| Superman Emergency Squad | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #48 (October 1960) |
| Created by | Otto Binder (script) Curt Swan (art) |
| In-story information | |
| Base(s) | Kandor |
| Member(s) | Don-El Van-Zee Vitar Other unnamed members |
The Superman Emergency Squad (sometimes called the Supermen Emergency Squad) is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly associated with Superman. They first appeared in "The Mystery of the Tiny Supermen!" in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #48 (October 1960). They were created by writer Otto Binder and artist Curt Swan. [1]
The squad is a group of volunteers from the bottled city of Kandor, a city from Superman's home planet of Krypton that was shrunk by Brainiac and is kept in a glass jar in Superman's Fortress of Solitude. Outside the bottle, the tiny Kandorians have similar powers to Superman, and when they determine that Superman is in trouble, they can leave the bottle and fly to his assistance. [2] The swarm of Superman-lookalikes uses a special scientific process to enlarge themselves to the size of dolls before heading into the field. [3]
Prior to the Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot, the Superman Emergency Squad is a group of miniaturized Kryptonians from the bottle city of Kandor, which is housed in Superman's Fortress of Solitude. The Squad provides assistance to Superman when he is incapacitated or otherwise occupied. Members of the squad include Superman's look alike cousin Van-Zee [4] (who also uses the secret identity Nightwing), and Don-El, the captain of the Squad. [5] In the early appearances of the Squad, the members were specially selected due to their close resemblance to Superman; [6] later stories dropped this concept. [7] Their costumes were originally modeled on that of Superman but with the 'S' in an elongated triangle.
The Squad goes into action whenever they receive a signal from Superman, or see that he is in trouble while monitoring him. To leave the shrunken city of Kandor, the Squad uses a small rocket ship to fly up to the cork that seals the mouth of the bottle. They then expose themselves to a enlarging gas that causes them to grow from their regular microscopic size to several inches in height. This gives them the ability to force the cork out of the mouth, allowing them access to the outside world [8] (in later stories, the Squad installs a door in the cork, to facilitate exits and entrances). [9] Once outside the bottle city the Squad members, like all natives of Krypton, gain the same powers and abilities as Superman.
A new version of the Squad appeared in the Crisis reboot, now renamed the Kandorian Emergency Squad. Instead of providing emergency assistance to Superman, it now acts as a policing unit in Kandor. The Squad is led by Cerizah, sister of Superman's ally Ceritak. In Superman: The Man of Steel #100 (May 2000), the Emergency Squad leaves Kandor to help Superman defeat Hank Henshaw. As time passes at a faster rate in Kandor, the current status of the squad is uncertain.
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Brainiac is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino and first appeared in Action Comics #242 in July 1958. Brainiac is usually depicted as an extraterrestrial android or cyborg and enemy of Superman and the Justice League, and is regarded as one of Superman's archenemies, second only to Lex Luthor. He is known for shrinking and stealing Kandor, the capital city of Superman's home planet Krypton, and is even responsible for Krypton's destruction in some continuities.
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"Brainiac" is a five-issue comic book story arc written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Gary Frank, published in Action Comics #866-870 by American company DC Comics in 2008. The story includes several major plot developments regarding Superman: the death of Superman's adopted father Jonathan Kent, the return of the pre-Crisis bottled city of Kandor, and the return of the original Silver Age incarnation of the supervillain Brainiac. It also serves as a prelude to the "Superman: New Krypton" storyarc.
"New Krypton" is a 2008–09 comic book story arc featuring character Superman, published by American company DC Comics; it was written by Geoff Johns, James Robinson and Sterling Gates, with art by Gary Frank, Alex Ross, Renato Guedes, Jamal Igle and Pete Woods. The arc is an inter-title crossover, published in Action Comics, Superman and Supergirl.
Alura In-Ze is a character appearing in media published by DC Comics, usually those involving Superman. Alura is the Kryptonian daughter of In-Zee, wife of Zor-El, mother of Supergirl, and paternal aunt of Superman. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the character first appeared in Action Comics #252.
Thara Ak-Var is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, created by Geoff Johns and James Robinson. The character first appeared during the Superman: New Krypton storyline in Superman #681. She is the latest character to take on the role of Flamebird. Along with the new Nightwing, Thara is the feature character in Action Comics beginning with issue #875. Thara Ak-Var's name is a reference to Ak-Var, who was the second pre-Crisis Flamebird, and his wife, Thara.
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Kandor is a fictional city spared from the doomed world of Krypton in DC Comics' Superman titles. Before Krypton exploded, the futuristic city was captured by the supervillain Brainiac, miniaturized by his shrinking ray and placed inside a glass bell jar. Defeating Brainiac and taking possession of the jar, Superman brings the city to his Arctic hideout, the Fortress of Solitude, and spends many years attempting to restore it to normal size.
