12 issues. One year. Once a month throughout the year, I looked at an issue of an obscure Marvel miniseries that deconstructed the concept of the superhero before Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons did with a bunch of Charlton Comics pastiches. Yes, I'm talking about the miniseries that was hailed as the late Mark Gruenwald's masterpiece, his magnum opus, his ultimate creation:
Squadron Supreme.
Before this mini, the Squadron were a group of characters meant to pastiche/homage the Justice League of America. But Mark Gruenwald had taken these characters and turned into an examination of the superhero concept, which has sadly become forgotten. That was why I did these reviews, to call attention to it. This was doing it before
Watchmen made it cool. As such, I thought it deserved attention, and a place in superhero history.
Previously on Squadron Supreme: The Squadron have a training session, while Nighthawk plots. His attempt to rescue and restore the former surviving Institute of Evil members to their regular selves causes them to be caught by Blue Eagle. Nighthawk is forced to use the B-Mod device on his former compatriot, leaving him wondering if he has already lost his battle against the Squadron.
And with that out of the way, let's take a look at the final issue of
Squadron Supreme!
The cover is awesome. It really is. The Squadron surrounded on all sides by Nighthawk's America Redeemers. The Redeemers are drawn more aggressively, as if they are
itching to get their hands on the Squadron. I love this cover so much.
"The Dregs of Victory"
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciler: Paul Ryan
Inker: Sam De La Rosa
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Christie Scheele
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
The story begins with Foxfire getting her B-Modding undone.
After it's done, Nighthawk introduces Foxfire to everyone. Interestingly, Mink is rather chilly towards her. It's an odd thing. It would have been nice to hint that they knew each other. Wasted opportunity there. Foxfire asks why Nighthawk is doing this, and he recaps his own adventures. He asks if Foxfire is willing to help him stop the Squadron, and she agrees.
Nighthawk tells Lamprey to take her back to the Squadron, and act like they're still B-Modded. When they leave, the Dark Crusader thanks Master Menace for his help. The brilliant supervillain goes on his own way, having no desire to join a "mob that fancies itself an army". Nighthawk hopes that this can be resolved without violence. Menace mocks this, saying the Squadron will fight this threat to their Utopia to the bitter end.
Menace suggests that the Redeemers go with his plan and B-Mod the Squadron
to force them to end the Utopia Program. An enraged Nighthawk refuses, saying that B-Modding a person is evil, and the Redeemers would be no better than the Squadron if they used the B-Mod machine. Menace points out that he himself is "corrupt" by the moral standards of most people.
Remnant agrees with Menace, saying it would save a lot of hassle. Mink also points out that they already B-Modded Blue Eagle. Pinball adds if Blue Eagle's B-Modding can be justified, so can doing it to the rest of the Squadron. Nighthawk still refuses, saying he regrets what was done to Eagle. Archer is on his side on this, as he made that mistake, and refuses to do it again. Menace leaves, telling them Nighthawk knows how to reach him if his mind is changed. Nighthawk asks Pinball, Remnant, and Mink if they are leaving too, but they stay.
Lamprey and Foxfire are heading back to Squadron City. Lamprey is ranting about how he's going to make the Squadron pay for what they did to him, but Foxfire is too lost in her own thoughts.
Foxfire is a bit conflicted. You see, much like the Thunderbolts of the main Marvel Universe after her, Foxfire has rather grown to...like being a superhero. She is aware that she should be angry at the Squadron for violating her mind, but she has actually started to like the idea of being one of the good guys. This is shown when she's pointed out a shootout in progress. Lamprey convinces her that they don't need to play superhero right now, and the Squadron isn't going to notice they missed it.
In Squadron City, Doctor Spectrum is enjoying breakfast with the Whizzer and his family. It's a nice little moment. I love nice little moments like this. It really underlines the humanity underneath the costumes.
I love that bit. I just had to include it. I can't blame Doctor Spectrum for wanting more pancakes. I love pancakes. Maddy then brings up Foxfire by asking if seeing Whizzer with his family makes him want to settle down. Spectrum has been seeing Foxfire for about a month now, but she doesn't seem like the pancake-making type to him. He's jut going to see how things go with the two of them.
The scene then shifts to Squadron City's hospital, where Ape-X has been, completely catatonic. Shape wonders why she is this way. He believes that she is just sad.
This scene really shows a lot about Shape. It gives the idea that he wasn't really outright evil, just a lonely man who just wanted friends. And based on this panel here, maybe it can be assumed that Ape-X was the one who found him and brought him into the criminal life. Shape expresses his confusion over the B-Modding to Ape-X, as it has left him wondering who his friends are after this whole thing. Moonglow, have decided to keep an eye on Shape, uses her powers to create an illusion of Ape-X, who advises Shape that that Squadron are not to be trusted. Moonglow mentally grumbles that messing with Shape's mind is risky, and we do get some confirmation that Shape is mentally handicapped. Yeah, the Squadron screwed with a mentally handicapped man's mind.
Elsewhere in the hospital complex, Arcanna is getting her checkup, and she's just about ready to pop. Arcanna asks if it's alright to travel, as she has business in Capitol City, but the midwife doesn't recommend it. Arcanna's going to do it anyway, considering how cavalier she has been with her pregnancy. It's a miracle her last three kids made it to term.
On the Squadron airfield, Redstone is carrying a large tube. Blue Eagle offers to help, but Redstone has it handled. Redstone finds this odd, as Blue Eagle has never been this friendly towards him or any of the other new recruits. Evidently, he wasn't made aware that Blue Eagle was B-Modded. The tube that Redstone is carrying to a flying craft is revealed to be carrying Tom Thumb's corpse. The tube is a cryogenic one. He was put in it in the hopes that one day, his cancer can be cured, and he can live again.
We next go to the Squadron dorms, where two of the new recruits, Inertia and Haywire, are making out in a hot tub. Inertia wonders why Haywire seems so nervous. You see, Haywire is new to the whole costumed crusader thing, and he's nervous about the upcoming fight with the Squadron. Inertia reassures him that the Squadron won't be trying to kill anyone. Haywire also remarks that he's nervous about betraying the Squadron as he's had some fun during his time with them, and if it weren't for them, he and Inertia wouldn't have met. Inertia understands his feelings, but they volunteered to stop the Squadron because they knew their actions were wrong. The conversation is interrupted by the water in the tub suddenly freezing into ice. The perpetrator is the prankster called Thermite.
Haywire goes after him, firing his tanglewire, and Inertia is trying to get him to back off. Thermite's powers have messed his body up, and he needs to stay in his special suit to keep them under control. He plays pranks as a way to keep himself sane. Thermite is a rather tragic character in this way, and it's a shame this wasn't explored more.
In Capitol City, Power Princess and Hyperion are addressing the White House. They are announcing that as they promised one year earlier in issue one, they will step down from their regulatory authority, except for maintenance of the Utopian program tech, and law enforcement. In a funny moment, two of the Cabinet talk about one winning a bet, and the other grumbles that as Secretary of Defense, he's not going to have a lot to do.
Hyperion compliments Zarda on her speech, and the two fly off together. The two decide to kill some time by doing some flying. Hyperion is feeling pretty good. The two talk about their relationship, which leads to a revelation about Hyperion. His whole life, like the superhero he was created to be a pastiche of, Hyperion assumed he was an alien being. However, thanks to some analysis of his tissues done during his eye surgery, it turns out...Hyperion is human. Yeah. He's an
advanced human, but Earth-made all along. Could he be from the Scarlet Centurion's time? That time did establish that eugenics were a thing. Maybe Hyperion was the penultimate goal of it. Well, the world may never know. Zarda is overjoyed at this revelation as it means...they could have kids one day. Maybe they'll name that kid
Aiko, or something like that.
Two hours later, the gathered Squadron make a speech at a new building near the White House. Hyperion speaks of all the accomplishments that the Squadron had made this past year, and of the price they paid for it. Hyperion speaks of the reduction in crime and disease, and a new announcement. The building the Squadron are speaking in front of? This is the Hibernacle. And Tom Thumb will be its first resident.
Zarda takes up the podium next, where she talks about the Hibernacle to a growing crowd. However the crowd is shown to be angry, and protesting the Hibernacle.
This scene honestly confused me a little bit at first. I do get the purpose of it. It's to show that people are growing unhappy with the Squadron's imposed Utopia, but why are they protesting something that could help save their loved ones? It did confuse me at first, but looking back at it, I think the protests are over the idea that they won't get to
decide whether to put an ill person in the Hibernacle. Zarda tries to reassure the crowd that participation is purely voluntary.
In the crowd, there is another person.
It's Lady Lark! Yup, Lady Lark is back! Still suffering under the effects of the B-Mod machine. Archer had ditched her the first chance he got, and she's been looking for him since. Okay, let's get this clear. Archer is with a bunch of people who have a machine that can safely reverse the B-Mod device's effects. And he never told the Redeemers that Lady Lark is still out there so they could find her and undo the B-Modding? Yeah, Archer's a jerk. I get the idea that he does want to redeem himself, but if you knew of a way Lark's B-Modding could be undone, why not do it? Archer's a jerk and an idiot.
As he and the rest of the Redeemers fly towards Squadron City, Nighthawk ponders what will happen next. He fears their confrontation will lead to violence. He also wonders...what if the Squadron will fight to the death to save their Utopia. It's an understandable fear, as the Squadron worked on this for a full year. One can assume they would want to protect their work, despite their fulfilling their agreement to give up power over the country.
A couple of hours later, the Squadron arrives in their city, and see Nighthawk's helicopter. And for the first time in a year, Nighthawk and Hyperion stand face to face. The America Redeemers meet the Squadron Supreme for the first, and only time.
Nighthawk demands that the Squadron peacefully surrender. Hyperion is amused by this, but Zarda points out that the Squadron outnumber the Redeemers fourteen-to-five. Nighthawk pulls out his trump card, asking his spies to join them. And all of the Squadron's new recruits reveal themselves to be secretly Redeemers. The remaining members of the Squadron react in various ways.
I love how each of those reactions help illustrate their characters. Hyperion is shocked, but does show respect for Nighthawk's strategic skills. Zarda isn't intimidated and vows to fight. Doc Spectrum is shocked that Fox is with the Redeemers, and wonders if their relationship was real. Whizzer is scared, and wants to run...but is still haunted by the events of
issue five. Blue Eagle is furious. And Arcanna wants to get out of there as she is about to go into labor.
Tensions rise between the two groups as Nighthawk threatens to use force to make the Squadron surrender, but Hyperion tries to convince his old teammate and friend that the Utopia Program has done a lot of good. Nighthawk said it's not worth putting America under Squadron control. Lamprey and Blue Eagle are all-too-eager to beat the holy bejesus out of each other.
Doctor Spectrum tries to avoid a fight by secretly using his Power Prism to restrain the Redeemers, but...it doesn't help.
The big fight Nighthawk feared breaks out. Blue Eagle nails Lamprey, while Whizzer knocks down Black Archer. Whizzer then goes for Pinball, but Inertia uses her power to transfer kinetic energy to make Whizzer stop and knock back Power Princess. I like Inertia's power, it's a rather unique one. I can get why we don't see a power like this in comics more often, it can be hard to explain.
Hyperion pleads with Nighthawk to call off the Redeemers before someone gets hurt. However, Nighthawk tells him that this whole mess is Hyperion's fault, and it can only be stopped by the Squadron surrendering. Hyperion refuses, saying the Utopia Program is popular, and it's the best thing he was ever a part of. Nighthawk retorts that the Squadron are out of touch, and that many people hate the program. This part is nice because it shows that Hyperion does genuinely like and respect Nighthawk. However, before things can go any further, Redstone ambushes Hyperion, punching him into a jet. The ambush knocks off Hyperion's glasses, rendering him blind.
Lamprey goes to leech off the Superman analogue's power, but Hyperion makes him eat a metal panel. Mink goes after Arcanna, wanting to impale her with her claws. Arcanna tries to flee, despite her being heavily pregnant. Thermite tries to freeze Whizzer with a freeze blast, but the speedster managed to dodge it. However, Haywire is able to snag the speedster with his tanglewire. Unfortunately, the momentum from his speed causes Whiizer to tumble forward into Thermite, and the speedster accidentally breaks Thermite's suit's regulator pack. Without it, Thermite loses control of his powers.
Thermite has become the first casualty of this fight. He's not going to be the last. Mink pursues Arcanna, with Foxfire trying to stop her. Arcanna sends them both flying with a magical spell, but then encounters Moonglow. Moonglow uses her illusion-casting power to make Arcanna feel like she is being crushed by increased gravity, but then the sorceress goes into labor.
Yeah, because Arcanna was intent on staying on active duty despite her pregnancy and using her own powers to hide it, Moonglow is now left wondering if Arcanna is trying to trick her. Arcanna is a jackwagon. Hyperion tries to punch Redstone, but finds his blows can't seem to connect. Inertia is using her power to take the kinetic force from those blows to use on Power Princess. Doctor Spectrum wakes up (He was KO'd by Zarda thanks to Inertia earlier), wakes up and sees this. For a brief moment, he gets over his reluctance to fight and blasts Inertia with his Power Prism. He goes to help Blue Eagle, who is dealing with Remnant, but is stopped by an explosive arrow. The former Golden Archer, now the Black Archer, faces off against his former friend.
Spectrum pleads with the Archer to stop this, as they were friends. However, Archer wants to redeem himself, and he feels the only way to do that is to take down the Squadron. Archer reluctantly fires an arrow. Spectrum prepares to fight back, but freezes up in fear he'll accidentally kill the Black Archer. The arrow hits his Power Prism, shattering it. Spectrum's body turns solid white, and he falls to the ground. A horrified Archer manages to catch him. Blue Eagle witnesses this, and is enraged. He then smashes the Archer upside the head with his mace. Yeah, that'll hurt. Satisfied, he decides to go after Nighthawk, who he calls "another traitor".
Shape tries to stop Moonglow from harming Arcanna, because he likes playing with her children. Arcanna takes advantage of the distraction to crawl away from Moonglow. She then is able to down the illusion-caster with one punch. Arcanna pleads Shape to get her to the hospital as she's about to have her baby. As he leaves with her, Shape notices that Moonglow's appearance has changed as well.
Moonglow is really a frumpy housewife. It actually does make sense when you think about it. If some people had the power to create illusions, they would use to make themselves appear more handsome or beautiful. Lamprey recovers from his steel plate tasting session (He did not like the taste of steel plate. Not enough body and a bit too nutty for him), and finds that Hyperion is being restrained by Redstone. Hyperion is shocked by this, as he never expected Redstone to actually be that powerful. Lamprey is able to leech Hyperion's power, and Nighthawk tells Redstone to take him to the chopper.
A horrified Foxfire pleads with Joe to not die, as she really loves him, and she doesn't want him to die thinking that she betrayed him. Much to her joy, he's alright. Lamprey, powered up by Hyperion's energy, engages Blue Eagle, who is just as eager to break some bones. The metahuman menace manages to drain the energy from the Hawkman analogue's wings. Eagle starts to drop, and he tries to glide to the ground. He spots an unconscious Pinball, and tries to land on him, as he's the only soft thing in the area. It doesn't go well.
The landing breaks Blue Eagle's neck, and crushes Pinball's spine, killing them both. The battle goes to a lull. Nighthawk remarks about the loss of life in this battle, saying that as horrible as it was, it would be even worse if he didn't stand up to the Squadron. Nighthawk tells the downed and weakened Hyperion (after giving back his glasses), that they'll find a way to keep the Squadron away from society and phase out the Utopia Program. He then says they'll restore the world the way it was before the Utopia Program.
Foxfire tells Spectrum that the Squadron made an honest woman out of her, and she's going to make them proud by giving them the win in this battle. Spectrum wants to stop her, but is unable to. Meanwhile, Nighthawk explains that morality aside, there still is one big problem with the Squadron's Utopia...
Yup. The Squadron had good intentions with the Utopia Program. But they aren't going to be around forever. Not even Hyperion. And no one can be sure that future generations will have the same intentions. It's very easy to corrupt the Utopia Program into real tyranny. As far as Nighthawk is concerned, that's too much of a risk to take. Again, I love the way Hyperion and Nighthawk's interactions are written in this issue. The two still see each other as friends and comrades after all of this.
Foxfire runs to Nighthawk, saying that the only way to win Spectrum's heart...is to rot his. She uses her powers to make Nighthawk have a massive, and fatal, heart attack, much to the horror of Hyperion, and Spectrum. A furious Mink then impales Foxfire in the chest with her claws. Spectrum screams in horror, causing his body to emit a blast of energy that knocks back Mink. Spectrum realizes that because the fragments of his Power Prism are in his body, he still can access its power.
Spectrum tries to get Foxfire to the hospital. Lamprey tries to leech off Spectrum, and the angry Green Lantern analogue gives him all the power he can handle...power enough to make him explode.
Hyperion looks over Nighthawk's body, and states that the Squadron surrenders. Later, at the Squadron City Hospital, the survivors of the battle are at the morgue, with the bodies of those who have died. Nighthawk by heart attack. Foxfire by massive blood loss. Blue Eagle by broken neck. Pinball by broken spine. Black Archer from head trauma. Thermite is in critical condition, but there's only a ten percent chance of him recovering. And as for Lamprey...they haven't found all the pieces of him yet.
Hyperion states that he now realizes what Nighthawk was trying to tell him. That their Utopia was precarious, and too dangerous to society. As such, he moves to disband the Squadron, and dismantle the Utopia Program. But the story doesn't end on a completely dark note. Elsewhere in the Hospital, Shape and Arcanna's children witness the successful birth of Arcanna's fourth child.
Meet Benjamin Thomas Jones, inheritor of the future. And hopefully, proof that a wiser, brighter world would arise from the mistakes of the Squadron.
This issue was awesome. The final battle is the focus, and it's a nasty, brutal one. I think it's honestly a bit more brutal than other such fights in Big Two comics at the time. In a way, I think this miniseries addressed a criticism I have heard of superheroes: Their maintaining the "status quo" and not actually doing anything to change things. When I hear that, I do think of this miniseries. There is a reason for that, and this miniseries shows exactly why.
Paul Ryan's art is spectacular, and it really makes me sad he wasn't doing the whole miniseries. One of my only other real complaints is that we don't really get the new recruits explored that much. Nor do we get the Institute of Evil explored that much. It's a bit of a shame, as they fascinate me, and I would have
loved to learn more about their backgrounds and origins. I think it would have given some depth to their character, like the setting up Mink killing Foxfire.
Despite that, this mini is a classic, and you should read it. If you find it somewhere, pick it up. Give it its due. Enjoy it. Wherever they are now, I'm sure that Mark Gruenwald and Paul Ryan would appreciate it, and I hope I did them proud with this look at this work.
So, why did Squadron Supreme end up obscure while other works that deconstructed superheroes like Watchmen end up iconic? Well, I got a couple reasons...
1. Not set in the Mainline Marvel Universe
This miniseries was obviously not set in the main Marvel Universe. The closest they came to interacting with any mainline Marvel characters was the tie-in with Captain America, and that was because Gruenwald was writing that book at the time, too. This mini was set in an alternate timeline that only appeared in a few issues of Avengers and a couple issues of Defenders, so probably Marvel didn't think it was worth heavily promoting. Heck, I can imagine that Gruenwald had to have some editorial pull just to make this thing. And speaking of mainline versions of characters...
2. Crisis on Infinite Earths
Yup. Crisis helped keep this obscure. Keep in mind, Squadron Supreme was hitting newsstand shelves at around the same time Crisis on Infinite Earths was. And it would make sense Crisis would get more attention from comic readers. It was a big epic storyline featuring almost every superhero in the DC Universe, fighting probably the most powerful threat they ever faced, and it was an event celebrating DC's 50th Anniversary. Squadron Supreme is a great mini in its own right, but when it came to epic scope and celebration, it was no Crisis.
So, whatever happened to the Squadron Supreme? Did they have any further adventures? Well, Mark Gruenwald did write a sequel, Death of a Universe. It focused on the remaining Squadron members fighting a massive Crisis-esque threat to their universe called the Nth Man, and as a result, ended up marooned in the main Marvel Universe for a while. I haven't read this story, so I can't give my thoughts on it.
They would return home, and find their world had been conquered by a Global Directorate using old Squadron Utopian technology in the events of New World Order. They would get the aid of the second Nighthawk, the son of the original to overthrow the Directorate. Like DoaU, I haven't read this either, so I can't give my thoughts on it.
Sadly, most of this version of the Squadron are now gone, their universe destroyed during the events of the 2015 Secret Wars storyline. But with the Richards family out restoring the Multiverse, there is hope for their return.
With that all said, I hope you all enjoyed the journey of this forgotten group over the year. I certainly have enjoyed chronicling it. Next time, we're going to look at the original return of a certain red-haired merry mutant...
