| Great Lakes Initiative | |
|---|---|
Cover of The West Coast Avengers vol. 2, #46 (July 1989). |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The West Coast Avengers vol. 2, #46 (July 1989) |
| Created by | John Byrne |
| In-story information | |
| Base(s) | GLA Headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Member(s) | Mr. Immortal (leader) Flatman Doorman Big Bertha |
| Roster | |
| See:List of Great Lakes Avengers members | |
The Great Lakes Initiative, originally known as The Great Lakes Avengers (GLA), are a fictional superhero team that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters were first introduced in West Coast Avengers vol. 2, #46 (July 1989), and were created by John Byrne.
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The team first appeared in The West Coast Avengers vol. 2, #46, and then made sporadic appearances throughout the title in issues #48 - 49, #55, #60, #64, and #69. The team also made two appearances in issues #309 and #313 of Avengers and in the 1990 Avengers Annual. This was followed by appearances in issues #15 - 17 and #25 of Thunderbolts and issues #10 - 11 and #61 of Deadpool.
The GLA were then featured in a four-issue mini-series titled GLA: Misassembled (written by Dan Slott) and the Marvel one-shot GLX-Mas Special (2005). This was followed in 2006 by a minor appearance in I Heart Marvel: Masked Intentions, The Thing vol. 2, #8, and Cable and Deadpool #30. In 2007, the team was featured in Deadpool/GLI Summer Fun Spectacular. The team also makes cameo appearances in issues #19 and #25 of Avengers: The Initiative.
The team has changed its name on several occasions. The Avenger Hawkeye first protests their use of the name "Avengers",[1] and eventually the GLA are sent a cease-and-desist order by the Maria Stark Foundation.[2] The team rename themselves the Lightning Rods after fellow super-team The Thunderbolts.[3] While working for S.H.I.E.L.D., Mr. Immortal suggests a name-change to S.W.O.R.D.,[4] although ultimately the team's name is changed to The Great Lakes X-Men when its members collectively realize that they are all mutants.[2]
After team member Flatman wins a superhero poker tournament, the GLA rename themselves The Great Lakes Champions.[5] Following the events of Avengers: Civil War, the team now operates as The Great Lakes Initiative in the state of Wisconsin.[6]
Craig Hollis discovers he is immortal and decides to fight crime as Mr. Immortal, but after being shot in the head by a group of thieves realizes that operating alone may not be feasible. After placing an advertisement for costumed adventurers in the local paper, Mr. Immortal recruits and assembles the Great Lakes Avengers, with a roster including Dinah Soar, Big Bertha, Flatman, and Doorman. Mr. Immortal does, however, refuse one candidate—Gene Lorrene—a leather fetishist called Leather Boy. Despite being advised that he has no superpowers and is therefore ineligible, Lorrene takes the rebuttal personally.[7]
The team is first seen in public by Avengers Hawkeye and Mockingbird, who watch the group as they break up a robbery attempt. Despite Hawkeye's annoyance at the team's naive insistence on acting like superheroes—and their use of the Avengers name without permission—he and Mockingbird agree to act as the team's mentors.[8] The Great Lakes Avengers assist the Avengers and West Coast Avengers from time to time, including against Terminus.[9] After an encounter with the Thunderbolts—and aiding them against the villain Graviton--the GLA clash with the mercenary Deadpool.[10][11]
After a period of inactivity, the team learn that the West Coast Avengers have been disbanded and that Hawkeye has apparently been killed.[12] The team subsequently reemerges to battle Maelstrom, who is building a doomsday device. During this encounter Dinah Soar is killed. New members Squirrel Girl (who has a pet squirrel Monkey Joe) and Grasshopper are then recruited. Although Maelstrom is defeated via Mr. Immortal's trickery, Doorman, Grasshopper, and Monkey Joe are all killed during the course of the adventure (the last of these having been murdered by Gene Lorrene, who seeks revenge for being refused membership in the GLA). Mr. Immortal is also killed several times, though he always recovers. Doorman is revived soon after his death and learns that he is connected to the Darkforce, while Mr. Immortal learns that as an immortal he is considered Homo Supreme. Despite defeating Maelstrom and saving the world, the Great Lakes Avengers' victory goes unnoticed. Discovering that they are all mutants, the team decide to rename themselves the Great Lakes X-Men.[13]
A series of unusual events follow: Squirrel Girl acquires a new partner, a female squirrel called Tippy-Toe; Grasshopper II dies after misjudging his armor's jumping capabilities; and Doorman becomes an "angel of death" charged with conveying the dead to the afterlife.[14] After Flatman wins a superhero poker tournament (and Marvel Girl demands that they drop the "X-Men" name), the team assumes the name The Great Lakes Champions.[15]
With the beginning of Marvel: Civil War, the GLC decide to comply with the Superhuman Registration Act, in fact waiting in line to register the day the Act is announced. The team is thereafter renamed The Great Lakes Initiative, becoming the official Fifty State Initiative-sponsored team for the State of Wisconsin.[16]
The team and Deadpool stop A.I.M. from using an "inebriation ray" that induces drunkenness in superheroes. Deadpool is granted reserve membership on the team, but is forcibly evicted from GLI headquarters after proving to be too much of an annoyance.[17] The characters also appear during the Skrull invasion of Earth.[18]
When Norman Osborn assumes control of the Initiative, he transfers Gravity to a leadership role in the GLI, much to the superhero's dismay.[19]
After a fight with Fin Fang Foom, Squirrel Girl elects to leave the team and return to New York,[20] because she feels that the other team members (who simply stayed in their headquarters, playing cards, during the fight) have come to rely upon her too much, preventing them from reaching their full potential as heroes and as a team.[21]
During the Fear Itself storyline, the Great Lakes Avengers end up fighting Asbestos Man who takes advantage of the the fear and chaos that is happening.[22]
Despite their marginal status as Avengers, members of the GLA appeared in the climax of the JLA/Avengers miniseries, where they assisted in the defeat of Krona.[23]
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