The flaws in most of the Utopian technologies are pointed out during the series, the only one left out is the hibernaculum, but its flaws are pointed out indirectly earlier in the series when Tom Thumb goes to the future for a panacea cure only to find that people of the future have little need for medicine so they don't seem to have cures for the ailments of modern dying people.
Amphibian's real name, Kingsley Rice, has some Fridge Brilliance to it. At first, it just sounds like a clever, if slightly unusual, name. But compare him with Aquaman, whose real name is Arthur Curry. Kingsley and Arthur can obviously be used to make a comparison to King Arthur, whilst Curry and Rice are two dishes which go very well together. Aside from being based upon Aquaman, Amphibian was also named directly after him!
All the major Squadron members have powersets, skills, weapons and/or paraphernalia that in large measure match their DC inspirations. But Power Princess, the Wonder Woman expy, lacks her counterpart's signature weapons, the Golden Lasso of Truth, and instead wields a transparent, bulletproof shield. The reason for this glaring omission is from a practical story standpoint: Zarda possessed a magic device that could compel anyone to tell the truth would be a Story-Breaker Power in this context. Power Princess would be able to use such a weapon to realize that the general public in large measure does not approve of or want the Squadron's Utopia Initiative, and on a more personal note, there is every chance that she might have unravelled the 616 Hyperion's imposture at some point with an errant, or even playful wrapping of him in her lasso. In a larger overall sense, Power Princess's lack of a magic lasso keeps her from seeing The Truth.
Nuke might have had a point when he cites Nighthawk's pride as the reason he opposes the Utopia proposal and leaves the Squadron. Rather than stay with the team and be the voice of reason, or at the very least, be in a position where he can mitigate the potential damage and/or curtail total catastrophe, Richmond decides to leave in a self-righteous huff and hatch a conspiracy to bring down the Squadron through violence, or at least the threat of same. Hyperion even tells Nighthawk that he should stay to at least work out a smooth transition of power, being clearly open to listen and discuss the matter. Hyperion later goes to Richmond's mansion, almost pleading with his old friend to work things out, but Nighthawk coldly rebuffs and outright ignores him. Nighthawk instead opts to form a conspiracy made up of criminals, ex-Squadron members and previously unknown superhumans to oppose the Squadron by force, to impose his viewpoint on his former teammates- the very thing Nighthawk is opposing the Squadron for. The final battle sees Nighthawk deliver a lecture to a fallen Hyperion that details exactly why the Utopia Program and its accompanying technologies is a bad idea, and it fully convinces his former friend. Nighthawk could have done that in issue #1, sparing all the grief, death and destruction that occurred.
The lineup of the Squadron at the beginning of the maxi-series (excluding Nighthawk) was as follows: an alien whose day job is as a newspaper cartoonist, an ambassador from an isolated society of mutated humans, a fratboy astronaut, a neurotic mail carrier, a semi-popular pop singer, a taxi driver, an inventor with self-image issues, an oceanographer, a medium, an airplane mechanic and a nuclear plant worker barely out of his teens and with severe anger issues. Is it any wonder their attempt to take over the government and improve society failed miserably? You couldn't gather a group of people lees suited to govern a country without recruiting from maximum security prisons and/or insane asylums. It's a wonder their world wasn't even more f-ed up.
The Evil Hyperion's main motivation in pursuing Thundra, and later, Power Princess, is his lack of success in finding a woman who could, in his words, "stand up to lovin' without gettin' pulped". This is an understandable problem for a man whose skin can withstand the detonation of an atomic bomb and can break steel in one hand, but just imagine how a criminal with the power of a god went about testing this situation, and how many women he... went through.
Behavior modifying criminals so that they will no longer be a threat to others or otherwise be a detriment to society sounds like a good idea on paper, but making these people unable to perform violent acts could put them in serious jeopardy. An non-brainwashed individual with criminal intent could break into a behavior modified ex-con's home, and the ex-con would be totally powerless to defend his home, or protect himself and/or his loved ones. Even worse- said ex-con would be unable to defend themselves and be totally at the mercy of someone seeking to punish them against them for their past crimes.
As part of arch criminal Master Menace's plan, the original, heroic Hyperion was shunted into a shadow dimension from which he had no means to escape for a month. Even worse, while trapped for that month, he had to watch from a spontaneously generating scrying pool as the 616 Hyperion went about his evil business of not only impersonating him, but deceiving, seducing, and eventually winning over Power Princess. For a solid month, Hyperion had to watch someone commit rape by deception against a good friend and valued teammate, with no censor. And IN HIS NAME. No wonder Hyperion-712 wanted to kill his evil doppleganger so badly.
Ape X's fate. She succumbs to a Logic Bomb by virtue of the Squadron's brainwashing coupled with her discovery of secret Redeemer Moonglow's treachery. Aside from one, final primal scream, she is rendered unable to speak, at least in any coherent manner. But due to her reacting when Hyperion discovers her and flies her away, Ape X is at the very least aware of her surroundings: she is just unable to interact with them. One of the most hellish examples of And I Must Scream imaginable.
Albert Gaines (Nuke) unknowingly and tragically condemned his loving parents to a slow a lingering death by cancer just by living with them. As a member of the Squadron, he undoubtedly spent a great deal of time in their close vicinity, especially during the Overmind takeover and its aftermath. It's entirely possible that Tom Thumb, who Nuke entreated to find a cure for his parents' condition, contracted cancer (or at least had it exacerbated) by Al hanging around him so often near the end. Hyperion (and possibly Power Princess and Amphibian) may be somewhat less at risk, but the rest of the team members should probably pay a visit to their physician...
