The Authority: World's End #1

[history79]

"This direction evolved following our WorldStorm launch a few years ago. Looking at the landscape of the industry, we realized we needed to move our universe in a different direction, something that the “Big Two” couldn’t, or wouldn’t, do for a long period of time. And we decided that direction should be toward a sci-fi/horror direction of a post-apocalyptic setting (to a degree, an almost logical extension to where the WSU has been headed for years). There have been “visions” of a devastated, bleak future in other mainstream super-hero books, but nothing with the lasting impact or direction that the World’s End books will be tackling."

- Wildstorm editor Ben Abernathy

Comments

[jlbarnett]

it's a lousy idea. Their non traditional heroes who'll do what others won't proceed to fail where other heroes don't.

That just shows they suck

[q99]

I mean, you'd think from some comments that the Wildstorm types were just more grr guns and swords and ruthlessness, but let's remember this is the universe where a whole team of such types effectively quit to run an energy company to improve the world. There's a good amount of both general heroics and unconventional-but-positively-oriented super actions in Wildstorm... or, well, there was.

[thatnickguy]

This reminds me of something Mark Waid said in an interview during his JLA run. It was about the same time The Authority was still very popular (I think during Mark Millar's run).

Interviewer: Fans have asked if there are any plans for a JLA/Authority crossover.
Waid: No.
Interviewer: Why not?
Waid: It wouldn't be much of a crossover. The first page would show the JLA locking up The Authority. The rest of it would just be another JLA story.

[mistersandman]

It's easy to tear something apart and so hard to build something up. IIRC this happened around the same time as Ultimatum, which was another colossal waste of a universe.

[q99]

Yea, pre-soft reboot (which wasn't what caused *this* cataclysm but served as a precursor, convincing them they needed to do something more drastic), I really liked how it was developing.

[katefan]

Ah yes, Ultimatum, where Blob became a cannibal. I wonder what editor greenlit that.

[sanjuro]

Good lord that was one of the worst things I had ever seen in a relatively mainstream comic universe. The best thing to come out of that universe was Ultimate Spider-Man. I've always wanted a true to source material animated adaptation of it. Sadly we will never get that with Disney holding the reins.

[mastermahan]

"Let's make everything post-apocalyptic" was a terrible, terrible idea for how to salvage Wildstorm, but damn it, Abnett and Lanning gave it a good try. Midnighter is separated from his husband. Swift is the most powerful member of the team. It's clever stuff.

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

Agreed.

Except for Gen 13, the plots were all the same

"Herd civilians int broken bases and hope for the best."

[jlbarnett]

how did this World's End stuff end? Were the books just cancelled? Was there another reboot

[beyondthefringe]

Y'know... I read many of the titles during this period, and I don't even remember.
I think it just... ended. And then got sucked into the New 52 reboot.

Looking at what people have written, it seems as though everyone got together to keep the Earth itself from dying, and then it wrapped up on a "and now we can rebuild" moment.