Pantheon (comics)
Encyclopedia
Pantheon is an American
comic book
series written by Bill Willingham
. The series was published by independent publisher Lone Star Press and is set in its own self-contained universe
.
The complete series was published in thirteen issues. The first six were published in 1998-1999. The next six were published in 2001. The final issue was published in May 2004.
like civilization because he is concerned that they may interfere with his plans. The narrative then changes to a flashback as the darkness powered hero Shadowpax recounts to a group of young recruits the Freedom Machine's most challenging opponent to date: Death Boy a psychotic young man protected by an impenetrable shield and able to disintegrate anything he looks at. Death Boy is only defeated when Shadowpax encases him in a block of solid darkness which is still kept in the Freedom Machine's headquarters. In his first strike Daedalus releases several prominent supervillains in order to keep his former colleagues occupied. These include Kid Babylon a young man who has an Elder God
trapped in a box, Chaos Nation a composite being who absorbs others, the gigantic canine Thunderwolf, and the supernatural Doctor Meggido. As the Freedom Machine confronts these villains they must also deal with the arrival of the alien being known as the Outrider who seeks revenge on their most powerful member Dynasty. Meanwhile behind the scenes Johnny Venture, a hero in the vein of Jonny Quest
and Doc Savage
is working with the US government to bring an end to the problem of super powered beings once and for all. As the heroes confront Daedalus on a deserted island, Venture's plan swings into motion. Daedalus fights his former colleagues for a while but then brings and end to their conflict by threatening to destroy the earth, a threat they believe he is powerful enough to carry out. As he does this Johnny Venture's plan is revealed. Johnny and his assistants, the Thunderiders have freed Death Boy from his shadowy prison. While he was unconscious they surgically implanted a bomb inside him. By threatening his life they convinced Death Boy to go along with their plans. As Daedalus and Freedom Machine fight, Johnny Venture parachutes Death Boy towards their island. Death boy uses his power to disintegrate the island, after which Venture reneges on his deal and uses the bomb to kill Death Boy. At the end of the series it is revealed that Death Boy did not actually disintegrate anything. Instead his power transferred objects and people to another dimension. Johnny Venture had learned of this dimension when one of his Thunderiders, who had been dispatched by Death Boy earlier, had managed to escape from it. In the end the heroes of Freedom Machine are reunited with their friends who they had believed killed years earlier. Daedalus himself dies soon after arriving in the new dimension, having been poisoned by one of the Freedom Machine members.
There is also:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series written by Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham is an American writer and artist of comics.-Career:Willingham got his start in the late 1970s to early 1980s as a staff artist for TSR, Inc., where he illustrated a number of their role-playing game products...
. The series was published by independent publisher Lone Star Press and is set in its own self-contained universe
Universe
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
.
The complete series was published in thirteen issues. The first six were published in 1998-1999. The next six were published in 2001. The final issue was published in May 2004.
Plot
The series deals with a plot by telekinetic former superhero Daedalus to take over the world. He is opposed by his former colleagues in the super hero group Freedom Machine. Early on Daedalus is shown to be willing to go to extreme lengths when he destroys an AtlantisAtlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
like civilization because he is concerned that they may interfere with his plans. The narrative then changes to a flashback as the darkness powered hero Shadowpax recounts to a group of young recruits the Freedom Machine's most challenging opponent to date: Death Boy a psychotic young man protected by an impenetrable shield and able to disintegrate anything he looks at. Death Boy is only defeated when Shadowpax encases him in a block of solid darkness which is still kept in the Freedom Machine's headquarters. In his first strike Daedalus releases several prominent supervillains in order to keep his former colleagues occupied. These include Kid Babylon a young man who has an Elder God
Elder God
A race of Elder Gods overthrown by a present race of younger gods is a mythic theme in the Ancient Near East, and in Indo-European mythologies of the Greeks, Ancient Germans and others: see Titan , Titanomachy....
trapped in a box, Chaos Nation a composite being who absorbs others, the gigantic canine Thunderwolf, and the supernatural Doctor Meggido. As the Freedom Machine confronts these villains they must also deal with the arrival of the alien being known as the Outrider who seeks revenge on their most powerful member Dynasty. Meanwhile behind the scenes Johnny Venture, a hero in the vein of Jonny Quest
Jonny Quest
Jonny Quest is a media franchise that revolves around a boy named Jonny Quest who accompanies his father on extraordinary adventures. The franchise started with a 1964-65 television series and has come to include two subsequent television series, two television films, and a video game.-1964–1965...
and Doc Savage
Doc Savage
Doc Savage is a fictional character originally published in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. He was created by publisher Henry W. Ralston and editor John L...
is working with the US government to bring an end to the problem of super powered beings once and for all. As the heroes confront Daedalus on a deserted island, Venture's plan swings into motion. Daedalus fights his former colleagues for a while but then brings and end to their conflict by threatening to destroy the earth, a threat they believe he is powerful enough to carry out. As he does this Johnny Venture's plan is revealed. Johnny and his assistants, the Thunderiders have freed Death Boy from his shadowy prison. While he was unconscious they surgically implanted a bomb inside him. By threatening his life they convinced Death Boy to go along with their plans. As Daedalus and Freedom Machine fight, Johnny Venture parachutes Death Boy towards their island. Death boy uses his power to disintegrate the island, after which Venture reneges on his deal and uses the bomb to kill Death Boy. At the end of the series it is revealed that Death Boy did not actually disintegrate anything. Instead his power transferred objects and people to another dimension. Johnny Venture had learned of this dimension when one of his Thunderiders, who had been dispatched by Death Boy earlier, had managed to escape from it. In the end the heroes of Freedom Machine are reunited with their friends who they had believed killed years earlier. Daedalus himself dies soon after arriving in the new dimension, having been poisoned by one of the Freedom Machine members.
Collected editions
The first six issues of the series have been recolored and collected in a trade paperback edition with new material.There is also:
- Pantheon: The Complete Script Book (560 pages, Lone Star Press, April 2005, ISBN 0975954415)