The Superman Revenge Squad
The team of villains being assembled last month by a mysterious, shadowy figure unite against the Man of Steel as a re-vamped Superman Revenge Squad for the post-Crisis era. In pre-Crisis continuity, the Superman Revenge Squad was a team of mostly nameless villains, but in this version they're all established villains who Superman has recently faced before.
Lex Luthor has a nightmare that he has a son who idolizes Superman. This starts a series of fantasy sequences where everybody imagines what they would do with Superman's powers. Luthor naturally sees himself as the undisputed ruler of Earth. Professor Hamilton envisions himself as a hero of science. Jimmy Olsen dreams of hero worship and sex appeal, Cat Grant would bring back her dead son, and Perry White would use his powers for the good of journalism. Listening to their fantasies, Superman is surprised to discover none of his friends would have chosen to be a hero in the same way that he has. But at the end he meets a child on the street who is inspired by Superman and he concludes he's doing the right thing.
Aside from one page with references to Superman getting married and getting his powers back, this issue reads like an in-between reserve story pulled from the drawer that could have printed at any given time. It even says the next issue is Adventures of Superman #544, which isn't until next month.
The last remaining villains are united for the new Superman Revenge Squad. Riot is abducted by an unseen hand before Superman can apprehend him after a robbery. Misa is recruited by Anomaly, and Maxima breaks Barrage out of Stryker's Island prison.
GBS gives Lori Lemaris a gourmet lunch on a balloon ride to try to persuade her not to sue them for their inaccurate story accusing her of smuggling antiques.
Lex Luthor is upset when he runs a background check on his pregnant wife, the Contessa, and can't even find out how old she really is. Although still under house arrest, he enters a secret passage to go take care of some business downtown.
Clark Kent's old European lady friend, Simone DeNiege, drops by unexpectedly at the Daily Planet. He lets her know he's married now, although she notices he forgot to put his wedding ring back on when he changed from his Superman costume.
At a secret hideout, the new Superman Revenge Squad meets its new benefactor in a tailored suit who brought them all together, although they never even see his face.
At the Daily Planet, managing editor Clark Kent gets his staff to work together with the power of teamwork. But as Superman, he finds out that teamwork can be used for evil as well when the Superman Revenge Squad attacks him.
Their first coordinated attack takes the Man of Steel by surprise, but their team starts to fall apart from distractions. Anomaly chases after a crashed armored car for the money, Barrage turns his sights on the Special Crimes Unit hoping to get his revenge on Maggie Sawyer, and Misa and Maxima start to fight with each other. Back at the base, their mysterious leader gets them to focus and they bring Superman falling down to the ground.
The new Revenge Squad ultimately fails to work together. Riot gets Maxima to turn on their boss and the team is easily defeated without her. Maxima leaves Earth and the others are captured and taken into custody by the S.C.U., although Misa uses one of her illusions to disappear. Maxima will be seen a few more times, again with the Revenge Squad in a few months when we learn the true identity of its leader, and later she'll return for Our Worlds at War in 2000, after which she will then disappear from the Superman books completely.
When asked who their boss is, Riot doesn't know for sure but based on what he saw of his suit and Italian shoes he guesses they were hired by Lex Luthor. But back at the base, the boss gloats to himself that the city will now suspect Lex Luthor while he is left free to operate without interference.
This was a creative re-imagining of a generic villain team that didn't really stand out in pre-Crisis continuity, although this Squad's members are B-list at most. Several more versions of a Superman Revenge Squad would be seen in the coming years, with more noteworthy villains.
Superman #120
Aside from one page with references to Superman getting married and getting his powers back, this issue reads like an in-between reserve story pulled from the drawer that could have printed at any given time. It even says the next issue is Adventures of Superman #544, which isn't until next month.
Adventures of Superman #543
GBS gives Lori Lemaris a gourmet lunch on a balloon ride to try to persuade her not to sue them for their inaccurate story accusing her of smuggling antiques.
Lex Luthor is upset when he runs a background check on his pregnant wife, the Contessa, and can't even find out how old she really is. Although still under house arrest, he enters a secret passage to go take care of some business downtown.
Clark Kent's old European lady friend, Simone DeNiege, drops by unexpectedly at the Daily Planet. He lets her know he's married now, although she notices he forgot to put his wedding ring back on when he changed from his Superman costume.
At a secret hideout, the new Superman Revenge Squad meets its new benefactor in a tailored suit who brought them all together, although they never even see his face.
Action Comics #730
Their first coordinated attack takes the Man of Steel by surprise, but their team starts to fall apart from distractions. Anomaly chases after a crashed armored car for the money, Barrage turns his sights on the Special Crimes Unit hoping to get his revenge on Maggie Sawyer, and Misa and Maxima start to fight with each other. Back at the base, their mysterious leader gets them to focus and they bring Superman falling down to the ground.
Superman: The Man of Steel #65
The new Revenge Squad ultimately fails to work together. Riot gets Maxima to turn on their boss and the team is easily defeated without her. Maxima leaves Earth and the others are captured and taken into custody by the S.C.U., although Misa uses one of her illusions to disappear. Maxima will be seen a few more times, again with the Revenge Squad in a few months when we learn the true identity of its leader, and later she'll return for Our Worlds at War in 2000, after which she will then disappear from the Superman books completely.When asked who their boss is, Riot doesn't know for sure but based on what he saw of his suit and Italian shoes he guesses they were hired by Lex Luthor. But back at the base, the boss gloats to himself that the city will now suspect Lex Luthor while he is left free to operate without interference.
This was a creative re-imagining of a generic villain team that didn't really stand out in pre-Crisis continuity, although this Squad's members are B-list at most. Several more versions of a Superman Revenge Squad would be seen in the coming years, with more noteworthy villains.
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