2008 Comic Debuts

The End League is a fictional superhero team appearing in their self-titled monthly comic book series by Dark Horse Comics, which began in January 2008.

Created by Rick Remender and Mat Broome, this series focuses on the struggles of the last of the superheroes in a world in which the supervillains have prevailed and enslaved what remains of the world.

Publication history

The series started in January 2008 and was written by Rick Remender, with pencils by Mat Broome and inks by Sean Parsons.

As of issue number five, Broome left for Marvel and Eric Canete will take over art duties, with Dave Stewart providing the colouring. With the new art team in place for the start of the second story arc, the title will start appearing on a monthly basis.

Characters

Team members

• Astonishman (Brian Terrance) – Known as the world’s greatest hero, he was more than one hundred years old before his death. Astonishman blamed himself for the state of the world due to his involvement in The Green Event (see below). He possessed super strength, super hearing, flight and invunerability. Astonishman drew energy from the Earth’s core. When his skin was broken, he leaked the very energy that granted him his powers. Upon his death, the energy vacated his body in a blast of nuclear proportions. He died from grievous injuries sustained at the hands (and hammer) of Thor.
• Soldier American (Nicholas “Nick” Winters) – Active since the 1930s, Soldier American participated in a government program that gave him the speed and strength of ten men. He also has the ability to create energy machetes. During a raid on a food facility, he killed his longtime sidekick The Devil Boy while possessed by the villain Scarecrow Sinister.
• Blur Girl (Rebecca Watts) – Blur is the fastest human left alive. She is Astonishman’s goddaughter and in a romantic relationship with The Blue Gauntlet.
• The Blue Gauntlet (Palmira) – Described by writer Rick Remender as “a pacifist powered by an ancient alien parasite,” Palmira is in a lesbian relationship with Rebecca. Her powers seem to be mainly energy-based. She can also fly.
• Mother Hive – Mother Hive is a powerful telepath who coordinates the team missions from the safety of the Citadel of Seclusion.
• The Arachnakid- An extremely tall and lithe adventurer with two pairs of arms, sharp teeth, and an acerbic wit used to hide his loneliness and self-pity.
• The Prairie Ghost- Deemed by series writer Rick Remender a “living poltergeist,” the Prairie Ghost’s powers and personality have yet to be fully revealed. He possesses a strong, ghostly steed and wields mystical chains as weaponry. He speaks with a Southern accent and seems to be of a rather bellicose mentality. He, like Codename Black, does not seem to have any compunctions regarding using lethal force when necessary.
• Brother Occult – Called the “mysterious Master of the Nether Realms,” this mage’s power seems to be derived mainly from the bargains he makes with various demons, such as one known as Azul. Azul is supposedly bound in servitude to Brother Occult.
• Divinity – A self-described “god-killer,” Divinity is one of the “big three,” a subgroup comprising the leadership of The End League. The other members are Codename Black and Astonishman. Divinity wields a powerful sword which can both wound and heal (as evidenced by its temporary restoration of Thor’s mental capacity, post-lobotomy). The series hints at strong sexual/romantic tension between her and Astonishman.
• Codename Black (Zane Ladle) A mysterious non-Magnificent clad in an impressive suit of armor and revealed to have extensive knowledge of martial arts, as well as near-perfect skills in planning. He also seemingly shows little to no hesitance when it comes to the use of lethal force (as seen in issue #2). According to a conversation with his arch-nemesis, the Smiling Man, Black’s family all received powers during the Green Event. They subsequently went mad and became super villains. This has further stoking the flames of Codename Black’s paranoia regarding all Magnificents. Soldier American openly described him as a “schizophrenic.”
• Grimwood – Described by writer Rick Remender as a “spirit-man made of Earth stuff,” Grimwood is an enormous humanoid with an extremely easygoing demeanor. He also seems to be the most philosophical of the remaining Magnificents, and does his best to keep his friends optimistic. He has something of a father-son relationship with Arachnakid, and is relentless in his desire to protect his friends and the remaining innocents on Earth after the Green Event.

Adversaries

• Thor – The Norse God of Thunder and son of Odin, Thor disobeyed his father’s orders, refusing to return to Valhalla, instead staying on Earth to help mankind. He is mysteriously absent and presumed dead on the day of The Green Event. It is hinted he and Astonishman are at around the same level in terms of sheer power; Astonishman’s monologue in issue 1 supports the theory the two titans were friends at some point. Thor arrives at the end of issue 1, lobotomized by and completely under the control of Dead Lexington. He beats Astonishman to death between moments of lucidity brought about by Divinity’s sword.
• Charles “Dead” Lexington – Archenemy of Astonishman, Dead Lexington was responsible for tricking Astonishman into triggering The Green Event. Following “The Day of Annihilation” (an event in which most of the world’s superheroes died, see Plot Synopsis below), Dead Lexington has appointed himself the ruler of the world. In exchange for power he has made a deal with a demon called Nargor’ri the Ravager, offering the demon all the nations of the world except for his city New Lexington.
• Scarecrow Sinister – Capable of possessing others, Scarecrow Sinister operates a food facility for Dead Lexington in the remains of northern Canada and seems to have the ability to possess the bodies and minds of others, turning them into puppets to follow his will. While Scarecrow Sinister was possessing Prairie Ghost to kill Soldier American, Blur Girl killed the villain by throwing his body out of a building.
• The Smiling Man – A clown-like villain inhabiting a trap-filled amusement park in the city of Lore, formerly known as Los Angeles. Easily the most unhinged villain, he openly acknowledges the homoerotic undertones of his relationship with Codename Black. He evidently keeps a “stable of wives” with whom he regularly seems to have sex with. He is also related to Codename Black, but not a member of the Family Fear.
• Wolfsangel – A brutal Nazi warlord with seemingly reptilian characteristics. He plans to overthrow Dead Lexington by using the hammer of Thor and the clones of dead superheroes. He conducts his experiments in his city called the Berlin Dome.
• Minister of Matter – (Peter Ladle) Member of the Family Fear, Dead Lexington’s most trusted associate and one of Codename Black’s brothers. He now has joined forces with Wolfsangel and other villians to overthrow Dead Lexington.
• Sonic Eel – (Jen Ladle) Member of the Family Fear and Codename Black’s sister.
• Azul – A demon once forced to serve Brother Occult. It has become a herald to Nargor’ri.
• Nargor’ri the Ravager – A inter-dimensional demon whose sole purpuse is to end all life for mortals and gods. It has already killed all the Norse gods in Asgard and is moving on to Olympus and Earth.

Plot synopsis

The End League

In May 1962, the superhero Astonishman triggered a worldwide cataclysm known as The Green Event. His archenemy, the villain Dead Lexington, led Astonishman to believe an alien ship at the bottom of the ocean was a communist nuclear facility. Astonishman detonated a nuclear missile in the ship. That exploded the alien power core, releasing a wave of radiation and knocking the Earth off its axis. The radiation killed three billion people; one in ten thousand of the survivors would later develop superhuman abilities. The Norse god Thor had remained on Earth after all of the other classical gods left. Believed to be the only being whose power equaled Astonishman’s, Thor went missing on the day of The Green Event and was believed dead.

Picking the best of the superhumans, Astonishman formed the Squadron of Righteousness. Its mission was to repair the damage done to the planet and to protect humanity against the other superhumans, now supervillains. Eventually the supervillains joined forces and eliminated the world’s superheroes in an event known as The Day of Annihilation. Astonishman and the remaining superheroes escaped to Astonishman’s Citadel of Seclusion. They remained hidden for 12 years. Known as The End League, the heroes spent that time focusing on survival and searching for the Hammer of Thor, Mjolnir, which they believe can save the world.

On the twelve year anniversary of The Day of Annihilation, the starving members of The End League planned a raid on Scarecrow Sinister’s food facility in northern Canada. Astonishman gathered a strike team consisting of himself, Soldier American, Prairie Ghost, Divinity, Brother Occult and the rookie Blur Girl. Once onsite, Brother Occult’s demon servant Azul attacked the team and betrayed them to Dead Lexington. Dead Lexington appeared via remote monitor to gloat that he knows where the Citadel of Seclusion is and will be attacking it shortly. As Blur Girl runs off to warn the team, she is stopped by a now-lobotomized Thor who stands ready to kill his former allies.

The brain-damaged Thor and the End League battle. Blur Girl and Soldier American are quickly injured and out of the fight. Astonishman is initially paralyzed by doubts about their ability to defeat Thor but joins in the fight. Divinity temporarily restored Thor’s lucidity with her sword. He warned Astonishman a greater danger threatens Earth and then tells Astonishman that he must kill him. After Thor again loses his mind, Astonishman is still reluctant to strike a lethal blow. Thor strikes a mortal blow against Astonishman with Mjolnir. The energy released explosively from Astonishman’s body apparently kills the both of them. Mjolnir is undamaged and recovered by someone, possibly Lexington.

Lexington proclaimed Astonishman’s death to the public and moved to consolidate his power. He sent his agents to abduct Kelly Klein, the leader of an underground church. Codename Black had promised Astonishman he will protect her. Codename Black fought the agents but they were successful in capturing Klein. Black, here, is shown using lethal force against one attacker, ruining her superpowers in one throat-crushing maneuver.

In the Nether Realm, Azul gloats to the captive Brother Occult. Azul tells him Lexington freed the demon, but Azul serves a greater power, Nargor’ri the Ravager, who arrives in the final scene with a promise to “end all”.

Collected editions

The series is being collected into trade paperbacks:

• Ballad of Big Nothing (collects issues #1-4, 104 pages, Dark Horse Comics, October 2008, ISBN 1595821953)
• Weathered Statues (collects issues #5-8, 104 pages, Dark Horse Comics, May 2009, ISBN 159582300X)