''Vanguard'' is a fictional alien

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, ...

created by

Gary Carlson Gary S. Carlson is an American comic book writer, editor and publisher, known for his work on his creator-owned comics, such as the 1980s anthology ''Megaton'' and ''Big Bang Comics''. He has also worked on books for Image Comics, such as ''Va ...

and

Erik Larsen Erik J. Larsen (born December 8, 1962) is an American comic book artist, writer, and publisher. He currently acts as the chief financial officer of Image Comics. He gained attention in the early 1990s with his art on Spider-Man series for Marvel ...

for Carlson's self-published anthology ''Megaton''. Vanguard is a white alien with small antennae who has been given the unenviable job of guarding Earth, which is viewed by the aliens as boring with little chance of anything happening. His sole companion is a sarcastic, hovering cycloptic robot and their morphing androids, though he quickly developed a relationship with a reporter Roxanne Wells. Following Larsen's departure from

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 ...

and co-founding of

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

he and Carlson re-tooled the character slightly and re-introduced him as a part of Larsen's

Savage Dragon The Savage Dragon is a fictional superhero created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon. The character first appeared ...

's universe of which he was a close part, via Image he received two

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

, ''Vanguard'' and ''Vanguard: Strange Visitors'' and a 1-shot but frequently appeared in ''

'', ''

Freak Force Freak Force is the name of a fictional team of superhuman bounty hunters operating out of Chicago, Illinois. They originated in the Image Comics series '' Savage Dragon'', but subsequently went on to star in their own series. References Ex ...

'' and the third volume of ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

'' as well being a member of

Rob Liefeld Robert Liefeld (; born October 3, 1967) is an American comic book creator. A prominent writer and artist in the 1990s, he is known for co-creating the character Cable (comics), Cable with writer Louise Simonson and the character Deadpool with wri ...

's short-lived re-vamp of ''

Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

'' before Liefeld's expulsion.

Major Series

Megaton

In Megaton comics, stories that are not canonical to the 'Image Universe' and more specifically the Savage Dragon story-line/universe, Vanguard has already been watching Earth for sometime, and was already in a relationship with Roxanne Wells.

's first fully professional work was on the title (though ''Graphic Fantasy'' pre-dated it). Cosmo VII, a

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

robot assaulted Vanguard, Wally and Roxanne in Vanguard's space station, drawing him to Earth (as Supreme would in his Image series) and leading to conflict between the United States and the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

and between Vanguard and the Savage Dragon's S.O.S and Mighty Man.

Vanguard

The initial six-issue series was written by Vanguard creator Gary Carlson and featured a 'revolving door' of artists that included

Joe Madureira Joe Madureira (born December 1974), often called Joe Mad,Smith, Andrew (May 3, 2002). "Canceled Comics Cavalcade Catch-up". ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1485. p. 38 is an American comic book artist and game developer, best known for his work on ''Da ...

. In the text of the final issue it was implied that the comic was originally intended to be an ongoing series, rather than a mini-series, but various issues, including the revolving door of artists, led to it being prematurely ended. Following on from a back-up story, Vanguard began his series fighting Supreme, Supreme had encountered Vanguard's race while in his exile in space. The fight resulted in Earth's first contact with Vanguard, and ended in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

with Supreme the victor and Vanguard was left outside the

's police department, arrested and taken to a maximum security prison, which he was swiftly broken out of by his robot aid Wally using their teleporter and one of their

shape-shifter In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, sorcery, spells or having inherited ...

robot drones, Lurch. Unfortunately, the teleportation went wrong and sent Vanguard to a science lab, and Lurch had a glitch that made him rebellious. Lurch, posing as Vanguard escaped and fought The Dragon, while Vanguard escaped the space station and accidentally caused the overweight female scientist there to become a super-villain 'Modem' who could control robotics/electronics. Vanguard was able to intervene with Dragon and Lurch's battle, which led to his first meeting with Roxanne Wells. Wells had found Vanguard's helmet, which he had lost during his fight with Supreme, and had repaired it. Able to speak English once more, the situation was resolved, only for Wally, under the control of Modem, to battle both Dragon and Vanguard. First, in Chicago and then on Vanguard's ship. Vanguard teleported Modem's molecules across the vastness of space. Issue 5 featured a fight between Vanguard and a time-traveller called Berseker, and Issue 6 featured Vanguard's first date with Roxanne, and his battle with the Imagineer, an old man who used a machine to become various super-criminals. Vanguard continued to feature in The Savage Dragon and

series after this, helping Freak Force against their clones, and Freak Force and Cyberforce against alien, metal eating ants. Lurch was particularly crucial in the Savage Dragon, he posed as Lt. Frank Darling and allowed the policeman to fake his death to escape blackmail from Overlord and the Vicious Circle, only for the robot to survive and continue to attack Overlord over and over revealing the man to be alive. Issue two of Vanguard's initial six-issue series featured a mysterious back-up story; this story was not explained until some time later, when the character appeared in the third volume of

as a villain. Vanguard attempts to assist when reality threatens to fracture into six different Earths. 'Tremors' tear him away."Shattered Image" #2 (1996)

Strange Visitors

Much of Strange Visitors focussed around a long fight between Vanguard and a giant hulking alien called 'Amok', the series guest starred a number of other characters including Supreme, Glory,

Badrock Badrock is a fictional superhero who appears in books published by Image Comics. Created by Rob Liefeld, he was originally named Bedrock and first appeared in '' Youngblood'' #1 (April 1992). Fictional character biography Thomas John McCall ...

WildC.A.T.S Wildcats, sometimes rendered WildCats or WildC.A.T.s, is a superhero team created by the American comic book artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi. Publication history The team first appeared in August 1992 in the first issue of their epon ...

, The Dragon and Freak Force. Gary Calrson again wrote the series and art was by

Scot Eaton Scot Eaton is a comic book artist, best known for his work on '' Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'', ''Thor'', '' X-Men: Endangered Species'', and '' X-Men: Messiah Complex''. Career In the early 1990s Eaton started penciling ''Doctor Fate'' an ...

. After Vanguard met Roxanne's parents and defeated Modem again, Amok crashed to earth destroying a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

space station in the process, this destruction was blamed on Vanguard who clashed with Amok, whom he knew as a slave' on Vanguard's homeworld (yes, on Vanguards planet Slavery existed and this slaves just happened to be brown-skinned people who revolted and were wiped out) and the last survivor of an extinct planet (Radan), Amok kidnapped Roxanne and Vanguard enlisted the help of Supreme in rescuing her, with the final issue dedicated to a long fight between Amok and a number of guest stars. After beating Vangard, Supreme and quite a few of the guest stars senseless, even punching Supreme so hard he was knocked to outer space. Upon regaining consciousness Supreme charged back to earth with vengeance on his mind to deliver his best punch. Amok took Supreme's best punch and flattened him, much to the amazement of the multiple guest stars cowering in anticipation of the coup-de-grace from Supreme. After laughing at Supreme's best shot it was apparent Amok could not be beat physically. Against the wishes of even Roxanne who could now understand Amok as it took him some time to adapt to English, Vanguards robot pal telekinetically gave Amok a lobotomy (even after finding out Amok was not a senseless brute but just crazed from the loss of his family and profiled because of his enormous size and demeanor). Aside from the One-Shot Ethereal Warriors, which teamed him with Ethrian, a character created by Frank Fosco (who pencilled the special) Vanguard's appearances since Strange Visitors were mostly in a supporting role, assisting The Dragon mostly and also the

, it was revealed by Larsen (source needed) that Vanguard was positioned to watch for the Cosmic Cops that attacked in the

ongoing series.

References

External links