Big Science Action is a
superhero team published by
DC Comics
DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
. They first appeared in ''
Final Crisis Sketchbook'' #1 (May 2008), and were created by
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...
and
J. G. Jones.
Publication history
Big Science Action debuted in ''Final Crisis Sketchbook'' #1. Some of the founding members of Big Science Action, such as Rising Sun, Sunburst, and Goraiko, are pre-existing DC Comics characters. According to Morrison, "these guys were Japan's
JLA back in the day, with a ring or halo-shaped base hovering above
Mount Fuji
is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...
".
[''Final Crisis Sketchbook'' #1 (May 2008)]
History
The Big Science Action team are seen together for the first time as they appeared in the "Silver Age" of Japanese superheroics, in a Tokyo television documentary retrospective in the pages of ''Final Crisis'' #2 (June 2008). During this appearance Rising Sun complains about the ongoing process of self
commodification
Commodification is the process of transforming inalienable, free, or gifted things (objects, services, ideas, nature, personal information, people or animals) into commodities, or objects for sale.For animals"United Nations Commodity Trade Stati ...
being carried out by modern Japanese superheroes such as the
Super Young Team.
An updated version of Big Science Action appears in ''Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance'' #4, in this issue Junior Waveman Kimura invites his daughter Shiny Happy Aquazon from the Super Young Team to join the team, and introduces her to new team member Nazo Baluda.
[''Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance'' #4 (October 2009)]
In ''
Doomsday Clock'', a variation of Big Science Action is featured called Big Monster Action. Besides Rising Sun, Goriako, and Hammersuit Zero-X, the other members listed are
Judomaster,
Naiad
In Greek mythology, the naiads (; ), sometimes also hydriads, are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water.
They are distinct from river gods, who embodied ...
, Ram, and
Samurai
The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...
.
Founding members
Boss Bosozuko
Boss Bosozuko, is a hotheaded
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...
rider. Bosozuko's hair is made up of nuclear flames as are the tires on his special motorcycle. His name
Bōsōzoku
is a Japanese youth subculture associated with customized motorcycles. The first appearance of these types of biker gangs was in the 1950s. Popularity peaked at an estimated 42,510 members in 1982. Their numbers dropped dramatically in the 200 ...
translates as "violent running gang", and stems from the Japanese Bōsōzoku motorcycle gangs of the 1950s.
Cosmo Racer
The being known as Cosmo Racer is an
amnesia
Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or brain diseases,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be temporarily caused by t ...
c extraterrestrial android who requires specials
crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...
s to power his "roller boots" up for interstellar travel. According to his creator Grant Morrison: "What only we know is that his "Maker" is a monstrous space tyrant who has sent his little herald out to identify and pacify target planets". Using his roller boots Cosmo Racer can currently travel at the speed of sound. His body is made from an unknown nearly frictionless alien material similar in texture to terrestrial
ceramic
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...
s or
plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...
s.
Goraiko
Goraiko is a psionic construct projected from the mind of an unnamed young Japanese girl who resides in a high tech
sensory deprivation
Sensory deprivation or perceptual isolation is the deliberate reduction or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses. Simple devices such as blindfolds or hoods and earmuffs can cut off sight and hearing, while more complex devices can ...
tank. The Goraiko construct only speaks in
haiku
is a type of short form poetry that originated in Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases composed of 17 Mora (linguistics), morae (called ''On (Japanese prosody), on'' in Japanese) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern; that include a ''kire ...
and mathematical equations. The girl has a
Totoro styled doll in the tank that appears to be the inspiration for Goraiko's shape, but it is unknown if it is necessary for the manifestation of the being. The being known as Goraiko is large and superhumanly strong, two versions of the Goraiko construct are known to exist, the 'green version' in Big Science Action and the 'gray version' in the Ultramarines. Grant Morrison described about Goraiko: "I also threw in Goraiko, the ‘Nuclear Totoro’ character I created for the Ultramarine Corps back in the JLA days and changed his colour as a little tip of the hat to gray Hulk/green Hulk". He is a member of the
International Ultramarine Corps.
Hammersuit Zero-X
Miss Kusanagi a Japanese
schoolgirl, who is also a supersmart science heroine pilots the monster fighting suit of powered armor known as a "Hammersuit". The Hammersuit appears to use electric drills as weapons. The suit of armor can also act autonomously, and is based on both
Gundam
is a Japanese military science fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with ...
and
Gigantor. An adult and much older Kusanagi appears in ''Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance'' #4, this issue also reveals her name.
Despite her much older age, even compared to the now middle-aged Waveman Kimura, she's still effective, heavily relying on newer and more powerful iterations of the "Hammersuit" to "''stay competitive''".
[''Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance'' #4 (october 2009)]
Junior Waveman
Riki Kimura, the Junior Waveman is a member of the Wavemen, an eight-person Japanese version of the
Sea Devils, formerly led by Senior Waveman Otomo who died while saving Riki Kimura's life. He was rescued and raised by the Wavemen after his parents were slain by an army of monsters. He is also the father of
Shiny Happy Aquazon, a member of the Super Young Team. As of ''Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance'' #4, he is now the much older Senior Waveman Kimura.
Rising Sun
Izumi Yasunari, also known as Rising Sun, is a prominent Japanese
solar physicist, and a veteran member of the
Global Guardians
The Global Guardians is a team of DC Comics superheroes whose members hail from countries around the world. The concept originated in the ''Super Friends'' Saturday morning cartoon, which aired after the comics stories in ''Super Friends'' #7-9, ...
. A drunken, unshaven and overweight Rising Sun appears in ''Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance'' #1.
[''Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance'' #1 (July 2009)]
Sunburst
Takeo Sato, the original Sunburst, was a stuntman and actor, and a founding member of Big Science Action. He died in ''
Crisis on Infinite Earths
''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book fictional crossover, crossover series published by DC Comics. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciller, pencilled by George Pérez, it was first released as a 12-issue limited ser ...
'' #12.
Ultimon
Dai Yokohama, the hero known as Ultimon comes from a dynastic line of
Super Sentai
The is a Japanese superhero team media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi. The shows are of the '' tokusatsu'' genre, featuring live action characters and colorfu ...
dedicated to fighting
kaiju
is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju'' ...
, known as the Ultimon Society. The Ultimon Society are a group of Giant Monster Killers who survived the "Monster Wars" that nearly destroyed Japan. He and his "master" defeated a trio of monsters called the "Colonizers", they were Scarrba the Protector (
King Ghidorah
is a fictional dragon-like alien monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1964 film ''Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster'', produced and distributed by Toho. The creature was initially created by Tomoyuki Tanaka, Eiji Tsubu ...
), Kry-Torr the Burrower (
Baragon), and Lorloxx the Layer (
Gyaos). Ultimon's master died during the battle and he inherited his powers.
Recently the ghost of a being calling itself Ultimon Alpha has been appearing in recurring visions witnessed by
Most Excellent Superbat, in ''Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance'' #1.
New members
Boss Bishonen
Boss Bishonen is a new male member introduced in ''Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance'' #4, he is described by Senior Waveman Kimura as the successor to Boss Bosozuko and "carries the torch of a grand tradition of fiery champions". His name is a reference to
Bishōnen
is a Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful youth (boy)" and describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in East Asia: a young man of androgynous beauty. This word originated from the Tang dynasty poem '' Eight Immortals ...
, a Japanese term which translates as "beautiful young male".
Nazo Baluda
Nazo Baluda is a new female member introduced in ''Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance'' #4, she is described by Senior Waveman Kimura as the team's "dark star stealth warrior". The Japanese word
nazo translates as riddle, enigma or mystery. And the name Baluda is a reference to Dominatrix Baluda, a villainess from ''
Yume No Senshi Uwingu Man''.
Shiny Happy Aquazon
Shiny Happy Aquazon is the daughter of Senior Waveman Kimura the current leader of Big Science Action. She was a founding member of the
Super Young Team, and is invited to join Big Science Action by her father in ''Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance'' #4.
She later declines her membership, with her teammates Atomic Lantern and Superbat reminding her of the obligation she still has with her original group. Waveman Kimura, however, still thinks that her membership in the Big Science Action team is her ''birthright''.
Equipment
Fuji Station is Big Science Action's halo-shaped base of operations, which hovers above
Mount Fuji
is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...
. Fuji Station is apparently equipped with a working teleporter system.
See also
Other Japanese superheroes published by
DC Comics
DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
are:
* Ace Archer (
Green Arrows of the World)
* Arashi (Arashi Ohashi)
* Asano Nitobe
*
Doctor Light (Kimiyo Hoshi)
* Kana the Shadow Warrior
[Kana debuted in ''G.I. Combat'' #245 (September 1982).]
*
Katana
A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
(Tatsu Yamashiro)
*
Sonny Sumo
*
Tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
(Miya Shimada)
*
Judomaster (Sonia Sato)
References
External links
Newsarama: ''Final Crisis Sketchbook''(May 14, 2008)
(July 21, 2008)
The Annotated ''Final Crisis'': Issue #2DCU Guide: ArashiDCU Guide: Asano NitobeDCU Guide: GoraikoDCU Guide: Rising SunDCU Guide: Sunburst
{{Grant Morrison
DC Comics superhero teams
Comics characters introduced in 2008
Characters created by Grant Morrison