| Guardians of the Globe | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Image Comics |
| First appearance | Invincible #7 (December 2003) |
| Created by | Robert Kirkman Cory Walker |
| In-story information | |
| Member(s) | Black Samson Bulletproof Cast Iron Pegasus Monster Girl Japandroid Robot Kid Thor Shapesmith Knockout Le Brusier Best Tiger Yeti Kaboomerang Outrun Ms. Popper El Chupacabra Brit |
Guardians of the Globe are a fictional superhero team in the Image Universe. They appear primarily in the comic, and further in the Amazon Prime series, Invincible. The original team was a parody of DC Comics' Justice League of America.[1]
In Image Comics, the original Guardians of the Globe are a private organization funded by War Woman and Darkwing. This version of the Guardians was written as a pastiche of DC Comics' Justice League of America (JLA), with most of the Guardians having an obvious JLA analog. Robert Kirkman, in his author notes for Invincible: The Ultimate Collection, Volume 1, explains that he went with these archetypes because he had only 18 pages to get the reader to care for the characters before their brutal deaths.[citation needed]
The team included Darkwing (based on Batman); the Immortal (based on Superman along with elements of Vandal Savage); War Woman (based on Wonder Woman, with elements of Thor); Red Rush (based on the Flash); Aquarus, the King of Atlantis (based on Aquaman); Martian Man (based on the Martian Manhunter); and the Green Ghost (based on Green Lantern). Omni-Man was a trusted associate of the Guardians, although he was never an official member of the team. Eventually, Omni-Man betrays and murders the Guardians after calling them to their headquarters on an emergency.[2] The only member of the Guardians to survive the massacre was Black Samson, who was not an active member at that time.
The original Guardians of the Globe appear again later in the story when Invincible is temporarily sent back in time. In this alternate history, Invincible is able to warn the Guardians about Omni-Man's betrayal, allowing them to successfully subdue Omni-Man.[3]
After the massacre of the original team, the United States government re-established the Guardians of the Globe under the supervision of the fictional Global Defense Agency. This new team is initially led by former Teen Team leader Robot under the direct supervision of Donald, the government's superhuman liaison. In addition to Robot, the original roster for the new team includes Dupli-Kate, Rex Splode, Monster Girl, Shrinking Ray, and Black Samson.
Bulletproof is eventually added to the team's roster as is the newly resurrected Immortal, who eventually replaces Robot as team leader. Although not a member, Invincible often helps the team in dire circumstances.
Following the death of Shrinking Ray and supposed demise of Dupli-Kate at the hands of Komodo Dragon, the Immortal resigns from the Guardians.
In March 2010, Image began releasing teaser posters, announcing members of a new Guardians of the Globe team as a parody of Marvel's advertisements for the line-ups of their revamped Avengers, New Avengers, Secret Avengers and Avengers Academy books. In order of appearance, the released posters were:
In an interview with Comic Book Resources, Kirkman explained that although the later images were deliberately farcical, the campaign was intended to announce a six-issue miniseries spinning out of Invincible. The miniseries, he said, would deal with the earthbound characters of the Invincible universe, while that title focused on "The Viltrumite War", an eight-issue storyline that would be set solely in space. The six-issue series, named Guarding the Globe, was launched on August 25, 2010. The Parody Team was featured in a one-page backup in all issues of the first issue.[9][10]
Image released teaser images of the team's real members done in the same style as the parody images. In order appearance, This set of posters were:
Outrun, Kaboomerang, and Yeti are all new characters created for the series. Issue three of the new bimonthly miniseries also introduced El Chupacabra from Mexico, a washed-up superhero who is an alcoholic with razor-sharp claws and other abilities. In issue four, seven additional new characters are added.
This team was featured in the following set of series: Guarding the Globe Vol 1 #1-6: Under Siege, Guarding the Globe Vol 2 #1-6: Hard to Kill and Invincible Universe #1-12 : On Deadly Ground and Above The Law. All 3 series were later collected together with Invincible Presents: Atom Eve and Invincible Presents: Atom Eve & Rex Splode in Invincible Universe Compendium.
When Robot began establishing a secret world dictatorship under his control in the main Invincible series, he sought to eliminate the Guardians. In Robot's initial attack, Black Samson, Knockout, and her husband Kid Thor were killed. Brit, Outrun, Kaboomarang, Le Brusier, Pegasus and Yeti were all later captured by Robot's drones following Bulletproof's betrayal of the remaining Guardians in exchange for his freedom. Of the Guardians present, only Best Tiger escaped while The Immortal and Dupli-Kate went into hiding. By the end of Invincible's run, Monax and Kid Invincible joined the team.
Both incarnations of the Guardians of the Globe appear in the streaming television series Invincible, with the characters voiced by the following actors:
Just like in the comics, the original incarnation of the Guardians of the Globe (minus Black Samson) were slaughtered by Omni-Man, with Immortal later revived by the Mauler Twins. While the part with Omni-Man killing Immortal and snapping War Woman's neck remains intact, he does different death moves to the other members, like crushing Red Rush's skull, sending his fist through Green Ghost's head, beheading Martian Man, slamming Darkwing's head into the ground, and using War Woman's mace on Aquarus. After their deaths, a second incarnation of the Guardians of the Globe was formed with Invincible, Rudy and Robot, Rex Splode, Dupli-Kate, Shrinking Rae, Monster Girl, and Black Samson.