Because when fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross...

8. The Force of July (first appearance Batman and the Outsiders Annual #1) 1984
(Major Victory, Lady Liberty, Mayflower, Silent Majority, Sparkler)



Agents of the government espionage organization, the American Security Agency, the Force of July operated under the personal supervision of the ASA's director, B. Eric Blairman. The ASA's purpose — to eliminate all subversive activities contrary to the best interests of the United States— brought the Force into repeated conflict with the group known as The Outsiders, whom the Force wrongly believed were subversive agents.

This group was a late addition to my list, but as I considering it, I realised that as they are probably even more relevant today than they were created. A bunch of fanatical ultra-nationalists devoted to destroying anything they view as 'un-American': even believing it obvious that Katana and Black Lightning could not be 'true Americans'. The Force battled the Outsiders multiple times, before the majority of the team was killed in 'The Janus Directive' crossover. Major Victory was the only survivor, and wound up becoming a member of the Suicide Squad for a time; leading to some interesting clashes between his hardline nationalism and the more 'flexible' morality of the rest of the Squad.

New versions of the team have turned up since then, but none have had the impact of the original, who had moderately well fleshed out personalities.

As an Australian, I'm interested when an American writer recognizes and explores the ugly (and dangerous) side of American patriotism. I've always assumed this team was a response to Reagan-era politics (although I've never heard Barr confirm this). And I do like a punny name.

As I said, this was a late addition to my list but, given I could not include The Maze Agency this year, it seems fitting I include another Mike. W. Barr creation.

8. The Daredevil Revenge Squad

This group of villains didn't actually have a name. They were recruited by Typhoid Mary to take out Daredevil at the behest of the Kingpin, and were made up of villains that Nocenti had introduced during her run, including Bullet, Bushwacker, Ammo, and the Wild Boys. Daredevil fought each of them gauntlet style, and they beat the absolute shit out of him. The Wild Boys nearly killed him, then his love interest Mary showed up and dropped him off a bridge. Brutal. 





So why this pick?

Daredevil was a favorite of mine when I began collecting comics. I would have been about 9 when I discovered the book, and I was instantly drawn toward the artwork. At the time, I had no idea how integral Al Williamson was to how it looked. I didn't really have a clue what an inker did in those days. I just really loved Romita Jr.'s art.

I was new to comics, so seeing the hero get the shit beaten out of him like that was a complete shock. Of course, Daredevil getting the shit beaten out of him was nothing new, but I'd never heard of Frank Miller when this was coming off the stands. I'm sure a lot of what Nocenti was doing went straight over my heard at 9 years old, but looking back on it now, not only is the hero violently beaten within an inch of his life, Typhoid Mary and Kingpin end up having a fight that turns into a kinky bit of foreplay. I mentioned this yesterday, but Marvel put out a lot of mature content in the late 80s. I don't know if the writers were influenced by what was happening in the direct market, or being swept up in the grim and gritty trend, but there was a lot of nasty stuff happening in Marvel comics. The first two comics my father bought for me had a powerless Rogue being sexually and/or physically abused by Genosha magistrates and Mary Jane being kidnapped and held captive by an obsessed stalker. And that was run of the mill, monthly stuff. It wouldn't be a surprise these days since everything is direct market, but these comics were bought by kids off the newsstands. It only lasted a short while until Marvel fired all the writers and let the artists run amok, but it was a weird time to become a fan. 

Crime Syndicate of Earth-3

Today's choice goes to those evil dopplegangers originating from the pages of the JLA. I'd love to write some beautiful prose on their significance, but fact is, you take a favorite hero or team of mine and make the "Mirror, Mirror" version, I'm so there.



I think the costumes have also made for a great visual, just close enough to the heroes to make the connection but they also stand on their own a bit as nice designs. Ultraman was always a favorite of mine, but man, something tells me Superwoman is the scariest to mess with. And then you have Owlman, perhaps the most sinister when you think of putting Batman's genius to work on the wrong side of justice (actually on the modern side, the animated movie Crisis on Two Earths really explores this in a brilliant and rather scary way).

While I'm not a big fan of Crisis on Infinite Earths, Ultraman had one of my favorite quotes in the panel when they are just about to go down: "We've spent a lifetime terrorizing this world, yet our last moments alive are trying to save it." Alas, all bad things must come to an end!

8. Ra's Al Ghul, The Joker, Black Mask, Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, Clayface (Preston Payne), Ridder, Cavalier, Cat-Man, Poison Ivy, Penguin, Calendar Man, Crazy-Quilt, Black Spider, Dagger, Deadshot, Two-Face, Dr. Double-X, Cluemaster, Killer Moth, Scarecrow, Night-Slayer, Tweedle Dum; Tweedle Dee, Mr. Freeze, and Doctor Phosphorous
Occurred in Batman #400 (October 1986)
By Doug Moench and various artists



It was hardly the first time that nearly all of Batman's villains were assembled to destroy him, and it certainly wasn't the last, but this was the only Batman Rogues Gallery team-up that I actually found memorable because, in such a large anniversary issue, Moench had the space to give our villains downtime, and boy do the characterizations soar as a result. Of course we've seen villain work with villain and villain betray villain, but when in the past have we ever seen villains just...talking, giving us space to watch their very different personalities play off of each other and come further to life as a result?



When people want the definitive Pre-Crisis Batman, I point them to Untold Legends of The Batman. When people want the definitive Batman Rogues Gallery, I point them here.

It was my intention to include this also. I still might, but in my opinion this run with Conway, Colan and Newton was the best Batman run ever. Sorry O’Neil and Adams. 

8. The Enforcers (Marvel Comics)






I can sum up my choice in one sentence: punching above their weight.

Even as a kid, I couldn’t quite understand why relatively ordinary guys like the Enforcers were giving Spidey a rough time. He could defeat a dozen or so hoods before breakfast, but this team gave him many problems. I felt the same way when watching the live-action Spidey series: how could a guy with the proportionate strength of a spider consistently be given trouble by regular bad guys? I mean, in that series, we could watch Spidey rip off a car door, tackle wild animals and do various feats of strength, yet a regular hood gave him problems.

But logic be damned. I like it when folk punch above their weight. Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson (a major shock for me, given Tyson’s dominance). Football teams might beat a superior team in an FA Cup match. Seeing Spidey defeat Firelord in the 80s was a lot of fun.

So for being a fun team that often punch above their weight, the Enforcers have to be on my list.