Is anyone else reading this Marvel Comics series written by Babylon 5 creator J Micheal Straczynski? For those that aren't the storyline is a radical "reimagining" of longtime Marvel superheroes The Squadron Supreme.
The Squadron Supreme was and is Marvel's version of the Justice League of America. The made their debut in an issue of the Avengers circe 1970 and have popped up in various series ever since. Most notably their own 12 issue limited series in the mid 80's which is where I first heard of them. I didn't actually buy the comic at the time as I never saw a copy in any of the comic shops availible to me at the time, but the blurbs in the coming attraction sections of other titles intrigued me and when I finally saw some of the characters in issues of the Marvel Universe Handbook I decided to order the series through the mail. Squadron Supreme remains the only comic I have ever done this for.
SS interests me for two reasons outside of the normal gamet for a comic book. First it's set on an alternate Earth. Addmittedly it's an alternate to the Earth of the Marvel universe but it's still quite different from our own. For a start Nelson Rockefeller was president of the USA at one point and instead of the United Nations they still have the League of Nations. Some of the states and cities of the Squadron's Earth are different as well, instead of Washington DC there's Capital City and Hyperion, the Superman analogue, works out of Cosmopolis in the state of New Troy which I believe replaces New York city and state. The second reason why this title appeals to me is the way that instead of just replicating the origins of the DC heroes but with the names changed the writers used elements of the Marvel universe. For example in SS the green skinned, shape shifting Martian Manhunter is replaced by the Skrull, a member of Marvel's green skinned, shape shifting alien race. Also Power Princess, the Wonder Woman avatar, isn't an Amazon from Paradise Island but comes from Utopia Island where her ancestors were experimented on by another bunch of Marvel aliens, the Kree. In the regualr Marvel universe the Kree experimented on humans and created the Inhumans of the isle of Attilan.
Supreme Power does away with pretty much all of the above. The world is now our own but with superpowered individuals in it, while the characters are still identifiable as the Squadron Supreme their origins have become more generic. Straczynski has chosen to use the series to examin his usual topics of how power corrupts and how governments can become repressive without ever meaning to, something he did better in Rising Stars. While Straczynski's writing is as professional as ever and the series boasts some strong artwork the series as a whole feels flat and I put this down to the missuse of the characters. The Squadroneers had a strong and imaginative history, a history totally erased in Supreme Power and replaced with generic cookie cutter origins that could and have been used by dozens of heroes throughout the last sixty years.
While I'll keep on buying Supreme Power as if there's one thing JMS knows how to do is building suspense I can't help but hope that when the series ends someone decides to do a "proper" Squadron Supreme book.
The Squadron Supreme was and is Marvel's version of the Justice League of America. The made their debut in an issue of the Avengers circe 1970 and have popped up in various series ever since. Most notably their own 12 issue limited series in the mid 80's which is where I first heard of them. I didn't actually buy the comic at the time as I never saw a copy in any of the comic shops availible to me at the time, but the blurbs in the coming attraction sections of other titles intrigued me and when I finally saw some of the characters in issues of the Marvel Universe Handbook I decided to order the series through the mail. Squadron Supreme remains the only comic I have ever done this for.
SS interests me for two reasons outside of the normal gamet for a comic book. First it's set on an alternate Earth. Addmittedly it's an alternate to the Earth of the Marvel universe but it's still quite different from our own. For a start Nelson Rockefeller was president of the USA at one point and instead of the United Nations they still have the League of Nations. Some of the states and cities of the Squadron's Earth are different as well, instead of Washington DC there's Capital City and Hyperion, the Superman analogue, works out of Cosmopolis in the state of New Troy which I believe replaces New York city and state. The second reason why this title appeals to me is the way that instead of just replicating the origins of the DC heroes but with the names changed the writers used elements of the Marvel universe. For example in SS the green skinned, shape shifting Martian Manhunter is replaced by the Skrull, a member of Marvel's green skinned, shape shifting alien race. Also Power Princess, the Wonder Woman avatar, isn't an Amazon from Paradise Island but comes from Utopia Island where her ancestors were experimented on by another bunch of Marvel aliens, the Kree. In the regualr Marvel universe the Kree experimented on humans and created the Inhumans of the isle of Attilan.
Supreme Power does away with pretty much all of the above. The world is now our own but with superpowered individuals in it, while the characters are still identifiable as the Squadron Supreme their origins have become more generic. Straczynski has chosen to use the series to examin his usual topics of how power corrupts and how governments can become repressive without ever meaning to, something he did better in Rising Stars. While Straczynski's writing is as professional as ever and the series boasts some strong artwork the series as a whole feels flat and I put this down to the missuse of the characters. The Squadroneers had a strong and imaginative history, a history totally erased in Supreme Power and replaced with generic cookie cutter origins that could and have been used by dozens of heroes throughout the last sixty years.
While I'll keep on buying Supreme Power as if there's one thing JMS knows how to do is building suspense I can't help but hope that when the series ends someone decides to do a "proper" Squadron Supreme book.
