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In General
Turns out Hyperion's not the Sole Survivor of the Squadron Supreme after all.
- Adaptational Villainy: This Squadron is more or less just the Squadron Sinister with versions of Power Princess and Nuke, given they're power-mad dictators. At their (not Brainwashed and Crazy) worst, most of the Squadron of the comics were briefly Well Intentioned Extremists (barring Nighthawk, who left the team over their actions) before a Heel Realization. That said, The Avengers (Jason Aaron) would give us a version with the simulacrums Mephisto created to serve the Power Elite in the Captain America run by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
- Affably Evil: The Squadron Supreme as a group are quick to compliment members of the Avengers they view as worthy opponents. Nighthawk respects Falcon for his technological skill while Hyperion seems to have a respect for Hulk's strength and Zarda respects Thor's power and warrior-skill. Hyperion also is notably affable when around his teammates.
- Subverted by their final episodes, where the Squadron reveal their true colors, treating both their enemies and each other with nothing but disgust and hatred, showing that said "affableness" was much more Faux than perhaps first believed.
- All Crimes Are Equal: The Squadron treats every level of crime, including violations such as tardiness, or assaulting police drones (even accidentally) are treated with extreme prejudice. The most people get for these violations are one warning.
- Badass Crew: All five of the main members are strong enough to take down any super on their own, and the entire world together. Note that Nighthawk isn't as powerful as any of his fellow members, but he's smart, so that's high praise indeed. They're basically the villainous counterpart to the Avengers.
- Battle Cry: "Squadron, Strike!"
- Blood Knight: Hyperion also shows shades of this.
- Big Bad Ensemble: They're the most recurring malevolent force alongside Thanos and Ultron for Season 2.
- Casting Gag: Power Princess and Nuke are the only ones whose voice actors didn't voice their DC equivalent (or in Ultraman's case, Superman's Mirror Universe counterpart) and even then, Nuke's voice actor was also Dr. Spectrum (and would go on to voice Firestorm, one of Nuke's inspirations), who does fall under this trope.
- Brian Bloom voices Hyperion, a corrupt Captain Ersatz of Superman, just like in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.note
- Anthony Ruivivar, who voiced Batman in Beware the Batman as Batman-expy Nighthawk.
- Phil LaMarr, who voiced Green Lantern in Justice League as Green Lantern-expy Doctor Spectrum. That said, he also voiced Firestorm in LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash, so Nuke can be seen a retroactive version of this.
- Jason Spisak, who voiced Kid Flash in Young Justice and The Flash in JLA Adventures: Trapped In Time, voices Flash-expy Speed Demon.
- Combat Pragmatist: Every single one of them has no qualms about fighting dirty, doing whatever it takes to overwhelm their (usually far underpowered) adversaries. This is best exemplified when they ganged up on Thor because they knew he proved to be too strong for any one of them to handle alone. Even Thor lampshades they show no honor in battle.
- Composite Character: Arguably, the team themselves, as they're basically the Squadron Sinister with a version of Power Princess and Nuke, as they're supervillains and their speedster's called Speed Demon.
- Corrupted Character Copy: They're blatant Expies of the Justice League of America, but have exactly zero of their altruism.
- Evil Counterpart: To the Avengers. Just like them, they are a team of super-beings with various origins who were their planet's mightiest heroes. Unlike them however, they are a bunch of Knight Templar sociopaths who believe peace and order can only be truly established by fear, and are ready to blow up anyone who refuses to bow to them. They even have a Battle Cry mirroring the Avengers'.
- Expy: Of the Justice League. Their evilness however, would place them closer to the Crime Syndicate of Earth-3.
- Hated by All: They are hated by everyone they try to "protect" because they have no sense of compassion or empathy towards their subjects.
- Hidden Agenda Villain: The Squadron wants to take over the world and destroy the Avengers, but no one knows what they truly want. Even when asked, the Avengers have no luck getting anything out of any member they defeat. It's later revealed they plan to rule Earth, just like they did with their previous planet, and free it of crime, corruption, and war.
- Human Aliens: Well, some of them are. Zarda's from an island on Earth called Utopia.
- Knights of Cerebus: In a recurring theme for the series, episodes involving them are inevitably more serious than normal. They're not entirely devoid of humor, in contrast to Red Skull and Thanos, but they're more serious nevertheless. It's worse when it's shown that they forced an innocent man to join them and destroy their planet.
- Last of Their Kind: They're the only natives of their homeworld, after they blew it up themselves. And they're not angsty about it, since they did it because their people would not accept their supremacy.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: All of them collectively give one to Thor after he refuses to admit defeat, despite the severe beating he gets.
- No-Nonsense Nemesis: The Squadron are by far shown to be dangerously competent villains. Case in point, Speed Demon was able to infiltrate Avengers Tower with almost no difficulty, and without anyone noticing.
- One-Man Army: The five main members are all this. When the five are all together, they're almost unstoppable.
- Power of Friendship: A villainous example. The Squadron Supreme's greatest strength compared to every other villain in Avengers Assemble is that they truly care and support each other compared to every other villain group that were formed through manipulation and lies. However, they did force Dr. Spectrum into joining them and destroying their planet. It later turns out they were only united by their desire for power.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: All of them are quite friendly and approachable with the rest of the group; with their enemies they are ruthless opponents.
- Villainous Friendship: Played with. Squadron Supreme's members are quick to insult one another (particularly Nighthawk) but they're a much more cohesive unit than the Cabal ever was and at times they seem to even like one another.
- Averted with the reveal in "Spectrums" where they're allied with the prism. Its host was forced into including being use to destroy their planet.
- Eventually, it turns out they're just as flawed as the Cabal was—they didn't really trust one another, and power was their only guiding motive.
- Virtue Is Weakness: The Squadron believes concepts such as empathy, compassion, and camaraderie only encourages crime and have no place in bringing order.
- Worthy Opponent: View the Avengers or at least some members as one based on their dialogue.
Nighthawk
Nighthawk
Voiced by: Anthony Ruivivar
- Adaptational Villainy: This incarnation displays behaviour that caused the Nighthawk in the comics' Squadron Supreme to leave that team.
- Badass Normal: He beats Iron Man in his armour using nothing but his fists.
- Bad Boss: Regularly criticizes and insults his "team", and wastes no time in leaving them to their deaths when he tries to destroy Earth.
- Big Bad Ensemble: With Thanos and Ultron. He's the leader of the Squadron and seeks the Avengers' destruction and the world's subjugation. However, Ultron gets killed, and he gets imprisoned, leaving Thanos as the sole Big Bad for the remainder of the season.
- Break the Haughty: The episode "Avengers Underground" is one long episode of Nighthawk realizing he isn't as good as a planner as he thought he was.
- Dirty Coward: Nighthawk's high and mighty while in control, but always resorts to cowardly tactics and prefers to let others die for him. When he loses the upper hand, he chooses to just sacrifice the Earth, abandon his teammates and run, then uncharacteristically asking for help when backed into a corner.
- Earth-Shattering Kaboom: Blew up his home planet when it resisted his tyranny. He tries to do the same to Earth when he's defeated.
- Expy: Of Batman. He's a stoic Badass Normal equipped with nothing more than tech and fighting skills among a team of super-powered people who constantly stays ahead of his opponents through superior planning and preparation. His voice actor even voiced Batman before.
- Friendly Enemy: He acted like this to Falcon in his debut, until Falcon realized Nighthawk was trying to take out the Avengers.
- Hypocrite: During his battle with Iron Man in "Avengers Underground", he claims he doesn't need anyone. But after his escape craft's brought back down to Earth, he starts calling for Hyperion, telling him he needs help.
- Jerkass: Out of every member of the Squadron, Nighthawk's the biggest one of them all.
- Knight Templar: He claims and stubbornly believes his actions are to better the Earth, but this rings hollow when he regularly threatens highly-populated cities and tried to destroy the planet when beaten.
- Lack of Empathy: Concepts like compassion and empathy do not register with him, believing them to be weaknesses.
- The Leader: He's the Leader of the Squadron Supreme, and they usually follow his lead.
- Machiavelli Was Wrong: Nighthawk doesn't believe in trust and compassion for others, adamantly believing fear's the only true option to peace, and will always keep people in line. Thor lampshades this trope to Nighthawk, telling him that when cowered in fear, true heroes will rise against tyrants like him. He ends up being defeated by this trope, because the Avengers had trust and compassion on their side.
- Order Versus Chaos: He's on the side of order, seeing it as the only way to keep peace on a planet, and accomplishing it means subjugating everyone.
- Rage Quit: When humiliated by The Avengers, he orders Hyperion to destroy the planet in a fit of rage.
- Utopia Justifies the Means: Nighthawk believes that the only means to world free of crime and conflict is to have people to live in fear, no matter what the cost.
- We Can Rule Together: Tried to manipulate Falcon into joining the Squadron due to his strategic brilliance.
Hyperion
See here.
Doctor Spectrum
Doctor Spectrum
Voiced by: Phil LaMarr
- Composite Character: This Dr. Spectrum's named after Billy Roberts, but is black like Kenji Obatu.
- Expy: Of Green Lantern. His powers originate from an alien piece of jewelry that uses emotional energy to create solid light constructs. He's even black like John Stewart from the JL cartoon show and voiced by the same actor, Phil LaMarr.
- Good All Along: He was forced to join the Squadron Supreme with the Power Prism. The Avengers separated Billy from the gem and now he's with SHIELD. However, the gem created its own form and took Dr. Spectrum's place.
- Informed Ability: Doctor Spectrum could create light constructs like the Green Lantern. However, we never actually see him use his powers until the episode Spectrums.
- Killed Off for Real: The Power Prism was completely drained of its energies in "Avengers Underground," which may mean we've seen the last of Doctor Spectrum.
- Person of Mass Destruction: The Squadron Supreme are among the most powerful superpowered beings in the world, but most of them are more in 'precise, controlled One-Man Army' territory than this. Dr. Spectrum, on the other hand, has an offensive output that had the power to destroy an entire planet.
- Poor Communication Kills: In Spectrums, the Avengers learn he managed to convince Antman to build a power amplifier for him, and understandably react by tracking him down to destroy it. In truth, the Power Amplifier wasn't meant to increase his power, but the control he had over his Power Prism so he wouldn't turn evil again. Unfortunately, he fails to explain this to the Avengers in time before they destroy the device.
- Puppeteer Parasite: The Power Prism actually is an alien Emotion Eater taking over Billy Roberts.
- Race Lift: The Billy Roberts Dr. Spectrum's white in the comics, but this version's black like the original Kenji Obatu incarnation.
- Self-Constructed Being: After Billy is separated from the Power Prism, Nighthawk orders it to construct a body for itself so it can replace him.
- Token Good Teammate: As seen with Good All Along above, he's the only member of the Squadron Supreme who isn't evil or a jerkass.
Zarda
Zarda
Voiced by: April Stewart
- Affably Evil: Inverted, and notable for its absence. Unlike the other members of her group, Zarda's all business and very cold, for the most part.
- Played straight in Midgard Crisis, until it transpires that she's being Faux Affably Evil to try and turn Thor. That said, she does have a genuine regard for Thor, he being the only one of the Avengers who impresses her.
- Blood Knight: Zarda knowingly fights four Avengers because she knows it will be a "worthy fight".
- Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: She's only ever called Zarda, and her comic codename of "Power Princess" isn't used.
- Dark Action Girl: One of the most dangerous ladies in the series.
- Evil Counterpart: To Thor.
- Expy:
- Midgard Crisis doesn't even try to hide the fact that Zarda's a dark copy of Wonder Woman, referring to herself as a Princess of an island called 'Utopia' (i.e. 'paradise') and a warrior princess at that. She even has an invisible ship!
- "Prison Break" has her use Wonder Woman's famous "Great Hera!" Catchphrase.
- I Fight for the Strongest Side!: Her motive for working in the Squadron Supreme.
- Maker of Monsters: In her focus episode, she's using power from her Sledge to "evolve" animals into vicious monsters. She uses this ability on the Hulk.
- Male Gaze: She does have these from time to time whenever the camera is position towards her toned rear end and legs.
- Ms. Fanservice: Zarda's a tall, attractive woman who wears a very form fitting battle armor that highlights her muscular body, toned stomach, ripped broad shoulders, shapely rear end, and long muscular legs.
- More Deadly Than the Male: Zarda's far more ruthless and vicious in battle than the other male members.
- Noble Demon: Subverted. It's revealed in Midgard Crisis that she swore the same warrior's oath than Thor, and as such does have a sense of honor, leading Thor to believe she can be redeemed. However, her interpretation of honor focuses on respecting strength and glory only, to the detriment of values like duty or loyalty, meaning it only makes her more of a Social Darwinist and Blood Knight. She genuinely believes in her oath, but the way she applies it's too twisted to actually qualify as a redeeming quality.
- Only the Chosen May Wield: It's only really given attention once but her Sledge is implied to be like Thor's hammer in they only she can pick it up.
- Smug Super: She believes her strength makes her better than everyone else, and that protecting weaker beings isn't worth her time.
- The Smurfette Principle: Zarda's the only female member of the Squadron, as well as the only female villain in the entire show (up until Titania, Supergiant and Proxima Midnight show up later on).
- Super-Strength: she's almost strong enough to match Thor when he's not holding back. However, as he demonstrates when matters get really serious, almost isn't enough.
- Weaksauce Weakness: "The Avengers' Last Stand" reveals that her people are susceptible to electricity. Armed with this knowledge, Black Widow manages to stun Zarda with the juice in her gauntlets.
Speed Demon
Speed Demon
Voiced by: Jason Spisak
- Contagious Powers: He can usually use his powers to charge objects with enough energy that they explode. Unfortunately for him, trying this on the Hulk just gives the jade giant super speed as well. Hulk does go off like a Gamma Bomb eventually, but he still survives.
- Dirty Coward: is cocky and confident when everything's going his way, but as soon as the Hulk manages to even things up, he runs straight to Hyperion for help. Then again, a pissed off Hulk with super speed is not something you want to stick around for.
- Expy: As with the rest of the Squadron Supreme, Demon's an expy of the Flash, a super-speedster whose also the jokester of the team. As with Nighthawk and Dr. Spectrum in regards to Batman and Green Lantern, Speed Demon's voice actor has voiced the Flash (and Spisak's case, Kid Flash) before.
- In addition, Speed Demon's yet another attempt to replace the original Squadron Supreme speedsternote The Whizzer with a Suspiciously Similar Substitute that goes by a less embarrassing codename.
- Motor Mouth: Speed Demon REALLY panicked when he was chased by a Hulk with super speed.Speed Demon: SAVEMESAVEMESAVEMESAVEMESAVEMESAVEMESAVEMESAVEME!
- Race Lift: In the comics, Speed Demon's white. This version's Ambiguously Brown.
- Super-Speed: His main power.
Nuke
Nuke
Voiced by: Phil LaMarr
- Affably Evil: Nuke's generally a nice guy to both the Avengers and his partners on Squadron Supreme.
- Devour the Dragon: When the Squadron Supreme starts losing to the Avengers in their last stand, with Hyperion being de-powered by Black Widow, Nighthawk has him drain Nuke's abilities for the power-up required to destroy the planet.
- Expy: He's an expy of DC Comics' Firestorm, being a superhuman character whose powers are all radiation related, his power-set itself is of a Flying Brick sort of powerset, and he's cocky, arrogant, and head-strong in terms of personality.
- Smug Super: Aside from possibly Hyperion, he's the most powerful member of the Squadron, and he definitely knows it.
