Guardians of the Globe
Encyclopedia
The Guardians of the Globe are a fictional superhero team
in the , appearing primarily in the comic Invincible. The original team was based on DC Comics
' Justice League of America
.
' Justice League of America
(JLA), with each of the Guardians (with the exceptions of Black Samson
and the Immortal
) having an obvious JLA analogue. Robert Kirkman, in his author notes for Invincible: The Ultimate Collection, Volume 1, explains that he went with these archetypes because he had only 18 pages to get the reader to care for the characters before their brutal deaths.
Along with the Immortal and Black Samson (who is in part based on Doc Samson
), the team included: Darkwing (based on Batman
); War Woman (based on Wonder Woman
); a Russian named Red Rush (based on the Flash); Aquarus, the King of Atlantis (based on Aquaman
); Martian Man (based on the Martian Manhunter); and the Green Ghost (based on Green Lantern
). Omni-Man
, although never an official member of the team, was a trusted associate of the Guardians, and knew the location and password of the Guardians secret headquarters in Utah
. This trust let Omni-Man betray and murder the Guardians, after calling them to their headquarters on an emergency. The only member of the Guardians to survive the massacre was Black Samson, who was not actively a member at that time (due to the loss of his powers). The Immortal subsequently returns to life due to the nature of his power.
leader Robot
, under the direct supervision of Donald, the government's superhuman liaison. Donald was ultimately responsible to Cecil Stedman
. Along with Robot, the initial lineup for the new team included Dupli-Kate
and Rex Splode
from the Teen Team, Monster Girl
, Shrinking Ray, and Black Samson, the only surviving member of the old team.
The new team's performance in its first few months did not live up to expectations of its superiors, leading Donald and Cecil to make some changes. Bulletproof
was added to the team's roster, and the newly resurrected Immortal was brought in as a consultant to improve standards. After the team continued to under-perform, the Immortal replaced Robot as team leader.
Although not actually a member himself (Robot said he was always welcome if he becomes interested), Invincible
reports to the same agency and often helps the team in dire circumstances.
When most of the Guardians' most powerful members were sent into space to thwart a Martian invasion, they were successful, but while they were away, the team's weaker members were required to stop the Lizard League's plot to take command of nuclear warheads. Dupli-Kate and Shrinking Ray were killed by the villain Komodo Dragon; Rex Splode was badly injured in the fight, but survived.
After lashing out at Allen the Alien (who was only looking for Invincible), the Immortal realized just how deeply he had been affected by Dupli-Kate's death and resigned from the Guardians. However, it was revealed that Dupli-Kate was still alive, as she had always left her "Zero" behind on missions.
advertisements for the line ups of their revamped Avengers, New Avengers, Secret Avengers
and Avengers Academy
books. The released posters, in order of appearance, were:
In an interview with Comic Book Resources
, Kirkman explained that although the later images were deliberately farcical, the campaign was intended to announce a six-issue miniseries spinning out of Invincible. The miniseries, he said, would deal with the earthbound characters of the Invincible universe, while that title focuses on "The Viltrumite War", an eight-issue storyline that would be set solely in space. The six-issue series, named Guarding the Globe, was launched on August 25, 2010. The Parody Team was featured in a one-page backup in the first issue.
On March 21, 2010, Image began releasing teaser images of the team's real members done in the same style as the parody images. This set of posters, in order appearance, were:
Outrun, Kaboomerang, and Yeti are all new characters created for the series. Issue three of the new bimonthly miniseries also introduced El Chupacabra from Mexico, a washed up superhero who is an alcoholic with razor-sharp claws and other abilities. In issue four, seven additional new characters are added.
Japandroid
Cast Iron
Knockout
Best Tiger
Le Brusier
Kid Thor
Pegasus
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 —...
in the , appearing primarily in the comic Invincible. The original team was based on 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...
' Justice League of America
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....
.
The original Guardians of the Globe
The original Guardians of the Globe was a private organization funded by War Woman and Darkwing. This version of the Guardians was a pastiche of DC ComicsDC 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...
' Justice League of America
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....
(JLA), with each of the Guardians (with the exceptions of Black Samson
Black Samson (Invincible)
Black Samson is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Image Comics series Invincible. His first appearance was in Invincible #6.-Character history:...
and the Immortal
The Immortal (comics)
The Immortal is a comic book superhero character from the Image Comics series Invincible.-Character history:The Immortal has been around for many, many years. He is older than the legend of King Arthur, serving as one of his legendary knights. He discovered North America, and fought in the...
) having an obvious JLA analogue. Robert Kirkman, in his author notes for Invincible: The Ultimate Collection, Volume 1, explains that he went with these archetypes because he had only 18 pages to get the reader to care for the characters before their brutal deaths.
Along with the Immortal and Black Samson (who is in part based on Doc Samson
Doc Samson
Doc Samson is a fictional character, a superhero and psychiatrist in the Marvel Comics universe, known as a supporting character in stories featuring the Hulk.-Publication history:...
), the team included: Darkwing (based on Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
); War Woman (based on Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
); a Russian named Red Rush (based on the Flash); Aquarus, the King of Atlantis (based on Aquaman
Aquaman
Aquaman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 . Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo title...
); Martian Man (based on the Martian Manhunter); and the Green Ghost (based on Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
). Omni-Man
Omni-Man
Omni-Man is a fictional character, a superhero, supervillain and anti-hero in the . Omni-Man is the father of Invincible and a member of Viltrumite race, a humanoid species of extraterrestrial origin who possess superhuman strength, super speed, virtual immortality, and flight. Unusually for a...
, although never an official member of the team, was a trusted associate of the Guardians, and knew the location and password of the Guardians secret headquarters in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. This trust let Omni-Man betray and murder the Guardians, after calling them to their headquarters on an emergency. The only member of the Guardians to survive the massacre was Black Samson, who was not actively a member at that time (due to the loss of his powers). The Immortal subsequently returns to life due to the nature of his power.
The new Guardians of the Globe
After the murder of the original team, the United States government re-established the Guardians of the Globe as a state-funded agency. This new team was led by former Teen TeamTeen Team
Teen Team is a team of teen-age superheroes in the world of Invincible. The group is loosely based on DC Comics's Teen Titans or Legion of Super Heroes. The group was introduced in issue #2. Tensions flare in the team when Rex Splode is revealed to be cheating on Atom Eve with Dupli-Kate...
leader Robot
Robot (comics)
Robot is a fictional superhero appearing in the comic book Invincible, which is published by Image Comics.-History:Prior to the first issue of Invincible, Robot was the leader and founder of the Teen Team....
, under the direct supervision of Donald, the government's superhuman liaison. Donald was ultimately responsible to Cecil Stedman
Cecil Stedman
Cecil Stedman is a fictional character, a United States government operative in the . He is the head of the Global Defense Agency and is in charge of the Guardians of the Globe.-Fictional character biography:...
. Along with Robot, the initial lineup for the new team included Dupli-Kate
Dupli-Kate
Dupli-Kate is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Image Comics title Invincible. She was previously a member of the Teen Team and is now one of the Guardians of the Globe.-Character history:...
and Rex Splode
Rex Splode
Rex Splode is a fictional superhero in the Image Comics series Invincible, gifted with the ability to make inanimate objects explode. He first appeared in Invincible #2 .-Fictional character biography:...
from the Teen Team, Monster Girl
Monster Girl
Monster Girl is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Image Comics title Invincible.-Fictional character biography:A bright young student Monster Girl was set to graduate high school at a young age. But while on her senior trip to Europe she fell in love with a young gypsy boy...
, Shrinking Ray, and Black Samson, the only surviving member of the old team.
The new team's performance in its first few months did not live up to expectations of its superiors, leading Donald and Cecil to make some changes. Bulletproof
Bulletproof (comics)
Bulletproof is a fictional character a comic book superhero from the Image Comics series Invincible. His first appearance was in Invincible #9, but before the name Invincible was settled on, Bulletproof was one of the proposed names of the main character of the series...
was added to the team's roster, and the newly resurrected Immortal was brought in as a consultant to improve standards. After the team continued to under-perform, the Immortal replaced Robot as team leader.
Although not actually a member himself (Robot said he was always welcome if he becomes interested), Invincible
Invincible (comics)
Invincible is a superhero in the . Created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Cory Walker, the character first appeared in Tech Jacket #1 , before graduating to his own self-titled regular series in 2003, as a title in Image's then-new superhero line.Invincible is the teenaged son of Omni-Man, an...
reports to the same agency and often helps the team in dire circumstances.
When most of the Guardians' most powerful members were sent into space to thwart a Martian invasion, they were successful, but while they were away, the team's weaker members were required to stop the Lizard League's plot to take command of nuclear warheads. Dupli-Kate and Shrinking Ray were killed by the villain Komodo Dragon; Rex Splode was badly injured in the fight, but survived.
After lashing out at Allen the Alien (who was only looking for Invincible), the Immortal realized just how deeply he had been affected by Dupli-Kate's death and resigned from the Guardians. However, it was revealed that Dupli-Kate was still alive, as she had always left her "Zero" behind on missions.
Parody team and Mini-Series
On March 15, 2010, Image began releasing teaser posters announcing members of a new Guardians of the Globe team as a parody of Marvel'sMarvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
advertisements for the line ups of their revamped Avengers, New Avengers, Secret Avengers
Secret Avengers
Secret Avengers is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring a fictional black ops superhero team of the same name. Written by Ed Brubaker, the series depicts a new version of Marvel's premiere super hero team, the Avengers, which operates under the guidance and leadership...
and Avengers Academy
Avengers Academy
Avengers Academy is a Marvel Comics comic book series that debuted in June 2010 as part of the "Heroic Age". The series is written by Christos Gage, with artwork by Mike McKone and tells the story of a group of young super-powered persons who were selected to join a training academy for the...
books. The released posters, in order of appearance, were:
- Invincible from Invincible
- Spawn from SpawnSpawn (comics)Spawn is a fictional comic book superhero who appears in a monthly comic book of the same name published by Image Comics. Created by writer/artist Todd McFarlane, Spawn first appeared in Spawn #1...
- Rick Grimes from The Walking DeadThe Walking DeadThe Walking Dead is a monthly black-and-white US comic book series published by Image Comics beginning in 2003. The comic was created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore, who was replaced by Charlie Adlard from issue #7 onward, although Moore continued to do the covers through issue...
- U.S. President Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
- "Gary" Potter, a parody of Harry PotterHarry Potter (character)Harry James Potter is the title character and main protagonist of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. The majority of the books' plot covers seven years in the life of the orphan Potter who, on his eleventh birthday, learns he is a wizard...
In an interview with Comic Book Resources
Comic Book Resources
Comic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...
, Kirkman explained that although the later images were deliberately farcical, the campaign was intended to announce a six-issue miniseries spinning out of Invincible. The miniseries, he said, would deal with the earthbound characters of the Invincible universe, while that title focuses on "The Viltrumite War", an eight-issue storyline that would be set solely in space. The six-issue series, named Guarding the Globe, was launched on August 25, 2010. The Parody Team was featured in a one-page backup in the first issue.
On March 21, 2010, Image began releasing teaser images of the team's real members done in the same style as the parody images. This set of posters, in order appearance, were:
- Brit from BritBrit (comics)Brit is a fictional character, a superhero in the . He first appeared in Brit , and was created by Robert Kirkman.-Publication history:...
- Outrun
- Kaboomerang
- Yeti
- Bulletproof
Outrun, Kaboomerang, and Yeti are all new characters created for the series. Issue three of the new bimonthly miniseries also introduced El Chupacabra from Mexico, a washed up superhero who is an alcoholic with razor-sharp claws and other abilities. In issue four, seven additional new characters are added.
Japandroid
- A little android girl from Japan.
Cast Iron
- A metal-skinned man from Yugoslavia.
Knockout
- A boxing heroine from the United States of America. Formerly a Capes, Inc. character.
Best Tiger
- A green-blindfolded gunman from the People's Republic of China.
Le Brusier
- A french bulldog from France.
Kid Thor
- A mallet-wielding strongman from Canada, also formerly from Capes Inc.
Pegasus
- A winged woman from Russia.