Previously on Squadron Supreme: Doctor Spectrum played a bad prank on Power Princess, and got warned he'd get what was coming to him. Arcanna, Amphibian, and Whizzer dealt with an armed insurrection, who acted out of fear of the Squadron's tyranny. Doctor Spectrum went to investigate where the missing Nuke went off to, only to end up battling him after the radioactive young man went insane with rage and grief. During the battle, Doctor Spectrum went to form an energy bubble around Nuke in an attempt to stop him, but accidentally suffocates and kills him.
The cover is definitely an attention-grabber. It depicts Lady Lark sitting limply in a B-Mod machine, and the rest of the Squadron being shocked and horrified about it...except for one. Yeah, the cover does make it slightly obvious who did it. As for why...well, that's what the book will explain.
"Change of Heart"
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciller: Bob Hall
Inker: Sam De La Rosa
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Mark Phillips
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-In-Chief: Jim Shooter
This issue begins with a bang.
Yup, Blue Eagle literally crashes a party held by a bunch of gunmen in pink berets...it was 1985, folks. He's got a new suit, a new codename, and a fancy new shield. The Pink Beret Militiamen shoot at Eagle's shield, but it's bulletproof. One of the men notes that Blue Eagle is carrying an odd device, possibly a bomb.
A door blasts open, revealing Lady Lark. The men shoot at her, too, but...
It turns out the lady's packing a personal protective forcefield, generated by a special belt invented by Tom Thumb. You know, I can't help but wonder why he didn't come up with something like this earlier. It would be such a useful tool for a superhero.
Anyway, while Lark is thrashing the men with her sonics, Blue Eagle is placing his gadget on the ground. He gives the signal, and Lady Lark screams into the gadget.
The gadget, the Ultravox Modulator, takes the sounic screams she puts out and turns it into a special tone to stimulate the sleep centers of the men's brains. Lark and Eagle are able to fly out before it could affect them. Eagle has to fetch his shield, and Lark chastises herself for not doing a good job hiding her growing crush on the Blue Eagle. Ooh, superhero soap opera intrigue.
She notices a yellow blur on the ground, and it's the Whizzer, taking care of his share of commandos. Power Princess and Amphibian engage a tank. The tank blasts Princess, but her shield saves her. I think I can assume that Eagle had shield envy. She then tosses her shield and uses it to plug up the tank's cannon. Amphibian is then able to bend the tank's cannon in an angle, rendering it useless. He and Power Princess are then able to flip the tank on its side.
Power Princess and Amphibian then next go to the main armory.
We then next switch to Arcanna and Golden Archer. The two are facing some men on a rooftop. Archer gripes that they're being attacked by men who want to kill them in cold blood, but they can only, in his own words, "send 'em to Dreamland!". Arcanna teases the Archer by stating that he's enjoying the target practice. One of the men has a bazooka, and uses it to shoot them down.
Arcanna is able to save herself with her magic, but barely manages to save Archer. She takes down the men with her magic, and Archer tumbles to the ground. Archer grumbles that Tom Thumb needed to make the forcefields a bit hardier. Can't blame him, you'd think Tom Thumb would think of something like this. Archer notes people are firing on him, but he feels the impacts of the bullets. Fearing that the forcefield is on the fritz, he fires a smoke arrow to cover an escape. He notes his back is hurting, and he will take sick leave after this.
He runs into one of the soldiers, losing his bow in the process. The gunman has the Golden Archer dead to rights, and to Archer's horror, the forcefield belt's completely busted, meaning he's unprotected. The gunman lets rip.
Whizzer to the rescue! Yup, the Whizzer managed to rip the bullets out of the air and the gun out of the soldier's hands. Archer finishes the man with a punch to the jaw. In the base's command center, Power Princess manages to reach the base's commander and tries to get him to order the men to surrender. However, he states that his men will fight to the bitter end, regardless of his order. The rebellion is finally put down by Hyperion himself making a big entrance.
Hyperion apologizes for the delay, as he was escorting some foreign spyplanes back to their homeland. Power Princess explains that the ringleader, General Chapman, and his men were not too fond of the idea of disarming the military. Yeah, this is an indication of the creeping tyranny the Squadron were putting the country under with their programs. After the Squadron gather up the men's weapons, Whizzer states he wants to visit Dr. Spectrum, and Hyperion gives the okay.
Hyperion and Archer fly off in an air car, and Archer thanks Whizzer for saving his life. The two arrive as at what I think is a factory or a foundry of some kind. There, Dr. Spectrum is using his Power Prism to help melt down the confiscated guns. Archer remarks that Spectrum's powers would have been really helpful in the battle earlier, but Spectrum is still struggling over accidentally killing Nuke, and feels too uncomfortable using his prism for anything beyond minor stuff again. Spectrum and Archer go visit Nuke's grave, and we get a glimpse into Spectrum's origin story.
Appropriate that the Hal Jordan Green Lantern ersatz has a Hal Jordan-esque origin. Before becoming Dr. Spectrum, Joseph "Joe" Ledger was a fearless astronaut, a man who lived for danger and excitement. He never considered something going wrong in his years of fighting super-crime, and Nuke was the first time some died in his attempt to stop them, and it's hit him hard. Archer reassures him that he'll get over this, and wherever Nuke is, he understands and wants him to forgive himself.
Archer tells Spectrum that his brush with death has got him realizing something. He's not going to be around forever, and he has decided to ask his beloved Lady Lark to marry him. Spectrum is overjoyed to hear this, and eagerly accepts Archer's offer to be his best man.
That night, the Squadron holds a meeting. They discuss the gun confiscation programs, stating that the local and state police forces will have more of a problem with giving up the guns than the military. Tom Thumb then reveals a new invention he had been working on.
It's called the Behavior Modification Device, or B-Mod for short. When a person is put under the machine, it alters their brain cells, replacing negative tendencies with positive ones. In a bit of a funny moment, Tom admits he used it on himself to cure his nail-biting habit. Hyperion is happy about this, but Amphibian objects to the device. He's concerned about whether such a device is ethical to use.
Amphibian feels such a device is wrong to use, as it alters a person's mind and a part of who they are. Taking guns is fine to him, as they are chunks of metal designed to only kill. But to him, this is too far. Tom argues that the B-Mod machine doesn't alter the mind, just adds the desire to be a good person to it. Amphibian states that still is altering a person's mind. Blue Eagle stands by Tom Thumb, stating that to him, a convicted criminal has lost the right to their mind's sanctity.
Amphibian states that the B-Mod could be abused by using it to mess with the minds of people who commit minor crimes like being a litterbug. Arcanna agrees, stating it's unnatural. She also fears these questions surrounding the B-Mod could hurt their credibility. Power Princess argues the B-Mod is a humane way to help the criminals. Spectrum suggests a compromise, making it voluntary and offering immediate parole to those who go under it. Archer stays out of it, his mind consumed by his plans to propose. The Squadron votes, favoring the use of the machine. Amphibian angrily storms off, reconsidering his membership in the Squadron.
Archer then well, proposes to her as he can.
Lady Lark is clearly surprised by this. Archer tells her he didn't expect an immediate answer, and to think about it. Lark decides she has to go, and Archer is overjoyed, shooting some firework arrows into the air to celebrate. Lark passes by Tom Thumb, who is talking about the B-Mod device to Hyperion. Interestingly, Tom remarks that he wished he came up with it a month earlier, as such a device could've saved Nuke. I like to think that Nuke's death was partial inspiration for the B-Mod, perhaps Tom feeling guilty about Nuke's death and wanting to prevent it from happening again.
Lark passes by Blue Eagle and Dr. Spectrum, who are watching TV, and Whizzer, who is talking to his daughter.
Lark finds Arcanna, who was asleep. Lark explains to Arcanna that she's in a bit of a predicament. You see...Lark's kind of moved on from the Golden Archer, as it were. She no longer has the feelings for him that she once had, and his sudden proposal has her flummoxed. Arcanna has a sympathetic ear, advising her that she should tell him how she feels gently, but firmly. Also, not to take too long on it. Lark thanks her for the advice. Arcanna wants to tell her something, but decides it can wait.
Yup, Arcanna's pregnant again! Keep in mind she already had three kids. It's pretty clear that she and her husband Phillip really enjoy their intimate time, and do not believe in birth control.
Lark waits outside, and an overjoyed Archer greets her, awaiting her answer.
Look at this sequence here. You can actually see the Golden Archer going through the shock and heartbreak of his proposal being turned down. Lark says her piece, and Archer...he takes it well.
We do see Lark and Eagle working together a couple times in the series, and based on the timeframes these issues cover, it can be implied the two of them have worked together quite a bit over the past couple of months. It was hinted earlier that Lark may be developing feelings for Eagle, so that would also further explain why she turned down Archer's proposal.
A saddened Lark goes back into the headquarters, and a heartbroken and enraged Archer breaks his bow. Spectrum notices Archer marching angrily into the HQ. Archer is convinced that Lark has been seeing Blue Eagle (We had seen them work together previously in Issue #2, and considering the length of time these issues cover, we can assume they have spent quite a bit of time together), and he wants to give Eagle a jaw adjustment. You know, back in the day with the JLA, Green Arrow and Hawkman didn't get along very well, either.
Spectrum tries to convince Archer that punching Eagle won't help, and they should go for a walk together and talk it out. Spectrum tell him that if he wants to hit someone so bad, Archer can punch him, as he won't fight back. Archer initially agrees, but stops himself. He doesn't want to punch his friend, as Spectrum didn't deserve it, and he's just letting his anger overcome him. Spectrum takes Archer out for a walk so Archer can talk and vent.
A couple hours later, Archer thanks Spectrum for letting him vent and talking to him about it. Spectrum plans to turn in for the night, as they have an early morning coming. Archer says he just has to get something to eat. But filling an empty stomach is not something he has in mind.
Instead, he goes to Tom Thumb's lab, curious about how the B-Mod machine works.
Yup, nothing good is going to come of this. Anyway, Archer waits until the rest of the Squadron are asleep, and then goes to visit Lady Lark while she is slumbering. He cracks a capsule open, which contains a gas that keeps her in dreamland. Archer then takes Lark to Thumb's B-Mod machine, and...
Yup. Golden Archer uses the B-Mod to make Lady Lark fall in love with him again. He justifies it as since their love in the past was a good thing, there's nothing wrong with bringing it back. Yup, this is something that Amphibian and Arcanna feared. The next morning, a bouncy and bushy-tailed Lady Lark runs up to Archer and gives him a big ol' kiss.
I love the details in this panel. Spectrum is...happy? Arcanna is shocked, and Blue Eagle is suspicious.
This issue was really good. The B-Mod machine and Archer's actions really show the problems with the Squadron taking over the world like this, the misusing of the power that the Squadron has in their hands. It always starts off rather small. The B-Mod device grants extraordinary power, and in this series, it was only a matter of time before it got misused. I'm sure some would wonder why Tom Thumb didn't put in better security in case of something like this, but I like to think it was because he probably never imagined a fellow Squadron member would use his invention in such a terrible manner.
Bob Hall really has upped his art game for this issue, and I do kind of wish his art looked like this throughout his whole run on the series.
Next time, I originally intended to look at an underrated Captain America story, but since their TV show trailer has dropped, I decided instead we should look at the first appearance of Cloak and Dagger...
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