| Squadron Sinister | |
|---|---|
 The Squadron Sinister (left) battle theAvengers on the cover toThe Avengers #70 (Nov. 1969). Art bySal Buscema. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Final panel ofAvengers #69 (Oct. 1969)[1] |
| Created by | Roy Thomas;Sal Buscema |
| In-story information | |
| Base(s) | Pocket Dimension |
| Member(s) | Doctor Spectrum Hyperion Nighthawk Whizzer |
TheSquadron Sinister is asupervillain team appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The Squadron Sinister first appeared in the final panel ofThe Avengers #69 (October 1969), created byRoy Thomas andSal Buscema.[2] The team is apastiche ofDC'sJustice League.[3]
The first version of the Squadron Sinister is formed by theElder of the Universe known as theGrandmaster, and used as pawns to battle the champions of the time-travelingKang the Conqueror, superhero team theAvengers. The Grandmaster creates four villains—Doctor Spectrum,Hyperion,Nighthawk, and theWhizzer—to face heroesIron Man,Thor,Captain America andGoliath (Clint Barton).[4] In interviews, Thomas andJerry Bails have stated that the Squadron was based on theDC Comics superhero team theJustice League of America, evoking the DC charactersGreen Lantern,Superman,Batman andFlash respectively.[5]
Thelimited seriesSquadron Supreme,[6] written byMark Gruenwald, explains that the Grandmaster based the Squadron Sinister on thealready existing Squadron Supreme of theEarth-712 universe.[7] The similarities also caused confusion in Marvel's production department, as the covers ofThe Avengers #85 (February 1971) and #141 (November 1975) "cover-blurbed" appearances by the Squadron Sinister, when in fact it was the Squadron Supreme that appeared in both issues.
The Avengers eventually defeat the Squadron, and the Grandmaster abandoned them as a result.[8] The Squadron reappear in the titleTheDefenders, reunited by thealienNebulon. The villains receive greater power in exchange for a promise to deliver Earth. The villains create a giant laser cannon in theArctic, intending to melt thepolar ice caps and cover the entirety of Earth's surface in water. The team theDefenders are alerted to the scheme by Nighthawk and defeat the villains and Nebulon,[9] with Nighthawk reforming and joining the Defenders the following issue.[10]
After this defeat the three remaining members of the Squadron Sinister are teleported off-world by Nebulon, eventually returning with an energy-draining weapon. The villains plan to threaten Earth again, but are defeated once more by the Defenders and the AvengerYellowjacket.[11] During another brief encounter with several members of the Avengers – who seek a way to separate Doctor Spectrum's Power Prism from fellow Avenger theWasp – the villains are revealed to have disbanded.[12]
Two members of the Squadron make isolated appearances. Hyperion appears in the titleThor, battling the hero once again,[13] and features inMarvel Two-in-One in an encounter with theThing.[14] Hyperion also travels to the Earth-712 universe and, after impersonating the Squadron Supreme's Hyperion for a time, dies in a heated battle with his counterpart.[7] The titleThe Amazing Spider-Man showcases the Whizzer's return, where he returns to crime with a new costume and the alias theSpeed Demon.[15]
The Grandmaster reappears and reforms the Squadron Sinister: an apparently resurrected Hyperion; a new Dr. Spectrum (Alice Nugent, a former lab assistant of Hank Pym), Nighthawk and the Speed Demon. Courtesy of a phenomenon known as theWellspring of Power – an interdimensional source of superhuman abilities – the Grandmaster increases the team's power, and they battle the New Thunderbolts. Thunderbolts team leaderBaron Zemo defeats the Grandmaster and, in the ensuing chaos, the Squadron Sinister escape.[16]
An alternate version appears in theSecret Wars storyline, battling for control of zones ofBattleworld. The team is systematically destroyed from within by a rogue member.[17]
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