Squadron Supreme Limited Series.

[Sutekh]

An amazing look at the road to hell being paved with good intentions and an exploration of one possible answer to the perennial question of why superheroes don't ever do anything proactive to actually change the world and make it a better place.

A year later (before the Squadron Supreme mini was even done, really), Watchmen started exploring that same sort of deconstructive take, and it soon blossomed into a fad, in books and settings like the Stormwatch 'Change or Die' storyline that led to the formation of the Authority, the Ultimates universe (particularly the Ultimate Avengers) and even the Civil War (which also dealt with superhumans dragged into a more realpolitick situation) and the latest Phoenix Five business in AvX, which, once again, had heroes try to make the world a better place, and it all going terribly horribly wrong (because, gosh, it's been 40 years now, why would we want to tell a different story?).

The Squadron Supreme storyline proved that there was an audience for this sort of thing, and it could be argued that many stories that followed in it's footsteps were more amazing or thoughtful or whatever, but, if you want to use the word 'groundbreaking,' this was the one that really started to break that ground. It wasn't the newest idea on the block (back in the '70s, DC published some rationale for why the Justice Society didn't fly over to Germany and end WW2 by punching Hitler in the face, for instance, and I'm sure *hundreds* of comics have had storylines based on why character X doesn't fix real world problem Y), but it was one of the first twelve-issue storylines devoted to exploring that concept in depth.

And it brought us a whole new generation of heroes, to the original 'Squadron Sinister,' many of them not at all the sort of 'Justice League clones' that had come before, like Lamprey and Quagmire and Foxfire and Inertia, some of whom had vastly more creative and original powers than 90% of what we've seen in recent years.

Inertia just has the most awesome power you could have, in a world where people solve problems by punching other people really hard, the ability to absorb and redirect kinetic energy at a range, so that one super-dude can be punching the crap out of another dude, and she can steal all that energy, so that super-dude is batting at his foe like a playful kitten, and redirect that energy to use his own strength to beat the crap out of one of his own allies. So, so, brutally unfair! It's always fun to see someone use a power in a clever way, and Inertia did not disappoint in that fight.

[Kieran_Frost]

My comic shop has the first TPB for £3.99... I might get it hearing all this.

[Nomads1]

SS #12v was BRUTAL! Even now, one of the most impressive battles I've ever read. I still wish we could have seen a real dragout battle between Hyperion and Redstone. His blindness and the Interia cheat really felt frustrating on an otherwise epic battle.

Peace

[Adam-X]

Looking at the issues included in the squadron supreme omnibus , is there a reason why captain America 314 is included ? Shouldn't the thor issue , issue 280 which had the duplicate hyperion from the squadron sinister learning about the squadron supreme hyperion and his universe and escaping into that universe and tried to pass off as the real hyperion. Something that he tried to do in the mini again. The art in that issue was drawn by classic superman pencilier Wayne Boring.

After the Death of a universe story , the squadron supreme story continued in Gruenwald's Quasar series - the squadron supreme landed on Marvel 616 earth in Quasar 13 and was almost immediately involved in a storyline in Quasar issue 13-16 "Journey into mystery" which is recommended. They were involved in the quasar series on and off as Quasar situated them in project Pegasus until the kurt busiek avengers series send them back to their own world.

Nomads1 answered why the Captain America issue was used. But I agree - there's quite a few issues (even in the pages of Avengers), in which the Squadron Supreme showed up that could have been used. But the Cap issue fits the best.

I did not, however, know about the Quasar issues. I will need to track those down.

[FanboyStranger]

After the Death of a universe story , the squadron supreme story continued in Gruenwald's Quasar series - the squadron supreme landed on Marvel 616 earth in Quasar 13 and was almost immediately involved in a storyline in Quasar issue 13-16 "Journey into mystery" which is recommended. They were involved in the quasar series on and off as Quasar situated them in project Pegasus until the kurt busiek avengers series send them back to their own world.

We really need further editions of Quasar Classic. At least through "Cosmos in Collision". The first volume actually reprints the least interesting material in the first half of the series.

[Zero Hunter]

I loved SS. It is a classic. If you liked it you might also want to make sure to check out the fallout of what happened after the Squadron was finally able to return to their own earth after being stranded on the Marvel U Earth for so long.

[marshal99]

Nomads1 answered why the Captain America issue was used. But I agree - there's quite a few issues (even in the pages of Avengers), in which the Squadron Supreme showed up that could have been used. But the Cap issue fits the best.

I did not, however, know about the Quasar issues. I will need to track those down.

Please do. The quasar series is pretty underrated and while it did go seriously downhill towards the end , it was pretty decent for the most part with the squadron supreme , as i mentioned , playing a bit part here n there.

[Adam-X]

I loved SS. It is a classic. If you liked it you might also want to make sure to check out the fallout of what happened after the Squadron was finally able to return to their own earth after being stranded on the Marvel U Earth for so long.

I highly recommend these as well.

Please do. The quasar series is pretty underrated and while it did go seriously downhill towards the end , it was pretty decent for the most part with the squadron supreme , as i mentioned , playing a bit part here n there.

I am one of the folks who missed the Quasar train. I may have to go back and hunt these down.

[FanboyStranger]

My comic shop has the first TPB for £3.99... I might get it hearing all this.

You should definitely get it, especially at that price.

[The Odd Man]

I still own all the original issues of the mini, including the Cap crossover as well as the Defenders issues that led into the mini. Fantastic stuff.

[Adam-X]

I still own all the original issues of the mini, including the Cap crossover as well as the Defenders issues that led into the mini. Fantastic stuff.

I also have the original series. But I have found, I collect the Omnibus type stuff, or Essentials (if need be), for stuff I frequently re-read, or may take with me on a trip. It's easier and more manageable to have one book with all of those issues, rather than trying to carry the individual issues without damaging them.

[Adam-X]

I am reading the Omnibus - and it's still as amazing as ever.

[MyriVerse]

So bittersweet. Such awesome writing, but the way it all turned out upsets me to this day.

[Adam-X]

[...]but the way it all turned out upsets me to this day.

What do you mean?

[Da Boat]

It's the Best Justice League Story Ever Told.

I sort of imagine in an alternate dimension, Gruenwald and Ryan defected to DC just before Crisis and did this story with the DC characters as "The Last Justice League Story".