The Authority is a superhero comic book published by DC Comics under the Wildstorm imprint. It was created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, and follows the adventures of the Authority, a superhero team mainly composed of Ellis-created characters taken from Stormwatch – a title Ellis had previously written.
It is notable for its intense graphic violence, grand scale and visual flair, often described as “widescreen” comics, and the uncompromising attitudes of its characters.
Core roster
The founding members of the Authority are
- Jenny Sparks, the Spirit of the Twentieth Century, the group’s founder and original leader
- Apollo, “the Sun God”
- Midnighter, “Night’s Bringer of War”
- Jeroen Thorndike, the Doctor (initially thought to be the second Doctor, he was subsequently shown to be the latest in a long line)
- Angela Spica, the second Engineer
- Jack Hawksmoor, “King of Cities”, leader of the Authority 2000-2005, and
- Shen Li-Min, a.k.a. Swift.
Following the “Outer Dark” story arc (see below), Jenny Sparks is replaced with
- Jenny Quantum, the Spirit of the Twenty-First Century, Authority leader 2005 to present.
After “The Eternal Return” (again, see below), new members of the Authority are
- Rose Tattoo and
- Habib ben Hassan, Thorndike’s successor as Doctor.
The Authority’s base of operations is the Carrier, a gigantic interdimensional “shiftship” existing everywhere on Earth at the same time and capable of moving through every imaginable plane of existence. Usually referred to as a female, the Carrier is in fact sentient and could be considered an additional member of the team.
Storylines
Main article: List of The Authority story arcs
Publication history
Volume 1
Ellis/ Hitch Era
In 1999, Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch introduced readers to the Authority, a team of superheroes who promised to get the job done by whatever means necessary. They were: Jenny Sparks, the Spirit of the 20th Century; Jack Hawksmoor, the king of cities; Swift, a Tibetan woman with wings and sharp talons; Apollo, a bio-engineered gay Superman pastiche; The Midnighter, a Batman pastiche who was the lover of Apollo and possessed the ability to foresee his opponents’ moves in combat; The Engineer, a scientist who replaced her blood with nine pints of nano-technology; and the Doctor, a Dutch junkie with the combined powers of hundreds of shamans who had come before him.
The Ellis/Hitch run of The Authority lasted 12 issues, divided in three story-arcs: The Circle, Shiftships, and The Outer Dark. They showed an increasingly dangerous enemy: an international terrorist (previously seen in Stormwatch), an invasion from an alternative Earth, and “God,” the hostile alien creator of the Solar system, with corresponding high scale violence and property destruction. The usage of a narrative tool called decompression, taken mainly from manga and novel in American super-hero comic-books, was distinctive: big, panoramic panels were used to examine action in deep detail, with a slower rhythm and lighter plotting per issue.
The run was hugely successful with readers, providing a form of large scale superhero action which was (at the time) not common in comics. Ellis never obviously delved into the politics of his characters; he left that to the reader to decide. This was soon to change after Ellis and Hitch finished their run on the series.
Millar/Quitely Era
Cover to #19. Art by Frank Quitely
Cover featuring Swift.
Replacing Ellis and Hitch were Mark Millar and the pseudonymous Frank Quitely. The Millar/Quitely run kept the widescreen narrative and violence of its predecessor, and added an irreverent and somehow revolutionary attitude to the characters, who fought social injustice and, if needed, the status quo, not minding crossing some lines to pursue their own agenda of making a finer world. This interesting and polemic analysis of the role of the super-hero in society was extremely popular with fans and critics alike.
During Millar’s run, the Authority, now under Jack Hawksmoor’s leadership following Jenny Sparks’ death at the end of the 20th Century, faced such foes as a thinly-veiled Marvel Universe, the Earth itself, and the US government, who had grown tired of the Authority’s interference with the activities of the world’s governments, and replaced them with a duplicate team of superheroes backed by the G7 group of nations. Also, Jenny Sparks’ successor, Jenny Quantum, was adopted by a now-married Apollo and Midnighter, and the Doctor overcame his drug addiction after feeling guilty for not being around for one of the Authority’s biggest challenges after suffering an overdose of heroin.
This run proved to be highly controversial and led into the title suffering from censorship by DC. The first instance of this censorship was a removal of a kiss between Apollo and Midnighter due to DC’s concern that it would lead to negative media reports. The matter would come to a head after the events of the September 11 attacks during Millar’s final story arc, “Brave New World”. This happened in issue #22, which proved to be Quitely’s last issue as artist. Issue #23 was delayed after the 9/11 attacks, and a one-shot special (written and drawn by Bryan Hitch) entitled The Authority: Widescreen was cancelled outright due to concerns about the violence in that issue.
To allow Quitely’s replacement to catch up, a four issue fill-in storyline called “Transfer Of Power” written by Tom Peyer, was published featuring the G7 Authority team. The final Millar arc began with issue #27, and it was in this issue where the most serious censorship of story and art would occur in the series. Scenes of necrophilia, violence set in New York, and scenes of the Authority’s members being humiliated and degraded were changed from what was originally drawn by Quitely’s replacement, Art Adams..
Also altered were panels clearly showing George W. Bush being portrayed as a cowardly figure. This was felt to be unpatriotic after 9/11 hence the editing of the panels, replacing Bush with a fictional president (seemingly President Merkin Muffley from Stanley Kubrick’s film Dr. Strangelove). Further editing occurred in issue 28 which caused this issue to be delayed. These delays in shipping were now affecting the titles sales, causing them to drop.Millar’s final issue was drawn by Gary Erskine after Adams had left the title, unhappy with how his art had been censored.
Volume 2
The series was subsequently restarted, and was written by Robbie Morrison with art by Dwayne Turner (except for the single issue “Behemoth”, which featured art by Tan Eng Huat, and “Street Life”, which was pencilled by Whilce Portacio). This incarnation of the series lasted for 15 issues (numbered 0 to 14), and prior to issue 10, the series was part of the Coup d’état crossover that included The Authority, Stormwatch: Team Achilles, Sleeper, and Wildcats v3.0. This crossover revolved around the Authority taking over the United States of America.
Revolution
The series was again restarted in October 2004 under the title The Authority: Revolution. This series was written by Ed Brubaker with art by Dustin Nguyen and Richard Friend. It focuses on the troubles the Authority faces as the rulers of America.
Volume 3
Morrison/ Ha Era
Promotional image by Gene Ha.
In February 2006, it was announced that Grant Morrison would write The Authority Volume 3, with art by Gene Ha. The series was to be published bimonthly, beginning in October 2006. Morrison has “cited Warren Ellis’s original run as an approach he wants to return to, saying his new approach will allow the team to be effectual again”.
Morrison and Ha’s first issue was released in December 2006. It followed a family man named Ken in his search for a downed submarine. The sub apparently encountered something massive and unexpected in the depths of the ocean that caused it to be destroyed. Careful readers will notice one of the Authority’s “doors” appeared just before the interior of the sub ignited. Indeed, when Ken finds the ship, many of the crew are missing. The issue ends as Ken and his search party encounter the Authority’s carrier, 50 miles long, lying on the ocean floor. Notably, no members of the Authority appear in this first issue.
The second issue eventually was out five months afterwards, and dealt with the Authority’s reaction to crash-landing on an Earth far less developed than their own. Ken meets The Authority but begins to question their methodology.
In September 2007, Gene Ha was quoted at Newsarama as saying that he did not believe his run with Morrison would continue. “…I don’t think The Authority #3 by Grant Morrison and Gene Ha is ever coming out. Grant is busy redesigning the DC Universe and I’ve moved onto new projects. Most importantly, it seems that editor Scott Dunbier has been forced out of Wildstorm. There is no #3 script, there may never be a #3 script.”
Scott Peterson announced at Wondercon 2008 that he had talked to Morrison two weeks ago about The Authority, and there is “very serious progress” and it should start shipping again toward the end of this year. When asked to comment upon his inability to complete further issues of the Authority, Morrison has said that ‘”Authority was just a disaster.” He said that they were doing it and running late when 52 started, but when he saw the reviews to first issue, “I said fuck it.” ‘
On the 19th April 2008, Wildstorm has released further information on the upcoming completion of Morrison’s run, announcing the Keith Giffen will complete Grant Morrison’s scripts. Unfortunately, although he will be completing the full twelve issue run, he ran into an immediate problem: “I stepped into a book that was in the midst of a type of storyline that is probably my least favorite in comics. And that is, heroes come to our earth” However, according to Giffen, this is only the first short arc of the longer story:
| “ |
The story that Grant started wraps up in two more issues, then it moves into another adventure.
…
This book is about the Authority having trouble with the Carrier and they’re trying to find their way home. It’s almost like the Odyssey, in a way, as trying to find your way home and going through various adventures. And this is what Grant had planned. This is in keeping with the basic structure that he told me over the phone. But then, I’ll put in my point of view.
|
” |
Volume 4
Abnett/Lanning/Colby Era
Main article: World’s End (comics)
It has been announced that in the new World’s End status quo, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning will be take over the writing duties, accompanied by artist Simon Coleby. Senior Wildstorm editor Ben Abernathy has also stated that four issues have already been completed by the new team – “I can say honestly, based on the four issues of script and art that are already in-the-can, people will NOT be disappointed!”
Although Abnett and Lanning have signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, it allows them to finish existing projects, which includes their fifteen issue run on The Authority.
Miniseries, specials, and crossovers
Authority Annual 2000
This annual written by Joe Casey and penciled by Cully Hammer depicts the Authority dealing with a number of the undead as part of the Devil’s Night crossover running throughout several Wildstorm titles at the time. Collected in The Authority: Earth Inferno and Other Stories.
Jenny Sparks: The Secret History of the Authority (2000-2001)
This five-issue miniseries written by Mark Millar and penciled by John McCrea recalls Jenny Sparks’s first meetings with her future teammates. She also encounters notable historical and fictional characters such as Hitler and Rumpole.
Ruling the World (2000)
This was a crossover with Ellis’ other creation, Planetary, written by Ellis, and illustrated by Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning.
It was particularly notable in that despite being a crossover title the two teams (Planetary and the Authority) never actually meet during the course of the story, thus avoiding the usual crossover schtick of “characters fight each other over some misunderstanding, only to later team up against the real enemy”, a well worn format that most crossovers seem to follow. However, it did not completely avoid this schtick as Planetary fought a version of the Authority from an alternate universe.
It was published first in prestige format and later collected in the Planetary: Crossing Worlds graphic novel.
Wildstorm Summer Special (2001)
A short anthology containing three stories of characters from the Wildstorm universe and includes the following: a Jack Hawksmoor story by Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer; a story about the Engineer’s sex life by Paul Jenkins and Georges Jeanty; a short story regarding the Wildcats member Zealot and; a series of artists’ pin ups depicting various characters from the Authority and Wildcats. Collected in The Authority: Earth Inferno and Other Stories.
Kev Saga
The Authority: Kev (2002)
This single issue story written by Garth Ennis and penciled by Glenn Fabry introduced Kev Hawkins, a Special Air Services corporal turned unwilling assassin (due to a pesky affair when a tiger ate a cabinet minister under his protection). In the story, he is called in by the British government to remove the Authority. Supplied with an alien-created gun and ammunition, Kev manages to do this rather easily. He soon discovers to his horror that the British government wasn’t behind his orders, but rather an alien with designs on Earth who masqueraded as his superior. Kev must convince the Carrier to rewind time and return the Authority to life so they can save Earth. The Authority decide to let Kev off, but Kev still gets beat up by Apollo and Midnighter for making a homophobic remark.
Continuity Note: This story is clearly placed before Volume 1’s Earth Inferno and Transfer of Power storylines (where the American government has the post-Jenny Sparks Authority neutralized by Seth and replaced with the G7-appointed Authority), as Kev’s “boss” comments on her order to eliminate the Authority: “We assumed the Americans would do something about them, but Washington seems to be dragging its heels.” Additionally, as evidenced by Jenny Sparks’ absence (as well as no mention or appearance of Baby Jenny Quantum) we can presume this story takes place early in the period between Volume 1’s Outer Dark [Issue # 12 being the last live appearance of Jenny Sparks] and the early period of The Nativity [Issue # 13 being the introduction of Jenny Quantum] storylines.
The Authority: More Kev (2004)
Ennis and Fabry re-teamed for this four-issue miniseries in which transdimensional aliens called the Rakulai threaten Earth in their search for their #1 archcriminal, Slippery B’eeef the Galactic Thief. Years ago he flew to Earth and masqueraded as a British cabinet minister, the same one that was eaten by a tiger. This, while under Kev’s protection. Apollo and Midnighter must team up with their favorite homophobic SAS agent to find B’eeef’s remains, since the Rakulai can regrow themselves from a single cell.
Continuity Note: Again, Jenny Quantum makes no appearance in this story, even in team scenes aboard the Carrier, so it may be presumed that More Kev takes place, like Kev before it, in the same period of media exposure and activity the Authority experienced after Jenny Sparks’ death and Jenny Quantum is introduced. The Midnighter’s quote of it being “a couple of years” since his first encounter with Kev indicates that the Authority had been active for at least that long between Outer Dark and The Nativity. Additionally, Kev’s boss comments “… while the Americans have adopted a typically confrontational attitude in their handling of the Authority, we at M.I.5 prefer a more circumspect approach…” which wouldn’t have been the case post-Brave New World, as the UK took part in the replacement G7 Authority. On the other hand, a caption in issue #2 places the story in 2004, which would make Jenny Quantum (born on the cusp of the popular millennium) four years old at the telling. In addition, the boss’ comment could have been in reference to Seth’s actions in Brave New World, downplaying the UK’s involvement.
The Authority: The Magnificent Kevin (2005-2006)
In this five-issue miniseries, written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Carlos Ezquerra, (with covers by Glenn Fabry), Kev is again allied with the Authority. After all of the Authority except for Midnighter are neutralized by a bizarre intruder, Kev is sent to pick him up. Kev tells about how he entered the British S.A.S., and he and Midnighter uncover underground dealings by the British military to create their own superhumans. At long last, Kev gets his chance to redeem himself and escape the pall hanging over his career — but at a cost.
Continuity Note: As with the previous Kev stories, Jenny Sparks and Jenny Quantum are notably absent, placing it the same post-Sparks/ pre-Quantum period shown in the early pages of The Nativity. There is a mention of a German-speaking Pope in the second part of the story, a possible reference to Benedict, who was ordained in 2005, but whether this should be viewed as a topical reference from the publishing year of the issue or a key continuity event in the story is subjective. Though in Authority continuity, Pope John Paul had been slain in a hurricane, to be replaced by a black man.
A Man Called Kev (2006-2007)
Garth Ennis and Carlos Ezquerra return for the fourth installment of Kev’s adventures. No member of the Authority actually appears in this miniseries, in which Kev encounters his old tiger-sheltering friend Danny Redburn and deals with trouble from his own past.
The Authority: Scorched Earth (2003)
This single issue story was written by Robbie Morrison and illustrated by Frazer Irving, and published (and presumed to take place directly) between Volumes 2 and 3. The Earth’s Sun is suffering a major, potentially cataclysmic, upheaval. Its temperature is rising at an impossible rate and enormous solar flares are erupting from the photosphere, sending fireballs directly to Earth. The Authority finds out that Winter, the former field commander of Stormwatch Prime and an old friend of Hawksmoor’s, is behind it. After he piloted SkyWatch into the sun, his energy absorbing powers made him become one with it. Trapped in eternal agony and enraged by the cruelty on Earth, Winter wanted to destroy it. The Authority are forced to cage him inside the sun.
The Authority: Human on the Inside (2004)
This single issue story was written by John Ridley and illustrated by Ben Oliver, and set between Volume 1’s Brave New World and Volume 2’s Reality Incorporated, published in hardcover and softcover. A story of vengeance and despair, showing the Authority manipulated by various enemies, such as the father of Rush (one of the G7 superhumans who replaced the Authority) and “The One Who Has Lost All Hope”. Jackson King, formerly Battalion of StormWatch, leads the Authority briefly after Jack Hawksmoor is wounded in battle. They are able to overcome their human faults (Apollo and Midnighter’s insecurity about their relationship, the Doctor’s drug addiction, the Engineer’s fears of whether or not she is human, etc.) and stop the future itself from being destroyed.
The Authority/Lobo
The Authority/ Lobo: Jingle Hell (2004)
This single issue book was written by Keith Giffen (story), and Alan Grant (dialogue), and illustrated by Simon Bisley. Set during Christmas early in the Volume 2 era, as Baby Jenny Quantum is of toddler age, walking and talking. Baby Jenny Quantum, left to her own devices on Christmas Eve, comes across a Lobo comic book in an unexplored area of the Carrier. In the book. Lobo is shown killing Santa Claus. Upset, her imagination runs loose and she accidentally brings Lobo to the Wildstorm universe, where he proceeds to hunt down the Authority at the behest of the parasites living in “God’s” corpse (from Volume 1’s Outer Dark storyline, now floating in orbit around Jupiter). The parasites offer God’s fresh organs (valuable at the Intergalactic Organ Gambling tables) as payment to Lobo.
The Authority/ Lobo: Spring Break Massacre (2005)
Giffen, Grant, and Bisley re-team for this single-issue story, presumably set during the Volume 2 era, for the same reasons mentioned above.
Wildstorm Winter Special (2005)
A short anthology containing four stories about characters from the Wildstorm universe and includes the following: a story about the Wildcats member Zealot; an adventure of Midnighter and Apollo’s written by Tom Peyer and Cary Nord; a story about Wildstorm hero Deathblow and; a story depicting Jack Hawksmoor by Will Pfeifer and Scott Iwahashi.
The Authority: Prime (2007 – 2008)
In July 2007, it was announced that Christos Gage and Darick Robertson would do an intended story arc as a miniseries instead. This is because of scheduling problems with the current Morrison/Ha run on the title.
The Authority: Prime is a six-issue miniseries, as the intended arc would have spanned issues #6 to #11 of The Authority. It will feature the renewed Stormwatch Prime, who along with the Authority investigate a recently-discovered secret bunker that once belonged to Henry Bendix.
The Secret History of The Authority: Jack Hawksmoor (2008)
A six-issue miniseries shedding light on the life of Jack Hawksmoor before he joined Stormwatch and The Authority, featuring art by Fiona Staples, covers by Cully Hamner, and written by Mike Costa.
Collected editions
The entire run of The Authority (vol. 1) is collected in four trade paperbacks:
- Relentless (collects # 1-8, ISBN 1-56389-661-3)
- Under New Management (collects # 9-16, ISBN 1-56389-756-3)
- Earth Inferno and Other Stories (collects # 17-20, the Annual 2000 and the Summer Special)
- Transfer of Power (collects # 22-29)
The Authority #21 is collected in The Monarchy: Bullets Over Babylon trade, since it was the starting point for The Monarchy series.
The series was also collected in oversized slipcased hardcovers with extras:
- The Absolute Authority Vol. 1 (collects # 1-12)
- The Absolute Authority Vol. 2 (collects # 13-20, 22, & 27-29)
Three volumes collect The Authority (vol. 2):
- Harsh Realities (collects Vol 2 # 0-5)
- Fractured Worlds (collects Vol 2 # 6-14)
- Coup d’état (collects the Coup d’état crossover)
The Revolution series has been collected in two trade paperbacks:
- The Authority: Revolution Book 1 (collects # 1-6)
- The Authority: Revolution Book 2 (collects # 7-12)
The issues from The Authority (vol. 4) are being collected:
- The Authority: World’s End (136 pages, August 2009, ISBN 1401223621)
So far the Kev stories have been collected into three trade paperbacks:
- The Authority: Kev (collects Kev # 1 and More Kev # 1-4)
- The Authority: The Magnificent Kevin (collects The Magnificent Kevin # 1-5)
- The Authority: A Man Called Kev: Volume 3 (Collecting the hit 5-issue miniseries! After murdering his boss in a nasty government scheme, Kev Hawkins has been banished from the United Kingdom under pain of death. What does the world hold for a man with little life experience or job training beyond wetworks and assassination? 112 pages)
The Lobo stories were collected in:
- Lobo/Authority: Holiday Hell (Wildstorm, 160 pages, August 2006, ISBN 1-4012-0992-0):
- “The Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special” (1991)
- “Jingle Hell” (2004)
- “Spring Break Massacre” (2005)
- “Two Dangerous Ideas” (starring Apollo & Midnighter, by Tom Peyer and Cary Nord, in Wildstorm Winter Special, 2005)
- “A Small World After all” (starring Jack Hawksmoor, by Will Pfeifer and Scott Iwahashi, in Wildstorm Winter Special, 2005)
Other members of the Authority
The Nativity
- Dr. Krigstein briefly joined the Authority at the end of The Nativity but was thrown out when the Authority was displaced during Brave New World and Transfer of Power. The Carrier still holds some of Krigstein’s odd “experiments” and tech in his former quarters.
Transfer of Power
During the Peyer-written story arc Transfer of Power, the members of the Authority were temporarily replaced with analogues who had roughly the same powers. Their names were references to and/or parodies of the original characters’ names. Unlike the original Authority, this group was intentionally selected by a council which sought to have heroes representing the G7 nations. During this story arc, the original members were believed dead or incapacitated in some fashion.
- The Colonel, a British ex-footballer who was the de facto leader of the Authority. He had abilities similar to Jenny Sparks’, although apparently limited to producing electric shocks. He behaved like the classic football hooligan, and incorporated many of the more negative aspects of British working class stereotypes. He was also quite demoralizing (and incompetent) as the group leader as he would insult every member of the team on a regular basis.
- Street, Jack Hawksmoor’s black gangster analogue. His powers were somewhat different, in that he could cause the city to manifest stone-based avatars to fight. He was American and willfully ignorant.
- Rush, like Swift, had wings, the origin of which was later explained, in the graphic novel “Human on the Inside”, to be the result of posthuman surgery at the behest of her father, Dr. Ledbedder. She was selected to represent Canada, and her name is an obvious reference to the popular rock band of the same name (see Rush), as she is also known as “Canada’s premiere singer-songwriter”. The character herself claimed she was a lesbian.
- Teuton, Apollo’s analogue. He was German, more than a touch insane, prone to weeping, and more than a little bi-curious. He made continual strides to explore this with Last Call. It was hinted that he may have been a clone.
- Last Call, The Midnighter’s analogue, was a reactionary homophobe as a result of everyone just assuming that he must be gay as well, but his homophobia saves the team on one occasion to disprove that. He was from Italy and was an F-1 driver before receiving his upgrades.
- The Surgeon, given control over the Doctor’s powers, was never fully accepted by the collective consciousness of the previous Doctors, nor did he want to be. He was French and a 21st century alchemist.
- Machine, was given the nanotechnology extracted from the Engineer’s body (while Angela Spica’s blood was temporarily replaced with that of a heroin addict), which was billed as “the finest of Japanese picotechnology”. She was Japanese.
- Chaplain Action, self-proclaimed “He-Man of the Cloth,” a superpowered religious figure affiliated with the team at The Colonel’s behest in order to give the Authority a more pious, morally-grounded image as a PR stunt. The ruse backfires, however, as Chaplain Action takes his job much more seriously than anticipated. He demonstrates superhuman strength, as well as an invulnerability to The Colonel’s electrical powers (to which he responds, “Nothing shocks me, Colonel.”).
Human on the Inside
- Jackson King, previously known as Battalion and the third Weatherman. A powerful telekinetic, he led the team for a short time at the behest of the American government during the graphic novel Human on the Inside while Jack Hawksmoor was crippled. When Hawksmoor was healed, King left the team.
- Danny Chan, a seemingly Asian martial artist. In reality, he was a cybernetic spy sent by the U.S. Government to infiltrate the Authority and destroy them from within during Human on the Inside. He kissed the Engineer and then Midnighter, trying to create trouble inside the team. When he was discovered by the Engineer, she immediately destroyed him in a rage.
The Authoriteens
Appearing in Gen¹³, the “Authoriteens” are a teenaged version of the Authority’s 2007 roster, from an alternate universe without grown-ups and where many of the Wildstorm characters are children or teenagers.
- Kid Apollo. A teenage Apollo, every bit as powerful as his namesake although quicker to use violent force, he defeated Caitlin Fairchild, who is believed the strongest teenager in the Wildstorm Universe. He’s “somewhat overprotective of Daybreaker”, but his teammates cannot figure out why. He’s killed by Grunge, forced to use his powers to mimic the suicide booth the Authoriteens were about to use on his teammates. His death causes the return of the whole team into their dimension, a source of grieving for Daybreaker and a mental breakdown in Grunge.
- Daybreaker. A teenage Midnighter. He is slang spewing, mischievous, brash and slightly immature. Despite having the same enhancement of his grown-up counterpart, Daybreaker (apparently called “Denny”) is very easily distracted, which means his ability to calculate thousands of outcomes for a fight is somewhat lacking.
- The Contractor. A teenaged Engineer, she appears very proud of her cybernetic enhancement. Due to her younger age, she doesn’t share the “nude” look with the Engineer, appearing instead as wearing a darker metal swimsuit on her metal-looking body.
- The Intern. A teenage Doctor, as a trainee he doesn’t have full Doctor powers but is aware of the Multiverse, and able to traverse safely through “The Gutters”, his version of “The Bleed”. He was able to take Rainmaker and Freefall into Gutters and trap them there.
- Nestling. A teenage Swift, she’s feisty and cheery. Daybreaker refers to her as “inda-kay ampy-tray”, as Nestling claims to be unable to let a boy go away without at least a kiss.
- Jack Hatfield. As Jack Hawksmoor is the King of Cities, Jack Hatfield is the spirit of the small town. Dressed as a farm-boy, and speaking with stereotypical southern inflections, Jack draws his powers from the country towns.
Awards
The series won the Squiddy Award for Best Character Team in 1999 and 2000.
Analogues
- Steven Grant created an analogue of the Authority in Marvel’s X-Man series made up of Nicola Zeitgeist (Jenny Sparks), City Dweller (Jack Hawksmoor), Nightfighter (Midnighter), Technocrat (Engineer II), Thor (Apollo), Whitebird (Swift), and Professor X (The Doctor). This team operated out of the Foldcastle capable of teleporting them anywhere. (X-Man #71-72)
- Action Comics #775, written by Joe Kelly with art by Doug Mahnke, featured an analogue of the Authority called the Elite. The Elite come into conflict with Superman over their use of extreme and often fatal methods against supervillains and are ultimately taken down by Superman. Part of this involved Superman faking fatal methods against the team, stunning and confusing them.
