[This article was originally published in September 2016, but with the news thatNew Warriorshas beenpicked up as a comedy, we’re bringing it back to provide some background info on the comic series – and why making it a comedy may not be the best idea]
If arecent reportis accurate, Marvel Comics’New Warriorsmight be the latest Marvel concept to head to television. However, instead of an action series featuring some of Marvel’s younger heroes,New Warriorsis being developed as a half hour comedy… featuring Squirrel Girl. But before we go into why this is a bad idea, let’s look back at the comic history of theNew Warriors, their legacy, and yes, where Squirrel Girl fits in to all of it.
Who Are The New Warriors?
At their original creation by writerTom DeFalco, then Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief, and artistRon Frenz, the New Warriors were mostly comprised of characters that Marvel hadn’t been using as much as they could at the time. The microwaving mutant Firestar, who first appeared in the animatedSpider-Man and the Amazing Friendscartoon, had her own miniseries and made some X-Men-related appearances, but hadn’t been seen in a regular monthly series.Marv Wolfman’s creation Nova, the human rocket, had lost his powers and was not used by Marvel for so long that a new character had taken his name. Namorita, aquatic cousin of Namor the Sub-Mariner, was a cute addition but also hadn’t seen a lot of action. Then-recent creation Speedball the Masked Marvel,whose short-lived series was drawn by Spider-Man co-creatorSteve Ditko, bounced his way onto the team and was finally taken seriously as a hero within the pages of the book. Lastly, telekinetic Vance Astrovik also known asMarvel Boy was actually better known for his character’s future as one of comics' original Guardians of the Galaxy in the 31th century of the Marvel Universe (it’s complicated). Those five characters were brought together by Dwayne Taylor, a.k.a. Night Thrasher, who despite the skateboard motif had an origin similar to DC Comics' Batman, but with many added layers that would be unpeeled in the early years of the team’s publication history.
As a young reader at age 12 when theNew Warriors’first appearances came out, I finally had a “new” team to enjoy for the first time. Older kids might’ve gotten their starts with DC’sNew Teen Titansor Marvel’s update of theX-Men,but if you were a kid who had recently started collecting around this time,The New Warriorswas your chance to hop on with something new. “Heroes of the 90s,” they called it. Following a two-part guest shot in Marvel’sThorcomic book during the “Acts of Vengeance"crossover, the New Warriors' origin was finally told in the pages of their own self-titled comic book series.
The New Warriorsstood out as a book that was full of diversity at a time when comic book publishers didn’t make as much of an effort to be that way. Beyond the African-American character Night Thrasher, characters from various backgrounds including Tai, Chord, Silhouette, Midnight’s Fire, Turbo, and Rage populated the book through its first 75-issue run.
In a 2014interviewwith, writerFabian Niciezalooked back at what made the book special:
“I think there was a very loyal readership [that] ‘grew up’ with the title and were able to call it their own,” he said. “It combined the strengths of the entire Marvel Universe while still standing pretty firmly as its own thing. It wasn’t an X-book though it had thematic aspects similar to those titles. It wasn’t an Avengers book though it had a sense of weight and consequence to the stories. It wasn’t the Fantastic Four but it featured exploration into the unknown corners of the Marvel Universe. It wasn’t Spider-Man but it had young characters trying to figure out their way in the world.”
For the first 25 issues of the book, Nicieza was paired with artistMark Bagley. Despite the randomness of the characters chosen for the series – the writer once joked in an interview that they were picked from flipping through aMarvel Universehandbook – they quickly formed their own family unit; an important aspect, as the family lives of each of them was a bit shattered. Instead of interchangeable chess pieces, each character inNew Warriorshad a depth and a backstory to make them special. Not bad for a group of Marvel “leftovers.” The Nicieza/Bagley run – which dealt with such heady topics as alcoholism, abuse, and even a member unintentionally killing their parent – mixed this drama with straight-up superheroic action. At times, such as the “Nothing But The Truth” arc, the superhero world and the personal lives converged in a spectacular and often tragic fashion. In one sitting,New Warriors#1-25 are an incredible read, underrated in comic book history. It wasn’t all darkness, though; some characters, like Marvel Boy and Firestar, found romance with one another.
Following Mark Bagley’s departure to take over Marvel’sAmazing Spider-Mantitle, beginning the association he would have with the character that would span decades, artistDarick Robertsoncame in with a distinctive and edgier look. The cover logo got what would then have been considered an upgrade, and Robertson improved upon the designs of characters like Firestar and Speedball. It was during this period that the spinoff series started happening; before the New Warriors' 50th issue, Nova and Night Thrasher had spun off into their own titles, Justice (formerly Marvel Boy) had his own miniseries, and the team had gotten so big that a title with a second Warriors team seemed to be on the horizon.
Then, everything changed.
The comic book market started crashing, the spin-off titles were cancelled, and Marvel taking over their own distributor in Heroes World did the industry no favors. Writer Nicieza left after issue #53; while his replacement,Evan Skolnick, was quite capable and had some great story ideas, the series didn’t feel the same. Sales fell. The decision to make the New Warriors part of the “Spider-Man Group” of titles and incorporating Peter Parker’s clone, the Scarlet Spider, didn’t make enough of a blip. Long-standing characters like Night Thrasher and Nova were shuffled out of the series.
Finally, with issue #75, it was over. Skolnick brought back many of the original New Warriors for the book’s final issue, but for a time, theNew Warriorswere done. Justice and Firestar became Avengers, and the New Warriors' adventures seemed to mostly take place off-screen.AvengersVol. 3 #13 and theHawkeye: Earth’s Mightiest Marksmanone-shot both gave old-school New Warriors fans a taste of their original favorites.
Following those appearances, some attempts were made to revive the New Warriors. A lovingly-craftedNovaseries written byErik Larsen(Savage Dragon)appealed to the core of the character but alienated some New Warriors fans who liked the development and change that the team book had brought to Nova’s alias, Richard Rider. A secondNew Warriorsvolume came around the same time, with only half of the fan-favorite characters present and some poorly-received costume redesigns, especially in the case of Nova. That series lasted for only 11 issues. In 2005,New Warriorswas revived as a comedic and cartoonish series in which the heroes were involved in reality TV. That version was so unsuccessful, that team got killed off a year later in the first issue of Marvel’s firstCivil War.
Not content to let a good concept die completely, Marvel used theNew Warriorsname at least for a group of former mutants in new identities for a series that began in 2007 and lasted for 20 issues. This series introduced a new Night Thrasher to replace the original who died in Civil War; beyond that, it was mostly a new concept. This incarnation of theNew Warriorsis probably the least-remembered; within a few years, Justice and Speedball would form a team called Counter-Forcemade up of former Warriors that eventually re-adopted the New Warriors name. A fifthNew Warriorsvolume launched during the Marvel NOW! comics initiative but lasted less than a year.
What Became of the Original New Warriors?
The original Night Thrasher and Namorita both died during Marvel Comics' first Civil War; thanks to the mechanics of time travel, both have since returned. Richard Rider, the original man called Nova, has also perished in the comics and has been replaced by a younger character named Sam Alexander, though it appears his revival has been hinted to be in a newNovaseries that is coming later this year.
Speedball was called “Penance,” and wore a painful and spiky uniform for a time after surviving the Stamford incident in Civil War; eventually, he re-adopted the Speedball name and costume and became a teacher at Avengers Academy alongside fellow New Warrior, Justice. Ultimately, the characters left and formed their own team of New Warriors where they remain.
Finally, Firestar joined her fellow mutants in theAmazing X-Mencomic book series.
TheNew Warriors’Legacy
TheNew Warriorscomic book series made middling and forgotten characters cool again. There was a reason the original issues sold so well in the early 1990s: they were reallythatgood. TheNew Warriorsput itself on the map with storylines like “Forever Yesterday” that told an epic’s worth of story within three $1.00-cover price issues; later reality-bending stories like theX-Men-related “Age of Apocalypse” would tell similar tales, but on a much larger scale at more cost to the reader. Talents like Fabian Nicieza, Mark Bagley, Darick Robertson, Patrick Zircher, and Jay Faerber were all among the creators who would later go on to do more high-profile projects.
The New Warriors also appeared in animation… sort of. There was a team of “New Warriors” on theUltimate Spider-Mancartoon on Disney XD but it bared no real resemblance to the comic book line-up. At a time, before live-action TV shows based on comic books were as big of a thing, UPN had a Night Thrasher series in development that never surfaced.
After so many times trying and failing with revivingNew Warriorsas a comic book, Marvel is calling its next series about a group of young heroes “The Champions.”
What Does Squirrel Girl Have To Do With The New Warriors?
Even though her first adventure was drawn by the legendary Steve Ditko back in 1992, Squirrel Girlwas routinely a punchline in the comics until writerDan Slottincluded him in aGreat Lakes Avengersminiseries. The character was even the butt of a joke in an episode of the 2006Fantastic Fouranimated series. Since then, the character has had a higher profile in series likeNew Avengers,first showing up as the nanny for Luke Cage and Jessica Jones' baby.
Squirrel Girl’s primary connection to the New Warriors is a crush on Speedball, seen in theI Love Marvel: Masked Intentionsone-shot and an arc in theMarvel Team-Upseries written byWalking DeadcreatorRobert Kirkman. It’s another running joke that she can defeat major Marvel villains like Doctor Doom and Thanosand can even beat Wolverine in a fight.
While she’s never been a part of the New Warriors team of the comics as of this writing, she was a member in Disney XD’sUltimate Spider-Manseries.
Currently, Squirrel Girl stars in Marvel’sUnbeatable Squirrel Girlmonthly comic book series, as well asNew Avengers.
Here’s The Unfortunate Part…
ANew WarriorsTV series is an excellent idea.New Warriorsas the name of a comedy series may not be.
While all of Marvel’s series on Netflix has been very well received, Marvel and ABC haven’t had the best luck with their team-ups.Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.has now been sent to ABC’s Tuesday 10 p.m. death slot, though hopefully with characters like the Ghost Rider coming on the show will gain some traction, or else it will probably be done once they get enough episodes for syndication.Agent Carterwas critically acclaimed but poorly scheduled, and the latest attempt at a Marvel series on ABC,Marvel’s Most WantedstarringAdrianne Palickias Mockingbird andNick Bloodas Lance Hunter, didn’t even go to series.
What ABC needs, really, is something that’s not about spies, featuring name characters who aren’t tied up with movies or Netflix. Something younger, that could appeal to male and female audiences alike. A serious yet at some times fun, high-profile drama that could compete with those shows that DC keeps knocking out of the park with over on The CW. A series with characters of different backgrounds, who create a family together while saving the world.
Something likeNew Warriors.
One could argue that makingNew Warriorsa comedy killed the brand in the comics ten years ago. So if this doesn’t do the trick, if it’s not good,New Warriorsas a comedy TV series that millions might see could kill the franchise entirely. In a time when we have productions like the Marvel output on Netflix and aBlack Lightningseries from Greg Berlanti, the last thing comic book TV needs is to regress with a project thatcould turn out like this.
The family dynamics and character interplay at theNew Warriors’core would be prime dramatic television and a chance to do a “young hero team” before DC gets the inevitable chance to put together a TV series or movie starring the Teen Titans. Marvel just needs to jump. The [speed]ball is in their court.
