Advanced Research Group Uniting Super Humans?

**MelDyer** · 03-30-2012, 11:08 AM

It just sounds SO lame...

ARGUS? Advanced Research Group Uniting Super Humans? Aside from the very cool prospect of ARGUS agents being tagged 'Argunauts', I hate this. Isn't there anything else 'ARGUS' can stand for, and will the Wonder-editors have any say in it?

**slvn** · 03-30-2012, 09:00 PM

Originally Posted by MelDyer

Isn't there anything else 'ARGUS' can stand for, and will the Wonder-editors have any say in it?

Hmmm. Agency for the Regulation of Government-approved Uniformed Super Heroes? Still clunk, I realize. I don't know why it had to an acronym; the name of a mythical many-eyed monster seems appropriate in itself for a watchdog group.

**BeccaBlast** · 03-30-2012, 09:05 PM

Originally Posted by MelDyer

It just sounds SO lame...

ARGUS? Advanced Research Group Uniting Super Humans? Aside from the very cool prospect of ARGUS agents being tagged 'Argunauts', I hate this. Isn't there anything else 'ARGUS' can stand for, and will the Wonder-editors have any say in it?

Argus was the hundred-eyed watchman of Hera -- I'm wagering it has more to do with that reference than anything to do with Jason -- although if that's the case, just call it Cadmus and be done with it, right?

**Flamebird** · 03-31-2012, 07:15 AM

Another Radical Group Using Spies?

**MelDyer** · 04-23-2012, 01:57 AM

What's up with A.R.G.U.S,..DCU's answer to Marvel's SHIELD? Even a fictional 'Advanced Research Group for Uniting Superhumans' running around in skintight bodysuits and shooting lasers at people is RIDICULOUS,..and I can't believe it ever got off an editor's desk! Seriously? A 'research group' for 'uniting superhumans'..in a recession? What are they researching, shooting lasers all over the place? What research group does that? At best, ARGUS is a military or para-military organization -DCU's S.H.I.E.L.D- probably a recon-focused command, and the name should carry appropriate weight. I will, for the duration of the first arc, pretend ARGUS stands for 'Advanced Reconnaissance Geo-directorate of the United States' or, more plausibly, 'United States Advanced Reconnaissance Geo-command'. I think Geoff Johns, if he has any respect for the JLA or us fans, should call in a consultant on naming ARGUS, since it will probably be around for awhile. I think he can do better.

Could we get some retired or enlisted military personnel to weigh-in on this question? I know you've probably got more important things to do, but, your input could be useful and should be respected. Like SHIELD at Marvel, ARGUS sounds like it could be a STRATCOM component, in the real world. I'm more familiar with CENTCOM and not a vet, so can't say for sure.

**Dr. Hurt** · 04-23-2012, 05:15 AM

Shield's full name sounds stupid as well. I doubt many people even know what it is. And hopefully the same with happen to Argus. You're right that Advanced Research blah blah sounds stupid, but hopefully it will be forgotten and we'll be left with just Argus. Which i really like btw.

So yeah they're pretty much DC's Shield. The difference is that Shield exists beyond superheroes, it's its own entity, it is huge, it has a massive budget, and it's pretty much an army of spies with a massive flying aircraft carrier. Argus seems to be just a small army squad being the JL's clean up guys. Not very cool in comparison to Shield.

But it has potential, Argus sounds good, and it made Trevor an interesting character again. As a liaison to the JL he wont fade away easily now.

**slvn** · 04-23-2012, 05:48 AM

Where is the full "Advanced Research Group..." name given, anyway? I only remember seeing the acronym in the book.

I can imagine how a team like that would get called "Advanced Research Group Uniting Superhumans" as a euphemism, if some of the U.N. member nations were wary of having an international super-powered paramiliarty organization that could operate across jurisdictions. I mean, I think some would be nervous about that. If it was a controversial idea, maybe giving it a relatively innocuous-sounding name was part of an effort to tone down the controversy and smooth things over a bit.

Originally Posted by Dr. Hurt

Shield's full name sounds stupid as well. I doubt many people even know what it is. And hopefully the same with happen to Argus. You're right that Advanced Research blah blah sounds stupid, but hopefully it will be forgotten and we'll be left with just Argus. Which i really like btw.

So yeah they're pretty much DC's Shield. The difference is that Shield exists beyond superheroes, it's its own entity, it is huge, it has a massive budget, and it's pretty much an army of spies with a massive flying aircraft carrier. Argus seems to be just a small army squad being the JL's clean up guys. Not very cool in comparison to Shield.

But it has potential, Argus sounds good, and it made Trevor an interesting character again. As a liaison to the JL he wont fade away easily now.

**Dr. Hurt** · 04-23-2012, 05:57 AM

There's a close up on Trevor's shoulder emblem and there's the eye and around it it says "Advanced Research blah blah". So it's the official name.

**MelDyer** · 04-23-2012, 07:35 AM

And how will this work, editorially speaking?

Will and should ARGUS be under control of Wonder Woman editors? If Colonel Steve Trevor, being the commander of an entire Army regiment in ARGUS, he's in it pretty deep, and it seems the WW comic should want some editorial control over that. If Azzarello or the editors of WW created ARGUS, that would usually (at D.C. Comics) place what goes on with ARGUS squarely under the control of WW's editorial/creative team. Of course, if Steve is no longer a WW character, what goes on with ARGUS doesn't really affect Steve or the writing of WW -but we don't know.

So, basically, we're back to where we were with Tom Tresser -AKA, Nemesis. It looks to me like, while Steve is historically a WW character, ARGUS is a feature of the Justice League comic and will likely remain so.

In Colonel Steve Trevor and ARGUS, we have a character associated with the WW comic, but not entirely under its editorial control, creating uncertainty about its future. Why are we seeing this again? Imagine, if you will, that, after the Justice League builds Steve up as DCU's Nick Fury, ..the WW creative team, frustrated with JL's editorial conflicts in continuity and story-telling, ..decides it wants him separated from ARGUS for free use in WW. I think the WW comic will be reluctant to separate Steve from this situation, because all of Steve's value, as a character, will have been invested in Steve's association with ARGUS.

I think this is a mess.

**Dr. Hurt** · 04-23-2012, 07:53 AM

What the hell are you rambing on about? Jesus Christ.

**Desaad** · 04-23-2012, 08:11 AM

This is just one of DC's many goverment organizations. ARGUS, SHADE, Checkmate, D.E.O., U.N.R.E.A.S.O.N., etc.

**MelDyer** · 04-23-2012, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by Dr. Hurt

What the hell are you rambing on about? Jesus Christ.

LOL...

That's entirely my point. Having a Wonder Woman character tied to something completely out of the WW creative team's control will be a mess. It'll be editorially untenable for the WW comic, and the longer Steve is in ARGUS, the worse it will become.

Can you blame Bryan Azzarello for not using him?

**Dr. Hurt** · 04-23-2012, 04:53 PM

Originally Posted by MelDyer

LOL...

That's entirely my point. Having a Wonder Woman character tied to something completely out of the WW creative team's control will be a mess. It'll be editorially untenable for the WW comic, and the longer Steve is in ARGUS, the worse it will become.

Can you blame Bryan Azzarello for not using him?

He's the JL's handler and by proxy, Wonder Woman's too. Also, they have a long history together, so it stands to reason that he's a DCU character that's tied to WW. Their bond means that he can easily appear in WW stories where he either helps her, or the government asks him to reign her in, or they team up, etc. He's important to the DCU and WW, he also has his own team at his command, so there's a lot of potential there.

**BeccaBlast** · 04-23-2012, 07:05 PM

Originally Posted by Dr. Hurt

Shield's full name sounds stupid as well. I doubt many people even know what it is. And hopefully the same with happen to Argus. You're right that Advanced Research blah blah sounds stupid, but hopefully it will be forgotten and we'll be left with just Argus. Which i really like btw.

So yeah they're pretty much DC's Shield. The difference is that Shield exists beyond superheroes, it's its own entity, it is huge, it has a massive budget, and it's pretty much an army of spies with a massive flying aircraft carrier. Argus seems to be just a small army squad being the JL's clean up guys. Not very cool in comparison to Shield.

But it has potential, Argus sounds good, and it made Trevor an interesting character again. As a liaison to the JL he wont fade away easily now.

Nothing wrong with being the clean-up guys; Damage Control was a great series when McDuffie was writing it.

Since Barry Allen and Bucky Barnes can't even stay dead, is the only truism in comics that the two things that get destroyed the most are Marvel's Helicarrier and DC's Themiscyra?