Stormwatch: Team Achilles
Encyclopedia
Stormwatch: Team Achilles is an American super-hero series, the third incarnation/revision of the Image comics
Stormwatch
.
This version was penned by Micah Ian Wright and drawn variously by Whilce Portacio
, C. P. Smith, Mark Texeira
, Tomm Coker
, Carlos D'Anda, and Clement Sauve
. The longest run for a penciler on the book was by C. P. Smith, who drew issues 11-19. The title featured covers by Portacio, Jason Pearson
and Michael Golden.
The title was a super hero action series layered with satire of both politics and comic books. Real-world politics often entered the book with a storyline where the team replaced a Strom Thurmond
/Jesse Helms
-like Senator with a shape-shifting African superhuman and another where George Washington
, reincarnated as a patriotic hero resembling Captain America
, tried to overthrow the American government. The book threw potshots at President George W. Bush
, mocked the ineptitude of the United Nations, and made light of modern pathos-driven corporate superheroes with mockeries of a Doctor Doom
-like armored dictator character, the Justice League
, the X-Men
, Superman
, and even Wildstorm's own premiere superhero team, The Authority.
Some fans called Team Achilles "G.I. Joe for Grownups" and noted comics writer Kurt Busiek wrote "it's like Sgt. Rock, but with Superheroes." Although the enemies in the comic book have been the typical fantastic archetypes seen in comics, the weapons used by the Stormwatch team were mostly real-world weapons systems (such as the Barrett M82A1). Realistic weapons as well as tactics are used by the non-powered Team Achilles members to take down the physically superior enemies seen in the comic.
Because Team Achilles (like all previous Stormwatch groups) was a United Nations entity, the book often dealt with realistic political details such as the U.S.'s refusal to pay its U.N. dues, political interference with the goals of the U.N. by conservative American politicians, and the U.N.'s own ineptitude and corruption. In the charged political air, the book accurately reflected the disdain that President Bush and his administration displayed toward the United Nations
.
Detractors of the comic disliked the political tone of the book. Released during a time when the American public was 88% in favor of the Afghanistan War, George W. Bush enjoyed a 65% approval rating, and 72% of the public supported the invasion of Iraq, the book took shots at conservative politics in general, "weapons of mass destruction", the Department of Homeland Security, America's paranoia about terrorism and the accompanying culture of fear
, and, some felt, President Bush himself. Although the President in the Wildstorm universe was not specifically named after any known politician, some readers stated online that they felt that the mumbling, incomprehensible, racist Southern murderer depicted in the book was a clear mockery of Bush.
Additionally, many superhero fans disliked and disbelieved the concept that 'normal' human beings could ever hope to defeat superheroes. This was notable, given that the main concern of DC Comics (WildStorm's parent company) was to revive and promote 'traditional' pure superhero comics over the darker characters pioneered by Image.
event in a two-part backup story written by Christos Gage
with art by Ivan Reis
. The story ran in Wildcats (vol. 5) issue #10 & The Authority (vol. 4) issue #9 and shows the team finally escaping from the Project Entry universe. The walk to Siberia having proven fruitless, Team Achilles has spent the last few years searching for a functional Stormwatch teleporter that can return them home. Finding one and powering it up with the help of Baron Chaos, the team arrives just in time to witness the onset of armageddon. Flint (having become estranged from Santini during the team's exile) leaves to join up with her former teammates in Stormwatch Prime and Santini vows to continue what they're good at: killing superhumans.
Blake Coleman - Santini's second-in-command of Stormwatch, field leader and best friend since their Black Razor days, Coleman is the chief on-the-ground commander for the team's early missions, until his untimely death.
Luis Cisco - A close friend of Satini and Coleman who served with them during their Black Razor days. He was scheduled for a leave of absence due to his impending marriage, but ended up joining the team for one last mission on his wedding day. During the course of the mission, the same one that saw the death of Coleman, he received injuries that resulted in his leaving the team.
Victoria "Flint
" Ngengi - Formerly of the original Stormwatch team and of the same generation as the Authority's Swift, Flint is only the second superpowered individual on the assault team. Possessing superhuman strength and a high level of resistance nearing that of physical invulnerability, Flint is the team's door kicker. She later falls in love with and marries Santini.
Jukko Hämäläinen - Finnish, former member of the Osasto Karhu (Finnish Anti Terror Squad). One of the last survivors of a superhuman holocaust in that country, and initially the only superhuman-powered member on the assault team. Jukko's powers are more of a curse than a blessing: he feels the pain of any individual within a certain radius. This is one of the reasons this team operative is incredibly caring towards injured hostages, while highly lethal against enemy targets. He also seems to have a profound dislike of the Authority's Midnighter
.
Jaeger Weiss - A member of the German GSG 9
, Weiss is an incredible handsome, suave, and more often than not sarcastic, but highly reliable team member. He is easily recognizable by the face mask he wears to protect his face when on missions. Being a member of GSG 9, Weiss is often depressed when hostages are injured during operations. Because his entire family was killed by superhumans he harbors a distrust of the superpowered individuals on the team. Nevertheless, he is still good friends with Jukko — the pair often engaging in witty banter on and off mission.
Galena Golovin - Russian sniper, one of the more aggressive team members, is a perfectionist of few, often harsh words. Shares an 'interesting' relationship with her spotter, Pickney.
Charles Cottsworth Pickney - Formerly of the British SAS
, his military career stopped dead after he shot his CO in the head in front of the Queen. It didn't seem to matter that his CO was possessed and attempting to assassinate the Queen, his upward mobility ceased and he ended up assigned to Team Achilles. Pickney is almost stereotypically British in demeanor. As spotter to Golovin, he and Golovin share an odd, often argumentative relationship with Golovin either commenting on Pickney's degrading vision or less-than satisfactory manhood.
Ajeet Singh - A Sikh
Indian, Ajeet Singh was one of the last "official" Stormwatch members to join the group. He was called into service following Citizen Soldier's attempt to over throw the US government, and first saw action during the groups raid on Baron Chaos' castle. He was given the option of leaving the group following The Authority's take over of the United States, the idea being that he was so new The Authority would be unaware of his existence. He refused and remained with the group until the series cancellation.
Frederick "Alias" Ngebe Braumholstein - Frederick is a post-human with shape-changing abilities, and is one of the few metahuman members of Team Achilles. He was brought in following Santini's removal of Senator Sonny Terns, using his shapechanging powers to impersonate the Senator. In a rather ironic twist the Senator was a white conservative racist while Frederick is a liberal mixed-race South African. During his time impersonating the Senator he helped get through various liberal bills and financial aid for various African American organizations. During Citizen Soldier's attempted over throw of the US government his true identity was revealed, forcing him to abandon his mission and join the Team Achilles field team for the first time. He was given the option of leaving the group follow The Authority's take over of the United States, it was thought that due to the covert nature of mission and the fact that he had never worked with the field team, that The Authority would be unaware of his existence. He refused and remained a member until the series cancellation.
.
Avi Barak - A member of the Israeli Defense Force, Barak is an "inductive telepath" first introduced in issue 4: his powers are such that, if he asks you a question, and you do not answer truthfully, he instantly absorbs the information from your mind. Through Santini's efforts, his power level is raised to a much higher rating, although it has left the psi a little less than balanced.
Dr. Marie Grunier - Recruited from the French Gendarmerie, Grunier serves a dual role as the teams medical doctor and, when needed, as the teams hostage negotiator. She was romantically linked to Hämäläinen.
Buzz Dixon - Originally a StormWatch reservist, the creature known as Buzz Dixon was later recruited by Colonel Benito Santini as his chief scout and gatherer of difficult-to-get information on the Achilles team. Dixon handles nearly all of the team's recon work as Team Achilles' scouting specialist and primary intel-gatherer. He is often the first on the field, as he reconnoiters mission targets and locations pre-insertion. Buzz Dixon is a quadrupedal being possessing compound eyes, large, fan-shaped ears, and chameleon
-like skin that allows him to become nearly invisible. Due to his unique optical, olfactory, and auditory physiology, Dixon possesses super-human senses. He also has a "sixth sense" in the form of low-grade telepathy
(He can mentally "speak" in others' heads and receive thoughts, but generally only if they are nearby.). Further, Buzz Dixon can cling to walls with the sucker-like pads on the bottoms of his feet, and he possesses a prehensile tail. Despite his completely inhuman appearance, Dixon's personality suggests that he is human, or at least possesses a psyche very much like human beings. He is loud-mouthed, boisterous, swears quite a bit (he is partial to "fuck
"), uses current slang, and has the sort of stereotypical mannerisms of a cowboy-type or jarhead
-type character. Due to his personality and human name, it can be argued that Buzz Dixon is a super-powered meta-human who was once human, but whose powers are manifest through a strange physiology that also stripped him altogether of his human appearance. However, he shows no distress over his esoteric physiology. Dixon had very little "screen time" in the StormWatch: Team Achilles series, and his origins can only be conjectured.
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
Stormwatch
Stormwatch (comics)
Stormwatch is a fictional United Nations-sponsored superhero team that originated in the Wildstorm Universe and has since been revived as part of the DC Universe. The original version of Stormwatch first appeared in Stormwatch Stormwatch is a fictional United Nations-sponsored superhero team that...
.
This version was penned by Micah Ian Wright and drawn variously by Whilce Portacio
Whilce Portacio
William "Whilce" Portacio is a Filipino-American comic book writer and artist. Noted for his work on such titles as The Punisher, X-Factor, and the Uncanny X-Men. Portacio was also one of the seven co-founders of Image Comics, though he did not become a partner in the company.-Early life:Portacio...
, C. P. Smith, Mark Texeira
Mark Texeira
Mark Texeira is an American comic book artist. Classically trained as a painter, Texeira broke into the comics field in the early 1980s.-Career:Mark Texeira was born and raised in New York City...
, Tomm Coker
Tomm Coker
Tomm Coker, also known as Thomas L. Coker, is an American comic book artist and film director/writer.-Career:Coker's career started in the early nineties drawing comic books for Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Marvel Comics and DC Comics...
, Carlos D'Anda, and Clement Sauve
Clément Sauvé
Clément Sauvé was a comic book artist, animation and game designer for the American and French market.He was born and raised in Montreal in 1977...
. The longest run for a penciler on the book was by C. P. Smith, who drew issues 11-19. The title featured covers by Portacio, Jason Pearson
Jason Pearson
Jason Pearson is an American comic book writer/artist, known for his work on books such as Legion of Super-Heroes, The Dragon: Blood & Guts, Global Frequency, and his own creator-owned series, Body Bags....
and Michael Golden.
Overview
Stormwatch: Team Achilles differed from the previous super-hero-centric Stormwatch groups in that it centered on a team consisting mostly of 'normal' human beings from various global Special Forces/Counter-Terrorist organizations acting as a small UN troubleshooting team. The stated mission of Team Achilles was to kill or capture criminal superhumans.The title was a super hero action series layered with satire of both politics and comic books. Real-world politics often entered the book with a storyline where the team replaced a Strom Thurmond
Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...
/Jesse Helms
Jesse Helms
Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
-like Senator with a shape-shifting African superhuman and another where George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, reincarnated as a patriotic hero resembling Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
, tried to overthrow the American government. The book threw potshots at President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, mocked the ineptitude of the United Nations, and made light of modern pathos-driven corporate superheroes with mockeries of a Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom
Victor von Doom is a fictional character who appears in Marvel Comics publications . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 wearing his trademark metal mask and green cloak...
-like armored dictator character, 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....
, the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
, 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...
, and even Wildstorm's own premiere superhero team, The Authority.
Some fans called Team Achilles "G.I. Joe for Grownups" and noted comics writer Kurt Busiek wrote "it's like Sgt. Rock, but with Superheroes." Although the enemies in the comic book have been the typical fantastic archetypes seen in comics, the weapons used by the Stormwatch team were mostly real-world weapons systems (such as the Barrett M82A1). Realistic weapons as well as tactics are used by the non-powered Team Achilles members to take down the physically superior enemies seen in the comic.
Controversy
The book debuted to controversy from the first issue, which, due to changes in DC's printing schedule, came out not in October 2002, but instead on September 13, 2002, roughly the one-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. To compound the problem, the first issue featured a terrorist superhuman attack on the United Nations, which many readers thought was intended to comment on the 9/11 attacks themselves, and thus in poor taste.Because Team Achilles (like all previous Stormwatch groups) was a United Nations entity, the book often dealt with realistic political details such as the U.S.'s refusal to pay its U.N. dues, political interference with the goals of the U.N. by conservative American politicians, and the U.N.'s own ineptitude and corruption. In the charged political air, the book accurately reflected the disdain that President Bush and his administration displayed toward the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
Detractors of the comic disliked the political tone of the book. Released during a time when the American public was 88% in favor of the Afghanistan War, George W. Bush enjoyed a 65% approval rating, and 72% of the public supported the invasion of Iraq, the book took shots at conservative politics in general, "weapons of mass destruction", the Department of Homeland Security, America's paranoia about terrorism and the accompanying culture of fear
Culture of fear
Culture of fear is a term used by certain scholars, writers, journalists and politicians who believe that some in society incite fear in the general public to achieve political goals, for example......
, and, some felt, President Bush himself. Although the President in the Wildstorm universe was not specifically named after any known politician, some readers stated online that they felt that the mumbling, incomprehensible, racist Southern murderer depicted in the book was a clear mockery of Bush.
Additionally, many superhero fans disliked and disbelieved the concept that 'normal' human beings could ever hope to defeat superheroes. This was notable, given that the main concern of DC Comics (WildStorm's parent company) was to revive and promote 'traditional' pure superhero comics over the darker characters pioneered by Image.
Cancellation
StormWatch: Team Achilles was canceled in mid-story. Wright was fired in the aftermath of the exposure that he had lied about his military service in print and repeatedly online. Issue #23 ended up being the last issue published. Wright's revised script for Stormwatch #24 is online.Return
Team Achillies returned to the Wildstorm Universe during the World's EndWorld's End (comics)
"World's End" is a 2008-2009 comic book crossover storyline published by Wildstorm and taking place in the Wildstorm Universe. The event takes place in the issues of all of Wildstorm's Wildstorm Universe ongoing series.-Publication history:...
event in a two-part backup story written by Christos Gage
Christos Gage
Christos N. "Chris" Gage is an American comic book writer and screenwriter.-Early life:Gage is the son of author and journalist Nicholas Gage. He was born in New York, and grew up in Athens, Greece, and then North Grafton, Massachusetts...
with art by Ivan Reis
Ivan Reis
Ivan Reis , born 1976 in São Paulo, is a Brazilian comic book artist. He is known for his work on books such as Marvel Comics' Captain Marvel, and DC Comics' Green Lantern books...
. The story ran in Wildcats (vol. 5) issue #10 & The Authority (vol. 4) issue #9 and shows the team finally escaping from the Project Entry universe. The walk to Siberia having proven fruitless, Team Achilles has spent the last few years searching for a functional Stormwatch teleporter that can return them home. Finding one and powering it up with the help of Baron Chaos, the team arrives just in time to witness the onset of armageddon. Flint (having become estranged from Santini during the team's exile) leaves to join up with her former teammates in Stormwatch Prime and Santini vows to continue what they're good at: killing superhumans.
Assault Team
Benito Santini - American of Italian Descent, Catholic. Was previously a field leader of International Operations' Black Razors. When John Lynch defected from I.O., he became the Director of Operations, only to lose his post when Ivana Baiul became the Executive Director. After various events in the Wildstorm universe, Santini was later assigned to be the new "Weatherman" to the Stormwatch team, although it's later revealed he has his own agenda to the matter. Despite this, he holds his team members in high regard. Married to Flint.Blake Coleman - Santini's second-in-command of Stormwatch, field leader and best friend since their Black Razor days, Coleman is the chief on-the-ground commander for the team's early missions, until his untimely death.
Luis Cisco - A close friend of Satini and Coleman who served with them during their Black Razor days. He was scheduled for a leave of absence due to his impending marriage, but ended up joining the team for one last mission on his wedding day. During the course of the mission, the same one that saw the death of Coleman, he received injuries that resulted in his leaving the team.
Victoria "Flint
Flint (comics)
Flint, Victoria Ngengi, is a comic book character from Wildstorm, created by Jeff Mariotte and Ron Lim. She is also a member of StormWatch.-History:...
" Ngengi - Formerly of the original Stormwatch team and of the same generation as the Authority's Swift, Flint is only the second superpowered individual on the assault team. Possessing superhuman strength and a high level of resistance nearing that of physical invulnerability, Flint is the team's door kicker. She later falls in love with and marries Santini.
Jukko Hämäläinen - Finnish, former member of the Osasto Karhu (Finnish Anti Terror Squad). One of the last survivors of a superhuman holocaust in that country, and initially the only superhuman-powered member on the assault team. Jukko's powers are more of a curse than a blessing: he feels the pain of any individual within a certain radius. This is one of the reasons this team operative is incredibly caring towards injured hostages, while highly lethal against enemy targets. He also seems to have a profound dislike of the Authority's Midnighter
Midnighter
Midnighter is a fictional comic book superhero, best known as a member of the rogue superhero team The Authority. Created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Bryan Hitch, he first appeared in Stormwatch #4, before appearing in various Authority books and series and his own eponymous ongoing series...
.
Jaeger Weiss - A member of the German GSG 9
GSG 9
The GSG 9 der Bundespolizei , is the elite counter-terrorism and special operations unit of the German Federal Police.-History and name:...
, Weiss is an incredible handsome, suave, and more often than not sarcastic, but highly reliable team member. He is easily recognizable by the face mask he wears to protect his face when on missions. Being a member of GSG 9, Weiss is often depressed when hostages are injured during operations. Because his entire family was killed by superhumans he harbors a distrust of the superpowered individuals on the team. Nevertheless, he is still good friends with Jukko — the pair often engaging in witty banter on and off mission.
Galena Golovin - Russian sniper, one of the more aggressive team members, is a perfectionist of few, often harsh words. Shares an 'interesting' relationship with her spotter, Pickney.
Charles Cottsworth Pickney - Formerly of the British SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
, his military career stopped dead after he shot his CO in the head in front of the Queen. It didn't seem to matter that his CO was possessed and attempting to assassinate the Queen, his upward mobility ceased and he ended up assigned to Team Achilles. Pickney is almost stereotypically British in demeanor. As spotter to Golovin, he and Golovin share an odd, often argumentative relationship with Golovin either commenting on Pickney's degrading vision or less-than satisfactory manhood.
Ajeet Singh - A Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
Indian, Ajeet Singh was one of the last "official" Stormwatch members to join the group. He was called into service following Citizen Soldier's attempt to over throw the US government, and first saw action during the groups raid on Baron Chaos' castle. He was given the option of leaving the group following The Authority's take over of the United States, the idea being that he was so new The Authority would be unaware of his existence. He refused and remained with the group until the series cancellation.
Frederick "Alias" Ngebe Braumholstein - Frederick is a post-human with shape-changing abilities, and is one of the few metahuman members of Team Achilles. He was brought in following Santini's removal of Senator Sonny Terns, using his shapechanging powers to impersonate the Senator. In a rather ironic twist the Senator was a white conservative racist while Frederick is a liberal mixed-race South African. During his time impersonating the Senator he helped get through various liberal bills and financial aid for various African American organizations. During Citizen Soldier's attempted over throw of the US government his true identity was revealed, forcing him to abandon his mission and join the Team Achilles field team for the first time. He was given the option of leaving the group follow The Authority's take over of the United States, it was thought that due to the covert nature of mission and the fact that he had never worked with the field team, that The Authority would be unaware of his existence. He refused and remained a member until the series cancellation.
Support Team
Khalid Tefibi - Stormwatch's resident tech geek, and the individual most often made the butt of jokes by the more masculine, hard-charging members of the team. Nonetheless, Tefibi's technological skills and wit prove vital to the teams' success and later their ultimate survival. Further, Colonel Santini reveals in Stormwatch: Team Achilles #16 that he is grooming Tefibi to be his replacement. In Santini's words: "That's why I'm prepping you now, Tefibi...I need someone capable of taking over if I get greased." Tefibi then expresses utter despair at the prospect of such responsibility. Santini recruited Khalid Tefibi from a federal prison where he was spending time for hacking into the PentagonThe Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
.
Avi Barak - A member of the Israeli Defense Force, Barak is an "inductive telepath" first introduced in issue 4: his powers are such that, if he asks you a question, and you do not answer truthfully, he instantly absorbs the information from your mind. Through Santini's efforts, his power level is raised to a much higher rating, although it has left the psi a little less than balanced.
Dr. Marie Grunier - Recruited from the French Gendarmerie, Grunier serves a dual role as the teams medical doctor and, when needed, as the teams hostage negotiator. She was romantically linked to Hämäläinen.
Buzz Dixon - Originally a StormWatch reservist, the creature known as Buzz Dixon was later recruited by Colonel Benito Santini as his chief scout and gatherer of difficult-to-get information on the Achilles team. Dixon handles nearly all of the team's recon work as Team Achilles' scouting specialist and primary intel-gatherer. He is often the first on the field, as he reconnoiters mission targets and locations pre-insertion. Buzz Dixon is a quadrupedal being possessing compound eyes, large, fan-shaped ears, and chameleon
Chameleon
Chameleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, the possession by many of a...
-like skin that allows him to become nearly invisible. Due to his unique optical, olfactory, and auditory physiology, Dixon possesses super-human senses. He also has a "sixth sense" in the form of low-grade telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
(He can mentally "speak" in others' heads and receive thoughts, but generally only if they are nearby.). Further, Buzz Dixon can cling to walls with the sucker-like pads on the bottoms of his feet, and he possesses a prehensile tail. Despite his completely inhuman appearance, Dixon's personality suggests that he is human, or at least possesses a psyche very much like human beings. He is loud-mouthed, boisterous, swears quite a bit (he is partial to "fuck
Fuck
"Fuck" is an English word that is generally considered obscene which, in its most literal meaning, refers to the act of sexual intercourse. By extension it may be used to negatively characterize anything that can be dismissed, disdained, defiled, or destroyed."Fuck" can be used as a verb, adverb,...
"), uses current slang, and has the sort of stereotypical mannerisms of a cowboy-type or jarhead
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
-type character. Due to his personality and human name, it can be argued that Buzz Dixon is a super-powered meta-human who was once human, but whose powers are manifest through a strange physiology that also stripped him altogether of his human appearance. However, he shows no distress over his esoteric physiology. Dixon had very little "screen time" in the StormWatch: Team Achilles series, and his origins can only be conjectured.
Other notable characters
- Baron Chaos - Baron Kemeny Zsigmond von Chaos first came into conflict with Team Achilles during his attempt to seize control of Romania. He held his own against several members until the intervention of the teams telepath, Avi Barak. He was stripped of his armor and then shot in the head and left for dead, only to be inadverdantly rescued by The Authority. He was brought aboard the Carrier where the Authority were able to save his life with the intention of finding out the whereabouts of Team Achilles, but with the aid of a naive nurse named Mandy he managed to escape to New York City where he promptly made his way to the Romania embassy to plot his revenge. Not long after he was contacted by Jumpmaster who had been contacted by Senator Terns from The Project Entry Universe. Together, Baron Chaos, Citizen Soldier and Senator Terny concotted a plan to rid themselves of Team Achilles once and for all. Baron Chaos is clearly a homage to the Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel 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...
character, Doctor DoomDoctor DoomVictor von Doom is a fictional character who appears in Marvel Comics publications . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 wearing his trademark metal mask and green cloak...
. Both have horrible facial scars, both are Eastern European, and both wear high tech suits of armor that provide them with an array of offensive and defensive capabilities including, flight, energy blasts, enhanced strength, teleportion and force fields. More telling is the similar personalities of both characters: They are both uncannily resilient, arrogant, self-assured, and refer to themselves in the third personGrammatical personGrammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
. Baron Chaos also has several sets of the armor as backups, including one stashed in the Romanian embassy in New York City.
- Citizen Soldier - Citizen Soldier is the constantly-reincarnating spirit of George WashingtonGeorge WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, although Santini is not aware of this: the Soldier's earliest identified incarnation was Major Alexander Abernathy, a member of the Union Cavalry during the Civil War. Stormwatch had information on every incarnation up until 1947 when he apparently vanished from the public eye. The Citizen Soldiers during this time were later revealed to have been assassinated for various reason by members of the US government, including Junior Senator Sonny Terns. In 2003, Citizen Soldier resurfaced in the form of Steve Gatesniak, a multi-billionaire computer enterpreneuer. For over 20 years Citizen Soldier had built up his wealth while assembling an army of loyal followers and employees who would help him dispose of, what he believed to be, the hopelessly corrupt US government. He began his attack by robbing The Federal Reserve on Wall Street, the same attack which resulted in the death of Blake Coleman. Following this he launched various attacks upon the Senate, the Supreme Court, the global satellite network, the stock market and more. During this time he also projected his own memories into the heads of American citizens via their dreams, showing them the various demises of past incarnations. Ultimately Stormwatch was able to foil his plans and were about to apprehrend him with plans to place him in a cryogenic holding unit preventing any further reincarnations, when he was killed by a member of Ivana BaiulIvana BaiulIvana Baiul is a comic book character from DC Comics/Wildstorm. She has starred in Gen¹³ and DV8.-History:Ivana Baiul was the head of Sci-Tech, the scientific division of I.O. There she worked on creating a group of genetically enhanced soldiers for the government, a task previously done 12 times...
's Civil Defense Administration known as Giant. Soon after Citizen Soldier manifested in the body of a newborn illegal Chinese immigrant. He was last seen in the Project Entry universe. Citizen Soldier displayed a number of powers, most notably was his above average speed, strength and combat ability. He also had the power to temporarily instill normal humans with superhuman powers, similar to that of an Christine TrelaneSynergy (comics)Christine Trelane, formerly known as Synergy is a fictional character in the Wildstorm universe. She was created by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi as a member of Stormwatch....
and other Seedling Activators. Unlike a normal Activator however, these powers were limited to a few hours and would ultimately kill the person they were bestowed upon. It was implied that this was because other Activators triggered latent powers in those possessing them, while he could trigger powers for those with no inner potential. He also wielded a circular shield in a manner similar to that of Captain AmericaCaptain AmericaCaptain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
. In addition to his army and the temporary superhumans he could create, Citizen Soldier also had several superhuman allies that he didn't make. These include:
- Deadhead - A superhuman with the ability to animate the dead and a skull for a face. He was captured and later placed in the Project Entry Universe along with Sonny Terns and Dhul Fiqar.
- Jumpmaster - A superhuman with the ability to create star shaped teleportation portals. He escaped Stormwatch and would later be seen acting as an intermediary between Senator Terns, Baron Chaos and Citizen Soldier.
- Emoticon - A powerful telepath who was also hideously deformed. He resemble a giant mutant fetus and during his first and only appearance in the series was shown to be floating in a giant liquid filled tube. He was killed by Golovin.
- Senator Sonny Terns - Sonny Terns is the product of Southern Royalty. His family owned large tracts of land dating back several generations, beginning with his great-great-great-great grandfather, Augustus Terns who started the family fortune with his success in the slave trade. He first encountered Santini during a hearing regarding UN funding of his new Stormwatch unit. Terns was steadfast in his resolve to quash the unit, delaying the budget approval for quite a while. Later he would also be connected to Ivana Baiul, the UN Special Security Council, and the superpowered Arab terrorists who attacked the UN in the first three issues of the series. Shortly after the attack on the UN, Santini, along with Weiss and Tefibi, confronted and kidnapped the Senator, holding him in a secret wing of their detention facilities beneath the UN, it was during this time that 'Alias' would assume the Senator's identity. He was held in secret until the events of Coup D'état forced Team Achilles to abandon their UN base. At this point Santini stranded him on a tropical island on Project Entry's Earth along with Deadhead and Dhul Fiqar, two other Team Achilles prisoners. He remained on the island until the end of the series when he escaped with the help of Deadhead. Tern then contacted Baron Chaos and the remained of Citizen Soldiers forces, and together the trio hatched a plot to finally do away with Santini and Team Achilles. Terns was also a low-grade "psychic broadcaster" capable of projecting his thoughts into the minds of others.
Series & one-shots
- Stormwatch: Team Achilles #1 - 23 (September, 2002 - August, 2004)
- Coup D'État: Stormwatch Team Achilles (April 2004)
Significant stories
- Stormwatch: Team Achilles #0 - a six-page story from Wizard Magazine #129 (July, 2002).
- Eye of the Storm Annual 2003 (July, 2003)
Collected editions
- Stormwatch: Team Achilles vol. 1 (collects #0,1-6, 160 pages, July 2003, ISBN 1-4012-0103-2)
- Stormwatch: Team Achilles vol. 2 (collects #7-11, Eye of The Storm Annual #1, 176 pages, January 2004, ISBN 1-4012-0123-7)
- Stormwatch: Team Achilles vol. 3 (collects #12-19, 192 pages, scheduled for August 2004 but postponed indefinitely, ISBN 1-4012-0289-6)
- Coup D'état (collects "Coup D'état" #1-4, 160 pages, November, 2004, ISBN 1-4012-0570-4)
External links
- 'Stormwatch' returns this July, 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...
, March 1, 2002 - Watching The Post-Coup Storm: Micah Wright On Stormwatch: Team Achilles, NewsaramaNewsaramaNewsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
, 13 April 2004 - Storm's End: Stormwatch: Team Achilles Cancelled, NewsaramaNewsaramaNewsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
, 15 April 2004