The Brave Or The Bold: When Good Guys Go Bad!

Martinex1: It is hard to deny that the Justice League of America is one of the two premiere teams in all of comicdom.  Between the JLA and the Avengers, the most recognized and powerful characters of all time are represented, but even I must admit that the JLA may be even more iconic than the Marvel powerhouses.   Surely everybody growing up knew Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash (perhaps only Green Lantern was a bit of a mystery).  While on the other side, Iron Man, Thor, Ant Man, and the Wasp may have been less known in the common household (although that has changed dramatically due to the cinema these days).

So it should have come as no surprise that creators in the fields would eventually create analogues for the DC characters and give them less than honorable characteristics.   Today in The Brave Or The Bold, we are going to compare and contrast those villainous mirror characters - the Squadron Supreme and the Crime Syndicate of America.

In 1964, with issue #29 of Justice League of America, writer Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky introduced us to the bad guy versions of the JLA from Earth 3.   The team consisted of Ultraman, Superwoman, Power Ring, Owlman, and Johnny Quick.  The explanation was quite simple, in the DC Universe there are parallel worlds and in this particular dimension the "heroes" believe in following a polar opposite path.

Over at Marvel in 1969, Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema introduced their version of an evil JLA in the pages of the Avengers.   The team consisted of Hyperion, Nighthawk, Dr. Spectrum, and the Whizzer.  At this point there was no counterpoint for Wonder Woman, but she would appear many years later as Warrior Woman.

In story, the team of the Squadron Sinister was the creation of the Grandmaster in a battle with Kang;  each overlord had a team representing them in an evil game of chess over the power of life and death.  Making their initial appearances in Avengers #69 (the final page) through a major battle in issue #70 with the Avengers and into #71 with a brief recap, the Squadron Sinister truly hit the mark with the fans.

DC's Crime Syndicate was the result of a world gone mad.   Everything that occurred was in opposite and reverse from the world we know.   Colonial England seceded from the United States, Lincoln assassinated President John Wilkes Booth, and the main super characters embraced crime.

 In recent times, both of these negative groups have headlined in titles the Squadron Sinister and Forever Evil.

Over time the Squadron Sinister has run afoul of others in the Marvel Universe including the Defenders and the Thunderbolts.  Nighthawk changed his ways and became a member of the Defenders and paid for many of their activities as billionaire Kyle Richmond.

But the team concept became even more convoluted when a parallel example of the team, the Squadron Supreme, also started to appear (beginning in Avengers #85). In fact even the publisher confused the two, when Marvel mistakenly identified the "Supreme" as the "Sinister" on the cover of Avengers #141.  The Supreme team was more fleshed out with additional members like Golden Archer (Green Arrow), Lady Lark (Black Canary), Nuke (Firestorm), American Eagle (Hawkman), Power Princess (Wonder Woman), Tom Thumb (Atom) and others.   It hinted that the Sinister may also have variations as such.

The Crime Syndicate stuck to the core team for a while, but they also started adding some other characters to flesh out the team like Deathstorm (Firestorm), Atomica (Atom), Grid (Cyborg), Sea King (Aquaman), and even Scarab (Blue Beetle) and Frostbite (Ice).

So today, let's compare and contrast these villainous constructs.   And feel free to talk about other Marvel and DC analogues from Gladiator to Quasar.  For that matter, consider the creation of Quicksilver, Moon Knight, Rocket Red, and Sentry.

Are these valid characters worth watching, or does the construct limit the exploration?   Who is the better team?   And what did you think of them back in the day?  Was it exciting to see an evil Superman?  Or did it try your credibility knowing what they were designed to be?

Rank and File: The Villain Teams!

Martinex1:  I recently read a list that rated comic book villain teams and I felt that it really missed the mark, so I decided to conduct my own artificial and unscientific poll for today's edition of  "Rank and File."

Who is your favorite team of villains?  Rate them from one through five and also share a choice for a team that you felt was woefully underdeveloped or pathetic.   I only have two brief rules for today's round:  1) A team is merely a group of more than one - so dastardly duos do indeed count, and 2) the team should not have any heroic tendencies; we are looking for true antagonists - so the reformed Thunderbolts do not count but the Masters of Evil do.

Down below are a number of examples to choose from; but don't let that stop you from finding others from the annals of comic history on which to comment.

My top 5:

1) The (newer) Masters of Evil - There have been many iterations of this team over the years, but I am focused on the large group that Zemo assembled during the siege on Avengers Mansion arc by Roger Stern and John Buscema.  I thought this was the epitome of grand and dangerous teams.
2) The Frightful Four - Likewise there has been some variation in team members over the years, but I always enjoyed the Wizard and his rather motley group and their usually less than adequate plans.   Perennial underachievers, I still rooted slightly for them during their Bronze Age exploits. 
3) The Legion of Doom - You cannot grow up in the 70s without garnering some influence from the Superfriends.  I thought this was a formidable group and would have liked to see a similar representation in the comics.
4) The Hellfire Club - Heavily influenced by their major first appearance heading into the Dark Phoenix storyline in Uncanny X-Men, I cannot dismiss how powerful this group can be.   The later incarnations left me feeling flat, but just the fumes of their glory days carried them into my top five.
5) Flash's Rogue Gallery - I have to say that I like the teaming of the Rogues very much.  In many ways the Flash's enemies are just as crazy and iconic as Spider-Man's villains.

And a team that needs some revamping:

Hammer and Anvil - When I was young I enjoyed this rather one-note duo when they appeared in Marvel Team-Up and The Incredible Hulk, but there is truly not much to them at all.   Just knock their hard heads together and be back to your morning tea before even the rooster misses you.

So what are your choices for the most villainous assemblages?   Are they sourced more heavily from Marvel or DC?   Don't forget about the Madmen or Punch and Jewelee from the Charlton days!  Make your picks, send in your comments, and let's rate the raucous!