Guardians of the Globe
![]() | This article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. (August 2021) |
Guardians of the Globe | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Image Comics |
First appearance | Invincible #7 |
Created by | Robert Kirkman Cory Walker |
In-story information | |
Member(s) | Black Samson Bulletproof Cast Iron Pegasus Monster Girl Japandroid Robot Kid Thor Shapesmith Knockout Le Brusier Best Tiger Yeti Kaboomerang Outrun Ms. Popper El Chupacabra Brit |
Guardians of the Globe are a fictional superhero team in the Image Universe. They appear primarily in the comic, and further in the Amazon Prime series, Invincible. The original team was a parody of DC Comics' Justice League of America.[1]
Fictional team history
Guardians of the Globe I
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 Comics' Justice League of America (JLA), with each of the Guardians (except Black Samson) having an obvious JLA analog. 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.[citation needed]
Along with Black Samson (who is in part based on Doc Samson, but mostly on Iron Man), the team included: Darkwing (based on Batman); the Immortal (based on Superman along with elements of Vandal Savage); War Woman (based on Wonder Woman, with elements of Thor); a Russian named Red Rush (based on the Flash); Aquarius, the King of Atlantis (based on Aquaman); Martian Man (based on the Martian Manhunter); and the Green Ghost (based on Green Lantern). Omni-Man (who is also based on Superman) was a trusted associate of the Guardians, and knew the location and password of the Guardians secret headquarters in Utah, although he was never an official member of the team (unlike Superman). This trust let Omni-Man betray and murder the Guardians, after calling them to their headquarters on an emergency. He smashed Aquarius's and Red Rush's faces together, beheaded Green Ghost, snapped War Woman's neck, disemboweled Martian Man, and impaled Darkwing. Before getting beheaded, Immortal noted to Omni-Man that he never liked him. After beheading Immortal, Omni-Man quotes "the feeling was mutual".[2]
The only member of the Guardians to survive the massacre was Black Samson, who was not an active member at that time (due to the loss of his powers). The Immortal subsequently returns to life due to the nature of his power.
At the time when Mark found his life temporarily rebooted, he remembered about what his father did and confronted Omni-Man about his history. Omni-Man then forced Mark to use his powers to break into the Guardians of the Globe's headquarters so that he can get them out of the way. Mark was able to get a warning out to them and the Guardians of the Globe successfully subdued Omni-Man where Immortal was briefly killed.[3]
Guardians of the Globe II
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 Team 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 the 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 a member (Robot said he was always welcome if he became 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 always left her "Zero" behind on missions.
Parody team and miniseries
In March 2010, Image began releasing teaser posters, announcing members of a new Guardians of the Globe team as a parody of Marvel's advertisements for the line-ups of their revamped Avengers, New Avengers, Secret Avengers and Avengers Academy books. In order of appearance, the released posters were:
- Invincible from Invincible[4]
- Spawn from Spawn [5]
- Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead [6]
- U.S. President Barack Obama[7]
- Gary Potter, a parody of Harry Potter[8]
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 focused 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.[9][10]
Image released teaser images of the team's real members done in the same style as the parody images. In order appearance, This set of posters 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
- An android from Japan who resembles a young girl.
- 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 blindfolded gunman from the People's Republic of China.
- Le Brusier
- A French bulldog from France with super-strength.
- Kid Thor
- A mallet-wielding strongman from Canada, also formerly from Capes, Inc.
- Pegasus
- A winged woman from Russia.
When Robot began establishing a secret world dictatorship under his control, he sought to eliminate the Guardians.
In Robot's initial attack, Black Samson,Knockout,and her husband Kid Thor were killed. Brit, Outrun, Kaboomarang, Le Brusier, Pegasus and Yeti were all later captured by Robot's drones following Bulletproof's betrayal of the remaining Guardians in exchange for his freedom.
Of the Guardians present, only Best Tiger escaped, While The Immortal and Dupli-Kate went into hiding. By the end of Invincible's run, Monax and Kid Invincible joined the team.
In other media
Both incarnations of the Guardians of the Globe appear in the steaming television series Invincible, with the characters voiced by the following actors:
- Immortal, Aquarius and Rudy voiced by Ross Marquand
- War Woman voiced by Lauren Cohan
- A genderbent Green Ghost voiced by Sonequa Martin-Green
- Martian Man voiced by Chad L. Coleman
- Red Rush voiced by Michael Cudlitz
- Darkwing voiced by Lennie James
- Robot voiced by Zachary Quinto
- Rex Splode voiced by Jason Mantzoukas
- Dupli-Kate voiced by Males Jowe
- A genderbent Shrinking Rae and Monster Girl's human form voiced by Grey DeLisle
- Monster Girl's ogre form voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson
- Black Samson voiced by Khary Payton
Just like in the comics, the original incarnation of the Guardians of the Globe (minus Black Samson) were slaughtered by Omni-Man, with Immortal later revived by the Mauler Twins. While the part with Omni-Man killing Immortal and snapping War Woman's neck remains intact, he does different death moves to the other members, like crushing Red Rush's skull, sending his fist through Green Ghost's head, beheading Martian Man, slamming Darkwing's head into the ground, and using War Woman's mace on Aquarius. After their deaths, a second incarnation of the Guardians of the Globe was formed with Invincible, Rudy and Robot, Rex Splode, Dupli-Kate, Shrinking Rae, Monster Girl, and Black Samson.
References
- ^ Drakes, Kyshaun (2021-05-20). "Invincible: The Original Guardians Of The Globe & Their DC Counterparts". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
- ^ Invincible #7. Image Comics.
- ^ Invincible #124-126. Image Comics.
- ^ Invincible says, 'I'm a member of the Guardians of the Globe', Comic Book Resources, March 15, 2010
- ^ Spawn is a member of the Guardians of the Globe, too, Comic Book Resources, March 16, 2010
- ^ Rick from Walking Dead is ... wait, what?, Comic Book Resources, March 17, 2010
- ^ President Obama to fight sagging approval rating by joining the Guardians of the Globe, Comic Book Resources, March 18, 2010
- ^ New Image GUARDIANS Teaser: "Gary" Potter Tests IP Law, Newsarama, March 19, 2010
- ^ Kirkman Defends The Guardians of the Globe, Comic Book Resources, March 19th, 2010
- ^ In Stores the week of August 25, 2010 Archived June 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Image Comics
- ^ Brit is a Guardian of the Globe, Comic Book Resources, March 21, 2010
- ^ Outrun Joins the Guardians of the Globe, Comic Book Resources, March 22, 2010
- ^ The Latest Guardian of the Globe - Kaboomerang, Comic Book Resources, March 24, 2010
- ^ Guardians of the Globe Introduces Yeti, Comic Book Resources, March 25, 2010
- ^ Bulletproof Remains A Guardian of the Globe, Comic Book Resources, March 26, 2010