Somewhat ridiculously, Supreme Power claims to be a mature readers version of the Squadron Supreme.  This is, of course, nonsense.  It's a mature readers version of the JLA. 

But despite this being blindingly obvious to anyone paying the slightest attention, Marvel seem rather keen to avoid mentioning it.  If you have the "Special Edition" version, for example, you'll have seen an editorial by Ralph Macchio in which he waxes lyrical about the history of the Squadron Supreme characters without at any point mentioning that they only exist in order to allow pseudo intercompany crossovers to take place.  Macchio seems to be gently taking the piss in this editorial, but it does beg the question of what the point would be in denying the undeniable.

Straczynski jettisons the history of the Squadron Supreme and starts from scratch.  In other words, what he's writing here is effectively a new set of variations of the DC original characters; the same false nose and moustache may be being used, but it's stretching the truth to breaking point to describe these as the same characters who were in the Squadron Supreme.  Not that this is likely to bother anyone, because let's face it, most people are rather more interested in the JLA characters than in the limited degree of personality which the Squadron had acquired in their own right.

This first issue is the origin of Hyperion - in other words, a twist on the origin story of Superman.  This time round, the kid who falls from the sky is found by a couple whose marriage isn't in fabulous shape, and who are promptly hauled in by a worried government.  The government decides to enlist the couple's help in raising the child themselves, in a hopelessly artificial utopian version of America - not so much because they want to brainwash the kid into loyalty but because they're terrified of what might happen if they don't.  It's a nicely mixed motivation which makes the story work much better, and takes it a little way beyond the usual government paranoia angle.

Gary Frank's art seems to have taken on a slightly more fiddly and less smooth quality since I last saw it, and I'm not convinced that's a great move.  Still, he's a great storyteller, and does a fabulous job with Hyperion's upbringing.

I tend to treat the Max books as ordinary Marvel titles which happen to have an 18 certificate.  Judged by that standard, this is really pretty decent; a skewed version of Superman's origin which is more about playing to the archetype than messing about with in-jokes.

The special edition also reprints the Squadron's first two appearances, in Avengers.  Bluntly, this stuff is only of marginal interest even from a historical perspective.  The previous appearances of the Squadron Supreme are of negligible relevance because Straczynski is merely reusing the name and the general concept of paralleling the JLA.  And it's not like this is a story which has stood the test of time particularly well.  If you have the choice, skip the special edition and stick to the ordinary version, which represents much better value for money.

Rating: B+

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