Gordon Godfrey (essentially Glorious Godfrey, 1 of his lieutenants). It even featured then-president Ronald Reagan as he ordered the heroes not to utilize their powers.
Legends by DC ComicsOf course, a great deal of the anti-hero hatred was down to mind control so as soon as the truth was revealed, every thing was back to regular. While it was a bit of a cop-out within the end, Legends did launch Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel into the new DC Universe, so it cannot be entirely dismissed. It also launched various new series - Wally West took on Barry Allen's old title role in Flash, Amanda Waller formed the Suicide Squad, and an off-beat collection of heroes formed into the new - and regularly hilariously funny - Justice League under Maxwell Lord.
Yes, Legends did have some impact - enough to for them to try it again the subsequent year...
Mutants Massacre by Marvel Comics1986: The Mutant Massacre!
Grade: A- (for the trauma!)
Marvel, meanwhile, had a different concept - instead of getting a mini series, 1986 saw the advent of the mutant crossover inside the type of the Mutant Massacre. Running through Uncanny X-Men, New Mutants and X-Factor (then the only 3 x-books, if you ever can think that!) and crossing over into Power Pack, Thor and Daredevil the fairly brief storyline detailed the assault on the Morlocks - a community of misshapen mutants living under Manhattan - by the Marauders.
Mutants Massacre by Marvel ComicsThe Marauders were a team of mostly forgettable villains, except for one named Sabretooth. He had bounced around the Marvel Universe for a number of years, previously showing up only in Iron Fist (and later in Power Man & Iron Fist) and Spectacular Spider-Man. This was his very first appearance within the x-books. Even here, he may have just been a clone, as most of the other villains were ultimately revealed to be, working for Mr Sinister. They had been also, it was revealed years later, aided by Gambit - but this was a retrospective amendment towards the story, which was made years Gambit at the time wasn't even a gleam in Chris Claremont's eye.
Once again, there were consequences; a host of minor supporting characters had been killed, Colossus, Shadowcat and Nightcrawler were injured and went to Muir Isle to recuperate, where they would eventually form Excalibur, and X-Factor's resident millionaire, Angel, took a hit when hi wings were so badly damaged that they had to be amputated, which lead to his suicide and subsequent revival by Apocalypse as Death, his winged horseman. Extra importantly, it paved the way for what was to become an annual event - the mutant crossover.
Millennium by DC Comics1987: Millennium!
Grade: D (for the sheer awfulness!)
DC thought they had been onto something, but why spread it over six months should you could do it in two? Millennium was an eight issue weekly mini series, again with over 30 crossovers inside the two months it ran, exactly where the heroes of Earth were once once again forced to face a huge threat; the Manhunters (a race of cosmic robots originally created as a police force by the Guardians) were going to kill eight humans who would ascend to the subsequent level of evolution, and also the heroes had to defend them
Legends by DC ComicsOf course, a great deal of the anti-hero hatred was down to mind control so as soon as the truth was revealed, every thing was back to regular. While it was a bit of a cop-out within the end, Legends did launch Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel into the new DC Universe, so it cannot be entirely dismissed. It also launched various new series - Wally West took on Barry Allen's old title role in Flash, Amanda Waller formed the Suicide Squad, and an off-beat collection of heroes formed into the new - and regularly hilariously funny - Justice League under Maxwell Lord.
Yes, Legends did have some impact - enough to for them to try it again the subsequent year...
Mutants Massacre by Marvel Comics1986: The Mutant Massacre!
Grade: A- (for the trauma!)
Marvel, meanwhile, had a different concept - instead of getting a mini series, 1986 saw the advent of the mutant crossover inside the type of the Mutant Massacre. Running through Uncanny X-Men, New Mutants and X-Factor (then the only 3 x-books, if you ever can think that!) and crossing over into Power Pack, Thor and Daredevil the fairly brief storyline detailed the assault on the Morlocks - a community of misshapen mutants living under Manhattan - by the Marauders.
Mutants Massacre by Marvel ComicsThe Marauders were a team of mostly forgettable villains, except for one named Sabretooth. He had bounced around the Marvel Universe for a number of years, previously showing up only in Iron Fist (and later in Power Man & Iron Fist) and Spectacular Spider-Man. This was his very first appearance within the x-books. Even here, he may have just been a clone, as most of the other villains were ultimately revealed to be, working for Mr Sinister. They had been also, it was revealed years later, aided by Gambit - but this was a retrospective amendment towards the story, which was made years Gambit at the time wasn't even a gleam in Chris Claremont's eye.
Once again, there were consequences; a host of minor supporting characters had been killed, Colossus, Shadowcat and Nightcrawler were injured and went to Muir Isle to recuperate, where they would eventually form Excalibur, and X-Factor's resident millionaire, Angel, took a hit when hi wings were so badly damaged that they had to be amputated, which lead to his suicide and subsequent revival by Apocalypse as Death, his winged horseman. Extra importantly, it paved the way for what was to become an annual event - the mutant crossover.
Millennium by DC Comics1987: Millennium!
Grade: D (for the sheer awfulness!)
DC thought they had been onto something, but why spread it over six months should you could do it in two? Millennium was an eight issue weekly mini series, again with over 30 crossovers inside the two months it ran, exactly where the heroes of Earth were once once again forced to face a huge threat; the Manhunters (a race of cosmic robots originally created as a police force by the Guardians) were going to kill eight humans who would ascend to the subsequent level of evolution, and also the heroes had to defend them