Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities the Squadron Supreme thread

Huhu? JMS left? In the middle of the story?

Did I miss an issue, or was the last panel of the last issue not a major cliffhanger, indicating a big confrontation between the Squadron and the bad mercenary/mutant guy in the next issue???

I am confused...

There was no indication of JMS and Gary Frank leaving as far as I remember... why was this handled so hush hush???

By the way, I liked the run very much, and the news that it will not continue as JMS planned makes me sad... this story was so very far from over...

Well, it apprears this idea isn't totally dead yet. There is a "Squadron Supreme 2" slated for July. I'll have to peruse this before I buy it though - the solicit is fairly unconvincing.

It's being "written" by Howard Chaykin. His Challengers mini was unreadable. Pass.

Did anyone read the Nighthawk/Hyperion series? Was it any good?

Maybe I'll just pass on the new series and go reread the original series from the '80s. Tough to top that one.

Is anyone reading this? How is it? Can I get a review before I plunk down my 3 bucks?

Haven't read the book myself but here are a few reviews. Sounds like it's okay but not great.

CBR review

Comics Bulletin reviews

It might get good, but it ain't yet. I really enjoyed JMS and Frank's work on the first dozen or so issues of Supreme Power, but it meandered further and further off-course, IMO, as cross-overs and such were introduced. This book *really* needed to grab me from issue one, and it didn't.

So that saves me a couple of bucks a month, I guess, but I was kinda hoping for more...

Random details;

Arcana using her powers in a mercenary fashion (miracles for cash), which grated on me immediately, since she made such a big hoopty-doo about how dangerous her powers were in the last series and how careful she had to be.

Emil is still a manipulative backstabbing untrustworthy dick, and the stupidest smart-guy ever, since *everybody knows that he's a manipulative backstabbing untrustworthy dick* and ignores him. Everything cool about T.A.O. from the WildCATs, he ain't.

The Nick Fury of the Ultimates-verse, who is capable of regrowing arms, but not eyes, and is the same dude who betrayed, imprisoned and / or tried to kill Ultimate Hulk, Ultimate Thor, Ultimate Captain America, etc. each over the run of Ultimates 2, and then got his country ravaged by not listening to warnings from his team that it was about to happen (and warned Tony Stark that Natasha was a spy who tended to kill her husbands, but then was SHOCKED to find out that she was, GASP, *a spy!*), is now apparently in the Supreme Power-verse, where nobody knows what a colossal screw-up he is. Lucky dude. I guess he'd already done all the damage he could do in the Ultimates-verse.

Some new characters were introduced, one of which seems to be Supreme-Power-verse Spiderman/woman/thing and another seems to be kind of a SP Captain America/Punisher mashup. Given that the premise of the original Squadron Supreme was to be thinly-veiled mockups of the Justice League (much like the Imperial Guard are 'homages' to the Legion of Super-Heroes), the presence of mock-ups of *Marvel* characters like Spidey and Cap leaves my head spinning and makes the Supreme Powers-verse seem less like the Supreme-Powers-verse and more like yet another Ultimates / Exiles world.

Introducing new characters who were homages to the Teen Titans or Outsiders or Justice Society might have made more sense, IMO, thematically, assuming that the title *needed* more characters, which it so desperately did not...

We see nothing of Hyperion, Zarda, Spectrum, his fishy girlfriend whose name I forget (Kinsley?), Tom Thumb, Shape, Nighthawk, Inertia or the Blur, save some news footage of them standing around that's supposed to be a year or two old.

Yeah, there's an "Iron Man" character as well. I've read the first couple issues and am really not sure how I feel about it so far. It seems to have potential but honestly I'd like to see the real team return and as a natural progression try to "fix" the world or something. Like a more sophisticated version of what they did in the 70's series.

Like the Justice League crossed with the Authority. They could potentially introduce versions of the whole DC universe (within reason).

It's a shame what happened to this series. It started off so strongly because of *story and characterization* Now it's just another alternate universe series where the only interesting thing about it is seeing another new analog of a familiar hero.

Yeah the first two new issues certainly haven't been worldshaking...

That's what happens when you leave the main characters out of your story. Kinda like Final Crisis, but on a smaller scale. Annoy your readers with supporting cast nobody gives a damn about. And introduce at least five new characters every issue. Yawn...

Anybody reading the new Supreme Power? I am thinking of checking it out...

Wasn't even aware of it.

Some time ago I put an end to my buying any Supreme Power related stuff and I've stuck with it. After an incredibly strong start, it just spiraled into less and less enjoyable issues. I don't miss it.

Now if a Squadron Supreme series / mini came out, with the "real" Squadron...that might be a different story.

We never got a follow up story to the original 12 issue mini series did we?

They remade society and then were taken out by Nighthawk's team. This should have left a huge gap in their society. Even if some of their inventions could be run by regular people ... the social changes they imparted on society would make for interesting stories.

Also, after all that bloodshed it would be interesting to see some heroes quit or decide to go on. (I guess they reunited for Death of a Universe but I didn't catch that one ... was it good?)


hmmm after reading the description on amazon it looks like Death of a Universe might be some of what I was asking for. It's been put on my wish list!!

DEATH OF A UNIVERSE was a spin on CRISIS, and was by the original SS team (Gruenwald as writer); it was excellent and dealt with much of the fallout from the maxiseries. It also contains one of my favorite scenes in all of comics, a scene between Zarda and Arcanna just before they are about to face what appears to be absolute certain death. Some of the characters that survived the maxiseries do NOT survive DEATH OF A UNIVERSE.

They also did get some followup in the NEW WORLD ORDER one-shot, which occurs after the appearances in the Busiek/Perez AVENGERS run and effectively re-established the original SS lineup of the "big 7" (and happened to take place during Morrison's 'BIG 7' JLA stint). IIRC, written by DnA but I will need to verify that.

ALl of the above are collected in one TPB.

Peebs, if you're curious about the status of SS members following the NWO 1-shot, I posted those as the second post to this very thread. I've gotta re-read this whole thing now.

Also I feel I should state that MARVEL ZOMBIES SUPREME were zombie clones of the original Gruenwald SS and not (thank heavens) the actual SS zombiefied.

The new Supreme Power series is ok so far. The main reason I'm still reading is that it directly picks up on a lot of what was set up in the beginning of the original series. (when it was great) I'm interested to see how Mark's alien origins and the story with Dr Spectrum's crytal pan out.

So I've been reacquainting myself with the Squadron Supreme. I had never been as much of a fan of their as I was of the Imperial Guard, but I came to feel that perhaps the Squadron deserved a reappraisal.

I started with Mark Gruenwald's Squadron Supreme maxi-series. I'd always considered this one overrated and, truth be told, the re-read didn't change my mind. We still have Gruenwald's recurring problems with pace, structure, and, especially, dialogue, the last of which is just too cheesy and/or cutesy. It doesn't help that Gruenwald makes Dr. Spectrum more like Guy Gardner than Hal Jordan. Or that the whole Golden Archer/Lady Lark thing is just too creepy for words, even if Archer does die seeking redemption. Finally, there's the matter of the art. The only issue that really impresses is the one penciled by John Buscema and inked by Butch Guice. Otherwise, we have flat and uninspired work from both Bob Hall in the early issues and Paul Ryan in the later issues.

The Death of the Universe GN, on the other hand, is a pleasant surprise. Gruenwald overcomes his tics to deliver a heartbreaking story with moments of genuine and well-earned shock (I'm particularly thinking of Overmind's head exploding...wow.) Paul Ryan does the best art of his career, aided immeasurably by the inks of the late, great Al Williamson.

The New World Order one-shot was the most pleasant surprise of all, but then I should have expected no less from Len Kaminski, who wrote what I consider the most underrated Iron Man run ever, the one which introduced War Machine and brought back Bethany Cabe. I'm not the biggest fan of the JLA's Big Seven lineup, but I love the Squadron Supreme as the Big Seven. Skymax is written the way that Martian Manhunter should always be written but seldom is, having the Robin analogue take over as Nighthawk is brilliant, and I love the Phantom Stranger analog, Mysterium. The Anthony Williams/Andy Lanning art is not great, but perfectly adequate, thanks largely, I suspect, to Lanning's inking.

Next, I'll be reading the Squadron's appearance in Exiles, which I remember being well-written but poorly drawn. And, finally, the two Supreme Power hardcovers.

Ah, the SS. I still love you (and am glad to see new appreciation here!).

You're very welcome, Lash.

I think it's a shame that the New World Order one-shot didn't sell well enough to earn an immediate follow-up. I imagine that whatever Kaminski had planned would have been awesome.

So I decided instead of jumping right into the Exiles appearance, to turn back the clock and re-read Avengers: The Serpent Crown Saga (or rather, RE-re-read, since I'd re-read it recently during Lardy's massive Avengers read.)

God, I love this story, it's got everything: action, humor, politics, and, most importantly, Miss Patsy Walker becoming the Hellcat.

I find I really like this hilariously pompous Hyperion. While reading his dialogue, I "hear" the voice of Gary Owens, aka Space Ghost, aka Blue Falcon, aka Powdered Toast Man.

Classic line from the Whizzer: "G.A. always overreacts. That's his trademark."

Classic line from Hellcat: "You know, Amphy, I'm not a big women's libber, and you're by far the handsomest man I've met today, but I'm gonna lay you out for that."

What's not to love?

I believe a version of Doctor Spectrum appeared in one of the current New Avengers arcs. She's part of a different ersatz Justice League on another alternate Earth.

So...I had forgotten how great the Exiles' epic World Tour arc is. But this is the Squadron Supreme thread, so I'll concentrate on their appearances in that arc.

Firstly, it's a shame that the short-arc-within-the-long-arc was drawn by Jim Calafiore instead of Paul Pelletier, who drew the majority of World Tour.

But Bedard's script rises above the art. He writes an AWESOME Power Princess. I'm tempted to say that Bedard should write Wonder Woman, but I think that as long as DC is being run by the same idiots, there won't be a good Wonder Woman comic.

The story is driven more by characterization that action, but that's fine, although, again, Pelletier would have executed the characterization better than Calafiore.

And it's nice that there was finally a follow-up to New World Order, even if it was as guest stars in another team's book.

Marvel's new "Secret Wars" poster shows old-school hyperion facing off against "Supreme Power" Hype. I like the idea of those worlds being revisited (or at least the characters) but I always have the feeling they'll be used as cannon fodder. We'll see...

Yeah, so the above? That was old school in the sense it was the Squadron Sinister Hyperion against the Supreme Power Hyperion.

"Squadron Sinister" is about the old school Squadron along with a "Warrior Woman" stand in for Power Princess. It's supposed to be a Sopranos esque crime drama.

After Secret Wars, there'll be a new Squadron series written by (UGH) James Robinson. The Squadron will be made up of heroes from different versions of the team, including Dr. Spectrum from the Great Society and the Supreme Power Nighthawk.