Superman Revenge Squad
The Superman Revenge Squad is a supervillain team that features in DC Comics.
Contents |
History
Pre-Crisis
The Superman Revenge Squad were a team of supervillains all of whom wished to get their revenge against Superman. It came into existence on the planet Wexr II, after an imperialistic campaign mounted by the planet's nefarious rulers was halted by Superboy during one of his excursions in outer space. The following year, the Wexrian dictators banded together into the Revenge Squad for the first time, intending to suicide-bomb Superboy's homeworld with a device powerful enough to shatter a planet. The Revengers tracked Superboy into the Solar System using a machine attuned to his potent psychic residue, forcing Clark Kent to hypnotize himself into believing himself to be an ordinary teenager for a day. This suppressed the superior intensity of Clark's psychic signature and caused the Revengers to lose their bead on him, thereby saving the Earth from certain destruction. (Superboy v1 #94)
The Revenge Squad seemingly returned to Earth on a later date, engaging Superboy in a fight over the Smallville High football field. Bash Bashford appeared to sustain spinal cord injury rendering him paraplegic, though later Bash's injury and the Revengers themselves were shown to be realistic simulations created by a group of sentient machines as part of a moral experiment. (Adventure Comics v1 #456) Eventually, the Revenge Squad managed to locate Superboy on Earth for real, but their goal on that occasion was to save their usual enemy from the bio-aging device created by their rogue member Trohnn. The Revengers needed Superboy to stabilize Wexr II's sun before it could go supernova, therefore justifying their actions. Superboy used the bio-aging device to artificially reduce the core temperature of Wexr's sun, while inadvertently thwarting a secondary plot by the Revengers to activate a solar detonator hidden in the bio-aging device and harness the evolved solar energy of the supernova to grant themselves superior powers. (Superboy v2 #33)
In spite of this seemingly final defeat, the Revenge Squad found a way to escape their entrapment and returned to plague the Last Son of Krypton again. The Revengers altered Superman's heat-vision power using a cosmic storm in order so that its next usage would engulf the entire Earth in a wave of destructive force. This had the unpredictable effect of activating Robrox, a robotic protector that an alien race buried in the Earth's crust millennia ago to defend the planet. Robrox had a series of encounters with Superman that left the Man of Steel confused whether Robrox was friend or foe, but eventually Robrox engaged Superman in a fight that led them to the Moon. There, Robrox provoked Superman into using heat-vision and releasing the Revenge Squad's destructive effect where no living human would be harmed by it, explaining that his previous appearances were intended to prevent Superman from using his heat-vision on earlier occasions. Robrox was destroyed as a result of Superman's energy-release, having sacrificed himself to save humanity. (Superman v1 #383)
The Superman Revenge Squad utilized a female operative named Ilena to infiltrate Metropolis and lure Superman into a trap. Ilena, posing as a beauty from another world, engaged in a romantic pursuit of Superman, which prompted Lois Lane and Lana Lang to call a temporary truce to investigate her. During the mission, Ilena utilized a serpentine skullcap fashioned from the living locks of Medusa to attempt to turn the Man of Steel into stone. The Squad's plan involved exploiting Ilena's extraterrestrial origins and the magical properties of her headpiece to physically incapacitate Superman while his allies were distracted by the romantic competition. Ultimately, Lois and Lana discovered her secret affiliation with the Revenge Squad and collaborated to defeat Ilena before she could complete the transformation. Following the failure of the assassination attempt, Ilena was thwarted by the combined efforts of the two women, and the Revenge Squad's scheme to eliminate Superman through his romantic vulnerabilities was neutralized. (Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane v1 #52)
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
Metropolis media magnate Morgan Edge sought to incite destruction which could be blamed on his nemesis, Lex Luthor. To this end, he guarded his identity and formed a volatile group of Superman's foes: Riot, Maxima, Misa, Barrage and Anomaly. Led by Maxima, this team was torn apart by Misa's childishness and Barrage's vendetta against Maggie Sawyer. Also, Riot rigged Edge's psi-helmet so that it would reveal his duplicitous thoughts to the team. Misa and Maxima quickly bolted and all parties involved were left with the impression that Lex Luthor had been behind it all.
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
After his memories were restored, Hank Henshaw sought to continue his vendetta against Superman and regain his former powers. This saw him looking to create a new version of the Superman Revenge Squad within this new reality. As a result, he rescued the Eradicator and had him help in the assembly of the new team. This led to the recruitment of Metallo and Blanque where Henshaw revealed himself to be the mastermind behind the teams formation. (Action Comics v1 #978) They then freed Mongul after the warlord was trapped in an illusion set forth by his own Black Mercy plants where the squad then ransacked a hidden fortress maintained by the Man of Steel. Inside, they came to recover the Oblivion Stone which was given to Henshaw who used its power to restore himself as the Cyborg Superman. (Action Comics v1 #979)
Overview
Members
Pre-Crisis
- Rava :
- Trohnn :
- Scout 627 : (Action Comics v1 #287)
- Illena : Agent X983IQ (Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane v1 #52)
- Garf :
- Dixo :
- Vagu : (Action Comics v1 #295)
- Dorx :
- Krit : (Action Comics v1 #380)
- Dramx-One :
- Fwom :
- Jumrox :
- Klakok :
- Nryana : (Superman v1 #366)
- Nakox : (Superman v1 #367)
- Tydru :
Post-Flashpoint
- Morgan Edge :
- Blanque :
- Metallo :
- Hank Henshaw :
- Eradicator II :
- Mongul :
- General Zod :
Notes
- The Superman Revenge Squad was created by George Papp where they made their first appearance in Superboy v1 #94. (January, 1962).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In Justice League, a version of the Superman Revenge Squad appeared in the animated television series set in the DC Animated Universe in the episodes "Hereafter" (Parts 1 and 2).
Video games
Appearances
- Superboy v1: (1962)
- Action Comics v1:
External Links
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