Join us from November 14th through November 25th for this action-packed, '90s themed DC Book Club, as we read through Team One WildC.A.T.S #1 and #2! Faced with a surprise attack by an evil Daemonite, Jacob Marlowe, AKA Saul Baxter, puts together a team of fierce fighters to combat the increasing Daemonite threat. Will the team stand up to the challenge? Only one way to find out…
Team One WildC.A.T.S is free to read for all DCUI registered users! Join us for this two-week book club discussion thread, as we uncover the origins of the crew known as Team One WildC.A.T.S!
Team One WildC.A.T.S Week 1 Discussion Questions
Why do you think Jacob Marlowe is so pre-occupied by his past at the start of this book?
During the first attack on the submarine base, what “truth” do you think Jacob is trying to hide here? Why do you believe he is trying to cover up this truth?
In pages 12-15, what role do you think motives play in the present dialogue?
The concept of a military body using super-powered beings to gain an advantage in war is nothing new to comics. How do you feel about that trope being the inspiration for this series? Do you think it fits the narrative in Team One WildCATS?
Who is your favorite member of Team One, and why?
Team One WildC.A.T.S Week 2 Discussion Questions
In the opening pages of the second issue, it seems leadership is a key theme of the dialogue and action.
What role do you think leadership plays in the formation of Team One?
As Team One prepares to confront the unidentified life forms attacking a missile silo in North Dakota, each member appears to have a memory play out in their heads. What do you think is the significance of these memories?
Slaughterhouse Smith is surprised when Helspont chooses New York City as the next attack target. What do you think this says about the relationship between the two villains?
How do you feel about the big action sequence between Team One and Helspont’s team?
What do you think is the role of the US Government here? Do you think the government is a positive or negative force here?
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Simply because he doesn’t remember it. Not being able to remember your own past leaves you with a lot of questions. Who was I? What was I like? What did I say/do? Not having the answers to those questions makes it difficult to trust yourself and your decisions in the present. It’s haunting.
Saul (Jacob) is trying to cover up the existence of extraterrestrials (the Kherubim and the Daemonites) on Earth. As for why, he’s not exactly sure himself. My guess would be that exposure would make life difficult for him and the Kherubim on Earth. It may cause humans to hunt them down and jeopardize the Kherubim’s shadow war against the Daemonites.
I think those pages give us glimpses into the motives of three of Team One’s members. John Colt is obviously driven by a strong sense of duty to the United States. Mason seems to enjoy the carnage he inflicts. Majestic is simply pure at heart.
I have mixed feelings about military affiliated superheroes. Ideally I like superheroes to be independent of specific national and political motivations. That allows heroes to make judgement calls based on their personal moral codes. However, not every superhero universe or situation is ideal, so military affiliated heroes can work within a certain context. Considering this story is told in the 1960’s during the height of the Cold War, it works in this context. The Cold War was so all-encompassing that it’s hard to imagine superheroes staying entirely outside of it. Also, in the context of the original Wildstorm universe, this fits. Just about all of the heroes from those early Wildstorm (or even Image) books were either somehow connected to a government entity or were treated as outlaws from said government. This fits the formula.
That’s a tough question. Outside of Lucy Blaize, we don’t see too much out of each individual member in this issue. Though, I like the fact that almost every Team One member either becomes or is somehow connected to an important Wildstorm character in the future. I’m tempted to pick Lucy since she’s a rad ninja woman. In the end, though, Majestic is based on Superman who is my favorite character, and my favorite era of Superman is the 1960’s. Soooo… I’ll just go with Majestic.
Outside of all that, I like that this is a James Robinson comic. James is one of my favorite DC creators because he has a strong handle on history, the history of superhero comics, and on superhero legacy. That pops up here a little bit. The book mentions that the last time Saul fought a Daemonite was when he accidentally caused the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. He stopped the Daemonite from assassinating famous Italian opera singer Enrico Caruso. Saul wasn’t sure why the Daemonites were trying to kill Enrico, and I’m not sure either. Enrico was in San Francisco for the earthquake, but, outside of his stellar singing career, I don’t think he was crucially important to historical events of the period. Though, he apparently escaped San Francisco with an autographed picture of President Teddy Roosevelt, so maybe the Daemonites thought they could replace/possess Enrico to get close to Teddy? Unless anyone else has a better theory? Regardless, I’m sure Robinson’s knack for both real-world and superhero history will come up again.
My impression is that he’s thinking so much about his past because he’s extremely old and has a lot of past, and presumably a lot of regrets, to think about.
At first I thought it was just that he had powers, but there are other powered people that are known to the public, so I think it’s just that he isn’t human, and that other nonhumans are involved in things on Earth.
I think it’s a way to show what makes the characters being recruited to Team 1 different, and explain a little about why they’re fighting.
I do like seeing this kind of thing in comics, since it makes total sense that the military or government would want to be involved with superpowered characters. I do think it’s interesting in this comic that the true purpose of the team is being kept a secret from almost everyone, including the government.
I like the design and concept of Majestic the most, since he’s the one who’s most like a “traditional” superhero, but Colt seems to have the most character development so far.
Why do you think Jacob Marlowe is so pre-occupied by his past at the start of this book?
Looking back at regrets or past actions. A How did it all begin kind of thing. Could be dying and looking back as well.
During the first attack on the submarine base, what “truth” do you think Jacob is trying to hide here? Why do you believe he is trying to cover up this truth?
That he is and alien as well. Or at least not human. It could cost him his position or worse.
In pages 12-15, what role do you think motives play in the present dialogue?
To get a better look at the team. With this only having two issues seems like the best way to get to know the characters quickly without effecting the story.
The concept of a military body using super-powered beings to gain an advantage in war is nothing new to comics. How do you feel about that trope being the inspiration for this series? Do you think it fits the narrative in Team One WildCATS?
Yeah. Wildcats are a cover action team to military connection seems perfectly reasonable.
Who is your favorite member of Team One, and why?
Not really sure. I like Helspot more. Seems really interesting and has a cool design. Also my villain bias.
In the opening pages of the second issue, it seems leadership is a key theme of the dialogue and action.
What role do you think leadership plays in the formation of Team One?
It’s not the biggest role. More if who is easier for the gov to control. Who can be there yes person. But also have the ability to keep the team together and get the job done.
As Team One prepares to confront the unidentified life forms attacking a missile silo in North Dakota, each member appears to have a memory play out in their heads. What do you think is the significance of these memories?
More of what they have to loose. What they’re fighting for while also getting to know the characters in the short time they have.
Slaughterhouse Smith is surprised when Helspont chooses New York City as the next attack target. What do you think this says about the relationship between the two villains?
A classic double cross. Never trust a fellow villain. Definitely Helspot using him.
How do you feel about the big action sequence between Team One and Helspont’s team?
Pretty cool. A bit scattered and the team isn’t a perfect unit but it is there first mission.
What do you think is the role of the US Government here? Do you think the government is a positive or negative force here?
Both. They’re kind trying to do good but through shady means. Because in the end not one is perfect.
In my last post, I said that writer James Robinson is basically a great student of history and of superhero comics. This story is set in the 1960’s. In our world’s 1960’s, there was a team of superheroes published by another comic company (that shall remain nameless) whose members would constantly bicker over who should be the leader since they were all so strong and capable. This team’s leadership problems were somewhat solved when a patriotic hero in red, white, and blue took command of the operation and started to lead by example. Even still, this Patriotic hero would often suffer challenges to his authority by the members he was in charge of (two in particular- a speedster and an archer with an affinity for purple). In Team One, we see patriotic John Colt trying to lead by example while Regiment and Slayton challenge his authority and bicker over the leadership position. I’m just saying that I’m seeing some resemblance between the two teams as it relates to the leadership situation. I also got a kick out of comparing Think Tank’s support of Colt to the adoration a certain perennial sidekick had for the patriotic leader of the other group. Especially since I know who Think Tank becomes…
For John, I think he’s reflecting on the loss of the one thing he has in his life that he finds meaningful outside his duty. Losing Lucy probably had a serious effect on his morale which is potentially troubling considering the decision he makes in the issue’s finale. With Saul, I think he’s reliving and brooding over his past battles with the Daemonites and is probably wondering where it will all end. Mason seems to be reflecting on what a piece of garbage he is and the fact that he’s the only one who really knows it. Lucy is realizing that the news she just received could change her life considerably. It’s harder to make the decisions a warrior makes if you have to take a child into consideration.
I decided to save Majestic for the end since this moment is my favorite bit of meta-commentary in the piece. Majestic describes feeling like he has had no direction since the “end of the war.” Keep in mind, Majestic is based on Superman. Superman was the first superhero who ushered in the Golden Age of comics. In the Golden Age, superhero characters like Superman used World War II as a rallying cry to make their adventures more captivating, to give them more relevance. After WWII ended, superhero comics suffered a drastic decline in popularity. Superman survived but his stories from the 50’s and early 60’s are usually criticized for a lack of direction. He eventually restored that sense of purpose with the help of a superhero team in the 1960’s. James Robinson, man…
I think they need couples therapy. Honestly, the villains are my least favorite thing about this story. If Slaughterhouse Smith’s primary motivation is to use his superpowers for material gain, why would he rock the boat when he’s doing so well and join up with the world conquering/destroying aspirations of an alien that will surely gain him much, much more attention from the authorities? Why would Helspont recruit a powerful superhuman who could potentially challenge or harm him only to turn around and do something he knows will potentially make that superhuman very cross with him? Neither of them really seem to know what they’re doing. This partnership was doomed from the beginning.
I feel for Robinson and artist Rich Johnson here. They only had two issues to build a team, introduce its members, introduce the villains, set up the conflict, and resolve it. That’s a lot to do in not a lot of story. In the end, the big action sequence feels kind of rushed and bit turbulent as it rushes from scene to scene to try to get everyone in and move the plot along. I think it managed to do a lot with very little. We get a good scene of the animal in Mason taking over and one of Think Tank’s machine being overwhelmed by Daemonites (which gives good background for why he puts himself in the positions he does later in life- always separated from the action by glass). The big sacrifice at the end finishes the story well, but, yeah, you could definitely feel the time pinch the creators were under. They managed to reflect that in the fact that the entire battle only lasted 12 minutes. That was a nice touch.
As for the role of the US government in this, I can’t help but talk about the Cold War. During the Cold War, you had two sides convinced of their own superiority and convinced the other side would utterly destroy them given the chance. Even if you believe the actions and motivations of the US government during the Cold War were pure, they did end up building a stockpile of nuclear weapons that could devastate the planet many times over. Even if you think they had no choice, you’d have to agree there’s a negative effect in that. From there, I could point out the possible similarities between the Cold War and the shadow war being fought by the Kherubim and Daemonites, or the use of superhumans could be seen as an escalation in the Cold War in and of itself. Ultimately, part of the role of government is to protect its citizens. Sometimes this does mean taking aggressive action or building weapons. However, those things can have equally negative consequences. You can only hope that people in authority are taking the long, hard look at whether their decisions are really helping or hurting.
I think this scene is just showing more how well the team works together (or doesn’t, at least initially), since multiple members seem to think of themselves as the “alpha dog”.
I think it works to provide a little more background on their characters, and differentiate them some. It is interesting how different the things they’re thinking about as they go into combat are.
I think it shows that Smith really knows nothing at all about Helspont, and he jumped into working with him extremely hastily, and that Smith isn’t necessarily as “evil” as Helspont.
It’s definitely exciting! I didn’t read a lot of comics during this time period apart from X-Men, but these kinds of characters and scenes look super familiar to me just from things like Wizard Magazine.
Given that I know very little about WildC.A.T.S, I’d kind of say the government’s role is more neutral to positive. Since alien invaders are trying to rule the earth, I think stopping that is important, and it doesn’t seem unreasonable that the government would want to keep that under wraps.
Loved the original Wildcats series when Image launched (yeah I’m old) & remains one of my all time favorite comics as far as 1st issues go. Wetworks & Savage Dragon #1’s rate right up there too. Anyway, looking forward to the new series as it looks like it’s going back to it’s roots. Team One was a nice expansion/backstory to these characters.
I’ll have to check it out.
