International Ultramarine Corps

Last updated
International Ultramarine Corps
Ultramarinesdcu0.jpg
International Ultramarine Corps from JLA Secret Files 2004 #1, artists: Ed McGuiness & Dexter Vines.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance DC One Million #2 (November 1998)
Created by Grant Morrison (writer)
Howard Porter (artist)
In-story information
Base(s)Superbia
Member(s) Warmaker One
Flow
4-D
Pulse 8
Goraiko
Knight
Squire
Kid Impala
Jack O'Lantern
Vixen
Olympian

The International Ultramarine Corps, formerly the Ultramarine Corps, is a fictional team of superheroes published by DC Comics. They first appeared in DC One Million #2 (November 1998), and were created by Grant Morrison and Howard Porter. [1]

Contents

History

The Corps was created by the US federal government as a government-sponsored group of superhumans, in contrast to the more independent Justice League. Led by General Wade Eiling, the original members of the team were Flow, 4-D, Pulse 8 and Warmaker One.

During a fight with the JLA, the UMC realised that Eiling was dangerously insane and that they were on the wrong side; they then sided with the League against their leader.

Having developed a mistrust of governments, the Corps subsequently declared themselves independent of any and all nations and built a free-floating city in which to dwell, which they named Superbia [2] and set in the air above the ruins of Montevideo. They called for other disaffected superheroes to join them in their city, receiving responses from around the globe. However, the total population and demographics of Superbia are unknown.

With the Justice League mysteriously absent, the Corps responded to an attack by Gorilla Grodd on Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Unknown to them, this was actually a preliminary incursion by the dimension-hopping Sheeda. The Corps found themselves totally outclassed. Superbia was knocked out of the sky, causing many casualties to both the onboard population and the population of the city it fell upon. A number of the Corps were killed by Grodd and the Sheeda, led by the Nebula Man. Squire, a junior member of the Corps, alerted Batman, and a rescue was attempted, which itself looked doomed to failure until the rest of the newly returned League (themselves rescued by Squire from the pocket universe of Qwewq) arrived to help.

Disgraced, the Corps was on the verge of disbanding when Superman suggested that they enter the pocket universe and act as its defenders. It was eventually revealed they failed to save it (instead placing the seed of weakness in it). Though their return was not shown, members Knight II, Squire III, Vixen and Tasmanian Devil have recently reappeared.

The group was last seen in the pages of Final Crisis, showing up in a cameo in issue #4, with Superbia being one of the "Watchtowers" where the heroes were holding off the forces of Darkseid. Superbia is last seen falling from the sky after an aerial attack disables it. The status of the group after this incident is unknown. [3]

Founding membership

Warmaker One

Warmaker One is Lieutenant Colonel Scott Sawyer who has a body composed of a type of energy which phases out of normal reality, and as such is contained in a high-tech suit of power armor. His armor is equipped with rockets, a one-shot bullet with a "clean" nuclear warhead, and transmitters that "broadcast" sounds and other sensory information, enabling him to overload Superman's super-senses.

Flow

Flow is Major Dan Stone, a creature of living water. As time wore on, Flow became more monstrous and less humanoid in appearance and changed his name to Glob.

4-D

4-D is an African American woman Captain Lea Corben. She has the power to change her dimensions, so that she could become four-, three-, two-, or one-dimensional at will, making her hard to capture and confine. In her own words, she also stated that she had the ability to draw power "from other dimensions and bring it into the Third Dimension" and use it to supercharge the blows she could deal out; she promptly then proved this in battle by knocking out Wonder Woman with a single blow.

Pulse 8

Pulse 8 is Captain John Wether. Pulse 8 was originally in control of the fundamental forces of the universe, such as gravity, electromagnetism and the like. His more recent appearance, as The Master, shows him using his powers to rewrite reality using something called a "Quantum Keyboard". It is unknown whether this is a further development of his pre-existing powers, a whole new power, or merely a new way of describing his old powers.

Later membership

The Knight

The Knight is Cyril Sheldrake, an English costumed hero who takes after his inspiration Batman. Cyril is the second Knight, and served under the original Knight (his father, the Earl of Wordenshire) as his Squire. Cyril has a rather coarse attitude, and engages in friendly but politically incorrect banter with the Irish Jack O'Lantern.

Squire

Squire is Beryl Hutchinson, a superheroine similar to that of Batman's sidekick Robin. Beryl is an expert in communications and communication technology, to the extent that she can even read information patterns by touch. She is brave and strong-willed, and cares deeply for Cyril.

Goraiko

Goraiko is a large, superhumanly strong, superhumanly dense Japanese superhero apparently made out of the psychic energy of a young Japanese girl who resides in some sort of sensory deprivation casket. Goraiko speaks only in haiku and mathematical equations. The girl has a little doll in the casket that appears to be the inspiration for Goraiko's shape, but it is unknown if it is necessary for the manifestation of the being. Goraiko is a founding member of the Japanese equivalent of the JLA, a team called Big Science Action. [4]

Jack O'Lantern

Jack O'Lantern is Liam McHugh, an Irish patriot who derives some measure of mystical ability from an enchanted jack o'lantern. He is also extraordinarily agile and, although the Knight makes fun of his slim build, stronger than he looks.

Vixen

Vixen is Mari Jiwe McCabe, an African supermodel and veteran heroine who has been part of many teams, including the Justice League and the Suicide Squad. She later left the Corps and rejoined the JLA.

Olympian

Olympian is Aristides Demetrios, the national hero of Greece. He apparently wears the mythical Golden Fleece, which contains the souls and abilities of many Greek heroes, and as a result, he is able to use many of those abilities, such as the strength of Heracles. There is one drawback; the presence of so many minds within his own often confuses him, making him seem as if he has a split personality. During his most recent appearance, he was described as the "disgraced 'schizophrenic Superman' of Greece", implying that this personality disorder had led to some sort of public embarrassment.

Kid Impala

Kid Impala is the teenaged successor to M'Bulaze the original South African Zulu hero known as Impala.

Tasmanian Devil

Tasmanian Devil is Hugh Dawkins, the veteran metahuman protector of Australia, and a renowned hero with the ability to turn into a supernaturally large and intelligent lycanthropic Tasmanian devil/human hybrid, a "were-devil". After leaving the Corps and rejoining the Global Guardians, he was killed by the villain Prometheus, but was later resurrected.

Little Mermaid

Ulla Paske of Denmark: A teenage hero born from a Danish lighthouse keeper and an Atlantean woman.

Fleur-de-Lis

A crimefighting hero from France. Her secret identity is Noelle Avril.

Notable appearances

Collected editions

Their appearances have been collected in a number of trade paperbacks, all written by Grant Morrison:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Gibbons</span> English comics artist and writer

David Chester Gibbons is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries Watchmen and the Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything". He was an artist for 2000 AD, for which he contributed a large body of work from its first issue in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gorilla Grodd</span> Supervillain from DC Comics

Gorilla Grodd is a supervillain character appearing in American comic books and other media published by DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of The Flash. The character was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, and first appeared in The Flash #106. He is an evil, super-intelligent gorilla who gained mental powers after being exposed to a strange meteorite's radiation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Guardians</span> DC comics superhero team

The Global Guardians is a team of DC Comics superheroes whose members hail from countries around the world. The concept originated in the Super Friends Saturday morning cartoon, which aired after the comics stories in Super Friends #7-9, in which several heroes were added to the Justice League to give it more ethnic diversity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Robinson (writer)</span> British writer of comic books and screenplays

James Dale Robinson is a British writer of American comic books and screenplays best known for co-creating the character of Starman with Tony Harris and reviving the Justice Society of America in the late 1990s. His other notable works include the screenplay for the film adaptation of the Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and the multi-year crossover storyline "Superman: New Krypton".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vixen (comics)</span> DC Comics superheroine

Vixen is a superhero created by Gerry Conway and Bob Oksner. She first appeared in Action Comics #521, published by DC Comics. Through the Tantu Totem, which allows her to harness the spirit (ashe) of any animal, past or present, and use their abilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DC One Million</span> Crossover comic book storyline

"DC One Million" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled, weekly miniseries and through special issues of almost all of the "DCU" titles published by DC Comics in November 1998. It featured a vision of the DC Universe in the 853rd century, chosen because that is the century in which DC Comics would have published issue #1,000,000 of their comics if they had maintained a regular publishing schedule. The miniseries was written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Val Semeiks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloodlines (comics)</span> 1993 DC Comics story arc

"Bloodlines" is a 1993 comic book story arc published by DC Comics. It was an intracompany crossover that ran through DC's superhero annuals and concluded with a two-issue Bloodbath miniseries written by Dan Raspler. The antagonists were a race of monstrous dragon-like aliens who killed humans for their spinal fluid. A small fraction of the parasite's victims survived and become super-heroes via their ordeal. This plot device introduced a wave of "New Blood" superheroes into the DC Universe. Seven DC Comics series were spun out of the event: Blood Pack, Razorsharp and the Psyba-Rats, Hitman, Anima, Loose Cannon, Argus and Gunfire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasmanian Devil (DC Comics)</span> Comics character

Tasmanian Devil is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Super Friends #7. His first canon appearance is Infinity, Inc. #32.

Evil Star is the name of two supervillains appearing in DC Comics publications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack O'Lantern (DC Comics)</span> Comics character

Jack O'Lantern is the name of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Wade Eiling</span> DC Comics villain

General Wade Eiling, sometimes known as The General, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squire (character)</span> Three fictional characters in DC Comics

Squire is the name of three fictional superheroes appearing in media published by DC Comics. Percival Sheldrake debuted as the Squire in Young All-Stars #21, and was created by Roy Thomas and Michael Bair. Cyril Sheldrake debuted as the Squire in Batman #62, and was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang. Beryl Hutchinson debuted as the Squire in JLA #26, and was created by Grant Morrison and Howard Porter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knight (DC Comics)</span> DC Comics character

The Knight is the name of three fictional comic book superheroes who are properties of DC Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nebula Man</span> Comics character

Nebula Man is a fictional character in DC Comics. He first appeared in Justice League of America #100–101 (1972).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DC Comics Absolute Edition</span> Series of archival quality printings of graphic novels

DC Comics Absolute Edition is a series of archival quality printings of graphic novels published by DC Comics and its imprints WildStorm Productions and Vertigo. Each is presented in a hardcover and slipcased edition with cloth bookmark consisting of one or more books which include restored, corrected and recolored versions of the original work, reprinted at 8 by 12 inches. Also included are supplemental materials regarding the creation of the work, including sketches, comic scripts and memos.

DC Universe: Justice League Unlimited Fan Collection is an action figure line based on the highly popular Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series. Though it was based on the show(s), the line has continued well beyond it, and has been re-branded in 2008, as a Target exclusive. Mattel announced in February 2011 that the line would come to an end later in the year with the final figures being released on the Mattel website including the final two three-packs, a seven-pack as well as the three exclusive Con three-packs being made available to the public.

<i>Trinity</i> (comic book) American comic book series

Trinity is an American comic book series published by DC Comics featuring the superheroes Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. The first series was published weekly from 2008 to 2009. In 2016, a second monthly comic book series was launched by DC Comics.

Big Science Action is a superhero published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Final Crisis Sketchbook #1, and were created by Grant Morrison and J. G. Jones.

<i>DC Universe: Legacies</i>

DC Universe: Legacies is a 2010–2011 ten-issue comic book limited series written by Len Wein and published by DC Comics. It details the perspective of an admirer of superheroes in the DC Universe from the Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Modern eras of comic books.

References

  1. ↑ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 155. ISBN   978-1-4654-5357-0.
  2. ↑ Wallace, Dan (2008), "Vixen", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia, London: Dorling Kindersley, p. 325, ISBN   978-0-7566-4119-1
  3. ↑ Final Crisis #4 (2008)
  4. ↑ As seen in Final Crisis Sketchbook #1 (June 2008)
  5. ↑ JLA: Ultramarine Corps profile at DCcomics.com
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.