Heroes

Heroes is a serial saga about people all over the world discovering that they have superpowers and trying to deal with how this change affects their lives. Some of the superheroes who will be introduced to the viewing audience include Peter Petrelli, an almost 30-year-old male nurse who suspects he might be able to fly, Isaac Mendez, a 28-year-old junkie who has the ability to paint images of the future when he is high, Niki Sanders, a 33-year-old Las Vegas showgirl who does things that are mysteriously connected with mirrors, Hiro Nakamura, a 24-year-old Japanese comic-book geek who literally makes time stand still, D.L. Hawkins, a 31-year-old inmate who can walk through walls, Matt Parkman, a beat cop who can hear other people's thoughts, and Claire Bennet, a 17-year-old cheerleader who defies death at every turn. As the viewing audience is discovering the nature of each hero's powers, the heroes, themselves, are discovering what having superpowers means to them as well as the larger picture of where their superpowers come from. Tune in each week to see how these heroes are drawn together by their common interest of evading the series' antagonist who wants to harvest their super-DNA for himself. Their ultimate destiny is nothing less than saving the world! The series will star Greg Grunberg (Alias), Leonard Roberts (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Milo Ventimiglia (Gilmore Girls), and Hayden Panettiere (Ally McBeal, Guiding Light). Tim Kring (Crossing Jordan, Chicago Hope) is the series' creator. The pilot is set to be directed by Dave Semel (American Dreams, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Beverly Hills, 90210). Heroes will be produced by NBC/Universal/Tailwind.

Who Wants to be a Superhero?

Who Wants to be a Superhero? is a reality series on the Sci-Fi channel hosted by comic god, Stan Lee. Stan Lee is credited as being creator or co-creator of Spiderman and Daredevil among others. The premise of the show is that contestants are to dress-up as their own superhero and show what their superhero is all about. The contestant selected by Stan Lee as the worst is eliminated every episode. The prize is huge for the comic fan, they get their character written into one of Stan Lee's comics and a movie starring the superhero will be shown on the Sci-Fi channels. Other not so great prizes include trips to Universal Studios Florida and other things. Who Wants to be a Superhero? is popular and continues to draw sci-fi and comic fans alike.

Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew

Captain Carrot & His Amazing Zoo Crew in 1982. It contained their first new funny animal superheroes in decades — and with the exception of a few licensed properties, their last foray into the funny animal genre for decades to come.

Writer Roy Thomas and artist Scott Shaw!, the group's creators, had collaborated once before, on "Man-Spider" (a funny animal send-up of Marvel's Spider-Man). They originally conceived their superhero gang as "Justa Lotta Animals", a take-off on The Justice League of America — but DC's existing licensing agreements made it more feasible to go with a completely original cast. Thus were born Alleycat-Abra, Fastback, Pig Iron, Rubber Duck, Yankee Poodle and, of course, Captain Carrot himself.

The Zoo Crew debuted as a free 16-page insert in DC's New Teen Titans #16 (February, 1982). The first issue of their own comic was cover-dated a month later.

Like most superheroes, these guys had ties to other characters belonging to the same publisher. Before his transformation, Pig Iron had been Peter Porkchops, who was a DC star from 1947-60. And the speedster, Fastback (who you knew had to be a turtle), was the nephew of McSnurtle the Turtle, who goes back all the way to Funny Stuff #1 (Summer, 1944). There were also frequent guest appearances by The Dodo & the Frog, The Three Mouseketeers, Nero Fox, and other DC funny animals from the 1940s and '50s — and even, on one occasion, Marvel Bunny, who was originally published by Fawcett. Even minor characters, like Bo Bunny and Doodles Duck, sometimes turned up in crowd scenes.

One connection which was not intended was with a Walt Disney feature that came along just a few years later, Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Captain Carrot's secret identity was Roger Rabbit. To avoid confusion (to say nothing of possible legal entanglements, since Disney's Roger did appear first, in the form of prose fiction), the DC character's first name was retroactively changed to Rodney.

The 1980s comic book market was not receptive to funny animals, even if they were superheroes. Captain Carrot et al. lasted only 20 issues, the last dated November, 1983. Nor did the property make the transition to TV animation, as had originally been hoped. As was the case with their contemporary, Night Force, DC promised to revisit the characters in occasional mini-series and specials. But only one, The Oz-Wonderland War (1986), ever appeared. They guest-starred with a latter-day incarnation of The Teen Titans in 2005-06, but have otherwise been ignored.

Not many people today remember Captain Carrot & His Amazing Zoo Crew, but of those who do, many have become vocal advocates of the character. DC has very little interest in its funny animal properties these days, but if their attention ever turns that way again, this will probably be one of the first they look at.

Team Members

The members of the Zoo Crew include:

• Captain Carrot: Roger Rodney Rabbit of "Gnu York"; a rabbit. The leader of the team whose real name is Roger (or Rodney, as the latter comics named him to avoid confusion with the Disney film Who Framed Roger Rabbit) Rabbit. He would eat one of his "cosmic carrots" (as Rodney called them), Rodney would gain superpowers for roughly 24 hours although major exertion could exhaust the powers sooner, which include super-strength, endurance, heightened hearing and vision senses and a super-powerful leap. As such, he is the only member who has to constantly replenish his powers and keeps a pair of carrots holstered on his person for such a need in emergencies. The source of these carrots was initially a windowbox which he grew carrots in, which one of the meteor fragments had struck. Later he arranged a grow-op at the team headquarters to ensure an adequate continuous supply. In his alter ego, Rodney is the writer and artist of the comic book Just'a Lotta Animals.
• Alley-Kat-Abra: Felina Furr of "Mew Orleans" (a parody of New Orleans, Louisiana); a cat. A martial arts instructor and student of the mystical arts, Felina uses her "Magic Wanda" (a magic wand) to cast various types of spells.
• Pig-Iron: Peter Porkchops of "Piggsburgh" (a parody of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania); a pig. Struck by a meteor fragment, the diminutive Peter fell (along with the meteorite) into a vat of molten metal in the steel mill where he worked. The consequent chemical reaction transformed his now-enormous body into living steel, with strength and invulnerability to match. Peter was originally a character from an earlier series of DC "funny animal" comics. Pig-Iron was also nicknamed the "Swine of Steel" (perhaps inspired by the Gilbert Shelton character Wonder Wart-Hog, the "Hog of Steel") and "Porcine Powerhouse".
• Rubberduck: Byrd Rentals of "Follywood, Califurnia" (a parody of Hollywood, California); a duck. Byrd, a movie star, was given the power to stretch his body into any shape and length when a meteor fragment struck his hot tub. Byrd Rentals' name is a parody of actor Burt Reynolds. Rubberduck was also nicknamed the "Malleable Mallard."
• Yankee Poodle: Rova Barkitt, also of "Follywood"; a poodle. Rova, who worked as a gossip columnist, was interviewing Byrd when they were both struck by meteor fragments. Rova gained the ability to project a repelling force (in the form of blue stars) with one hand and an attraction force (in the form of red-and-white stripes) with the other. Rova Barkitt's name is a parody of gossip columnist Rona Barrett.
• Fastback: Timmy Joe Terrapin of the fictional "Okey-Dokey" (a parody of the Okefenokee) swamp in the American south; a turtle. While trying to catch a bus to "Kornsas City" (Kansas City, Missouri), Timmy was struck by a meteor fragment and gained the ability to move at superchelonian speed. Fastback was also nicknamed the "Reptilian Rocket." Timmy Joe is not the first superspeedster in his family. His uncle Merton McSnurtle was secretly The Terrific Whatzit, a crime fighter during the Second Weird War. One issue mentions McSnutle's participation in "Operation Overlard". (Battle of Normandy)
• Little Cheese: Chester Cheese, a student at Follywood High School; a mouse. Chester had the ability to shrink from the comparable size of his teammates to a size of only a few centimeters, and was the only team member to not gain his powers from a meteor fragment (rather, he gained them from eating a piece of experimental cheese brought back from Earth-C's moon).
• American Eagle: Replaced Little Cheese on the reconstituted Zoo Crew after the latter's demise.

The Legion of Substitute Heroes

he Legion of Substitute Heroes were founded by Polar Boy, Night Girl, Stone Boy, Fire Lad, and Chlorophyll Kid, five young heroes whose powers were not sufficient to earn them membership in the Legion of Superheroes. After receiving a consolation prize (a Legion flight belt), the five disconsolate teenagers decided to form a group that could pinch hit for the Legion. After several failures as superheroes, the Subs manage to save the Earth from an invasion by Plant Men while the Legion is off planet fighting a decoy armada of robot space ships.

At first operating in secrecy, the Legion of Substitute Heroes is gradually recognized by the real Legion as a valuable asset. Members of the Legion of Substitute Heroes include:

• Antenna Lad has the power to tune into any broadcast from any era, but mostly at random.
• Chlorophyll Kid (Ral Benem from the planet Mardru) has the power to make plants grow super fast. He gained this power after falling into a vat of super plant growth formula as a small child. He has stated at various times that he can only accelerate plant growth, not control plant life, although some of his appearances seemed to contradict this.
• Color Kid (Ulu Vakk from the planet Lupra) can change the color of objects. Gained his power after being struck by a ray from another dimension. In the 1985 Legion of Substitute Heroes one-shot comic, he was temporarily known as Color Queen after being exposed to Granderian Gender-Reversal Germs by Infectious Lass.
• Double-Header has two heads as a result of gradually splitting into two identical beings.
• Fire Lad (Stag Mavlen from the planet Schwar) gained the power to breathe fire (often accidentally, as he suffers from allergies that cause him to sneeze) after inhaling vapors from a crashing meteor.
• Infectious Lass (Drura Sepht) spontaneously generates infectious diseases.
• Porcupine Pete (Peter Dursin) has quills he can shoot from his body (although generally not very accurately).
• Stone Boy (Dag Wentim from the planet Zwen). The people of Zwen gained the power to turn into stone as a way of hibernation on a planet whose night is six months long. Throughout most of his appearances, Stone Boy could only transform into an inanimate, insensate stone statue and was often used in humorous ways (e.g. being dropped on a villain from above by his teammates), or at best as a distraction while the other "Subs" carried out some mission. However, during the Five Year Gap, he underwent hypnotherapy and gained the ability to stay conscious during his transformation and, eventually, even to move in his stone state.
• "Arm Fall Off Boy"' (Floyd Belkin of the planet Lallor) has the ability to detach his own limbs at will. His background was largely unexplored, but in the post-Zero Hour version of the comic he tried out for Legion membership in Legionnaires #43 (December 1996) using the name Splitter. He made it through the initial interview and was one of five finalists, only to literally fall apart under fire during the last test. He went on to join the Heroes of Lallor.

The Justice Society of America

It began in late 1940, when DC Comics (then known as All-American Comics), created a new comic book series called All-Star Comics. All-Star included several stories, each featuring a different popular costumed character of the time : Flash, Hawkman, Green Lantern, etc.

With the Winter 1940 issue, #3, the format changed. Writer Gardner Fox decided to have all the primary characters meet in a single story, not for the purpose of stopping some major crime spree, or to save the world from destruction. They met for dinner.

This was the humble beginning of what was the first and, quite possibly, the best super hero team ever put together.

Those in attendance at the first meeting of the Justice Society included :

The Flash (Jay Garrick) The Green Lantern (Alan Ladd Wellington Scott) Hourman (Rex "Tick-Tock" Tyler) The Atom (Al Pratt) The Sandman (Wesley Dodds) Hawkman (Carter Hall) Dr. Fate (Kent Nelson) The Spectre (Jim Corrigan)

Two other characters decided to "crash" the dinner party : Johnny Thunder and the original Red Tornado. Johnny was allowed to stay as the official JSA "mascot"; Red Tornado only hung around for one page, as an embarrising tear in her costume demanded a hasty retreat. Too bad, too, as the JSA would not have an opportunity to induct another female member until issue #9, when Wonder Woman joined.

Unlike other comic book characters of the time, and most comic books today (John Byrne's run on She-Hulk nonwithstanding), the JSA realized they were comic book characters. When Flash and Green Lantern were given their own comic books, they left the JSA and became reserve members. The reason cited ? They were busy chasing bad guys over in their new titles !

The Flash served as the JSA's first chairperson, for issues 3-6. In issue #6, The Flash left, as he was busy over in his new title, All-Flash Comics. Johnny Thunder took his place as a full member, and Green Lantern became the second chairperson in issue #7.

Green Lantern served a one-issue office, as he was also awarded his own comic book. In issue #8, Green Lantern was replaced by Dr. Mid-Nite (his buddy from over in All-American Comics), Hourman took a leave of absence (it was revealed years later in All-Star Squadron that Hourman had joined the Freedom Fighters) and was replaced by Starman (who starred (pun intended) over in Adventure Comics with Hourman). Hawkman became the new chairperson and because the Golden Age Hawkman never got his own comic book (he shared with Johnny Thunder, The Whip, and, of course, The Flash over in Flash Comics), he remained chairperson until his apparent death (?) during Zero Hour in 1994.

Also in isuue #8, there was a backup feature introducing a new character who would eventually become the first female JSA member : Wonder Woman.

Over time, new characters joined the JSA and the membership roster was constantly changing. The team appeared in every issue of All-Star Comics from issue #3 (Winter, 1940) to issue #57 (Feb./March, 1951). With issue #58, the title was changed to All-Star Western. In official DC history, the Justice Society retired in 1951, during the age of McCarthyism, because they refused to let the US Government know their secret identities. Many of the team members settled down and started families during this time.

7 Soldiers of Victory

The Seven Soldiers of Victory appeared in the first fifteen issues of Leading Comics. Notable villains included the Black Star, the Iron Hand, the Dummy (enemy of the Vigilante), and Dr. Doome, one of several villains the team faced who had a time machine. A script by Joseph Samachson from the 1940s was later serialized in 1975 in Adventure Comics #438-443, with each chapter illustrated by a different artist (including Dick Dillin, Mike Grell, Lee Elias, and Jose Luis Garcia Lopez).

The team was resurrected in the seventies in Justice League of America #100-102. During the celebration of the 100th meeting of the JLA, the team was summoned to Earth-Two by the Justice Society of America, where a giant ethereal hand controlled by the Iron Hand threatened to destroy their world. The only way to stop the hand was to find the legendary Seven Soldiers of Victory, who defeated a similar menace in the form of the Nebula Man many years previously, though at the seeming cost of their existences, since no one could remember who they were. An unearthly Oracle revealed to the JLA and the JSA that the Seven Soldiers had been scattered through time, and the multitude of heroes were sent back to find them.

Doctor Fate, the Atom and the Elongated Man found the Crimson Avenger in Mexico, where he had amnesia and believed he was the Aztec Sun God. Superman, The Sandman and Metamorpho rescued the Shining Knight from the hordes of Genghis Khan. Hawkman, Doctor Mid-Nite, and the Golden Age Wonder Woman found the Golden Age Green Arrow in medieval England, where he had been mistaken for Robin Hood. Batman, Hourman and Starman retrieved Stripesy from ancient Egypt. The Silver Age Green Arrow, Black Canary and Johnny Thunder and Thunderbolt saved the Vigilante from a tribe of Indians in the Old West. Aquaman, Wildcat and the Silver Age Green Lantern rescued the Star-Spangled Kid, who was 50,000 years in the past. Zatanna, the Silver Age Flash and the Red Tornado freed Speedy (and themselves) from the clutches of Circe (comics) in ancient Greece. The Golden Age Green Lantern, Mister Terrific and the Golden Age Robin went on a quest to discover the identity of the Unknown Soldier of Victory, whose tomb lay in the mountains of Tibet, where the Seven Soldiers had fallen after defeating the Nebula Man.

The Seven Soldiers were reunited and created a new Nebula Rod to deal with the giant hand that the Iron Hand devised. Unfortunately, whoever used the Nebula Rod to destroy the Hand was certain to perish (as did the Crimson Avenger's partner Wing, revealed to be the Unknown Soldier of Victory, when the Nebula Man was stopped). While the heroes argued over who would sacrifice themselves, the android Red Tornado took the Nebula Rod and destroyed the Hand, apparently destroying himself in the process.

The only other modern meeting of the team (either in pre- or post-Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity) took place in Infinity, Inc. #11, in which the Vigilante, the Shining Knight, Green Arrow, Speedy and the Star-Spangled Kid gathered at the grave of Lee Travis, the man known as the Crimson Avenger. It had taken two years for the team to confirm his death (having died saving Gotham City from a boatload of explosives in DC Comics Presents #38).

Post-Crisis 1st team

In the original Post-Crisis retcon of the team, both Wing and the Vigilante's sidekick Stuff, the Chinatown Kid were promoted to full membership, to replace the Golden Age Green Arrow and Speedy, who had been removed from active continuity. Stuff had never appeared with the team during the original Leading Comics run, while an older man named Billy Gunn helped out the Vigilante on his cases in the comic.

That particular retcon was yet again changed in the late nineties, in Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #9. While Stuff remained a full member (and the Vigilante's mentor Billy Gunn was also present), Wing was not an official Soldier (because his mentor the Crimson Avenger wanted him to do something more important with his life). The remaining spot on the team was filled by the Spider, an archer who had originally appeared in Quality Comics' Crack Comics in a feature called Alias the Spider. The twist on the new Spider was that he was really a villain - and in this particular adventure, had been working with the team's arch-enemy the Hand, who created the original Nebula Man. The Spider sabotaged the Nebula Rod that the Soldiers had built to stop the Nebula Man and sent the team off to fight a fruitless battle. The villain then killed Billy Gunn (who had discovered his deception) and tried to kill Wing, but failed. Wing reached the other Soldiers and repaired the Nebula Rod, using it to destroy the Nebula Man. Wing died, and his teammates were again tossed through time and later retrieved by the JLA and JSA. The only major difference between this story and the original was that this time the Vigilante had been found after he had spent nearly 20 years fighting crime in the Old West.

The Seven Soldiers have not reformed in the Modern Age (partly due to Grant Morrison's project; see below). Three of the originals--Shining Knight, Vigilante and Stripesy (now STRIPE)--remain. The team has inspired a few legacies. The first is Stargirl, who at first carried the mantle of Star-Spangled Kid in memory of Sylvester Pemberton. She is now a double legacy, as she also carries on the legacy of Starman. The second SSoV legacy is the new Crimson Avenger, who has appeared sporadically in the series JSA. She has yet to make an appearance One Year Later, though she was seen towards the end of Infinite Crisis. The third one is Gardner Grayle, the Atomic Knight (see below). The last one is the new Sir Justin in Grant Morrison's project. (The current Green Arrow and Speedy, as well as Arsenal, could also count as SSoV legacies, but due to retcons, Green Arrow and the original Speedy were never members of the team.)

Post-Crisis 2nd team

Another group took the name of the Seven Soldiers of Victory in the Showcase issue of the limited series known as Silver Age. This group, brought together to help the Justice League of America and the other major heroes and teams of the sixties to battle the menace of Agamemno, consisted of: Adam Strange, Batgirl, Blackhawk, Deadman, Mento, Metamorpho, and a new Shining Knight.

This group's Shining Knight was Gardner Grayle, from the Silver Age feature The Atomic Knights; in previously published stories that occurred after the Silver Age limited series, he became the Atomic Knight and joined the Outsiders. This was the only appearance of this particular assemblage.

The New Version

In 2005, Grant Morrison and artist J.H. Williams III launched a retooled version of the Seven Soldiers, in what Morrison terms a "megaseries" of seven interrelated miniseries and two bookend titles. While some members of this new team are long-running DC Universe superheroes, none were affiliated with the previous incarnation of the team. Together, they fight to save Earth and its environs from the Sheeda.

The maxi-series won the 2006 Best Finite/Limited Series Eisner Award

Fictional history

In the first issue of this story (which was part of a two-issue framework for the project), the Vigilante gathers together a new Spider (called "I, Spyder" and apparently the son of the original), Gimmix (the estranged daughter of Merry, the Girl of a Thousand Gimmicks), a new Boy Blue, Dyno-Mite Dan (owner of two "working fakes" imitations of the explosive rings of T.N.T. and Dan the Dyna-Mite), and Whip IV, the granddaughter of the Golden Age Whip. The team sets out to battle the Buffalo Spider (later on, the Sheeda are betrayed by Spyder in SSoV#1 in another nod to the original), only to be killed during an event known as the Harrowing.

The seven miniseries follow seven other characters with indirect connections to the first group, each with their own art styles, genres and character arcs. A central part of Morrison's idea for the current series is that although the seven characters in question are each a part of the same struggle, they never actually meet (although there are references to each other in the various titles). Thus, the team is actually not a team.

An explanation for this is presented in Manhattan Guardian and Zatanna. In the first, a man named Ed Starsgard (aka Baby Brain) tells Guardian that the Sheeda have been attacking humanity in periodic waves, taking everything of value (physical & mental) and leaving behind just enough for the survivors to rebuild for next time. It is prophesied that the Sheeda will eventually be stopped by seven soldiers, so they target teams of seven, including the Ultramarine Corps and the Justice League of America (JLA: Classified #1-3) But, because the Seven Soldiers have never met, they stand a chance of doing the job.

In Zatanna, a ghost remarks that there are too many coincidences in the story and it feels like there is a 'mystery string tying it all together'. It eventually emerges that the Seven Unknown Men of Slaughter Swamp are driving the Seven Soldiers to stop the Sheeda.

In an interview, Grant remarked that this series of stories, (which he calls a "megaseries", also known as a metaseries), takes place after Infinite Crisis. (This may explain some apparent plot holes or inconsistencies in the series.) Dan DiDio has stated that, after careful consultation with Morrison, the series is now considered to take place a week before Infinite Crisis.

The comic Seven Soldiers of Victory #1 was originally scheduled for release on April 1, 2006, but was delayed and eventually released on October 25, 2006.

The All Star Squadron

When pearl harbour is bomb by December 1941, Presiden Roosevet assembles a group of Super heroes to assist the Justice Society of America. Unlike that more formalized body, The All Star Squadron has no official iniation. Any Superhero who passes an FBI security check can take part in the group adventures.

Created at the request of the President, the All-Star Squadron was a group of super-heroes which operated from New York for the duration of World War II. Co-chaired by Hawkman and Liberty Belle, it counted as members almost all mystery men and women active during the period. The Squadron had links with other organisations: Plastic Man served as the group's liaison with the FBI, and Uncle Sam led a small group of heroes to become the Freedom Fighters, operating from Washington DC. There was also a 'junior' division, the Young All-Stars, created to give younger heroes a place to belong. Prevented from fighting on the main fronts of the war, the All-Stars concentrated on thwarting saboteurs, fifth-columnists and other enemies of the state on U.S. territory. The group lasted only as long as the war - when hostilities were ended, the individual heroes and teams drifted apart to fight crime and other evils in their own ways.

HISTORY

President Roosevelt called them 'the greatest collection of Mystery-Men in America and her most valuable wartime resource'.

It began as the plot of the time-travelling Per Degaton to destroy the Justice Society of America at its earliest stages, furthering his plans to conquer the world at the outset of America's entry into World War II. His plans were thwarted by a collection of previously unaffiliated heroes (Liberty Belle, Johnny Quick, Robotman) and The Shining Knight of The Seven Solders of Victory along with Hawkman, Dr. Mid-Nite and The Atom of the Justice Society.

After freeing the captive Justice Society, the united heroes went on to attempt a retaliatory attack against the Japanese forces, only to find themselves rebuffed by a magic shield that would turn the super-powered heroes vulnerable to magic against the Allied Forces. Encouraged by President Roosevelt to band together, the previously unaligned heroes formed The All-Star Squadron, and after several brief adventures in Mexico and against Professor Hastor, voted Liberty Belle as their chairwoman.

Protecting the United States and her allies from attack from within and without, the All-Star Squadron battled The Ultra-Humanite and his minions shortly before their first full-membership official meeting. The Squadron took on various public relation oriented missions as well, securing public housing for minority defense factory workers against white supremacist groups, defeating a technology stealing band of Japanese agents, and stopping the scientist/wizard Wotan from persuading the British people that King Arthur had returned on the side of the Nazis. The All-Star Squadron also filled in for the missing Justice Society during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and stopping the menace of the time-travelling Mechanique.

In early May, several young heroes came under the wing of the Squadron, known as the Young All-Stars. Aiding the Squadron, the Young All-Stars were eventually brought under the full membership of the Squadron with all privileges and duties.

It is believed that the All-Star Squadron disbanded several months after the end of World War II, possibly on December 7, 1945.

Infinity

Infinity, Inc. first appeared in All-Star Squadron #25; it was founded in Infinity, Inc. #1-10 (The Generations Saga) by Star-Spangled Kid, Power Girl, Huntress II, Fury II, Silver Scarab, Northwind, Nuklon, Jade, Obsidian and Brainwave Jr. The Huntress was killed and retconned out of existence in the Crisis. Subsequent recruits included Dr. Midnight, Hourman II and Wildcat II.

Formation

Hector Hall, Lyta Trevor, Norda Cantrell and Albert Rothstein decided to adopt identities of their own and apply for membership in the Justice Society of America. The four of them adopt the codenames of Silver Scarab, Fury, Northwind and Nuklon respectively. They are turned down but not willing to give up the four apply again with Jennie-Lynn Hayden and Todd Rice, both Alan Scott's children. Feeling pity on the youngsters Star-Spangled Kid decided to leave the JSA in order to create a new group, in which they were also joined by Power Girl, The Huntress and Brainwave, Jr., calling themselves Infinity, Inc..^[1]

The team first faces the Justice Society of America, turned evil by the Stream of Ruthlessness, thanks to the Ultra-Humanite. They are able to defeat the JSA and the Ultra-Humanite and the team saves the world.^[2] In a press conference (to garner media attention for the new team) the team publicly divulge their secret identities, revealing those of their parents in the process, and Hector also announces his engagement to Lyta. The Star-Spangled Kid is able to form a partnership with the city of Los Angeles to commission his team as for-hire protectors, and uses his purchased studio property to revitalize its movie productions. ^[3]

Freedom Force

Freedom Force is a computer game developed by Irrational Games and published by Electronic Arts in 2002. The player guides a team of superheroes as they defend Patriot City from a variety of villains, monsters, and other menaces. A sequel, Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich was self-published in early March, 2005.

The game is noted for its humorous but respectful evocation of the Silver Age of Comic Books; in particular, its visual style emulates the art style of the Marvel Universe co-creator, Jack Kirby. Also important is its versatile, expandable game engine, which has allowed a considerable fan-community to spring up. Total conversions featuring Marvel and DC Comics characters have been created.^{[citation needed]}

The characters of Freedom Force are the creation of Irrational Games artist Robb Waters. Waters, who has been involved in the videogame industry for over a decade, including the creation of the characters of Thief: The Dark Project as well as the PC title System Shock. In concert with game-designer Ken Levine, Waters created an homage to Kirby with both the personality and artistic-expression of Freedom Force's characters and villains.

From January to June 2005, the story of the first Freedom Force game was retold in a six-issue comic book miniseries published by Image Comics. This series was scripted by Eric Dieter and featured Jack Kirby-influenced artwork by Tom Scioli. Dieter also wrote the series and served as community manager for the official website's forum, "Freedom Fans".

The Story

The alien mentalist, Mentor, fleeing Lord Dominion and his invading forces, heads towards Earth in a small spaceship containing many canisters of the mysterious "Energy X." Lord Dominion's ships pursue Mentor and destroy his craft just outside the Earth's atmosphere; the blast scatters containers of the substance over the metropolis of Patriot City. Energy X strikes several of the city's inhabitants, giving them superpowers that typically echo their personality traits (for instance, Minuteman's staunch patriotism and El Diablo's fiery temper) or draw on the situation they were in when energized (e.g., The Ant or Nuclear Winter). Most of the game is set in Patriot City, but a number of other locations and time periods are used, including magical realms, prehistoric times, and realms entirely removed from time and space.

Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four is a fictional American team of comic-book superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. First appearing in the historically groundbreaking The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961), which helped to usher a new naturalism in the medium, they were the first superhero team created by artist Jack Kirby and writer-editor Stan Lee.

There are four core friends and family members traditionally associated with the Fantastic Four, who gained superpowers and turned into mutates after exposure to cosmic rays during a scientific space mission. The team consists of Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards), a scientific genius and leader of the group who can stretch his body into incredible lengths and shapes. The Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm), Reed's wife and the team's second-in-command; she can render herself invisible and project powerful force fields. The Human Torch (Johnny Storm), Sue's younger brother, who can surround himself with flames, generate them as well, and fly. The final member is the Thing (Ben Grimm), their grumpy but benevolent friend, who possesses superhuman strength and endurance. His skin is monstrous, craggy, orange, and looks as if made of scales or plates (often mistakenly referred to as "rocks"). He is known for his great courage and fighting skill in addition to his strength.

Since the original four's 1961 introduction, the Fantastic Four have been portrayed as a somewhat dysfunctional yet loving family. Breaking convention with other comic-book archetypes of the time, they would squabble and hold grudges both deep and petty, and eschew anonymity or secret identities in favor of celebrity status. In the first two issues, the groundbreaking team do not even adhere to the "superhero" convention of costumes. After this the team wear uniforms specially fabricated by Reed that accommodate their individual powers.

The Fantastic Four was the foundation of Marvel Comics' ascent from a small division of a privately held magazine company to a major entertainment conglomerate. The team holds a pivotal place in the history of American comic books. The FF (as they are commonly known) has remained more or less popular, and has been adapted into other media, including four animated television series, an aborted 1990s low-budget film, the major motion picture Fantastic Four (2005), and its sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007).

The series, which famously added the hyperbolic tagline "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!" above the title since issue #4 (with issue #3 declaring itself "The Greatest Comic Magazine in the World!"), dropped the "The" from the cover logo with issue #16, becoming simply Fantastic Four.

The Excaliburs

Excalibur's original creative team, writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer Alan Davis, incorporated elements of two Marvel properties: the X-Men and Captain Britain.

The X-Men are a group of mutants—evolved human beings born with extraordinary powers—who use their abilities to defend a society that hates and fears them. Claremont had authored their series since 1976, guiding them to tremendous success. He borrowed four characters from the X-Men for Excalibur:

• Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner), a rascally German who possessed the ability to teleport and a demon like appearance
• Phoenix (Rachel Summers), a telekinetic and telepathic young woman from a dystopian future
• Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde), a Jewish teenaged computer expert with the ability to “phase” through solid objects
• Lockheed, her small pet dragon.

A Marvel UK property co-created by Claremont in 1976, Captain Britain is a protector of Great Britain, endowed with superhuman powers by the legendary wizard Merlyn. Alan Davis and Alan Moore, during their joint early 1980s stint, established that the Marvel Universe's Captain Britain was one of many from various dimensions and that one of his main roles is guarding the lighthouse that is placed at the convergence of realities.

Excalibur, which also featured Captain Britain's emotionally unstable, shapeshifter lover Meggan, first gathered together in Excalibur Special Edition #1 (1988) and were soon featured in a monthly series. With the help of a manic, dimension-hopping robot named Widget, they embarked on a series of wacky adventures through parallel worlds, many of which had previously been featured in Captain Britain’s UK-only series.

Davis left with Excalibur #24 (1990), and Claremont with Excalibur #34 (1991) and the series began to flag badly. In addition, various plot points were left dangling and unresolved by Claremont before his departure. A year later, Davis returned to the book as both writer and illustrator with Excalibur #42 and rejuvenated it, returning to the (mostly) lighthearted tone of his original run, while resolving many plotlines Claremont had left dangling. He also added several new members, including the mystic Feron, the warrior Kylun, and the alien seductress Cerise, and also introduced the size-shifter Micromax. (In an interview in Wizard #6, Davis said that he was adding four new team members to the team. Presumably if Davis's run had not ended prematurely, Micromax would have become a full member of the team.)

Excalibur team gathering.
Art by Alan Davis.

After Davis left in 1993, Uncanny X-Men writer Scott Lobdell filled-in for several months. In a jarring transition, Captain Britain was lost off-panel, Meggan was suddenly catatonic from losing Captain Britain, and the newer members were summarily dispatched. In addition, the tone of the series changed as well, from a lighthearted, fun comic to more grim and depressing series. Marvel stationed the team on the fictitious Muir Island, off the coast of Scotland, and tied the series closer to the X-Men family, casting-off most Captain Britain-related elements entirely, in addition to the characters that did not have close ties to the X-Universe (like Kylun and Feron). In a much-maligned storyline by fans, Phoenix was disposed of to bring a much altered and somewhat despised by fandom "Britannic" (a Captain Britain who was altered) back. Lobdell also introduced Douglock, who was eventually revealed to be the deceased techno-organic alien Warlock of the New Mutants, reborn with the form and memories his former teammate, the deceased Cypher, who joined the team. Also around this time Nightcrawler's former lover, the mystic Amanda Sefton joined the team, using the codename Daytripper.

In 1994, Warren Ellis assumed writing duties and, using his dark sense of humor, helped the book gain its own voice once again. Revisions made in his time on the book included reverting "Britannic" back to Captain Britain once more and adding Pete Wisdom, an often-obnoxious British spy, often considered Ellis’ alter ego, who could manifest solar energy, often in the form of 'hot knives' from his fingers. In a bold move, Ellis made Wisdom (an archetypical chain-smoking sarcastic obnoxious Englishman that Ellis writes into almost all his books) the romantic interest of the once young and innocent Shadowcat. At the insistence of Marvel editors, Ellis also added Wolfsbane (Rahne Sinclair), a Scottish werewolf-like young woman from the X-Men spin-off New Mutants; and Colossus (Peter Rasputin), a Russian X-Man who could turn his flesh into “organic steel.”

Ellis left in 1996 and Ben Raab, his replacement, failed to find a voice for the series, often borrowing plotlines from other X-Books. Sales fell and Marvel cancelled the series, partially so Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and Colossus could return to the X-Men. The series ended with issue #125 (1998) featuring the wedding of Meggan and a depowered Captain Britain.

The letters page of the final issue of Excalibur (vol. 3) announced a relaunch of the title as New Excalibur in November 2005. This current incarnation of the book is written by Claremont and primarily illustrated by Michael Ryan with a guest stint by Steven Cummings. ^[1]

New Excalibur appears to have more in common with the original series than the Genosha-based book had, for it features Captain Britain and Peter Wisdom as main characters and takes place in London. Other characters include the reformed villain-turned-X-Man Juggernaut, the former X-Women Sage and Dazzler, and Nocturne, formerly of the Exiles.

As with many of Marvel's late 2005 books, it spun out of the after-effects of House of M. Four issues of Uncanny X-Men^[2] laid the foundation for New Excalibur. Captain Britain brought the team together as the new Excalibur in New Excalibur #5, preceding an attack from Lionheart, Albion, and the Warwolves. Later, the team faced an attack by Black Air and Black Tom Cassidy, who was depowered due to M-Day. Black Air retreated after Dazzler, Wisdom, Nocturne, and Captain Britain trounced them. Black Tom surrendered after Juggernaut talked him down and made him feel guilty about killing Juggernaut's friend Samuel Pare. Sage also confronted the Dark Charles Xavier from the Dark X-Men. They got in an astral fight, where Sage shot his astral form and won.

Recently, Psylocke joined New Excalibur and assisted them during an attack by the recently-revived Shadow King who was responsible for the creation of the Dark X-Men. With Nocturne, Juggernaut, Dazzler, and Pete Wisdom under Shadow King's control, Captain Britain being beaten by his own team, and Sage unconscious, Psylocke faced the Shadow King alone, plunging a psi-blade into the Dark Xavier, saving New Excalibur and mysteriously vanished in a flash of light without explanation. Captain Britain believes her to be dead, unaware that she has joined the Exiles. Since the incident with Psylocke, New Excalibur has met up with a repowered Chamber, visited and saved Camelot, temporarily had the Black Knight travel with them, and have attempted to help Juggernaut with some recent troubles. The series also revealed that Charles Xavier was meant to be the Juggernaut. Recently, Nocturne has had a stroke and the team is trying to help her recover.

Later on Albion tells his story to Lionheart. He comes from a world where World War I never ended and chose the sword over the amulet. He brought his world peace but people kept starving and dying until he met a Captain Britain and move onto the latter's world and begun a killing spree on the Captain Britain Corps. He then meets the Dark X-Men and Michelle Scicluna, a Black Air agent, and they prepare to take on New Excalibur^[3].

The New Teen Titans

The Teen Titans began when Kid Flash, Robin, and Aqualad banded together top save the town of Happy Harbor from a villain calling himself “Mr. Twister.” Shortly afterward, the three of them met again, along with Wonder Girl and Speedy, battling an alien called the Antithesis who had taken control of various JLA members. They decided to make the team permanent, and became known as the Teen Titans.

Speedy himself did not immediately join, but worked with them occasionally, and the team gained additional members. During a dark chapter of their history, in which they inadvertently allowed an important man to die, they abandoned their costumes for grey uniforms while working for a wealthy man named Loren Jupiter. Eventually, of course, they were back in costume. Yet the pressures of growing up tore the team apart, and as members began heading off for college, the team disbanded.

Some time later, a woman named Raven appeared, attempting to gather together a new group of Titans. She convinced Robin to start recruiting, and they collected Wonder Girl, Changeling, and the cyborg Vic Stone. Kid Flash declined, trying to be Wally West instead. Raven, an empath, needed him on the team, and so she interfered with his emotions, made him feel that he loved her, to convince him to join. On their first case they met the final member of the team, the alien princess Starfire. With all of them assembled, they were able to face the threat Raven had discovered: her own father, the greatest evil of an alternate dimension, was coming here. They elected to keep the team going, making their headquarters in New York.

The golden age of the Titans ended when they brought in a new member, Terra. The pressures of “real” life continued to wear on some of the members; Dick Grayson decided to abandon being Robin and find a new identity, and Wally West decided to give up heroics forever. Uncomfortable with what Raven had done, still unsure whether he was really Wally West or Kid Flash, and faced with his super-speed killing him, he retired. Two members down, the Titans were then captured by Deathstroke the Terminator and turned over the the H.I.V.E, where they learned that Terra had actually been a double agent. In the ensuing battle Terra died, the Titans recruited Deathstroke’s son Jericho as a new member, and Dick Grayson took on the identity of Nightwing.

Eventually, Raven lost control of the evil within herself, and Trigon was able to reach Earth. The Titans faced their own inner demons (literally), and they were able to force Trigon back, but at the apparent cost of Raven’s life. Then Starfire was called back to her homeworld Tamaran for an arranged marriage, and the team fell apart. It took a major battle with Brother Blood and his entire church, the return of Raven, and a coalition of former Titans (including Wally, now the Flash) before the team returned to anything resembling normal.

On the team’s third anniversary, all the Titans (and many former Titans) were captured by the Wildebeest, except for Nightwing, who managed to subdue his attacker, and discovered something astonishing: there was more than one Wildebeest! Together with Deathstroke (whose contract to destroy the Titans had long since expired), Raven’s mother, and a few unfamiliar faces (and eventually Troia, who had been lucky enough to be on vacation during this whole fiasco), they tracked down their former teammates only to discover that Jericho had been possessed—some time back—and had taken over the Wildebeest organization. Deathstroke was forced to kill his son, Raven died (again), Cyborg was left catatonic in a remote-controlled robot body, the Titans were discredited and targeted as menaces by the city of New York, and everything just sort of generally went to hell.

Then they got worse. First a team of future Titans came to the present to kill Troia, since her son would be born with godlike powers and take over the world. When Donna gave up her powers to prevent that future, they found themselves unable to return to their own time, and settled in the present... ironically, under the guardianship of the now-powerless Donna. Cyborg was revived by an alien computer sentience, but was only able to stay aware within it, and so left to explore the universe.

Then there was Raven. Since she had always had the ability to separate her soul from her body for short periods of time, her soul was able to remain on earth. The evil in her freed, she took possession of a new body and began recruiting allies, implanting seeds of Trigon’s soul in various captives—including Changeling and Frances Kane, who had finally begun to turn her life around. She interrupted the wedding of Nightwing and Starfire, implanting a seed in Kory—one which her alien biology appeared to fight off, but which eventually turned out to contain all the good in Raven’s soul. It led her to return to her homeworld once again, leaving a drastically reduced team of Titans. Troia had given up her powers, Raven was evil, Starfire and Cyborg were both in space, and Nightwing was going solo.

Roy Harper (formerly Speedy, later a government agent, and now Arsenal) stepped in to fill the leadership gap Nightwing had left. He made a deal with Sarge Steel of Checkmate to solve the Titans’ credibility problems, which ended up with them essentially working for the government. Unhappy with the deal, nearly everyone from the previous team left. He was left with the two Teamers who had survived Zero Hour, Damage (who had been remanded into the Titans’ custody), and Impulse. Fortunately by this time Donna had joined the Darkstars, and they were able to add the latest Green Lantern, Supergirl (the Matrix/Earth Angel version), and an alien with a powerful morphing battlesuit (the Omegadrome) calling himself Minion.

This team was a disaster. While they managed to succeed against Raven and other threats, the internal dynamics were... turbulent, to say the least. Kyle was still learning the ropes, Terra was facing an identity crisis, Damage’s temper was at its worst, Donna was dealing with her divorce, Mirage was secretly pregnant, no one could stand Impulse, and Arsenal—who has always had a problem with authority—found himself having problems exercising it.

The return of Cyborg (now Cyberion) from his exile in space led the Titans to head for Tamaran, seeking out Starfire as Raven began recollecting the pieces of Trigon’s soul. This left Changeling freed, and in the final confrontation, the piece of Raven’s soul that Starfire had carried was able to destroy Trigon’s soul forever (for the third time, mind you), leaving Raven a disembodied, but pure, spirit. Raven, Changeling, and Cyberion remained for a time on New Tamaran to help the survivors of the world’s destruction rebuild, while the rest returned to Earth and disbanded.

The Avengers

The group began with the random teaming of Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man, Wasp and Hulk, who joined forces to thwart the Asgardian menace Loki in response to a call for help from Hulk's teen sidekick, Rick Jones. Pym suggested the heroes remain together as a team, and his partner Wasp suggested they call themselves "something colorful and dramatic, like...the Avengers." The name stuck, and a legend was born.

Iron Man provided the group with financing and high-tech equipment in his dual identity as rich industrialist Tony Stark, donating his Manhattan residence to serve as their headquarters, Avengers Mansion. Stark's butler, Edwin Jarvis, stayed on as the mansion's principal servant and chief of staff, becoming a valued friend, confidant and advisor to the group. Stark also drew up a charter and by-laws to guide the team, and sought A-1 security clearance from the federal government, but he encountered resistance from the team's first National Security Council liaison, Special Agent Murch, and the general public regarded the new team somewhat uneasily. Much of this early skepticism focused on the monstrous Hulk, who soon quit the team in a fit of rage, but the group's image improved dramatically after they recruited long-lost war hero Captain America, who became the inspirational cornerstone of the Avengers. Thanks largely to his presence, the team won its A-1 security status and rapidly became the most respected super-hero team of its generation. This newfound prestige was sorely tested when the remaining founders retired from active duty for various personal reasons, leaving "Cap" alone to lead a roster of unlikely new recruits, all former criminals: the outlaw archer Hawkeye, and mutant terrorist twin siblings Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. The public was baffled, but Iron Man hoped that rehabilitating them might make up for the team's early failure with the Hulk. The new roster proved him right, and "Cap's Kooky Quartet" did the founders proud. All four of them went on to long service records with the Avengers. Hawkeye in particular became a valued mainstay of the team second only to his mentor, Cap.

Rise to Prominence

Avengers membership proved very fluid over the years. Thor, Iron Man, Pym and Wasp would all return for further tours of duty, though the unstable Pym did so in a series of alternate identities as Giant-Man, Goliath (an identity also used temporarily by Hawkeye), Yellowjacket and Doctor Pym. The four returning founders would all serve stints as team leader, too, and the group produced a series of impressive leaders over the years, notably Captain America, Wasp, Hawkeye and Iron Man. New recruits during the team's early years included the Swordsman (exposed as a double agent and expelled), Hercules, the Black Panther, the android Vision, and the Black Knight. Alien hero Captain Mar-Vell became one of the team's staunchest allies during the cosmic Kree-Skrull War. The Black Widow joined the team after years as an unofficial ally. A reformed Swordsman rejoined alongside his enigmatic lover Mantis, though he died protecting her from Kang and she soon left Earth to fulfill her prophesied destiny as the Celestial Madonna. Moondragon, Beast, Hellcat and Two-Gun Kid became members, though all but Beast opted for reserve status; the group attracted associates such as the aging speedster Whizzer, Wonder Man, the robotic Jocasta, the time-spanning 31st century Guardians of the Galaxy, and Ms. Marvel (later Warbird), all of whom helped the team oppose the mad man-god Korvac.

By this time, the paranoid and combative federal agent Henry Peter Gyrich had become the team's new government liaison. He imposed reductions and modifications of the team's membership, during which time Falcon and Ms. Marvel joined, but he was eventually reassigned. The team worked more smoothly with subsequent liaisons such as Raymond Sikorsky, who later betrayed them by aiding a government conspiracy against the Vision, and lifelong Avengers fan Duane Freeman, who was killed by Kang. A humbled Gyrich would later redeem himself by serving admirably as the Avengers liaison to the United Nations. Meanwhile, the team continued to add new members such as Wonder Man, Tigra, She-Hulk, a new Captain Marvel, and Starfox. Rambeau in particular proved to be one of the team's most formidable and respected members.

West Coast Expansion

The group's expansion accelerated after they opened a second headquarters on the West Coast, Avengers Compound, manned by both Avengers veterans and new recruits like Hawkeye's wife Mockingbird, War Machine (who also served as an alternate Iron Man), Thing, Moon Knight, U.S.Agent, Firebird, Human Torch, Living Lightning, Julia Carpenter as Spider-Woman, Machine Man, and Darkhawk. The western roster was led first and longest by Hawkeye, but the expansion team gradually deteriorated under later leaders and was shut down after major losses of resources and personnel. Regardless, the original eastern roster continued to grow, adding recruits such as Sub-Mariner, Doctor Druid, The Captain (actually a temporarily re-costumed Captain America), Demolition Man, Gilgamesh, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Quasar, Sersi, Spider-Man, Stingray, Rage, Sandman, Crystal, Thunderstrike (who also served as an alternate Thor), Justice, Firestar, Triathlon, Silverclaw, the new Ant-Man and Captain Britain. Some of these served long stints, others only briefly, but all made some sort of mark with the team, as did more informal associates such as Marrina, a new Yellowjacket (Rita DeMara), a new Swordsman (Phillip Jarvert), Magdalene, Deathcry, Masque, and an alternate-timeline teenage Iron Man. The group suffered setbacks, going through many changes of leadership and several changes of headquarters, losing various members and even disbanding more than once (most notably following disastrous conflicts with Terminatrix and Onslaught), but the team always regrouped in some form or another, continuing to evolve and grow. Few heroes refused offers of Avengers membership, though allies who did decline the honor included Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Spider-Woman, Silver Surfer, Archangel, Iceman, Dazzler, Black Cat, Doc Samson, Shroud and Songbird