Seven Soldiers

Seven Soldiers
Cover to Seven Soldiers of Victory Vol. 4 (2007, TPB), art by Doug Mahnke.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Title(s) Seven Soldiers #0–1 Seven Soldiers: The Bulleteer #1–4 Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #1–4 Seven Soldiers: The Guardian #1–4 Seven Soldiers: Klarion the Witch Boy #1–4 Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle #1–4 Seven Soldiers: Shining Knight #1–4 Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #1–4
Formats	Original material for the series has been published as a set of limited series.
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	April  ISBN 1401209777

Seven Soldiers is a 2005–2006 comic book metaseries written by Grant Morrison and published by DC Comics. It was published as seven interrelated mini-series and two bookend issues.^[1] The series features a new version of the Seven Soldiers of Victory fighting to save Earth from the Sheeda. The series has been interpreted as "an extended metafictional treatise on the writing and reading of comic books in general and the superhero genre in particular".^[2]

Publication history

Seven Soldiers started off as a different project which evolved over time. According to Morrison:

I started off in 2002 with the idea to do a JLA spin-off called JL8, which featured a bunch of C-list characters getting together as a DC analogue of the Avengers or Ultimates. Guardian was in from the start as my Captain America guy, Mister Miracle was Thor, the Demon was the Hulk, Zatanna was the Scarlet Witch and so on.... I worked on the material for the next two years to turn it into the Seven Soldiers concept as it finally emerged.^[3]

The metaseries is bookended by Seven Soldiers #0 and #1, with art by

In an interview, Grant remarked that this series of stories (which he calls a "megaseries", also known as a metaseries), takes place after Infinite Crisis. Dan DiDio has stated that, after careful consultation with Morrison, the series is now considered to take place a week before Infinite Crisis.

The comic Seven Soldiers of Victory #1 was originally scheduled for release on April 1, 2006, but was delayed and eventually released on October 25.

The last battle

After undergoing various trials and tribulations in their own miniseries, the soldiers eventually take part in the climactic battle against the Queen of the Sheeda in New York, each affecting different parts of the battle without having any idea of the larger picture.

The climactic sequence is initiated by Zatanna casting a spell: "Seven Soldiers Strike!" This is the final push the universe required to move the soldiers into position.

After travelling into the future kingdom where the Sheeda live,

There, the Manhattan Guardian has rounded up thousands of New Yorkers into a militia that is successfully fighting off the Sheeda invasion. At approximately the same time, Bulleteer comes tearing down the street in her car, hoping to take her critically ill nemesis, Sally Sonic, to a hospital. Sally, utterly insane, attacks Bulleteer, who loses control of her vehicle and crashes into the Queen. Guardian arrives on the scene, but Bulleteer is the only survivor.

Prior to all of this,

• Shining Knight is shown attending the H.S. Johnson School for Heroes, where Ali Ka-Zoom (Zatanna's ghostly friend) promises that he will give her the advice she needs, and that she can continue to fight evil with Horsefeathers on weekends. He gives her Aurakles' sword and hints that she may yet return to her period of time and become Queen Ystina the Good.
• Guardian survives the attack on New York, after raising an army to fight off the Sheeda. He wins back the heart of his estranged girlfriend (to whom he had previously proposed).
• Bulleteer is briefly arrested after the accident, but later told that she is free to go. Although she questions if she really is free, because she played right into what destiny had in store for her.
• Klarion is shown cackling madly as Sheeda women crawl at his heels. He reappears in Countdown to Final Crisis where he attempts to absorb Mary Marvel's powers only to be defeated.
• Frankenstein is last seen under the control of Klarion, although he still seems to have retained his mind. He is then shown in
  S.H.A.D.E. in capturing Renee Montoya
  .
• Zatanna is almost run over by Guardian's wife and subsequently vanishes. The most famous of the soldiers, she survives, appearing in stories set "One Year Later", though her newly acquired apprentice Misty Kilgore has yet to appear.
• Mister Miracle is buried in a grave engraved only with his stage name. It is visited by Dark Side, who deposits a black flower on the grave and leaves. Once he is gone, however, Mister Miracle's hands burst out of the ground. He has since turned up in Final Crisis #2, having escaped death. His escape from the grave is mentioned.