onew0rd
03/10/2003, 14:08
I read an article about the most underrated comics ever in Wizard last month and they mentioned Strikeforce Morituri. The premise interested me so I shuffled through some 50 cent bins at a couple of comic shops this weekend and picked up most of the issues dirt cheap. They are VERY cool. I highly recommend anyone who likes X-Static, Squadron Supreme TPB, Authority, or other alternative superhero type stuff to give them a shot.
The premise for those that don't know is this:
The earth circa 2050 has been raided and pretty much conquered by the Horde, a barbaric space plundering race bent on stripping us of our resources and causing general strife and destruction. Beaten into hiding, the government has secretly established a process for granting normal people superphysical abilities and random superpowers, named the Morituri Process as a last ditch effort in creating a Strikeforce specially designed to combat the Horde. There's one catch: The stress of the process shortens the lifespan of anyone brave enough to endure it to months (year at most supposedly) after the process is complete. The recipients deal with all kinds of stuff and characters (sometimes MAIN characters) just die off without notice (like in real life) in the middle of a storyarc from the effects of the process and new recruits are constantly being run through the Morituri process. Take the Xmen for example. Let's say you pick up next issue of Xmen and on page 12 Cyclops has a stroke and dies. No warning just bang, he's gone for good. But the rest of the team still has a mission to accomplish so they go on. Very unexpected and almost distrubing stuff like this happens in Strikeforce Morituri. This type of stuff is EXTREMELY cool and this happens all the time throughout the run.
The comic has some lapses in the plot here and there, the art is not amazing, the costumes/names/character designs are almost laughable sometimes, and some of the pacing and dialogue is confusing, but overall this comic is worth the effort just for the suspense and the neat theme. You pick up an issue and never know if everyone is still alive at the end. If you like comics and are a fan of this type of thing, don't miss this.
The premise for those that don't know is this:
The earth circa 2050 has been raided and pretty much conquered by the Horde, a barbaric space plundering race bent on stripping us of our resources and causing general strife and destruction. Beaten into hiding, the government has secretly established a process for granting normal people superphysical abilities and random superpowers, named the Morituri Process as a last ditch effort in creating a Strikeforce specially designed to combat the Horde. There's one catch: The stress of the process shortens the lifespan of anyone brave enough to endure it to months (year at most supposedly) after the process is complete. The recipients deal with all kinds of stuff and characters (sometimes MAIN characters) just die off without notice (like in real life) in the middle of a storyarc from the effects of the process and new recruits are constantly being run through the Morituri process. Take the Xmen for example. Let's say you pick up next issue of Xmen and on page 12 Cyclops has a stroke and dies. No warning just bang, he's gone for good. But the rest of the team still has a mission to accomplish so they go on. Very unexpected and almost distrubing stuff like this happens in Strikeforce Morituri. This type of stuff is EXTREMELY cool and this happens all the time throughout the run.
The comic has some lapses in the plot here and there, the art is not amazing, the costumes/names/character designs are almost laughable sometimes, and some of the pacing and dialogue is confusing, but overall this comic is worth the effort just for the suspense and the neat theme. You pick up an issue and never know if everyone is still alive at the end. If you like comics and are a fan of this type of thing, don't miss this.