IN THE LONG RUN: STRIKEFORCE MORITURI

[MattBrady]

by Andy Marchant

Strikeforce: Morituri Marvel, 1986-1989. 34 issues.

There was a time, before four and six issue story arcs became the norm, when comic stories seemed to need one or two issues, or an infrequent crossover. Then all of a sudden that book would be the reach its double sized landmark issue… and with it would come the ending to an epic that the creative team had snuck in under your nose through background story and interludes this whole time. That’s what I’m writing about here. Those bigger pictures. Those distinctive runs.

And I’ll start with a new love; Strikeforce: Morituri.

The way I see it, it was serendipitous. I read a column, right here at Newsarama, about the bargain purchase of Strikeforce: Morituri #1, and the very next day, what do I find lying in a 10p box? Issue #4! (And that’s where the story really starts.)

So you sign up for a war that will fade away long after you burn out. That’s the fate of the members of Strikeforce: Morituri.

Nutshell-wise, Strikeforce: Morituri was a non mainstream Marvel science fiction book from the minds of Carl Potts, Peter B. Gillis and Brent Anderson, about a group of superheroes who fight off a horde of alien invaders, and pay a gruesome and fatal price for their amazing abilities. But Strikeforce: Morituri is actually far too complex a nut to be contained in any shell. Once you pass the flash and bang of spaceships and supermen, you see a dark twisted war, cruelty, torture, paranoia, corruption, betrayal, folly, and propaganda.

Propaganda is probably the most active element in this book. In the first issue we learn all we need to learn about the Morituri Process itself through the medium of a comic book that our hero pours over with patriotic zeal.

Harold is a warrior-poet. He’s a brooding, blue-eyed blonde hero, Captain America mixed with Adam Warlock. He’s as comfortable grabbing a gun and running straight into a fire fight as he is letting us into his mind to wade in his pessimistically patriotic poetry. Full of life, but giving all but a year of it up to take the “Morituri Process” and fight for Earth. Harold is our hero, and from the opening pages of the first issue this much is obvious.

As we get to know Harold, and slowly meet the other characters, they ease us into a story, giving us an anchor of comic book familiarity as every other page reflects a truly bloody and horrifying war. We know Harold and the hot redhead, will hook up. The shy one will come out of her shell and the giant one will be a gentle juxtaposition of his large physical presence. The team has a heart, a rogue, and a tough as boots commander. With characters set up like this, we’d be fairly secure in knowing where the story was going. And if this were the X-Men, we’d be right.

As readers we, like the citizens of this scorched Earth see the Morituri as the obvious foil for the invading “Horde”. How could they not be? They’re superheroes. As noble as the Hordians are depraved. But it’s a ruse. It’s a lie to the reader; the citizens of the world who idolise the Morituri; and to the Morituri themselves, each brimming with patriotic verve. And if it’s not a lie then it’s at least a distraction to the fact that these “heroes” with exciting powers and shiny costumes, are ultimately doomed.

You’d be hard pressed to find a hero in any medium who hasn’t found himself even a little destroyed from the inside out. That struggle only reinforces them as a strong and virtuous character once they get back on the horse that threw them. But for the Morituri it’s all too real an experience. Here comes the science bit. With a compatible metabolism, a subject can be put through the Morituri Process, but the process is unstable, and within a year, the powers flare up, boosting themselves to such a degree that they burn out the body of the one who carries them. This is called the Morituri Effect. But it is a sacrifice to be made for the greater good. And Strikeforce: Morituri are heroes. Nobility is integral to their character. Right?

Over the first few issues of Strikeforce: Morituri, the reader is shoved head first into brutality that would probably warrant a MAX label if the book were published today. The reality of horror on our hero Harold’s face as he sees footage of what his death would probably look like; human captives of the Horde burning up through Earth’s atmosphere in a “High Dive”; the team tested almost to the point of death by their mother-figure commander; venom, gasses, explosions, electrocutions, pain, torture, suffocation and betrayal. And at the end of it we get what? We get what we wanted. Fancy codenames. Fancy powers. Fancy Suits. Don’t get too worried. This is a book with superheroes after all.

With the fourth issue the blanket of familiarity is cruelly jerked away. It’s happiness and laughter as the first few pages give us a very post-modern sight of comic book characters reading a comic about themselves, and the cover shows the Morituri knocking tables over the Horde and smashing pies into their faces. See that cover box though? “The Party’s Over”? See the pretty girl in pink in the middle? Its time to forget what the Avengers and the JLA taught you. The sassy confident “Snapdragon” is the first Morituri to go. The Horde invade. The Morituri win. And in the aftermath, she starts to glow a little bit more. It takes only a few panels, but her powers have burned her out already. With a flash she is gone, and nobody is in the least prepared. The Morituri are stunned. The civilians are stunned. The readers are stunned. This was the love interest wasn’t it? This was the hot chick? Surely she can’t die yet…

From that moment on, the banner over the top of the comic, “We Who Are About To Die…” is more than just a cool slogan. It’s a mission statement. The thin veil of comic book adventures is lifted and we find ourselves reading a war story. The Morituri too realise with that first death that they’re in a war, and they will die, killed by either the enemy or their own bodies. They can try to save as many people as they can, but they won’t save all of them, and they certainly won’t save themselves. Heads will be torn off. Children will be poisoned. The Morituri cope by burying themselves in rage, faith or lust. All except Harold. Still the hero, the voice of serenity. He is after all, our protagonist.

Harold dies in issue six. He leads the team on an assault against the Horde, but just… dies… nowhere near a battle. Leaderless, each Morituri is alone, fighting however they can, for as long as they can, and the readers thoughts shift to “who will die this month?”

Marathon, the strong man, accepts his fate and becomes a kamikaze commando, blowing up one horde ship, falling back to earth through the atmosphere, going back space and blowing up another ship when the Morituri Effect kicks in.

The team’s “Professor X”, Commander Nion, finds herself torn between her “family” and her duty, and dies in a room of blooming flowers as her own Morituri Effect boosts the powers she secretly acquired.

Adept, the analyser is locked in a room, kept from her friends by the Paeida (the Government), but dies on a mission anyway, the Effect causing her to spout the Horde’s technological secrets at an emotionless and disturbing rate.

Radian makes deals with the Horde for a cure the Morituri Process, purely for the sake of his team-mates, and dies as a traitor at the hands of one of the new team.

Blackthorn throws herself into casual relationships, and winds up pregnant with six months left to live. She manages to give birth to the baby but melts away in her lovers arms eighteen months after becoming a Morituri.

While many more Morituri followed the first generation, the story was never really about them. None of the subsequent teams changed or transformed as much as the originals. Their tale was one of what makes a hero and what breaks a hero, and is a superb comic book tragedy.

In July 1988, the last of the first generation of Morituri died, although her baby lived. The war still raged. The Morituri still fought back. And Dr Tuolema, creator of the Morituri Process, sent a beacon into space, signalling for help from… whoever. Life had ended, but life began, and hope still endured.

Peter B. Gillis and Brent Anderson (under the editorial eye of Carl Potts), for 20 issues produced a slice of science fiction from a pie so broad that the series could only start in the middle.

Anderson (sometimes covered for by Wilce Portacio) threw the reader into a broken and distorted tomorrow with his art from the first page of the first issue. The remains of the space age city called New Roanoke squat bombed out and ruined. The name of the city doesn’t seem just clever, it’s eerily appropriate. We are in the New New World. And it’s not ours anymore. That’s all we need to know, expertly illustrated on every page.

Similarly, we are given a vivid impression of the Horde. They are barbarian monsters, with swollen heads and littered with trophies. They wear ornaments of necklaces of ears and at the same time Mickey Mouse hats. They are bullies, they are sadists, and they are tourists. You can’t help but feel either amused or disturbed at their mismatched appearance.

Despite the striking visuals though, Gillis provided scripts that were brimming with both action and tragedy. What made Gillis’ issues so remarkable is the closure and bookend that he provided. The 20th issue of Strikeforce: Morituri was the last for Gillis and Anderson, and it seems like poetic justice that their original hero, who had died 14 issues before, should have the last word.

The new Commander of the new Morituri sits listening to a recording found from our original hero, Harold. It questions war, heroism, mortality and sacrifice. It is a classic end to a classic run of a series that then went though its own Morituri Effect, and burned itself out. It is fitting then, that with a book that uses the memorable banner of “We Who Are About To Die…” should end perfectly with a story called simply “… Salute You!”

“I expect I’ll have a few adventures, but adventure is not a good reason to die, just as hate is not a good reason to die. Not even love is a good reason to die… not even life.
What is a good reason to die?
I really don’t know, but I think I’ll soon find out.”

Harold Everson, AKA Vyking (Strikeforce: Morituri #20)

[Duke Jupiter]

In this era of remaking and remodeling old comics series, why hasn't there been a revamp of STRIKEFORCE: MORITURI from Marvel?

Curious minds wanna know...like me.

- DJ

[MaSaKaRi]

Excellent article, i'd love to get my hands on these issues!

@Duke: probably because it didn't sell all that well. I had never heard of it till now.

I'm interested, however, in what has become of the writer of the series.

[nietoperz]

I loved this book and miss it terribly. I guess the nature of the storyline meant that it had a limited lifespan itself but still, this was one of the best books on the shelf back then and would be very welcome back in some form or other.

[seesoul]

Great title. Easily ten years ahead of its time.

[seesoul]

Originally posted by MaSaKaRi
I'm interested, however, in what has become of the writer of the series.

I bet you can find out what Peter B. Gillis is doing these days from his blog, which is located here.

[Korvac]

31 or 36 (31+5) but not 34. I hate to be anal but I loooooooove this series.

[shadow-ray]

If I remember correctly, wasn't the Sci-Fi channel doing an adaptation of this?

It was 31 and then Electric Undertow ran for 5

[Colossus2420]

Any chances/hopes/dreams/flights-of-fancy that all of this series will ever get collected into a series of trades? Seems to me there's a growing interest in all of those relatively obscure series that had their heyday in the 80s and 90s. Will Marvel step up to the plate and do something about it?

[Jack Burton]

I know Joe Q seemed to infer in Ask Joe that there was something preventing them from re-doing this series. I wonder what it is?

[shadow-ray]

I did a search and (i don't know copyright laws), but it seems someone has the copyright ...other than marvel

[Aaron]

Unlike, apparently, the rest of you, I don't want NuMarvel anywhere near this project. They'd stripmine it for everything that made it charming in the first place, turning it into page after page of unrelenting gore. No, the original book was just about as perfect as a story like this can get, and it should be left alone as such.

This is a great idea for a column, by the way. Here's hoping someone covers Guardians Of The Galaxy; that was my favorite team book ever.

[notmertz]

I, too, am of the opinion that this series is not in need of a revamp. A big hefty trade of the first 20 issues is what we need. Another collecting the Electric Undertow mini would be great, too. Those in-between issues were a bit too awkward.

What's Mark Bagley doing after he finishes his run on Ultimate Spider-Man? Perhaps he can re-team up with Hudnall and the two can deliver one or two more of the adventures promised on the final page of the EU mini.

One can dream.

Thanks for shining even more of a spotlight on this series. It's a favorite still today.

[Rod Odom]

Originally posted by Aaron
Unlike, apparently, the rest of you, I don't want NuMarvel anywhere near this project. They'd stripmine it for everything that made it charming in the first place, turning it into page after page of unrelenting gore. No, the original book was just about as perfect as a story like this can get, and it should be left alone as such.

Or it would be like what they did to Gruenwald's Squadron Supreme. JMS' version is just SOOOO boring. It was simply the DC Universe, Watchmen style.

[Not From Around]

Originally posted by Aaron
Unlike, apparently, the rest of you, I don't want NuMarvel anywhere near this project. They'd stripmine it for everything that made it charming in the first place, turning it into page after page of unrelenting gore. No, the original book was just about as perfect as a story like this can get, and it should be left alone as such.

I never read "Strikeforce: Morituri." Now I understand the title! It sounds like it was a remarkable story--the sort that does not need to be added to later on. You're probably right about what would happen to it if it was revived. I'm sure fans would like to see a trade collection of it, though.

The talk about the book's take on the nature of heroism got me thinking about some things my brother has said. He just got home safely the day before yesterday after spending a year in Iraq. Although he is not strictly a combat soldier, he like most soldiers there has seen action several times. He told me once about a huge car bomb that exploded right outside the gate of their base. He saw it coming and was close enough to feel the blast. He had this to say about it afterward:

"You know, the bomb at the gate is more harrowing in retrospect than in the experience itself. When things do happen, they seem to happen so fast that there's little time to do anything but realize "I'm okay, now who can I shoot?" I suspect the difference between one who can react effectively and one who cannot rests largely in the individual's ability to swiftly settle that first question: am I okay? Those we call heroes are frequently those who forget to ask the question at all."

[algertman]

Originally posted by Rod Odom
Or it would be like what they did to Gruenwald's Squadron Supreme. JMS' version is just SOOOO boring. It was simply the DC Universe, Watchmen style.

Agree and disagree

JMS version I like, but it is so padded out it that Bendis and Ellis couldn't top it. That's the problem I have with a series like this getting relaunched as a new ongoing. It would get padded out, and just drag on. The way JMS is writing, Squadron Supreme will hit issue #100 and not even be halfway through

[Jack Burton]

I don't want to see it revisited but I'd like to see a trade of it. Marvel since they don't own the copyright's can't publish one and that's the unfortunate part.

[grphxkindaguy]

Originally posted by seesoul
Great title. Easily ten years ahead of its time.

I agree, Strikeforce was waaay ahead of its time. I was lucky enough to start w/issue #1 and stuck w/it 'till the end. This is still one of my favorite non-MU Marvel titles (along w/Nth Man, Alien Legion, Groo and Dreadstar).

I re-read the series a couple of years ago, and it still holds up well today. The best issues by far were the Gillis/Anderson one's. The final mini, Electric Undertow, is god-awful IMO. I never saw a reason for it, ended on a cliffhanger IIRC.

If you like superhero sci-fi, do yourself a favor and track these issues DOWN! You won't regret it...

[grphxkindaguy]

Originally posted by Jack Burton
I know Joe Q seemed to infer in Ask Joe that there was something preventing them from re-doing this series. I wonder what it is?

IIRC, Carl Potts (an old marvel editor) owns the rights to Strikeforce (as he does also to another fave of mine, Alien Legion).

I heard a couple of years ago that Marvel was doing some sort of revamp/relaunch of Strikeforce, a treatment was even going around the offices, but the project never materialized. Neither did the Thousand Days tv series based on SM. Maybe Potts or some lawyers quashed it?

[veritech]

Originally posted by shadow-ray
If I remember correctly, wasn't the Sci-Fi channel doing an adaptation of this?

It was 31 and then Electric Undertow ran for 5

Yeah, I'm certain that I read this a year ago in Wizard!!! Sci-Fi was making this into a series! Anyone know about this?

[Agent69]

I enjoyed some of Carl Pott's stuff, including Last Of The Dragons and Alien Legion. Personally, I am surprised that he owns the rights to SM, as it was published as a normal Marvel title and not as an Epic title.

Anyone know what happened to Carl?

[grphxkindaguy]

Originally posted by Agent69
I enjoyed some of Carl Pott's stuff, including Last Of The Dragons and Alien Legion. Personally, I am surprised that he owns the rights to SM, as it was published as a normal Marvel title and not as an Epic title.

Anyone know what happened to Carl?

I was also surprised when I heard Carl Potts owned the rights to these two series. I always assUmed that Marvel owned them...

Last I heard he was trying to get ALien Legion made into a cartoon.

There was a website somewhere w/the character designs...

[shadow-ray]

After I posed, I checked, it was to be called 1,000 Days. That was the last I heard of it

[BradyKiller]

Originally posted by grphxkindaguy
IIRC, Carl Potts (an old marvel editor) owns the rights to Strikeforce (as he does also to another fave of mine, Alien Legion).

I heard a couple of years ago that Marvel was doing some sort of revamp/relaunch of Strikeforce, a treatment was even going around the offices, but the project never materialized. Neither did the Thousand Days tv series based on SM. Maybe Potts or some lawyers quashed it?

And if I recall correctly Potts was one of the "old Guard" editors that were kicked out when Jemas took over (part of the Harras mob)...so I bet there is some bitterness there until Quesada steps down, if any.

[Kolimar]

Sadly, I never read this series. I had only heard a few things here and there, nothing very specific, until I read the Quarter Bin article and now this. Now, I'm even sadder.