WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Heroes Reborn: Weapon X & Final Flight #1 by Ed Brisson, Roland Boschi, Chris O’Halloran, and VC’s Cory Petit, on sale now.
Heroes Reborn has been a shocking ride from the very start, with almost every single step along the way having built towards an inevitable confrontation between the Squadron Supreme and Avengers. These two aren’t the only superhero teams with a featured spot in Mephisto’s reality, however, and the Avengers aren’t the first team of heroes that this world’s version of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have gone to war against. In fact, the Squadron Supreme seem to have a long history of violent conquest, including one particularly gruesome trek to the North that left both Alpha Flight and most of Canada in shambles.
Weapon X & Final Flight opens up where the most brutal flashback from Heroes Reborn #7 left off, right after Logan’s devastating attack on Hyperion thanks to an enchantment placed on him by Shaman of Alpha Flight. This battle which took place several years ago all came about due to the invasion of Canada by the United States, led in full force by the Squadron Supreme. As Logan explains it, the Squadron initially led the charge across the border to reap the resources of Alberta and British Columbia following their annexation, and when the rest of the country stood up to them the invading forces bombed them into oblivion. While the fight all those years ago had originally been planned as Alpha Flight’s final stand against their oppressors, Shaman’s magic and Logan’s claws proved capable of sending the Squadron Supreme a message they would never forget. Unfortunately, it was also one that they responded to in the worst way possible.
In the years since the Squadron Supreme’s initial assault on the nation, Canada hasn’t achieved much in terms of recovery. Alpha Flight remains active, although now that doesn’t mean much more than moving from safehouse to safehouse under the dead of night and narrowly escaping the pursuing army. The heroes may be one step ahead of those hunting them, but the people who have helped them along the way suffer the fate of becoming prisoners of war to be later executed.
No matter how much the world has changed since Heroes Reborn began, it is impossible to think of any circumstances that would necessitate the war that the Squadron Supreme brought North. Acquiring land and resources has historically been the most prominent cause of war throughout human history, but even in Mephisto’s twisted reality the United States is a prosperous nation. However, this is Mephisto’s America, and his handiwork has always been unmistakably cruel.
No matter how ruthless or bloodthirsty they have been so far, what the Squadron Supreme unleashes Weapon X & Final Flight makes it absolutely clear that there is no room for rehabilitation for this version of the team.
Past incarnations of the Squadron have seen Nighthawk stand up to his teammates when their actions became reprehensible. No such thing has happened in this case, and there is no question about this Squadron’s dedication to their reality and its progenitor.
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