7/22/08: Squadron Supreme (1985-1986)We’ll have to be putting a moratorium on the whole “We Know Better” genre of Leftist villainy. That’s partly because the best example is
Watchmen, and that’s not going to be in theaters until 2009—although audiences are getting their first glimpse of the production as a trailer before
The Dark Knight. The original graphic novel was a great moment in comics history. The
Squadron Supreme mini-series did it all first, though. The thing felt like a real comic book, too.
There’s a long history to the Squadron Supreme. The team of supervillains originally showed up in the Marvel Comics universe as a goof on DC’s most popular heroes. There was the superfast and flashy Whizzer, Dr. Spectrum (whose powers resemble Green Lantern’s), moonlighting millionaire Nighthawk, and the mighty alien Hyperion. The characters were popular enough that Marvel had to find some kind of home for them. They used the old alternative-Earths trick to reveal that the Squadron Supreme were really good guys over on Earth-712. They just happen to live on an Earth where the good guys are prone to having their minds controlled by bad guys. First it was the Serpent Crown, and then some entity called The Overmind.
Mark Gruenwald was a writer/editor at Marvel, but had a forbidden love for DC’s Justice League of America. He managed to consummate his passions by creating the 12-issue
Squadron Supreme miniseries—which picks up just when The Overmind has been vanquished. The Squadron Supreme has expanded on this Earth to include an ersatz Hawkman, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman. There’s one fairly original character, too. Tom Thumb is a gadget-crazed dwarf whose massive intellect has him inventing all kind of amazing things.
Earth is in lousy shape now that The Overmind has been conquered. The villain operated out of America, and used the military—along with the Squadron Supreme—to conquer all the other nations. America is in trouble internally, and is resented everywhere else. Hyperion announces to the Squadron that it’s time for the heroes to undo the damage they’ve caused. They’ll create Utopia, and will “actively pursue solutions to all the world’s problems, abolish war and crime, eliminate poverty and hunger, establish equality among all peoples, clean up the environment, cure disease, and even cure Death itself.”
Only Nighthawk has reservations: “In my own way, on my own scale, I’ve fought long and hard to make the world a better place, too. But solving all the world’s problems and handing it over to the people on a silver platter seems wrong to me. How meaningful will a Utopia be if it is a gift and not something man has earned by his own labors? What if the people will not accept the Utopia you give them? Will you force them to take it?”
Hyperion explains that the Squadron has an obligation to improve the lot of people who are less fortunate. Nighthawk resigns, and that’s that. The Squadron announces to the world that they’re in control of things for the next year. They commence with food allotments and shutting down munitions factory. That seems to be their big priority. Nobody can make or own weaponry of any kind. This prompts some freedom-loving citizens to take up arms against the superheroes. The citizens don’t stand a chance, of course.
Also, the Squadron Supreme is really into reforming criminals. Tom Thumb has invented a behavior-modification machine that turns criminals into good citizens loyal to the laws of the nation. The Squadron Supreme makes a big deal out of how the machine will only be used on convicted criminals—you know, like the freedom-loving citizens who dared to fight for their right to bear arms.
The
Squadron Supreme series isn’t particularly insightful. It’s kind of a muddle of messages. Like we said, it’s the comic-book version of
Watchmen. The saga’s still a lot of fun. Issue #5 has a particularly nice moment. The remaining supervillains of the Institute of Evil manage to infiltrate the Squadron Supreme’s headquarters. They’ve taken a hostage from the family of each superhero, and plan to force the Squadron members to undergo behavior modification to become evil.
The Whizzer is able to speed away as the Institute reveals their scheme. He confirms his family is being held hostage. Then he runs to the local police station. “Officer,” he explains, “I’m The Whizzer. Please take me to where you keep your impounded weapons.”
The Whizzer’s in luck. The police station doesn’t take confiscated weapons over to the Meltdown Center until Friday. There’s a good selection of firearms on hand. The Whizzer finds a machine gun that looks good. He turns to the officer: “Can you think of a more lethal weapon than this?”
The officer can’t, so Whizzer runs back to the Squadron’s headquarters and unleashes hot lead upon the supervillains. He won’t face any condemnation from his fellow superheroes, either. That’s when you know the Squadron Supreme has really gone bad. They’ve turned into
Chicago politicians.
Make it your own: We always recommend reading comic books over bound collections. With the
Squadron Supreme series, you have to also include
Captain America #314. It’s a crossover issue, and Gruenwald uses it as a chance to write an old-fashioned campy
Batman comic.
You’d probably rather just get the complete
Squadron Supreme collection—which, sadly, is a posthumous tribute to Gruenwald. He died in 1996 at the age of 43. The past two decades have pretty much proven him to be the most influential writer in the comics industry. Also, his ashes were poured into the ink to make the first printing of the
Squadron Supreme book. If ever a comics collection deserved a blurb that said “Hey, kids—free inside…”
