''Super Soldiers'' was a
comic book
A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
published by the
Marvel UK
Marvel UK was an imprint (trade name), imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint United States of America, US-produced stories for the United Kingdom, British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British cr ...
imprint of
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
in
1993
The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as:
* International Year for the World's Indigenous People
The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
. Part of the shared
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Superhero teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardia ...
setting, it centered on a team of superhuman
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
soldiers, with some plot aspects drawing on the background of Marvel's successful
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...
character.
Publication history
The series was canceled after eight issues, after the first part of a new storyline, when Marvel UK abruptly ceased publishing new material.
Fictional team history
The Super Soldiers consisted mostly of individuals modified using biotechnology based on the American supersoldier codenamed
Nuke. These characters were part of a British
supersoldier
A super soldier (or supersoldier) is a concept soldier capable of operating beyond normal human abilities through technological augmentation or (in fictional depictions) genetic modification or cybernetic augmentation. Soldiers that obtain greate ...
program, which had been officially disbanded due to a mission gone wrong, and years later reformed along with other characters such as the rowdy
mutant
In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It i ...
Guvnor, the
Savage Land
The Savage Land is a fictional prehistoric land that features in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is a tropical preserve, hidden in Antarctica. It has appeared in many story arcs in '' Uncanny X-Men'' as well as other relate ...
warrior woman Xantia, and the revived (after
hibernating
Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic reduction entered by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It is most ...
since the 1970s) martial artist Dragonfly, to work alongside
S.H.I.E.L.D. and the
U.S. Agent. In the eighth and final issue of the series, the unit found themselves
privatised
Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation wh ...
and their contracts sold to the Mercy Corporation as an "autonomous superhero response unit".
Team leader Joseph Hauer, appeared during a briefing alongside
Pete Wisdom,
Captain Britain
Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain'' #1 by writer Chris Cl ...
and
Union Jack
The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags.
It is sometimes a ...
on the details of the British
Superhuman Registration Act by
Contessa Valentina Allegro de Fontaine,
Alistaire Stuart and Commander
Lance Hunter as part of the superhuman
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
.
Years later the Super Soldiers had retired and written a book about their exploits; a (bad) movie was made of their book, with Gog, Guvnor, and Dalton playing themselves (as part of the contract and they could barely act) and Hauer as advisor. Most people considered them embarrassing relics, including Pete Wisdom who came to warn them about attacks on British superheroes but had no interest in recruiting them. When Mephisto's Psycho-Wraiths attacked the area to capture Hauer, the Super-Soldiers refused to withdraw but instead sacrificed themselves to allow civilians to escape. Hauer was freed and helped defeat Hell's invasion of Earth, gunning down a demonic
Killpower. (The other three appear to be dead)
S.H.I.E.L.D. recruited him as their new European Division head.
[''Revolutionary War: Omega'' by Andy Lanning, Alan Cowsill, and Rich Elson (April 2014)]
Notes
External links
*
*
*
Super Soldiersat the
Big Comic Book DataBase
{{refend
1993 comics debuts
Marvel UK teams