Manhattan Guardian
Encyclopedia
The Manhattan Guardian is a DC Comics
costumed hero. Created by Grant Morrison
and based on the character The Guardian
, he first appeared in The Manhattan Guardian #1 (2005) which was part of the Seven Soldiers of Victory
"megaseries".
. The inspiration came from the British newspaper The Guardian
which gave Morrison the idea for a tabloid-sponsored superhero, translated to America.
The Manhattan Guardian series is set in "Cinderella City" (to separate it from the ugly sisters
Metropolis
and Gotham) which is New York
but with unrealised architectural projects including an idea for the Hotel Attraction
proposed by Gaudí, Hans Hollein
's "Rolls-Royce Building" concept for the Chase Manhattan Bank Building
, Robert Moses
' Mid-Manhattan Expressway
and Frank Lloyd Wright
's "Ellis Island
Key". The original idea came from Paul Laffoley
's suggestion to look again at Gaudi's plans in rebuilding Ground Zero
, following 911. Morrison said "I want it to be a more exalted New York, where things that were dreamed of were finally brought into reality"
The character later made cameos in Infinite Crisis
and 52
.
, Jordan was confronted by the paper's owner, Ed Stargard. Impressed with his conduct, Ed offered Jake the job: To be the newspaper's very own Superhero/Reporter. (During his meeting with Jake, Ed notes that he had bought the rights to the Guardian name from Project Cadmus
, who had sponsored the original.)
Shortly afterwards, Jake's fiancee Carla was kidnapped by subway pirates, and her rescue becomes his first mission. The pirates also kill Larry, and shortly after her rescue, Carla breaks up with Jake. Later, the Guardian faces down killer robots modeled after the world's ethnic groups. Fed up with how his new job has changed his life, Jake storms Ed's office, intent on quitting, only to find Ed is an elderly man who never physically developed beyond babyhood. Ed explains that he used to be a member of a group called the Newsboy Army known as Baby Brain. The group had a deadly and maddening encounter with the evil faerie-folk, the Sheeda
, who are now storming the Guardian building, intent on finishing the former Newsboy off. Not content to leave Ed to die, the Guardian, Baby Brain, and his secretary set off to find Carla and fight the Sheeda.
In the end, the Sheeda are defeated, and Jake and Carla are tearfully reunited, making up in the process, shown in a headline proclaiming "HERO GETS GIRL!".
in the Villains United
Infinite Crisis Special. He is seen in the related seven-part limited series, Infinite Crisis
. He, along with many other superpeople, attend a mass for fallen and missing superheroes. He is one of the hundreds of defenders in the "Battle for Metropolis", protecting the city from a climatic attack from dozens of members of the "Secret Society of Supervillains".
, despite having only become the Manhattan Guardian a short time prior to the young hero's death. In week 50 of the 52
maxi-series, Jake is one of the dozens of heroes called up to the border of China to battle the maddened, rampaging Black Adam
. This fight is also detailed in a tie-in series.
Superman
writer James Robinson
expressed a desire to have Jake team up with the original Guardian at some point in the near future.
After Eclipso
destroys the moon during a battle with the Justice League
, Jake is seen helping evacuate citizens from the streets of Manhattan as the city descends into chaos.
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...
costumed hero. Created by Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
and based on the character The Guardian
Guardian (DC Comics)
Guardian is a comic book fictional character, a DC Comics superhero, created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. He first appeared in Star Spangled Comics #7...
, he first appeared in The Manhattan Guardian #1 (2005) which was part of the Seven Soldiers of Victory
Seven Soldiers of Victory
The Seven Soldiers of Victory is a fictional team of comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe...
"megaseries".
Publication history
The character originally appeared in the Manhattan Guardian mini-seriesLimited 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....
. The inspiration came from the British newspaper The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
which gave Morrison the idea for a tabloid-sponsored superhero, translated to America.
The Manhattan Guardian series is set in "Cinderella City" (to separate it from the ugly sisters
Ugly sisters
The ugly sisters are characters in the fairy tale and pantomime, Cinderella. They are the daughters of Cinderella's cruel stepmother, who treat her poorly...
Metropolis
Metropolis (comics)
Metropolis is a fictional city that appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and is the home of Superman. Metropolis first appeared by name in Action Comics #16 ....
and Gotham) which is New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
but with unrealised architectural projects including an idea for the Hotel Attraction
Hotel Attraction
Hotel Attraction was a proposed project by architect Antoni Gaudí, for a skyscraper in New York City.The project was commissioned in May 1908. Planned at a total height of 360 metres, it was probably unrealistic for its time...
proposed by Gaudí, Hans Hollein
Hans Hollein
Hans Hollein, is an Austrian architect and designer.Hollein achieved a diploma at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 1956, then attended the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1959 and the University of California, Berkeley in 1960...
's "Rolls-Royce Building" concept for the Chase Manhattan Bank Building
Chase Manhattan Bank Building
The Chase Manhattan Bank Building is a 14-story office building located at Queens Plaza in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. It was completed in 1927 and was the tallest office building in Queens until the completion of the Citicorp Building in 1990...
, Robert Moses
Robert Moses
Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...
' Mid-Manhattan Expressway
Mid-Manhattan Expressway
The Mid-Manhattan Expressway was a planned but never built expressway that would have crossed Midtown Manhattan in the vicinity of 30th Street, connecting the Lincoln Tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey to the Queens Midtown Tunnel between Manhattan and Long Island.- Initial proposals :Plans...
and Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
's "Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
Key". The original idea came from Paul Laffoley
Paul Laffoley
Paul Laffoley is a U.S. artist and architect. As an architect working for Emery Roth & Sons, Laffoley worked for 18 months on design for the World Trade Center Tower II. As a painter, his work is usually classified as visionary art or outsider art...
's suggestion to look again at Gaudi's plans in rebuilding Ground Zero
Ground zero
The term ground zero describes the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation...
, following 911. Morrison said "I want it to be a more exalted New York, where things that were dreamed of were finally brought into reality"
The character later made cameos in Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
and 52
52 (comics)
52 was a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid with layouts by Keith Giffen...
.
Seven Soldiers
Jake Jordan was an unemployed and disgraced former police officer, who left the force after killing a young boy he misidentified as the murderer of his partner. On the suggestion of his fiancee's father Larry, Jake applied for a mysterious job at the Manhattan Guardian tabloid newspaper. After facing several trials disguised as a terrorist attack, including fighting a GolemGolem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
, Jordan was confronted by the paper's owner, Ed Stargard. Impressed with his conduct, Ed offered Jake the job: To be the newspaper's very own Superhero/Reporter. (During his meeting with Jake, Ed notes that he had bought the rights to the Guardian name from Project Cadmus
Project Cadmus
Project Cadmus is a fictional genetic engineering project in the DC Comics Universe. It was created by Jack Kirby as the DNA Project in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133 , and was run by the former Newsboy Legion...
, who had sponsored the original.)
Shortly afterwards, Jake's fiancee Carla was kidnapped by subway pirates, and her rescue becomes his first mission. The pirates also kill Larry, and shortly after her rescue, Carla breaks up with Jake. Later, the Guardian faces down killer robots modeled after the world's ethnic groups. Fed up with how his new job has changed his life, Jake storms Ed's office, intent on quitting, only to find Ed is an elderly man who never physically developed beyond babyhood. Ed explains that he used to be a member of a group called the Newsboy Army known as Baby Brain. The group had a deadly and maddening encounter with the evil faerie-folk, the Sheeda
Sheeda
The Sheeda are a fictional race published by DC Comics. They first appear in Seven Soldiers #0 , and were created by Grant Morrison and J.H. Williams III. Their first DC Universe appearance was in Morrison's introductory run on the JLA: Classified series in 2004.- History :The Sheeda are a...
, who are now storming the Guardian building, intent on finishing the former Newsboy off. Not content to leave Ed to die, the Guardian, Baby Brain, and his secretary set off to find Carla and fight the Sheeda.
In the end, the Sheeda are defeated, and Jake and Carla are tearfully reunited, making up in the process, shown in a headline proclaiming "HERO GETS GIRL!".
Infinite Crisis
Following Seven Soldiers of Victory, Jake Jordan has been seen valiantly fighting DoomsdayDoomsday (comics)
Doomsday is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Superman: The Man of Steel #18 , and was created by writer-artist Dan Jurgens. IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Doomsday as #46...
in the Villains United
Villains United
Villains United is a six-issue comic book limited series, written by Gail Simone with art by Dale Eaglesham and Wade Von Grawbadger, published by DC Comics in 2005...
Infinite Crisis Special. He is seen in the related seven-part limited series, Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
. He, along with many other superpeople, attend a mass for fallen and missing superheroes. He is one of the hundreds of defenders in the "Battle for Metropolis", protecting the city from a climatic attack from dozens of members of the "Secret Society of Supervillains".
52 And Beyond
Jake's association with the heroes does not end there. Jake is seen attending the memorial service for SuperboySuperboy (Kon-El)
Superboy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. A modern update of the original Superboy, who is a younger version of Superman, the character first appeared in Adventures of Superman #500 , and was created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett.Originally...
, despite having only become the Manhattan Guardian a short time prior to the young hero's death. In week 50 of the 52
52 (comics)
52 was a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid with layouts by Keith Giffen...
maxi-series, Jake is one of the dozens of heroes called up to the border of China to battle the maddened, rampaging Black Adam
Black Adam
Black Adam is a fictional comic book character, created in 1945 by Otto Binder & C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics. Originally created as a one-shot villain for Fawcett Comics' Marvel Family team of superheroes, Black Adam was revived as a recurring supervillain after DC Comics began publishing Captain...
. This fight is also detailed in a tie-in series.
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...
writer James Robinson
James Dale Robinson
James Dale Robinson is a British writer of comic books and screenplays who is also known for his interest in vintage collectibles and memorabilia. His style is described as smart and energetic, built upon his vast knowledge of obscure continuity from the period known to fans and historians as the...
expressed a desire to have Jake team up with the original Guardian at some point in the near future.
After Eclipso
Eclipso
Eclipso is a fictional supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. The character is the incarnation of the Wrath of God and the Angel of Vengeance that turned evil and was replaced by the Spectre...
destroys the moon during a battle with the 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....
, Jake is seen helping evacuate citizens from the streets of Manhattan as the city descends into chaos.
External links
- Morrison's 7 Soldiers: The Guardian, Comicon, September 7, 2005
- Seven Soldiers: Manhattan Guardian annotations at BarbelithBarbelithBarbelith is an online forum, named after an element in the comic book series The Invisibles by Grant Morrison, initially conceived of as a space for the discussion of Morrison's works.-The Invisibles:...