Chaotic Wooster Remembers the Wildstorm Universe

[Tulpa Girl]

So it would seem... but two instances is a small sample size, so we would need to drop her into some other universes to make sure:

In the DC universe she might be drawn to Red Tornado.

If she ran into the THUNDER Agents she might hook up with NoMan.

If she found herself in the Questionable Content setting, well, there would be no lack of options there, but... Pintsize?

 

[TristramEvans]

So it would seem... but two instances is a small sample size, so we would need to drop her into some other universes to make sure:

In the DC universe she might be drawn to Red Tornado.

If she ran into the THUNDER Agents she might hook up with NoMan.

If she found herself in the Questionable Content setting, well, there would be no lack of options there, but... Pintsize?

Who does she get with in Watchmen though?

 

[chuckdee]

Who does she get with in Watchmen though?

The closest is Dr Manhattan, but really no options there.

 

[chuckdee]

In the DC universe she might be drawn to Red Tornado.

She actually has a few choices there. I'd think it would be The Eradicator. She seems drawn to more OP ones. Though for grins there's also the Metal Men, or maybe even Braniac if we're going there.

 

[TristramEvans]

Red Tornado & The Scarlet Witch does have a nice ring to it...

 

[Chaotic Wooster]

Yes, I finally found time for the next post. I've tried to organize it a little better.

WHAT'S THE WILDSTORM UNIVERSE?:
Created by Jim Lee when he left Marvel Comics for the greener pastures of the Image Comics, which he co-founded. Each co-founder established their own studio and their own titles. Jim Lee's Wildstorm universe was created in collaberation with writer Brandon Choi, and later expanded on by many other creative hands.

Wildstorm had a strong foundation, with most of it's titles tied to the secretive I.O. agency, and to it's special operations force Team 7. This history would be revealed over time, with the men (and their children) of that ill-fated team involved in all the key events of Wildstorm's early years.

IN CASE YOU'RE JUST JOINING US...:
Stormwatch was one of the two "core" Wildstorm titles, though never as prominent as WildC.A.T.S. It tells the story of an international team of U.N. sanctioned superhumans and their overseer The Weatherman.

STORMWATCH #1-3
First Published: March to July '93.



Issue #1 opens with a full-page image of team leader Battalion blazing away with hand cannons. Quickly established is how his view of his current assignment is at odds with Weatherman. Both want to rescue a U.N. diplomat and a bus full of children from a warzone, but Weatherman's priority is a "seedling" child. Seedling's being people with latent powers that can be activated. Battalion intends to save everyone.

We're quickly introduced to the rest of the team, though little about them. Fuji is a Japanese giant in a grey costume, Hellstrike is a (Scottish, not that you could tell) ex-cop with the generic energy blast/flight package, Winter is Russian (because he calls everyone comrade, of course) and Diva is Italian with sonic powers. This extraction mission was supposed to be little more than a field exercise, but it's gone bad. Very bad!

Though the hostiles (this is supposed to be a civil conflict in Sarajevo) retreat in the face of Stormwatch's power, the bus is struck by an energy blast...

...belonging to Deathtrap! He's a merciless mercenary leader, and has beef with Battalion! He's got a team too (they really don't matter, so no introductions) and the fight escalates, though Stormwatch prevails. Deathtrap's parting shot kills the U.N. diplomat, just to spite Battalion.

-

With the action over, we jump forward a few days to spend some time with Jackson King (Battalion) and his family. His "Ma" lives with him, as does his wayward younger brother Malcolm, who has been hauled in by the cops and released by Christine Trelane (Synergy), another Stormwatch staff member. Despite being caught in an armed robbery that ended in a fatality, King's family all have diplomatic immunity due to his work.

-

A brief aside shows Weatherman at work, with the report of a large energy surge near Chernobyl. But that'll matter next issue.

-

Battalion, his mother and brother, Fuji and Synergy are all present for the diplomat's funeral. But Deathtrap's Mercs arrive to take another shot at Stormwatch and to take another seedling to make up for the one they failed to grab earlier. That seedling is Malcolm! Despite Jackson's attempts to protect his family, without the sci-fi suit that amplifies his psychic powers, he can't compete with Deathtrap's superior forces and numbers.

Synergy's only option is to use her power. She's an "activator", and she merely needs to touch Malcolm to awaken whatever seedling powers he has locked away. Energy starts blasting in all directions from his body.

-



Issue #2 picks right up. Malcolm's floating and glowing, the Mercs are pissed and Synergy is trying to get Weatherman to send reinforcements. With no other choice, he is about to send the rookie Cannon and his team, but the Chernobyl events takes priority. To the horror of the staff on-site, a bizarre-looking figure emerges from the reactor. He doesn't seem friendly.

-

Back at the funeral, Synergy deactivates one of the Mercs and Battalion holds his own against two more. Deathtrap tries to psychically subdue Malcolm. Stormwatch reinforcements prevent it and he beams his team away.

Jackson is enraged at the danger his family were put in. He was already intending to retire, now he's quitting. Only... Cannon's back! Injured and alone. The mysterious figure from Chernobyl having handed his entire team their collective asses.

After some reflection, Battalion agrees to take the remaining Stormwatch team members in on a rescue mission. Cannon isn't happy about it.

-



Issue #3 covers the rescue attempt. Cannon recalls his team's fight with the alien intruder, a fight that killed two superhuman operatives and left the others his prisoner. The alien is Regent, a member of the Directorate (featured in Wildstorm's Union title) and he is to pave the way for an invasion. His arrival required the nuclear plant's core, now he means to blow it all up to cover his tracks. Nice guy.

-

The team discover the bodies of Cannon's former teammates, sending the hothead into a vengeful rage. His lack of composure screws up the team's co-ordination, making it easy for Regent to hold his own against them all. He is VERY powerful, near invulnerable and with powerful energy control.

Diva is sent to free the two survivors, Winter and a pyrokinetic called Farenheit.

-

Meanwhile, on the Skywatch space station, Weatherman is preparing his contingency plan. Naturally, it's nuking the site from orbit... The only way to be sure. Synergy says it may not be enough, that if Regent can survive a nuclear reactor and defeat two Stormwatch teams, he might shrug off a nuke. Weatherman agrees and orders the de-freezing of the "Warguard". Everyone in earshot shits their pants at the suggestion of unleashing whoever the Warguard are.

Malcolm King wakes in the infirmery and is introduced to Backlash, Stormwatch veteran and trainer. Not shown here, but Backlash is a war veteran with psionic whips that extend from his arms, among other powers.

-

The combined powers of Battalion, Cannon, Farenheit, Diva, Hellstrike and Winter are finally enough to take down Regent. He teleports away. The team rush to deal with the reactor overload, only to find that Fuji has done it for them. Good work Fuji. He asks for beer. He probably gets it.

OVERALL:
Despite Stormwatch facing two unrelated threats (three if you count Cannon's asshattery), it is the better written book compared to WildC.A.T.S. It establishes Jackson King, his family, his doubts about his job, his choices and his loyalty to his people. It's more consistent in what characterization it does give to the major players, with Battalion, Synergy, Weatherman, Winter and that dickhead Cannon all featuring the most.

Sadly, neither the Mercs nor Regent are terribly interesting. Deathtrap's rivalry with Battalion is front and center, and it will be developed over time. Regent is another cackling uber-villain, but unlike Helspont, he looks like shit.

Stormwatch #1-3 likely occurs prior to WildC.A.T.S #0-4. The Mercs are trying to sell kidnapped seedlings to the Cabal.

 

[chuckdee]

You make me want to go back and start reading again. WildCATS caught my attention but Stormwatch was definitely the better comic.

 

[TristramEvans]

was PITT part of Wildstorm or it's own thing?

 

[Chaotic Wooster]

You make me want to go back and start reading again. WildCATS caught my attention but Stormwatch was definitely the better comic.

Stormwatch started better. It went downhill after Wildstorm Rising, while WildC.A.T.S got Alan Moore and Travis Charest. Later, Stormwatch got Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch... So it's as if one waxed as the other waned.

was PITT part of Wildstorm or it's own thing?

PITT was an Image title, but not a Wildstorm one. Though he/they did appear in the opening arc of Gen 13. They still hadn't shaken off the tendancy to include unrelated characters waaay too early.

 

[chuckdee]

Stormwatch started better. It went downhill after Wildstorm Rising, while WildC.A.T.S got Alan Moore and Travis Charest. Later, Stormwatch got Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch... So it's as if one waxed as the other waned.

Stormwatch getting Ellis led to two of my favorite series ever... The Authority and Planetary. So Stormwatch wins for the lows in my book

 

[Chaotic Wooster]

Stormwatch getting Ellis led to two of my favorite series ever... The Authority and Planetary. So Stormwatch wins for the lows in my book

Yeah, Ellis inherited the book at the point that almost no-one was reading it and no-one cared what he did with it. And it led to great, great things. The final couple of years of volume 1 were gold, volume 2 was epic, and it led to The Authority. That totally changed the game. DC is still trying to figure out how to make it work for them.

Moore's WildC.A.T.S run was good, even if it does feel like he was slumming it for a payday. Like I've said before, half-arsed Moore is still better than most writers on their best day. But Wildcats volume 2 and 3 were amazing, if very different titles.

 

[TristramEvans]

It's honestly very hard for me to remember which of these series I actually read vs just read about in Wizard.

 

[Chaotic Wooster]

It's honestly very hard for me to remember which of these series I actually read vs just read about in Wizard.

No, I get that. Volume 1 of WildC.A.T.S and Stormwatch were both quite lengthy and the publishing delays were bad, so remembering back isn't easy. Before I started my foolish re-collecting, I only remembered spots of very early Stormwatch and the Ellis stuff, the first arc of WildC.A.T.S and the Moore stuff, because it turned to hot garbage the instant he left. I picked it up again in volume 2, but didn't appreciate it as much as I do now.

 

[Chaotic Wooster]

As a bonus post, here's issue #0.

WHAT'S THE WILDSTORM UNIVERSE?:
Created by Jim Lee when he left Marvel Comics for the greener pastures of the Image Comics, which he co-founded. Each co-founder established their own studio and their own titles. Jim Lee's Wildstorm universe was created in collaberation with writer Brandon Choi, and later expanded on by many other creative hands.

Wildstorm had a strong foundation, with most of it's titles tied to the secretive I.O. agency, and to it's special operations force Team 7. This history would be revealed over time, with the men (and their children) of that ill-fated team involved in all the key events of Wildstorm's early years.

IN CASE YOU'RE JUST JOINING US...:
In issues #1-3 Stormwatch, the U.N. superhuman response team, fought off a targetted attack by an old rival of team leader Battalion. Deathtrap's Mercs intended to kidnap Battalion's young brother Malcolm, who has the same potential for superpowers, but the kid was instead activated against Battalion's wishes.

STORMWATCH #0
First Published: August '93.



The first half of the issue deals with an attempt to infiltrate and sabotage the immense Skywatch orbital station. Four invaders, kitted with a stealth shuttle and other hi-tech goodies breach the station, only to turn on each other. Seems one is more interested in vengeance than getting the job done. He executes the dissenter and they head towards his target... Yep, Battalion. Currently training with Japanese-born giant Fuji in a combat simulator.

-

Battalion imparts some wisdom to the rookie, and shows his psychic powers plus his experience are more than a match for Fuji's brute force, when the infiltrators attack. It fails, Battalion and Fuji easily hand them their asses, though the leader's insane need for revenge troubles Battalion.

-

Later, he reflects on how Stormwatch came to be. The first U.N. orbital mission included his father, but the Monitor One space station was caught in a comet's tail, which killed almost everyone. The few survivors become immensely powerful but highly unstable superhumans dubbed "The Warguard". They were eventually subdued and placed in stasis.

By '78 Jackson King (Battalion), having inherited the potential for powers from his now-insane father, is on-track to lead the first Stormwatch team. His rival is racist Australian ass-clown Flashpoint. While training, they get into a chest-thumping contest and then a brawl, which Battalion wins.

Later, while trying on their new battle armour, the R&D lab is attacked by terrorists. Among their number are the leader of the infiltrators and the brother he is trying to avenge. Battalion, Flashpoint and Nautika easily dispatch these gun-toting nobodies (with some help from Wildstorm's silver fox, Backlash!). Flashpoint in particular shows that aside from being a prick he's also got crazy energy blast skills. Battalion melts the brain of one attacker, setting up the revenge mission from the start of the issue.

The one escapee reports to a sinister woman in Washington D.C., who laments that Stormwatch's seedling program is already active. Unnamed here, she is Ivana Bauil, responsible for Project: Genesis (which will one day give us Gen 13 and Dv8).

-

In '78, Stormwatch was revealed to the public, a big 'heroes of the future' vibe. In '93, Jackson King just looks at all the scars on his body, all the losses he's suffered, and hopes that his now-activated younger brother Malcolm is going to have a brighter future than he will.

He won't. He sooo fucking won't.

OVERALL:
I wasn't quite sure where this fits into the timeline, but after issue #3 seems as good a place as any. It was likely the intended place, but Image's publishing schedule was... Not good.

Like many of the early Stormwatch stories, this is all about Jackson King. And again this one leans into his race, his role as a soldier, a leader and the inheritor of powers he never wanted.

It's a little messy structurally, but comes together by the end. We're still sowing seeds for the rest of the Wildstorm universe. Backlash, Ivana, Project: Genesis, Warguard, etc. Since the issue #0's were supposed to provide background to the first story arcs, it more or less works.

The confusion is going to be that we've got Nautika and Flashpoint introduced, but no clue who they are or what happened to them. You also have to question why Backlash isn't on the team, if not in charge of it. These questions will be answered in later issues, but it makes issue #0 feel a little weird.

Since I'm reading this with a full collection of volume 1 and a hazy memory of how things worked out, I couldn't say if issue #0's lingering questions would have been enticing or not.

 

[Chaotic Wooster]

COMPARING WILDC.A.T.S' AND STORMWATCH'S FIRST STORY ARCS.

As the initial pillars upon which the rest of the Wildstorm Universe would be built, WildC.A.T.S and Stormwatch both had a vital role to play on publication.

WildC.A.T.S was the big seller, riding on Jim Lee's "superstar artist" reputation. Sadly, it suffered crazy delays due to his multitude of other duties. Stormwatch, while conceived by Lee, was the work of other creators from the get-go. It had less attention on it, and less pressure to succeed. Not that would be allowed to fail.

Brandon Choi, responsible for plotting all of the early Wildstorm world-building, wrote both books at launch. He had a strong vision for what the Wildstorm universe would be, and how it all connected. Indeed, though the connective tissue isn't all visible in these issues, it soon will be. It's clear that consistency and the interconnectedness of his books mattered to Choi. Puzzling then, that so many non-Wildstorm characters intruded into these books from the very start. The "Image Universe" was never a thing, and almost every co-founder's titles was an immediate canon-wrecking pain in the arse the moment they were forced to cross over. Just look at Warblade's baffling assortment of mutually-exclusive backstories to see how much damage this inflicted.

ART:
WildC.A.T.S had Jim Lee... Not to downplay Scott Clark's penciling, but he wasn't the big deal that Lee was. Delays or not, Lee's work is stellar on WildC.A.T.S. And while the colouring isn't a patch on the slickness of modern digital colour, it's vibrant and stylish all the same. Stormwatch is a little more workmanlike, but hardly dull.

Character designs were a problem for both books. Almost everyone's look was too busy, as was customary in the early '90's. Zealot and Diva suffered horribly from a one-piece that vanished up their cracks! Zealot would live long enough to fix that, Diva wouldn't.



CHARACTERIZATION:
Jackson King (Battalion) by far and away is the best developed and most nuanced character right now. Most of the WildC.A.T.S are archetypes rather than characters, and the Stormwatch crew are only beginning to tease the depths that (some of them will one day show) they have. Christine Trelane (Synergy) actually gets more screen time and lines than most of the other heroes in either book, despite not being an actual team member.

It's interesting to see that Battalion has to contend with both Cannon and Flashpoint. They could almost be the same jerk! Both are walking-lumps of muscle and testosterone, neither want to listen to Battalion's orders. But Flashpoint is an out-and-open racist, while Cannon is just an asshat. Both were clearly intended to be hated, and both will see development.

The WildC.A.T.S are just dysfunctional. It'll almost become their hallmark. Spartan is supposedly the leader, but only Voodoo listens to him (and only because she wants robo-boning). Emp spends every opportunity leching. Void is a space case. Warblade basically has nothing to do if he isn't raging about revenge against Daemonites. Maul is big. He's also big. And big. Only Grifter and Zealot have experience enough to get the team functioning properly. The team could honestly just be Spartan, Grifter and Zealot without losing any fighting effectiveness.

Again, time will change some of this. Void and Maul would be the only WildC.A.T.S to never receive any sort of solo mini-series, but both would shine in later volumes.

All of the villains are bad... But some have potential. Regent just sucks. And he'll always suck. He looks bad, he's just really powerful, and he's evil. Helspont looks amazing but will never get the development that his hench-goon Pike will! Deathtrap (crap name aside) will prove himself again and again to be a vile piece of shit, and his psychic-dick measuring contest with Battalion never lets up. But for now, he's just another Deadpool-looking guy. Providence has a creepy/cool black-eyed-kid thing going on. The rest of the Cabal/Mercs are absolutely forgetable cannon-fodder.

OVERALL:
So... WildC.A.T.S #0-4, Stormwatch #0-3 (plus Urban Storm), which is better?

As a book, Stormwatch. The decision to focus on one character and flesh him out well goes a long way. WildC.A.T.S was cooler, no doubt. But it's just easier and more interesting to follow Jackson King's story. WildC.A.T.S has waaay too many characters, including the crossover with Youngblood that completely derails issues #3 and #4. Stormwatch is slower to build up it's corner of the Wildstorm universe, but I'm considering it more successful.

 

[chuckdee]

I'll also say that I love Jackson's relationship with his lover and eventual wife, Synergy. Their fraught relationship on the job and conflicts actually working themselves out into a strong marriage was just a nice thing to see in a comic. You usually don't get to see marriages play out like that.

 

[Chaotic Wooster]

I'll also say that I love Jackson's relationship with his lover and eventual wife, Synergy. Their fraught relationship on the job and conflicts actually working themselves out into a strong marriage was just a nice thing to see in a comic. You usually don't get to see marriages play out like that.

Agreed. Different writers handled it in varied ways over the years, but it's teased right here in the first few issues and goes on for much (all?) of the WSU's existence.

It's going to be interesting when I get around to re-reading The Monarchy. I don't remember much caring for it back in the day, but these revisitations have been fun so far. But that was King's team in the wake of The Authority, and quite different to his time in Stormwatch as I recall.

Need to decide what to read next. Hmmm...

 

[Tulpa Girl]

Okay, I would have sworn that the current series was billed as a mini, but if it wasn't before it's now an ongoing series. Which is actually fine, as things have picked up in the last couple of issues. The integration in the DC universe comes off smoother, with both Batman and Superman investigating Halo for different reasons.

With the most recent issue (#6) we get the real premise of the series, finding out that not everyone we thought were our protagonists are actually on the side of the, err, angels.

While it may not work for fans just wanting a retread of the Jim Lee days, I'm now genuinely interested in where this is going - I was thinking of dropping this title after the first story arc, but for now at least I'm going to keep picking it up.

 

[Chaotic Wooster]

Okay, I would have sworn that the current series was billed as a mini, but if it wasn't before it's now an ongoing series. Which is actually fine, as things have picked up in the last couple of issues. The integration in the DC universe comes off smoother, with both Batman and Superman investigating Halo for different reasons.

With the most recent issue (#6) we get the real premise of the series, finding out that not everyone we thought were our protagonists are actually on the side of the, err, angels.

While it may not work for fans just wanting a retread of the Jim Lee days, I'm now genuinely interested in where this is going - I was thinking of dropping this title after the first story arc, but for now at least I'm going to keep picking it up.

Interesting to hear.

I'm likely to grab the collected volume and see what I make of it. It's another stab at integrating the WS characters into DC, which I'm still not convinced is ever going to work out all that well, but I am going to give this a look at some point.

It can't be worse than the WS inclusions in the New 52.

Shudders.

 

[hawkeyefan]

I just picked up Waller vs. Wildstorm #1. I always liked the Ostrander Suicide Squad book, and the potential of the Wildstorm stuff, so I figured I’d give it a try.

It’s a Black Label book, and it clearly takes place in its own continuity. It’s set during the Cold War, and is about Waller’s rise in Checkmate, and Battalion’s goal to stop her. He involves Lois Lane and spills some secrets.

It was pretty uneven. Some of the characterization seemed off. But there was enough there to make me curious about issue 2. I’ll give that a try and see if it improves at all.

 

[Chaotic Wooster]

I just picked up Waller vs. Wildstorm #1. I always liked the Ostrander Suicide Squad book, and the potential of the Wildstorm stuff, so I figured I’d give it a try.

It’s a Black Label book, and it clearly takes place in its own continuity. It’s set during the Cold War, and is about Waller’s rise in Checkmate, and Battalion’s goal to stop her. He involves Lois Lane and spills some secrets.

It was pretty uneven. Some of the characterization seemed off. But there was enough there to make me curious about issue 2. I’ll give that a try and see if it improves at all.

It sounds a little like Wildstorm's "Wild Times" collection of one-off and out-of-continuity stories that placed the various characters in different time periods. I don't know if anyone remembers those. The closest WS got to "What If.../Elseworlds" back in the day.

 

[Chaotic Wooster]

It's been a while. Let's do another.

WHAT'S THE WILDSTORM UNIVERSE?:
Created by Jim Lee when he left Marvel Comics for the greener pastures of the Image Comics, which he co-founded. Each co-founder established their own studio and their own titles. Jim Lee's Wildstorm universe was created in collaberation with writer Brandon Choi, and later expanded on by many other creative hands.

Wildstorm had a strong foundation, with most of it's titles tied to the secretive I.O. agency, and to it's special operations force Team 7. This history would be revealed over time, with the men (and their children) of that ill-fated team involved in all the key events of Wildstorm's early years.

IN CASE YOU'RE JUST JOINING US...:
Issues #0-4 of WildC.A.T.S saw the team defeat Helspont's Cabal and save the world from invasion. High-tech information broker The Gnome, attempted to take advantage of the conflict to steal a powerful artifact, but was shot by Emp and seemingly died. Clearly he didn't...

WILDC.A.T.S Special #1
First Published: November '93.



We open with three plot threads. A Daemonite (evil alien parasite) possessing a Hollywood star is dying of a stroke. He takes over the attending doctor's body and calls up the gnome, wanting a more suitable host. Providence (the creepy kid with cosmic awareness) returns to her family home in a melancholic scene where she dismisses her old life. Void (in a shocking twist) has strange dreams about a special child born in a war torn land.

The land in question is Kasmia, about to fall to it's neighbour Yurgovia. Quite how it's taking so long, I'm unclear, since Yurgovia's head of state is Destine. She's a Coda warrior, a psycho-bitch assassin, and ought to be easily able to slice her way through human soldiers. Anyway, since Gnome is still sore from his WildC.A.T.S-based ass kicking, he puts the daemonite in contact with Providence and she brings him to Yurgovia so he can possess the magic baby.

Yeah, Providence and Void are weirdly linked and seem to more or less pick up on the same information.

-

The WildC.A.T.S send Grifter and Voodoo to find the child. The former because he's been to Yurgovia before, the latter because she's hot... I mean she's our point of view character... I mean she can spot and exorcise daemonites. They arrive in the wrong spot since Providence and Void's teleport powers sometimes screw with each other. This gives us an action scene of Grifter vs. Tanks! Poor tanks.

After some information gathering, they head to the home of a supposed witch. A witch with a newborn...

-

And true to Grifter's luck. He's late. The bad guys are already here. A fight breaks out. Grifter, again, is basically on his own due to Voodoo being useless right now (I'm not being unduly mean, her total lack of combat skills is intentional and addressed in upcoming issues). Thankfully, the rest of the WildC.A.T.S arrive, meaning Destine and the daemonite are truly fucked. Providence, little queen of not giving a shit that she is, wasn't really invested in this anyway. So she survives by not being there. Destine and the daemonte are toast.

OVERALL:

Firstly, this is the first WS comic with art by Travis Charest. I fucking love Travis' art. This is early, and not fully refined, but still tremendous stuff. For me, Travis' take on the WildC.A.T.S is more iconic than Jim Lee's. Crazy, I know. Anyway, the book looks stellar.



This is also a better, simpler, tidier story than the previous five issues. It's got more character moments and better characterization. Steve Gerber is the writer here, and I prefer the pairing of Gerber and Charest to Lee and Choi. Grifter comes off well, both funny and competent and slightly annoyed at being the veteran in a team of children. Providence gets about the best development she's going to get here. Her time at home, in her own room is sadly sweet. And her outright fury when the Daemonite turns up and endangers her parents is telling. She's a character I'd have done a lot more with.

Destine is... Well, she's good enough a villain. She's got typical Coda fashion-sense. Battle swimwear. But she's got more going on than Devin, the throwaway Coda from the first story arc. The other WildC.A.T.S are mostly secondary players, but don't worry, Warblade gets to kill a daemonite while delivering an unfunny one-liner. All is right with the world.

Honestly. This is a good book. Aside from the callbacks, it's a better introduction to the WildC.A.T.S, the Gnome and the Daemonites than the first arc was. It's a single issue story, but with 37 pages of story (plus pin-ups and a small gallery) it's not as frantic as previous issues.

Sadly, they never followed up on a lot of loose threads. The baby is another "gifted one". That is to say, a half-Kheribum hybrid. So who's the daddy? Other Kherubim are revealed to be on Earth in later issues, but given how tightly structured the WSU was in these early days I'd be surprised if Choi didn't have a baby daddy in mind. The icky factor here is that the teen mother was raped, because... We needed that. Ugh. So maybe the father is a Daemonite instead.

Yeah. There are a lot of casual kills (mostly by the unnamed Daemonite) and brief discussion of wartime sexual assault in this book.

Kasmia surely falls to Yurgovia even without Destine in the mix, leaving the mother and child with a very uncertain future. And as I say, Providence emerges as a potentially interesting character, but we'll not see all that much of her going forward.

 

[Voros]

I just started reading The Authority finally and it is damn good. Like Watchmen and Dark Knight, feel like this comic is what a lot of others are aping but failing at actually capturing in the rather misplaced idea of 'superhero comics for adults' boondoggle.

 

[Tulpa Girl]

If you like Authority, you need to check out Stormwatch. Authority put Ellis's Wildstorm work into a greater public awareness, but for my money his run on Stormwatch was the better written run.

 

[hawkeyefan]

I just started reading The Authority finally and it is damn good. Like Watchmen and Dark Knight, feel like this comic is what a lot of others are aping but failing at actually capturing in the rather misplaced idea of 'superhero comics for adults' boondoggle.

Yeah, the Ellis/Hitch run is pretty amazing. I think it defined modern comics, and by extension the superhero movie boom.

I kind of wish that they’d stayed on longer. To see the characters get a bit more established in their style before Millar got a hold of them, which then heavily flavored everything that followed.

If you like Authority, you need to check out Stormwatch. Authority put Ellis's Wildstorm work into a greater public awareness, but for my money his run on Stormwatch was the better written run.

I don’t know if it’s better… but I love that run of Stormwatch. I remember issue 37 and how I immediately realized this was gonna be something special.

 

[Andrew J. Luther]

I dunno why, but this thread continues to give me warm fuzzies.

Maybe because I’m unabashedly a fan of the over-the-top coolness of everything that made up the Wildstorm universe. No matter how ridiculous it got, i loved every bit of it, and I’m not afraid to admit it.

I also may be slightly inebriated at the moment.

 

[Chaotic Wooster]

Ellis' years on Stormwatch were excellent. It's a shame that almost no-one was reading anymore, but The Authority put some focus on the Ellis Stormwatch after the fact, getting the entirety reprinted in TPB. I'd certainly argue they are more interesting stories than year one of The Authority. Smaller, self-contained and often very downbeat. Stormwatch's squabbles with the U.S. were well done, and Ellis nailed the characterization of the team better than anyone. Mostly, I like how Ellis toned down the alpha male testosterone of Battalion and made him a 'high INT fighter'. But the book was just full of good stories and great moments.

The Authority was dialed-to-11 cinematic glory! If there had been a movie, it'd have been directed by Michael Bay (once you made everyone a douchebag and got rid of the gays, anyway...). It didn't spare a lot of time on characterization, but redefined how epic a comic story could be in 4-issue chunks. I would say it was less compelling narratively than Stormwatch, but made up for it in style and explosions!

And no, no-one else has recaptured the same magic of either book, despite sooo many attempts over the years. It was very much a moment in the industry, and one that's seemingly impossible to replicate unless you're able to make sweeping changes to the universe at the whims of one writer. DC aint' gonna do that.

 

[Chaotic Wooster]

WHAT'S THE WILDSTORM UNIVERSE?:
Created by Jim Lee when he left Marvel Comics for the greener pastures of the Image Comics, which he co-founded. Each co-founder established their own studio and their own titles. Jim Lee's Wildstorm universe was created in collaberation with writer Brandon Choi, and later expanded on by many other creative hands.

Wildstorm had a strong foundation, with most of it's titles tied to the secretive I.O. agency, and to it's special operations force Team 7. This history would be revealed over time, with the men (and their children) of that ill-fated team involved in all the key events of Wildstorm's early years.

IN CASE YOU'RE JUST JOINING US...:
Issues #0-4 of WildC.A.T.S saw the team defeat Helspont's Cabal and save the world from invasion. Despite being mudhole stomped and losing Helspont, the Cabal seems intent on rising again...

WILDC.A.T.S Trilogy #1-3
First Published: June-December '93.



Issue #1 begns in N.Y.C. with Grifter catching up with an informant called Lonely. It seems like The Cabal is still a threat... I guess... I mean, without Helspont they're really not, but let's pretend. Still, the notion they might rebuild under other Daemonites is a thread in WildC.A.T.s and Stormwatch right now.

Lonely's sudden but inevitable betrayal of our boy Cole Cash for cold hard cash takes place. Grifter is taken prisoner by the Coda Assassins and the Cabal, now led by... Another Daemonite. Lord Hightower.

-

Quick aside. I really like Hightower. Or rather, I see him as a villain with a lot of unexplored potential. He won't last long enough to really show his stuff or turn into a joke, but he's quite at odds with his fellow devilish alien warlord. Sure he'll kill the 'Cats, but only because they're disruptive. He doesn't seem interested in continuing Helspont's cackling-mad schemes, and he spends most of his time passing for human. Maybe he'd simply "take over the world" in a behind-the-scenes way if he had the chance. Or maybe he'd sit around in his boxers and drink a beer while watching HBO. Who knows?

-

So Hightower's propping up the Cabal through a sense of obligation. He's the only other lord in it and if he doesn't take charge all the lesser Daemonites start pulling each other's heads off. His partner is yet another evil Coda... Artemis. She's had a mad-on for Zealot since the Trojan War, but only got around to it now.

Okay, so yeah, the Daemonites and Kheribum are the heroes and monsters of legend. Grifter is bait so Artemis can draw out Zealot.

-

We get another "WildC.A.T.s in the danger room" cutaway. Only this time they're training Voodoo, because she sucks in a fight. But she is psychic, so she takes control of Spartan (who is a robot, which seems odd... But makes sense much later) and after the skirmish she starts flirting with him.

Maul and Warblade do Maul and Warblade stuff, which is to not matter. Void does Void stuff, which is to vaguely dream about Grifter being hurt.

There's a Coda seer too, Delphae, she doesn't matter either.

The issue ends with Zealot putting an end to the tiresome banter between Hightower, Artemis and Grifter. She and Artemis square off for a deathmatch.

-



Issue #2 begins with Delphae telling yet-another Coda boss lady that "the heretic" has been found. The majestrix (in charge of all the Coda) Andromache is going to lead a war party against her.

-

Zealot fights Artemis. Artemis bitches the entire time. Zealot wins. Artemis begs for death. I do too.

The WildC.A.T.s 'port in. They flatten Hightower's goons. But Hightower possesses Voodoo during the fight and with a far greater grasp of her powers than she has, lays waste to the team.

-

We see the backstory that started this three-way slap-fight. Zealot formed the Coda when she arrived on Earth, recreating the death-cult assassins of her homeworld (not from nowhere would Alan Moore determine that the Kherubim were actually assholes!). Zealot is paid in baby girls and gold by the Greeks to destroy Troy, which she does. But she allows the royal family to survive, which Artemis objects to... Objects to so utterly she declares it a betrayal worth being pissy about for two millennia.

Yep. That's it. That's the beef.

-

So Artemis gloats at Zealot's team being beaten and captured (like she did any of the work...).

Then the Coda war party 'port in. There is sooo much teleporting in WildC.A.T.s. Why did they even build their high-tech jet back in the first issue...

-



Issue #3 begins with...

Okay, so...

Artemis hates Zealot for not killing the Troy royal family. And not killing her when they fought over it. Not killing her when they fought in the last issue. And for getting her kicked out the Coda.

Andromache hates Artemis for quitting the Coda. Zealot too, though less for some reason. Artemis hates Andromache for... Reasons.

Zealot is standard Zealot, which is to say she's snarly-angry and ready to kill everyone.

All three women hate Grifter for being there.

-

Somehow Zealot, Artemis and Grifter end up on the same side. Artemis and Zealot finally exchange the handful of words that would have put a stop to all this before it started 2,000 years ago, and Artemis promptly gets stabbed to death and dies in Zealot's arms.

Grifter has Andromache at gunpoint and is ready to execute her. She warns him that the Coda will hunt him forever if he does so. Grifter couldn't give a flying fuck through a rolling donut, but Void 'ports everyone away before he can fire.

-

Grifter attends Lonely's funeral.

The fucking end.

OVERALL:

It's probably apparent that I hate WildC.A.T.s Trilogy. I firmly believe it is the worst Wildstorm book (kinda, there is Skin Trade... But that's an oddity) printed. Jae Lee WILL improve immensely as an artist, and quickly too. Just look at his work on Hellshock a few years later. But this is... Ugly. And while Choi's scripting can be saved by good art, it sinks with art this bad.

And it's not a good script... By Choi standards.

Again, I praise him for his plotting and his world building. The entirety of the early WSU was coherent-yet-expansive. But his dialogue is at best average and his story structuring is poor. And never will it be worse than in Trilogy! This is a fucking ugly, boring, hard to read mess.

Now imagine waiting seven months to see it come out! It's a good thing WildC.A.T.s Special #1, which came out around the same time, is so good.

Okay, enough bitching. There is some vaguely important stuff here. Again, Choi's world-building isn't the problem. And amidst the clutter, we do get some good character beats. Voodoo develops a little. We get some more details on the Coda, though so poorly presented it'll take another few passes before they come off as anything other than insane psycho-bitches.

It's the first early Wildstorm book I'd say is worth skipping rather than reading. Unless you're a completist/masochist.

Anyone have a differing opinion on this one? It must have it's fans...

 

[hawkeyefan]

Anyone have a differing opinion on this one? It must have it's fans...

I remember it being so unclear and convoluted that because of the delays, I never really knew what was going on.

I think that’s largely representative of a lot of the early stuff. They reference all this history… these factions and past events… and so much of it all just blurs together. It took a while for the relevant stuff to take hold and become distinct.

I’m sure that upon a reread it’s easier to see some of the seeds there at the start, but at the time it just wasn’t making sense to me. I think they were biting off more than they could chew.

 

[Chaotic Wooster]

I remember it being so unclear and convoluted that because of the delays, I never really knew what was going on.

I think that’s largely representative of a lot of the early stuff. They reference all this history… these factions and past events… and so much of it all just blurs together. It took a while for the relevant stuff to take hold and become distinct.

I’m sure that upon a reread it’s easier to see some of the seeds there at the start, but at the time it just wasn’t making sense to me. I think they were biting off more than they could chew.

The delays absolutely didn't help. Nor did being in the mix of all the other Image books, especially when there were crossovers.

It's not that there were a lot of Wildstorm books initially. WildC.A.T.s and Stormwatch, Union occasionally. Backlash, Deathblow and Team 7. That was about it until the Wildstorm Rising event book. But it was hard to see exactly where things connected until around that time.

Rereading them, it's also with a mixture of amusement and irritation that I see how much went unused and unresolved. Lee/Choi were never as bad as Liefeld for creating whole new swathes of characters every few issues, but still suffered from trying to overpopulate their books with overly similar ones.

WildC.A.T.s #1-4, special and Trilogy feature a ludicrous number of evil Coda. Devin, Destine and Artemis could all have been rolled into one scantily-clad murder lady and given us a stronger rival to Zealot with a slightly more meaningful redemption at the end of Trilogy. That sort of thing.