Wildstorm Universe
Encyclopedia
The Wildstorm Universe is a fictional shared universe
where the comic book
s published by Wildstorm
take place. It represents an alternate history of the real world where ideas such as interstellar travel
and superhuman
abilities are commonplace. It is also the name of one of three brands launched by Wildstorm to help differentiate their titles set in the same universe from other, separate titles. Originally launched as part of the Image Universe
, it broke off as its own separate universe during the Shattered Image event.
, Wildstorm broke off from Image and constituted a separate universe. The Wildstorm's universe represents an alternate history of the real world, with further similarities to other comic book universes (especially the DC Universe
). Interstellar travel and alien races, including the Kherubim
and Drahn, are taken for granted, and centuries or more of alien contact gave rise to a distinctive mythology
in Wildstorm worlds. Fictional technologies, or technologies only theoretically possible in the real world, are present in the Wildstorm Universe. Superhuman agents are commonplace and involved in world politics: Stormwatch
dealt extensively with the United Nations
, and The Authority took over governance of the United Nations.
:
, the 2006-7 DC comics
event 52
situated the Wildstorm Universe as a single parallel universe among 52 such realities in the DC Comics Multiverse.
52 made crossovers between DC and Wildstorm titles likely. The first of these occurred in Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: Wildstorm, a team called the Challengers visit the Wildstorm Universe on their tour of the multiverse in search of Ray Palmer
, the only person capable of stopping a forthcoming Great Disaster. The Challengers conflicted with the Authority, who had killed a speedster left by Palmer as a marker that he had passed through. The fight ended when Majestic interceded and forced the Authority to let the Challengers go. Meanwhile Gen13 characters encountered another group of DC characters bent on stopping the Challengers.
War, a fictional historical event explored in most depth in the WildC.A.T.S series.
/2006
, DCU
character Captain Atom
appeared in a nine-part limited series
entitled Captain Atom: Armageddon under DC's WildStorm imprint. In this title, he wore the yellow/red outfit seen in the Kingdom Come
series.
In the story, Captain Atom experiences a time-shift at the moment of his apparent 2005 death in Superman/Batman
, transporting him to the WildStorm Universe. He quickly gets into and appears to win a fight with an overzealous Mr. Majestic. Observing the frightened reactions of onlookers, and puzzling over his own altered appearance, he realizes that he has somehow become trapped on an alternate Earth, one where super-heroes are feared by the general populace. Mistaken by the local super-heroes as the force destined to destroy their universe, he was in fact an instrument used ultimately by Nikola Hanssen, new host for half the essence of the Void
, to reclaim her whole power (partially lodged in his own body, and cause of his altered appearance). During the story Atom at first cooperates with both Wildcats and The Authority; as the story closes these two teams become enemies and are all killed, as Void triggers the reboot of the WildStorm universe.
The relaunched titles were:
New titles included:
During this period in Wildstorm's publishing history, the DC Comics year-long series 52
reimagined the Wildstorm Universe as part of the DC DC Multiverse
, designating it Earth-50.
Before the announcement that Morrison's series would not continue, Christos Gage filled in with The Authority: Prime. The series shipped promptly, and Gage was hired to write a new cross-universe series Wildstorm: Armageddon
. Armageddon comprised six one-shots based on six of the relaunched titles, and led into successive bi-weekly limited series Wildstorm: Revelations
and Number of the Beast
. These culminated in the World's End storyline, beginning July 2008, which documented worldwide catastrophe and saw several Wildstorm titles relaunched with new creative teams and a new status quo for the universe.
World's End titles:
Wildstorm editor Ben Abernathy
described this storyline as a new direction for the Wildstorm Universe:
Shared universe
A shared universe is a fictional universe to which more than one writer contributes. Work set in a shared universe share characters and other elements with varying degrees of consistency. Shared universes are contrasted with collaborative writing, in which multiple authors work on a single story....
where the comic book
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...
s published by Wildstorm
WildStorm
WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
take place. It represents an alternate history of the real world where ideas such as interstellar travel
Interstellar travel
Interstellar space travel is manned or unmanned travel between stars. The concept of interstellar travel in starships is a staple of science fiction. Interstellar travel is much more difficult than interplanetary travel. Intergalactic travel, or travel between different galaxies, is even more...
and superhuman
Superhuman
Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the near or distant future...
abilities are commonplace. It is also the name of one of three brands launched by Wildstorm to help differentiate their titles set in the same universe from other, separate titles. Originally launched as part of the Image Universe
Image Universe
The Image Universe is a fictional shared universe wherein many of the comic books published by Image Comics take place.-Publication history:The Image Universe began with the founding of Image Comics in 1992, launching with series such as The Savage Dragon, Spawn, Youngblood and WildC.A.T.s.Image...
, it broke off as its own separate universe during the Shattered Image event.
History
The Wildstorm Universe began as part of the Image Comics Universe. During Shattered ImageShattered Image
Shattered Image is a thriller drama film written by Duane Poole and directed by Raoul Ruiz. It stars William Baldwin, Anne Parillaud and Lisanne Falk.-Plot:...
, Wildstorm broke off from Image and constituted a separate universe. The Wildstorm's universe represents an alternate history of the real world, with further similarities to other comic book universes (especially the DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
). Interstellar travel and alien races, including the Kherubim
Kherubim
The Kherubim or Kherans are an alien race in the fictional Wildstorm Universe. They were created by Jim Lee and first appeared in WildC.A.Ts #1 .-Biology:...
and Drahn, are taken for granted, and centuries or more of alien contact gave rise to a distinctive mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
in Wildstorm worlds. Fictional technologies, or technologies only theoretically possible in the real world, are present in the Wildstorm Universe. Superhuman agents are commonplace and involved in world politics: 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...
dealt extensively with 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...
, and The Authority took over governance of the United Nations.
Metahumans
Superpowered characters in Wildstorm, other than those bioengineered for superhuman powers, represent three categories of metahumanMetahuman
Metahuman is a term to describe superhumans in DC Comics' shared universe, the DC Universe. It is roughly synonymous with both mutant and mutate and posthuman in the Wildstorm and Ultimate Marvel Universes. Use of the term in reference to superheroes was coined in 1986 by author George R. R...
:
- Alien-human hybrids: Hybrids are the result of interbreeding between humans and aliens. The most common hybrid are Kherubim-human half-breeds who inherit the powers of the KherubimKherubimThe Kherubim or Kherans are an alien race in the fictional Wildstorm Universe. They were created by Jim Lee and first appeared in WildC.A.Ts #1 .-Biology:...
race, but also manifest unique powers not found among the immortal alien race. Examples include VoodooVoodoo (Wildstorm)Voodoo is a comic book character from the Wildstorm Universe and has since been revived as part of the DC Universe.-Wildstorm:The first Voodoo series was a four-issue limited series, published in 1997 and written by Alan Moore.-DC Comics:...
, Backlash, CrimsonJet (Wildstorm)Backlash , formerly known as Crimson and Jet, is a fictional character of the Wildstorm universe. She first appeared in Backlash #9 and was created by Sean Ruffner and Brett Booth....
, and WarbladeWarblade (comics)Warblade is a comic book character from DC Comics/Wildstorm. Warblade starred in his own miniseries, The Razors Edge: Warblade in 2004/2005.-History:...
.
- Gen-ActiveGen-ActiveGen-Active is a comic book anthology-series from Wildstorm. It was published from 2000 to 2001 and ran for six issues.It is also the term used to describe a form of superhuman beings in the Wildstorm Universe, those who possess the Gen-Factor....
s are those people who were exposed to the Gen Factor Serum giving them special abilities. Examples include Caitlin FairchildCaitlin FairchildCaitlin Fairchild is a fictional comic book superhero, who appears in the Wildstorm series Gen¹³. She was created by writers Jim Lee and Brandon Choi, and artist J. Scott Campbell.-Early life:Fairchild is the daughter of Alex Fairchild of Team 7...
, GrungeGrunge (comics)Grunge is the codename of Percival Edmund Chang, a fictional comic book character from DC Comics/Wildstorm, and is a member of the superhero team Gen¹³.-Character history:Philip Chang sent his son into hiding while he was still an infant...
and Grifter.
- Seedlings: Another type of metahuman are known as seedlings. They are people who are mutated due to a radiation of a special cometCometA comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
that passed close to Earth. Many who were exposed to this comet became superhuman and were known as "Comet Enhanciles" or "Seedlings". Examples include Battalion, DivaDiva (comics)Diva is a fictional character appearing in the comic books published by Wildstorm. She is a member of StormWatch.-History:Daughter of a famous Italian opera singer, Alessandra was gifted with the same talent as her mother...
, HellstrikeHellstrikeNigel Keane, also known as Hellstrike, is a fictional comic book superhero in the Stormwatch series, first appearing in Stormwatch #1. He possesses the ability to project plasma as destructive bolts or as an energy stream to allow himself to fly...
, and FujiFuji (comics)Toshiro Misawa, also known as Fuji, is a comic book superhero in the Stormwatch series, first appearing in Stormwatch #1. He has immense size and strength as well as the ability to control the density of his body granted by his containment suit...
.
Earth-50
Though storylines in The Authority had portrayed Wildstorm as a multiverseMultiverse
The multiverse is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes that together comprise all of reality.Multiverse may also refer to:-In fiction:* Multiverse , the fictional multiverse used by DC Comics...
, the 2006-7 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...
event 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...
situated the Wildstorm Universe as a single parallel universe among 52 such realities in the DC Comics Multiverse.
52 made crossovers between DC and Wildstorm titles likely. The first of these occurred in Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: Wildstorm, a team called the Challengers visit the Wildstorm Universe on their tour of the multiverse in search of Ray Palmer
Ray Palmer (comics)
The Atom is a fictional character, a DC Comics superhero introduced during the Silver Age of comic books in Showcase # 34 . He was named after Raymond A...
, the only person capable of stopping a forthcoming Great Disaster. The Challengers conflicted with the Authority, who had killed a speedster left by Palmer as a marker that he had passed through. The fight ended when Majestic interceded and forced the Authority to let the Challengers go. Meanwhile Gen13 characters encountered another group of DC characters bent on stopping the Challengers.
Titles
Major titles set in the WildStorm Universe include:- The Authority
- Backlash
- CybernaryCybernaryCybernary is a comic book series created by comic book artist Nick Manabat with writer Steve Gerber and published by Wildstorm Productions in 1995...
- DeathblowDeathblowDeathblow is a fictional character in the . He first appears in Darker Image #1 was created by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi.-Fictional character biography:...
- Divine Right
- DV8DV8DV8 is a comic book published by Wildstorm. The series revolves around the lives of a group of Gen-Active people , initially living in New York under the supervision of Ivana Baiul, who sends them on life-threatening black ops assignments.-Publication history:The series lasted 32 issues, and was a...
- Gen¹³Gen¹³Gen¹³ is a fictional superhero team and comic book series originally written by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi and illustrated by J. Scott Campbell. It was originally published by Image Comics under the banner Wildstorm, which went on to become an imprint for DC Comics, who continued publishing the Gen¹³...
- Grifter
- JetJet (Wildstorm)Backlash , formerly known as Crimson and Jet, is a fictional character of the Wildstorm universe. She first appeared in Backlash #9 and was created by Sean Ruffner and Brett Booth....
- The Kindred
- The MonarchyMonarchy (comic book)The Monarchy was an American comic book series written by Doselle Young with art by John McCrea. It was published by Wildstorm. The Monarchy lasted 12 issues and had an intro-issue in The Authority #21....
- Mr. Majestic
- PlanetaryPlanetary (comics)Planetary is an American comic book limited series created by writer Warren Ellis and artist John Cassaday published by the Wildstorm imprint of DC Comics...
- Point BlankPoint Blank (comics)Point Blank was a five-issue comic book limited series written by Ed Brubaker with art by Colin Wilson. It was published by Wildstorm comics.It starred Grifter from the Wildcats investigating an attempted murder on his friend John Lynch.-Plot:...
- SleeperSleeper (comic book)Sleeper was a comic book series written by Ed Brubaker with art by Sean Phillips, published by DC Comics under their Wildstorm imprint. The series consisted of two twelve-issue limited series and the events of the first "season" served as a catalyst for the Coup D'Etat line-wide crossover.Sleeper...
- StormwatchStormwatch (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...
- Team 7
- UnionUnion (comics)Union is a fictional character in the Wildstorm universe.-Character history:Ohmen was a member of a faction, called the Protectorate, on his homeworld of Aegena. The world was mired in a long civil war, as the Protectorate fought against another faction, the Directorate, for control of the planet...
- Wetworks
- WildC.A.T.sWildcats (comics)Wildcats, sometimes rendered WildCats or WildC.A.T.s, is a fictional superhero team created by the American comic book artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi.-Publication history:...
- Wildcore
Team 7
Team 7 was one of the first comics set definitively in the Wildstorm Universe. The first Team 7 series lasted for 12 issues, composed of four-issue story arcs, including one that introduced the "Gen-Factor" storyline. Many subsequent Wildstorm Universe characters are associated with or related to the core Team 7 cast: Lynch, Deathblow, Grifter, Backlash and Dane themselves featured in numerous later Wildstorm publications; Gen13 are the sons and daughters of Team 7 characters; Wetworks was established by Dane; and Grifter is a member of WildC.A.T.S; Lynch was longtime head of International Operations; TeamOne was, chronologically, a precursor team to Team 7.WildC.A.T.S.
Many Wildstorm Universe stories referred to the Kherubium/DaemoniteDaemonite
The Daemonites are a fictional alien race in the . They were created by Jim Lee and first appeared in WildC.A.T.s. #1 .-Biology:Daemonites are reptilian aliens from the planet Daemon, who are capable of possessing host bodies...
War, a fictional historical event explored in most depth in the WildC.A.T.S series.
WildC.A.T.s/Aliens
A storyline that crossed over WildC.A.T.S, Stormwatch, and the movie franchise Aliens brought significant changes to the Wildstorm Universe, killing off many established characters and laying the ground for the Wildstorm Universe's new flagship series The Authority.Captain Atom: Armageddon
In 20052005 in comics
- January :* January 3: Will Eisner, creator of The Spirit, dies at age 87.-April:*April 13:**DC Comics announces the discontinuation of its Humanoids and 2000 A.D. titles....
/2006
2006 in comics
-January:*January 1, 2006: Newsweek offer a look back at 2005 through editorial cartoons. *January 2, 2006: The Cincinnati Enquirer cartoonist Jim Borgman starts a blog to detail his creative process...
, DCU
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
character Captain Atom
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for...
appeared in a nine-part limited 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....
entitled Captain Atom: Armageddon under DC's WildStorm imprint. In this title, he wore the yellow/red outfit seen in the Kingdom Come
Kingdom Come (comic book)
Kingdom Come is a four-issue comic book mini-series published in 1996 by DC Comics. It was written by Alex Ross and Mark Waid and painted in gouache by Ross, who also developed the concept from an original idea...
series.
In the story, Captain Atom experiences a time-shift at the moment of his apparent 2005 death in Superman/Batman
Superman/Batman
Superman/Batman was a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publisher's two most popular characters: Batman and Superman...
, transporting him to the WildStorm Universe. He quickly gets into and appears to win a fight with an overzealous Mr. Majestic. Observing the frightened reactions of onlookers, and puzzling over his own altered appearance, he realizes that he has somehow become trapped on an alternate Earth, one where super-heroes are feared by the general populace. Mistaken by the local super-heroes as the force destined to destroy their universe, he was in fact an instrument used ultimately by Nikola Hanssen, new host for half the essence of the Void
Void (comics)
Void is a fictional character in the Wildstorm Universe.-Fictional character biography:Adrianna was born in Arkhangelsk, Russia. Adrianna and her sister Svetlana were raised by their father after the death of their mother. Her father loved Adrianna and her ambition to become a cosmonaut and...
, to reclaim her whole power (partially lodged in his own body, and cause of his altered appearance). During the story Atom at first cooperates with both Wildcats and The Authority; as the story closes these two teams become enemies and are all killed, as Void triggers the reboot of the WildStorm universe.
Worldstorm
The 'reboot' set the ground for a November 2006 relaunch of many Wildstorm titles. At first, the new titles appeared to include major changes to WiIdstorm continuity; as stories progressed efforts were made to explain these changes so as to preserve continuity from before the Worldstorm event.The relaunched titles were:
- Wildcats by Grant MorrisonGrant MorrisonGrant 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 Jim LeeJim LeeJim Lee is a Korean-American comic book artist, writer, editor and publisher. He first broke into the industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics, illustrating titles such as Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journal, before gaining a great deal of popularity on The Uncanny X-Men...
- cancelled with issue #1. - WetworksWetworksWetworks is an American comic book series created by comic book artist Whilce Portacio and writer Brandon Choi. It ran for four years before ending in 1998...
by Mike Carey and Whilce PortacioWhilce PortacioWilliam "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...
- cancelled with issue #15. - The Authority by Grant Morrison and Gene HaGene HaGene Ha is an American comics artist and writer best known for his work on books such as Top 10 and Top 10: The Forty-Niners, with Alan Moore and Zander Cannon, for America's Best Comics, the Batman graphic novel Fortunate Son, with Gerard Jones, and The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, among...
- cancelled with issue #2. - Gen¹³Gen¹³Gen¹³ is a fictional superhero team and comic book series originally written by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi and illustrated by J. Scott Campbell. It was originally published by Image Comics under the banner Wildstorm, which went on to become an imprint for DC Comics, who continued publishing the Gen¹³...
by Gail SimoneGail SimoneGail Simone is an American writer of comic books. Best known for penning DC's Birds of Prey, her other notable works include Secret Six, Welcome to Tranquility, The All-New Atom, and Deadpool. In 2007, she took over Wonder Woman...
and Talent CaldwellTalent CaldwellTalent Caldwell is a comic book artist best known for his work on the Top Cow Productions character Fathom. He has also drawn for DC Comics' Superman and Marvel Comics' Spider-Man characters.-Biography:...
. - DeathblowDeathblowDeathblow is a fictional character in the . He first appears in Darker Image #1 was created by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi.-Fictional character biography:...
by Brian AzzarelloBrian AzzarelloBrian Azzarello is an American comic book writer. He came to prominence with the hardboiled crime series 100 Bullets, published by DC Comics' mature-audience imprint Vertigo.-Career:...
and Carlos D'Anda - cancelled with issue #9.
New titles included:
- Stormwatch: Post Human DivisionStormwatch: Post Human DivisionStormwatch: Post Human Division is an American comic book published by Wildstorm comics. It is the fourth volume to bear the name Stormwatch and was one of several comics used to reboot the Wildstorm Universe...
by Christos GageChristos GageChristos 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...
and Doug MahnkeDoug MahnkeDouglas "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...
. - The MidnighterMidnighterMidnighter 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...
by Garth EnnisGarth EnnisGarth Ennis is a Northern Irish comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series Preacher with artist Steve Dillon and his successful nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise...
and Chris SprouseChris SprouseChris Sprouse is an American comic book artist.-Biography:Chris Sprouse was born in Charlottesville, Virginia. At the age of 3 he moved with his family to New Delhi, India where he first discovered comics as he was unable to play outside due to the dangerous amount of snakes in the house yard...
- cancelled with issue #20. - Welcome to TranquilityWelcome to TranquilityWelcome to Tranquility is an American comic book series created by Gail Simone and Neil Googe and published by Wildstorm.The series is set in Tranquility, a fictional town in Oregon, which is home to retired superheroes and supervillains as well as their families...
by Gail Simone and Neil GoogeNeil Googe-Biography:Googe's early comics work include a Shotgun Mary mini-series and work on 2000 AD, including a number of Judge Dredd stories....
- cancelled with issue #12.
During this period in Wildstorm's publishing history, the DC Comics year-long series 52
52 (comic book)
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...
reimagined the Wildstorm Universe as part of the DC DC Multiverse
Multiverse (DC Comics)
The DC Multiverse is a fictional continuity construct that exists in stories published by comic book company DC Comics. The DC Multiverse consists of numerous worlds, most of them outside DC's main continuity, allowing writers the creative freedom to explore alternative versions of characters and...
, designating it Earth-50.
World's End
The Worldstorm relaunch faltered as 2007 drew on. Both flagship titles, The Authority and Wildcats, were slated to be written by Grant Morrison with "Wildcats" drawn by Jim Lee and "The Authority" drawn by Gene Ha, but the pair encountered serious delays. Only one issue of Wildcats and two of The Authority ever shipped. Eventually, amid disapproving fan reaction, both series were cancelled.Before the announcement that Morrison's series would not continue, Christos Gage filled in with The Authority: Prime. The series shipped promptly, and Gage was hired to write a new cross-universe series Wildstorm: Armageddon
Wildstorm: Armageddon
"Wildstorm: Armageddon" was a crossover event in the Wildstorm Universe, written by Christos Gage and drawn by various artists.Armageddon led into a number of bi-weekly series, Wildstorm: Revelations and Number of the Beast, which resulted in the relaunch of a number of Wildstorm titles.-Issues:The...
. Armageddon comprised six one-shots based on six of the relaunched titles, and led into successive bi-weekly limited series Wildstorm: Revelations
Wildstorm: Revelations
Wildstorm: Revelations is a comic book limited series, written by Scott Beatty and Christos Gage with art by Wes Craig.After "Wildcats: Armageddon", Nemesis recruits Savant and Backlash to help her try to stop the end of the world....
and Number of the Beast
Number of the Beast (comics)
Number of the Beast is a comic book limited series, written by Scott Beatty, with art by Chris Sprouse.Number of the Beast was the second of a number bi-weekly series, it was preceded by Wildstorm: Revelations, which resulted in the relaunch of a number of Wildstorm titles.-Characters:As well as...
. These culminated in the World's End storyline, beginning July 2008, which documented worldwide catastrophe and saw several Wildstorm titles relaunched with new creative teams and a new status quo for the universe.
World's End titles:
- Wildcats by Christos Gage, Neil Googe and Trevor HairsineTrevor HairsineTrevor Hairsine is a British comics artist, whose detailed style has been compared to that of Bryan Hitch.In August 2005 Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada named him as one of Marvel Comics's "Young Guns", a group of artists who have the qualities that make "a future superstar...
- The Authority by Dan AbnettDan AbnettDan Abnett is a British comic book writer and novelist. He is a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, since the 1990s, including 2000 AD...
/Andy LanningAndy LanningAndy Lanning is a British comic book writer and inker, known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and for his collaboration with Dan Abnett.-Career:Lanning works primarily at Marvel Comics and DC Comics as an inker...
and Simon ColebySimon ColebySimon Coleby is a British comic book artist who has worked mainly for British sci-fi comic 2000 AD and Marvel Comics.-Biography:... - Stormwatch: Post Human Division #13 by Ian EdgintonIan EdgintonIan Edginton is a British comic book writer.He is one of the few British comic talents to follow the reverse trajectory to the one usually taken: becoming successful in American comics before returning to work for 2000 AD.-Biography:...
and Leandro FernandezLeandro Fernández (artist)Leandro Fernandez is a comic book artist, known for his work on various Marvel comic book titles.-Career:Fernandez is best known for providing the art for The Incredible Hulk, Wolverine and Spider-Man: Tangled Web series, as well as one story arc of the Oni Press publication Queen & Country.His...
/Francisco Paronzini - Gen¹³ #21 by Scott BeattyScott BeattyScott Beatty is an American author who has written comic books and encyclopaedias based on DC Comics characters.-Biography:Beatty has worked extensively for the popular comic book publisher DC Comics since the mid '90s...
and Mike Huddleston
Wildstorm editor Ben Abernathy
Ben Abernathy
Ben Abernathy is the senior editor at WildStorm Productions a comic book company that also acts as an imprint of DC Comics.-Biography:Abernathy has held editorial positions at both Dark Horse Comics and Marvel Enterprises before moving to WildStorm....
described this storyline as a new direction for the Wildstorm Universe:
[T]his direction evolved following our WorldStorm launch a few years ago. Looking at the landscape of the industry, we realized we needed to move our universe in a different direction, something that the “Big Two” couldn’t, or wouldn’t, do for a long period of time. And we decided that direction should be toward a sci-fi/horror direction of a post-apocalyptic setting (to a degree, an almost logical extension to where the WSU has been headed for years). There have been “visions” of a devastated, bleak future in other mainstream super-hero books, but nothing with the lasting impact or direction that the World’s End books will be tackling.
See also
- Image ComicsImage ComicsImage 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...
- Image UniverseImage UniverseThe Image Universe is a fictional shared universe wherein many of the comic books published by Image Comics take place.-Publication history:The Image Universe began with the founding of Image Comics in 1992, launching with series such as The Savage Dragon, Spawn, Youngblood and WildC.A.T.s.Image...
- WildstormWildstormWildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
- DC UniverseDC UniverseThe DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
- List of Wildstorm titles
- Planetary/JLA: Terra Occulta, which showed a slightly different version of Wildstorm Universe.
- Fire From HeavenFire From Heaven (comics)"Fire From Heaven" was a company-wide crossover event story arc published by Wildstorm comics in 1996. The story ran across at least one issue of most Wildstorm titles at the time and several independent one-shots...
, an earlier crossover event in the Wildstorm Universe.
External links
- Mapping the Wildstorm Universe: The Authority, 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...
, December 8, 2008 - Mapping the Wildstorm Universe: Gen13, Comic Book Resources, December 17, 2008
- Mapping the Wildstorm Universe: Stormwatch P.H.D., Comic Book Resources, December 30, 2008