegasus. After another encounter with the Overmind and a visit to the laboratory world of the Stranger;[13] the Squadron attempt unsuccessfully to return to their universe [14] and members Hyperion, Doctor Spectrum and the Whizzer battle the entity Deathurge.[15]
The entire Squadron Supreme appear in an Avengers storyline with the Avengers that finally returns them to their home universe.[16] The one-shot Squadron Supreme: New World Order reveals that Earth-712 is now dominated by corporations using the Squadron's own Utopia technologies, with the characters eventually reinstating democracy.[17] The Squadron also come into conflict with a new government when interdimensional team the Exiles, traveling from the Earth-616 universe, reveal that the government had rigged the election with a worldwide vote fraud. The Squadron and the Exiles depose the new government, and attempt to allow society to progress without superhuman involvement.[18]
The Squadron Supreme appears in the 2011 series Marvel Zombies Supreme which sees members of the team infected with a zombie virus developed by a deranged geneticist.[19] It is revealed in the series that these are clones of the Squadron Supreme, and the story is set in Marvel's primary "616" universe.
The mature-audience Marvel MAX imprint showcases the adventures of the Earth-31916 version of the Squadron Supreme. This team is a rebooted version from the original, where all characters are completely redesigned.
This version of Squadron Supreme met the Ultimates during the Ultimate Power miniseries.[20] The conclusion of this series left Zarda, a member of Squadron Supreme in the Ultimate Marvel Universe, and Nicky Fury in the Squadron Supreme Universe. Nick Fury, however, eventually returned to the Ultimate Marvel Universe.