Heroes Return #1: The Man Who Rebooted the World

[superboyprime]

"So in the midst of the last year that I think a lot of us would like to forget, or that we’re all looking to move past in some way and get back to some semblance of life as we know it, that was all wrapped up in this. Like this job that I’ve loved that I’ve wanted since I was a kid that I love every day. That all kind of disappeared. So coming back to it was very much celebrating what I love about this job, what I love about comics, as a reader, as a writer, someone who feels very blessed to get to play in these sandboxes with these characters in these toys. That’s all wrapped up in this and I think that hopefully you can feel that on every page of this story. From me and from the amazing group of artists who I’m getting to work with across these eight books. But it’s very much a celebration – a joyful celebration of the power, the beauty, and the fun of comics." - Jason Aaron

Comments

[cypherfdp]

Absolutely livid that the opportunity for a council of 666 Mephistos was missed

(also, isn't the Hickman Hyperion around somewhere?)

[lordultimus]

In fairness, 616 is an legitimate alternate interpretation for the Number of the Beast.

[scorntx]

The Hickman Hyperion, and the entirety of the Robinson Squadron (except JMS Nighthawk, who's dead.)

Also Tanglewire from the original Squadron, wherever the heck he's gotten to since the Busiek days.

[sabertoothlotus]

Also Speed Demon, who was a member of one version of the Squadron (I can't remember which) and ending up stuck in the 616 for some reason

[skjam]

The original Squadron Sinister, who were "native" to Marvel-Earth. They were put together by the Grandmaster.

[beyondthefringe]

Yup. The one that gave us the first evil Hyperion, who later died in the Squadron maxseries, Speed Demon, the Kyle Richmond Nighthawk, and a bunch of forgettable Doctor Spectrums.

[beyondthefringe]

Regrettably, Haywire, last I heard, was dead. He went splorch during Avengers: Celestial Quest by embracing Death or some such nonsense.

The Hickman Hyperion really did vanish without a trace after his series ended. I wonder if Mephisto somehow banished him and any of the other 616-Squadron members who might have been inconvenient for his plans when he created the current team. (Since I can't remember seeing much of Blur, Thundra, or Doctor Spectrum lately either.)

[scorntx]

Mephisto probably shoved them into a cupboard, along with the Grandmaster's Squadron Sinister and that evil Power Princess.
Must be pretty cramped in there by now...

[coldfury]

Weren't the OG Squadron still stuck over here since Quasar in the 90s? I seem to recall seeing a book with them in Project Pegasus somewhat recently... maybe a 'Marvel Zombies almost make it to 616' book or something?

Though I could be mis-remembering.

[beyondthefringe]

The Squadron went home in an Avengers storyline which carried over into a one-shot called New World Order, which tried to double down on the JLA pastiche aspect of their nature by jettisoning hangers-on like Haywire who didn't have specific analogs.

I believe the Squadron we saw zombified in Marvel Zombies Supreme were clones developed by Project: PEGASUS. Honestly, it feels like some of the Marvel Zombies minis were either retconned out of the 616 continuity or never happened there at all, owing to the way they've never been spoken of since and/or involved characters portrayed differently than usual. (Ducky's Dozen comes to mind...)

[scorntx]

I was going to make a remark about how Aaron's writing on this and Avengers really does come across as a moody teenager smashing action figures together. And then he goes and makes the toy metaphor.
Feel like the angry mob arriving at the spooky castle to find the drawbridge down and the mad scientist already dead...

Aaron also admitted in interviews that the title was chosen just 'cuz, and didn't have a damn thing to do with Onslaught, or Heroes Reborn or Heroes Return (aside from maybe the tangential connection of 'villain rewrites reality', and even then it's not exactly that unique a concept these days... Kulan Gath was doing it before it was cool.)
Maybe it's because they weren't allowed to just call it Squadron Supreme again, and A Bunch of Stuff That Happens is too long, too on the nose, and wouldn't pass legal?

As far as A Bunch of Stuff goes, it's... harmless. Speaking as someone who usually can't stand Aaron's writing most of the time, it's tolerable.
Light on plot, but in a mindless sort of way. A pure popcorn comic.
'cept the whole turning Phil Coulson into, essentially, Marvel's Max Lord... that I dislike.
There's an easy handwave in there that Mephisto's done something demon-y to Phil, separated out the good and bad, but until or unless some other writer comes along with that handwave, poor Phil looks kind of radioactive at the moment.
(Must have been one damn good sandwich for Aaron to be this riled about it, huh?)

I don't know if having the Squadron remain on Evphil's side rather than going with the typical route of turning on their creator when they learn what he's done because he's succeeded a bit too well in creating heroes is better than running with the trope. It is certainly A Choice.
(But comparisons to "Legends" from Justice League might've been unavoidable...)
Though Nighthawk's assertion that Evphil's world is better is laughable. Your world sucked. Accept it.

It's a shame, not just because I like the original Squadron maxiseries (flaws and all), but there are threads of an interesting story in here, and it doesn't seem like it'd take much to make something of them, rather than, again, A Bunch of Stuff That Happens.

Squadron was an interesting early deconstruction, of when well-meaning intentions become harmful, and the idea of status quo in comic books.
The only point this thing seems to be making is "American Exceptionalism is bad."
... which, admittedly, is a point that probably does need reiterating at some people these days.

Though in the interest of some semblance of balance, I do like the lack of metacommentary, subtle or otherwise.

*huff... huff... huff...*

Wonder what's next from Marvel? A version of The Crossing that has nothing to do with that story?
... no, wait. That'd be a good thing. Scratch that.
(Live Kree or Die? Maximum Security? Avengers Forever?)

[sabertoothlotus]

Wonder what's next from Marvel? A version of The Crossing that has nothing to do with that story?
... no, wait. That'd be a good thing. Scratch that.
(Live Kree or Die? Maximum Security? Avengers Forever?)

World War Hulk 2... oh, wait.
Um... Civil War 3?
New Age of Apocalypse (Oh, I'm sorry, [:A:])?
Ultimate Universe reboot?

[scorntx]

Sssh!
Someone at Marvel might hear ya!

[beyondthefringe]

Let's see, what other major storylines haven't been revisited lately.
Atlantis Attacks? Oh wait. Just did that.
I know! Evolutionary War! Bring back the High Evolutionary and make him relevant again.

[shakalooloo]

If the High Evolutionary came back now, it would be to tell everyone that he was lying about the Scarlet WItch.

[scorntx]

"It's all your own fault! You took the word of a man who wears a kettle on his head at face value!"

[tinygaylaura]

Look if you can't trust the word of a clearly insane man who made a planet so he could have a place to bring his Fur Affinity sketches to life who can you trust

[deh_tommy]

I don’t know if that’s the best description of the High Evolutionary I’ve seen or the most cursed.

[tinygaylaura]

Can't it be both?

[deh_tommy]

They could do another Secret Invasion to cap off the Secret revival trilogy following Secret Wars and Secret Empire.

[scorntx]

And just in time for the Disney+... series.
...
...
oh.
Hmm.

[donnblake]

Go old school- Argonautica 2 or Secret Iliad.

[thanekos]

" Now, first order of Council business - the Questionaire!

" Number one.. the human mutant, uh, Magma. Any of us here, uh.. close the deal on that? "

[agent8]

I would be sorely disappointed if it wasn't the female Mephisto.

Because that relationship would be....

Hot....

(Bah-Dum-Tish...I'll see myself out)

[tinygaylaura]

Eyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

[starwolf_oakley]

Is Marvel going to do "Some remember the old universe" again? Which I think they tried after "Secret Wars."

[tinygaylaura]

So they replaced the actually cool Nighthawk with a character who is basically just Super Douche Prime but with an even stupider costume

"EVERYTHING WAS BETTER ON MY EARTH! YOU'RE RUIIIINNNIIINNNGGGGG EEEVVVEERYYYYTTTHHHIIINNNGGGGG!"

[silverhammerman]

Feel like pure shit, just want him back:

[tinygaylaura]

Now that's the Nighthawk I want to root for

Not whatever this whiny little dipshit in this crappy Heroes Reborn story is

[beyondthefringe]

I think we need to get all the Nighthawks in one room.

616 Kyle Richmond (the original)
Squadron Supreme Kyle (either pre-death or bring him back)
Squadron Supreme Neal Richmond (his son/successor)
616 Joaquim Pennyworth (always forgotten)
Supreme Power version (the one who came to the 616 and had a miniseries and who died pretty much off-screen in Occupy Avengers, boo)
616 Mephisto version (i.e. the current one)

Then we can let them fight it out for the identity. Because as it stands, there's at least 3 living claimants to the title running around the 616.

And seriously, I can't remember if it's ever been explained how the hero community hasn't raised eyebrows at the existence of both multiple Kyle Richmonds and multiple Nighthawks. How has no one been all "okay look, we've had a white Kyle running around as Nighthawk for years, and now here's a Black senator named Kyle at the same time as a new, Black Nighthawk is running around and...) I guess Mephisto really did sweep some shit under the rug.

[scorntx]

There can only be one!
... unless someone decides to gather all the Nighthawks and make them some sort of group or franchise.
Nighthawks Unlimited, if you will.

... actually, has there been any sign of Deadly Nightshade since Secret Empire?


This is the same universe where the very white Nick Fury can have a son who looks like Samuel L. Jackson and no-one bats an eyelash at that one.
And original flavour Nighthawk was a Defender. They got up to some weird stuff.
So maybe the heroes of the Marvel universe think it's something like that.

[mastermahan]

Seriously. "What if Batman was a pissed-off black man?" is so much more interesting than Batman But Evil.

Or at least follow up on Nightshade taking over as the new Nighthawk. An inner-city mad scientist turned vigilante is a great concept. This is a woman who used to turn people into werewolves. Let's read about her fighting street crime and white supremacists.

[scorntx]

Fighting street crime and white supremacists with werewolves?

[donnblake]

Hey, yeah, that was a series someone was posting for a while, wasn't it?

[mazway_75]

I just love Pig Mephisto.

Thing is, it's going to be like the Variant Lokis in the show, not long before they're double-crossing each other for power and 616 Loki sighing "this...may have been a mistake."

[mastermahan]

I still haven't forgiven Mepigsto for erasing Spider-Ham's marriage to Mary Crane.

[thezmage]

This "event" was really more of a whimper than a bang, but I did enjoy it.

The Hyperion/Peter Parker stuff was the best though. This scene where he goes looking for his old "friend" who both hated him and who he had found irritating, was oretty good in my opinion