Marvel’s Squadron Supreme, Explained

As the adage goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and there is hardly a medium more rife with such a sentiment than that of comic books. It’s largely known amongst comic fans that Marvel and DC have long since created similar characters, shared similar ideas, and even crossed their universes over on rare occasions. Honestly, after so many decades of telling stories and populating them with endless amounts of fantastic and colorful characters, it’s entirely acceptable and expected that some will share more than just a passing similarity with another company’s character. Sometimes, even rarer still, characters are created to nod to others.

The Squadron Supreme is a team of characters specifically created as a nod to DC Comics’ most famous heroes, the Justice League of America. The Squadron Supreme was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema and was meant to act as an imitation of the Justice League, not as a means of belittling them, but just as a cheeky nod to DC. However, what makes the Squadron Supreme truly stand out is how incredibly complicated and convoluted their history has become over the years. With no hyperbole, it’s safe to say that the Squadron Supreme ranks as one of Marvel’s most difficult teams to follow and keep tabs on.

The Squadron Supreme Began as a Band of Villains Who Battled the Avengers

They Weren’t Even Named the Squadron Supreme

The Squadron Supreme debuted as an entirely different incarnation of the group they would later become, and they didn’t even sport their name, either. In Avengers #69 (by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema), the titular heroes found themselves thrown far to the distant 41st century. Kang the Conqueror reveals that he specifically selected the Avengers for help in a large battle against the Grandmaster. Kang chooses the Avengers as his champions, and the Grandmaster selects his own champions, The Squadron Sinister.

These are direct references to Superman, Green Lantern, Batman, and The Flash. The Squadron Sinister is defeated, the Avengers return to their time, and all is well. At least until the Avengers are sent to Earth-712 by accident in Avengers #84 (by Roy Thomas and John Buscema.) Here, they meet a heroic version of the Squadron Supreme, and after a slight misunderstanding, aid them in freeing their Earth from a terrible fate.

For those keeping score at home, this confirms two versions of the Squadron Supreme: the evil ones chosen by the Grandmaster and the heroic ones of Earth-712. This is important as the two versions will often cross over with one another sporadically over the years.

The Squadron Supreme Found Their Way to Earth-616

It Wasn’t Their Home Universe By a Long Shot

After the Avengers leave Earth-712 and return to their home of Earth-616, the Squadron Supreme is left alone on their world, now mostly destroyed from their previous battles. Believing they possess the power to recreate it as an idyllic paradise, the Squadron Supreme works to fix their world.

This plan does not work as they intended it, and they become the despots they had attempted to vanquish. Later, the remaining members of the Squadron Supreme join forces with former villains to battle against a common enemy; the resulting battle is so great that many surviving members of the Squadron are killed, and even fewer survivors of that battle become displaced on Earth-616.

The stranded members of the Squadron Supreme would eventually find themselves transported back to their universe of Earth-712. Their world, now ruled by an oligarchy of corporations, becomes their new adversary, and they immediately set out to restore order.

Years later, yet another universe-hopping team of heroes, the Exiles, would visit this incarnation of the Squadron Supreme. The two teams join forces to free the world from corporate oppression, resulting in a hard-fought victory. If the idea of a team of heroes bouncing from universe to universe is confusing, don’t worry; another major version of the team is coming up.

The Squadron Supreme of Earth-31916 Was Very Different

They Were Grim, Gritty, and Extremely Mature

In a series known as Supreme Power, set under the mature Marvel MAX imprint, an entirely new iteration of the Squadron Supreme is introduced on Earth-31916. In this universe, Hyperion crash-landed on Earth in rural America.

As a young farm family discovers the baby Hyperion in his spacecraft (in a not-so-subtle nod to a popular DC hero), the US government takes the baby. Many years later, Hyperion became a state-sponsored hero, but not all things were as they seemed. Power Princess, Doctor Spectrum, Nighthawk, and new heroes such as the Blur and Amphibian appear in this continuity. The super-powered beings are brought together under a common cause and dubbed the Squadron Supreme.

This version of the Squadron Supreme feels more akin to Alan Moore’s Watchmen or Stormwatch’s The Authority. These are angry, flawed, and vindictive individuals, often heroic but sometimes villainous. Their world is dangerous and, as such, necessitates dangerous individuals to protect it. Fans with a soft spot for the lighter fare of the team’s original incarnation might not find Earth-31916’s iterations appealing, but there is extremely solid storytelling in their world. And that’s not the end of the Squadron’s universe-hopping shenanigans, either.

The Squadron Supreme Keeps Returning in Different Ways

They’re Made of Heroes From All Across the Multiverse

The Squadron Supreme is still receiving new incarnations today, such as the Squadron Supreme set on Earth-616, which is populated by members from across the Multiverse following 2015’s Secret Wars event. This team’s version of Hyperion hails from a universe that had been destroyed when another universe crashed into it; Nighthawk hails from Earth-31916; Doctor Spectrum came from Earth-4290001, a world that had been protected by yet another incarnation of the Squadron Supreme known as the Great Society; and the Blur was formerly from the New Universe, an alternate reality that was launched in 1986.

In this new reality from the 2021 Heroes Reborn event, the Avengers were never formed. Odin was defeated, and Tony Stark never became Iron Man. Instead of the Avengers, there was the Squadron Supreme of America, the foremost superhero team. However, as a displaced Blade slowly begins to realize the world around him is horribly out of sorts, a series of events occur that put the world’s history back into order.

Of course, nothing is ever easy for Marvel’s Earth, and even after the catastrophic reality-warping of Mephisto is reversed, all is still not well for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. As several new threats rear their ugly heads on Earth, the Hyperion from the Squadron Supreme of America – a hero who believed his superhero team was the only America-backed superhero team capable of existing and that the Avengers were anti-American – has found himself lost within the proper continuity of Earth-616.

As a result, Hyperion is a confused amalgamation of thoughts, beliefs, and understandings. This has made him extremely dangerous, as seen in Jed McKay’s current Avengers run. It’s extremely unfortunate that Hyperion, a character modeled after one of the world’s greatest and most altruistic superheroes, has become such a symbol of animosity and danger. It does speak to the threat of what such unbridled power can morph into, which makes him a perennial character that will always carry heavy consequences for his mere existence.

For a team that began as nothing more than a knowing wink and nod to the Justice League, the Squadron Supreme quickly became one of the most intricate and in-depth teams to ever walk the hallowed halls of Marvel Comics. Rather than simply existing as their own team on Earth-616, the Squadron Supreme has enjoyed multiple multiversal incarnations, some heroic, some evil, but all undeniably unique. The team has long existed as a scrutinizing look into the very nature of superheroes, both as individuals and as teams. It is often a dark look, with many members of the team failing to survive to the end of their stories, but it is a look that is worth taking. Not all stories have happy endings, but they can be the saddest of tales and have the most impactful messages.

Regardless of their home universe, the Squadron Supreme has ruthlessly dismantled superheroics, offering a dark and violent exploration of the entire medium. For readers who have looked to Alan Moore’s seminal Watchmen as the ultimate deconstruction of the entire superhero genre and what real-world applications of their existence would entail, it cannot be stressed enough for them to seek out Mark Gruenwald’s stellar run. The Squadron Supreme, regardless of their timeline or universe, has always existed as the harsher representation of superheroes, even when pitted against Marvel’s best and brightest. Their impact on the core history of the Marvel Universe can be felt today, and with the Multiverse ever expanding and growing, there’s always the chance that even more versions of the Squadron Supreme may appear.