Squadron Supreme #7: Dirty Fighting

Squadron Supreme #7 is one issue-long down and dirty superhero fight. Lucky for J. Michael Straczynski that Gary Frank returned to draw this issue. I am fluctuate like crazy on JMS' stories--mostly I hate them. But this issue was very good. One of the things I hate about superhero fight scenes is when the adversaries are too nice to each other. With Redstone (the super-powered serial killer from Supreme Power) back for a second round, it's a battle that rivals Kid Miracleman's return. Civilians get in the way and discarded like toilet paper. Frank draws this carnage in all of its glory, and it's a wickedly fun spectacle to read. Hyperion fights smart, too, trying to using flying power to take him out (a la what Miracleman did to Gargunza), but Redstone has that avenue covered.

Of course, I still hate JMS. Not for Gwen, Peter, or Reed Richards. No, I hate JMS because he destroyed my afternoon. After what happened in this issue, I had to dig out Mark Gruenwald's Squadron Supreme maxi-series from 1986. Because even though JMS' version is modern and different, every once in a while, he throws something in there that reminds me of Gruenwald's version. There's an event that happened in the 1986 Squadron Supreme #8: Hyperion used his Atomic Vision to an extent that he never had before, with serious repercussions to his health.

Damn, those Gruenwald Squadrons were good. The artwork was spotty (Paul Ryan's issues were the best) and the story was Silver Age soapy, but it sure was fun seeing DC's archetypes Marvelized. There were love triangles and outrageous events that DC never would have pulled at the time. It's a great twist when the Golden Archer (Green Arrow) uses the Squadron's "Behavior Modification Machine" on Lady Lark (Black Canary) to brainwash her into loving him. The other romantic tangle occurs in Squadron Supreme #7 when Hyperion's evil duplicate secretly kills Zarda's (Wonder Woman) elder husband (Steve Trevor) and finally nails the Amazon. Good stuff, worthy of putting your ashes into. Nuff said.