As I stated, I will re-read (or in some cases, really read) Grant Morrison's epic Seven Soldiers saga.
First is Seven Soldiers #0 (Ap'05). Has it been five years already?
It begins in Slaughter Swamp, birthplace of Solomon Grundy and already the twisting commences.
It introduces us to the younger son of Quality's archer, the Spider, transformed by James Robinson into a secret villain in The Shade, with the older son showing up in Starman. Geoff Johns ret-cons him as the betrayer of the original Seven Soldiers in Stars & STRIPE.
The Quality Comics feature was titled "Alias the Spider" and had one story reprinted in Detective #441 (Jl'74) which was one more than Uncle Sam or the Human Bomb got. He did not even receive an entry in Who's Who and made only a cameo in All-Star Squadron. Technically he was a Freedom Fighter but he was used as a substitute for the no longer existing Golden Age Green Arrow in the 7S lineup.
The opener is filled with prophecies and menace and the Sheeda and the Seven Unknown Men. It is an intriguing and complex beginning with great potential.
We meet the robust, dominatrix granddaughter of the Whip who, to me, is the most interesting of the new heroes.She apparently has issues!
We travel with her to the Southwest and ride with the Vigilante, an original 7S member. He's grizzled, ornery and charismatic. His time in the Old West was a Post-Crisis ret-con which explained why his period adventures in Western Comics and his exile into the past and his return from Justice League of America #100-102.
Miracle Mesa, the Ghost Country and the Buffalo Spider: all worthy of seperate tales to be sure!
Vig is showing his age yet appears younger in the Jimmy Olsen Special.
There are supposed to be seven heroes, but there are only six. Not a good sign!
The others and their inspirations:
Gimmix (Merry the Gimmick Girl), apparently related to the Star Spangled Kid, another original 7S member. The dilettante hero.
Boy Blue (Little Boy Blue), the mysterious youth.
Dyno-Mite Dan (TNT & Dan the Dynamite), the wanna-be who thinks he's ready.
adding the new altered Spider, Now I, Spyder, the team is complete with strange bondings!
They defeat the giant spider but it was a trap by the Sheeda. None survive.the Seven Unknown Men move to Plan B and we move to the minis next!
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I'm pretty sure that's supposed to be a different Vigilante than the one from the Jimmy Olsen book. I'm pretty sure the name is the only thing they have in common.