House of the Powerhouse

[Eliseu Gouveia]

Maybe I ate way too much sugar, but reading that other thread about "why does JLA needs GA" got me thinking:

What do you folks think about a powerhouse team?

I know there´s already a JLA and a JSA and a TT but I suddenly got the urge for a team with only the tip of the top powerhouses who flexed their muscles for real. A LOT! :D

No puny "humes" around to cramp up their style or get vaporised if Wonder Woman sneezes too hard, I mean REAL powerhouses.

I´m talking Superman-MM- Black Adam-CM-Wonder Woman-Powergirl power level, a real Big Guns squad.

A group that says:" - Let´s go to Jupiter!"
And they just take off without having to worry whether Batman, Green Arrow or Black Canary can breathe in outer space.

Where the JLA is a police force, they´d be the army! The navy! Air force! All rolled up into one grand slam planet-busting smorgasbord.

Fun, All-out, Non-stop, high-octane, High-Caliber, Momme-save-me!!!-type action with the mightiest of the mightiest of the mightiest pushing the edge of the envelope?

Could it work?

[Eliseu Gouveia]

No thoughts?

I thought it could actually work.

I know you´d have trouble finding 7-10 heavy hitters who aren´t already on the JLA or JSA but that could be worked around by bringing a couple Z-listers from retirement (Lady Quark) or beefing up their power levels.

[barking_frog]

I think it could work for a while -- maybe somebody could try it as a 12-issue series and see how it goes. The problem with a group like that is finding realistic threats to keep them 'entertained'. It's got to be hard enough writing Superman, since he can adapt to nearly any threat the writer presents him with -- but a group with seven Supermans? Cranking out reasonable opponents every month could be a nightmare, and readers leave fast when the villains start to get stale.

[Eliseu Gouveia]

I dunno, I think a good creative team could keep us (and them) entertained by cleverly exploring just 4-5 recurring Darkseid-level baddies.

Just look at how DC milks Lex or Circe in the Supes/WW books.

[Grim Zorro]

Haha I like your enthusiasm and the idea is pretty good, but like the other poster said, it would be rather hard to find threats for them to deal with taht are close to Earth. It's much easier to write a series like this if it's a truly cosmic team, not restricted to one planet, like the Green Lanterns who are now dealing with guys who blow up planets and destroy universes.

Also, I know Black Adam is seriously powerful, and then isn't Captain Marvel currently powered by all of Shazam's magic or whatever? So doesn't that make him really really powerful (like Odin or something)? Wuith guyslike that who are more powerful than even Supes, it would certainly be tough. I do like the idea for a small series that's 10-12 issue if writers came up with a good threat. Only problem is it would have to be away from Earht so they could truly flex their muscles.

[Eliseu Gouveia]

Well, I was hoping they´d at least stay within the solar system but I guess it could be fun to watch Lady Quark and 6 other heavy hitters taking their morning breakfast in Tokyo or Vienna before taking off to Alpha Centauri to go defend earth´s off-world interests.

[barking_frog]

Entirely personally, if somebody takes a shot at this, I'd most like to see it done as a primarily earthbound story. Having the story able to connect with the 'real world' environment always gives things a better sense of immediacy for me.

If it's done that way, I guess we're basically talking about the Superman/Doomsday story on a larger scale. I've never read that story so I'm conjecturing here, but based on the cover art I remember, I guess a lot of what made that work is the emphasis on the reaction of the 'normals' who were involved. In fact I think there were several issues AFTER Supes was knocked down in that arc that were EXCLUSIVELY the reactions of the normals.

I think that's also part of what makes Busiek's work on Marvels, Astro City, and his recent Superman stuff work so well -- even though the heroes are superpowered, there's always a persistent 'man on the street' vantage that keeps the reader in touch with exactly how 'super' events are.

It provides scope.

Take things off-planet and we lose a lot of potential connection with the story. I'm fine with that for brief periods. Done briefly I can see where it could help clarify the scale on which things are happening, which would only improve a story like the one Eliseu Gouveia is suggesting -- like a scene I remember from Kingdom Come where Supes and Wonder Woman are sitting up in space idly smashing asteroids as they talk something over. But I think ten or twelve issues of these characters out in space or on strange planets where I don't really have any touchstones would start to get old really quick.

[Eliseu Gouveia]

Earth bound battles would be awesome but then a greater problem arises for the writers who would have to coordinate outside interference from other superteams.

It´s kinda hard to go all-out when you have the JLA or JSA going "- This is juris-my-diction!" :p

Edit: BTW: What powerhouses are there out there who could be eligible for this roster?
Characters who are not JSA, JLA or TT members or are at least reserves?
Lady Quark......................................--