One innovation that the 80's brought to comics was the limited series. The first limited series,
World of Krypton, was released by DC in 1979 to coincide with the theatrical release of
Superman. Series starring Batman (
Untold Legend of the Batman) and the Green Lantern Corps (
Tales of the Green Lantern Corps) followed. Based on the success of those series, the 80's saw an explosion of limited series.
Marvel published series featuring the solo adventures of some of their popular team players: Hawkeye, Hercules, Iceman, Magik, Nightcrawler, The Vision & Scarlet Witch and Wolverine all had mini-series in the 80's. Marvel also used the format to gauge audience demand for a title spotlighting characters as varied as Cloak & Dagger, Elektra, Falcon, Longshot, Machine Man, Punisher, Rocket Raccoon and the West Coast Avengers. Marvel also pioneered the practice of using the limited series for the mega-crossover event. First
Contest of Champions, then
Marvel Super-Heroes Secret War and
Secret War II took dozens of heroes and teamed them up and/or pitted them against one another.
Over at DC Comics, the idea of the limited series allowed writers and artists to play outside the traditional sandbox of the DC Universe. Titles such as
Ronin, Camelot 3000, Masters of the Universe, Amethyst, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Cinder & Ash, Doc Savage, Lords of the Ultra-Realm, Flash Gordon, V for Vendetta, Thriller and
Watchmen all explored comic worlds separate from the traditional DC
multi-verse. DC also utilized the limited series for their mega-events: first in 1985 with
Crisis on Infinite Earths, and then followed by
Legends, Millennium, Cosmic Odyssey and
Invasion!.
My favorite mini-series of the 1980's was a 12 issue maxi-series that explored the dynamics of a group of super-heroes and their efforts to save the world. The series utilizes analogues of a group of established superheroes to explore a world where things have gone sour. Heroes are forced to battle former teammates. Heroes' actions impact society. Nuclear disarmament. We see how the personal lives of heroes are affected by the decisions they make. We see loved ones of a hero die as an accidental result of their powers. You may be thinking
Watchmen, but you would be wrong. Before
Watchmen, Marvel explored these themes in
Squadron Supreme.
Squadron Supreme was the story of a group of super-heroes that mirrored the Justice League of America team that was active in the 1980's. The Squadron wasn't loosely based on the JLA, they were blatant copies. Hyperion, their Superman, was the sole survivor of a doomed planet raised by a couple who instilled a strong moral background. His powers included flight, invulnerability, atomic vision, super strength and the only thing that affected him was argonite. Power Princess, their Wonder Woman, was born on Utopia Island, but left this paradise island (pun intended) to spread their teaching to the world. She fell in love with a US Serviceman who she rescued from a sinking ship. The similarities run the entire gamut of the JLA pantheon even encompassing nods to the SuperFriends cartoon (Redstone is an Apache Chief clone) and the Justice League Detroit (Moonglow has the same power set as Gypsy). I have included a
separate blog posting with each character's analogue.
Squadron Supreme opens with Hyperion "pitting his awesome might against a massive object caught in the irresistible force of Earth's gravity...It is a contest not even Hyperion can win." This sets the tone for the series as Hyperion and the Squadron try to use their powers to better mankind, even when mankind doesn't necessarily want the help. We will see variations of theme throughout the story arc.
As the story opens, the Squadron's satellite headquarters is plummeting to Earth. The Earth has almost been annihilated by an attack by the Overmind. The Overmind had enslaved the Squadron (with the exception of Hyperion) and the Squadron had taken over the world. The Overmind then planned on using the Earth as a forward base to conquer the universe. Hyperion was able to defeat the Overmind, but the world is in shambles as result. The Squadron decides that it is their responsibility to save the Earth from the brink of disaster and make it a utopia. The first chapter delivers a recap of what has gone before and it chillingly foreshadows the Squadron's own actions to implement the Utopia program. The Squadron votes on their plan and both Nighthawk and Amphibian vote against the plan. Nighthawk disagrees so vehemently, he quits the team in protest and decides to assassinate Hyperion to stop the Utopia program. The first chapter ends with the team explaining their plan to the world, unmasking themselves to the public and Nighthawk, in his secret identity of Kyle Richmond, finding himself unwilling to kill Hyperion.
The rest of the series follows the Squadron as they try to implement their plan and their ultimate failure. Things go poorly for the Squadron as soon as they decide to eliminate crime by brainwashing criminals. Tom Thumb invents a behavior modification device to rehabilitate criminals. Almost immediately, the technology is abused by the Golden Archer who uses to ensure that Lady Lark will marry him. The Squadron eventually learns of this and kick him out of the Squadron. The Institute of Evil is apprehended by the Squadron and subjected to the device. They are then "offered" the opportunity to join the Squadron. All the former Instituters become model members of the Squadron, but due to their brainwashing they are unable to stop potential disasters. When Hyperion is replaced by an evil doppleganger, Lamprey realizes this but cannot say anything without betraying a Squadron member. Doctor Decibel is worried about Arcanna's pregnancy and Ape X learns about Tom Thumb's terminal cancer prognosis, but they cannot say anything. This culminates with Ape X having a nervous breakdown after discovering Moonglow had stolen the plans to the behavior modification machine. Ape X is torn between her compulsion to be loyal and report the betrayal.
In order to oppose the Squadron, Nighthawk is forced to partner with the remaining super-criminals of the world: Master Menace, Mink, Remnant and Pinball (the latter 3 being recruited only after travelling to the Marvel Universe's Earth and teaming up with Captain America. This extra-dimensional excursion struck me as unneeded to the overall story. Halfway through the story, it crossovers with one issue of another book-which results in no discernible effect to the story. It would have been different if Captain America had accompanied Nighthawk back to aid him, but he doesn't.) Nighthawk has his allies infiltrate the Squadron and they steal the plans to the behavior modification plans. Freeing the Instituters from their compulsion, the Redeemers and the Squadron then battle each other. I'm not going to spoil the ending, but the fight that ensues is an epic battle that highlights the persona; disputes and allegiances that developed and fractured throughout the series.
I remember the story quite fondly but having just re-read this in trade format I do have to admit the story does seem very dated now. The major distraction for me was the inclusion of an almost obligatory "Previously on Squadron Supreme" flashback every chapter. We very rarely see this in today's comics and I'm sure that it is an editorial function of the books being written with the inevitable trade in mind, but I'm also reminded of Steven Johnson's book
"Everything Bad Is Good For You". One of Johnson's premises in the book is television has evolved from a one and done mentality in the 60's & 70's to an ongoing, multiple weave of intertwining story lines. Johnson argues that this is making us smarter and allowing pop culture to evolve even further.
The art in
Squadron Supreme is nothing to write home about and it's interesting to see how dramatically different the Alex Ross splash page differs from the original artwork (I like the photo-realism look of his art, but I'm not a huge fan of his DC work-ironically perhaps due his slavish devotion to the comics of the 80's. I love the 80's comic scene, but I also realize that things change).
