Previously on Squadron Supreme: Thanks to a pair of powerful villains, Earth-712 was left in ruins, despite the efforts of the Squadron Supreme and the Defenders. After the crisis, the Squadron come to the conclusion that the only way to solve this Earth's problems is to essentially take charge of the world. If they don't fix everything in one year, then they shall return power to the world's governments. Nighthawk quits the Squadron due to his reservations about the plan, and vows to find another way to save the world and stop the Squadron...
The cover depicts Hyperion facing off against the Scarlet Centurion, threatening to kill him, and the Squadron Supreme watching around a table in shock. Hyperion's pose makes me shake my head, though. Why is he kneeling in the air? Is he on an invisible floating platform? Oh, I know what's going on here! Scarlet Centurion threw his back out again, and Hyperion is accommodating him until he can get to his chiropractor, and the Squadron Supreme is just shocked about the whole thing.
"A Small Sacrifice"
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciler: Bob Hall
Inker: John Beatty
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Christie Scheele
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-In-Chief: Jim Shooter
The issue begins with Doctor Spectrum, Golden Archer, and Tom Thumb carrying loads of boxes towards a crowd in a city thanks to Spectrum's GL-esque abilities.
The mayor expresses his gratitude towards the heroes, an let's them address the crowd. Doctor Spectrum and Golden Archer reassure everyone that the roads have been cleared up and the food industry is working to feed the country again. However, poor Tom Thumb gets passed over when it comes to speaking to the crowd.
Yeah, this was something that was minorly touched on in the last issue with Thumb's interactions with the computer, Aida. It gives the impression that Tom has been struggling with feeling lonely and well, small for the long time. It also gives the impression that the other members of the Squadron don't directly ignore or disrespect Tom, it's something they don't realize they do.
A group of men claiming to be city councilmen get up on the improvised stage and take the mayor hostage.
The men demand that Archer and Spectrum drop their weapons. Considering the risk to the mayor, Archer and Spectrum do so. The men call themselves Freedom Force, and state they find the Squadron guilty of their actions under the control of Over-Mind. One of the men reveals his brother died during that time. As such, they sentence the Squadron to death by execution.
More men appear, surrounding the Squadron members. Archer thinks that they'll never be able to convince them that the Squadron were under mind control. You know, Archer, it wouldn't hurt to at least try. You might be able to convince someone. After all, even in a world like this, with superheroes and magic, being controlled by an alien can't be that inconceivable to people.
The men march the three Squadron members to the big pile of crates, and improvise a firing squad. The leader obtains Doctor Spectrum's Power Prism and announces his intent to use it to make the Squadron pay for their crimes, but the thing is...Doctor Spectrum doesn't need to actually hold his Power Prism to command it. He can do it by remote.
Spectrum is able to disarm the holder of his Prism, and he and Archer make short work of the wannabe firing squad. And Tom Thumb is left sulking, thinking that no one treated him like he was even there.
Meanwhile, Whizzer and Nuke are racing across a bridge. Nuke tells Whizzer he has some business up north, and flies off. Whizzer thinks that he knows Nuke was really bothered by something, but won't tell him anything. Nuke changes to civvies, and visits his sick parents. Since they don't have much longer, they admit to him that they know what is killing them: They're suffering from radiation poisoning.
They have cancer caused by radiation poisoning. Nuke has powers based around radiation. Put two and two together. Later, the Squadron hold a meeting to discuss their progress in repairing America. Hyperion reports that the U.S. Mint is operating again, and the banks will reopen Wednesday. Power Princess reports that 75% of the food processing plants on the East Coast are back in business, and she and Arcanna will start on the West Coast tomorrow. Whizzer and Nuke managed to evacuate all the internment camps and get food to all the prisons. Tom Thumb reports that 95% of all the power an natural gas likes have been restored. A lot has been done in only one month.
Doc Spectrum tells Hyperion about the incident with the wannabe firing squad, and Hyperion remarks that after the food crisis is over, they've got to work on the disarmament program. Oh yeah, the gun-worshipping rednecks will love that one, Hype.
Lady Lark remarks that the Squadron should look into expanding their membership, as there's still a lot to do, and only 12 Squadron members. However, they get interrupted by a surprise guest.
It's the Scarlet Centurion! Well, a hologram of him at the very least. He does the typical supervillain thing, announcing that he has a legion of ten thousand temporal warriors who shall invade the Earth. Hyperion...warns him that's not a good idea right now, considering the Earth is still not in the best of shape.
Surprisingly, the Centurion agrees, stating that it's no fun conquering a world that is a ruin. He then says the Squadron haven't seen the last of him, that old cliché. The hologram vanishes, and the Squadron cheer Hyperion's scaring him off. With that out of the way, he and Power Princess announce that they will meet with the new President tomorrow...which reminds them of Nighthawk, which leads them to wonder where he went off to. Hyperion states that he went by his home, but he wasn't there. You think the Squadron would be looking for the guy, at the very least to see if he's alright. Although they probably were very busy fixing the world.
In a mirthful moment, Doc Spectrum reminds everyone that it's poker night, and the Squadron, sans Hyperion and Power Princess, play some cards, except for one.
I love the layout of these panels. We see Tom Thumb quietly leaving the table and going off. And we get some dialogue from Amphibian. Poor Amphibian never really got any spotlight in this issue so far. I get the feeling Mark wasn't quite sure what to do with him.
Anyway, Tom Thumb mentally grumbles about feeling left out again...which does make me scratch my head. In this case, I didn't see then outright letting Tom out, even unintentionally. Maybe that's just me. Anyway, Tom does have a friend: Aida. They talk for a bit, and then Nuke appears, wanting to ask Tom a favor. Nuke fears his energy powers are increasing in strength.
He fires a blast at an energy analyzer, and Nuke's fears are confirmed. His energy powers have increased 52% in strength. He then realizes that his general radioactivity has increased as well, which means it's getting dangerous to be around him for long periods of time.
Nuke explains that his parents have cancer from radiation poisoning, and he thinks it's because of him. He's the youngest of the Squadron, and he still lives with them. They also have no idea he is Nuke...this makes me scratch my head. Nuke was with the rest of the Squadron when they unmasked in the last issue. Didn't his parents see that on TV? And if they did, wouldn't they have also figured out that being around him is why they're ill?
He doesn't have much besides them, as he doesn't really have any friends, and he's occupied with his Squadron duties. Much like Tom himself. Nuke is desperate to save his parents, and makes a very big request of Tom...
Tom admits in his mind it's a tall order. After, how many scientists over how many decades have puzzled over this problem? Tom, however, fears that if he doesn't do it, Nuke will hate him. He then agrees to try. Nuke is overjoyed, and leaves to go see his parents. Tom realizes that he messed up. He then becomes determined to do what some say may be impossible.
The next day, Hyperion finds Tom asleep at Aida's keyboard. He wakes him up and Tom requests to be taken off field duty for a while as he's got some projects going. Hyperion agrees, as Tom is the smartest guy in the Squadron, and he can decide where his brain is needed most. Tom then tells Aida to not let him sleep again. Yeah, that's not smart, Tom. Even you need sleep. Your body and mind will be hurting if you don't get sleep.
Later that morning, Blue Eagle, Lady Lark, and Nuke are flying over what I think is the GW Bridge connecting New York and New Jersey. The comic calls it the George Orwell Bridge, which connects New Wesley and New Troy. Yeah, Earth-712 has many of the same places that "our" world does, but given new names. For example, Washington, DC is known as Capitol City, Magelland. It's a neat way of paying homage to DC using fictional cities for their characters, but it can be confusing as I have a tough time sometimes figuring out what each place is supposed to be the counterpart of at times. There's also another nod with the bridge's name: George Orwell wrote 1984.
They got word of mobs blocking the trucks bringing food to Cosmopolis, aka Earth-712's New York City. Lady Lark inquires about Blue Eagle's new name and suit, and he explains it was a gift from his father, who recently passed on.
Nuke signals them, indicating he found the mobs. They're storming the trucks, demanding food. Lady Lark uses her powerful voice to try and calm people down, but the mobs are angry, they're hungry, and they are fed up with waiting. Nuke decides to take action himself, and...
His fireworks display causes a panic, and Lark and Eagle chastise him for it with help from her voice. Nuke asks them not to report this to Hyperion. That evening, the Squadron have a meeting, and Nuke realizes he's off the hook. Tom tells Nuke he has something for him.
It's a brand-new radiation suit. Much to Nuke's chagrin, he's going to have to wear it around people because of his increasing radioactivity, and considering he's around people almost all the time...yeah. A downcast Nuke decides not to join the other Squadron for a poker game, and with the problem of Nuke's increasing radioactivity supposedly solved, Tom can concentrate on finding a cure for cancer. Eight days pass, and no luck on that front for Tom. Nuke tells him his parents are getting worse, and he's really scared. He's begging Tom to hurry on that cure. Tom gets frustrated about the lack of time he has, but is hit with a bolt of inspiration.
Tom grabs an object from a crate. Basically, it's a backpack and helmet that would allow him to travel through time. Tom uses it to visit the 40th Century home of the Scarlet Centurion. And Tom wants to make a bargain with the future-born warlord.
The Scarlet Centurion has a little something called a Panacea Potion. The potion supposedly does right what the name says: It can cure any disease, heal any wound, even reverse aging. But there's a price. The Centurion will give him the potion, if Tom uses an argonite capsule to poison Hyperion. With Hyperion weakened, the Scarlet Centurion will be able to defeat the Squadron and conquer the world.
Tom ultimately decides that the price is not worth the potion. He can't betray his only friends, the Squadron Supreme. He goes back home and the Scarlet Centurion laughs. A heartbroken Tom cries himself to sleep. Nuke finds him the next day, and Tom tells him the truth: He couldn't do it. He couldn't find a cure for his parents' cancer. Nuke is totally understanding about it. After all, Tom did try his best, and many before Tom have tried to tackle that problem...
See? Nuke is totally understanding! Yeah, I like to think that Nuke's increasing powers are also affecting his mind on top of his own fears and desperation to not lose his family. Tom apologizes to Nuke, saying heroes shouldn't betray each other for any reason. This is a theme that was seen often in Gruenwald's work, from this to Captain America and even his work on the New Universe title DP7: The idea that one should always stick to their principles. It may be the harder thing to do, but ultimately, it's the right thing to do. The Captain America No More storyline he wrote is a great example of this theme being prominent in his work.
Anyway, Tom quietly reveals that Nuke's parents won't be alone in meeting the Grim Reaper soon.
Tom has cancer, too. And his prognosis is not good. I think we can safely assume he got sick from hanging around Nuke all the time.
Squadron Supreme #2 is really good. Again, Mark Gruenwald shows his skills at balancing a large cast (Well, except for Amphibian, guy never really does anything), and he manages to keep the story packed in a good way. Bob Hall's art is serviceable, but it still has the same flaws that I pointed out in my look at the last issue: His close-ups are fantastic, but his art does seem to suffer when it comes to drawing characters at a distance. Although I'm thinking it may be more of the inking rather than the penciler's fault.
If you find this issue in the back issue bins, get it. Heck, get the whole mini! After looking at this heavy issue, I feel the need to look at something more light-hearted and fun. Ah, I know! Next time, we'll look at a Back to the Future comic!
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