Great Lakes Avengers
This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (February 2020) |
Great Lakes Avengers | |
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The Great Lakes Avengers (also known as The Lightning Rods, The Great Lakes X-Men, The Great Lakes Champions, and The Great Lakes Initiative) are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters were introduced in West Coast Avengers #46 (July 1989), and were created by John Byrne.
Publication history
The team first appeared in West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #46[1] and then made appearances in issues #48–49 and #64, and a cameo appearance in Avengers West Coast Annual #6. The GLA also make an appearance in issue #309 of Avengers and in the 1990 Avengers Annual. This was followed by appearances in issues #15–17 and #25 of Thunderbolts and issues #10–11 and #61 of Deadpool.
In 2005, the GLA were featured in a self-titled, four-issue mini-series (written by
A new volume and ongoing series of the team debuted in 2016 from writer Zac Gorman (Rick & Morty) and artist Will Robson (Star-Lord).[2] Seven issues were published for this series before ending.[3] Since then, the team and its associated cast have had only minor appearances and cameos in other Marvel comics.
Team name
The team has changed its name on several occasions. The Avenger Hawkeye first protests their use of the name "Avengers",[4] and eventually the GLA are sent a cease-and-desist order by the Maria Stark Foundation.[5] The team rename themselves the Lightning Rods after fellow super-team, the Thunderbolts.[6] While working for S.H.I.E.L.D., Mr. Immortal suggests a name-change to S.W.O.R.D.,[7] although ultimately the team's name is changed to the Great Lakes X-Men when its members collectively realize that they are all mutants.[5]
After another cease and desist — this time from Marvel Girl of the X-Men — the GLA rename themselves the Great Lakes Champions.[8] Following the events of Avengers: Civil War, the team operated as the Great Lakes Initiative in the state of Wisconsin.[9] Some time later, the team reverts to the name Great Lakes Avengers.[10]
Fictional team biography
GLA: Misassembled
Craig Hollis discovers that he is immortal after being shot by a group of thieves and left for dead, and he decides to fight crime as
The team is first seen in public by Avengers
After a period of inactivity, the team learns that the West Coast Avengers have been disbanded and that Hawkeye has been killed.
Crossovers
Squirrel Girl acquires a new partner, a female squirrel called Tippy-Toe; Grasshopper II dies after misjudging his armor's jumping capabilities and Doorman becomes an "angel of death" charged with conveying the souls of the dead to the afterlife.[17] After Flatman wins a superhero poker tournament and Marvel Girl demands that they drop the "X-Men" name, the team assumes the name Great Lakes Champions.[18]
With the beginning of the Civil War storyline, the GLC decide to comply with the Superhuman Registration Act, in fact waiting in line to register the day the Act is announced. The team is renamed as the Great Lakes Initiative, becoming officially sanctioned by the Fifty State Initiative as the team for the state of Wisconsin.[19]
The team and Deadpool stop A.I.M. from using an "inebriation ray" that induces drunkenness in superheroes. Deadpool is granted reserve membership on the team, but is forcibly evicted from GLI headquarters after proving to be too much of an annoyance.[20]
The team also appears during the
After a fight with Fin Fang Foom, Squirrel Girl elects to leave the team and return to New York,[23] because she feels that the other team members (who simply stayed in their headquarters, playing cards, during the fight) have come to rely upon her too much, and that her continued presence will prevent them from reaching their full potential as heroes and as a team.[10]
During the
All-New, All Different
It is revealed that the team had disbanded and gone their separate ways. Flatman receives a visit from
Members
Founders
Character | Real Name | Joined in | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Mr. Immortal | Craig Hollis | West Coast Avengers #46 (vol. 2, Jul. 1989) | Current leader of the team. |
Dinah Soar | Dinah Soar | Killed by Maelstrom in GLA #1. | |
Big Bertha
|
Ashley Crawford | Active in the GLA. | |
Flatman | Dr. Val Ventura | Active in the GLA. | |
Doorman
|
DeMarr Davis | Former avatar of Deathurge and current herald of Oblivion. Active in the GLA. |
Trainers
Assisted the team by training them, but it is not clear if they joined.
Character | Real Name | Joined in | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Hawkeye | Clinton Francis Barton | West Coast Avengers #46 (July 1989) | Currently leader of the Occupy Avengers. |
Mockingbird | Bobbi Morse-Barton | Currently a member of S.H.I.EL.D. |
Recruits
Character | Real Name | Joined in | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Squirrel Girl | Doreen Green | GLA #2 (July 2005) | Left the team because she felt they were relying too much on her, thus keeping them from reaching their own potential. |
Monkey Joe
|
Monkey Joe | Joined the team along with Squirrel Girl, but was killed by Leather Boy in a fit of jealousy. | |
Grasshopper
|
Doug Taggert | Killed soon after joining. | |
Tippy-Toe
|
Tippy Toe | GLA #4 | Squirrel Girl's current squirrel partner. Left the team with Squirrel Girl. |
Grasshopper
|
Neil Shelton | GLX-Mas Special | Unknown if he had any relation to the GLA. Killed when he accidentally propelled himself into space. |
Deadpool | Wade Wilson | Deadpool-GLI Summer Fun Spectacular #1 (September 2007) | Given reserve membership with the team until he was kicked out by Squirrel Girl. |
Grasshopper
|
Unknown | Murdered by Deadpool. | |
Gravity | Gregory Willis | Avengers: The Initiative #25 (August 2009) | Left shortly afterward, never seen in action with the team. |
Good Boy | Goodness Silva | The Great Lakes Avengers Vol. 2 #1 | Inducted as a member simply so she would not be prosecuted by authorities. Seemingly active in the GLA. |
Grasshopper
|
Unknown | Fantastic Four Vol. 6 #43 | First Grasshopper to survive a battle with the team. (Has not appeared since.) |
False members
Character | Real Name | Joined in | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Leather Boy
|
Gene Lorrene | GLA #1 (June 2005) | Applied upon founding but considered ineligible for membership. |
Grasshopper
|
Unknown | Avengers: Initiative #19 (December 2008) | Revealed to be a Skrull infiltrator and was killed. |
Other versions
JLA/Avengers
The GLA appeared in the climax of the JLA/Avengers miniseries, where they assisted in the defeat of Krona.[26]
In other media
Television
- A live action half-hour television Zach Smith / Microbe, Kate Comer as Deborah Fields / Debrii, and Keith David as Ernest Vigman.[27][28] The show received a direct-to-series order with ten episodes to debut on Freeform in 2018, co-produced by ABC Signature,[29] and a pilot episode was produced. On November 1, 2017, however, it was announced that series would no longer air on Freeform[30]and after an unsuccessful search for other network partners, the series was considered dead.
- Craig Hollis / Mr Immortal would eventually make his live-action debut in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022), portrayed by David Pasquesi.
Albums
- The band Kirby Krackle released a song titled "Great Lakes Avengers" on their album E For Everyone in 2010.[31]
Reception
In August 2009, Time listed the Great Lakes Avengers among the "Top 10 Oddest Marvel Characters".[32]
Collected editions
Title | Material collected | Publication Date | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|
G.L.A.: Misassembled | G.L.A. #1-4, West Coast Avengers #46, material from Marvel Super-Heroes #8 | December 2005 | 978-0785116219 |
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl & the Great Lakes Avengers | G.L.A. #1-4, GLX-Mas Special, Thing (vol. 2) #8, Cable & Deadpool #30, Deadpool/GLI Summer Fun Spectacular; material from Marvel Super-Heroes #8, I Hear Marvel: Masked Intentions, Age of Heroes #3, I am An Avenger #1 | August 2016 | 978-1302900663 |
Great Lakes Avengers: Same Old, Same Old | Great Lakes Avengers #1-7 | May 2017 | 978-1302906214 |
References
- ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
- ^ ""Great Lakes Avengers" Team up with Squirrel Girl for New Series -- Sort of". July 5, 2016.
- ^ "Great Lakes Avengers (2016 - 2017) | Comic Series | Marvel". Marvel Entertainment. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #46 (Jul. 1989)
- ^ a b c GLA: Misassembled #1–4 (2005). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Thunderbolts #15 (Jun. 1998). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Thunderbolts #17 (Aug. 1998). Marvel Comics.
- ^ The Thing vol. 2, #8 (2006). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Civil War: The Initiative (2007). Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b Age of Heroes #3. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Seen in flashback in GLA: Misassembled #1–4 (2005). Marvel Comics.
- ^ The West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #46 (Jul. 1989)
- ^ Avengers Annual 1990
- ^ Thunderbolts #15–17 (June–August 1998) and #25 (Apr. 1999). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Deadpool #10–11 (November–December 1997) and #61 (2002). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Avengers #500–503 (2004) and Avengers Finale 2004. Marvel Comics.
- ^ GLX-Mas Special (2005)
- ^ The Thing vol. 2 #8 (2006). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Cable and Deadpool #30 (2006). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Deadpool/GLI Summer Fun Spectacular (2007). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Avengers: The Initiative #19 (Dec. 2008). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Avengers: The Initiative #25. Marvel Comics.
- ^ I Am An Avenger #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Fear Itself: The Home Front #6. Marvel Comics.
- ^ The Great Lakes Avengers #1-7 (2016). Marvel Comics.
- ^ JLA/Avengers #4
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (July 10, 2017). "Marvel's 'New Warriors' Sets Its Cast — Including Squirrel Girl (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
- ^ Truitt, Brian (April 19, 2017). "Exclusive sneak peek: Squirrel Girl leads the team of Freeform's 'New Warriors'". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- ^ Petski, Denise (April 5, 2017). "Marvel's 'New Warriors' Gets Straight-To-Series Order At Freeform". Deadline. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (November 1, 2017). "Marvel's 'New Warriors' Won't Air on Freeform, Series Will Be Shopped Elsewhere (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
- ^ E For Everyone, fetched September 4, 2015
- ^ "Top 10 Oddest Marvel Characters". Time. August 31, 2009.
External links
- Great Lakes Avengers
- Great Lakes Avengers at Marvel.com