Before I begin, I have to talk about my girlfriend-less weekend a bit more. It's kind of weird how her cats both want my attention, but they are also being more confrontational about it. Maybe I need to ply their attentions with some catnip, tonight, before starting my work week again, tomorrow. At the very least, I've had PLENTY of time to watch stuff that would normally drain her of the will to live... or at least stick around to watch the material with me. Yeesh! You'd think my lady could APPRECIATE the magic of Frank Zagarino as a killer android in the "Project Shadowchaser" film franchise! But anyways, off to today's posting, which is a return to a reoccurring theme for many of my postings. The subject of many a ribbing-toned post in the blog's history. One of the epitomes of the 90's era of comics. Mister. Rob. LIIIIEEEEFFFEEELLLLD!!!
"Brigade" began life as a 4-issue limited series, which launched about the same time as "Youngblood"/Image Comics as a whole did. (Fun fact: the last issue of "Brigade" was a flip-book, containing the last FIFTH issue of the initial "Youngblood" series!) Brigade existed as a "rogue" element team, in comparison to the government-sponsored Youngblood team. Their leader was even a former Youngblood operative, until he killed a U.S. Army soldier in the middle of a Youngblood mission, and was court-marshalled. But I'm getting ahead of myself: let's talk about that initial Brigade team!
- Battlestone- John Battlestone was the team leader, who had a KILLER set of braided pigtails, and a decorative skull piece for his widow's peak! NINETIES!!! Anyways, his power set was that he was basically impervious to damage, and was super-strong. The unique piece of Battlestone's background was his yellow skin pigment, even in the early appearances. Not due to his being a racist stereotype, but because he was technically a DEAD MAN WALKING! We'll talk more about Project: Born Again, later!
- Atlas- If Hank Pym taught us anything, ANY self-respecting super team needs a member that can alter his size and mass at whim. Don't get used to further discussion of Atlas, because he dies in the last issue of the initial Brigade mini-series.
- Stasis- I hate to refer to her as this, but she was kind of a token secondary female member of the team, who ripped off the costume of Namorita. Seriously, I CANNOT remember anything she was capable of performing, in terms of super powers.
- Seahawk- Sporting a costume that was a metallic-tinted version of Wolverine's outfit, he was one-half of the Barros brothers, who possessed flight abilities. I'm PRETTY sure he had another power, but he flew.... A LOT.
- Coldsnap- The younger Barros brother, who had the ability to freeze objects, but required regulator units to maintain a human form, as we shall find out in today's entry.
- Kayo- AH! I knew there had to be a racial generalization on the team, somewhere, as we get to our token Japanese member of the team, who was a martial arts master.
- Thermal- She was to Marie Osmond's "Country" to Coldsnap's Donnie Osmond's "Rock n' Roll". Basically, whereas he possessed the cold front, Thermal was all about the heat. Her other main story twist was that she was a plant on the team for an undercover reporting piece that would expose the secrets of Battlestone WIDE OPEN to the public.
The first mini-series featured Brigade squaring off against an alien conqueror named Apocalyp... I mean, GENOCIDE. (No similar appearances AT ALL.) Atlas dies from a laser blast to the chest, we're introduced to alien freedom fighters called Thanaga... I mean, Birds of Prey. And the VERY LAST PANEL of the fourth issue of "Brigade" teased two government agents griping about Brigade's actions, and how they have to put Battlestone down, so the best strategy is to request the aid of a covert government squad called Bloodstrike.
"Bloodstrike #1" gave us the KILLER cover gimmick of being able to "rub the blood" smears left on the group portrait! Anyways, the gist of Bloodstrike is they're agents of Project: Born Again. If you've ever seen "Universal Soldier", you just add some super powers to the concept of reanimating deceased soldiers to work for the government, and BAM! BLOODSTRIKE! Super-zombie roll call!
- Cabbot- I've talked about Cabbot before, in a "Cable" rip-off entry. And I STILL insist Cabbot is one of the WORST character names for a super-individual in comic history! But anyways, what makes Cabbot special is that he IS the birth brother of Battlestone! (Their father is actually Quantum, who I ALSO talked about previously in a blog entry about the "Extreme Prejudice" crossover event. Dang... I'm becoming a regular George Lucas, with all of these amazing lineage threads!) Aside from having a commanding personality, Green Arrow-esque eye markings, a ponytail so natural... only his undertaker would know for sure, and a HUGE arsenal of ginormous artillery, Cabbot possesses no active super powers.
- Deadlock- ABSOLUTELY NOT AT ALL WOLVERINE, who first appeared as a member of the Four, a VAGUELY painted portrait of a super villain team first introduced in the "Youngblood" mini-series. But berserker rages, bloodlust, and bad attitude... All there.
- Tag- She may actually be one of the few members of Bloodstrike that DOES possess a super ability of ANY sort! How her powers work is she makes physical contact with a combatant, and they are physically paralyzed on the spot, making them easy-pickings in combat.
- Fourplay- GET IT?!? SHE'S A WOMAN, THAT HAS FOUR ARMS?!? Oh, that Rob Liefeld... He's so punny...
- Shogun- Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto. The basic premise of Shogun is that he's just an average "zombie" that is able to operate a walking military complex body armor. (And the suit also possesses some VERY handy superhero "baby carrier" slots in the rear.) While Cabbot has to carry his continent-sized rifles, Shogun has but to command the armor to make random rotary machine guns and rockets to appear, and it shall be done! (There's even a sequence where he transforms one of the suit's arms into a semi-chainsaw blade!)
The first issue of "Bloodstrike" deals with them laying siege on a rogue military leader, who is in possession of a base nicknamed Jericho. (Subtle, again, Mr. Liefeld.) At the end of the issue, when after being, literally, "Tagged" by Tag, Shogun riddles the military leader's body with bullets, letting the upright frozen body to bleed to death, when the team is notified of their next mission: elimination of Brigade. Which leads us to the PROPER beginning of the "Blood Brothers" saga...
"Brigade #1" brought us a lot of hard and FAST changes! The team arrives back on Earth after their space mission, with Atlas' death still being mourned. But just as Stasis is about to quit the team, outraged by Battlestone's callousness about the loss of Atlas, she bumps into Bloodstrike, who shoot her in the head, as a "warning shot" to the group. Yep... Because outright killing a member of the team is a GREAT way to give a heads-up about potential surrender. Battlestone is peeved, and orders the team to attack en masse. This is a... questionable strategy, because Kayo gets beaten BADLY by Fourplay, Coldsnap has his cold stabilizer units damaged, leading to his eventual body shifting, and Battlestone has to confront his OWN ties with Project: Born Again. Because, y'see, like brother-dearest, Cabbot, Battlestone is ALSO a former Project member. Namely... He was deceased, but medical know-how made him "better", hence the yellowed skin pigment, noting his less-than-living status. Down three members, after their initial battle with Bloodstrike, Battlestone puts out feelers to two former members of the initial Brigade unit:
- Boone: Surely you can't have a super-team in the 90's without ONE wise-acre, who also happens to be an EXPERT with firearms. Boone's introductory sequence is an amazingly ludicrous double-page spread display of "gun-fu", LONG before "Equilibrium" was a film concept!
- Lethal: Schools for Ninjitsu must be popular in the future, for this time-displaced blond beach bunny happens to be one of the BEST ninjas in ANY timeline! She later, in the story, plays into educating Seahawk on the whole situation with Project: Born Again, and Cabbot, along with setting him free from the clutches of Bloodstrike.
Which brings me to "Bloodstrike #2", which details the escape of both Lethal and Seahawk from the clutches of Bloodstrike. As these issues progress, you'll notice my details will become less detailed. That's because this story is REALLY not much more detailed to summarize than by saying this: "One issue, one team takes the lead in the fight. The next issue, the momentum switches. Lots of bloody violence occurs in-between." But one intriguing element is mentioned in this particular issue: Lethal can apparently hack into G.A.T.E., which is Bloodstrike's main communication/teleportation computer system. But this will lead into the whole education and payback thread of Seahawk.
"Brigade #2" deals with yet MORE battles with Brigade against Bloodstrike. One such highlight of an in-issue battle involves Seahawk using his steel-pointed helmet as an impaling implement against Cabbot. But this issue ALSO touches upon Battlestone's designs to help Stasis to "get better" under the loving care of Project: Born Again. And it leads into how Battlestone and Boone will eventually be roped into their OWN conflict with the Bloodstrike members. Oh... and for those with educated eyes, if you noticed the cover image of this issue I used looks a little bit unusual... you would be correct to question! This was ANOTHER gimmick cover in the storyline, whereas Seahawk's helmeted face was raised on a card-stock cover, and coated with a semi-metallic printing material. So if you needed a comic to quick-check to see how your styled hair is holding up during the day, I'd recommend you find a local comic book shop's quarter bin to check this issue!
"Bloodstrike #3" arrives. Battlestone and Boone have their fight with some of the Bloodstrike members. We get SLIGHTLY more details about the rivalry of Cabbot and Battlestone. We also have more silly-string plot threads thrown at us about how Stasis is faring under the treatment of Project: Born Again. But some "shockers" of the issue include Seahawk and Lethal showing up to aid Battlestone and Boone in their fight, complete with headset technology that would make a Bluetooth device blush with embarrassment. And we have the HUGE reveal of the new form of Coldsnap, which can be best described as a more irritated looking "Ice Capades" version of Ben Grimm, the Thing. (SEE?!? I mentioned another past blog entry! I am on FIRE!!!)
"Brigade #3" promises us the FATAL finale. And we ultimately get... a tie. Yes, both teams eventually reach a point at the end of the brawl where they just call it quits. But at least Brigade gains two new members with Boone and Lethal, Coldsnap decides not to hide in a cave due to his new "hideous" ice creature form, and Kayo "gets better", while fighting and quipping with a broken jaw. So... Yep. That happened.
The ultimate legacy of this crossover event can be summarized by these bullet points:
- Brigade has to deal with the new membership complicating things. They also have to put up with Coldsnap's newfound whininess about being "deformed". And eventually Thermal's ulterior motives for being on the team are exposed. But basically don't get too used to Brigade as a WHOLE, because in about 15-some issues, the team as a whole is basically decimated in the "Extreme Sacrifice" crossover. ... Yes, you can bet I'll talk about THAT event in due time!
- Bloodstrike never gets their Brigade rematch, because they deal with character beats, being ground to hamburger in a fight against the NOT-SUPERMAN Supreme, are introduced to their new team leader... former Youngblood member, and the man who essentially created Spawn, Chapel, and are thought to be destroyed as a whole at the end of the "Extreme Prejudice" crossover. But the REAL aftermath of that event... I'll just hold onto for a future discussion. Because Extreme Comics are my beat, after all!
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