Squadron Supreme

Squadron Supreme
Squadron Supreme 2005 trade paperback cover
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Avengers #85 (February 1971)
Created by	Roy Thomas (writer) John Buscema (artist)
In-story information
Base(s)	Rocket Central Squadron City
Member(s)	Founding members: Amphibian Doctor Spectrum Hyperion Nighthawk Power Princess Skrullian Skymaster Whizzer Later additions: Arcanna Blue Eagle Golden Archer Lady Lark Nuke Tom Thumb
Roster
See: List of Squadron Supreme members

The Squadron Supreme is a fictional 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, and 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; the team also has several minor members. Members of the team are based on characters published by rival DC Comics, and the team is a stand-in for the Justice League.^[1]:72 A number of characters that were not based on DC heroes were later added to the roster.

Publication history[edit]

The Squadron Supreme has its roots in the Squadron Sinister, which first appeared in Avengers #70 as a pastiche of the Justice League.^[1]:40 Roy Thomas later introduced a heroic version of the Squadron Sinister named the Squadron Supreme, which first appeared in Avengers #85–86 (February–March 1971), 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.

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.

Fictional team biography[edit]

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Earth-712 version[edit]

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;^[2] 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.^[3] 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;^[4] 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.^[5]

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;^[6] the Squadron appear in the title 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.^[7] Earth-712, however, is left in a post-apocalyptic state.^{[volume & issue needed]}

The Squadron Supreme were next featured in a self-titled 12-issue miniseries (Sep 1985 – Aug 1986) by writer Mark Gruenwald,^[8] which picks up from where Earth-712 was last seen in 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.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Despite the economic and technological advances, there are setbacks: Golden Archer abuses the behavior modification technology by forcing fellow member Lady Lark to love him, resulting in his eventual removal from the team; 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.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Nighthawk is eventually forced to confront his old teammates with a new team he calls the Redeemers, which also includes former Squadron member Golden Archer (now known as Black Archer). 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.^{[9][full citation needed]}

In a graphic novel sequel by Gruenwald, Ryan, and inker Al Williamson, Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe, remnants of the team reunite to battle the Nth Man. Although they succeed, several members of the Squadron are killed, with the remainder (Hyperion, Doctor Spectrum, Whizzer, Power Princess, Lady Lark (now known as Skylark), Arcanna, Haywire, and Shape) marooned in the mainstream Marvel universe.^[10]

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,^[11] the Squadron attempt unsuccessfully to return to their own universe,^[12] and members Hyperion, Doctor Spectrum, and the Whizzer battle the entity Deathurge.^[13]

The entire Squadron Supreme appear in an Avengers storyline with the Avengers that finally returns them to their home universe;^[14][15] the one-shot Squadron Supreme: New World Order reveals that Earth-712 is now dominated by corporations using the Squadron's own Utopia technologies.^[16]

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.^[17]

Supreme Power[edit]

The series Supreme Power features the rebooted version of the superhero team Squadron Supreme and is set on Earth-31916.^[18]

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 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 fight, with Hyperion accessing lost memories when coming in contact with Spectrum's crystal. 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^[19] with new Squadron members Emil Burbank, Arcanna, 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.

The second volume of the series Squadron Supreme^[20] brings together all the superhumans (with exception of reluctant outsider Nighthawk), 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 are 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 (with the Blur recruiting Nighthawk to assist) who threatens to detonate a nuclear weapon. The outcome is not revealed, as the series concluded with issue #7.

An unrelated nine-issue series titled Ultimate Power, written by J. Michael Straczynski; Brian Michael Bendis and Jeph Loeb with art by Greg Land,^[21] features the Squadron in a crossover into the Ultimate Universe. Courtesy of a deception engineered by Nick Fury and the Ultimate villain Doctor Doom, the Squadron travel to the Ultimate universe, thinking that the Ultimate Reed Richards is responsible for releasing an organism that has destroyed much of the United States.

A series of misunderstandings ensues, and after a series of battles between the Squadron, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Ultimates and the Earth-712 Squadron Supreme (whose world was also affected by the organism), the third culprit is revealed as Burbank, who was asked by the government to develop a weapon to kill Hyperion. Nick Fury is detained in custody in the Earth-31916 universe, while Squadron member Power Princess remains in the Ultimate universe to ensure that Doom (who escaped custody by using a Doombot) is captured.

An unrelated four issue limited series titled Squadron Supreme: Hyperion vs. Nighthawk, written by Marc Guggenheim and with art by Paul Gulacy, relates how Hyperion and Nighthawk, after an initial skirmish, join forces to try and alleviate the Darfur conflict in war-torn Sudan. Hyperion discovers Nighthawk has a prototype weapon built from stolen plans of Emil Burbank's journal that cannot actually injure him, but can convince him that he is being injured.^[22]

A third volume of the title Squadron Supreme, written by Howard Chaykin and with art by Greg Land (and other artists), is published,^[23] with the 12 issue series being set five years after the battle with Redstone. Most of the Squadron have disappeared, with Ultimate Nick Fury Burbank and Arcanna now a team of intelligence officers working for the government and investigate a group of returning astronauts that exhibit strange abilities; the astronauts infect many people they come into contact with, also giving them superhuman abilities.

Fury eventually leads a new version of the Squadron that features characters that are pastiches of long-time Marvel characters; the group eventually come into conflict with many of the original members of the Squadron who have been gathered by Hyperion. The heroes unite to stop a group of superhuman terrorists from the Middle East but then, via a government device, apparently all lose their abilities. Arcanna secretly reveals to Fury that she, and likely many others, still possesses superhuman abilities. Fury later returns to the Ultimate universe.

Later, the members of Squadron Supreme are apparently killed by Namor and the Cabal after the villains raid the Squadron's universe.^{[24][full citation needed]} Versions resembling these characters later appeared on the Battleworld created by Doctor Doom during the Secret Wars event, only to be killed again at the hands of Squadron Sinister. Nighthawk is left as the group's only survivor.^{[25][full citation needed]}

Earth-616 version[edit]

This team, set in Marvel's mainstream reality, features characters from numerous alternate universes, such as the Nighthawk from Supreme Power, a Hyperion from a reality that had been destroyed upon colliding with another universe, Doctor Spectrum from the world of the Great Society (which was destroyed by Namor to prevent it from colliding with the mainstream universe), Blur from the New Universe, and Warrior Woman from a Secret Wars tie-in (posing as the Earth-712 Squadron Supreme's Power Princess).^{[26][27][full citation needed]}

The Squadron Supreme's first action was to get revenge on Namor for what happened to the worlds of some of its members, they attacked Atlantis where Hyperion beheaded Namor and Zarda killed Attuma. The fight ended with Hyperion lifting Atlantis above the ocean and throwing it onto the ground hard enough to kill the remaining Atlanteans present.^{[28][full citation needed]} The actions caused by the Squadron Supreme led to the Avengers Unity Division to apprehend them before anyone else ends up killed by their hand.^{[29][full citation needed]} The Squadron Supreme were saved by Thundra and later teleported to Weirdworld,^{[30][full citation needed]} where they encounter Doctor Druid, who plans to mind-control Weirdworld's inhabitants.^{[31][full citation needed]} The Squadron Supreme shatter the crystal that Druid was using to enhance his mind-control powers and return home. Power Princess remains on Weirdworld and reveals herself as Warrior Woman. Thundra sides with the Squadron Supreme, although she is unsure if she should help the Squadron Supreme protect the world or help protect the world from the Squadron Supreme.^{[32][full citation needed]}

Through Modred the Mystic's magical modifications to Reed Richard's time machine, Hyperion and Doctor Spectrum are accidentally transformed into ephemeral "ghosts" caught in the past; specifically during the Squadron's attack on Atlantis and just before Hyperion kills Namor, they decide to change the past by dragging this past Namor back to the present, thereby resurrecting him. Although this action is easy for Hyperion, who has had second thoughts about the cutthroat methods the Squadron Supreme has been using, it is more difficult for Doctor Spectrum, as Namor destroyed her Earth. At the end of the story arc, Hyperion leads the action to disband the Squadron, and the team goes their separate ways.^{[33][full citation needed]}

Squadron Supreme of America[edit]

When the Avengers become a global peacekeeping force, Thunderbolt Ross meets with Phil Coulson to discuss the matter. Phil reveals that he has established the Squadron Supreme of America as the newest United States superhero team; the team consists of Hyperion, Power Princess, Nighthawk, Blur, and Doctor Spectrum as their leader.^{[34][full citation needed]}

With Doctor Spectrum as their leader, the Squadron Supreme of America were first used to fight Namor and his Defenders of the Deep, when they attacked a Roxxon oil rig that is off the coast of Alaska.^{[35][full citation needed]}

Then the Squadron Supreme visited another oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, where Doctor Spectrum used his powers to melt areas of the oil rig to secure it from an attack by Namor; the Squadron Supreme then made short work of Namor and the Defenders of the Deep.^{[36][full citation needed]}

During the War of the Realms storyline, the Squadron Supreme of America were summoned to Washington D.C. by Phil Coulson, who brought them up to speed on Malekith's invasion. They are shown fighting Rock Trolls and Frost Giants, their origin is fully shown, where its' members are revealed to be simulacrums created by Mephisto and programmed by the Power Elite so that Phil Coulson can have them be a United States-sponsored superhero team. After the Squadron Supreme caused the Frost Giants to retreat, Phil Coulson sends them to Ohio which has become a battleground.^{[37][full citation needed]}

The Squadron Supreme are summoned to confront Black Panther when he infiltrates the Pentagon and confronts Phil Coulson. Hyperion states that the Squadron Supreme are the United States' sanctioned superhero team in light of the Avengers becoming an anti-American team; as Nighthawk states to Blur that Black Panther won't run as he is under arrest, Black Panther states to them that he doesn't know how they got their powers and that they are not the Squadron Supreme as he even asked if they trust Phil Coulson. Before they can grab him, Black Panther contacts Broo to teleport him away; as he disappears, Black Panther states that Phil Coulson won't answer their questions and that the Avengers aren't their enemies unless they forced them to be.^[38]

Membership[edit]

Other versions[edit]

Marvel Zombies Supreme[edit]

A group of clones of the Squadron Supreme appear in the 2011 Marvel Zombies Supreme mini-series, which sees the members of the team infected with a zombie virus developed by a deranged geneticist.^[39]

In other media[edit]

• The Squadron Supreme appears in the "Whom Continuity Would Destroy" episode of The Super Hero Squad Show. The members present are Nighthawk, Power Princess, and Hyperion. Thanos and Grandmaster pit Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, and Hulk against the Squadron members.
• The Squadron Supreme also appears in the TV series Avengers Assemble. The group consists of Hyperion, Zarda, Nighthawk, Speed Demon, Doctor Spectrum, and Nuke; this version of the Squadron are aliens who attempted to rule their planet and destroyed it when the populace failed to blindly obey them. In the first-season episode "Hyperion", Hyperion arrives on Earth and plans to do the same to this new world that he had done to his, he is imprisoned by the Avengers, but later escapes and joins the Red Skull's Cabal. In the second season, the Squadron Supreme reunite and plan to become the "protectors" of Earth, which leads to them clashing with the Avengers. Eventually, the Squadron Supreme are defeated and remanded to a special section of the Vault.

Collected editions[edit]

• Squadron Supreme (TPB, 352 pages, 2005, ISBN 0-7851-0576-X) collects Squadron Supreme #1–12 (Sep 1985 – Aug 1986)
• Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe (Graphic novel, hardcover, 1989, ISBN 0-87135-598-1)
• Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe (TPB, 240 pages, 2006, ISBN 0-7851-2091-2) collects Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe, Thor #280, Avengers (1998) #5–6, Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual '98 and Squadron Supreme: New World Order
• Squadron Supreme Omnibus (HC, 2010, ISBN 978-0785149712), collects Squadron Supreme #1–12, Captain America #314, Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe
• Squadron Supreme Classic Omnibus (HC, 2016, ISBN 9781302900656), collects Avengers #69–70, #85–86, #141–144 and #147–149, Thor #280, Defenders #112–114, Squadron Supreme #1–12, Captain America #314, Squadron Supreme: Death Of A Universe, Quasar #13–16 and #51–52, Avengers (1998) #5–6, Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual '98, Squadron Supreme: New World Order, Exiles #77–78 and Ultimate Power #7–9
• Supreme Power vol. 1 (MAX imprint) #1–18 (August 2003 – August 2005) collected as:
  • Contact (TPB collects #1–6, 144 pages, 2004, ISBN 0-7851-1224-3)
  • Powers and Principalities (TPB, collects #7–12, 144 pages, 2005, ISBN 0-7851-1456-4)
  • High Command (TPB, collects #13–18, 144 pages, 2005, ISBN 0-7851-1474-2)
  • Supreme Power vol. 1 (hardcover, collects #1–12 and Avengers #85–86, 352 pages, 2005, ISBN 0-7851-1369-X)
  • Supreme Power vol. 2 (hardcover, collects #13–18 and Supreme Power: Hyperion #1–5, 264 pages, 2006, ISBN 0-7851-2133-1 )
• Doctor Spectrum (MAX imprint) #1–6 (August 2004 – March 2005). TPB, 144 pages, 2005, ISBN 0-7851-1586-2)
• Supreme Power: Nighthawk (MAX imprint) #1–6 (September 2005 – February 2006). TPB, 144 pages, July 2006, ISBN 0-7851-1897-7)
• Supreme Power: Hyperion (MAX imprint) #1–5 (September 2005 – January 2006). TPB, 120 pages, July 2006, ISBN 0-7851-1895-0)
• Squadron Supreme (vol. 2) #1–7 (March–November 2006) collected as:
  • Pre-war Years (hardcover, collects #1–7, 168 pages, November 2006, ISBN 0-7851-2282-6)
  • Pre-war Years (TPB, collects #1–7, 168 pages, 2009, ISBN 978-0-7851-1898-5)
• Squadron Supreme: Hyperion vs. Nighthawk #1–4 (February–April 2007). TPB, 100 pages?, July 2007, ISBN 0-7851-2434-9)
• Ultimate Power #1–9 (December 2006 – December 2007). TPB, 232 pages?, September 2008, ISBN 978-0-7851-2367-5)
• Squadron Supreme (vol. 3) #1–12 (September 2008 – June 2009) collected as:
  • Power to the People (TPB, collects #1–6, 144 pages, 2008, ISBN 978-0-7851-3284-4)
  • Bright Shining Lies (TPB, collects #7–12, 128 pages, 2008, ISBN 978-0-7851-3536-4)
• Supreme Power vol. 2 (MAX imprint) #1–4 (June 2011^[40]  – September 2011). Gods and Soldiers TPB, 96 pages, December 2011, ISBN 978-0-7851-5571-3
• Squadron Supreme: By Any Means Necessary! (TPB, 2016, ISBN 978-0-7851-9971-7) collects Squadron Supreme (2015) Vol. 1, #1–5 and material from Avengers (2015) #0
• Squadron Supreme: Civil War II (TPB, 2016, ISBN 978-0-7851-9972-4) collects Squadron Supreme (2015) Vol. 2, #6–9
• Squadron Supreme: Finding Namor (TPB, 2017, ISBN 978-1-302-90285-8) collects Squadron Supreme (2015) Vol. 3, #10–15

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Squadron Supreme at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017.