''The Pitt'' is a
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
one-shot
One shot may refer to:
Film and television
* One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so
* ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake
* ''One Shot'' (2 ...
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
written by
John Byrne and
Mark Gruenwald, and illustrated by
Sal Buscema and
Stan Drake
Stanley Albert Drake (November 9, 1921 – March 10, 1997) was an American cartoonist best known as the founding artist of the comic strip ''The Heart of Juliet Jones''.
Born in Brooklyn, Drake worked in the back of a Dugan's Donut truck for a do ...
. It was published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
as part of its
New Universe line. The story depicts the total destruction of the city of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, as a result of the careless actions of the wielder of the
Star Brand
The Star Brand is the name of a number of similar objects of power in the world of the Marvel Comics. The name "Star Brand" is also often adopted by the wielders of these objects. Three of these Star Brands have been prominently featured in serie ...
and its immediate 12-hour aftermath. ''The Pitt'' was the first full graphic novel published for Marvel's New Universe series.
Major characters
*
Starbrand (Ken Connell) – a young aspiring
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
and native of Pittsburgh bearing a mysterious sigil granting him potentially infinite power. Though the instigator of the Pitt, his presence in the story is limited, appearing in only a few panels without dialog or being named.
*
The Witness (Nelson Kohler) – a man who went into a coma precisely when the
White Event
The New Universe is an imprint from Marvel Comics that was published in its original incarnation from 1986 to 1989. It was the first line produced by Marvel Comics utilizing a pre-conceived shared universe concept. It was created by Jim Shooter, ...
occurred and subsequently died. His intellect reincorporating as a
ghost
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
-like
psychic projection, he cannot be seen or heard, neither can he interact physically with the world in any way, but he can travel anywhere at will to observe events. He is compelled by a strange pull to witness people manifesting paranormal abilities.
* MacIntyre (Mac) Browning –
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
in the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
's
Defense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense, specializing in defense and military intelligence.
A component of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the I ...
called in to assess and handle the situation.
* Jenny Swensen (Spitfire) – government agent and operator of the
M.A.X. Armor, which is used to investigate the scene and try to rescue survivors.
Background
The storyline of ''The Pitt'' begins in issue #12 of ''Star Brand''. In the previous issue, Ken Connell used his power to become the world's first costumed superhero. Now enjoying growing fame, he makes an appearance at a local Pittsburgh comic-book convention. A recurring enigmatic foe known only as the Old Man ambushes Connell at the show, destroying the building and killing hundreds of by-standers. After escaping, Connell realizes that he was able to read the Old Man's mind during the encounter, and thus learned that he is a centuries-old human who bears a brand like his own and was driven insane by it. Fearing the same thing may happen to him, Connell resolves to rid himself of the star brand immediately by flying to the far side of the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
and dissipating nearly all its energy. However, as he begins the flight he has second thoughts about possibly being stranded so far from medical aid if anything should go wrong, and instead sheds the Brand ten miles (16 km) above the Earth. The issue ends with a massive ball of light erupting from Ken Connell.
Synopsis
The destruction of Pittsburgh occurs at exactly 6:06 pm
Eastern Standard Time on December 22, 1987. The spontaneous release of energy caused by the Star Brand instantly and silently disintegrates all matter in a massive spherical volume of space, 50 miles in diameter, centered ten miles (16 km) above ground level. Where the sphere intersects the ground, a perfectly symmetrical
concave
Concave or concavity may refer to:
Science and technology
* Concave lens
* Concave mirror
Mathematics
* Concave function, the negative of a convex function
* Concave polygon, a polygon which is not convex
* Concave set
* The concavity
In ca ...
void in the Earth's
crust 15 miles (24 km) deep (far enough to expose the hot
mantle
A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that.
Mantle may refer to:
*Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear
**Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...
) is made. The city of Pittsburgh and its immediate suburbs lie within this region, thus these settlements and nearly half a million people are destroyed instantly. Thousands more are killed in neighboring areas by violent winds several times greater than
hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
strength, as the atmosphere rushes into the sudden vacuum.
The abrupt silent flash of white light can be seen for hundreds of miles, but with the immediate cessation of communication from the area no one knows what has actually happened. The federal government sends in a military reconnaissance team led by Colonel Browning to assess the situation, assisted by Jenny Swensen and her Spitfire robot suit. Faced with the enormity of the disaster and the possibility of it being a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
strike, Browning institutes a severe security lockdown, ordering Swensen to abandon attempts to rescue survivors and shooting down a news helicopter that tries to investigate. Swensen ignores Browning's orders to make no contact with civilians and retrieves a car holding a family of survivors who were pulled into the crater by the winds and are slowly sinking into the mire of debris and liquid accumulating in its depths. She rescues the family, but some of the "Pitt Juice" seeps through her armor and impairs her systems. When she returns, Jenny learns how severely Browning has sealed up the area and his increasingly paranoid attempts to cover-up the truth of the event. She abandons Browning to try to help as many people as she can, and is threatened with summary execution for doing so. However, the search proves fruitless, and Browning allows her to return without incident after conceding that the tragedy is beyond the military's ability to cover-up, or indeed human society's ability to comprehend.
Parallel to the main storyline, the Witness observes the unfolding of events, from Ken Connell's initial cause (which he mourns being unable to prevent) and a possibly hallucinated encounter with the vengeful souls of all those who died in the Pitt. At one point, Jenny Swensen sees and attempts to communicate with him, one of the few times a living person has been able to do so.
The crater itself is referred to as The Pitt, as is the event that created it. Within the fictional universe, it is occasionally also referred to as The Black Event (in contrast to the earlier White Event).
The destruction of Pittsburgh (and the unsolved mystery of its cause) lead to a dramatic rise in international tension and a vast militarization of American society, including the suspension of some
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
. Many cities suffer dramatic drop in population as residents fear becoming victims of another "Pitt".
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
and surrounding areas in particular suffer severe economic downturn as, in addition to general depopulation, ash and smoke drifting Eastward from the Pitt have a negative environmental impact.
The Pitt led into the following mini-series ''
The Draft'' and then ''
The War'', and ultimately the conclusion of the entire New Universe.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitt
1987 comics debuts
Comics set in Pittsburgh
Defunct American comics
Marvel Comics one-shots
Marvel Comics titles
New Universe