Hyperion (comics)
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| Hyperion | |
 Hyperion Art by Tom Grummett |
|
| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Villain: Avengers #69 (Oct. 1969) Hero: The Avengers #85 (Feb. 1971) |
| Created by | Roy Thomas and John Buscema |
| In story information | |
| Species | Eternal (Mark Milton), artificial lifeform ("Zhib-Ran") |
| Team affiliations | Squadron Supreme ("Zhib-Ran") Squadron Sinister (Mark Milton) Squadron Supreme |
| Notable aliases | Mr. Kant |
| Abilities | (All) Superhuman strength, speed, stamina and invulnerability Multiple extrasensory and vision powers Freezing breath Regenerative healing factor Flight. |
| Marvel Comics Alternate Universes | |
| Marvel stories take place primarily in a mainstream continuity called the Marvel Universe. Some stories are set in various parallel, or alternate, realities, called the Marvel Multiverse. The Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe: Alternate Worlds 2005 designates the mainstream continuity as "Earth-616", and assigns another Earth-numbers to each specific alternate reality. In this article the following characters, or teams, and realities are referred to: |
|
| Character/Team | Universe |
| Zhib-Ran | Interdimensional Space |
| Mark Milton | Earth-712 |
| Mark Milton | Earth-31916 |
Hyperion is the name of several fictional comic-book characters in the Marvel Comics "multiverse", the first of which debuted in The Avengers #69 (Oct. 1969). There have been four versions of the character to date - two supervillains belonging to the team Squadron Sinister (from Earth-616) and two heroes from alternate universes. (See sidebar)
Contents |
[edit] Publication history
[edit] Original Hyperion
The first Hyperion in Marvel Comics debuted in the final panel of The Avengers #69 (Oct. 1969), part one of a three-issue story by writer Roy Thomas and penciller Sal Buscema. This story arc introduced the supervillain team the Squadron Sinister, whose four members were loosely based on heroes in DC Comics' Justice League of America. Hyperion was based on Superman. [1] He returned with the Squadron Sinister, minus a reforming Nighthawk in The Defenders #12-13 (Feb. & May 1974).
[edit] Subsequent versions
Thomas and penciller John Buscema had meanwhile created an alternate-universe team of heroes called the Squadron Supreme in The Avengers #85 (Feb. 1971), using characters that shared names with those of the Squadron Sinister. This caused confusion in Marvel's production department, as the covers of The Avengers #85 and #141 (Nov. 1975) cover-blurbed appearances by the Squadron Sinister, when in fact the Squadron Supreme appeared in both issues. This Squadron Supreme starred in an eponymous, 12-issue miniseries (Sept. 1985 - Aug. 1986) by writer Mark Gruenwald and successive pencillers Bob Hall, Buscema, and Paul Ryan. Squadron Supreme focused on the exploits of the team in its home reality. Gruenwald, Ryan, and inker Al Williamson returned to the characters in the graphic-novel sequel Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe (1989). The team later featured in a two-part story across Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual '98 and the one-shot Squadron Supreme: New World Order (both Sept. 1998).
Five years, under the mature-audience Marvel MAX imprint, the 18-issue series Supreme Power (Oct. 2003 - Oct. 2005), set in a different alternate universe, incorporated yet another version of Hyperion.
[edit] Fictional character biography
To avoid confusion, the biography is separated into two sections that describe both the villainous and heroic versions of Hyperion.
[edit] Hyperion - the supervillains
[edit] Zhib-Ran
The first Hyperion appears as a member of the Squadron Sinister, a group of supervillains assembled by the cosmic entity the Grandmaster to battle the champions of the time-traveling Kang - the superhero team the Avengers.
Several years later the Squadron Sinister is reunited when Hyperion encounters the alien Nebulon, and in exchange for freedom - Hyperion was miniaturized and imprisoned in a glass sphere by the Thunder God Thor - promises him the Earth. The team then creates a giant laser cannon in the Arctic and plan to melt the polar ice caps, thereby covering the entirety of the Earth's surface in water. The Squadron Sinister, however, are stopped by the superhero team the Defenders. [2] After this defeat the Squadron Sinister are teleported off world by Nebulon, but are later returned to Earth. Having acquired an energy-draining weapon, the Squadron Sinister plan to threaten the Earth once more but are defeated by the Defenders and the Avenger Yellowjacket. [3]
Hyperion later has another brief encounter with several members of the Avengers, who at the time are seeking out a way to separate the Power Prism of Dr. Spectrum from fellow Avenger the Wasp. [4] At this time it was revealed that Hyperion was also involved with the warrior woman Thundra. [5] Soon after this Hyperion battles Thor once again and encounters the Earth-712 version of Hyperion from the Squadron Supreme [6] Hyperion is then imprisoned in the Earth-712 universe, but after being freed by the villain Master Menace discovers he is actually an inorganic duplicate created by the Grandmaster modeled on the Hyperion from that universe. A bitter Hyperion then impersonates the Squadron Supreme's version of Hyperion for several weeks before finally dying in battle against the original.[7]
[edit] Zhib-Ran Reborn?
Years later a new Hyperion mysteriously appears and at the request of the Grandmaster begins to reform the Squadron Sinister to "save the world". Hyperion and the new Dr. Spectrum (Alice Nugent, former lab assistant of Henry Pym) find and try and coerce Speed Demon (the new alias of the Whizzer) and Nighthawk into joining, but both are initially reluctant. Hyperion explains he was the elected leader of a world that existed in the sub-atomic dimensional space known as the Microverse. His planet's axis is disrupted by the effects of multiple incursions into the Microverse by Photon, a member of the superhero team the New Thunderbolts; as a result the planet explodes, leaving Hyperion the only survivor. [8] Hyperion is now determined that no other world suffer his home planet's fate, even if extreme measures are "necessary".
Ironically, the superhero team the New Thunderbolts becomes responsible for the pair rejoining the Squadron Sinister. Speed Demon is ejected from the New Thunderbolts for committing robberies, while Nighthawk, who had begun working with the team, quits in protest when Baron Zemo joins and also learns that he was simply being used to finance their activities. Courtesy of a phenomenon known as the Wellspring of Power - an interdimensional source of superhuman abilities - the Grandmaster increases the Squadron Sinister's powers and they then battle the New Thunderbolts, as Baron Zemo also wishes to have control of the Wellspring. Zemo manages to defeat the Grandmaster, but in the ensuing chaos the Squadron Sinister scatter and escape. Hyperion has yet to reappear.[9]
[edit] Hyperion - the superheroes
[edit] Mark Milton (Earth-712)
This version of Hyperion is the last known Eternal left on his Earth, and poses in a civilian identity as cartoonist Mark Milton. He was raised by adopted parents who instilled in him values that led towards his heroic career and proactive approach towards human affairs. [10] Hyperion makes one serious error early in his heroic career by inadvertently creating his own arch-foe - an encounter with criminal scientist Emil Burbank (later known as Master Menace) accidentally causes Burbank's facial hair to grow continually, creating a long standing enmity.
Hyperion later encounters several other metahumans and together they form the Squadron Supreme, with Hyperion becoming the perennial leader. Hyperion and the other members of his team are first encountered by four Avengers (Vision, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and the second Goliath), who accidentally cross into the Earth-712 universe. The Avengers first battle and then assist the Squadron Supreme against the global threat posed by the mutant Brain-Child, before returning to their own universe. [11] Hyperion and the Squadron Supreme later fall under control of the artifact the Serpent Crown, and are dispatched by government agents to Earth-616 to battle the Avengers once again, and managed to subdue some of them.[12] The Squadron are sent back to their own Earth, where they battled the Avengers once again and are overpowered; the Avengers then help to free the Squadron's Earth from the influence of the Serpent Crown. [13] These and future battles with the Avengers revealed the susceptibility of all Squadron members, including Hyperion, towards mental control. [14]
It is soon after the Serpent Crown affair that Hyperion has his first significant encounter with the villainous Earth-616 version of himself, who crosses into the Earth-712 universe with the aid of a visiting Thor. [15] Hyperion then seeks Doctor Strange's help in liberating his world of the manipulations of the Overmind - who usurps the Presidency of the United States of America and creates world domination. Hyperion battles alongside the Squadron and Defenders against the Overmind and his ally Null, the Living Darkness.[16]
Hyperion goes on to play a major role in the Squadron Supreme decision to take over their Earth and fashion it into a utopia. He and the other Squadron members resolve to assume control of the government of the United States.[17] Hyperion helps establish the behavior modification program.[18] He battles the Institute of Evil, who then join the Squadron after undergoing behavior modification.[19] He becomes trapped in an inter-dimensional zone by the Zhib-Ran Hyperion, and is forced to ally himself with Master Menace to escape the inter-dimensional zone. He battles Zhib-Ran to the death, but lost his eyesight in the process.[20] He then battles Nighthawk and the Redeemers. After several crises leading to this deadly battle with several dissenting team members, Hyperion finally learns the error of his ways. [21]
He and the surviving members of the Squadron Supreme later travel into space to protect their planet from the expanding Nth Man, at the cost of being exiled to the Earth-616 universe. [22] Hyperion and the Squadron Supreme encounter Quasar, and take up residence at the government facility Project Pegasus.[23] Hyperion regains his eyesight, and the Squadron are captured by the Stranger. Hyperion accompanies Quasar and Makkari to the Stranger's laboratory world to rescue the Squadron, where Hyperion learns that he is an Eternal.[24] With the Whizzer and Doctor Spectrum, he battles Deathurge.[25] Hyperion then assists the Avengers against the villain Imus Champion and then finding the means to return to their universe. [26] The team disband on returning home, and are then reunited by Hyperion upon learning of a new government assuming the vacuum of power left behind after the Squadron's exile. [27]
Hyperion and the team then briefly aid the team the Exiles, after the two teams are able to expose the corrupt government to a global audience. [28]
[edit] Mark Milton (Earth-31916)
[edit] Powers and abilities
All versions of Hyperion possess superhuman strength, stamina, speed, and durability. Each also has greatly enhanced sensory perceptions, which extends to being able to perceive the entire electromagnetic spectrum and "atomic vision" - the equivalent of heat vision. The heroic Earth-712 version of Hyperion also possesses the ability to use cosmic energy to augment his life force granting him great longevity and regenerative abilities, courtesy of his Eternal heritage, but has yet to exhibit the other racial characteristics of Eternals such as near-immortality, molecular manipulation, teleportation, and telepathy. He is also capable of the projection of infrared heat through his eyes, and the ability to levitate by harnessing "anti-gravitons". Apparently, this Hyperion's powers and vitality are diminished when he is exposed to argonite radiation. During the period when he was sightless, Hyperion wore a special pair of goggles constructed by Tom Thumb, giving him "radar vision."
The Earth-712 Hyperion has moderate knowledge of hand-to-hand combat, and has a college degree in journalism.
[edit] Other versions
[edit] Paradise X
In Paradise X, a version of Hyperion is recruited by the robot X-51 for his squadron of interdimensional heralds. This Hyperion kills the master villain Kulan Gath, who was responsible for the deaths of many superheroes.
This version is likely based on the older Superman in Mark Waid's Kingdom Come, since he likewise wears black and is older than other Hyperions. Moreover, in his backstory on page 9 of Paradise X: Heralds it is shown that he comes from a world where the normal humans (impliedly nuked) the other heroes of his world, similar to how towards the end of Kingdom Come the United Nations bombs the warring superhumans. Hyperion's pose in this scene in the comics is identical to Superman's pose after the warhead detonated.[29]
[edit] Exiles
This version of Hyperion is a member of a team known as Weapon X, who travel between dimensions to repair the time/space continuum. Unfortunately, this Hyperion is revealed to be psychopathic and commits mass genocide on several worlds, before finally being stopped and banished to his original dimension - now a lifeless void as he had killed every living thing. [30]
[edit] References
- ^ Interview with Roy Thomas and Jerry Bails in The Justice League Companion (2003) pp. 72–73
- ^ The Defenders #12-13
- ^ Giant-Size Defenders #4 (1974)
- ^ Avengers Annual #8 (1978)
- ^ The relationship ends when she discovers a means of returning to her own dimension in Marvel Two-In-One #67
- ^ Thor #280
- ^ Squadron Supreme #8 (of 12) (1986)
- ^ This story is a variation on the origin that the Grandmaster imprinted on the first Hyperion when first forming the Squadron Sinister. The first Hyperion relates his "false" origin in The Defenders #14
- ^ New Thunderbolts #15-16 and Thunderbolts #102 - 108
- ^ Squadron Supreme #1
- ^ Avengers vol. 1, #85 - 86
- ^ Avengers vol. 1, #141 - 144
- ^ Avengers vol. 1, #147 - 149
- ^ Avengers Annual 1998
- ^ Thor v1. #280
- ^ Defenders #112-115
- ^ Squadron Supreme #1
- ^ Squadron Supreme #2
- ^ Squadron Supreme #5-6
- ^ Squadron Supreme #8
- ^ Squadron Supreme #12 (1986)
- ^ Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe (1989)
- ^ Quasar #13
- ^ Quasar #14-16
- ^ Quasar #25
- ^ Avengers vol. 3, #5 - 6 + Annual 1998
- ^ Squadron Supreme: New World Order (1998)
- ^ Exiles #77 - 78
- ^ Paradise X: Heralds #1 - 3 (2001 - 2002) + Paradise X #1 - 12 (2002 - 2003)
- ^ See Exiles #38 - 40, 63 - 65
