Hyperion (comics)

Hyperion
Hyperion. Art by Tom Grummett
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	(Zhib-Ran) Avengers #69 (Oct. 1969) (Mark Milton) Avengers #85 (Feb. 1971)
Created by	Roy Thomas and John Buscema
In-story information
Team affiliations	("Zhib-Ran") Squadron Sinister (Mark Milton) Squadron Supreme Thunderbolts
Notable aliases	Mr. Kant, King Hyperion.
Abilities	(All) Superhuman strength, speed, stamina and durability Multiple extrasensory and vision powers Freezing breath Regenerative healing factor Flight.

Marvel Comics Alternate Universes
Marvel stories take place primarily in a mainstream continuity called the Marvel Universe. Some stories are set in various parallel, or alternate, realities, called the Marvel Multiverse. The Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe: Alternate Worlds 2005 designates the mainstream continuity as "Earth-616", and assigns another Earth-numbers to each specific alternate reality. In this article the following characters, or teams, and realities are referred to:
Character/Team	Universe
Zhib-Ran	Interdimensional Space
Mark Milton	Earth-712
Mark Milton	Earth-31916

Hyperion is the name of several fictional characters that appear in publications published by Marvel Comics. The first character debuted in The Avengers #69 (Oct. 1969), with five notable versions to date - two supervillains belonging to the team Squadron Sinister (from Earth-616) two heroes from alternate universes, and a zombified clone.

Publication history

Squadron Sinister (Earth-616)

The first Hyperion in Marvel Comics debuted in the title the Avengers.^[1] This story arc introduced the supervillain team the Squadron Sinister, whose four members were loosely based on heroes in DC Comics' Justice League of America, with Hyperion based on Superman.^[2]

The Squadron Sinister are assembled by the cosmic entity the Grandmaster to battle the champions of the time-traveling Kang - the superhero team the Avengers. The Avengers defeat the Squadron and thwart the Grandmaster, with the Thunder God Thor miniaturizing Hyperion and trapping him in a glass sphere.^[3] The Squadron reappear in the title Defenders, reunited by the alien Nebulon. The villains receive greater power in exchange for the planet Earth, and create a giant laser cannon in the Arctic to melt the polar ice caps, thereby covering the entirety of the Earth's surface in water. The superhero team the Defenders prevent the scheme and defeat the villains (and Nebulon), with the Hulk overpowering Hyperion.^[4]

After this defeat Hyperion and his two remaining team mates are teleported off world by Nebulon, and later return to Earth. Acquiring an energy-draining weapon, the villains plan to threaten the Earth once again but are defeated by the Defenders and the Avenger Yellowjacket.^[5]

Hyperion has another brief encounter with several members of the Avengers, seek a way to separate the Power Prism of Doctor Spectrum from fellow Avenger the Wasp.^[6] The character battles Thor once again and encounters the Earth-712 version of Hyperion from the Squadron Supreme.^[7] Hyperion is also involved with the warrior woman Thundra, with the relationship ending when she discovers a means of returning to her own dimension.^[8] In the Earth-712 universe Hyperion is told by the villain Master Menace that he is an inorganic duplicate created by the Grandmaster modeled on the Hyperion from that universe. A bitter Hyperion then impersonates the Squadron Supreme's version of Hyperion for several weeks before dying in battle against the original.^[9] The Grandmaster briefly resurrects the character as part of the Legion of the Unliving, a group created to combat the Avengers.^[10]

A new Hyperion is made when the Grandmaster later reappears and reforms the Squadron Sinister. Hyperion is joined by a new Doctor Spectrum (Alice Nugent, former lab assistant of Henry Pym); the Whizzer (now called Speed Demon) and Nighthawk. This Hyperion originated from the Microverse, like the original Sinister Hyperion claimed before learning his origins were a lie. Courtesy of a phenomenon known as the Wellspring of Power - an interdimensional source of superhuman abilities - the Grandmaster increases the Squadron Sinister's powers and they battle the New Thunderbolts. Thunderbolts team leader Baron Zemo defeats the Grandmaster, and in the ensuing chaos Hyperion and the members of the Squadron Sinister scatter and escape.^[11]

Squadron Supreme (Earth-712)

See also: Squadron Supreme

Thomas and penciller John Buscema also created an alternate universe team of heroes called the Squadron Supreme in the title Avengers,^[12] using characters that shared names with those of the Squadron Sinister (this caused confusion in Marvel's production department, as the covers of Avengers #85 and #141 (Nov. 1975) claimed the issues featured appearances by the Squadron Sinister, when in fact it was the Squadron Supreme that appeared in both issues). The last known Eternal left on Earth-712,^[13] the character is a founding member of the Squadron Supreme and has a civilian identity, Mark Milton.

The Earth-712 Hyperion appears on every occasion with the Squadron Supreme, and the group first encounter beings from the Earth-616 universe when four Avengers - the Vision; Scarlet Witch; Quicksilver and the second Goliath - accidentally arrive. The Avengers first battle and then assist the Squadron Supreme against the global threat posed by the mutant Brain-Child, before returning to their own universe.^[14]

Hyperion and the Squadron Supreme fall under control of the artifact the Serpent Crown and battle the Avengers in the Earth-616 universe before being freed;^[15] encounter Thor when he battles the evil Hyperion ^[7] and enlists the aid of the Defenders against the villain the Overmind and his ally Null, the Living Darkness when they threaten the Earth-712 universe.^[16]

Hyperion and other Squadron members then resolve - against the advice of Nighthawk - to assume control of the government of the United States on Earth-712. Hyperion helps establish the behavior modification program;^[17] defeats and brainwashes the Institute of Evil;^[18] and is trapped in an inter-dimensional zone by the evil (Zhib-Ran) Hyperion. Forced to ally himself with Master Menace to escape, Hyperion battles Zhib-Ran to death and while victorious is blinded.^[9] After a battle to the death with Nighthawk and the Redeemers, a team formed to stop the domineering Squadron, Hyperion relents and relinquishes power.^[19]

The character and the surviving members of the Squadron Supreme travel into space to protect their planet from the expanding Nth Man, and are exiled to the Earth-616 universe.^[20] The team encounters the hero Quasar, and take up residence at the government facility Project Pegasus.^[21] Quasar and the Eternal Makkari rescue the Squadron when the team becomes captured by the cosmic entity the Stranger. It is at this time that Makkari identifies Hyperion as an Eternal and teaches him how to restore his eyesight.^[22] Aided by team mates the Whizzer and Doctor Spectrum, the character battles the entity Deathurge,^[23] with the entire Squadron then assisting the Avengers against the villain Imus Champion before finding the means to return to their universe.^[24] The team then disband but are reunited by Hyperion once learning a corrupt government has filled the power vacuum left by the Squadron.^[25] With the aid of inter-dimensional adventurers the Exiles, Hyperion and the Squadron expose the government to a global audience.^[26]

Supreme Power (Earth-31916)

See also: Squadron Supreme (Supreme Power)

The mature-audience Marvel MAX imprint showcases the adventures of the Earth-31916 version of the Squadron Supreme. This Mark Milton was sent to Earth in a spacecraft, and seized shortly after by U.S. government agents who raised him in a tightly controlled, isolated environment and exposed him to frequent propaganda.^[27] As an adult, he became a covert agent used in strict secrecy, but eventually a reporter came too close to the truth, and the decision was made to go public,^[28] largely so he could be used as a distraction from the government's even more closely guarded secret super-operative, Joe Ledger^[29] He briefly teams with Nighthawk and Blur to find and defeat the super-powered serial killer Michael Redstone.^[30] As Hyperion discovers that he has been systematically lied to,^[31] he becomes disillusioned with his government and finally openly rebels.^[32] When the government attempts to blackmail him into returning by revealing his alien status to the public, he responds by smashing into the North Pole from space, creating a 10.5 seismic event.^[33][34]

In the Supreme Power: Hyperion miniseries, a hastily-assembled team of superhumans is sent by the government to retrieve him, and the resulting battle—through an interaction of Hyperion's "flash vision" eye-beams, Nuke's radiation blast, and Arcanna's reality manipulation—sends the combatants into a (seeming) alternate timeline^[35] where Hyperion and the Squadron Supreme (consisting of several retrieval team members plus several previously unseen superhumans) rule a dystopian world, causing Hyperion on the advice of his otherworld counterpart^[36] to rethink his ideas about power, humanity, and teamwork, leading him to surrender to the Squadron from his world.^[37] It is only afterwards that Emil Burbank deduces that it was not an alternate world they travelled to, but their own future; Burbank tells no one of his discovery.

King Hyperion (Earth-4023)

Another Hyperion, King Hyperion from the Exiles series (see below), was later seen in Russia battling the Winter Guard and the Blue Marvel.^[38] He was nominated for the Thunderbolts program by Luke Cage.^[39] King Hyperion tells the team he is the heroic version, and that the Hyperion who fought Blue Marvel had switched their places upon defeat. This turns out to be a lie, and he turns on the Thunderbolts during their first mission together.^{[volume & issue needed]} After briefly battling Juggernaut, he is brought down by Ghost, who uses the nanites in King Hyperion's spine to dose him with Argonite. Moonstone, Juggernaut and Man Thing savagely beat the weakened King Hyperion.^[40]

Zombie Hyperion (Earth-616)

Another Hyperion appeared on Earth-616 as a member of the Zombie Squadron Supreme. Like his teammates, this Hyperion is a zombified clone of the hero of Earth-712 and is created by scientists who are attempting to give Earth its own Squadron Supreme. They graft the DNA of the Earth-712 team (allegedly obtained the last time the team crossed into Earth-616) to corpses of normal humans and zap them with space radiation known as the Z-wave. This animates the super-powered team to life, but with the unforeseen consequence that they are flesh-craving zombies. Believing themselves to be the original Squadron Supreme and with no memory of how they got into the underground lab facility, the team goes on a rampage before being quarantined, apparently carrying the same virus present in the majority of Marvel Zombies books. Hyperion is the only one to escape while his teammates stay behind to try to escape their own way. He goes on an eating frenzy in the surrounding Kansas countryside before dying of Mad Cow disease which he contracted while eating a group of cattle.^[41]

Powers and abilities

All versions of Hyperion possess superhuman strength, stamina, speed, flight, and durability. Each also has greatly enhanced sensory perceptions, which extends to being able to perceive the entire electromagnetic spectrum^{[citation needed]} and "atomic vision" - the equivalent of heat vision. The heroic Earth-712 version of Hyperion also possesses the ability to use cosmic energy to augment his life force granting him great longevity and regenerative abilities, courtesy of his Eternal heritage. The Earth-712 Hyperion's powers and vitality are diminished when he is exposed to argonite radiation. The Earth-712 Hyperion also has a college degree in journalism^{[citation needed]}.

Other versions

In various alternate universe stories published by Marvel, Hyperion often appears in group shots. The following are versions that each had a notable story presence.

Paradise X

In the Earth-9997 universe, a version of Hyperion is recruited by the robot X-51 for his squadron of interdimensional heralds. He stems from a world in which almost all superheroes perished in a nuclear attack by the governments of Earth, leaving him as the only survivor. This Hyperion kills the master villain Kulan Gath who is responsible for the deaths of many of Earth's heroes on yet another alternate world.^[42]

Exiles

The alternate universe title Exiles features a version of Hyperion referred to as "King Hyperion", who is a member of a team known as Weapon X. Although initially aiding the team to travel between dimensions to repair the time/space continuum, the character is revealed to be psychopathic and commits mass genocide on several worlds before finally being stopped and banished to his original dimension.^[43] However, King Hyperion somehow escaped this dimension and found his way to Earth 616 where he battled and was defeated by the Blue Marvel.^[44]

In other media

Television

• Hyperion (alongside the Squadron Supreme) appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "Whom Continuty Would Destroy!", voiced by Travis Willingham.^[45]

References

1. ^ Avengers #69 (Oct. 1969)
2. ^ Interview with Roy Thomas and Jerry Bails in The Justice League Companion (2003) pp. 72–73
3. ^ Avengers #69 - 71 (Oct. - Dec. 1969)
4. ^ Defenders #13 - 14 (May - July 1974)
5. ^ Giant-Size Defenders #4 (1974)
6. ^ Avengers Annual #8 (1978)
7. ^ ^{a b} Thor #280 (Feb. 1979)
8. ^ Marvel Two-In-One #67 (Sep. 1980)
9. ^ ^{a b} Squadron Supreme #8 (Apr. 1986)
10. ^ Avengers Annual #16 (Dec. 1987)
11. ^ New Thunderbolts #15 - 16 (Jan. - Feb. 2006) & Thunderbolts #102 - 108 (July 2006 - Jan. 2007)
12. ^ Avengers #85 (Feb. 1971)
13. ^ Quasar #16
14. ^ Avengers #85 - 86 (Feb. - Mar. 1971)
15. ^ Avengers #141 -144 (Nov. 1975 - Feb. 1976)
16. ^ Defenders #112 - 115 (Oct. 1982 - Jan. 1983)
17. ^ Squadron Supreme #2 (Oct. 1985)
18. ^ Squadron Supreme #5 - 6 (Jan. - Feb. 1986)
19. ^ Squadron Supreme #12 (Aug. 1986)
20. ^ Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe (June 1989)
21. ^ Quasar #13 (Aug. 1990)
22. ^ Quasar #14 - 16 (Sep. - Nov. 1990)
23. ^ Quasar #25
24. ^ Avengers vol. 3, #5 - 6 (June - July 1998) & Annual 1998
25. ^ Squadron Supreme: New World Order (Sep. 1998)
26. ^ Exiles #77 - 78 (Apr. - May 2006)
27. ^ Supreme Power #1
28. ^ Supreme Power #3
29. ^ Supreme Power #4
30. ^ Supreme Power #12-14
31. ^ Supreme Power #2-9
32. ^ Supreme Power #9
33. ^ Supreme Power #18
34. ^ Supreme Power: Hyperion #1
35. ^ Supreme Power: Hyperion #2
36. ^ Supreme Power: Hyperion #4
37. ^ Supreme Power: Hyperion #5
38. ^ Age of Heroes #3 (Sept. 2010)
39. ^ Thunderbolts #151 (Feb. 2011)
40. ^ Thunderbolts #153 (Apr. 2011)
41. ^ Marvel Zombies Supreme #1-2
42. ^ 'Heralds' #1-3 and Paradise X #0 - 12 (Apr. - 2002 - Aug. 2003)
43. ^ Exiles #38 - 40 (Feb. - Apr. 2004) & 63 - 65 (June - Aug. 2005)
44. ^ Age of Heroes #3
45. ^ http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/1004/23/index.htm

External links

• Hyperion at Marvel.com