Comic Book / Heroes Reborn (2021)

The Supremes are here. (Please ignore the demonic face in the background.) ^note From left to right: Hyperion, Nighthawk, Power Princess, Doctor Spectrum, and the Blur.

Whatever happened to Earth's Mightiest Heroes?

Heroes Reborn is a 2021 Marvel Comics event by Jason Aaron, Ed McGuinness, Dale Keown, Federico Vicentini, and James Stokoe. It began in May 2021.

What if The Avengers never existed? In a world where Tony Stark never built the Iron Man suit, where Thor is a hard-drinking atheist, where Wakanda is dismissed as a myth, and where Captain America was never found in the ice, because there were no Avengers to find him... who are Earth's mightiest heroes?

Why, the Squadron Supreme of America are! But the Squadron now has to face their toughest foes, such as Dr. Juggernaut, the Black Skull, the Silver Witch, and Thanos with his Infinity Rings, all the while the vampire hunter Blade seems to be the only person to realize that the entire world has somehow been... reborn.

This event also includes a number of spin-offs and one-shots:

• Heroes Reborn: Hyperion & the Imperial Guard by Ryan Cady and Michele Bandini. Teenage Hyperion embarks on a cosmic quest with the Shi'ar Imperial Guard into the Negative Zone.
• Heroes Reborn: Peter Parker, the Amazing Shutterbug by Marc Bernardin and Rafael de Latorre. Hyperion's pal, Peter Parker, is a photographer at the Daily Bugle and always at the heart of the action.
• Heroes Reborn: Magneto and the Mutant Force by Steve Orlando and Bernard Chang. Years ago, Professor X and Magneto led a revolt against the Squadron Supreme, which resulted in the Mutant Massacre and the apparent death of Professor X. Now, after Magneto discovers Xavier clinging to life on the astral plane, he must gather his remaining allies for a rescue to restore mutantkind.
• Heroes Reborn: Young Squadron by Jim Zub and Steve Cummings. Meet the Young Squadron: Sam Alexander as Kid Spectrum, Kamala Khan as Girl Power, and Miles Morales as the all-new Falcon! But can they defeat...Deadpool?
• Heroes Reborn: Siege Society by Cody Ziglar and Paco Medina. After the Squadron Supreme's civil war led to Nighthawk making a Squadron in Europe, Baron Zemo brings together his team of villains to stop them, including the Silver Witch, Victor Creed, Clint Barton, Scott Lang, and Natasha Romanoff.
• Heroes Reborn: Marvel Double Action by Tim Seeley and Dan Jurgens. A one-shot story exploring the Squadron's past when Nighthawk and his sidekick the Falcon faced off against the Green Goblin...and the Falcon died!
• Heroes Reborn: Night-Gwen by Vita Ayala and Farid Karami. Gwen Stacy is Ravencroft Asylum's most prominent psychiatrist, as well as the dynamic crusader called Nightbird. Follow her as she tries to track down the villainous Jackal.
• Heroes Reborn: American Knights by Paul Grist and Christopher Allen. Police Commissioner Luke Cage, supported by the Squadron, thinks he's bulletproof. The violent vigilante called the Saint will prove him wrong.
• Heroes Reborn: Squadron Savage by Ethan Sacks and Luca Pizzari. Some missions require a more savage approach, which is why the Department of Defense put together this team. Elektra, the Punisher, Crossbones, Cloak and the enigmatic Murder Hornet will go up against a group of terrorists called the Redeemers, if they don't kill one another first.
• Heroes Reborn: Weapon X & Final Flight by Ed Brisson and Roland Boschi. The Squadron Supreme protect America...but who protects their neighbor to the north? Canada is a wasteland and the only team able to step up to the Squadron's supremacy is Weapon X and Final Flight.
• Heroes Return by Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness. The finale of the entire event, where the Squadron Supreme fights for their place as Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Not to be confused with the previous Heroes Reborn event (with no relation to this one besides just the name) or the television show Heroes Reborn.

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Tropes found in Heroes Reborn (2021):

• Absolute Xenophobe: Even before he became an Air Force colonel and later Doctor Spectrum, Joseph Ledger was absolutely bonkers when it came to aliens. He always dreamed of becoming an astronaut because it would allow him to encounter ancient alien races... and then punch them in the face as he leads a colonization rush for 'Merica. The only alien he can stand is Hyperion, who's a Human Alien and an American citizen, and the aliens he imprisons in Knowhere all end up eventually getting executed when he gets around to it.
• Adaptational Villainy: In this new timeline; Bruce Banner, Wanda Maximoff, Clint Barton, and Natasha Romanoff are among those who have become villains, since they never reformed thanks to the Avengers’ influence. Meanwhile, Deadpool is the Goblin's partner, Tigra and Janet Van Dyne (as the Giantess) are (former) antagonists to Power Princess as counterparts to Cheetah & Giganta, Moon Knight's just another regular at Ravencroft, Valkyrie, Sentry and Nova were former members of Goblin's Dark Squadron and Flash Thompson is the new Jackal. Subverted by Phil Coulson; as it turns out this really is the 616 version of Phil as the main villain, though it’s a Double Subversion if you count his Marvel Cinematic Universe counterpart.
• Age Lift: Peter Parker was almost out of high school before the fated spider bite was about to happen in this new timeline, in the main Marvel timeline he was 15 years old when bitten.
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: After Skymax burns Mystique to death, a furious Rogue starts draining him. The terrified Skymax begs her not to kill him as he's the last of his kind. Rogue never intended to, instead permanently draining him of his Super Skrull powers and memories like she did Carol Danvers in the real world.
• The Alcoholic: Both Thor and Power Princess, to ludicrous extremes. Power Princess admits in her narration that her sisters on Utopia Isle were largely the same. In their fight, Zarda can smell that Thor's blood is soaked in alcohol, and wonders hopefully if she can get drunk on it.
• Alternate Company Equivalent: The Squadron Supreme were already Captain Ersatzes of the Justice League of America, but this event takes it to the logical extreme, making everything and everyone in the new Heroes Reborn universe resemble their DC counterparts. For example, the Negative Zone becomes a general prison for superhumans that opposed Hyperion, filling the role of the Phantom Zone.
• Alternate History
  • World War II ended with the Nazis surrendering after Adolf Hitler was beheaded by Power Princess, and Japan surrendered following several of its coastal cities being destroyed by Namor.
  • Christianity is only a minor cult. Worship of Mephisto is the world's biggest religion. As the action is set in the US, this seems to involve all denominations of Christianity, such as Protestantism.
• Anachronic Order: The one-shot tie-ins are snapshot storylines taking place across the history of the Squadron Supreme rather than directly in the present-time of the main story.
• And I Must Scream: Coulson's fate, trapped in the Hellahedron.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Deadpool gives one to the Young Squadron, which causes them to reconsider their heroes:

  Deadpool: How many times have you seen the Squadron Supreme unleash violence because they enjoyed it?

• Back for the Dead:
  • During Siege Society Amphibian, Golden Archer, and Arcanna return, only to be killed by Zemo, Fire Ant and Silver Witch, respectively.
  • The Redeemers return during Squadron Savage and Remnant, Mink, Thermite and Haywire are all killed battling the Squadron Savage.
  • Ben Grimm, Reed Richards and a certain clumsy reporter from the Daily Bugle make their reappearance in Heroes Return to investigate a strange energy signature, this meddling would get them personally murdered by President Coulson himself.
• Badass Boast: Black Panther shows that he can have true Super-Speed thanks to his Vibranium suit.
  Black Panther: Vibranium remembers when it was a meteor!
• Bedlam House: Besides the Negative Zone, the Squadron Supreme also dumps their foes in Ravencroft, home of the criminally insane. After losing to Blur, the Silver Witch gets a straitjacket and a cell - turns out Ravencroft is a constant home for her. The Phoenix (Maya Lopez) is the prison alpha of the asylum and can leave any time. She stays to keep the worst inmates in check, such as burning a murderous Bullseye before Blade and Captain America recruit her.
• Black Hole Sue: In-universe, it's not just that the Squadron replaced all other hero teams, they completely outclass them in every respect. They've taken on all the same threats like Galactus, Mangog, Knull and the Cancerverse and handily won, seemingly with little effort.
• Blessed with Suck: The Blur's perception is so fast that he needs truly massive amounts of constant stimulation. He's always watching multiple television sets, browsing on multiple phones, and playing multiple video games simultaneously on his personal time.
• Big Bad: US President Phil Coulson, who used the Hellahedron to change reality.
• Bigger Stick: Rocket, outgunned by Doctor Spectrum, is gifted the Starbrand and uses it to create a gun that fires stars. Doctor Spectrum counters by firing the Cancerverse, having previously absorbed the whole thing into his Power Prism.
• Bittersweet Ending: The Avengers are able to reset their world back to normal and the Starchild is now a potty-mouthed toddler and The Blur, Doctor Spectrum and Power Princess are locked away, but Hyperion and Nighthawk are still wandering the world, with Nighthawk vowing to restore their world, and Mephisto has gathered up his own group of like-minded Mephistos, the Council of Red.
• Break Them by Talking: According to the Goblin, he did this to the Silver Witch in Ravencroft, leading to her killing herself by firing a hex bolt into her own head at a thousand miles per hour.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Deadpool mouths off to the Narrator when the Young Squadron beat him.

  Narrator: With victory snatched from the jaws of despair, the heroic Young Squadron apprehended the dangerously deranged villain known as Deadpool and——

  Deadpool: Now, just hold on a sec here, Mr. or Mrs. Narrator! You are not pulling that "all is good in the universe" #$@% here. No way!

  Girl Power: Who... Who are you talking to?

  Narrator: Although Deadpool's mind was a shattered mess, with enough therapy and proper medication overseen by the well-trained staff at Ravencroft Asylum, he——

  Deadpool: No, no, NO! STOP IT!

• Broken Pedestal: The Young Squadron one-shot ends with the team realizing that their idols are such bloodthirsty Destructive Saviors that they decide to become the Champions to break away from the Squadron.
• The Bus Came Back:
  • Tom Thumb, Blue Eagle, Amphibian, Arcanna and Golden Archer all reappear in Heroes Reborn: Siege Society after not being seen in quite some time besides cameos and zombie appearances.
  • Heroes Reborn: Squadron Savage brings back Remnant, Foxglove, Mink, Haywire, Thermite, and Moonglow.
• Captain Ersatz: Continuing the theme of the Squadron Supreme being Ersatzs of the Justice League, all of the spin-offs appear to be Ersatzs of other DC Comics teams and characters:
  • Hyperion & the Imperial Guard is one for Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes.
  • Peter Parker, the Amazing Shutterbug is one for Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen.
  • Young Squadron is one for the Teen Titans.^note More specifically, Miles Morales becomes an Ersatz of Tim Drake, Kamala Khan of Cassie Sandsmark, and Sam Alexander of Kyle Rayner.
  • Siege Society is one for the Secret Society of Super-Villains.
  • While Marvel Double Action is very much an homage to "The Night Gwen Stacy Died!", it's clear that Nighthawk and The Falcon are Ersatzes of Batman and Robin, making it more similar to the death of Jason Todd.
  • Gwen Stacy's new identity as "Nightbird" is a clear Ersatz of Batgirl. ^note Gwen interestingly has two levels of amalgamations. While her character is obviously an amalgam of Barbara Gordon and Harley Quinn, her costume is actually a composite of Stephanie Brown's Batgirl and Dick Grayson's Nightwing suits.
  • Squadron Savage, a government-sponsored team filled with anti-heroes and murderers, is one for the Suicide Squad.
  • American Knights has Luke Cage as one for Commissioner Gordon.
  • A few Marvel locations serve as stand-ins for DC locations as well, such as Ravencroft Institute for Arkham Asylum, S.H.I.E.L.D. Labs for S.T.A.R. Labs, and the Negative Zone for the Phantom Zone.
  • When the Hulk is introduced, he's mentally impaired and only capable of speaking the opposite of what he means, like Bizarro.
  • The Beyonder is now a diminutive alien (sporting the true appearance of his race rather than his previous humanoid look) who menaces Hyperion with reality-warping mischief and goes by the name Mr. Beyonder, making him one for Superman's enemy Mister Mxyzptlk.
  • Thanos uses the Infinity Rings to fight with monochrome constructs, much like a Green Lantern Ring, making him emulate the antagonistic Lantern forces much like Doctor Spectrum does the Green Lantern.
  • Rocket Raccoon is now a gritty bounty hunter riding around the universe on a space chopper with lots of guns, making him one for Lobo.
  • Ursa Major is mentioned to be part of Grizzly City, a nation of sentient bears hidden somewhere in the Russian wilderness, making them one for Gorilla Grodd and Gorilla City.
  • Hank Pym/Ultron serves a loose stand-in for Superman's foe Metallo, being a once human, now robotic enemy of Hyperion.
  • Johnny Blaze has traded up his bike for Super-Speed and is now called the Ghost Runner, making him a stand-in for the Black Racer and/or Black Flash.
  • The Green Goblin, with his status as both Nighthawk's Arch-Enemy and the one who killed Falcon, constant laughter, toxic gas, and endless attempts at goading Nighthawk into killing him, is a blatantly obvious one for The Joker.
  • Curt Connors/The Lizard fills the slot of Batman foe Killer Croc. While not changed much at all, his appearance has him as an inmate at Ravencroft Asylum who is fought by Nighthawk.
  • Felicia Hardy/Black Cat is made Nighthawk's ex-girlfriend in order to make her a proper stand-in for Catwoman.
  • Bullseye is almost always portrayed without his mask to emphasize his scars, and is portrayed as much more mentally unstable than usual, making him a stand-in for Victor Zsasz.
  • Otto Octavius is one for the Penguin. He's dropped the Doctor from his name, is now a diminutive man with a bit of a potbelly, and now fights with legions of his namesake.
  • Moon Knight design makes him resemble Batman foe Hush, with his face covered in white bandages.
  • Marvel's villainous Scarecrow fills the role of DC's more famous Scarecrow.
  • Deadpool for Harley Quinn. While it is not too apparent in his first appearance in Young Squadron, it is made more obvious in Heroes Reborn #5, which has him wield a big hammer, mention "puddin' night" and refer to the Goblin as "Mr. G."
  • The Red Skull appeared to be relatively unchanged, outside of now having the Venom symbiote, in Heroes Reborn #1, but is portrayed in a manner reminiscent of Two-Face (even being drawn Two-Faced) in Heroes Reborn #5.
  • Tigra and Janet Van Dyne, who used the alias of the Giantess, are former enemies of Power Princess, making them stand-ins for longtime Wonder Woman foes Cheetah and Giganta.
  • Elektra is an ersatz of Katana, being an incredibly deadly martial artist with a preference for a particular weapon as well as the one operating directly under the Squadron Savage's handler.
  • Frank Castle, as a member of the Squadron Savage legendary for his Improbable Aiming Skills, is a loose stand-in for Deadshot.
  • Wilson Fisk, as the Secretary of Defense and tactically brilliant handler of the Squadron Savage, quite obviously fills the role of Amanda Waller.
  • The Saint, with his red costume, devoutness, and questionable mental health, brings to mind Azrael.
  • The finale reveals Vibranium weakens Hyperion severely, making it an obvious equivalent to Kryptonite.
• Composite Character: Some of the villains the Squadron faces and a few members of the Squadron themselves appear to be composites:
  • Dr. Juggernaut appears to be a composite between Doctor Doom and the Juggernaut. He is Dr. Doom but deposed when Hyperion enforced an election in Latveria, so he went to the Temple of Cyttorak and got the gem to transform into the new Juggernaut to conquer America.
  • The Silver Witch appears to be a composite between Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. She is the Scarlet Witch, but during a fight between the Squadron Supreme and the still criminal twins, Pietro got killed so Wanda used her Chaos Magic to take his powers for her own.
  • The Black Skull appears to be a composite of Venom and the Red Skull.
  • All-Gog appears to be a composite of Mangog and Odin wearing the Destroyer Armor.
  • Thanos, meanwhile, appears to wield "Infinity Rings," which look like composites between the Infinity Gems and the Mandarin's Ten Rings.
  • In a non-villain example, Nighthawk is African-American like his Supreme Power counterpart, but wears a costume more similar to that of the Caucasian Nighthawks, along with, of course, being an actual Squadron member.
  • Blur combines traits of three speedsters from three different versions of the Squadron:
    • Hero name: Blur from Jeffrey Walters of Earth-148611, a part of Earth-616's Squadron Supreme.
    • Real name: Stanley Stewart, the Whizzer, a member of Earth-712's Squadron Supreme.
    • Super suit: Resembles the James Sanders Speed Demon outfit, from the Earth-616 Squadron Sinister.
  • In this timeline, Nighthawk was the partner of Sam Wilson, the Falcon, like Steve Rogers, and was plagued by the Green Goblin, like Peter Parker. Sam tragically died as well, giving him elements of pre-Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes and, due to the Goblin being his killer, Gwen Stacy. This later also counts as Decomposite Character to a degree, since the original Gwen is alive and, coincidentally, also tied to the Nighthawk legacy like Falcon.
  • Issue #5 reveals T'Challa, while still wearing his Black Panther costume, is also the new Ronin.
  • In this universe, Moonglow is actually Tandy Bowen aka Dagger.
  • Night-Gwen reveals that in this universe, Flash Thompson is the new Jackal.
• Combined Energy Attack: Maya and Starbrand combine their powers in the finale to take down Power Princess - resulting in an attack that was half Starbrand symbol and half flaming Phoenix-force that knocked Zarda out of the fight instantly.
• Corrupted Character Copy: The Squadron Supreme of America is a two-fold version of this trope, since it's being done to both the Justice League of America and the original Squadron Supreme. To the world at large they are the greatest heroes who always save the Earth no matter what. In truth, they are constructs made by Mephisto, and are a team made up of Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Patriotic Fervor Blood Knights.
  • Hyperion Used to Be a Sweet Kid while a member of the Imperial Guard, but watching his team be taken over by the Brood has resulted in him becoming detached from life and some variant of The Sociopath, since his fights have caused the most civilian casualties and he acts indifferent to the families affected. This is especially prominent in the one-shot Peter Parker the Amazing Shutterbug where it's revealed he accidentally killed Aunt May by throwing a billboard at a villain and destroying the building she was in at the same time, and never even bothered to help clean up. Superman cares deeply about civilians and it kills him when even one person meets an untimely end on his watch. Similarly, Supes treats his "pal" and photographer as a close friend and colleague, and Jimmy is deeply attached to and protective of him in turn. Hyperion is dismissive of Peter (while oddly still viewing him as a friend) and Peter resents Hyperion big-time, keeping it secret because he lacks the power to stand up to him.
  • Nighthawk was once a standard take on The Cowl, but after the death of his partner The Falcon leaves him jaded and detached, becoming something like a Rabid Cop.
  • Doctor Spectrum is an Ax-Crazy Absolute Xenophobe who's been policing space so brutally that the galaxy, maybe even the universe, band together for the sake of stopping him. Comparisons have also been made between his connection to the deathless Cancerverse and the White Light of Life.
  • Power Princess is A God Am I Blood Knight who sees nothing wrong with starting wars and considers Thor to be obsolete and must be killed for daring to return.
  • Blur is a magically empowered speedster who is actually something of a Token Good Teammate, but his enhanced senses cause him to be easily distracted and he's growing progressively more violent. He was also married to Mary-Jane Watson before it ended due to a One More Day esque situation; a reference to a similar situation that happened to Wally West in the Flash storyline Hell to Pay.
• Cosmic Plaything: Played for drama and sometimes dark comedy; In this reality the twist of fate that led to Peter getting his powers never happened, but he still ended up working for the Daily Bugle taking pictures of superheroes like Hyperion. In this way he becomes a pastiche on Jimmy Olsen, but his Weirdness Magnet status of getting caught in the middle of superhero conflict is a sardonic take on his "Parker luck". In his solo title, he does end up bitten by a mutant spider, from the Annihilation Wave. It mutates him into a spider monster instead of giving him superpowers. Even then it's reported in the Bugle that instead of being much of a threat, he tripped and broke all eight of his legs^*In truth he actually attempted to kill himself by jumping from the building, so he wouldn't hurt anyone.
• Crapsaccharine World: On the surface the world is safe and somewhat idealistic, but anyone aware that the world is changed can just tell something is deeply wrong. The fact that Mephisto is worshiped as God instead of The Almighty is a major telling sign.
• Crapsack World: Canada has been reduced to a barren wasteland that has had its provinces annexed. The solicitation suggests that the Squadron Supreme are responsible for this, supposedly as part of "protecting America's interests". Also, while the number of supervillains in this world is the same or greater than in Earth-616, the number of superheroes and hero teams are minuscule in comparison - making the Squadron Supreme the sole effective protectors of the Earth.
• Create Your Own Hero: Doctor Spectrum does this when he tortured Rocket Raccoon to death. Rocket and Groot had been raising the Starbrand baby in secret. Now a small child, she intends to save the galaxy and have Spectrum's head on a platter.
• Cruel Twist Ending: Magneto and the Mutant Force ends with Magneto saving "Charles," although "he" is actually Cassandra Nova, who revealed she was tricking him the whole time.
• Cycle of Revenge: After Power Princess killed Jean Grey, Logan (Weapon X) killed Zarda's lover Hyperion to get back at her. Logan gets his grave dug after Hyperion easily kills him and then Doctor Spectrum imprisons him on a dead planet that doesn't even have an atmosphere.
• Deader than Dead: Hyperion mentions that he had to kill the Hulk two dozen times before Bruce stayed dead, reduced to a pool of radioactive goop.
• Death Is Cheap: Issue #7 and the Weapon X and Final Flight one-shot reveals that Wolverine killed Hyperion with enchanted Adamantium claws, only for Hyperion to somehow come back a few years later.
• Destructive Savior: Some members of the Squadron justify collateral damage as for the greater good, if they're called out on it at all. This is played tragically for Peter in his solo title, where his Aunt May ends up dying instead of Uncle Ben due to a billboard tossed by Hyperion at a supervillain. This gets brought up by Deadpool as an example of why the Squadron isn't as heroic as everyone thinks they are.
• Dramatic Irony: Despite being dismissive of the idea of Peter Parker being "his pal", after the true reality is restored, Hyperion undergoes an identity crisis and the first thing he does is fly to to the Daily Bugle to try and find Peter, because he really did consider him his friend after all. He instead finds Spider-Man, who's rather perplexed as to why Hyperion is so distraught but still tries to give him emotional support.
• Equippable Ally: Some point past being part of the Starjammers, Groot became a machine gun for Rocket. He fires splinters of himself that rapidly grow and smother targets.
• Eye Scream: The Watcher can't see anymore; Doctor Spectrum destroyed his eyes and left only a mass of scar tissue over each socket.
• Fantastic Racism: Doctor Spectrum hates aliens. He believes them to be inbred, perverted weirdos and he's the only force of law keeping them in check.
• Fingore: The Infinity Rings don't save Thanos from Doctor Spectrum's might. Manifesting a machine gun, he removes the rings by shooting each of Thanos's ringed fingers off. Spectrum reveals this isn't the first time, before he hauls Thanos away to dump back on Knowhere.
• For Want Of A Nail: The Avengers, along with literally every other super-team in existence, don't exist, and the Squadron Supreme are Earth's mightiest heroes. What's different? A lot.
  • While Night-Gwen is a clear play off of Spider-Gwen, the solicitation makes it clear that this version of the character is the original Gwen Stacy of this Universe. Since Peter Parker never becomes Spider-Man, Norman Osborn never developed an obsession with him that led to Gwen Stacy's death.
  • Hulk got tossed into the Negative Zone after his very first rampage. As a result, Jennifer Walters never became She-Hulk and Rick Jones is the Whisperer from the get-go. In addition, Rick's identity as the Whisperer isn't that of a white-hat hacker, but that of a shameless superhero gossip-blogger, since he never gained the necessary super-intelligence in his many misadventures.
  • Matt Murdock is a priest as opposed to a lawyer. Due to the fact that Mephisto has supplanted God in this reality, Matt is known as the Saint instead of Daredevil, with his D insignia being tapped out for a serpent (the first form Mephisto took when he arrived on Earth) that the public mistakes for an S. Also, he can still see.
  • A number of characters who saw themselves go through a Heel–Face Turn thanks to their interactions with the Avengers (such as Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, and Scott Lang) remain villains in this world due to the absence of the Avengers.
  • The Amazing Shutterbug reveals that, in this world, Peter Parker bent down to tie his shoe and was knocked down by Flash Thompson as the spider descended, thus never getting bitten.
  • Despite predating the Avengers, the Fantastic Four also don't exist. Reed Richards and Ben Grimm are both completely human S.H.I.E.L.D. Labs employees, and Johnny is a Nova Corps member instead of the Human Torch.
  • The Starjammers still existed but their roster was different; Scott and Alex Summers are members of the crew instead of X-Men. Corsair is full-on married to Hepzibah, making her the brothers' stepmother. Scott also has perfect control over his optic blasts, meaning he doesn't wear his visor and isn't called Cyclops, while Alex is still called Havok (or at the very least trying to get people to call him Havok). The team was rounded out by Rocket and Groot, who aren't members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, who may not exist at all. While it is known that Doctor Spectrum forced them to disband, it is unknown what has become of most of them.
  • There never were X-Men, Professor X made them Mutant Force from the start. The Mutant Massacre here wasn't the Marauders' assault on the Morlocks sewer home; Instead, Mutant Force and other mutants protested the Mutant Registration Act, which is when their former pals, the Squadron Supreme, were set on them and nearly wiped them out.
  • Phil Coulson is the President of the United States, with a non-gamma-irradiated Thunderbolt Ross as his Vice President and J. Jonah Jameson as his Press Secretary.
  • Luke Cage is the fully-human Police Commissioner of Washington DC. Also, he and Jessica Jones are bitter exes.
  • Carolyn Trainer isn't a successor to Otto Octavius and isn't a supervillain. Instead, she was a classmate of Peter's and appears to be on decent terms with him.
  • May Parker was killed due to Hyperion's fight with a low-rate costumed villain, while Ben appears to be alive.
  • John Walker/U.S. Agent is replaced by a Russian counterpart named John Walkovitch who operated as Soviet Agent before being killed by the Squadron Supreme.
  • Without a positive role model like Spider-Man to inspire him, Flash Thompson gave into his worst personality traits and essentially never progressed beyond being anything more than a schoolyard bully. As a result, he never joined the military, and instead got into politics, attempting an unsuccessful run against Kyle Richmond. Oh, and he became the new Jackal after becoming obsessed with Gwen Stacy and killing Miles Warren.
  • Alpha Flight was made specifically to be the counter to Squadron Supreme in the face of growing American aggression towards Canada. Most Alpha Flight members are killed, Alberta and BC are annexed and the rest of Canada bombed into pacification because of their resistance.
  • Due to Cyclops being in space, Jean Grey and Wolverine actually dated until her death at the hands of the Squadron.
  • Nick Fury became President after World War II, but later got gunned down in the street.
• Foregone Conclusion: When the story starts, reality has been changed, but it's not said by whom... unless you had been following The Avengers (Jason Aaron). The Squadron Supreme were there as the pawns of Phil Coulson, who was in turn a pawn of Mephisto. Heroes Reborn #1: The Squadron Supreme are the most important superheroes, Phil Coulson is the president, and Mephisto is nowhere to be seen. It goes without saying (and it was in fact the case) that Mephisto would be the power behind the reality warping.
• The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: Many of the one-shots end with the writers doing the usual Q&A you'd expect from the average comic book, except they discuss the events of the comic as if they've always been established instances of the Marvel canon, implying the overwrite extends beyond the boundaries of fiction.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Mephisto, who is worshiped as the god of this new reality and brought Coulson back to life. He had also given Coulson the Hellahedron to change reality.
• Happily Adopted: This turns out to be the Starbrand baby's fate in this new world. She was floating out in space when she was found by Rocket Raccoon and Groot. Taking her in, they believe that one day she'll help save the galaxy.
• Hated by All: Doctor Spectrum has this in space, as almost every species in the galaxy, maybe even the universe, has considered him so dangerous they form The Alliance just to stop him.
• Hellhound: This version of Mephisto takes the form of a large demonic dog.
• Heroic Suicide: At the end of The Amazing Shutterbug, Peter throws himself out the window to his death to prevent others dying should he become a member of the Annihilation Wave. Later it turns out he survived that.
• Heteronormative Crusader: A brief moment, but in addition to his xenophobia, Spectrum says that if the Big Three form a "heathen throuple", he'll join the Squadron Sinister.
• History Repeats: Miles Morales became the Falcon to succeed a recently deceased hero that held the mantle, and also gets called out by the heroes that knew him. The main difference is that Nighthawk is a lot more vehement about Miles taking the name of his dead friend, with a threat of physical harm if he sees him in costume again.
• I Did What I Had to Do: It's revealed that despite his destructive and kill-happy actions, Hyperion honestly believes that all the death and destruction he causes is for the good of all. He honestly doesn't really like killing, and it's noted that he had plenty of opportunity to kill the Hulk before ultimately doing it. During his fight with the Avengers, Hyperion begins screaming how all the death and destruction couldn’t be for nothing.
• In Name Only: As mentioned above, the only thing it has in common with the original Heroes Reborn is the name.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • Even without any superhero team other than the Squadron Supreme, Miles, Kamala and Sam all end up legacies, team up together, become disillusioned with the way the adult heroes do things and resolve to be more idyllic successors as the Champions.
  • Similarly, although they never experienced a Heel–Face Turn, Natasha, Clint, and Scott Lang are all remarkably less villainous than their Siege Society teammates and are in fact True Companions between the three of them. The tie-in even ends with the trio abandoning the fight since they are not truly supporting Baron Zemo's cause.
  • Zig-zagged; Miles Warren still turns into the Jackal because of his feelings for Gwen, but in the real world, he only became the Jackal after she died. Here, he became Jackal in a truly deranged attempt to win her over.
  • Zig-zagged again in Rick Jones' case; while he still becomes the Whisperer, he's a gossip-blogger as opposed to a Playful Hacker, since in the main continuity Rick became the Whisperer after gaining super-intelligence and picking up coding before it faded.
  • Scorpion still exists, even though his origin is intrinsically tied to Spider-Man. He also appears to be relatively unchanged outside of wearing brown instead of green and being partners with Scorpia (the two have never actually met in the Prime Marvel Universe).
  • The Wrecking Crew are still around, though their powers originate from Utopia Isle as opposed to Asgard.
  • The Super Registration Act was still created, with Hyperion and Nighthawk at the heart of it as opposed to Iron Man and Captain America.
  • Bucky Barnes still becomes the Winter Soldier and Hyperion ended the Cold War early.
  • J. Jonah Jameson is still... well, J. Jonah Jameson, though he targeted Nighthawk in the past since there's no Spider-Man to be found.
  • The Venom Symbiote still bonds to and becomes obsessed with a particular superhero even after finding a different host, with Spider-Man and Eddie Brock swapped out with Nighthawk and Red Skull.
  • Mary Jane still ends up in the deal from One More Day, with the twist being that she was married to Blur.
  • Despite their different approach to other teams, the Squadron are still involved in versions of Marvel's previous events, such as Secret Wars, Civil War, World War Hulk and War of the Realms.
  • Gorr the Godbutcher was still butchering gods and made the Godbomb despite Thor not being active. Power Princess, who crushed Gorr, had a future and past version of herself help her out in the same way as Thor.
• Joker Immunity: Given to the Squadron's greatest foes. Despite the Squadron having imprisoned Silver Witch and Thanos before and how frequently the Squadron kill foes like Rocket Raccoon and the Hulk, they never get around to killing the Masters of Doom. Power Princess notes this tendency and mentions the silliness of how the guys like to build themselves a Rogues Gallery as she kills Nighthawk's old foe Goblin.
• Kick the Dog: Miles takes up the mantle of the late Falcon to honor his memory, much like Tim Drake after Jason Todd died. Unlike Batman with Tim, Nighthawk actually threatens Miles with physical violence over it and this is even after Miles forms a superhero team with Kamala Khan and Sam Alexander to prove he's being serious about it. Nighthawk's reaction is made even more startling considering both Power Princess and Doctor Spectrum, both rather notorious Blood Knights take to Kamala and Sam respectively very well.
• Kill the God: As a testament to their power, some of the Squadron Supreme have killed their fair share of gods and Cosmic Entities. While Hyperion blew Galactus's brains out and Doctor Spectrum decapitated a Celestial, neither of them can hold a candle to Power Princess, who snapped Jean Grey/Phoenix's neck, gutted the All-Gog, slew Gorr the Godbutcher and Knull the King in Black at the same time, and started the War of the Realms and won singlehandedly.
• Last of Their Kind: Hyperion is the last Eternal, Skymax is the last member of his world and according to Magneto, Rogue and Green Goblin, Power Princess is the last Utopian because Zarda accidentally brought back germs that wiped their island out. Thor is the final god, leading to All-Gog coming out of retirement. Nighthawk reveals that in his reality, Blade is the last vampire and he was the one who wiped out the rest. After that reveal, Nighthawk then easily defeats Blade.
• Left Hanging: At the end of the Mutant Force comic, the Squadron Supreme had been teleported to another world and Cassandra Nova now leads the mutants and she's got plans to deal with the Squadron Supreme when they return. Except nothing happens with this, because the Avengers fight the Squadron Supreme with no mutant intervention and with the Avenger's victory, reality is restored with whatever Mutant Force planned never addressed.
• Legacy Character:
  • The Young Squadron one-shot sees the founding trio of the Champions, Kamala Khan, Miles Morales, and Sam Alexander, becoming legacy characters to the Squadron Supreme. Specifically, Sam Alexander is now Kid Spectrum (inspired by Doctor Spectrum), Kamala Khan is now Girl Power (inspired by Power Princess), and Miles is now the second Falcon, taking the mantle of the late Sam Wilson, who was Nighthawk's sidekick in this timeline.
  • Night-Gwen reveals the Jackal Gwen's been hunting all this time isn't Miles Warren at all, but Flash Thompson, who took the mantle after killing Miles himself in his deranged attempt to win over Gwen.
• Legion of Doom: Dr. Doom's Masters of Doom are an alliance of each Squadron member's worst enemies. What this really means is that there's a team of elite cannon-fodder for the Squadron to kick around until it stops being amusing.
• Magic Knight: In his backstory the Blur sought out the Ancient One for mystical help with his recently acquired powers. He speed-read every book on mysticism and was taught how to meditate to expand his perception to mystical forces.
• Man of Kryptonite: Just being around Steve Rogers is enough to severely weaken Hyperion. Except it's not Steve; it's the Vibranium in his shield.
• Mundane Utility: Blur can easily afford all those TVs, TV channels and video games. His powers allow him to work several jobs at once and still have time to host his own social media channel.
• Mutual Kill: At the end of Squadron Savage Winter Soldier and Kang shoot each other in the head at the same time.
• My Greatest Failure:
  • Years ago, Hyperion was a proud member of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard. His term was about to end and he was going to return to Earth with his beloved Oracle when they explored Deathbird's old lab and encountered the Brood. Hyperion couldn't save the Guard and had to trap everyone, including Gladiator and Oracle, in the Negative Zone.
  • For Nighthawk, it was failing to save Falcon after the Goblin hurled him to his death. It's actually worse than initially described. When the Goblin threw the Falcon from the top of the bridge, Nighthawk tried to catch him with a grapple line. Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, Nighthawk failed to realize that his nighttime-enhanced strength had kicked in with the setting sun. When he pulled on the line to save the Falcon with far more force than intended, the sudden stop broke the Falcon's neck, killing him instantly. Not only did Nighthawk fail to save his best friend, he unintentionally killed him himself.
• Mythology Gag:
  • The Young Squadron wind up fighting against Deadpool, much like how the Teen Titans would fight against Deathstroke.
  • The Shi'ar Imperial Guard are an Alternate Company Equivalent to the Legion of Super-Heroes unrelated to the Squadron Supreme. Hyperion & The Imperial Guard connects them by having a teenage Hyperion be a Guardsman, referencing Superboy's membership and shared history with the Legion.
  • In Magneto and the Mutant Force, Rogue steals the powers of Skymax, similarly to what she did to Carol Danvers. This is actually doubly so in that after she starts looking like a Super Skrull is similar to an alternate universe version that showed up in Exiles.
• Noodle Incident:
  • Much of the Squadron's history is hinted at. Some gets expanded, much of it doesn't.
  • Blur meets Johnny Blaze aka the Ghost Runner on the Penance Stairs and he recalls that he raced the Ghost Runner before and their speeds were so high that Blaze's leg bones melted.
• No Blood for Phlebotinum: Why did the USA wage war on Canada? They wanted to annex B.C. and Alberta for their lumber and oil respectively. After that they bombed the rest of Canada into a wasteland.
• No-Sell: Magneto's powers have no effect on Power Princess. Turns out Utopian steel is non-magnetic. This gets Magneto a broken back in return. Thor shrugs off a punch from Power Princess, which makes her obsessed with hitting him again and alerts her to the existence of the Avengers.
• Oh, My Gods!: Instead of invoking God, people call Mephisto's name. He's replaced God everywhere, as effigies in churches, on slogans like "In God We Trust" or "God Save the Queen". Even Power Princess' alliterations that pastiche Wonder Woman's use Mephisto instead of Hera.
• Once More, with Clarity: Heroes Reborn #2 portrays Peter Parker as the Jimmy Olsen pastiche he appears to be, saying things like "Great googly-moogly" as he calls his old pal for help. Peter Parker: The Amazing Shutterbug shows the same scene from Peter's perspective, after establishing how much he secretly despises Hyperion, and he finds his own dialogue absurd and degrading, but it's all part of the act.
• Patriotic Fervor: Every member of the Squadron, even technical foreigners like Power Princess, have a xenophobic, jingoist pride in America. Doctor Spectrum has a near-genocidal hatred of all alien life, applying Manifest Destiny to space exploration by subjugating every other race and exterminating any that won't fall in line. Hyperion and Power Princess similarly committed a near-genocide of all the mutants, because the mutants refused to follow the discriminatory Mutant Registration Act (neither have anything against mutants).
• Plot Armor: The Squadron defeated several characters in the setting's backstory, with little effort, despite the fact that they should have been way beyond their league (pun intended). Among others, and in each case single-handedly, Hyperion launched himself clean through Galactus' head, Dr. Spectrum blew Thanos' fingers off, Zarda's killed everybody from Knull to Gorr the God Butcher, and Blur frequently races against goddamn Eternity.
• Plot Hole: All reality changed overnight (exactly how isn't revealed until the ending), and everybody's memories were altered to the new setting, and some characters have a vague feeling that something is wrong. Everybody except for Blade, who remembers it all. You would think that at some point they would deliver a very well thought reason to explain why Blade is immune to the whole thing. But no: Blade is immune simply because the plot needs someone to be, to kickstart the events.
• Practically Joker: The Goblin, the altered world's version of the Green Goblin, is established as Nighthawk's arch-enemy. As such, his similarities to the Joker are played up immensely.
• Priceless Paperweight: Heroes Reborn #6 reveals that Power Princess has converted Liberty Island into her headquarters and uses the Siege Perilous mirror she stole from Magik to top off her martinis.
• Put on a Bus to Hell: The arc ends with the Earth-616 version of Phil Coulson turned completely into an irredeemable villain, his plans to remake the world in his image destroyed, and dragged to Hell by Mephisto courtesy of having made a Deal with the Devil to 1) survive Deadpool's killing of him and 2) the aforementioned universe remake. Almost makes you wonder if Marvel has some kind of beef with the dude.
• Red Scare: During his fight against Ursa Major, Blur refers to him as a "Soviet super-bear" and to Grizzly City as a "commie carnivore metropolis".
• Religion of Evil: America worships Mephisto, the big devil of the Marvel universe.
• The Resenter: Unlike Jimmy Olsen and Superman, Peter Parker actually resents Hyperion despite putting on a friendly front. Hyperion killed his Aunt May during a battle with a D-list super-villain by destroying a building she was in without a second thought. However he hides it as there is nothing he can do about it and comes across him again and again as part of his job. As well he knows if he says anything insulting Hyperion might toss him into the Sun.
• Retraux: In the first issue, any of the fights involving the Squadron Supreme evoke The Silver Age of Comic Books from the big speeches to the Jack Kirby inspired artwork. This changes back to a more contemporary styling whenever the focus went purely to Blade.
• Revisiting the Roots: Miles, Kamala and Sam became superheroes by other means and with new powers and identities, and created the "Young Squadron". In the end, however, they suffer a Broken Pedestal and lose their faith in them. Seeking to cut ties with the Squadron, they became the Champions. Because the world still needs heroes.
• Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Much like Wolverine in House of M and Bishop in Age of Apocalypse, Blade is the only one who remembers the real world as does the Hulk (Bruce Banner), Silver Witch (Wanda Maximoff), the Goblin, Kang the Conqueror and Deadpool.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Carol Danvers is one the pilots assigned to nuke Wakanda. However she sees the legendary Captain America fighting President Coulson and is initially unsure what to do. Her commanders tell her to shoot Captain America, at which point she instead clips Coulson in the head with her wing.
• Second Super-Identity: T’Challa uses the Ronin identity outside of Wakanda, while also still acting as the Black Panther.
• Social Media Before Reason: Blur is so much faster than the Silver Witch that he can easily lap her, the only reason she snared his soul was him making a social media video while outrunning her and he didn't see what she was doing.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Frank Castle’s family are alive in this new timeline; subverted as it turns out that his memories have been tinkered with and him spending time with his family is really just him in a cell with mannequins dressed up.
• Stealth Pun: Several of the stories are set in Washington DC, instead of Marvel's usual New York.
• Strictly Formula: The issues about Hyperion, Blur and Doctor Spectrum all follow the same pattern. The hero has a villain killin' spree in a Batman Cold Open sequence, easily defeating them all, and the actual story is against a villain a bit harder to defeat but who is also defeated at the end. And yet, the hero realizes that "something is not right" with the universe.
• Super-Senses: Blur has them as Required Secondary Powers and Enlightenment Superpowers, he's able to perceive things that are normally not visible. This saves him when Silver Witch temporarily removes his speed, he detects and befriends a wraith whale that helps him capture Wanda.
• Super Serum: Nighthawk isn't a normal human. He takes an ancient potion that augments his strength and agility at night, similar to the Nighthawk from The Defenders.
• Superior Successor: After finally tracking down the Jackal in Night-Gwen, Gwen realizes that he's not Miles Warren like she originally believed; Warren fought like a wild animal, easy to outmaneuver, while this guy has actual combat training and is currently giving her a tough time. Sure enough, he turns out to be Flash Thompson.
• Take That!:
  • While the Squadron Supreme are parodies of the Justice League of America to begin with, if there is one aspect of DC Comics the series is actually critical of, it's DC's reliance on using Criminally Insane villains. Many of the heroes and villains alike that get reimagined as DC Rogues are treated rather sympathetically and victims of the Squadron's violent crusade for justice, with their mental disorders often being disregarded or insulted.
  • That said, the Blur seems to be a more straightforward shot at The Flash, but particularly Barry Allen. While he's shown to be a Token Good Teammate, Blur in this world apparently caused some time catastrophe that resulted in him losing his relationship with Mary Jane Watson. This is a blended shot at both One More Day and Flashpoint. Once the world's returned to normal, Blur pathetically begs to go back to the "other world" stating people actually liked him there which reads as a subtle dig at how Barry was hyped up beyond reason during the New 52 era of DC Comics despite being someone whose incompetence ruined untold billions of lives. So it stands to reason Blur could only be loved in a world controlled by Mephisto similar to Barry being loved in a world controlled by Doctor Manhattan.
• Taken for Granite: Most of Power Princess' Rogues Gallery have been petrified and put up on display in her sculpture garden. This is said to be a technique developed by her people, and she can partially unpetrify someone with a verbal command to interrogate them.
• The World Is Just Awesome: Super-speed induced short attention span is only a minor issue with Blur. He mentions he loves being himself. With his incredible perception, when he actually puts in the effort in paying attention he can notice all the small things happening in his near vicinity. And with entire dimensions and timelines open to him, the cosmos is one giant tour for him. Sure he gets bored often, but he never stays that way for long.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: It's actually surprising that the Squadron spares their enemies, as they have jurisdiction to kill with Executive Order SSA-1939. Hyperion invokes this before executing the Hulk. Deadpool notes their constant use of lethal force in self-righteousness and American exceptionalism as a reason why they're not heroes.
• Took a Level in Badass: The Squadron Supreme go up many levels in this new world. In Thunderbolts, (a) Hyperion fought a weakened Juggernaut and broke his hand punching Cain Marko in the head. Here Dr. Juggernaut has Hyperion in a Neck Lift and then Hyperion breaks Dr. Juggernaut's hand by simply flexing his neck muscles. Then there's Power Princess, who normally lifts 20 tons (making her weaker than the 25 tons of a standard Asgardian female like Amora the Enchantress), here she stops the Asgard-destroying All-Gog's sword with an effortless bracelet block. Meanwhile, The Blur uses races against Eternity as a meditative exercise.
• Touched by Vorlons: Unlike the Blurs/Whizzers from other Earths (and in keeping with the retcon of his inspiration's power source), this Stanley Stewart was not a product of a scientific accident. He was on a job when he passed through a magical mist sent by the Vishanti to become the Speedster Supreme and had to get training from the Ancient One to control his new powers. Blur is firmly in the supernatural world, with a mystic app many of the TVs in his home are linked to playing shows and movies from other dimensions.
• Tragic Monster: Fittingly for his status as a Bizarro Ersatz, Hulk is this. When he shows up in Heroes Reborn #2, he doesn't attack anything or go on a rampage, he just shows up at the school Hyperion works at and tries to convince the students that he's not crazy to no avail. He only turns violent after Hyperion throws him through a wall, and all throughout the fight, Hulk is frustrated and upset at how he can't even think properly, rebuffing Hyperion's claim that he tried to help him. When Hyperion eventually fries him into a puddle of radioactive pudding with his heat vision, all Hulk does is cry and ask "Where Steve?"
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: In a flashback, a pre-teen Power Princess is taken by her mother to her first battle. Her mother is trying to be a good mother, admitting that the first fight should be frightening...But Zarda ignores her and goes running in decapitating enemy soldiers.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid:
  • Hyperion was a "Gosh, darn, shucks" variety of country boy and a Nice Guy who truly respected and liked his peers in the Imperial Guard (including a pair of male members that were a couple). Contrast this with the grim ultranationalist, hard-liner that he is today (though he's still nowhere as vicious as Nighthawk or Doctor Spectrum and does occasionally regret killing).
  • Nighthawk used to be far less grim, but Falcon's murder at the hands of the Goblin was his Cynicism Catalyst.
• Vigilante Man: The Saint (this timeline's Daredevil) is this, being a violent free agent hunted by the police led by Commissioner Cage.
• Villain Protagonist: The Squadron Supreme headline the main series with Blade assembling the Avengers being a side plot.
• Villain with Good Publicity: The Squadron appears to have a tight grip on America, even to the point of killing off a lot of mutants, but the public loves them.
• Wham Shot: In issue #4, a dollar in a church collection plate has 'In Mephisto We Trust' on it. Next page we then see the altar of the church has a statue of the devil himself.
• Who Watches the Watchmen?: Really no one, because no one is strong to actually stop them if they needed to. Doctor Spectrum even gouged out the Watcher's eyes.
• Wolverine Publicity: Issue #4 has Thanos on the cover. The story inside, Thanos only appears in a single page, and only during a backstory fight.
• World of Jerkass: A reoccurring theme in both the event and the tie-in issues is driving home how disconnected the Squadron is from the negative impact they have on their rogues and civilians alike, all because of their jingoist might-makes-right mentalities.
• Would Be Rude to Say "Genocide": A common thread in the main series and the tie-ins is that the Squadron went out of their way to personally eliminate any potential force that threatened their, and by extension President Coulson and Mephisto's, hold on the reality. Hyperion slaughtered the majority of the mutants, Doctor Spectrum made it his mission to eliminate any "galactic threat" ^note and by threat, literally, any race or organization such as the Kree, Skrull and Nova Corp and Power Princess made it a sport to personally kill or petrify any deity.
• Would Hurt a Child: Deadpool bashes Miles Morales in the head with a wooden mallet and after tying him up on a roller-coaster intended to set him on fire as a tribute to the Goblin and a shot against Nighthawk. Nighthawk is also more than willing to beat up Miles, even when he claims to want to "help him" while shooting a Death Glare at Kamala and Sam.
• Yandere: In this world, Miles Warren's first foray as the Jackal saw him destroy the school he used to work at under the psychotic belief that it was what kept him and Gwen apart. Flash Thompson quickly follows suit after killing him and stealing the Jackal identity, systematically murdering three random guys just for hitting on Gwen.
• Your Head A-Splode: Most of Galactus's head is gone after Hyperion smashes through it and the guy barely put any effort.
• Your Soul Is Mine!: The Silver Witch casts a spell that conjures a spectral hook on a chain to rip out Blur's soul, planning on keeping it separated from his body until they both wither and die. She argues it shouldn't have been that easy to separate them in the first place as proof that he and the entire world is a falsehood.
• Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: The US and its puppet government in Ottawa consider Alpha Flight terrorists for their raids on security forces. Canadian locals consider them to be heroes and liberators though support is thinning as Alpha Flight has done little except the occasional raid.

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