I thought it might be a little nice idea to move away from lesser known comic book individuals and move onto lesser known comic book teams, at least for this week. And what other Marvel Comics superhero team is the least known other than the Squadron Supreme?

The Squadron Supreme is probably my favorite superhero team of all time, not because they have the most compelling stories, not because they have the most interesting character, nothing that makes sense. I love them because each member is a pastiche, a parody, of well-known DC Comics characters.

There are a few different variations of these characters, some good, some bad, some morally gray, but none of them come from the mainstream Marvel timeline. Sometimes they’re heroes known as the Squadron Supreme. Sometimes they’re villains called the Squadron Sinister. Sometimes they’re villains known as the Squadron Supreme. And sometimes, they’re just all assholes.

The primary members of the team consist of Hyperion (Superman), Nighthawk (Batman), Power Princess (Wonder Woman), Doctor Spectrum (Green Lantern), and Whizzer (The Flash). There have been a few other minor members, such as Golden Archer (Green Arrow), Lady Lark (Black Canary), and Nuke (who actually appears to be an original character), but the first five have always remained consistent.

The Squadron Supreme, despite their basis, actually has a lot of time to shine in the comics, especially Hyperion, who has survived universal destruction level events, joined the Avengers and had a bromance with Thor, and ripped off Sub-Mariner’s head (he came back though, because comics). It’s worth noting that not all of these were done by the same Hyperion, because, as I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of different versions of these characters. Ironically, their difficult to track histories seems in line with the DC characters that they’re based off of.

The Squadron is actually a rather beloved group within the comics because of the nature of their parody. They actually appeared as major antagonists in the second season of Avengers Assemble. They have yet to make a cinematic debut, but considering how crazy comic book movies have been getting, I think it’s only a matter of time before we get to see Hyperion punch Thor in the jaw.