The Secret Wars boys take a quick break from their coverage of all things Beyonder to review and discuss the seminal Squadron Supreme mini-series by Mark Gruenwald and Bob Hall. Often referred to as "Watchmen before Watchmen", this comic takes a hard look at what would happen if superheroes stopped fighting villains and tried to actually save the world...almost destroying it in the process.
Special guest Herman Lowe from Into the Weird and Longbox of Darkness joins us to discuss issues 4-6 of Squadron Supreme, where our heroes experiment with mind wiping decades before the JLA, and with similarly tragic results.
Check out this episode!
Tom Thumb: I don't care how badly he's been treated before, you don't stay quiet when you suspect abuse. Then to adjust the B-Mod machine to exclude the Squadders. But not their families? No treatment possible in case of mistakes? And for it to be the "cornerstone" of the Utopia Program so the rest of the team is obviously fine with that? UGH!
ReplyDeleteArcanna: I felt like she was willing to administer the first B-Modding as a way to make sure everything was kosher, and letting her more easily monitor the process magically. But boy, it didn't take much convincing, and what she must consider "acceptable" is pretty broad! It shouldn't have to be said, but slavery is BAD!
Amphibian: I've said it before, but this is what Aquaman and Namor might be like without an Atlantis. He's not a king who commands sea life, he's just a guy who's friends with fish. So he'd be much less inclined to go along with the B-Mod program. And I totally took his vote of "no discipline" for Golden Archer to be "I don't really think this way, but by the rules this group is adopting, that's how it should go. Sorry, Lady Lark." A complete dick move, followed by that delightfully subversive destruction of the B-Mod machines.
Getting into wild stuff now. Enjoy it, Sean! Till next time, Supremeables!