TheHuman Defense Corpsare acomic bookmilitary organization published byDC Comics.They first appeared inHuman Defense Corps#1 (July 2003), and were created by writerTy Templetonand artistClément Sauvé.[1]
| Human Defense Corps | |
|---|---|
 Cover ofHuman Defense Corps#1 (July 2003), art by Clément Sauvé. | |
| Group publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Human Defense Corps#1 (July2003) |
| Created by | Ty Templeton Clément Sauvé |
| In-story information | |
| Type of organization | Military |
| Base(s) | United States armed forces |
| Leader(s) | Colonel Reno Rosetti |
| Agent(s) | Sergeant Montgomery Kelly Sergeant Chad Kiyahani Sergeant Dobbs Corporal Taylor Specialist Colin Mitchell Private David Page Private Eric Stewart |
| Human Defense Corps | |
| Series publication information | |
| Format | Limited series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | July – December2003 |
| Number of issues | 6 |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Ty Templeton |
| Penciller(s) | Clément Sauvé Norm Breyfogle(#6) |
| Inker(s) | Juan Vlasco (#1-3) Dennis Janke(#4-6) |
| Letterer(s) | John Morelli(#1-2) Clem Robins (#3-6) |
| Colorist(s) | Moose Baumann |
| Creator(s) | Ty Templeton Clément Sauvé |
| Editor(s) | Valerie D'Orazio Dan Raspler |
Publication history
editHuman Defense Corpsis a six-issuelimited seriespublished by DC Comics in 2003, written by Ty Templeton and drawn by Clément Sauvé.[2]
The series did not sell well,[3]and the concept was allowed to disappear untilSupermanandJustice League of AmericawriterJames Robinsonbegan to feature the Corps inSupermanvol. 3, starting with a passing mention of the events in the limited series inThe Coming of Atlas(Superman#677, August 2008) and followed by the gradual introduction of Project 7734 fromSuperman: New KryptonSpecial(December 2008),Superman's Pal Jimmy OlsenSpecial#1 (December 2008), andAction Comics#871 (January 2009) byGeoff Johns,building through the more recent issues ofSupermanandAction Comicsand the associated Superman titlesSupergirlandJimmy OlsenSpecial#2 (October 2009).
DC Comics later extended the Corps presence in the DC Universe in a 10-pageHuman Defense Corpsfeature inAdventure Comics(vol. 2) #8 (March 2010), directly linking it with the other stories featured in the title as part of the lead up to DC Comics' majorWar of the Supermenevent for summer 2010.[4]
Fictional group history
editIn the DC Comics universe, the Human Defense Corps is a branch of the military established by thenPresident of the United StatesLex Luthorto reduce government dependency on superhumans when a major alien crisis breaks out, act as back-up to Earth's superheroes, and specifically counter any alien threat to Earth. Membership of the Corps is open to 'Decorated veterans of alien campaigns only'.[5]
The Corps has bases all over Earth, including below the sea (Human Defense Base Area 53) and in space (Fort Olympus Orbital Defense Station).[6]The sea-base included scientific facilities run by Doctor Zaius, a sentient gorilla fromGorilla City,which experiments on captured extraterrestrials and demons, although its location has recently been moved off-Earth.
Their first mission comes when the 1st Special Armoured Division are sent on a reconnaissance trip to the former Soviet satellite Bulgravia to support Government troops who had encountered shape-shifting aliens with high firepower weaponry and assumed to be Durlans. They are attacked in the Forest of Galantz by vampiric aliens invisible to special tech weapons but not ordinary eyesight, and all but Sgt. Montgomery Kelly of the forward platoons, sixty-six men, are killed in the skirmish, some by blanket bombing of the area with 'holy napalm', a cross between holy water and fire-retardant gel which destroys the vampires. Sgt. Kelly and Colonel Reno Rosetti, who designed the weapon and ordered the attack on the drop site, are decorated as a result.[5]
Some time afterwards the Corps are involved in a 'centaur attack in Turkey', of which nothing is known,[7]and are also pursuing a drawn-out war against a mole-like race of underground people called the A'Corti, specifically inLondon, England.[7]
Two years later, after dreams of the Galatz Forest incident affect a number of soldiers who were not there, a seance held by HDC Head Chaplain Charlie Graham[8]ascertains that the members of the Corps who were assumed killed in the incident are inHellbut not actually dead and the "vampires" they fought were actually demons. Interrogating Calcabrina, a captive demon from the incident, they discover a Bulgravian mage had made a deal for his village to be spared the ravages of civil war in exchange for 66 souls and the Human Defense Corps team had stumbled in and taken their place. The demon clan took them alive to feed on their energy - which is more powerful than the energy of the dead - as part of a plan to extend their power in Hell. Guided by Calcabrina, the Third Special Armoured Division invade Hell (code-namedTrans-Dimensional Interactive Zone 4-T-Zone 4)[9][10]to recover the 66 Corps members. Sgt. Kelly is supposed killed by the demon he killed two years before in Galatz Forest - but discovers he has demon blood in him as a result of the incident and cannot die and is now blood related to the demon clan. He claims the staff of the demon clan's leader Lord Scarmiglione in battle, takes his place and the Corps rescue the 66 men. The five men who are killed in the sortie now also have demon links and unspecified powers and Sgt. Kelly and the five form a diplomatic link between Hell and Earth.[10]
Project 7734
editSeven years laterGeneral Sam Lane,Lois Lane'sfather - who is assumed dead but, obsessed by alien invasion and 'the Kryptonian threat', has been working covertly on a programme for the U.S Government calledProject 7734- has taken external command ofSquad Kof the Human Defense Corps under Colonel Hazard as part of the Project and moved the main base of Project 7734 to the home planet of another dimension.[11]The Corps now has a new motto and insigniaAd Infernos et Retrorsum(loosely meaning 'To Hell and Back') and suit technology and weaponry designed specifically to deal with Kryptonians. Squad K has nominally beencreated to neutralise and disarm specific Kryptonian threats,but this has been allocated to Major Krull, the villain Reactron, who is actually working directly for General Lane on Lane's own agenda - the destruction of all Kryptonians, includingSuperman.[12]Reactron kills Colonel Hazard for opposing him in this.[13]
The whereabouts of most of the original Corps team is currently unknown, although Sgt. Kelly is currently learning spell-casting with his team within Project 7734.[14]
Membership
editMost of the current membership of Human Defense Corps is unknown as of January 2010, with the exception of Sgt. Kelly. The following have been mentioned as members of the Corps at some time:
- Colonel Skynner(Human Defense Corps#1).
- Colonel Hazard(Perseus Hazard) of K Squad - killed byReactronfor opposing his lethal actions (Action Comics#882). He was the grandson of World War II hero Ulysses "Gravedigger" Hazard.
- Colonel Reno Rosetti(Lt. Rosetti inHuman Defense Corps#1) - ordered the kill on the drop site in Galatz Forest, awarded DSM (Human Defense Corps#6).
- Sergeant Montgomery Kelly(Specialist First Class) ex-Marine - only survivor of the team from the first mission. Left in charge of Corps in Hell after gaining demonic powers, now on Earth in Section K studying spell-casting with his team.
- Sergeant Chad Kiyahani- grandson of Louis "Little Sure Shot" Kiyahani fromSgt. Rock'sEasy Company.Rescued from Hell.
- Sergeant Dobbs- killed in Hell and became part of 'Kelly's 5'.
- Jake Grimaldi- part of the rescue team in Hell. Now in theScience Police(Superman#677).
- Sergeant Pruett- details unknown.
- Corporal Taylor- killed in Hell and became part of 'Kelly's 5'.
- Specialist Colin Mitchell- Air Force Special Corps, rescued from Hell.
- Private David Page- rescued from Hell.
- Private Eric Stewart- ex-Coast Guard, rescued from Hell.
- Private Reynolds- rescued from Hell.
- Bradley- rescued from Hell.
- David Page- presumed killed, as contacted by seance. Rescued from Hell.
- Head Chaplain, Charlie Graham
- Doctor Zaius- seconded from Gorilla City, working on understanding alien physiology. Now lead scientist in General Lane's Project 7734.
In other media
edit- Reno Rosetti appears inSuperman & Lois,portrayed by Hesham Hammoud. This version is a military lieutenant underSam Lane.After being empowered by X-Kryptonite off-screen, Rosetti fightsSupermanuntil the former is killed byJohn Henry Ironsvia a Kryptonite spear.
- Additionally, aBizarro Worldincarnation of Rosetti appears in the episode "Bizarros in a Bizarro World" as a member of his world's Department of Defense before defecting to BizarroAlly Allston's Inverse Method cult.
- The Human Defense Corps appear inMy Adventures with Superman.This version of the organization was founded byTask Force X.
Notes
edit- ^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016).The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe.DK Publishing. p. 145.ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
- ^Segura, Alex (March 12, 2003)."Humans Saving Humans - Templeton onHuman Defense Corps".Newsarama.[permanent dead link]
- ^Website ICV2 reported the number "... of copies sold ofHuman Defense Corps#2... "as 12,459 copies. Comics Nexus -"Inside Pulse | 24, American Idol, Glee, House Season Finale Dates Revealed".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-07-07.Retrieved2010-02-03.
- ^Parkin, JK (March 12, 2009).""Brainiac & The Legion of Super-Heroes" to set the stage for DC's Superman event next summer ".Robot 6.Comic Book Resources.
- ^abHuman Defense Corps#1 (July 2003)
- ^Human Defense Corps#2 (August 2003)
- ^abHuman Defense Corps#3 (September 2003)
- ^Human Defense Corps#4 (October 2003)
- ^Human Defense Corps#5 (November 2003)
- ^abHuman Defense Corps#6 (December 2003)
- ^Superman#691 (October 2009)
- ^Supergirl(vol. 5) #45 (November 2009)
- ^Action Comics#882 (December 2009)
- ^Superman#692 (November 2009)
References
edit- Human Defense Corpsat theGrand Comics Database
- Human Defense Corpsat the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)
External links
edit- Human Defense Corps#1,4and6at the DCU Guide