Squadron Supreme
The Squadron Supreme is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, of which there are several notable alternate versions. The original team was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, derived from the previously created supervillain team Squadron Sinister.
The core members of the Squadron Supreme are Hyperion, Nighthawk, Doctor Spectrum, Power Princess, and the Whizzer, pastiches of prominent members of rival publisher DC Comics' superhero team the Justice League. Many other characters were later added to the roster, not all of which were based on DC heroes.
Publication history
The Squadron Supreme has its roots in the Squadron Sinister, which first appeared in The Avengers #69 as a pastiche of the Justice League. Roy Thomas later introduced a heroic version of the Squadron Sinister named the Squadron Supreme, which first appeared in The Avengers #85–86, and which was co-created with John Buscema. The team then had guest appearances on several more occasions, and in 1985 was featured in a self-titled twelve-issue limited series by Mark Gruenwald, followed in 1989 by a graphic novel sequel by Gruenwald, Ryan and inker Al Williamson, Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe, in which the Nth Man serves as the main antagonist.In 2003, a reimagined Squadron Supreme appeared in an ongoing series entitled Supreme Power, published under the mature-audience MAX imprint. This version was created by writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Gary Frank.
Yet another Squadron Supreme was introduced in 2015, written by James Robinson and drawn by Leonard Kirk. Unlike the previous teams, which had appeared in alternate realities, this team was based in Marvel's main "Earth-616" reality, although the team members were from a variety of alternate universes that had been destroyed in the aftermath of the 2015 Secret Wars event.
Another version of the Squadron Supreme, set in the Marvel Universe, was introduced by Jason Aaron in The Avengers vol. 8. The Squadron, created by Mephisto and led by Phil Coulson, acts as the US government's sanctioned superhero team in place of the Avengers. This version of the team is the focus of the Heroes Reborn storyline, where reality is overwritten so that the Avengers were never formed and the Squadron Supreme are Earth's premier superhero team instead.
Fictional history
Earth-712 version
The Squadron Supreme are first encountered by four members of the Avengers – the Vision, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch and Goliath – who have arrived in the Earth-712 universe by mistake. The Avengers are initially confused, since several members of the Squadron Supreme have identical names and powers to the Squadron Sinister, a group of previously encountered villains. After a brief battle, the Avengers assist the Squadron Supreme against the global threat posed by the mutant Brain-Child, before returning to their own universe. The Squadron Supreme have another series of skirmishes with the Avengers engineered by the group the Serpent Cartel, but eventually they join forces and prevent the use of the Serpent Crown.The team features briefly in the title Thor, when the evil version of Hyperion attacks the Earth-712 version and then the Earth-616 Thor. The Squadron appear in the title The Defenders as mind-controlled pawns of the entities the Over-Mind and Null the Living Darkness, but are freed and aid the Defenders in defeating the villains. Earth-712, however, is left in a post-apocalyptic state.
The Squadron Supreme were next featured in a self-titled 12-issue limited series by writer Mark Gruenwald, which picks up from where Earth-712 was last seen in The Defenders #114. The Squadron, led by Hyperion, believe they have the knowledge and power to recreate the world and create a utopia. Nighthawk protests, believing that the Squadron should serve and not rule. The issue is put to a vote, with the so-called "Utopia Program" favored by the majority of the Squadron; Nighthawk, unable to agree with the decision in clear conscience, resigns from the team. The Squadron assume overall control of the government of the United States and remake the nation into a virtual utopia. The team implement a series of sweeping changes, including revealing their secret identities; instituting a program of behavior modification in prisons where inmates are forced to submit to a process that mentally inhibits their criminal instincts; enforcing a strict gun control policy; and developing medical technology to cryogenically preserve the dead, while opposed by the future dictator of mankind Victorex Prime, serving as the main antagonist.
Despite the economic and technological advances, there are setbacks: the Golden Archer abuses the behavior modification technology by forcing fellow member Lady Lark to love him, resulting in his eventual removal from the team; the Amphibian becomes increasingly disgusted with the Squadron's methods and abandons the surface world altogether; Nuke inadvertently kills his parents via unnoticed and uncontrollable release of radiation and dies while battling Doctor Spectrum during a rampage; and Tom Thumb discovers he has cancer but chooses not to inform his teammates, eventually succumbing to the disease.
At one point, the team is attacked by the Institute of Evil on the behalf of Victorex Prime. The Squadron ultimately defeats the Institute and uses the behavior modification technology to reform them, adding the former supervillains as members. Three of them die or are incapacitated.
In the meantime, Nighthawk forms a new team he calls the America Redeemers, recruiting former villains and several previously unknown superhumans. The later infiltrate the Squadron and kidnap the surviving Institute members to reverse the behavior modification on them. Despite mixed feelings on the parts of several of the Institute members, they too join the Redeemers. Former Squadron member the Golden Archer also joins.
Eventually, the Redeemers confront the Squadron Supreme. A brutal battle ensues in which several members of both teams are killed, including Nighthawk. A horrified Hyperion realizes that Nighthawk was right: the Squadron, despite having good intentions, had inadvertently created a totalitarian state with themselves as its dictators. The Squadron surrenders, disbands and returns control of the United States to the government.
In a graphic novel sequel by Gruenwald, Ryan and inker Al Williamson, Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe, remnants of the team and their former enemies reunite to battle the Nth Man. Although they succeed, several members of the Squadron are killed, with the remainder stranded in the mainstream Marvel universe.
The Squadron encounter the hero Quasar, and relocate to the government facility Project Pegasus. After another encounter with the Overmind and a visit to the laboratory world of the Stranger, the Squadron attempt unsuccessfully to return to their own universe and members Hyperion, Doctor Spectrum and the Whizzer battle the entity Deathurge.
The entire Squadron Supreme appear in an Avengers storyline with the Avengers that finally returns them to their home universe. The one-shot issue Squadron Supreme: New World Order reveals that Earth-712 is now dominated by corporations using the Squadron's own utopia technologies.
The Squadron come into conflict with a new government when an interdimensional team called the Exiles, traveling from the Earth-616 universe, reveal that the government had rigged the election through worldwide vote fraud. The Squadron and the Exiles depose the new government and attempt to allow society to progress without superhuman involvement.
Earth-31916 version
''Supreme Power''
The series Supreme Power features the rebooted version of the superhero team Squadron Supreme and is set on Earth-31916.Alien Hyperion arrives on Earth as an infant, and is taken into custody by the US government and raised in a controlled environment. Army Corporal Joseph Ledger is given a strange crystal removed from Hyperion's spaceship by the government that bonds to him, causing him to fall into a coma for years.
Discovering Hyperion has superhuman abilities, the government uses him as a secret weapon, and is eventually outed by the media. The government then announces and introduces Hyperion as a state-sponsored hero, which encourages other beings to appear, such as the Blur, who can move at superspeed. Ledger awakens and, harnessing the energy powers of the crystal, becomes Doctor Spectrum. Hyperion and Spectrum are initially hostile to one another and they battle, with Hyperion accessing lost memories when coming in contact with Spectrum's crystal. The Amphibian is seen on dry land for the first time, and Princess Zarda heals Hyperion after his battle. Nighthawk solicits the aid of Hyperion and the Blur to deal with a superpowered serial killer, who Hyperion now knows is actually the product of experimentation with his DNA.
Although successful, Hyperion is outraged by the government exploitation and leaves, warning that he has no wish to be contacted by humankind again. The government gathers the remaining superhumans into a team to capture Hyperion.
The story continues in the limited series Supreme Power: Hyperion with new Squadron members Emil Burbank, Arcanna, the Shape and Nuke tracking Hyperion to what they believe is an alternate reality. In this world, Hyperion and a version of the Squadron rule the world, with only Nighthawk and a small group of superhumans opposing their rule. Although the heroes locate the true Hyperion and convince him to return to their world, Burbank discovers that it was, in fact, not an alternate reality but their world two years from the present time.
Second ''Squadron Supreme'' title
The second volume of the series Squadron Supreme brings together all the superhumans, who are split into two teams – one for international/public missions and another for covert operations. The President of the United States calls the group the Squadron Supreme. The Squadron meets with mixed success: an attempt to kill an African dictator is botched, and the target is murdered by local superhumans who state the group is not welcome in Africa, and a mission to Iran has member Inertia encouraging a victim to fight back and kill.China recruits Redstone, the superpowered serial killer created from Hyperion's DNA, in a bid to protect itself. The final issue is a battle to the death against Redstone who threatens to detonate a nuclear weapon. The outcome is not revealed, as the series concluded with issue #7.