Wikipedia

Loners (comics)

Loners(originally namedExcelsior)[1]are asuperheroteam appearing inAmerican comic bookspublishedMarvel Comics.They first appeared in the pages ofRunaways.[2]The group consists of aLos Angeles–basedsupport groupfor formerteenagesuperheroesfromNew York,founded byTurboof theNew Warriors,andPhil Urich,the heroic formerGreen Goblin.[1]Their goals are initially stated to be to help fellow teenage superheroes to adjust to normal lives while coping with their powers, and to dissuade other superpowered teenagers from becoming heroes,[1]but these goals are discarded in their own miniseries in favor of the group apparently wanting to avoid using their powers for any reason,[3]even if that means abandoning helpless victims of crime to their fate.[4]Although all the characters were created by different authors and artists, the team itself was created byBrian K. VaughanandAdrian Alphona,with other characters (Spider-Woman, Hollow, and Red Ronin) added to the cast during the events of the 2007 miniseries.

Loners
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceRunawaysvol. 2 #1 (April 2005)
Created byBrian K. Vaughan
Adrian Alphona
In-story information
Base(s)Los Angeles, California
Member(s)Current members:
Hollow
Lightspeed
Ricochet
Turbo
Rick Jones(sponsor)
Former members:
Darkhawk
Namie
Spider-Woman
Phil Urich
Geoffrey Wilder(magically posing asChamber)

The group had originally appeared in theRunawaysstory arc "True Believers".At the end of the story arc, it was revealed that the group had secretly been sponsored byRick Jones,on behalf ofCaptain America,who hoped to ensure the Runaways do not get into trouble.[5]Following their battle withUltron,Rick Jones offered to sponsor the team full-time.[5]Its creative team isC. B. Cebulski(writer) and Karl Moline (artist).[6]

Overview

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Originally debuting in the bookRunawaysunder the name "Excelsior", the team later received their own limited series with an option to continue as an ongoing should sales be high enough, though this was not the case. The title of the series and the team was changed from Excelsior toLoners,due to trademark issues asStan Leeholds a trademark on the term "Excelsior!",[7][8]though the team did appear in an issue of the third volume ofMarvel Team-Upunder the name Excelsior[9]beforeLonerswas published. The title premiered on April 11,2007and ran for six issues. In a stylistic departure from their debut appearance inRunawaysascomic relief,Lonersis not a comedy, though the covers of the individual issues still suggest a lighthearted tone by being direct homages to the iconic imagery of the teen comedy feature films ofJohn Hughes,and the exaggerated personalities from theirRunawaysdebut are also retained entirely for the cast, though this does create some continuity discrepancies, particularlyDarkhawk's infrequent lapses into potentially murderous violence[10]and sudden reversion to switching bodies in a manner that ignores later events from theDarkhawkseries (this continuity gaffe even being referenced inMarvel Team-Upvol. 3 #15), andJulie Powerno longer having the ability to teleport, her powers now including the ability to hover in the air without being in motion, and her character purporting to be fromNew Yorkinstead of the family home ofBainbridge Island, Washington.[11]In a further departure from both their debut appearance and their appearances elsewhere in Marvel titles as a fully functioning superhero group who gather in costume,[9]the group itself now has a completely different and unprecedented function, changing from a peer support/counseling group of active superheroes to an addiction/recovery group. It can be observed that the methods utilised by the group in many instances contradict common practices of individual empowerment found in addiction/recovery groups in favor of (ironically)codependencyupon the group and its rituals. In the series, the "addiction" specified is addictive behavior: using superpowers, fighting crime, and helping those in need. The addictions are not to narcotic substance at any time during the series, althoughMattie Franklinis seen getting drunk in a bar during the closing montage of issue 3 despite still being in high school, suggesting the possibility of alcohol dependence.

Julie Power and Johnny Gallo are also the subject of characterretconsduring the course of the series: whereas in hisRunawaysappearance Johnny's reasons for joining the group were given as being so he could be around other ex-teen heroes who had experienced earlyfameas a superhero and later couldn't cope without it,[12]this was revised inLonersto being that he used superheroics for thrill seeking and to meet women,[13]then revised a third time to being a response to his friend being killed during a superhero battle[13](though this battle—occurring during the events of the 'Wolverine: Enemy of the State' story arc[14]—did not actually occur until after Johnny first appeared as a member of the Los Angeles–based Excelsior group, though he is portrayed duringLonersin flashbacks as still living in New York at the time, working as a superhero alongside the friend in question: Eddie McDonough, who is also portrayed as being back in the Hornet armor he lost, somehow cured of the cerebral palsy which afflicted him). Julie's low intelligence displayed in theRunaways'True Believers' story arc and the first three issues ofLonersis also revealed as an affectation she adopts to fit in with the natives of Los Angeles and her fellow teammates,[15]though she retains this personality for the rest of the series regardless of her revelation. Julie's age is also revised by several years, from the indeterminate "ex-teenage" of Runaways[12]to the specific age of 17,[15]and she no longer displays her teleportation powers,[16]or the ability to create shields.[17]

Three new team members were also introduced in the series:Penance(known as Hollow),Spider-Womanand Namie (the second version of theRed Ronin).[18]After the miniseries, The Loners appear in a special ten page Christmas story within the 2007Marvel Holiday Special.[19]

After Mattie was killed and Darkhawk was severely injured (in "Grim Hunt"andThe Thanos Imperativerespectively), the remaining members of the team were inducted into theAvengers AcademybyHawkeye.[20]

Members

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Original members

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  • Darkhawk(Chris Powell). He decided to give up his powers after hisnightmaresbecame too intense for him to handle. Chris is short-tempered and prone to violence, especially in his Darkhawk form, attacking not only his targets, but his own teammates. He later joins the New Avengers.
  • Green Goblin(Phil Urich), the fourth, heroic, incarnation of theGreen Goblin.After losing his costume and equipment during a battle, he finished college, earned a degree in journalism, and helped start Excelsior.[1]He returned to New York City, working for theDaily Bugle(formerlyFront Line). He became theHobgoblin,who is working forKingpin.[21]
  • Lightspeed(Julie Power), formerly ofPower Pack.Convinced that the superhero lifestyle robbed her of her childhood innocence, she left her family at 15 years old and moved toCalifornia,hoping to become an actress. Currently attending theAvengers Academyas a teacher's assistant.[20]
  • Ricochet(Johnny Gallo), formerly of theSlingers.He is a mutant who has an early warning sense much likeSpider-Man's, as well as acrobatic agility, dexterity with thrown objects, reflexes, and coordination.[1]
  • Turbo(Michiko "Mickey" Musashi), formerly of theNew Warriors.Deciding she would do more good with her education than she would through adventure, she retired theTorpedoarmor and returned to investigative journalism.[22]
  • Geoffrey Wilder,a time-displaced member of Runaways enemyThe Pride,disguised as Jonothan "Jono" Starsmore, better known asChamber,a former member ofGeneration Xand theX-Men.Geoffrey only used the group as an opportunity to gain intelligence on the Runaways and never returned to them after the end of the "True Believers" arc. His false identity was hinted at byMolly Hayeswhen she asked who he thought he was fooling with his "fakey accent".

Later members

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  • Hollow, formerly known asPenanceofGeneration X.It is unknown who is now residing in this hollow body.
  • Namie, a mystery female character that is not one of the previously introduced teen female characters.[23]Cebulski previously hinted that she does have ties to the Marvel Universe, eventually outed as acyborgand the new model for theRed Ronin;UJ1-XD
  • Spider-Woman(Mattie Franklin). After being exploited to create Mutant Growth Hormone, Mattie moved to Los Angeles to start over and has been going to meetings regularly, but she left the team afterwards. Later, she was seen in New York City but was captured byAna Kraven[24]and was later killed bySasha Kraven.[25]

WithinWar of Kings: Darkhawk#1 are three former heroes that are seen among the Loners' support group, although they have not been identified.

Plot summary

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The covers for each issue of the series are based on posters from 1980steen filmsdirected or written byJohn Hughes.[23]

Fear of Flying

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The first issue opens with Julie Power apologizing to Phil Urich on her cell phone; Phil tries to convince her not to do anything rash but fails: Julie steps off a tall building, free falls, and then flies into the air. Shortly afterwards, both Phil and Mickey Musashi discuss Julie's actions and plan their next move.

The support group meets in the basement of a church,[26]and after waiting for Julie to arrive, decide to begin without her. Mattie Franklin is asked to speak first, recalling her experiences as Spider-Woman. Julie finally arrives at the tail-end of a cell phone conversation apparently with her brotherAlex.She apologizes to the group for both her tardiness and her recent relapse.

Chris Powell insults Julie, who suggests that she has the hardest struggle of them all because she has had her powers the longest (seven years). Mattie, however, points out that although she has not been in the hero business as long as the rest of the group members, concealing her psionic spider-legs subjects her to constant physical pressure. After dramatically revealing her appendages, she storms out of the meeting.

Outside the church, Mattie explains to Chris that she has some unfinished business with MGH dealers,[27]who exploited her in the past; she has tracked them to Los Angeles. She asks that he assist her as Darkhawk for just one mission.

Darkhawk and Spider-Woman storm the MGH dealers' hideout and defeat the dealers easily, but they are attacked by the person "supplying the materials" for MGH,Nekra.Luckily, support group member Johnny Gallo (Ricochet) has followed Darkhawk and Spider-Woman to the dealers' base of operations and aids them in escaping Nekra's clutches. After defeating her, the trio discovers a list containing the names of supervillains being supplied MGH by the dealers and decides to investigate further, while agreeing not to tell the rest of the group.

Reflex Actions

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A week later, Johnny contemplates what to do next. Later at a restaurant, Johnny tries to convince both Chris and Mattie to tell the rest of the support group about what they have done. Mattie insists that she needs more time to follow up on the information they have gathered. When Johnny sarcastically reminds Mattie of her "act" during the recent group meeting, she nearly attacks him and accuses him of attending the group for selfish reasons.

At the next support group meeting, Phil mentions the MGH bust and suggests that it could be used as an additional reason to further encourage teen superheroes to establish normal lives. Johnny gets up to speak, Mattie and Chris thinking he is about to reveal their recent actions. However, he tells the group about why he moved to Los Angeles. After the Slingers disbanded, his best friend Eddie McDonough (Hornet) convinced Johnny to continue as a superhero. Ricochet admits that he did so for the glory rather than to help people, but when Hornet was killed byWolverine,Johnny blames himself for his friend's death, since he refused to help him prior to the situation.

Johnny unsuccessfully tries to contact both Mattie (who ignores his call while reading over some research about Ricochet's former teammates) and Chris (who arrives at Mickey's place to take her on a date). Ricochet heads to the deserted warehouse that is their main lead; he sneaks in and is shocked to see women held under sedation in fluid-filled containers. He is attacked bythe Rose'sformer assassinDelilah,who assumes he is the same Ricochet who betrayed her in the past.[28]

Although Ricochet defeats her, during the course of the battle one of the containers is smashed and the former Generation X mutant known as Penance emerges.

What Lies Beneath

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Phil Urich narrates events as the group meet in a local emergency room. He relates (through external analepsis) the tale of Johnny's fight with Penance and how it led to Julie being stabbed after flying into frame in the middle of Johnny and Penance's fight. (No explanation is given why Julie is suddenly present, though her immediate maiming at Penance's hands is most likely simply an instance ofWomen in Refrigeratorssyndrome, in order to give parallels to the violent death of Johnny Gallo's friend Hornet at the hands of Wolverine and thus give Johnny a reason to act. This graphic scene was also released in previews by Marvel to publicise the book.[29]) Suddenly remembering that he left Penance and several defenseless women back in the warehouse, Johnny runs out of the ER attempting to return to the scene, but he is stopped by accusations from the group about his behaviour. Penance appears before the group having somehow tracked Johnny, and invisible gun-toting soldiers suddenly attack, having somehow tracked Penance. There follows a brief battle which ends when Mickey appeals to the head of the opposing group as a fellow Japanese national and they negotiate a settlement in their "own language", the mysterious terms of which remain unknown to the group. The various members go their separate ways for the evening, and Penance returns home with Phil to sleep on his floor. Julie flies from the hospital before her parents can be contacted about her condition, and it becomes apparent Phil is somehow hallucinating that he sees the Green Goblin when he looks in the mirror.

What You Don't Know

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Julie and Johnny have lunch; he is astounded by her healing abilities caused by theKymellianchanges to herDNA,noting that she was stabbed in "the gut", despite her scar clearly being visible on her shoulder. Julie is intrigued by Hollow (formerly Penance) staying at Phil Urich's place, and fans the rumors about Mickey and Chris' romance. The two arrive at Marvel Studios to keep Julie's appointment for an audition.

At Phil's apartment, he does dishes and looks over at the sleeping Hollow. An image of her kissing him as the Green Goblin appears within a dinner plate, leading him to smash the plate and awaken Hollow; she does her best to comfort him.

At the audition, the director suggests Julie needs acting lessons; she leaves in a huff. She and Johnny criticize the director, who (they think) over-usesCGIeffects. Another director named Mark Lowell overhears them and mentions the troubles he has in finding goodstuntmen.Julie offers both her and Johnny's services, which pleases the director but creates doubts for Johnny — the two must use their powers to perform their new jobs.

At the James Dean Observatory;[30]Chris apologizes to Mickey. She admits that she dislikes having "other girls in the group". Chris asks why Mickey does not view Julie as a girl, and Mickey begins to respond that Julie "isn't--", but catches herself, mentioning that Julie is focused on her acting career and not "into the dating scene".

Julie, dressed as theBlack Catand Johnny, dressed asIron Fist,perform stunts. The director expresses his satisfaction. His compliments lead Julie to fly off the set; Johnny contacts Mattie and tells her that they will have to reschedule their meeting. Julie apparently phones her sisterKatiewith her news. Back at Julie's dressing room, the director barges in and acts in an inappropriate manner, eventually physically accosting Julie. He threatens to report her unauthorized use of her powers when she throws him from the trailer. Julie counters that there are laws to protect minors againstsexual predators.The director is shocked; he was unaware that Julie is only seventeen. Julie leaves the film set.

At the meeting, Julie speaks first. As Johnny did previously,[13]she admits to lying about her reasons for quitting superheroics. She hands out a photograph ofPower Pack,suggesting that from early childhood she needed to learn to keep her powers and other information about her siblings secret (though in the originalPower Packseries, it was Julie who most resisted hiding her powers, and in all other appearances as a member of Excelsior/Loners, she mentions her siblings frequently, and does not wear a mask to hide her identity, even though all the other members of the team do). She admits that a Hollywood career may not happen for her and resolves to be more honest.

Julie's final admission is interrupted by Nekra, who informs the group that she found them by using the information regarding their support group that they regularly release on the internet and to attack them.

Chinks in the Armor

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The group is overwhelmed by Nekra. Phil and Mickey are powerless to stop the villain, and only the timely arrival of Namie ends the battle. Afterwards Phil learns of Chris and Mickey being a couple. At the same time, Mattie and Johnny go back to Johnny's apartment. While Johnny is taking a shower, Mattie investigates his place. Johnny catches her and Mattie seduces him in order to keep her cover. It is later revealed she was hired by the former Slinger Dusk's parents to locate their daughter. Meanwhile, Mickey confronts Chris about feeling helpless in the battle with Nekra, as well as for Chris not giving up the Darkhawk amulet. Mickey reveals she felt powerless without her armor and feels inadequate next to the rest of the group because they have 'real' powers — except for Chris, whose armor mirrors Mickey's own superhero abilities and identity. Their argument is put on hold when Phil arrives with Hollow, who has changed colour from the previous issue without explanation. Phil begins berating Mickey, then attacking Chris and stealing the amulet, in which he transforms into a Goblin-like version of Darkhawk.

Double Identities

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Chris is recovering from the attack, only to witness Phil in Darkhawk armor attacking Hollow and advancing on Mickey. Chris manages to tap into the amulet's power and becomes Darkhawk in his second armored form,[31]though it is not explained how he can utilise the armor without a whole amulet, as it has been previously established that without such an artifact, the Darkhawk armor remains inert. While the two battle, the other Loners, including an armored Mickey, arrive. Phil is defeated and Chris takes back the amulet. Phil then leaves the Loners, but not before revealing that Namie is acyborg(the newRed Ronin), that Mickey made a secret bargain with Fuyumi Fujikawa, and that Julie is hiding a terrible secret from the group. Penance picks up Phil and they fly away unhindered, though the means of levitation and propulsion by which this is achieved are never explained. Disgusted, Mattie berates the group about their past decisions about not using their powers, as well as her choice of sleeping with Johnny, and leaves.

A week later, the Loners are back together minus Hollow, Phil, and Mattie. None of the subplots from the series bar the identity of Namie have been resolved, and the issue ends with no one willing to talk about their problems or what has so far happened.

After the series has ended, the group are next seen in the apartment of Mickey Musashi celebrating Christmas and attempting to solve some of their personal issues with each other throughSecret Santa.[32]

The future

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At the 2008Wizard World: Philadelphiaa question about a possible newLonersseries was raised.C. B. Cebulskisaid there are plans for some of the characters in "different places" (see "War of Kings"note below), suggesting that it was" a tough market for a book likeLoners",[33]though Marvel's overall sales figures were actually increasing at the time of Loners' publication,[34]with even the company's traditionally low-selling (via the direct market) 'All Ages' range slowly making gains at the same time Loners dropped several thousand readers.

Author Cebulski hadLonersplanned for 18 issues but did not know if he would be allowed to go onto ongoing. He hoped to continueLonersand waits for Marvel's permission.[23]However, sales figures revealedLonersas selling 5,000 copies less than Marvel's break-even point for ongoing titles towards the end of its run, despite initially good sales for early issues.[35]With a follow-up series unlikely, Cebulski posted an apology to readers on Newsarama forums[36]that he did not "meet and match all your expectations for the characters", and that he would clarify continuity errors and unexplained events in a seriespost-mortemon that very site. Though he declined to answer questions that would have been answered in future issues of the book had they ever been commissioned or published.

Darkhawk later appeared in the pages ofNovaas the head of security forProject Pegasus.He revealed that he had registered with theInitiativeand thatJusticehad recommended him for the position.[37]Darkhawk is also a cast member within theWar of Kingsevent, with his own two issue miniseries in February and March 2009 tidying up continuity problems created by the unlikelihood of a sequel to Loners and freeing the character for use as the lead inDan AbnettandAndy Lanning's four-part miniseries,War of Kings: Ascension.Though no longer associated with the Loners, Darkhawk's former teammates appear within both issues of his miniseries (though it remains unexplained how they - and the church in which they held their meetings - relocated from Los Angeles to New York), and it becomes apparent that Darkhawk left the team because he could no longer turn his back on his responsibilities as a superhero and wished to "focus (his) anger into something productive", creating friction with some members of the Loners. Though the group is hostile towards him, he makes amends with his former girlfriend Mickey Musashi/Turbo.[38]During the events ofWar of Kings: Ascension,it is claimed that Darkhawk is now 'the most wanted man in the galaxy' and will play a role in future issues of Nova; it seems unlikely he will rejoin the Loners in comic book limbo for the foreseeable future.

The remaining Loners (without Namie/Red Ronin, but with Penance/Hollow) are seen within theAvengers Academyseries among the other various superpowered youths and young adults being offered additional training as part-time students, with Julie attending there as a full-time student and teacher's assistant.[20]

Other versions

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In the alternate reality of the "Days of Future Now"storyline, the Excelsior team consists ofCecilia Reyes,Diamond Lil,Random,andRicochet.

References

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  1. ^abcdeBrian K. Vaughan(w),Adrian Alphona(p), David Newbold and Craig Yeung (i). "True Believers"Runaways,vol. 2, no. 1 (April 2005).Marvel Comics.
  2. ^"Loners".
  3. ^Loners#1
  4. ^Loners#3
  5. ^abBrian K. Vaughan (w),Adrian Alphona(p), David Newbold and Craig Yeung (i). "True Believers"Runaways,vol. 2, no. 6 (September 2005).Marvel Comics.
  6. ^George, Richard."IGN: Loners #1 Preview".IGN.Retrieved2008-09-23.
  7. ^Johnston, Rich."Lying in the Gutter".Comic Book Resources.Retrieved2006-09-28.
  8. ^"Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #158".Comic Book Resources. June 5, 2008.
  9. ^abMarvel Team-Upvol. 3 #15
  10. ^Runawaysvol. 2 #1–6
  11. ^Power Packvol. 2 #1–4
  12. ^abRunawaysvol.2 #1
  13. ^abcLoners#2
  14. ^Wolverinevol. 3 #20–32
  15. ^abLoners#4
  16. ^Power Packvol. 2 #4
  17. ^Runawaysvol. 2 #6
  18. ^Brevoort, Tom."Important Update For Fans.Marvel.Com Users".Marvel.
  19. ^Schedeen, Jesse."IGN: Marvel Holiday Special 2007 Review".IGN.Retrieved2008-09-23.
  20. ^abcAvengers Academy#21
  21. ^Amazing Spider-Man#648–50
  22. ^Runaways (2nd series) #1Archived2008-02-13 at theWayback Machine
  23. ^abcdefghi"A's For the Q's: Cebulski Talks Loners".Newsarama.Archived fromthe originalon 2009-03-02.Retrieved2008-09-23.
  24. ^Amazing Spider-Man#611
  25. ^Amazing Spider-Man#634
  26. ^First seen inRunawaysvol. 2 #1
  27. ^FromAlias#16-21
  28. ^The Amazing Spider-Man#434-435
  29. ^George, Richard (3 May 2007)."Loners #3 Preview".IGN.Archived fromthe originalon 27 February 2012.Retrieved26 February2009.
  30. ^First seen inRunawaysvol. 1 #2
  31. ^First seen inDarkhawk#38
  32. ^Marvel Holiday Special2007
  33. ^Reichl, Matthew."WW PHILLY '08: Mondo Marvel Panel".Newsarama.Retrieved2007-09-21.
  34. ^O’Brien, Paul."Marvel Month-to-Month Sales April 2007".The Beat.Archived from the original on 2011-11-04.Retrieved2019-07-25.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  35. ^"July 2007 Sales Figures".New Warriors Continuity Conundrum.
  36. ^http://forum.newsarama /showthread.php?t=137165&page=4[permanent dead link‍]
  37. ^Novavol. 4 #17–19
  38. ^War of Kings: Darkhawk#1–2
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