Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: The Nightmare Warriors
Encyclopedia
Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: The Nightmare Warriors is a six-issue limited series
comic book
written by Jeff Katz and James Kuhoric, with art by Jason Craig
. The series was published by Dynamite Entertainment
and DC Comics
, with imprint by Wildstorm
, beginning in August 2009 and concluding in December 2009. The Nightmare Warriors is a sequel to Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash
, which was published in 2007 and was itself a sequel to the 2003 film Freddy vs. Jason
. The series is a crossover
between the Nightmare on Elm Street
, Friday the 13th, and Evil Dead
horror film
franchises
.
The Nightmare Warriors sees Freddy Krueger
and Jason Voorhees
resurrected by the United States government, who wish to exploit their supernatural
powers; however, the government is unable to control them, and the killers attempt to take over the world using the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. Meanwhile, Ash Williams
joins forces with the Nightmare Warriors, a support group for people who have survived encounters with Freddy and/or Jason which consists of numerous established characters from the A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th franchises, to defeat Freddy and Jason for good.
Katz and Kuhoric wrote the sequel as an epic "fanboy story", and modeled the concept after the Crisis
events from DC Comics
. The titular Nightmare Warriors were designed as a Justice League
-style superhero
team. The writers attempted to take the three separate mythologies and combine them into one coherent continuity
.
, who awakens and kills them. Prompted by Freddy Krueger
posing as his mother
, Jason leaves Crystal Lake in search of Ash Williams
. Six months later, Ash is living in Franklin, Michigan
with his girlfriend Caroline, believing his days of fighting monsters are behind him. While preparing to host a backyard barbecue Ash is visited by Doctor Maggie Burroughs, who tries to convince him to join a group started by herself and Doctor Neil Gordon consisting of people who have fought and survived "unnatural evils". Annoyed by his visitor, Ash sends Maggie away before going to the store for supplies for the party, leaving Caroline alone. Elsewhere Stephanie Kimble and Alice Johnson experience visions of Jason and Freddy, while Jason attacks and kills Caroline. Meanwhile, at the Pentagon
, Russell reveals his plan to create an army of demonic soldiers using the Necronomicon.
After discovering Caroline's body, Ash flees the scene as the police arrive, not noticing a man in a hummer
spying on him. At his headquarters, Russell uses a combination modern technology and the Necronomicon to pull an unburnt and seemingly powerless Freddy Krueger out of Deadites' realm to Earth. Ash boards a train to Baltimore
, Maryland
to look for Maggie and her group and Jason follows him by stowing away in the vehicle's boxcar
. Stephanie, her father Steven, Alice, and her son Jacob show up at Maggie and Neil's house, where Tina Shepard and Rennie Wickham are already living. When Ash arrives, Maggie gets everyone settled and begins to tell them about her and Neil's goals. They are interrupted by Jason, who comes crashing through the door and kills Steven. As Ash arms himself, the man in the hummer drives through the wall of the house and rams into Jason. Everyone escapes, and their savior introduces himself as Tommy Jarvis.
Government agents show up at Maggie and Neil's house and take Jason down with bullets and missiles. Meanwhile, the survivors take refuge at a motel and Maggie suggests they visit her father, Gordon Russell, to use the Necronomicon to defeat the killers. Unimpressed, Tommy breaks away from the group and goes solo. At the Capitol
, Jason is put in a holding cell full of Deadites. He is visited mentally by Freddy, who proposes that they team up to massacre the world. Jason accepts when he hears that his old enemies—including Tommy—will be coming for them. Freddy appoints him the general of his Deadite army and repairs his decomposed body. Meanwhile, the group (minus Stephanie and Jacob, who remain at the motel) also arrive at the Capitol and are locked up, with the exception of Maggie, Neil, and Rennie, who Russell takes to visit Freddy. Freddy transforms back into his burned, demonic form, and reveals that he has bonded with the Necronomicon and possesses all of its powers. Russell attacks Freddy with his own glove, but Maggie turns the blades back on him and kills him. She reveals her true identity as Freddy's daughter, Kathryn Krueger, and attacks Neil and Rennie. Tina feels the psychic impact of Rennie's death, and uses her telekinesis to break out of her cell. As she, Ash, and Alice escape, Jason and his army of Deadites descend on Washington.
Ash, Tina, and Alice fight and destroy a Freddy-controlled robot to acquire the Necronomicon. Meanwhile, Tommy confronts Jason on the streets of Washington as he and the Deadites cut a swath of destruction across the city. While opening fire on his nemesis, Tommy is attacked by winged Deadites, who take him to Freddy. Back at the motel, Jacob and Stephanie fall asleep, and Freddy possesses the latter. Stephanie/Freddy seduces and attacks Jacob, forcing him to call out to his mother. Alice hears her son's cries and uses her Dream Master powers to transport herself, Ash, and Tina into Jacob's nightmare. Immobilizing Ash during the fight, Freddy flays
Stephanie alive and escapes with Jacob. Still in the dreamscape, Tina and Alice put Stephanie's skin back on and she wakes up physically unharmed. At the White House
, Tommy and Jacob are held hostage by Freddy, Jason, and Maggie. Disguised as the President
, Freddy addresses the nation, describing his new policy "no kid left alive" and the carnage he plans to cause all over the globe. Having seen Freddy's broadcast, Ash and the girls break into a nearby pawn shop for weaponry and head to the White House.
As it literally rains blood in Washington, Ash, Alice, Tina, and Stephanie plan their way into the White House. Upset by Ash and Alice's bickering, the traumatized Stephanie wanders off alone. The group are provided the distraction they need to get in when an army of soldiers arrive to rescue the President. Tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets battle the Deadites, but the soldiers suffer heavy losses and Freddy manifests in the clouds to blast the helicopters out of the sky. Elsewhere, Stephanie passes out and finds herself back in the dream world. She arrives at a church and meets Freddy posing as a priest; he informs her that, as member of the Voorhees family, it is her destiny to become a murderer like Jason. Clad in a hockey mask, Stephanie leaves the church to fulfill her birthright and kill Jason. Back at the White House, Maggie and Jason break out in a fight, but are interrupted by Tina, who telekinetically lands a tank in the middle of the room
, killing Maggie, much to Freddy's anger. As Ash rescues Neil, Jacob, and Tommy, Alice confronts Freddy face-to-face. She reveals that she has a terminal illness and that her Dream Master abilities are weakened, so allows Freddy to kill her so she can pass her power over to Jacob. As she dies, she releases the souls of the people Freddy has killed over the years. Furious at his mother's death, Jacob declares he is the Dream Master now, surrounded by the spirits of Amanda Krueger and the Dream Warriors
.
Amanda and the other souls successfully destroy the Deadite army, but Freddy quickly severs their connection to Earth by mortally wounding Jacob. As Tina tends to Jacob and Ash battles Freddy, Tommy takes it upon himself to deal with Jason. In a closely matched fight, he taunts Jason for never being able to kill him. Stephanie appears and impales her uncle with a machete; this distraction provides Tommy the opportunity to decapitate Jason with a shard of glass. However, Freddy exploits this victory by absorbing Jason's soul to increase his own power. As Neil struggles to read the Necronomicon' s passages to banish Krueger, he is joined by the spirit of Nancy Thompson; together Neil and Nancy recite the words
to open the Deadite's dimension. Freddy resists the vortex, until the Necronomicon itself declares him unworthy and strips him of his power. The human Freddy begs for forgiveness, but Ash mercilessly blasts him into the vortex with his shotgun, citing his own lack of a 'storybook ending'. At the same time, Nancy leaves Neil to rejoin the other spirits. Around the same time, we see Jason's hand feeling for his head, with Mrs. Voorhees' voice telling Jason that he can never die. The next morning, Ash bids farewell to Tommy, Tina, Neil, Jacob, and Stephanie, appointing Tommy the new captain of the "Nightmare Warriors". In 1964 Springwood, a time displaced and disoriented Agent Wesley Carter, who had been sucked into the Necronomicon's vortex, finds himself in the Springwood Police Department on the day of Freddy's arrest, and impulsively signs Freddy's paperwork when he finds his file on a desk in front of him, altering history.
to A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Katz's favorite entry of that series. Kuhoric feels the title is fitting since Nightmare Warriors is a survivor's story.
The writers' biggest concern was making sure the characters' voices felt accurate. James Kuhoric says, "A licensed comic book's first priority has to be that the actions and dialog are true to the series they comes from. As a fan, I can't stand picking up any book that reads like the writer didn't watch the show. It's sad to say, but I've read far more bad licensed stuff than good." The writers held several discussions debating how the characters should act in certain scenes. Jeff Katz asserts that Freddy and Ash are "defined by their tones", so getting their voices right was crucial; he feels the success of the first Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash came from their accurate characterization. However, artist Jason Craig feels that "it's a tightrope to walk"; he enjoys Freddy's wisecracks but prefers the character to be darker, stating "People forget he was a child killer. He was a very sadistic man." Discussing the relationship between Freddy and Ash, Craig says that "it's almost like watching two stand up comedians try to kill each other".
Katz points out that, after two previous confrontations, "Freddy and Jason are extremely familiar with each other at this point. Maybe the only person they dislike more than each other is Ash." While Jason wants personal revenge on Ash, Freddy's goals are "a bit larger or ambitious in scope". Katz says, "[Freddy]'s looking to clear the board of any threat or nuisance before he launches his final gambit. I can promise relationships will evolve in some very interesting ways in this one." He compares Ash's story in the series to Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen
) in Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult; "he's trying to embrace domestic life but often can't get out of his own way. The trusty old chainsaw is mounted on the mantle over the fireplace at this point. He's very much retired. But he'll learn very quickly that the Chosen One will never be able to retire. It's an eternal quest, really." However, Katz says that Ash "is not alone in this battle" and that there are other survivors like him, "people with special skills or purposes that have guided them successfully through encounters with Freddy or Jason". He asks, "who doesn't want to see Ash and Tommy Jarvis fight for the alpha male
slot? That's too rich an opportunity to pass up."
Katz describes Tommy as "the wild card in our group". His sole priority is to kill Jason and "[e]verything else is incidental". The writers enjoyed developing the "natural rivalry" between Ash and Tommy; Craig compares them to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
, "these two men, who when together are completely at odds against one another, two alpha males, but when things get tough, the two find themselves working together side by side". Kuhoric believes Tommy is a "Chosen One" like Ash, albeit with "a different approach to his supernatural calling". He compares Jason's relationship to Tommy to that between Captain Ahab and Moby Dick
; "it is Tommy who has escaped from Jason's clutches time and time again".
Kuhoric describes the returning survivors from the films as "a huge part of the overall story arc". He explains, "See, there is something special about people who managed to survive encounters with Freddy and Jason. They have an inner strength that makes their souls much more powerful to our maniac killers. And it's that same inner strength that makes them a threat, especially the ultimate F13 survivor, Tommy Jarvis." According to Kuhoric, the characters of The Nightmare Warriors are all "chosen ones", "led by the one true Chosen One, Ash Williams". Katz says "Exploring the dynamic between all of these characters has been a lot of fun and it's something I think the fans will hugely enjoy", while Craig reveals "One of the things we tried to do was connect all the dots and bring all three storylines together in one linear history". Jason Craig describes the story as "X-Files
meets horror", due to the government's involvement. He points out how this vaguely foreshadows
Jason X
, set chronologically after Nightmare Warriors, in which Jason has been captured by the government, who wish to turn his regenerative
abilities into a weapon. Craig says, "This is a story that gets out of camp grounds, or cabins in the woods, and takes place at our nation's capital".
The Nightmare Warriors was originally designed as a 12-issue maxi-series, and it was up to Kuhoric to condense it to six issues. Katz was pleased with the result, claiming "All the major beats are there everyone gets their time to shine. [Kuhoric]'s terrific at retaining the tone of these characters, which isn't easy to do when you're juggling so many voices. Katz summarizes The Nightmare Warriors as a "labor of love", and a "love letter to these characters as well as the survivors we've come to know and love over the years". He asks readers to think of the series as being "for fans, by fans". Craig labels it a "fan boy's wet dream
", saying "This is the DC Crisis
of horror. This is the movie they could never afford to make".
. Craig was concerned with capturing the physical likenesses and mannerisms of the characters. He explains, "Freddy isn't some man that slashes maniacally like a super villain, he has panache. Robert Englund told me once that the character moves in dance steps, foot over foot, very elegant, it's Fosse
moves. Remove his glove and add a top hat and cane and he is no longer Fred Krueger, he's Fred Astaire
." Craig compares Jason's body language to that of a shark
, "turning his head and the body follows, keeping in a straight line until something better comes along". He says that once he began to understand the characters' mannerisms, he started to see them come to life on the page.
Craig tried to maintain consistency with his work on the original Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash comic, but says that he was "not really experimenting as much as just having fun and trying things I would want to see". He based the characters' looks on the Freddy vs. Jason movie, but also cites Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood as an inspiration for Jason's appearance. According to him, "Freddy's never had a consistent look, and Ash is always Ash, so it really goes back to focusing more on keeping the look of the first series which was a continuation of the FvJ Ronny Yu
film." In The Nightmare Warriors, Jason still bears the injuries he suffered in the first Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash series. His mask is shot in half, displaying his teeth, and his left arm is cut off with a machete imbedded in the stump. Craig claims it was difficult to keep track of these injuries panel-to-panel, but was especially proud of the "half mask" look, a design he would like to see incorporated into the Friday the 13th films one day. He says, "It's a way to show Jason's emotions under the mask while still keeping him mysterious, and it's also a way to give him this Grim Reaper
look especially when you see him in shadow.
Discussing the level of gore in the story, Kurhoric says, "Jason Craig is scary when it comes to the amount of detail he puts into his death scenes. [...] He lives for gore and tries to one up each panel in intensity." He describes The Nightmare Warriors as "a blood bath of epic proportions", and says that the creative team took the "big screen sequel approach" of increasing the action and violence. Katz elaborates, "Like any good sequel, the mantra is bigger and better. We're looking to up the ante and top ourselves. This premise is inherently larger scale and more epic in nature, so that lends itself to blowing open the artwork." Using the MPAA rating system as an analogy, Katz labels Nightmare Warriors a hard-R in terms of gore", saying "we're hardly scrimping on the red stuff. It's just presented on a much larger canvas this time". In contrast, Craig claims that the gore was "toned down maybe just a tad to compromise more with the Army of Darkness franchise". He explains that the Evil Dead/Army of Darkness movies "have an obvious humor in the gore" which makes it easier to swallow than that of the Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th kills, which are "grounded more in reality". His artistic aim was to "show the brutality without showing some of the intense gore yet still leave you with that feeling that you saw something horrible".
's Jesse Schedeen claimed there is a lot to dislike about Nightmare Warriors, "but only if you approach it from the wrong mindset". Provided readers expect no more than a "camp romp", he admitted that the issue is fun and humorous. Schedeen also praised Craig's "snazzy pencils", stating "as long as the story is going the goofball route, there's no reason the art can't follow suit". Mike Fish of Fangoria
felt that #1 signaled an improvement over the "mediocre" first series, as the writers dropped the "cut and paste a movie" formula and replaced with a "refreshing start to an intriquing matchup". Fish praised the initial focus on Jason and Ash and the more "mature" writing from Katz and Kuhoric. He described the art as "kick ass", since it resembles the films without looking photocopied. However, he noted that Craig's Ash seems based on Bruce Campbell in Bubba Ho-tep
, which "disrupts the characterization of Ash a little bit".
Total Sci-Fi Online's James Skipp believed that #1 struggles to balance its three main characters, with the Freddy story coming across as "a little intrusive and confusing". He also criticized Ash's characterization, believing that he was "more of a straightforward hero here [...] than the self-deprecating fellow of the Evil Dead movies", but admitted it was hard to capture the character's "idiosyncratic charm" without Bruce Campbell. Skipp summarized that the issue was adequate for its concept.
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
written by Jeff Katz and James Kuhoric, with art by Jason Craig
Jason Craig
Jason Craig is an American comic book artist residing in Illinois.-Career:Jason Craig started his career in Chicago, in 1991, working on and off for various publishers before moving away to pursue a full time career in advertising...
. The series was published by Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book company that primarily publishes licensed franchises of adaptations of other media. These include adaptations of film properties such as Army of Darkness, Terminator and RoboCop, literary properties such as Zorro, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Alice in...
and DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, with imprint by Wildstorm
Wildstorm
WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
, beginning in August 2009 and concluding in December 2009. The Nightmare Warriors is a sequel to Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash
Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash
Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash is a six-issue comic book limited series that was released in November 2007 and ran until March 2008. It was published by Wildstorm, Dynamite Entertainment, and DC Comics. Based on the original Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash film treatment by Jeff Katz, the story serves as a...
, which was published in 2007 and was itself a sequel to the 2003 film Freddy vs. Jason
Freddy vs. Jason
Freddy vs. Jason is a 2003 American slasher film directed by Ronny Yu. The film is a crossover between the A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th franchises...
. The series is a crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
between the Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise)
A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American horror franchise that consists of nine slasher films, a television show, novels, and comic books. The franchise began with the film series created by Wes Craven. The franchise is based on the fictional character Freddy Krueger, introduced in A Nightmare on...
, Friday the 13th, and Evil Dead
The Evil Dead (franchise)
The Evil Dead is a trilogy of horror films created by Sam Raimi. The films focus on the protagonist, Ashley "Ash" J. Williams, played by Bruce Campbell, who deals with "deadites", which are undead antagonists created by the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. The film series has since expanded into other...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
franchises
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
.
The Nightmare Warriors sees Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger
Frederick Charles "Freddy" Krueger is a fictional, horrifying character from the Nightmare on Elm Street series of horror films. He first appears in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street as a disfigured dream stalker who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams,...
and Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees is a fictional character from the Friday the 13th series of slasher films. He first appeared in Friday the 13th , as the son of camp cook-turned-murderer, Mrs. Voorhees, in which he was portrayed by Ari Lehman. Created by Victor Miller, with contributions by Ron Kurz, Sean S...
resurrected by the United States government, who wish to exploit their supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
powers; however, the government is unable to control them, and the killers attempt to take over the world using the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. Meanwhile, Ash Williams
Ash Williams
Ashley J. "Ash" Williams is the protagonist in the Evil Dead horror film franchise, played by Bruce Campbell, and created by director Sam Raimi. Throughout the series, Ash has to face off against his loved ones inside an abandoned cabin as they are possessed by "deadites", the evil souls of the dead...
joins forces with the Nightmare Warriors, a support group for people who have survived encounters with Freddy and/or Jason which consists of numerous established characters from the A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th franchises, to defeat Freddy and Jason for good.
Katz and Kuhoric wrote the sequel as an epic "fanboy story", and modeled the concept after the Crisis
Crisis (DC Comics)
A crisis in the DC Universe is an event with potentially great consequences, often involving multiple universes and sometimes even threatening their existence....
events from DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. The titular Nightmare Warriors were designed as a Justice League
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
-style superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
team. The writers attempted to take the three separate mythologies and combine them into one coherent continuity
Continuity (fiction)
In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
.
Plot
A group of government agents led by Director Gordon Russell excavate Crystal Lake for the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, which they plan to use for "Project Black Book". As Russell leaves with the book, the remaining agents go underwater to retrieve the body of Jason VoorheesJason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees is a fictional character from the Friday the 13th series of slasher films. He first appeared in Friday the 13th , as the son of camp cook-turned-murderer, Mrs. Voorhees, in which he was portrayed by Ari Lehman. Created by Victor Miller, with contributions by Ron Kurz, Sean S...
, who awakens and kills them. Prompted by Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger
Frederick Charles "Freddy" Krueger is a fictional, horrifying character from the Nightmare on Elm Street series of horror films. He first appears in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street as a disfigured dream stalker who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams,...
posing as his mother
Pamela Voorhees
Pamela Sue Voorhees is a fictional character in the Friday the 13th films, and the antagonist of the original Friday the 13th film. She is a former camp cook and the mother of Jason Voorhees, the main character of the series....
, Jason leaves Crystal Lake in search of Ash Williams
Ash Williams
Ashley J. "Ash" Williams is the protagonist in the Evil Dead horror film franchise, played by Bruce Campbell, and created by director Sam Raimi. Throughout the series, Ash has to face off against his loved ones inside an abandoned cabin as they are possessed by "deadites", the evil souls of the dead...
. Six months later, Ash is living in Franklin, Michigan
Franklin, Michigan
Franklin is a village in Southfield Township, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,150 at the 2010 census. The community is known for large, estate-style homes situated on ravines, as well as its vintage downtown and cider mill....
with his girlfriend Caroline, believing his days of fighting monsters are behind him. While preparing to host a backyard barbecue Ash is visited by Doctor Maggie Burroughs, who tries to convince him to join a group started by herself and Doctor Neil Gordon consisting of people who have fought and survived "unnatural evils". Annoyed by his visitor, Ash sends Maggie away before going to the store for supplies for the party, leaving Caroline alone. Elsewhere Stephanie Kimble and Alice Johnson experience visions of Jason and Freddy, while Jason attacks and kills Caroline. Meanwhile, at the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
, Russell reveals his plan to create an army of demonic soldiers using the Necronomicon.
After discovering Caroline's body, Ash flees the scene as the police arrive, not noticing a man in a hummer
Hummer
Hummer was a brand of trucks and SUVs, first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. In 1998, General Motors purchased the brand name and marketed three vehicles: the original Hummer H1, based on the Humvee; and the H2 and H3 models that were...
spying on him. At his headquarters, Russell uses a combination modern technology and the Necronomicon to pull an unburnt and seemingly powerless Freddy Krueger out of Deadites' realm to Earth. Ash boards a train to Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
to look for Maggie and her group and Jason follows him by stowing away in the vehicle's boxcar
Boxcar
A boxcar is a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry general freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is probably the most versatile, since it can carry most loads...
. Stephanie, her father Steven, Alice, and her son Jacob show up at Maggie and Neil's house, where Tina Shepard and Rennie Wickham are already living. When Ash arrives, Maggie gets everyone settled and begins to tell them about her and Neil's goals. They are interrupted by Jason, who comes crashing through the door and kills Steven. As Ash arms himself, the man in the hummer drives through the wall of the house and rams into Jason. Everyone escapes, and their savior introduces himself as Tommy Jarvis.
Government agents show up at Maggie and Neil's house and take Jason down with bullets and missiles. Meanwhile, the survivors take refuge at a motel and Maggie suggests they visit her father, Gordon Russell, to use the Necronomicon to defeat the killers. Unimpressed, Tommy breaks away from the group and goes solo. At the Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
, Jason is put in a holding cell full of Deadites. He is visited mentally by Freddy, who proposes that they team up to massacre the world. Jason accepts when he hears that his old enemies—including Tommy—will be coming for them. Freddy appoints him the general of his Deadite army and repairs his decomposed body. Meanwhile, the group (minus Stephanie and Jacob, who remain at the motel) also arrive at the Capitol and are locked up, with the exception of Maggie, Neil, and Rennie, who Russell takes to visit Freddy. Freddy transforms back into his burned, demonic form, and reveals that he has bonded with the Necronomicon and possesses all of its powers. Russell attacks Freddy with his own glove, but Maggie turns the blades back on him and kills him. She reveals her true identity as Freddy's daughter, Kathryn Krueger, and attacks Neil and Rennie. Tina feels the psychic impact of Rennie's death, and uses her telekinesis to break out of her cell. As she, Ash, and Alice escape, Jason and his army of Deadites descend on Washington.
Ash, Tina, and Alice fight and destroy a Freddy-controlled robot to acquire the Necronomicon. Meanwhile, Tommy confronts Jason on the streets of Washington as he and the Deadites cut a swath of destruction across the city. While opening fire on his nemesis, Tommy is attacked by winged Deadites, who take him to Freddy. Back at the motel, Jacob and Stephanie fall asleep, and Freddy possesses the latter. Stephanie/Freddy seduces and attacks Jacob, forcing him to call out to his mother. Alice hears her son's cries and uses her Dream Master powers to transport herself, Ash, and Tina into Jacob's nightmare. Immobilizing Ash during the fight, Freddy flays
Flaying
Flaying is the removal of skin from the body. Generally, an attempt is made to keep the removed portion of skin intact.-Scope:An animal may be flayed in preparation for human consumption, or for its hide or fur; this is more commonly called skinning....
Stephanie alive and escapes with Jacob. Still in the dreamscape, Tina and Alice put Stephanie's skin back on and she wakes up physically unharmed. At the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, Tommy and Jacob are held hostage by Freddy, Jason, and Maggie. Disguised as the President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, Freddy addresses the nation, describing his new policy "no kid left alive" and the carnage he plans to cause all over the globe. Having seen Freddy's broadcast, Ash and the girls break into a nearby pawn shop for weaponry and head to the White House.
As it literally rains blood in Washington, Ash, Alice, Tina, and Stephanie plan their way into the White House. Upset by Ash and Alice's bickering, the traumatized Stephanie wanders off alone. The group are provided the distraction they need to get in when an army of soldiers arrive to rescue the President. Tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets battle the Deadites, but the soldiers suffer heavy losses and Freddy manifests in the clouds to blast the helicopters out of the sky. Elsewhere, Stephanie passes out and finds herself back in the dream world. She arrives at a church and meets Freddy posing as a priest; he informs her that, as member of the Voorhees family, it is her destiny to become a murderer like Jason. Clad in a hockey mask, Stephanie leaves the church to fulfill her birthright and kill Jason. Back at the White House, Maggie and Jason break out in a fight, but are interrupted by Tina, who telekinetically lands a tank in the middle of the room
Oval Office
The Oval Office, located in the West Wing of the White House, is the official office of the President of the United States.The room features three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk, and a fireplace at the north end...
, killing Maggie, much to Freddy's anger. As Ash rescues Neil, Jacob, and Tommy, Alice confronts Freddy face-to-face. She reveals that she has a terminal illness and that her Dream Master abilities are weakened, so allows Freddy to kill her so she can pass her power over to Jacob. As she dies, she releases the souls of the people Freddy has killed over the years. Furious at his mother's death, Jacob declares he is the Dream Master now, surrounded by the spirits of Amanda Krueger and the Dream Warriors
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors is a 1987 slasher film and the third film in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. The film was directed by Chuck Russell and starred Heather Langenkamp, Craig Wasson, Robert Englund and Patricia Arquette in her first role.- Plot :Six years after the events...
.
Amanda and the other souls successfully destroy the Deadite army, but Freddy quickly severs their connection to Earth by mortally wounding Jacob. As Tina tends to Jacob and Ash battles Freddy, Tommy takes it upon himself to deal with Jason. In a closely matched fight, he taunts Jason for never being able to kill him. Stephanie appears and impales her uncle with a machete; this distraction provides Tommy the opportunity to decapitate Jason with a shard of glass. However, Freddy exploits this victory by absorbing Jason's soul to increase his own power. As Neil struggles to read the Necronomicon
Klaatu barada nikto
"Klaatu barada nikto" is a phrase originating from the 1951 science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still. "Klaatu" is the name of the humanoid alien protagonist in the film. Klaatu commanded Helen Benson that, were anything to happen to him, she must utter the phrase to the robot Gort...
to open the Deadite's dimension. Freddy resists the vortex, until the Necronomicon itself declares him unworthy and strips him of his power. The human Freddy begs for forgiveness, but Ash mercilessly blasts him into the vortex with his shotgun, citing his own lack of a 'storybook ending'. At the same time, Nancy leaves Neil to rejoin the other spirits. Around the same time, we see Jason's hand feeling for his head, with Mrs. Voorhees' voice telling Jason that he can never die. The next morning, Ash bids farewell to Tommy, Tina, Neil, Jacob, and Stephanie, appointing Tommy the new captain of the "Nightmare Warriors". In 1964 Springwood, a time displaced and disoriented Agent Wesley Carter, who had been sucked into the Necronomicon's vortex, finds himself in the Springwood Police Department on the day of Freddy's arrest, and impulsively signs Freddy's paperwork when he finds his file on a desk in front of him, altering history.
Writing
Co-writer Jeff Katz had plans for The Nightmare Warriors as soon as the first Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash moved from film to the comic book medium. He says, "I basically knew most of the larger strokes of what I'd want to do to cap the Vs. "trilogy", so to speak. In many ways, it's very simply been about - "What would I most want to see as a fan?" And as a fan of these franchises, what I appreciate more than anything is a sense of continuity." Katz claims that these horror franchises were always best when they carried characters over from film to film, and that the aim of Nightmare Warriors was "about tying everything together". The subtitle, The Nightmare Warriors, was homageHomage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Katz's favorite entry of that series. Kuhoric feels the title is fitting since Nightmare Warriors is a survivor's story.
| "With remakes of Friday Friday the 13th (2009 film) Friday the 13th is a 2009 American slasher film directed by Marcus Nispel and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It is a reboot of the Friday the 13th film series, which began in 1980 and the twelfth Friday the 13th film in total... and now Nightmare A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010 film) A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 2010 American slasher film directed by Samuel Bayer, and written by Wesley Strick and Eric Heisserer. The film stars Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Rooney Mara, Katie Cassidy, Thomas Dekker and Kellan Lutz... , we are in many ways the stewards of the classic continuity and it's a responsibility we don't take lightly." |
| — Jeff Katz on what the series means to him. |
The writers' biggest concern was making sure the characters' voices felt accurate. James Kuhoric says, "A licensed comic book's first priority has to be that the actions and dialog are true to the series they comes from. As a fan, I can't stand picking up any book that reads like the writer didn't watch the show. It's sad to say, but I've read far more bad licensed stuff than good." The writers held several discussions debating how the characters should act in certain scenes. Jeff Katz asserts that Freddy and Ash are "defined by their tones", so getting their voices right was crucial; he feels the success of the first Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash came from their accurate characterization. However, artist Jason Craig feels that "it's a tightrope to walk"; he enjoys Freddy's wisecracks but prefers the character to be darker, stating "People forget he was a child killer. He was a very sadistic man." Discussing the relationship between Freddy and Ash, Craig says that "it's almost like watching two stand up comedians try to kill each other".
Katz points out that, after two previous confrontations, "Freddy and Jason are extremely familiar with each other at this point. Maybe the only person they dislike more than each other is Ash." While Jason wants personal revenge on Ash, Freddy's goals are "a bit larger or ambitious in scope". Katz says, "[Freddy]'s looking to clear the board of any threat or nuisance before he launches his final gambit. I can promise relationships will evolve in some very interesting ways in this one." He compares Ash's story in the series to Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
) in Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult; "he's trying to embrace domestic life but often can't get out of his own way. The trusty old chainsaw is mounted on the mantle over the fireplace at this point. He's very much retired. But he'll learn very quickly that the Chosen One will never be able to retire. It's an eternal quest, really." However, Katz says that Ash "is not alone in this battle" and that there are other survivors like him, "people with special skills or purposes that have guided them successfully through encounters with Freddy or Jason". He asks, "who doesn't want to see Ash and Tommy Jarvis fight for the alpha male
Alpha (biology)
In social animals, the alpha is the individual in the community with the highest rank. Where one male and one female fulfill this role, they are referred to as the alpha pair...
slot? That's too rich an opportunity to pass up."
| "I'd say that if Ash is Superman Superman Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective... , the Nightmare Warriors are his Justice League Justice League The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics.... ." |
| — Jeff Katz compares the characters to a comic book superhero Superhero A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —... team. |
Katz describes Tommy as "the wild card in our group". His sole priority is to kill Jason and "[e]verything else is incidental". The writers enjoyed developing the "natural rivalry" between Ash and Tommy; Craig compares them to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 American Western film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman...
, "these two men, who when together are completely at odds against one another, two alpha males, but when things get tough, the two find themselves working together side by side". Kuhoric believes Tommy is a "Chosen One" like Ash, albeit with "a different approach to his supernatural calling". He compares Jason's relationship to Tommy to that between Captain Ahab and Moby Dick
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
; "it is Tommy who has escaped from Jason's clutches time and time again".
Kuhoric describes the returning survivors from the films as "a huge part of the overall story arc". He explains, "See, there is something special about people who managed to survive encounters with Freddy and Jason. They have an inner strength that makes their souls much more powerful to our maniac killers. And it's that same inner strength that makes them a threat, especially the ultimate F13 survivor, Tommy Jarvis." According to Kuhoric, the characters of The Nightmare Warriors are all "chosen ones", "led by the one true Chosen One, Ash Williams". Katz says "Exploring the dynamic between all of these characters has been a lot of fun and it's something I think the fans will hugely enjoy", while Craig reveals "One of the things we tried to do was connect all the dots and bring all three storylines together in one linear history". Jason Craig describes the story as "X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
meets horror", due to the government's involvement. He points out how this vaguely foreshadows
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing or adumbrating is a literary device in which an author indistinctly suggests certain plot developments that might come later in the story.-Repetitive designation and Chekhov's gun:...
Jason X
Jason X
Jason X is a 2002 science fiction horror slasher film directed by James Isaac. It is the tenth in the Friday the 13th film series and stars Kane Hodder as the undead mass murderer Jason Voorhees, the film made $16,951,798 worldwide with a budget of $14 million...
, set chronologically after Nightmare Warriors, in which Jason has been captured by the government, who wish to turn his regenerative
Regeneration (biology)
In biology, regeneration is the process of renewal, restoration, and growth that makes genomes, cells, organs, organisms, and ecosystems resilient to natural fluctuations or events that cause disturbance or damage. Every species is capable of regeneration, from bacteria to humans. At its most...
abilities into a weapon. Craig says, "This is a story that gets out of camp grounds, or cabins in the woods, and takes place at our nation's capital".
The Nightmare Warriors was originally designed as a 12-issue maxi-series, and it was up to Kuhoric to condense it to six issues. Katz was pleased with the result, claiming "All the major beats are there everyone gets their time to shine. [Kuhoric]'s terrific at retaining the tone of these characters, which isn't easy to do when you're juggling so many voices. Katz summarizes The Nightmare Warriors as a "labor of love", and a "love letter to these characters as well as the survivors we've come to know and love over the years". He asks readers to think of the series as being "for fans, by fans". Craig labels it a "fan boy's wet dream
Nocturnal emission
A nocturnal emission involves either ejaculation during sleep for a male, or lubrication of the vagina for a female. It is also called a wet dream, and is sometimes considered a type of spontaneous orgasm....
", saying "This is the DC Crisis
Crisis (DC Comics)
A crisis in the DC Universe is an event with potentially great consequences, often involving multiple universes and sometimes even threatening their existence....
of horror. This is the movie they could never afford to make".
Artwork
The Nightmare Warriors is drawn by Jason Craig, who previously worked on the first Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash and Wildstorm's Nightmare on Elm Street comicsA Nightmare on Elm Street (comics)
The popularity of the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series has led to several comic book series published by Marvel Comics, Innovation Publishing, Trident Comics, Avatar Press and WildStorm Productions. After the success of Freddy vs...
. Craig was concerned with capturing the physical likenesses and mannerisms of the characters. He explains, "Freddy isn't some man that slashes maniacally like a super villain, he has panache. Robert Englund told me once that the character moves in dance steps, foot over foot, very elegant, it's Fosse
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
moves. Remove his glove and add a top hat and cane and he is no longer Fred Krueger, he's Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
." Craig compares Jason's body language to that of a shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
, "turning his head and the body follows, keeping in a straight line until something better comes along". He says that once he began to understand the characters' mannerisms, he started to see them come to life on the page.
Craig tried to maintain consistency with his work on the original Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash comic, but says that he was "not really experimenting as much as just having fun and trying things I would want to see". He based the characters' looks on the Freddy vs. Jason movie, but also cites Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood as an inspiration for Jason's appearance. According to him, "Freddy's never had a consistent look, and Ash is always Ash, so it really goes back to focusing more on keeping the look of the first series which was a continuation of the FvJ Ronny Yu
Ronny Yu
Ronny Yu Yan-Tai is a Hong Kong director, producer, and movie writer. Yu was born in Hong Kong and graduated from Ohio University. He has worked on both Hong Kong and American films.- Career :...
film." In The Nightmare Warriors, Jason still bears the injuries he suffered in the first Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash series. His mask is shot in half, displaying his teeth, and his left arm is cut off with a machete imbedded in the stump. Craig claims it was difficult to keep track of these injuries panel-to-panel, but was especially proud of the "half mask" look, a design he would like to see incorporated into the Friday the 13th films one day. He says, "It's a way to show Jason's emotions under the mask while still keeping him mysterious, and it's also a way to give him this Grim Reaper
Death (personification)
The concept of death as a sentient entity has existed in many societies since the beginning of history. In English, Death is often given the name Grim Reaper and, from the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood...
look especially when you see him in shadow.
Discussing the level of gore in the story, Kurhoric says, "Jason Craig is scary when it comes to the amount of detail he puts into his death scenes. [...] He lives for gore and tries to one up each panel in intensity." He describes The Nightmare Warriors as "a blood bath of epic proportions", and says that the creative team took the "big screen sequel approach" of increasing the action and violence. Katz elaborates, "Like any good sequel, the mantra is bigger and better. We're looking to up the ante and top ourselves. This premise is inherently larger scale and more epic in nature, so that lends itself to blowing open the artwork." Using the MPAA rating system as an analogy, Katz labels Nightmare Warriors a hard-R in terms of gore", saying "we're hardly scrimping on the red stuff. It's just presented on a much larger canvas this time". In contrast, Craig claims that the gore was "toned down maybe just a tad to compromise more with the Army of Darkness franchise". He explains that the Evil Dead/Army of Darkness movies "have an obvious humor in the gore" which makes it easier to swallow than that of the Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th kills, which are "grounded more in reality". His artistic aim was to "show the brutality without showing some of the intense gore yet still leave you with that feeling that you saw something horrible".
Reception
Describing #1 as "predictable and a fair bit cheesy", IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Jesse Schedeen claimed there is a lot to dislike about Nightmare Warriors, "but only if you approach it from the wrong mindset". Provided readers expect no more than a "camp romp", he admitted that the issue is fun and humorous. Schedeen also praised Craig's "snazzy pencils", stating "as long as the story is going the goofball route, there's no reason the art can't follow suit". Mike Fish of Fangoria
Fangoria
Fangoria is an American magazine devoted to horror and exploitation films, which has a number of associated brands:* Fangoria Comics* Fangoria Films* Fangoria RadioFangoria may also refer to:* Fangoria , a Spanish electro pop band...
felt that #1 signaled an improvement over the "mediocre" first series, as the writers dropped the "cut and paste a movie" formula and replaced with a "refreshing start to an intriquing matchup". Fish praised the initial focus on Jason and Ash and the more "mature" writing from Katz and Kuhoric. He described the art as "kick ass", since it resembles the films without looking photocopied. However, he noted that Craig's Ash seems based on Bruce Campbell in Bubba Ho-tep
Bubba Ho-tep
Bubba Ho-tep is a 2002 American comedy horror drama film starring Bruce Campbell as Elvis Presley — now a resident in a nursing home. The film also stars Ossie Davis as Jack, a black man who claims to be John F. Kennedy, explaining that he was patched up after the assassination, dyed black,...
, which "disrupts the characterization of Ash a little bit".
Total Sci-Fi Online's James Skipp believed that #1 struggles to balance its three main characters, with the Freddy story coming across as "a little intrusive and confusing". He also criticized Ash's characterization, believing that he was "more of a straightforward hero here [...] than the self-deprecating fellow of the Evil Dead movies", but admitted it was hard to capture the character's "idiosyncratic charm" without Bruce Campbell. Skipp summarized that the issue was adequate for its concept.