Stormwatch (comics)
Encyclopedia
Stormwatch is a fiction
al United Nations
-sponsored superhero
team that originated in the Wildstorm Universe
(which itself originated within the Image Universe
) and has since been revived as part of the DC Universe
. The original version of Stormwatch first appeared in Stormwatch (vol. 1) #1, created by Jim Lee
.
Stormwatch, published by Image Comics
but owned by Jim Lee
. Among the main early writers of Stormwatch vol. 1 were Jim Lee, Brandon Choi
, H. K. Proger and Ron Marz
; among the main early artists were Scott Clark, Brett Booth
, Matt Broome and Renato Arlem. The Stormwatch team was run by the United Nations, and overseen from a satellite by their director, "the Weatherman". The Weatherman was Henry Bendix
, who had cybernetic implants connected to his brain to better monitor various world situations and his Stormwatch teams in action. His field commander was Jackson King, aka Battalion. The other founding members included Hellstrike
(an Irish police officer, an energy being), Winter
(an ex-Russian Spetznaz officer, an energy absorber), Fuji
(a young Japanese man, another energy being trapped in a large, super-strong containment suit), and Diva
(a young Italian woman with sonic powers).
Later, Ron Marz
, who had worked previously on Marvel Comics
' Silver Surfer
title and had developed Hal Jordan
's Green Lantern
replacement Kyle Rayner
at DC Comics
, took on the writing chores. Concurrently, James Robinson
of DC's Starman
fame was writing WildC.A.T.s. Robinson and Marz, under the editorial direction of Jim Lee, intertwined the storylines of the two books over the course of several months.
Also around this time, two two-issue miniseries were released, Stormwatch Team One (written by James Robinson) and WildC.A.T.s Team One (written by Steven Seagle). These two mini-series were also intertwined, and revealed that the groundwork for both teams had been laid by a core group in the mid 1960s, consisting of Saul Baxter (Lord Emp
), Zealot, Majestic, John Colt (the template for Spartan
), Backlash, a young Henry Bendix
and Jackson King's father Isaiah, all of whom would be members of, or would figure prominently in the later Stormwatch and WildC.A.T.s teams. In this series, the term WildStorm, the publishing imprint's codename, was defined as a code term used by the United States Government, "Wild" referring to extraterrestrial life forms and "Storm" referring to invading forces.
Robinson's WildC.A.T.s run and Marz's Stormwatch run culminated in the Wildstorm Rising
crossover event, during which, the memberships of both teams were disrupted, with Stormwatch having sustained casualties and the WildC.A.T.s mistakenly believed dead. After WildStorm Rising, Alan Moore
took over writing on WildC.A.T.s. Later, after a second imprint-wide crossover, Warren Ellis
took over writing Stormwatch with #37 (July 1996).
Warren Ellis' version of Stormwatch was heavily influenced by DC's Vertigo line and its notable authors, such as Grant Morrison
and Garth Ennis
. Ellis injected more sexual and horror elements, thinly disguised political commentary, and criticisms of the United States government into the stories. The art was toned down from the more exaggerated 1990s style which had dominated all of the early Image Comics, allowing readers to take the book more seriously. It was during this period that Ellis used Stormwatch to introduce the concept of the Bleed
, a space between parallel universes
which features heavily in Planetary
and other comics set in the Wildstorm Universe.
By the end of volume one, Ellis had revised Henry Bendix as a manipulative villain, much as Grant Morrison did with the character of "The Chief" in his run on DC's Doom Patrol
.
Ellis continued to write the book as it transitioned into Stormwatch volume 2, until the WildC.A.T.s/Aliens
crossover of August 1998 — also written by Ellis — saw the Stormwatch team all but massacred by xenomorphs
, the creatures from the Alien series of films
. Conveniently, most of the Stormwatch characters Ellis had not created were killed off in this story. A group of the survivors became the main cast of Ellis' new series The Authority, including Ellis-created characters Jenny Sparks
, Jack Hawksmoor, Apollo
, and the Midnighter
, as well as Swift
(who debuted in Stormwatch v1 #28, written by Jeff Mariotte
), and two new characters who were the successors of the Engineer
and the Doctor
from Ellis' Change or Die
storyline. Stormwatch volume 2 ended with one final story taking place after WildC.A.T.s/Aliens, in which the United Nations laid to rest the institution of Stormwatch alongside its fallen members. The very last scene, a conversation between the former members of Stormwatch Black, served to introduce the concept of the Authority and promote its upcoming first issue. Other survivors from the original team (including Battalion, Christine Trelane
, and Flint
) appeared in The Authority, and King and Trelane later became central characters in The Monarchy
.
In the 11th issue of Planetary
, another Warren Ellis
series in the same fictional universe, a secret agent named John Stone (modelled after James Bond
films and Jim Steranko
's Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
comics) is shown working for a 1960s precursor to Stormwatch: S.T.O.R.M., with a command center known as S.T.O.R.M. Watch.
A major theme of the series was the non-superpowered team leader's distrust of superpowered beings, and the necessity of Team Achilles. It took a detailed and pragmatic approach to superpowers, showing how it was possible to use intelligence and tactics to overcome physically superior foes such as Team Achilles often faced. The Authority were more than once brought low during the series' run. The series later became a satire
of politics and comic books, with segments where the team replaces a Strom Thurmond
/Jesse Helms
-like Senator with a shape-shifter, and a storyline where a Captain America
-analog (revealed to be the reincarnation of George Washington
) tries to overthrow the American government.
Wright was fired after it was revealed that he had lied about being a US Army Ranger
, with the result that Team Achilles was abruptly cancelled with issue #23 (August 2004), in the middle of a storyline. The planned final issue, #24, was never published, though the finished script is available online.
, Stormwatch: Post Human Division was written by Christos Gage
with Doug Mahnke
handling the pencils. The series was ended after issue #12, but restarted in August 2008
as a part of the World’s End event with issue #13.
Several dead characters were resurrected for the series. In this new series, Stormwatch was sponsored solely by the United States, but a branch office had been set up in New York. Entitled Stormwatch: P.H.D. (Post-Human Division), they were underfunded and overworked, and their mission was to find "cost-effective" methods of saving the day. The series follows the branch office as their leader, former Weatherman Jackson King, tries to defeat superhuman menaces and balance the tight budget. The team consists of King, NYPD officer John Doran, a depowered Fahrenheit
, a former Stormforce soldier codenamed Paris, a master manipulator and former moll to supervillains called Gorgeous, a sorcerer's apprentice named Black Betty, a shape-shifting ex-supervillain and forensics
expert named Dr. Mordecai Shaw, a.k.a the Monstrosity, and an ex-supervillain and technology expert called the Machinist.
and drawn by Miguel Sepulveda as part of its September 2011 relaunch of its comics properties. This version of the team will consist of Jack Hawksmoor, Apollo, Midnighter, the Martian Manhunter
, Jenny Quantum, the Engineer, and three new characters named Adam One, the Projectionist, and the Eminence of Blades.
The new Stormwatch is an organization that has protected Earth from major alien threats for centuries, dating back to the Dark Ages
(with a visual nod to Cornell's Demon Knights). Rejecting the title of "superheroes", Stormwatch answers to a secretive Shadow Cabinet and exist completely in secret. No one knows they exist, despite the fact that they have fought the greatest threats that Earth has ever faced since the Middle Ages. The Martian Manhunter
works with Stormwatch outside of his Justice League duties. While the team work for a group called the Shadow Cabinet, they don't seem to be linked to the United Nations in this continuity.
:
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
-sponsored superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
team that originated in the Wildstorm Universe
Wildstorm Universe
The Wildstorm Universe is a fictional shared universe where the comic books published by Wildstorm take place. It represents an alternate history of the real world where ideas such as interstellar travel and superhuman abilities are commonplace...
(which itself originated within the Image Universe
Image Universe
The Image Universe is a fictional shared universe wherein many of the comic books published by Image Comics take place.-Publication history:The Image Universe began with the founding of Image Comics in 1992, launching with series such as The Savage Dragon, Spawn, Youngblood and WildC.A.T.s.Image...
) and has since been revived as part of the DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
. The original version of Stormwatch first appeared in Stormwatch (vol. 1) #1, created by Jim Lee
Jim Lee
Jim Lee is a Korean-American comic book artist, writer, editor and publisher. He first broke into the industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics, illustrating titles such as Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journal, before gaining a great deal of popularity on The Uncanny X-Men...
.
Stormwatch
Stormwatch began in the comic bookComic 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...
Stormwatch, published by Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
but owned by Jim Lee
Jim Lee
Jim Lee is a Korean-American comic book artist, writer, editor and publisher. He first broke into the industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics, illustrating titles such as Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journal, before gaining a great deal of popularity on The Uncanny X-Men...
. Among the main early writers of Stormwatch vol. 1 were Jim Lee, Brandon Choi
Brandon Choi
Brandon Choi is an American comic book writer best known as one of the co-creators of the series Gen¹³ which enjoyed high popularity in the middle and late 1990s. He also wrote several other titles for Wildstorm Comics.-Biography:...
, H. K. Proger and Ron Marz
Ron Marz
Ron Marz is an American comic book writer, known for his work on titles such as Silver Surfer, Green Lantern, Marvel vs DC, Batman/Aliens and Witchblade.-Career:...
; among the main early artists were Scott Clark, Brett Booth
Brett Booth
Brett Booth is an American comic book artist. He is best known for his work on Backlash, a character he co-created with Jim Lee at the Wildstorm Studios.-Biography:...
, Matt Broome and Renato Arlem. The Stormwatch team was run by the United Nations, and overseen from a satellite by their director, "the Weatherman". The Weatherman was Henry Bendix
Henry Bendix
Henry Bendix, also known as Weatherman, is a fictional character in the Wildstorm universe. He first appeared in the Stormwatch series.-Early life:...
, who had cybernetic implants connected to his brain to better monitor various world situations and his Stormwatch teams in action. His field commander was Jackson King, aka Battalion. The other founding members included Hellstrike
Hellstrike
Nigel Keane, also known as Hellstrike, is a fictional comic book superhero in the Stormwatch series, first appearing in Stormwatch #1. He possesses the ability to project plasma as destructive bolts or as an energy stream to allow himself to fly...
(an Irish police officer, an energy being), Winter
Winter (comics)
Winter is a fictional character who is published by Wildstorm Productions. He first appeared in Stormwatch #1.-Character biography:...
(an ex-Russian Spetznaz officer, an energy absorber), Fuji
Fuji (comics)
Toshiro Misawa, also known as Fuji, is a comic book superhero in the Stormwatch series, first appearing in Stormwatch #1. He has immense size and strength as well as the ability to control the density of his body granted by his containment suit...
(a young Japanese man, another energy being trapped in a large, super-strong containment suit), and Diva
Diva (comics)
Diva is a fictional character appearing in the comic books published by Wildstorm. She is a member of StormWatch.-History:Daughter of a famous Italian opera singer, Alessandra was gifted with the same talent as her mother...
(a young Italian woman with sonic powers).
Later, Ron Marz
Ron Marz
Ron Marz is an American comic book writer, known for his work on titles such as Silver Surfer, Green Lantern, Marvel vs DC, Batman/Aliens and Witchblade.-Career:...
, who had worked previously on 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...
' Silver Surfer
Silver Surfer
The Silver Surfer is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue arc that fans call "The Galactus Trilogy"....
title and had developed Hal Jordan
Hal Jordan
Harold "Hal" Jordan is a DC Comics superhero known as Green Lantern, the first human shown to join the Green Lantern Corps and a founding member of the Justice League of America. Jordan is the second DC Comics character to adopt the Green Lantern moniker...
's Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
replacement Kyle Rayner
Kyle Rayner
Kyle Rayner is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by DC Comics, usually in those starring the Green Lantern Corps, an extraterrestrial police force of which Rayner is a member. Created by writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks, Rayner first appeared in Green Lantern vol...
at 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...
, took on the writing chores. Concurrently, James Robinson
James Dale Robinson
James Dale Robinson is a British writer of comic books and screenplays who is also known for his interest in vintage collectibles and memorabilia. His style is described as smart and energetic, built upon his vast knowledge of obscure continuity from the period known to fans and historians as the...
of DC's Starman
Starman (comics)
Starman is a name used by several different fictional DC Comics superheroes, most prominently Ted Knight and his sons David and Jack.Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Jack Burnley, the original Starman, Ted Knight, first appeared in Adventure Comics #61...
fame was writing WildC.A.T.s. Robinson and Marz, under the editorial direction of Jim Lee, intertwined the storylines of the two books over the course of several months.
Also around this time, two two-issue miniseries were released, Stormwatch Team One (written by James Robinson) and WildC.A.T.s Team One (written by Steven Seagle). These two mini-series were also intertwined, and revealed that the groundwork for both teams had been laid by a core group in the mid 1960s, consisting of Saul Baxter (Lord Emp
Lord Emp
Lord Emp is a comic book character from DC Comics/Wildstorm.-History:Like the other Kherubim on Earth, Emp arrived on the planet when the Explorer ship he was travelling on crash-landed thousands of years ago, following an orbital battle with a Daemonite vessel...
), Zealot, Majestic, John Colt (the template for Spartan
Spartan (comics)
Spartan is a fictional character in the American comic Wildstorm universe and one of the central characters and current leader of Jim Lee's superhero team WildC.A.T.s.-Yohn Kohl:...
), Backlash, a young Henry Bendix
Henry Bendix
Henry Bendix, also known as Weatherman, is a fictional character in the Wildstorm universe. He first appeared in the Stormwatch series.-Early life:...
and Jackson King's father Isaiah, all of whom would be members of, or would figure prominently in the later Stormwatch and WildC.A.T.s teams. In this series, the term WildStorm, the publishing imprint's codename, was defined as a code term used by the United States Government, "Wild" referring to extraterrestrial life forms and "Storm" referring to invading forces.
Robinson's WildC.A.T.s run and Marz's Stormwatch run culminated in the Wildstorm Rising
Wildstorm Rising
Wildstorm Rising was a crossover event published by Image Comics/WildStorm that involved the entire line of titles published by WildStorm in 1995.-Publication history:...
crossover event, during which, the memberships of both teams were disrupted, with Stormwatch having sustained casualties and the WildC.A.T.s mistakenly believed dead. After WildStorm Rising, Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
took over writing on WildC.A.T.s. Later, after a second imprint-wide crossover, Warren Ellis
Warren Ellis
Warren Girard Ellis is an English author of comics, novels, and television, who is well-known for sociocultural commentary, both through his online presence and through his writing, which covers transhumanist themes...
took over writing Stormwatch with #37 (July 1996).
Warren Ellis' version of Stormwatch was heavily influenced by DC's Vertigo line and its notable authors, such as Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
and Garth Ennis
Garth Ennis
Garth Ennis is a Northern Irish comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series Preacher with artist Steve Dillon and his successful nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise...
. Ellis injected more sexual and horror elements, thinly disguised political commentary, and criticisms of the United States government into the stories. The art was toned down from the more exaggerated 1990s style which had dominated all of the early Image Comics, allowing readers to take the book more seriously. It was during this period that Ellis used Stormwatch to introduce the concept of the Bleed
Bleed (Wildstorm)
The Bleed is a fictional interdimensional realm, a comic book construct that appears in books published by DC Comics. It first appeared in Stormwatch #7 , and was created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch.-Publication history:...
, a space between parallel universes
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
which features heavily in Planetary
Planetary (comics)
Planetary is an American comic book limited series created by writer Warren Ellis and artist John Cassaday published by the Wildstorm imprint of DC Comics...
and other comics set in the Wildstorm Universe.
By the end of volume one, Ellis had revised Henry Bendix as a manipulative villain, much as Grant Morrison did with the character of "The Chief" in his run on DC's Doom Patrol
Doom Patrol
The Doom Patrol is a superhero team appearing in publications from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in My Greatest Adventure #80...
.
Ellis continued to write the book as it transitioned into Stormwatch volume 2, until the WildC.A.T.s/Aliens
WildC.A.T.s/Aliens
WildC.A.T.S/Aliens was a one-shot comic book and intercompany crossover event, published by Wildstorm and Dark Horse Comics in 1998. The comic was written by Warren Ellis, pencilled by Chris Sprouse, with Kevin Nowlan inking and Laura Depuy as the colorist.-Overview:The story is set between the...
crossover of August 1998 — also written by Ellis — saw the Stormwatch team all but massacred by xenomorphs
Xenomorph (Alien)
The Alien is a fictional endoparasitoid extraterrestrial species that is the primary antagonist of the Alien film series. The species made its debut in the 1979 film Alien, and reappeared in its sequels Aliens , Alien 3 , and Alien Resurrection , two crossovers Alien vs...
, the creatures from the Alien series of films
Alien (film series)
The Alien film series is a science fiction horror film franchise, focusing on Lieutenant Ellen Ripley and her battle with an extraterrestrial lifeform, commonly referred to as "the Alien"...
. Conveniently, most of the Stormwatch characters Ellis had not created were killed off in this story. A group of the survivors became the main cast of Ellis' new series The Authority, including Ellis-created characters Jenny Sparks
Jenny Sparks
Jenny Sparks, also known as "The Spirit of the 20th century", is a fictional character in the Wildstorm comic book universe created by Warren Ellis during his 1997 revamp of the dwindling Stormwatch series...
, Jack Hawksmoor, Apollo
Apollo (comics)
Apollo is a fictional character, a comic book superhero who first appeared in the Stormwatch series, but is best known for his role in The Authority. While visually distinct, Apollo is cast in the mold of the Superman archetype....
, and the Midnighter
Midnighter
Midnighter is a fictional comic book superhero, best known as a member of the rogue superhero team The Authority. Created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Bryan Hitch, he first appeared in Stormwatch #4, before appearing in various Authority books and series and his own eponymous ongoing series...
, as well as Swift
Swift (comics)
Swift is a fictional comic book superhero in the Wildstorm universe, published by DC Comics. Swift first appeared in Stormwatch #28 and was created by Jeff Mariotte and Ron Lim...
(who debuted in Stormwatch v1 #28, written by Jeff Mariotte
Jeff Mariotte
Jeff Mariotte is an author who currently lives in Arizona with his wife, author Maryelizabeth Hart, and family. As well as his own original work, he is best known for writing novels and comic books based on licensed properties.-Biography:...
), and two new characters who were the successors of the Engineer
Engineer (comics)
The Engineer is the name of two fictional characters in the . The current Engineer, Angela Spica, is a member of the Authority, first appears in The Authority #1 and was created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch.-The First Engineer:...
and the Doctor
Doctor (Wildstorm)
The Doctor is a name of several fictional characters in the Wildstorm universe.There is always only one Doctor at any given time, who is the latest in a long line of shamans protecting the entire planet...
from Ellis' Change or Die
Change or Die
"Change or Die" is story arc of Stormwatch lasting from issue 48 to 50. Written by Warren Ellis and penciled by Tom Raney, this was the last story arc of Stormwatch, Volume 1, and set the tone for Ellis' structuring of Stormwatch volume 2 as a series of four three-issue story arcs.The story was...
storyline. Stormwatch volume 2 ended with one final story taking place after WildC.A.T.s/Aliens, in which the United Nations laid to rest the institution of Stormwatch alongside its fallen members. The very last scene, a conversation between the former members of Stormwatch Black, served to introduce the concept of the Authority and promote its upcoming first issue. Other survivors from the original team (including Battalion, Christine Trelane
Synergy (comics)
Christine Trelane, formerly known as Synergy is a fictional character in the Wildstorm universe. She was created by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi as a member of Stormwatch....
, and Flint
Flint (comics)
Flint, Victoria Ngengi, is a comic book character from Wildstorm, created by Jeff Mariotte and Ron Lim. She is also a member of StormWatch.-History:...
) appeared in The Authority, and King and Trelane later became central characters in The Monarchy
Monarchy (comic book)
The Monarchy was an American comic book series written by Doselle Young with art by John McCrea. It was published by Wildstorm. The Monarchy lasted 12 issues and had an intro-issue in The Authority #21....
.
In the 11th issue of Planetary
Planetary (comics)
Planetary is an American comic book limited series created by writer Warren Ellis and artist John Cassaday published by the Wildstorm imprint of DC Comics...
, another Warren Ellis
Warren Ellis
Warren Girard Ellis is an English author of comics, novels, and television, who is well-known for sociocultural commentary, both through his online presence and through his writing, which covers transhumanist themes...
series in the same fictional universe, a secret agent named John Stone (modelled after James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
films and Jim Steranko
Jim Steranko
James F. Steranko is an American graphic artist, comic book writer-artist-historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator....
's Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nick Fury
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and present-day super-spy in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, Fury first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 , a World War II combat series that portrayed the...
comics) is shown working for a 1960s precursor to Stormwatch: S.T.O.R.M., with a command center known as S.T.O.R.M. Watch.
Stormwatch: Team Achilles
In September 2002 the Stormwatch series was revived. Stormwatch: Team Achilles, penned by Micah Ian Wright, followed a mostly non-superpowered UN troubleshooting team dealing with superhero-related problems.A major theme of the series was the non-superpowered team leader's distrust of superpowered beings, and the necessity of Team Achilles. It took a detailed and pragmatic approach to superpowers, showing how it was possible to use intelligence and tactics to overcome physically superior foes such as Team Achilles often faced. The Authority were more than once brought low during the series' run. The series later became a satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
of politics and comic books, with segments where the team replaces a Strom Thurmond
Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...
/Jesse Helms
Jesse Helms
Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
-like Senator with a shape-shifter, and a storyline where a Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
-analog (revealed to be the reincarnation of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
) tries to overthrow the American government.
Wright was fired after it was revealed that he had lied about being a US Army Ranger
United States Army Rangers
United States Army Rangers are elite members of the United States Army. Rangers have served in recognized U.S. Army Ranger units or have graduated from the U.S. Army's Ranger School...
, with the result that Team Achilles was abruptly cancelled with issue #23 (August 2004), in the middle of a storyline. The planned final issue, #24, was never published, though the finished script is available online.
Stormwatch: Post Human Division
Stormwatch was one of several comic books to have been restarted following Wildstorm Comics' WorldStorm event. In November 20062006 in comics
-January:*January 1, 2006: Newsweek offer a look back at 2005 through editorial cartoons. *January 2, 2006: The Cincinnati Enquirer cartoonist Jim Borgman starts a blog to detail his creative process...
, Stormwatch: Post Human Division was written by Christos Gage
Christos Gage
Christos N. "Chris" Gage is an American comic book writer and screenwriter.-Early life:Gage is the son of author and journalist Nicholas Gage. He was born in New York, and grew up in Athens, Greece, and then North Grafton, Massachusetts...
with Doug Mahnke
Doug Mahnke
Douglas "Doug" Mahnke is an American comic book artist and penciller.-Biography:Mahnke's first prominent work was for The Mask, and he has since worked for DC Comics on JLA, Batman with writer Judd Winick, and Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein with Grant Morrison...
handling the pencils. The series was ended after issue #12, but restarted in August 2008
2008 in comics
-January:*January 9: Teen Titans: The Lost Annual, delayed since 2003, is published.*January 23: Hellblazer #240, marking the 20th anniversary of the series, is released.-February:...
as a part of the World’s End event with issue #13.
Several dead characters were resurrected for the series. In this new series, Stormwatch was sponsored solely by the United States, but a branch office had been set up in New York. Entitled Stormwatch: P.H.D. (Post-Human Division), they were underfunded and overworked, and their mission was to find "cost-effective" methods of saving the day. The series follows the branch office as their leader, former Weatherman Jackson King, tries to defeat superhuman menaces and balance the tight budget. The team consists of King, NYPD officer John Doran, a depowered Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit (comics)
Fahrenheit is a fictional character, a superhero in the Wildstorm universe. The character first appeared in StormWatch #2 and was created by Brandon Choi and Jim Lee.-Fictional character biography:...
, a former Stormforce soldier codenamed Paris, a master manipulator and former moll to supervillains called Gorgeous, a sorcerer's apprentice named Black Betty, a shape-shifting ex-supervillain and forensics
Forensics
Forensic science is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to a legal system. This may be in relation to a crime or a civil action...
expert named Dr. Mordecai Shaw, a.k.a the Monstrosity, and an ex-supervillain and technology expert called the Machinist.
DC Comics relaunch (2011)
DC Comics announced in June 2011 that the team would be incorporated into the DC Universe in a new ongoing series written by Paul CornellPaul Cornell
Paul Cornell is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as Doctor Who fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield....
and drawn by Miguel Sepulveda as part of its September 2011 relaunch of its comics properties. This version of the team will consist of Jack Hawksmoor, Apollo, Midnighter, the Martian Manhunter
Martian Manhunter
The Martian Manhunter is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in publications published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #225...
, Jenny Quantum, the Engineer, and three new characters named Adam One, the Projectionist, and the Eminence of Blades.
The new Stormwatch is an organization that has protected Earth from major alien threats for centuries, dating back to the Dark Ages
Dark Ages
The "Dark Ages" is a historical periodization emphasizing the cultural and economic deterioration that supposedly occurred in Europe following the decline of the Roman Empire. The label employs traditional light-versus-darkness imagery to contrast the "darkness" of the period with earlier and later...
(with a visual nod to Cornell's Demon Knights). Rejecting the title of "superheroes", Stormwatch answers to a secretive Shadow Cabinet and exist completely in secret. No one knows they exist, despite the fact that they have fought the greatest threats that Earth has ever faced since the Middle Ages. The Martian Manhunter
Martian Manhunter
The Martian Manhunter is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in publications published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #225...
works with Stormwatch outside of his Justice League duties. While the team work for a group called the Shadow Cabinet, they don't seem to be linked to the United Nations in this continuity.
Collected editions
Warren Ellis's run on Stormwatch has been collected into five trade paperbacksTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Force of Nature (collects Stormwatch Volume 1 #37-42, 160 pages, January 2000, Titan BooksTitan BooksTitan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...
, ISBN 1840236116, Wildstorm, ISBN 156389646X) - Lightning Strikes (collects Stormwatch Volume 1 #43-47, 144 pages, April 2000, Titan Books, ISBN 1840236175, Wildstorm, ISBN 1563896508)
- Change or Die (collects Stormwatch Volume 1 #48-50, preview and Volume 2 #1-3, 176 pages, July 1999, Titan Books, ISBN 1840236310, Wildstorm, ISBN 156389534X)
- A Finer World (collects Stormwatch Volume 2 #4-9, 144 pages, July 1999, Titan Books, ISBN 1840232919, Wildstorm, ISBN 1563895358)
- Final Orbit (collects Stormwatch Volume 2 #10-11 and "WildC.A.T.S/Aliens", 96 pages, Titan Books, ISBN 1840233818, Wildstorm, September 2001, ISBN 1563897881)
External links
- Stormwatch: An Introduction, Pipeline, Comic Book ResourcesComic Book ResourcesComic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...
, December 16, 2008