Squadron Supreme 4 featured Reviews 

“Squadron Supreme” #4

By | June 30th, 2022
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

Four issues into “Squadron Supreme,” and the series hasn’t shied away from difficult subject matter. The series opened with superheroes building a utopia. And the most recent issue tackled the topic of complete disarmament, and all the controversies that would be sure to follow. Somewhere in there was not-Batman chickening out on an assassination attempt and a cancer subplot. Oh, and so far there’s been a riot every issue. All wrapped in the trappings of Bronze Age Marvel. But the thing is… it works.

The themes are heavy. The stakes are high. The ideas discussed are difficult and complex. But it’s still very much an 80s superhero comic. It’s a remarkable balance, but Gruenwald’s very good at what he does. The talents that make his “Captain America” run so iconic are on full display, even when the subject matter veers into the uncomfortable. And I’ll let you guess how uncomfortable this issue gets with the cover.

Cover by Bob Hall
Written by Mark Gruenwald
Pencils by Bob Hall
Inks by Sam de la Rosa
Letters by Janice Chiang
Colors by Christie Scheele

After putting down a militia, Tom Thumb reveals his newest invention: A device that can “rehabilitate” criminals. Though not every member of the team agrees with this approach. And at least one has dishonest intentions with it.

I’ll say this right now: The cover is a spoiler. How and why may not be specified, but you can probably guess the further you get into the issue. But I would like to acknowledge how the covers have all been a bit misleading, in a good way. They present what looks to be a very typical situation, only to have it superverted in the actual pages themselves. Lady Lark getting brainwashed isn’t out of the ordinary for a typical Marvel teambook. But her getting brainwashed because her teammate is a creepy weirdo who can’t take no for an answer is less so. And him using the brainwashing her using the brainwashing machine the team built to pacify the populace is slightly less superhero-y fare.

So that’s what happens in the story. Golden Archer, who’s established as a bad guy right away, because he’s sad he can’t murder people, is the weirdo in question. That may be a slight exaggeration. We open with the Squadron battling an organized militia, who object to their recent anti-firearm efforts. Which, for the record, I am counting as a riot. Just purely for continuity’s sake. But Archer expresses frustration that the Squadron have to non-lethally subdue the insurgents, who are actively trying to kill them. This scene also gives us a bit of exposition. Golden Archer is in love with Lady Lark, who has her eye on Blue Falcon. She’s also particularly friendly with Arcanna. But Arcanna’s also pregnant. So there’s a bit of a tangled web amongst our heroes. Either way, Archer’s brushes with mortality, not to mention Doctor Spectrum’s grief over the Nuke situation, puts his mortality into perspective. So he decides to ask Lady Lark to marry him.

Granted they had never been romantic. He’s expressing his feelings to her for the first time. And going straight to marriage. So obviously she says no. Hall’s character expressions and acting continue to be spot on. Lark’s very clearly trying her best to force politeness in an awkward situation, and that comes across so well on the page.

Around the same time, Tom Thumb unveils his latest invention: A chair that would rehabilitate criminals. This through a process he totally swears isn’t brainwashing. Amphibian seems to be the only one overly distressed by the team having a brainwashing machine, no matter how many semantic excuses Thumb uses to justify it. The compromise ends up being that the procedure will be voluntary. Still doesn’t sit comfortably with the not-Aquaman, who leaves in anger. This is where Golden Archer comes in. By the end of the issue, he and a very enthusiastic Lark are set to be married. This is a decision that Lark was more than a little influenced to make by technology. It’s a creepy but effective end to an issue that puts an exclamation point on how easily our heroes’ newest invention can be abused. Although it will likely be a massive make or break for anyone reading this, depending on how up you are to seeing a female character coerced into romance.

Throughout the entire series, there’s been this sense of impending doom. This has been a story of a superteam crumbling from the inside as it attempts to solve too much at once, or at least in the wrong way. And when things go wrong, the results linger. Archer was inspired to propose by the death of Nuke, and seeing how it affected Doctor Spectrum. And Tom Thumb agrees to help, because out of all the mockery we saw in issue #2, Archer was far from the worst. Not to mention the Pro-Gun militia that formed after issue #3. The Squadron’s problems pile and grow, mutating into whatever will eventually bring down their proposed uptoia. I assume at least. Again, this was until recently my biggest comic book blind spot. But whatever it is, I’m excited to see.


//TAGS | 2022 Summer Comics Binge

Chris Cole

Chris Cole lives in a tiny village built around a haunted prison. He is a writer, letterer, and occasional charity Dungeon Master. Follow his ramblings about comics and his TTRPG adventures on Twitter @CcoleWritings.

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