Seven Soldiers
Encyclopedia
Seven Soldiers is a comic book
metaseries written by Grant Morrison
and published by DC Comics
. It was published as seven interrelated mini-series
and two bookend issues. The series features a new version of the Seven Soldiers of Victory
fighting to save Earth
from the Sheeda
.
The metaseries is bookended by Seven Soldiers #0 and #1, with art by J. H. Williams III
. The rest was made up of seven mini-series: Shining Knight with art by Simone Bianchi
, Manhattan Guardian
with art by Cameron Stewart
, Zatanna
with art by Ryan Sook
, Klarion
with art by Frazer Irving
, Mister Miracle with art by Pascal Ferry, Bulleteer
with art by Yanick Paquette
, and Frankenstein
with art by Doug Mahnke
.
gathers together a new Spider (called "I, Spyder" and apparently the son of the original), Gimmix (the estranged daughter of Merry, the Girl of a Thousand Gimmicks
), a new Boy Blue, Dyno-Mite Dan (owner of two "working fakes" imitations of the explosive rings of T.N.T.
and Dan the Dyna-Mite
), and the Whip (granddaughter of the Golden Age
Whip
). The team sets out to battle the Buffalo Spider (later on, the Sheeda are betrayed by Spyder in Seven Soldiers of Victory #1 in another nod to the original), only to be killed during an event known as the Harrowing.
The seven miniseries follow seven other characters with indirect connections to the first group, each with their own art styles, genres, and character arcs. A central part of Morrison's idea for the current series is that, although the seven characters in question are each a part of the same struggle, they never actually meet (although there are references to each other in the various titles). Thus, the team is actually not a team.
An explanation for this is presented in Manhattan Guardian and Zatanna. In the first, a man named Ed Starsgard (Baby Brain) tells Guardian that the Sheeda have been attacking humanity in periodic waves, taking everything of value (physical and mental) and leaving behind just enough for the survivors to rebuild for next time. It is prophesied that the Sheeda will eventually be stopped by seven soldiers, so they target teams of seven, including the Ultramarine Corps
and the Justice League of America
(JLA: Classified #1-3). However, because the Seven Soldiers have never met, they stand a chance of doing the job.
In Zatanna, a ghost remarks that there are too many coincidences in the story and it feels like there is a "mystery string tying it all together". It eventually emerges that the Seven Unknown Men of Slaughter Swamp are driving the Seven Soldiers to stop the Sheeda.
In an interview, Grant remarked that this series of stories (which he calls a "megaseries", also known as a metaseries), takes place after Infinite Crisis
. Dan DiDio
has stated that, after careful consultation with Morrison, the series is now considered to take place a week before Infinite Crisis.
The comic Seven Soldiers of Victory #1 was originally scheduled for release on April 1, 2006, but was delayed and eventually released on October 25, 2006.
The climactic sequence is initiated by Zatanna casting a spell: "Seven Soldiers Strike!" This is the final push the universe required to move the soldiers into position.
After travelling into the future kingdom where the Sheeda live, Frankenstein
takes Castle Revolving, the Queen's time-travelling floating kingdom, to present-day New York so that the Queen can be brought to justice by the paranormal special ops group S.H.A.D.E.. Once Castle Revolving arrives, the Shining Knight
— who had chased the queen to the future — successfully attacks the Queen, severely injuring her and leaving her open to an attack by supporting character I, Spyder, who shoots an arrow into her and knocks her down to the New York streets below.
There, Guardian
has rounded up thousands of New Yorkers into a militia that is successfully fighting off the Sheeda invasion. At approximately the same time, Bulleteer
comes tearing down the street in her car, hoping to take her critically ill arch-nemesis, Sally Sonic, to a hospital. Sally, utterly insane, attacks Bulleteer, who loses control of her vehicle and crashes into the Queen. Guardian arrives on the scene, but Bulleteer is the only survivor.
Prior to all of this, Klarion, who had drilled up into New York from hidden caves beneath the city, had stolen a magic die from Misty, Zatanna's sidekick. Together with his own die, the two dice comprise Fatherbox, one of the lost treasures of the ancient superhero Aurakles
. Klarion had then traveled up to Castle Revolving. With the Sheeda Queen dead, Klarion uses a binding spell on Frankenstein, forcing him to pilot the ship back into the future. Thus, Klarion becomes the "traitor" that was prophesied. However, by doing so, he also stopped Misty, the Sheeda princess, from becoming the new Queen and being obligated to continue the cycle of destruction to save her people.
Finally, Mister Miracle confronts Darkseid
in his club. There, Darkseid explains that he gave Earth to the Sheeda in return for them giving him Aurakles
, the primordial superhero. Mister Miracle offers himself in exchange for Aurakles' freedom and Darkseid accepts. However, once Aurakles is freed and Mister Miracle is shackled, Darkseid shoots him through the head, thus making him the soldier that was prophesied to die. Mister Miracle is later seen emerging alive from his own grave, "escaping death".
:
The series has also been collected into two hardcover volumes, the first of which contains the same content as the first two trade paperbacks, while the second contains the same content as the latter two paperbacks.
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...
metaseries written 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 published by 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...
. It was published as seven interrelated mini-series
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....
and two bookend issues. The series features a new version 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...
fighting to save Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
from 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...
.
Publication history
Seven Soldiers started off as a different project which evolved over time. According to Morrison:The metaseries is bookended by Seven Soldiers #0 and #1, with art by J. H. Williams III
J. H. Williams III
James "Jim" H. Williams III, usually credited as J. H. Williams III, is a comic book artist and penciller. He is known for his work on titles such as Chase, Promethea, Desolation Jones and most recently Batwoman.-Career:...
. The rest was made up of seven mini-series: Shining Knight with art by Simone Bianchi
Simone Bianchi (artist)
Simone Bianchi is an Italian comic book illustrator, painter, graphic designer and art instructor, known to Italian audiences for his work in comics, CD covers, music videos, TV commercials and role-playing games, and to American comic book readers for his work on Detective Comics, Green Lantern...
, Manhattan Guardian
Manhattan Guardian
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 which was part of the Seven Soldiers of Victory "megaseries"....
with art by Cameron Stewart
Cameron Stewart
Cameron Stewart is an Eisner Award and Shuster Award-winning and Eagle Award and Harvey Award-nominated Canadian comic book artist who has worked for DC, Marvel, and Dark Horse Comics.-Biography:...
, Zatanna
Zatanna
Zatanna Zatara is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Murphy Anderson, Zatanna first appeared in Hawkman vol. 1 #4...
with art by Ryan Sook
Ryan Sook
Ryan Sook is an American comic book artist from San Jose, California.-Career:Sook's first professional work was in Challengers of the Unknown #15 published in 1998...
, Klarion
Klarion the Witch Boy
Klarion the Witch Boy is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe character first seen in the pages of The Demon in 1973.-Kirby's Klarion:...
with art by Frazer Irving
Frazer Irving
Frazer Irving is a British comic book artist known for the 2000 AD series Necronauts. Irving studied art at the University of Portsmouth, England, after which he took various temporary jobs in London...
, Mister Miracle with art by Pascal Ferry, Bulleteer
Bulleteer
Bulleteer is a fictional character and DC Comics superheroine, a member of the Seven Soldiers. She debuted in Seven Soldiers: The Bulleteer #1 , and was created by Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette...
with art by Yanick Paquette
Yanick Paquette
Yanick Paquette is a Canadian penciller in North American comics. He has worked for Antarctic Press, Topps, Marvel and DC Comics and since 1994.-Career:...
, and Frankenstein
Frankenstein (DC Comics)
Frankenstein is a DC Comics character who is based on Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's original Frankenstein's monster, but is physically and mentally more reminiscent of the classic Universal representation of the character...
with art by Doug Mahnke
Doug Mahnke
Douglas "Doug" Mahnke is an American comic book artist and penciller.-Biography:Mahnke's first prominent work was for The Mask, and he has since worked for DC Comics on JLA, Batman with writer Judd Winick, and Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein with Grant Morrison...
.
Plot summary
In the first issue of this story (which was part of a two-issue framework for the project), the VigilanteVigilante (comics)
Vigilante is the name used by several fictional characters appearing in DC Comics. The original character was one of the first DC Comics characters adapted for live-action film, beating Superman by one year.-Greg Saunders:...
gathers together a new Spider (called "I, Spyder" and apparently the son of the original), Gimmix (the estranged daughter of Merry, the Girl of a Thousand Gimmicks
Merry Pemberton
Merry Pemberton, also known as Gimmick Girl and Merry, Girl of 1000 Gimmicks is a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe. She first appeared in Star-Spangled Comics #81 in June 1948. -Fictional character biography:...
), a new Boy Blue, Dyno-Mite Dan (owner of two "working fakes" imitations of the explosive rings of T.N.T.
TNT (comics)
TNT is a DC Comics superhero from the 1940s. TNT and his side-kick Dan the Dyna-Mite were created by Mort Weisinger for DC Comics, and made their debut in Star-Spangled Comics #7...
and Dan the Dyna-Mite
Dan the Dyna-Mite
Dan the Dyna-Mite is a fictional character, a teen-aged superhero published by DC Comics. He was the young sidekick to the character TNT, and was created by Mort Weisinger and Hal Sharp in 1942. TNT and Dyna-Mite made their debut in World's Finest Comics # 5, and starred in Star-Spangled Comics #...
), and the Whip (granddaughter of the Golden Age
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
Whip
The Whip (comics)
The Whip is the alias used by at least four superheroes in DC Comics. The third one, although both better known and obscure at the same time, made his first appearance in Flash Comics #1...
). The team sets out to battle the Buffalo Spider (later on, the Sheeda are betrayed by Spyder in Seven Soldiers of Victory #1 in another nod to the original), only to be killed during an event known as the Harrowing.
The seven miniseries follow seven other characters with indirect connections to the first group, each with their own art styles, genres, and character arcs. A central part of Morrison's idea for the current series is that, although the seven characters in question are each a part of the same struggle, they never actually meet (although there are references to each other in the various titles). Thus, the team is actually not a team.
An explanation for this is presented in Manhattan Guardian and Zatanna. In the first, a man named Ed Starsgard (Baby Brain) tells Guardian that the Sheeda have been attacking humanity in periodic waves, taking everything of value (physical and mental) and leaving behind just enough for the survivors to rebuild for next time. It is prophesied that the Sheeda will eventually be stopped by seven soldiers, so they target teams of seven, including the Ultramarine Corps
Ultramarine Corps
The International Ultramarine Corps, formerly the Ultramarine Corps, is a fictional team of superheroes published by DC Comics. They first appeared in DC One Million #2 , and were created by Grant Morrison and Howard Porter....
and the 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: Classified #1-3). However, because the Seven Soldiers have never met, they stand a chance of doing the job.
In Zatanna, a ghost remarks that there are too many coincidences in the story and it feels like there is a "mystery string tying it all together". It eventually emerges that the Seven Unknown Men of Slaughter Swamp are driving the Seven Soldiers to stop the Sheeda.
In an interview, Grant remarked that this series of stories (which he calls a "megaseries", also known as a metaseries), takes place after 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...
. Dan DiDio
Dan DiDio
Dan DiDio is an American writer, editor and publisher who has worked in the television and comic book industries. He is currently the Co-Publisher of DC Comics, along with Jim Lee...
has stated that, after careful consultation with Morrison, the series is now considered to take place a week before Infinite Crisis.
The comic Seven Soldiers of Victory #1 was originally scheduled for release on April 1, 2006, but was delayed and eventually released on October 25, 2006.
The last battle
After undergoing various trials and tribulations in their own miniseries, the soldiers eventually take part in the climactic battle against the Queen of the Sheeda in New York, each affecting different parts of the battle without having any idea of the larger picture.The climactic sequence is initiated by Zatanna casting a spell: "Seven Soldiers Strike!" This is the final push the universe required to move the soldiers into position.
After travelling into the future kingdom where the Sheeda live, Frankenstein
Frankenstein (DC Comics)
Frankenstein is a DC Comics character who is based on Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's original Frankenstein's monster, but is physically and mentally more reminiscent of the classic Universal representation of the character...
takes Castle Revolving, the Queen's time-travelling floating kingdom, to present-day New York so that the Queen can be brought to justice by the paranormal special ops group S.H.A.D.E.. Once Castle Revolving arrives, the Shining Knight
Shining Knight
Shining Knight is the name of three comic book superheroes that have appeared in books published by DC Comics. The original Shining Knight, Sir Justin, was created by Creig Flessel and first appeared in Adventure Comics #66 .-Sir Justin:...
— who had chased the queen to the future — successfully attacks the Queen, severely injuring her and leaving her open to an attack by supporting character I, Spyder, who shoots an arrow into her and knocks her down to the New York streets below.
There, 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...
has rounded up thousands of New Yorkers into a militia that is successfully fighting off the Sheeda invasion. At approximately the same time, Bulleteer
Bulleteer
Bulleteer is a fictional character and DC Comics superheroine, a member of the Seven Soldiers. She debuted in Seven Soldiers: The Bulleteer #1 , and was created by Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette...
comes tearing down the street in her car, hoping to take her critically ill arch-nemesis, Sally Sonic, to a hospital. Sally, utterly insane, attacks Bulleteer, who loses control of her vehicle and crashes into the Queen. Guardian arrives on the scene, but Bulleteer is the only survivor.
Prior to all of this, Klarion, who had drilled up into New York from hidden caves beneath the city, had stolen a magic die from Misty, Zatanna's sidekick. Together with his own die, the two dice comprise Fatherbox, one of the lost treasures of the ancient superhero Aurakles
Aurakles
Aurakles is a fictional character, a superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Justice League of America vol. 1 #100 , and was created by Len Wein and Dick Dillin.-Publication history:...
. Klarion had then traveled up to Castle Revolving. With the Sheeda Queen dead, Klarion uses a binding spell on Frankenstein, forcing him to pilot the ship back into the future. Thus, Klarion becomes the "traitor" that was prophesied. However, by doing so, he also stopped Misty, the Sheeda princess, from becoming the new Queen and being obligated to continue the cycle of destruction to save her people.
Finally, Mister Miracle confronts Darkseid
Darkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
in his club. There, Darkseid explains that he gave Earth to the Sheeda in return for them giving him Aurakles
Aurakles
Aurakles is a fictional character, a superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Justice League of America vol. 1 #100 , and was created by Len Wein and Dick Dillin.-Publication history:...
, the primordial superhero. Mister Miracle offers himself in exchange for Aurakles' freedom and Darkseid accepts. However, once Aurakles is freed and Mister Miracle is shackled, Darkseid shoots him through the head, thus making him the soldier that was prophesied to die. Mister Miracle is later seen emerging alive from his own grave, "escaping death".
Character endings
- Shining Knight is shown attending the H.S. Johnson School for Heroes, where Ali Ka Zoom (Zatanna's ghostly friend) promises that he will give her the advice she needs, and that she can continue to fight evil with Horsefeathers on weekends. He gives her Aurakles's sword and hints that she may yet return to her period of time and become Queen Ystina the Good.
- Guardian survives the attack on New York, after raising an army to fight off the Sheeda. He wins back the heart of his estranged wife.
- Bulleteer is briefly arrested after the accident, but later told that she is free to go. Although she questions if she really is free, because she played right into what destiny had in store for her.
- Klarion is shown cackling madly as Sheeda women crawl at his heels. He reappears in Countdown to Final CrisisCountdown to Final CrisisCountdown, known as Countdown to Final Crisis for its last 24 issues based on the cover, was a comic book limited series published by DC Comics. It debuted on May 9, 2007, directly following the conclusion of the last issue of 52...
where he attempts to absorb Mary MarvelMary MarvelMary Marvel is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine, originally published by Fawcett Comics and now owned by DC Comics. Created by Otto Binder and Marc Swayze, she first appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 in...
's powers only to be defeated. - Frankenstein is last seen under the control of Klarion, although he still seems to have retained his mind. He is then shown in Final CrisisFinal CrisisFinal Crisis is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely by J. G. Jones; artists Carlos Pacheco, Marco Rudy and...
#3 assisting S.H.A.D.E. in capturing Renee MontoyaRenee MontoyaRenee Montoya is a fictional comic book character published by DC Comics. The character was initially created for Batman: The Animated Series, and was preemptively introduced into mainstream comics before the airing of her animated debut in 1992....
. - Zatanna is almost run over by Guardian's wife and subsequently vanishes. The most famous of the soldiers, she survives, appearing in stories set "One Year LaterOne Year Later"One Year Later" was a 2006 storyline event running through the DC Universe. As the title suggests, it involves a narrative jump exactly one year into the future of the DC Comics Universe following the events of the Infinite Crisis event, to explore major changes within the continuities of the many...
", though her newly acquired apprentice Misty Kilgore has yet to appear. - Mister Miracle is buried in a grave engraved only with his stage-name. It is visited by DarkseidDarkseidDarkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
, who deposits a black flower on the grave and leaves. Once he is gone, however, Mister Miracle's hands burst out of the ground. He has since turned up in Final Crisis #2, having escaped death. His escape from the grave is mentioned.
First group
- Vigilante (Greg Saunders)
- I, Spyder (Thomas Ludlow Dalt II)
- Gimmix (Jacqueline Pemberton)
- Boy Blue
- Dyno-Mite Dan (Harris D. Ledbetter)
- The Whip (Shelly Gaynor)
- BulleteerBulleteerBulleteer is a fictional character and DC Comics superheroine, a member of the Seven Soldiers. She debuted in Seven Soldiers: The Bulleteer #1 , and was created by Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette...
(dropped out before the group went on its first mission)
Second group
- Shining Knight (Sir Ystin/Ystina/Justina)
- Manhattan GuardianManhattan GuardianThe 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 which was part of the Seven Soldiers of Victory "megaseries"....
(Jake Jordan) - ZatannaZatannaZatanna Zatara is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Murphy Anderson, Zatanna first appeared in Hawkman vol. 1 #4...
(Zatanna Zatara) - Klarion the Witch BoyKlarion the Witch BoyKlarion the Witch Boy is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe character first seen in the pages of The Demon in 1973.-Kirby's Klarion:...
(Klarion Bleak) - Mister Miracle (Shilo Norman)
- BulleteerBulleteerBulleteer is a fictional character and DC Comics superheroine, a member of the Seven Soldiers. She debuted in Seven Soldiers: The Bulleteer #1 , and was created by Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette...
(Alix Harrower) - FrankensteinFrankenstein (DC Comics)Frankenstein is a DC Comics character who is based on Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's original Frankenstein's monster, but is physically and mentally more reminiscent of the classic Universal representation of the character...
Collected editions
The series has been collected into four trade paperbacksTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
The series has also been collected into two hardcover volumes, the first of which contains the same content as the first two trade paperbacks, while the second contains the same content as the latter two paperbacks.
External links
- Seven Soldiers of Victory at DC Cosmic Teams
- Seven Soldiers 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:...
- 31 Days of 7 Soldiers at Comic Book ResourcesComic Book ResourcesComic 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...