So are you posting the very best of the very best?

Like that page from # 2 is kind of amazing. The different states of Tom Thumb and the other guy are contrasted by having the camera zoom in for three panels, unrelated panel, EXTREME CLOSE UP (a difficult technique to do well - Hall is doing a really good job at implying stuff that's happening off panel) and then a zoom out ending in silhouette. There's a lot of attention paid to negative space, spotting blacks to convey emotion... on top of specifically using contrasting zoom effects to anchor the characters in different emotional milleus. There's only a small handful of Marvel's '80s artists that are doing creative, formal comics storytelling on this level. That is great stuff!

That's cool! Someday I'll get around to reading Strikeforce: Morituri.

Mostly, I am posting key scenes from that issue, as the story is more of my interest.  I just don't see SS as big artistic showcase.  It has some excellent art and some good art; but, nothing that just leaps out to my tastes.  It's subjective, obviously; but, this is my take on it.

Brent Anderson would have been a damn good choice for this, as we would see, on Astro City.  Ron Lim, Gruenwald's collaborator on Captain America, would have been an interesting choice.  Hall does well with the talking head scenes and there are plenty; but, there are several where I thought they could have been more exciting.  Hall kind of falls into that "house style," that seemed to prevail, under Shooter.  Granted, marvel had always had "house styles," as artists were encouraged to follow Kirby and Ditko and others; but, I thought the 60s and 70s styles were a bit more lively.

I do wish they had spent more time on some of the costumes.  Several are drastic improvements; a few could have used a re-think.  They do look a bit dated though; you can tell it's an 80s book.  I suppose that is true of a lot of comics, from any decade.

Paul Ryan takes over for a few issues down the road, though he wasn't quite as bombastic as he became on FF, post-Image crowd leaving Marvel.

Squadron Supreme #5



Speaking of dated costumes....

Can't tell if the female is trying to embrace the mohawk dude or put him in a 3/4 nelson; they do look rather like 80s pro wrestlers.

Creative Team: Bob Sharen is colorist, rest same as last issue.

Synopsis: Golden Archer wakes up and finds himself suspended from the ceiling, in chains and restraints. Yet another bachelor party gotten out of hand? Nope, he is the prisoner of the Institute of Evil (anything like Trump University?) He is interrogated and recaps last issue, including his mind rape of Lady Lark. Turns out, it has backfired on him, as she won't leave his side and is smothering him with affection. he knew the Squadron was starting to suspect and he took it on the run (baby) and was caught by The Shape...



Ape X, leader of the villains, formulates a strategy. Quagmire (the mohawk dude, on the cover, is sent for the Whizzer's wife and children. Foxfire, the limber lady trying to become one with Quagmire, goes after Princess Power's husband, Lamprey (the purple dude) is sent after Arcanna's spouse and children, Shape and Dr Decibel are sent for Blue Eagle's mother.

Meanwhile, Hyperion and Arcanna are using the Behavior Modification device on convicts...



They convene for their meeting and discuss Golden Archer's absence. Dr Spectrum is sent to find him. The rest spread out for their missions, leaving Tom working on a second B-Mod device. he is interrupted by the Institute, who have broken in (thanks to GA's info) and are smashing the place. Dr Decibel's sonic weapon knocks Tom for a loop, while Lamprey leaches off the energy of his force shield belt, leaving him vulnerable to Quagmire's ooze. He is then placed under the B-Mod device and brainwashed. He had sent out an emergency distress call, before, and the Squadron show up, to find their loved ones hostages, at some secret location. they give up or are taken out, then subjected to the B-Mod.



Whizzer escapes and goes to a police station to pick up some confiscated weapons. He returns to the HQ and opens fire on the Institute, only for the Squadron to block the bullets. Whizzer is taken down and everyone is brought to the secret location of the Institute. There, they await Ape X's orders, when the Squadron turns on their captors and kick some keester.



Turns out, Tom set a restriction on the machine so that it can't be used against the Squadron, after what he suspects happened to Lady Lark. The families ae freed and the villains captured. Whizzer is forgiven; but, wonders if he will ever be trusted, again.

Thoughts: We finally meet some supervillains from this world. Wonder where they have been hiding, as Emil Burbank is the only one we have met, so far. if there were superheroes, there must be supervillains. We see that Wyatt's betrayal has spread, as his guilt and stupidity drove him right into the Institute's hands and he gives up all of their secrets. The villains then target their loved ones, who have not been secured, despite the Squadron's public unmasking. These guys aren't the sharpest tool in the shed if they didn't have security on their loved ones, after a public unveiling.

Arcanna gets over her reservations about the B-Mod device, until it is nearly used on her and her teammates.

The villains actually use a bit of strategy to get to the team, which is a refreshing change. Some thought has gone into interesting villains and they are a powerful lot. Dr Decibel's sonic device seems to have a wide range of uses, while Lamprey is this world's Parasite. Quagmire's ooze can block Dr Spectrum's power prism. Foxfire's abilities are never really detailed. She mostly seems to be there to grope Quagmire and threaten him if he strays. Shape is a child-like stretcher and needs to be guided. Ape X is later stated to be a female and is the brains of the outfit. There is a mix of things like the Injustice Gang, SSSV, Brotherhood of Evil, and various Marvel criminal gangs.

Whizzer was prepared to kill to save his family and we see the stakes are higher than they previously thought. More cracks in the team, as he harbors guilt over trying to kill.

This team is a mess and vulnerable.

Some of it ... pretty darn bad, agree with your assessment here.

I love Brent Anderson's art and wish he had taken over as regular artist on X-Men after John Byrne left.

I thought Bob Hall was good on the Avengers as well, though that period is never thought of as a "classic" one (apart from the infamous Yellowjacket issue.)

Squadron Supreme #6



Another of the better covers. Less is more.

Creative Team: Several changes. Paul Ryan-pencils, Kieth Williams joins Sam Delarosa on inks, John Workman takes over lettering

Synopsis: Arcanna is busy casting an illusion over a large complex, in a desert region. Turns out, it is Squadron City, the new HQ and living community for the Squadron and their families. Arcanna has made the complex appear invisible, to the naked eye. The families move in and we see them get to know each other, much like military dependents who have moved into new base quarters (see The Right Stuff, when Gordon and Trudy Cooper first move in at Edwards AFB). The former Institute have been subjected to behavior modification and are assisting the team in construction and moving, as are other former criminals, also subjected o B-Mod. Everything seems all hunky dory, until we see Amphibian. He is brooding about the B-Mod devices and about being so far from natural water, as he supervises the filling of an artificial lake. he blows up at Hyperion, when he checks in, who basically tells him the majority voted and it "Sucks to be you!"



Blue Eagle has grown increasingly suspicious about Lady Lark's behavior and confronts her about it. She blasts him with a sonic wave and tells him to step off.

Meanwhile, the world's premiere super-criminal, Master Menace, watches from his secret complex, studying the information about the B-Mod devices.



He has used the chaos, in wake of the Overmind/Null event and the withdraul of US troops to conquer the Middle East. He has visitors: Mink, Remnat and Pinball, three criminals on the run, after discovering what happened to the Institute of Evil. They ask MM to use his machines to send them to another dimension, which he does. MM contemplates the threat the Squadron represents to himself and his new Empire.

The Squadron open their new Assembly Chamber and the meeting starts off badly. Whizzer reports that a warden has refused the B-Mod program. Hyperion says they will work on convincing them and Amphibian angrily asks what then, if that doesn't work? he goes on a tirade about the morality of the devices and where it will stop. Hyperion sidesteps the issue and brings up admission of the former Institute members as new Squadron inductees. Whizzer is against it based on their appearances, Lady Lark objects because of the torture of Golden Archer, Amphibian objects because they can't refuse the offer, as they have been conditioned to obey the Squadron. Power Princess, Spectrum, and Tom Thumb feel they are reformed, Blue Eagle thinks it will be good for their image, and Arcanna says they need the help and announces she is pregnant. A vote is taken, which is split and Hyperion casts the deciding vote, in favor.

Ble Eagle then brings up Lady Lark's behavior and charges Golden Archer with using the B-Mod device on her. He presents the evidence of the recording of the device and Tom's alteration of the device so it can't be used against the Squadron, after LL started acting strangely. Tom admits to finding the recording that it had been used on LL; but cops out to knowing if GA did it. GA is brought before the group and confesses. The group now debates his fate. Again, opinions are split, with Amphibian calling the team hypocrites, over objecting to someone using the device to modify behavior, when they are doing the same thing. Only Arcanna brings up the moral objection that GA's actions were the equivalent of physical rape and says she could never work alongside GA again. In the end, Hyperion must once again cast the deciding vote and he votes for expulsion. Lady Lark quits in protest. Tom confirms there is no way to undo the process.

That night, Amphibian sneaks in and smashes the machines and orders Ape X to erase the computer schematics. He knows Tom can rebuild; but, it will take time. He takes a sky skimmer and heads to the ocean, abandoning the team, for good.

The issue ends in the Middle East, as we see what Nighthawk has been up to...



Thoughts: The cracks have turned into fault lines, as the team starts falling apart. Amphibian's growing resentment to the Utopia Program comes to a head and the use of the B-Mod device leads to his departure, as well as Golden Archer's and Lady Lark's, as byproducts. Arcanna's pregnancy will take her out of the mix and the Squadron is now bringing former enemies into the fold. Amphibian calls them out on exploiting the B-Mod criminals as laborers, both the Institute and the rank and file ex-cons. One the one hand, they have given jobs to the reformed criminals; on the other, the criminals were reformed by brainwashing.

Gruenwald explores the side effects of the B-Mod, again taking a page from Anthony Burgess. Like Alex DeLarge, the Institute members cannot commit criminal acts. Also like him, there are side effects. Alex would grow sick when hearing Beethoven's 9th Symphony, due to its use with images of the Nazis, during the conditioning process. The Institute members cannot make their own choices about their fates, as they have been programmed to obey the Squadron. They cannot even refuse an order of one Squadron, who is defying the rest of the team, as Amphibian compels Ape X to erase the computer records. He states they can't even refuse membership and is probably right, as the offer of membership would likely be received as a command, by their modified brains.

Hyperion's actions are troubling, as he routinely dismisses objections by Amphibian and others, showing that his arrogance is greater than their collective arrogance in thinking they can solve all of society's ills in one year. Greater minds than theirs have spent thousands of years and haven't managed it. In this, Hyperion can be seen to mirror the Superman we see in Kingdom Come, 10 + years later

Master Menace presents a new wrinkle. This is the world's greatest criminal, which, if you have been paying attention, makes his identity obvious. he has conquered the Middle east, which means he controls much of the world's oil reserves. He also has access to dimensional transportation devices, which he uses to help others escape. The character is shown to be a mix of Lex Luthor and Dr Doom, and his studying of the monitors, for media images of the B-Mod program, also mirrors Adrian Veidt's similar study in Watchmen.

Gruenwald delves deeply into the moral implications of the Squadron's actions, in this one, and the foundation starts crumbling. Paul Ryan's art isn't significantly different from Bob Hall's, further reinforcing the "house" look of things. he handles the expressions well, which helps sell the emotions of the arguments.

We finally get a reappearance of Nighthawk and his presence in the Middle East suggests a meeting with Master Menace. Bruce Wayne turns to Lex Luthor. Seems to me I read this somewhere, later on.

Next up, we get a little detour, as the story moves to Captain America #314, as we find out what happens to Mink, Remnant and Pinball.