SUPREME POWER

'''Supreme Power''' is a comic book limited series published under Marvel Comics' MAX imprint from 2003 to 2005. Written by J. Michael Straczynski and pencilled by Gary Frank, it is eighteen issues in length. It features the rebooted version of the superhero team Squadron Supreme (with the individual members loosely based on the characters from DC Comics' Justice League), set in the Supremeverse (also referred to as Earth-31916 in the ''Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe: Alternate Worlds 2005''). In March 2006, ''Supreme Power'' was relaunched as ''Squadron Supreme'' under the traditional Marvel Comics imprint.

Contents

Synopsis

Part I: Contact (#1–6)

Part II: Powers and Principalities (#7–12)

Part III: High Command (#13-18)

''Squadron Supreme (vol.2)''

The Pre-War Years (#1-6)

Turnabout (#7-12)

Bibliography

Synopsis

Part I: Contact (#1–6)

The story begins with the origin of 'Hyperion', which parallels Superman's somewhat, with a baby in a rocket crash-landing on Earth and being saved by a couple, until the Government intervenes, abducting the alien baby and raising him with the objective of turning him into a super-soldier, under a project headed by General Casey and Dr. Bill Steadman. Hyperion grows up in a controlled environment, but doesn't enjoy the confinement.
Other characters are soon introduced, starting with the 'Blur', a youthful farm boy living with his single mother, whose speed powers are unexplained; 'Amphibian', a freakish baby girl left to die in the ocean, but who manages to survive under the oceans after her mother committed suicide when she was born and her father went insane; 'Nighthawk', a child who saw his parents murdered as victims of a hate crime; '', apparently a Greek goddess who sleeps in a mausoleum; and 'Dr. Spectrum', an army colonel specialized in black ops, who is called in to test a crystal-shaped weapon taken from Hyperion's ship, absorbing it into his skin and lapsing into a coma.
After Hyperion's first field missions as the Government's secret weapon, ''Washington Herald'' reporter Jason Scott learns of his existence, and the government outs him as a state-sponsored superhero to prevent a media exposé. This prompts the Blur, originally an urban myth called the "Atlanta Blur", out of hiding as a corporate icon, while Nighthawk begins acting as a vigilante who solely preys on those criminals whose victims are African-American. After Hyperion's foster parents' deaths are faked to increase Mark's dependence on the Government, he meets Nighthawk and the Blur. Dr. Spectrum wakes up from his years-long coma.

Part II: Powers and Principalities (#7–12)

The NSA removes custody of Project Hyperion from the military, unhappy with his public status. Hyperion starts acting more independently, discovering that he's being used as a decoy for American black ops around the world, and fights Dr. Spectrum on foreign soil. The two fight a long battle, doing considerable damage to the surrounding landscape and inadvertently killing the local wildlife, and Hyperion touches the crystal by accident and is given memories of his journey to Earth. After Spectrum is defeated, Hyperion tries to learn his origins from his superior, General Clancy, who attempts to destroy him with a new weapon specifically designed to kill him. Amphibian is first spotted by humans, whom she kills in self-defense. Later she finds and helps Dr. Spectrum at the bottom of the sea, where he is healing after his fight with Hyperion.
Princess Zarda wakes up and finds the injured Hyperion, healing him in the light of the sun. She alludes to having similar origins and powers to Hyperion's, explaining she was waiting for him for two-thousand years, and they have a mission to colonize and conquer the planet, but her memories seem mixed up. After separating, Zarda goes on a rampage, disregarding human life and private property. Nighthawk finds a super-human serial killer who preys on black prostitutes and goads the Blur and Hyperion to help him stop the murderer.
Spectrum and Dr. Bill Steadman discover the scientist currently in charge of Hyperion's project has created a retro virus based on Hyperion's DNA, which has been grafted to military convicts who volunteered as human guinea pigs. One of those test subjects tore out an entire prison wall with his bare hands, as was the super-powered serial killer, who escaped captivity with other test subjects and is at large and out of control.

Part III: High Command (#13-18)

Hyperion, Nighthawk, and the Blur have formed an uneasy partnership in order to capture the super-human serial killer. After finding him a fight is started that slaughters thirty five humans and destroys or badly damages private property. Doctor Spectrum shows up and takes Michael Redstone, the super-human serial killer, into custody, to a prison originally made for Hyperion.
General Richard Alexander is appointed head of the government's super-human program and attempts to bring Hyperion back under government control and track down the other super-humans the Government made. Hyperion, Nighthawk and the Blur break up over a political disagreement. After learning of his extraterrestrial origin and the Government's propaganda, Hyperion declares himself outside the system.
Doctor Spectrum is ordered to look for and capture Amphibian for the government, after a picture showing her killing the first humans who spotted her is revealed to the media. Spectrum learned she killed them in self-defense, and after capturing her and giving her the name "Kingsley Rice", he starts a romantic relationship with her. Later, he meets Princess Zarda who attempts to remove the power prism and retrieve her memories. But is attacked by Amphibian in retaliation for harming Spectrum. After escaping Rice, Zarda kills a stranger and steals her identification, presumably in hopes of using the woman's identity to hide and bide for time.
General Alexander makes a final attempt to sway Hyperion back into the government's fold. When he refuses, he leaks information to journalist Jason Scott that Hyperion is an extraterrestrial. Alexander then drafts all existing super-humans into the army's super-human program. Hyperion vows to stop it and warns the Blur about it.

''Squadron Supreme (vol.2)''

The Pre-War Years (#1-6)

The US military creates two teams of super-powered agents, one for international/public missions and one for covert operations. Mark informs Jason Scott of the project and gives him a list of the super-humans working for the government. The US President gives a press conference and announces that Hyperion, Blur, Doctor Spectrum, Zarda, Amphibian, Tom Thumb, Arcanna, Emil Burbank, Nuke, Shape and Inertia will be operating as the 'Squadron Supreme'.
After the Squadron is formed, the government asks the team members to sign identification and non-disclosure forms. Three days later, it is learned that the nano-virus that was released from Hyperion's ship has spread worldwide. An African general named John M'Butu, a fast-rising tribal leader gifted with a powerful psychic suggestion ability and calling himself ''the Voice'', is leading a genocidal campaign in the Salawe region of Uganda. The US government identifies him as a super-human after he survives an assassination attempt. The team is sent to the region "to take him out".
Early in the fight, Hyperion, Doctor Spectrum and Amphibian are affected by M'Butu's power to control anyone who hears his voice. M'Butu commands the trio to hunt down their comrades. Zarda immediately notices that there is another voice in Hyperion's head and not the ''One True Voice''.
Zarda manages to free Doctor Spectrum by calling to the voice within the Power Prism, which takes control of Spectrum, and frees Hyperion. Amphibian attacks Burbank, who attempts to defeat her with a powder of his own design, but she is saved by Doctor Spectrum just in time. Burbank reveals that he has developed counter measures to defend himself from everyone on his team, except for Hyperion and Doctor Spectrum.
Blur then meets five unnamed African super-humans, who claim that three of them have killed M'Butu. The other two inform the rest of the Squadron that America armed M'Butu with weapons to rule Uganda in the first place, since the United States couldn't afford to see a ''peaceful united Africa'' with a growing economy. The five super-humans tell the Squadron to leave, stating that "Africa is now off-limits".
After the end of the mission, the Squadron are then ordered to take down insurgents in Ilam Province in Iran. During this mission, codenamed "Long Walk", Stanley Stewart wonders if the team is doing the right thing. Inertia then stumbles across a little girl whose mother and older sisters were raped by four of the insurgents. Emil asks the girl to identify the men. After identifying them, Inertia tracks them down, buries them up to their necks in the sand and hands the little girl an improvised club, with which the girl then kills them.
In China, Redstone agrees to work for the Chinese government for authority, money and the chance to fight Hyperion, Nighthawk and the Blur again.
After the end of "Long Walk", the team is given rest and recreation time. Blur goes home to see how his mother is doing and invites Nighthawk to join the Squadron, but Richmond declines the offer. Doctor Spectrum is briefing the joint chiefs and their staff on the details of "Long Walk". Hyperion gives a press conference of the "Long Walk" mission. At the interview, he is surprised by Redstone posing as a reporter, and a fight starts.

Turnabout (#7-12)

In the latest issue of Squadron Supreme, Redstone and Hyperion fight resulting in the deaths of many innocent bystanders. Hyperion attempts to suffocate Redstone by flying him into orbit, but Redstone has prepared a nuclear weapon stolen from a submarine that had sunk in the Norwegian Sea. The bomb will explode if it does not receive a signal from him every 5 minutes. Redstone insists Hyperion let himself be beaten to death or the device will be triggered. Hyperion is blinded by Redstone's flash vision and Redstone's rampage takes the lives of many citizens. Zarda arrives to save Hyperion but he insists she dispose of the bomb (which she does, possibly at the cost of her own life). Finally Blur forcibly recruits Nighthawk to aid in the battle and the three heroes confront Redstone. The story is ongoing.

Bibliography

★ ''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 )

★ '' (MAX imprint) #1-6 (August 2004-March 2005, tpb, 144 pages, 2005 ISBN 0-7851-1586-2)

★ '' (MAX imprint) #1-6 (September 2005-February 2006, tpb, 144 pages, July 2006 ISBN 0-7851-1897-7)

★ '' (MAX imprint) #1-5 (September 2005-January 2006, tpb, 120 pages, July 2006 ISBN 0-7851-1895-0)

★ ''Squadron Supreme'' Vol. 2 (Marvel Knights) #1- (March 2006-ongoing) collected as:

★
★ ''Pre-war Years'' Volume 1 (collects #1-6, 168 pages, November 2006 ISBN 0-7851-2282-6)

★ '' #1-4 (February 2007 - April 2007)

★ ''Ultimate Power'' #1-9 (December 2006-?)