Sovereign Seven
Encyclopedia
Sovereign Seven is a creator-owned American
comic book
series
, created by Chris Claremont
and Dwayne Turner
, and published by DC Comics
.
and artist Dwayne Turner
, and was Claremont's first professional regular series work since his departure from Marvel Comics
and the X-Men
franchise in 1991, for he had work for Image previously. It was the first title set in the DC Universe owned by its creator instead of DC Comics.
. The original group consisted of Cascade, Finale, Rampart, Reflex, Indigo, Network and Cruiser; later, Rampart was killed off and then replaced by the DC character Power Girl
.
The title met with middling success and was cancelled after 36 issues, in June 1998, after which Claremont returned to Marvel.
The main characters of Sovereign Seven were all gathered by Cascade as a mysterious force known as The Rapture destroyed their home worlds. Each of the Sovereigns were princes/princesses of their people.
For a time, the group operates out of a mysterious coffee house (the "Crossroads Coffee Bar") located where three Northeastern states meet, which is larger on the inside then it is on the outside. Many times portals open inside doorways, to areas unfamiliar or well known to the Sovereigns, who work as employees to earn their keep. The Coffee house is run by supporting characters Violet Smith and Pansy Jones, comic-book counterparts of the musical alter-egos of Emma Bull
and Lorraine Garland
- The Flash Girls
- of whom Claremont is a fan.
One of the Coffee shops' portals take two of the Sovereigns' friends (and their cat), on a multiple-reality adventure before they are returned safely home.
Despite the group's metafictional nature, they were seen fighting a squadron of Apokolips
soldiers during the Genesis
event.
Dangers appear outside the coffee house as well. A demonic entity takes over couples, making them go on violent rampages. Hunters roam through the woods, endangering innocent people. A well-known neighbor discovers a mystical sword in his house.
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
Ongoing series
The term "ongoing series" is used in contrast to limited series , a one shot , a graphic novel, or a trade paperback...
, created by Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
and Dwayne Turner
Dwayne Turner
Dwayne Turner was born in Brooklyn, New York and began his career as a comic book artist during the end of high school.Turner got his start at Marvel Comics on various titles such as Transformers, Wolverine and Avengers Spotlight. In 1995, he co-created the title Sovereign Seven for DC Comics with...
, and published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
.
Publication history
Launched in April 1995, Sovereign Seven was created by writer Chris ClaremontChris Claremont
Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
and artist Dwayne Turner
Dwayne Turner
Dwayne Turner was born in Brooklyn, New York and began his career as a comic book artist during the end of high school.Turner got his start at Marvel Comics on various titles such as Transformers, Wolverine and Avengers Spotlight. In 1995, he co-created the title Sovereign Seven for DC Comics with...
, and was Claremont's first professional regular series work since his departure from Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
and the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
franchise in 1991, for he had work for Image previously. It was the first title set in the DC Universe owned by its creator instead of DC Comics.
Fictional team history
The Sovereign Seven were a group of aliens from various planets exiled to Earth, where they battled various villains, most notably DarkseidDarkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
. The original group consisted of Cascade, Finale, Rampart, Reflex, Indigo, Network and Cruiser; later, Rampart was killed off and then replaced by the DC character Power Girl
Power Girl
Power Girl is a DC Comics superheroine, making her first appearance in All Star Comics #58 ....
.
The title met with middling success and was cancelled after 36 issues, in June 1998, after which Claremont returned to Marvel.
The main characters of Sovereign Seven were all gathered by Cascade as a mysterious force known as The Rapture destroyed their home worlds. Each of the Sovereigns were princes/princesses of their people.
For a time, the group operates out of a mysterious coffee house (the "Crossroads Coffee Bar") located where three Northeastern states meet, which is larger on the inside then it is on the outside. Many times portals open inside doorways, to areas unfamiliar or well known to the Sovereigns, who work as employees to earn their keep. The Coffee house is run by supporting characters Violet Smith and Pansy Jones, comic-book counterparts of the musical alter-egos of Emma Bull
Emma Bull
Emma Bull is a science fiction and fantasy author whose best-known novel is War for the Oaks, one of the pioneering works of urban fantasy. She has participated in Terri Windling's Borderland shared universe, which is the setting of her 1994 novel Finder...
and Lorraine Garland
Lorraine Garland
Lorraine Garland is a folk musician from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She sang and played fiddle with science fiction author Emma Bull in folk duo The Flash Girls and with the band Folk UnderGround. Currently, she is a member of the goth / folk / rock / traditional Celtic duo Lorraine a' Malena with...
- The Flash Girls
The Flash Girls
The Flash Girls are a now defunct folk music duo based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota.. The duo consisted of Emma Bull, a noted science fiction author, and Lorraine Garland, also known as "The Fabulous Lorraine". Garland is also notable as Neil Gaiman's personal assistant; the group formed at a Guy...
- of whom Claremont is a fan.
One of the Coffee shops' portals take two of the Sovereigns' friends (and their cat), on a multiple-reality adventure before they are returned safely home.
Despite the group's metafictional nature, they were seen fighting a squadron of Apokolips
Apokolips
In the DC Comics fictional shared Universe, Apokolips is the planet ruled by Darkseid, established in Jack Kirby's Fourth World series. It is also integral to many DC Comics stories. The planet is considered the opposite of New Genesis....
soldiers during the Genesis
Genesis (DC Comics)
"Genesis" was a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self titled, four-issue, weekly mini-series and published by DC Comics in August 1997. The series was written by John Byrne and drawn by Ron Wagner and Joe Rubinstein...
event.
Dangers appear outside the coffee house as well. A demonic entity takes over couples, making them go on violent rampages. Hunters roam through the woods, endangering innocent people. A well-known neighbor discovers a mystical sword in his house.
Membership
- Cascade (Rhian Douglas) is the leader of the Sovereign Seven and has the ability to cascade, or teleport, both herself and others. Her ability generally requires some knowledge of the destination or that she be provided with a "waypoint" by Network. Cascade fled her mother, Maitresse, who ruled Cascade's homeworld with unflinching omnipotence.
- Network (Taryn Haldane) was the first of the Sovereigns to meet Cascade, and in some ways, she was the motivating force behind gathering them. Network's homeworld is never detailed much. She is a telepath, but unlike most telepaths, she never hesitates to draw the information she needs from the minds of those around her. It has been shown that when no other people are within range of her powers, or her powers are suppressed, she is fully illiterate and aphasicAphasiaAphasia is an impairment of language ability. This class of language disorder ranges from having difficulty remembering words to being completely unable to speak, read, or write....
; unable to read, speak, or understand any language. It was hinted in several storylines that Network would eventually become a terrorist for captured or controlled telepaths.
- Finale (Pahe Leilani Favaela) is a warrior, from a society reminiscent of pre-American HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. She is said to have come from a water world. She makes several references to Mother Ocean and The Great Orca. Unfortunately, to defend her world from the Rapture, Finale was forced to kill her world and its inhabitants. As a result, Finale fears water since joining the Sovereigns. She fears what will happen if the Mother Ocean of Earth finds out who she is. Finale wears full body armor throughout the series, and we never truly see her face.
- Rampart (Jaffar Ibn Haroun Al Raschid) is a prince of a Muslim-like society. He has ability to manifest force fields. He is generally considered to be attractive as several of the local girls tend to swoon in his presence.
- Reflex (Walter Thorsson) is a speedster from a seemingly Nordic/Christian heritage. Unlike most characters with super-speed, both in DC and Marvel comics, Reflex is a large person. This causes some problems for him when dealing with normal, every-day things, like typing. He does have, as his name suggests, well-honed reflexes.
- Cruiser (Nicholas Helicon) is a telekinetic who fuels his powers with his body mass. As a result he's always hungry. Throughout the series, Cruiser goes from incredibly skinny, and 'running on empty,' to quite fat, but with plenty of power in reserve.
- Indigo is one of the most mysterious of the Sovereign Seven. 'He' is an enigma, without a true identity; even the pronoun "he" is arbitrary. When he desires it, Indigo can go completely unnoticed. His presence simply is not registered, whether it's in a dark hallway or a crowded street. He is also the consummate persuader. He can convince almost anyone (or anything) to do what he wants. He is a master infiltrator, allowing him to get into and out of secure areas. He is also the Sovereigns' tactician, carrying out Cascade's orders no matter how difficult.