Previously on Squadron Supreme: Master Menace attempted to bring the Squadron Supreme down from within by kidnapping Hyperion and replacing him with his counterpart from Earth-616. However, the plan would go wrong as 616-Hyperion fell in love with Zarda, and decided to screw over Menace. 712-Hyperion would break out of Menace's trap and engage 712-Hyperion in battle. Their battle devastates their world's Mount Rushmore, Presidents' Mountain. The battle ends with 616-Hyperion dead, and 712-Hyperion blinded.
The cover is interesting. Tom Thumb is holding up a container triumphantly, and the other members of the Squadron seem shocked by this. It's like they discovered what was actually in the container, and are shocked he's going to drink the stuff inside. "No, Tom! Don't drink it! It's spiked with laxatives!" There's also a text box that states, "At last--THE CURE!" Wait, The Cure is appearing in this comic? Okay, this could be interesting. If Mecha-Streisand shows up, we'll need Robert Smith and his Robot Punch.
"Borrowed Time!"
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciller: Paul Ryan
Inker: Sam De La Rosa
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colorist: Max Scheele
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-In-Chief: Jim Shooter
The story begins with Hyperion lying on a bed in Squadron City's hospital complex, Dr. Decibel examining him.
Dr. Decibel thinks about the troubles he's had using a laser to repair Hyperion's damaged eyes. You see, because Hyperion is so durable, it makes it very hard for the medical laser to reattach his optic nerves. Another subtle bit of clever deconstruction from Gruenwald here. Decibel has tried this operation several times, and each time was a failure because the laser was just not powerful enough. This is the eighth attempt, with this new laser being the most powerful that Tom Thumb can devise.
Hyperion then recounts the events of the last issue (Remember, this was from 1986. Comics were still being sold in newsstands then), and then undergoes the procedure. Zarda watches this, and wonders why. She's been going through a lot emotionally since 616-Hyperion killed her husband. She had a void in her heart, and 616-Hyperion was only too happy to fill it.
She admits to herself she was angry with the "main" Hyperion for killing off 616-Hyperion, but then realized she only fell for 616 because she thought he was 712. Yeah, I apologize for this. Multiverses can be a pain sometimes. Decibel's procedure is finished, but it'll be a couple of days before he and Hyperion know for sure it's a success.
Meanwhile, one of the Squadron members is looking at footage of a battle.
In the past, the Grandmaster played one of his cosmic games with the Scarlet Centurion, which was the origin of the Institute of Evil. And you may notice that Skymax, the Skrullian Skymaster, appears in the panel. Yeah, my bad. I did say he only made one flashback appearance in this mini, I missed this. I goofed. Sorry about that.
Anyway, Foxfire gets to the part of the footage showing her engaging Nighthawk in battle. Foxfire notes the tape states that Nighthawk was easily able to beat her with his fighting skills. She scoffs at this, saying he beat her through luck. Nice little subtle bit of deconstruction here. In reality, some heroes probably would embellish their battles a little. She has the holo-library pull of a file on her, and it's not much.
There is a bit of a missed opportunity here with Foxfire. Much like the other Institute of Evil members, we never really get to learn her origin. It would have been neat to learn more about how they came to be who they were in this mini. I get why, they're not the focus of the story, but it still would have been neat to learn their origins. I personally imagine that like Earth-616, Earth-712 may have mutants, but I that world, they are much more rare. Foxfire may be one of those mutants. It has been established that Earth-712 doesn't have as many native superhumans as Earth-616, so maybe there aren't as many mutants.
Also, look at her. You can not tell me Foxfire was not inspired by Grace Jones. This was the mid-80s. A View to a Kill was out in theaters. This was her heyday. Anyway, Foxfire looks up information on the Scarlet Centurion.
How'd they get those mugshots of him? Fun fact, he's another version of Kang the Conqueror. An energy beam covers her eyes as she's learning about him, and she fights back. However, she stands down when she realizes that it was Doctor Spectrum. Spectrum has come to ask her to join in a poker game he's starting in an effort to fight off some Sunday boredom. Foxfire responds with a bit of flirting.
There's something rather...unnerving abut this whole thing. Keep in mind, Foxfire was a former villainess who was B-Modded to be a hero. Despite Tom Thumb's reassurances, it has been shown that yes, the B-Modding does affect her free will a bit. In the hospital complex, Blue Eagle goes to visit Quagmire, who is lying comatose in his bed.
Eagle recalls how he was hard on the former villain because he was different, and his regrets over not helping Quagmire rescue a group of people from a gas leak, resulting in him taking massive doses of a tranquilizer gas. He's hoping that Quagmire pulls out so he can make things right. On a tennis court, Whizzer and Lamprey are having a super-fast tennis match.
It's revealed that Whizzer allowed Lamprey to leech off a small amount of his power so Lamprey can play at Whizzer's level. This match is being watched by Maddy, Arcanna, and Phil Jones. Maddy Stewart reveals that Whizzer is a fan of tennis, but wasn't able to play with anyone after gaining his superspeed. Phil says he's going to check on the children, and finds the Jones children playing with Shape.
Phil asks Shape if the kids are hurting him, but he doesn't mind. He loves playing with the kids. Shape himself is rather child-like in mind. It can be argued that he has a mental disability of some kind. And he was likely B-Modded like the rest of the Institute of Evil. Yeah. The Squadron screwed with the head of a mentally disabled man. Let that sink in. We next go to the lab.
Ape-X and Tom Thumb are working on a device known as a Hibernaculum. Evidently it's meant to be used to put sick people in suspension until a way can be found to heal them. Ape-X is really enjoying working with Tom Thumb, and finds herself wishing she was human, so she could start something with him. It's a neat little hint of Ape-X's past, hinting she was always a gorilla. I wonder if Ape-X was a nod to Gorilla Grodd. Anyway, Thumb has a coughing fit, and leaves, saying he's going to get some cough syrup.
In Thumb's office, Aida the computer encourages Thumb to tell someone about his illness. Thumb refuses, saying if he couldn't find a cure for his cancer, nobody else in the Squadron could. He also doesn't want to be looked at with pity. It does tie into the self-esteem issues Thumb was shown to have in earlier issues. My guess is his bitterness towards his being overlooked is also causing him to keep quiet. He tells Aida that he's going to take a nap, and to wake him up in a half-hour.
As Thumb sleeps, Aida puzzles over what to do next. As Tom's computer, she is programmed to follow his commands. However, Tom needs help. If he doesn't, he'll die. Despite that disobeying Tom's command could damage her systems, Aida decides to tell Ape-X about his illness.
Out on the Apache Mountain Range, which is in...I don't know, Nighthawk and his crew are flying in a helicopter. The magical trinket that Professor Imam gave Nighthawk in Captain America #314 is indicating there is someone they can recruit nearby.
I like the bit of banter between Mink and Remnant. Helps give the impression the two of them were old friends. Nighthawk and Remnant use Remnant's magic carpet to fly down and investigate. And they find their man.
Back in Squadron City's lab complex, Ape-X wakes Tom up from his nap. She explains that she knows Tom is very ill, and he's shocked by this. She says that he should have told her and they could have found a way to help him. Tom explains that he tried. He tried everything, but there's no way to beat this. He's going to die. He even recalls when he attempted to bargain with the Scarlet Centurion for a cure, saying he refused when Centurion demanded that in exchange, he wanted Tom to poison the rest of the Squadron.
Ape-X asks why Tom didn't just, well...steal the Panacea Potion. Tom explains that it would be wrong. Ape-X counters that it's wrong to just give up and let his cancer kill him if there's a way to save his life. Tom suffers a bit of a crisis. He doesn't want to die, but he can't break his moral code, even if it is to save his life. She suggests that he...borrows the Panacea Potion. When he has it, he can analyze it, return it, and make his own. She reasons it's no different than borrowing a book from the library. It will be returned, so Tom wouldn't have stolen it.
Tom reluctantly agrees, and asks Ape-X if she'll help him. She can't because of the B-Modding. This is another problem with the B-Mod process. It doesn't allow for complex moral problems like this. She then suggests another idea as Tom doesn't want to involve his old Squadron friends in this, so she suggests another idea.
Later, Ape-X brings in Lamprey. Thumb equips him with a time-traveling harness. He then lies to Lamprey that the Scarlet Centurion stole something from the Squadron, and they're going to travel to his time to get it back. Tom laments his having to lie to Lamprey, but his B-Modding would make Lamprey not help him if he was told he was going to steal something. With Aida and Ape-X's help, Lamprey and Tom Thumb arrive to the future ruled by the Scarlet Centurion.
The two search for a hospital or something like it in the air. A pair of flying drones spot the two and engage them. One of the "rovers" blasts Lamprey with an energy beam, which Lamprey absorbs thanks to his powers. He uses his charge to blast them out of the sky. The two then find themselves near the Centurion's citadel.
Back in the 1980s Squadron City, Hyperion is recovering from Decibel's treatment, and doing some thinking. He's wondering if his losing his sight is some form of punishment. Punishment for his killing his 616-counterpart and destroying Presidents' Mountain during that battle. He remarks he never let himself go so wild with his powers before. To be fair, he probably never faced a foe that could match him in raw power. It wasn't like 616-Hyperion was some stereotypical "90-pound weakling". Zarda comes by to visit.
Zarda explains that she has been very busy with running the Squadron, hence why she hasn't been able to visit him lately. Hyperion compliments her on her hard work and tells her if she still wants to lead the Squadron when he gets his sight back, it's fine by him. That's awful nice of him. However, Zarda has something else in mind. She had fallen for the 616-Hyperion, thinking he was the 712 one. 616 may be dead, but her feelings for him have not gone away. Hyperion is shocked by this, as he's always had the utmost respect and admiration for Zarda, but...
Yeah, Zarda. Just force a kiss on the guy. Back in the 41st century, Tom Thumb and Lamprey look around for the Panacea Potion. They find a worker, who is able to converse with them. He explains that 20th Century American English is required learning among certain people in the Centurion's time. This series is known for deconstructing superheroes, but this is a nice bit of subtle reconstruction. Despite being from the far future, the Scarlet Centurion was able to converse with the Squadron in 20th century English. It makes sense language would have evolved in the large time gap, and this little bit explains how that gap was bridged. Clever.
The worker points out where the Potion is kept. They run inside, but find the place full of various potions. Which one is the right one?
We whip back to Nighthawk's crew in the 1980s. Remnant is making a costume for Redstone, their new recruit.
Well, that outfit is certainly...something. It was the 80s, this was stylish then. I'm guessing Lamprey thought it would be funny to give him a red suit because his name is Redstone. The group's Power Pyramid glows, revealing that their next recruit is nearby. It's a real shame we never get to see what Redstone looked like without his mask. It looks like it was a deliberate decision. I also heard that this version of Redstone is supposed to be Native American. Neat. Not many Native American characters in comics. I've also heard he's supposed to be a pastiche of possibly Geo-Force and Steel.
Back in the 41st century (seriously, this comic bounces back and forth like a child in a bouncy castle), Tom Thumb and Lamprey find the Panacea Potion.
Some guards rush in, and Lamprey fights them off. However, the battle destroys all the containers of Panacea Potion except the one in Tom Thumb's hands, as he kept it with him in his personal forcefield. Tom realizes that he hold the very last of the Panacea Potion. He does consider that more can be made, which is something I'm thinking myself, but he wonders...what if people in this time need the potion at the moment? If they steal this potion, it could doom those people.
Tom decides that since he's gone this far, might as well just take the Potion, anyway. He and Lamprey return home, much to the amusement of the Scarlet Centurion.
He tells his guards there's no need to pursue Thumb and Lamprey to the 80s, as his fate is known to him...and Thumb's fate is sealed. Back in the Squadron City labs, Tom analyzes the Panacea Potion...and is shocked by what this supposed "cure-all" actually is.
It's just penicillin and vitamins. Yeah. The people of the 41st century have bodies that been so perfected thanks to eugenics that if they ever do get sick, they just take some vitamins, maybe get some bed rest, and they're good. I just wonder if chicken soup was rendered obsolete...or maybe it's made with super-chickens. They're like regular chickens, but stronger. They peck like a mother.
All the compromising of his beliefs and values Tom did, and it was all for nothing. All for a "Panacea Potion" that would not help him at all. A despondent Tom decides to return the Potion, and the comic ends with a somber final panel.
The resident scientific genius of the Squadron dying in his lab. Something...appropriate about that.
This was an amazing comic. It's one of the strongest showings of the morality theme that Gruenwald liked to explore in his work. In a way, we've seen the Squadron Supreme subtly compromise their morals over the course of this miniseries, with their taking over the United States and their programs to help others. Tom's story here is kind of a microcosm of the whole miniseries, in a way. To save himself, he compromised on his beliefs, and it cost him.
And even better, this story was backed up by some great art. Paul Ryan does some fantastic work in this issue. The characters are expressive, it's detailed, and it's just a joy to look at. It does make me wish he could have done the entire miniseries. Can you imagine the entire miniseries looking like this? It would have been incredible. That's the ultimate tragedy of this miniseries, the lack of a consistent artist.
Next time, we'll take a look at a hero who I think never had any solo adventures covered in this blog. That's right, the Dark Knight is coming, and he'll be dealing with the Beginning of Tomorrow...
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