| Team 7 | |
|---|---|
Team 7 #1 (art by Whilce Portacio) |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Wildstorm |
| First appearance | Team 7 (Volume 1) #1 (October 1994) |
| Created by | Chuck Dixon and Aron Wiesenfeld |
| In-story information | |
| Member(s) | Michael Cray John Lynch Cole Cash Marc Slayton Jackson Dane Christie Blaze |
Team 7 is a comic book superhero team appearing in titles published by Wildstorm Productions. The team has appeared in 3 self-titled miniseries: Team 7, Team 7: Objective Hell and Team 7: Dead Reckoning. The first 5-issue Gen¹³ limited series also involved members of Team 7. The team's members have played a major role throughout the Wildstorm Universe.
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Team 7 was officially the seventh incarnation of a group of military specialists gathered from various government forces. (Recently a Team Zero has been revealed, making Team 7 the group's eighth incarnation.)
Team 7 took its orders from Miles Craven, director of International Operations. Craven wanted his own army of superhumans, and therefore dropped a chemical known as the "Gen-factor" on the members of Team 7 during a (suicide) mission. When they awoke from their Gen-factor induced comas, Team 7 was told that the enemy had dropped a chemical weapon on them. As a result of the Gen-factor, Team 7 (except for Michael Cray) started to develop superhuman powers. It would be years before Cray himself would develop similar abilities. Team 7 member Cole Cash distrusted Craven and suspected that he was behind the experiment. Several members of Team 7 were unable to cope with their new powers and went mad or committed suicide. At least one had to be shot during a subsequent mission, as he was basking in the glory of his ability to make people kill themselves. As a test, Craven dropped a nuclear weapon on Team 7. The members survived through co-operation and went into hiding.[1]
Some time later, Team 7 returned to work for I.O. and were sent to destroy a cache of nuclear weapons from Cambodia before the Khmer Rouge could get them. The team succeeded, but learned that a pair of Soviet superhumans were trailing them. They battled them, but they turned out to be too strong and Jackson Dane went into a coma. The Cambodian blind girl X'ing X'iang, who had displayed superhuman mental powers before, overpowered one of the Soviet agents, while Michael Cray shot the other one. The team returned to the US and took X'ing X'iang with them.[2]
Years later, the Team 7 members were ordered to bring in the Soviet scientist, Dbovchek. Cole Cash entered the Soviet Union on his own to find out more about Dbovchek, while the rest of the team went on the mission. Dbovchek turned out to be one of the main scientists behind the Russian psionic program. The mission turned out to be a failure; Dbovchek was killed and Cash was captured. Cash discovers that his mental powers were waning, but John Lynch saves him.
Back in the US, Jackson Dane awoke from his coma, under the influence of International Operations. Dane's powers turned out to be far stronger than the rest of Team 7 combined, but Cray brought in X'ing X'iang who freed Dane. She found out through Dane that Miles Craven had become interested in the children of Team 7, so most Team 7 members took their families and went into hiding. This would turn out to be the end of Team 7, though most members would stay in contact and occasionally reunite.[3]
Jackson Dane would lead a new Team 7 years later. This team would feature in the series Wetworks.
John Lynch - code-named Topkick, team leader Lynch was the former head of I.O.'s Black Razors. He starred in Gen¹³ and Sleeper. Father of Burnout of Gen¹³. His Team 7 identification mark was a circle with a stripe upwards painted over his left eye.
Marc Slayton - code-named Backlash, Slayton was a member of Team Zero, Team One, Team 7, and Stormwatch, as well as his own Wildcore. He starred in Wildstorm's Stormwatch, Backlash, and Wildcore. Father of Jet (formerly Crimson of Wildcore) and Aries. His Team 7 identification mark was a trapezoid, pointed downwards painted over his left eye.
Cole Cash - code-named Dead Eye (though later taking on the code name Grifter), Cash has been a figurehead of the Wildstorm Universe, being an expert with a gun, holding Coda training, and having psi powers. Grifter has starred in many Wildstorm comics such as WildC.A.T.S., Sleeper, Point Blank, and two of his own solo titles. Youngest member of the team, being only in his mid-20's. Thanks to exposure to the Gen-factor, he hasn't physically aged since. His Team 7 identification mark was the same symbol as later appeared on his mask. The mark was over his left eye.
Michael Cray - code-named Deathblow, starred in his own self-titled series. Died during the Fire from Heaven event but has since returned (twice), although the reason remains a mystery. The father of Sublime of DV8. He was the only team member not to initially develop psionic powers as a result of exposure to the Gen-factor, though some eventually manifested many years later. Several 'clones' of him were created as well, one 'clone' being female and African-American, among others. His Team 7 identification mark were two parallel strips over his left and right eye, going from his hairline to his chin.
Jackson Dane - code-named Arclight, Dane starred in the comic Wetworks, which was about a new incarnation of Team 7. His Team 7 identification mark was a lightning bolt over his left eye.
Christie Blaze - originally chosen by Lynch to round out the first incarnation of Team 7, she was kept out of the team by I/O Director Miles Craven who knew the only reason Lynch had chosen her was because they were lovers. Lynch recruited her for the reconstituted Team 7 post-World's End.
Philip Chang - code-named Bulleteer. Current location unknown. Father of Grunge of Gen¹³. His Team 7 identification mark was a crescent moon, waxing, over his right eye.
Stephen Callahan - code-named Wraparound. Faked his death, only to be revealed alive years later. Father of Threshold and Bliss of DV8 as well as Sarah Rainmaker of Gen¹³. His Team 7 identification mark was a cross over his left eye. The teams only marine, one of the primary reasons for his agreeing to join was that he wanted his service branch to be represented.
Alex Fairchild - code-named Slaphammer. Died in the pages of Gen¹³. Father of Caitlin Fairchild and Freefall of Gen¹³. His Team 7 identification mark was an Ace of Spades over his left eye.
An alternate version of Team 7, now led by Grifter, appeared in the Flashpoint universe. This version consisted mainly of superheroes who had ties to the military in the DC Universe, but here were simply shown to be regular soldiers, albeit with garish outfits that resembled their superhero costumes. Most of the team was killed during a battle against Muslim extremists in the Middle East, though Grifter was saved by Penny Black. This led to Grifter leaving the military and ultimately becoming the leader of the Resistance, a rebel group formed to oppose the Amazons after they invade the UK.[4]
Its members consist of:
Titles starring Team 7:
Solo-titles starring former Team 7-members:
Titles starring related teams: