General Wade Eiling, sometimes known as The General, is a fictional character appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
.
Publication history
Wade Eiling first appeared in ''
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a superhero appearing in American comic books, first in the 1960s by Charlton Comics before being acquired in the 1980s by DC Comics. Captain Atom has existed in three basic incarnations.
Publication history
Captain Atom was crea ...
'' #1 (March 1987) and was created by
Cary Bates
Cary Bates (born 1948) is an American comic book, animation, television and film writer. He is best known for his work on ''The Flash'', '' Superman'', ''Superboy, the Legion of Superheroes'' and ''Captain Atom''.
Biography
Early career
Bates ...
and
Pat Broderick
Pat Broderick (born November 26, 1953) is an American comics artist, known for his work on the ''Micronauts'' and ''Alpha Flight'' for Marvel Comics, and ''Legion of Super-Heroes'', ''Captain Atom'' and ''Green Lantern'' for DC Comics. Broderick a ...
.
Fictional character biography
Wade Eiling is a military tactician who blackmails the accused Nathaniel Adam into participating in the
atom
Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons.
Every solid, liquid, gas, and ...
ic experiment that turns Nathaniel into the nuclear being
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a superhero appearing in American comic books, first in the 1960s by Charlton Comics before being acquired in the 1980s by DC Comics. Captain Atom has existed in three basic incarnations.
Publication history
Captain Atom was crea ...
, and causes Adam to disappear for 18 years.
This is considered a failure by Eiling and
Heinrich Megala, the project's main scientist. They would attempt the experiment again, which ends up with the creation of
Major Force
Major Force (Clifford Zmeck) is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Major Force is the evil counterpart of the superhero Captain Atom.
Publication history
Major Force first appeared in ''Captain Atom'' (vol. 3) #12 ( ...
.
During the 18 years in which Adam is gone, Eiling marries Adam's wife and acts as father to his two children.
Eiling also manipulates Captain Atom into serving the military. His first attempts, a chance for Adam to view his children in exchange for retrieving a lost submarine, falls apart in issue #3 of the 1980s ''Captain Atom'' series. This embarrasses Eiling in front of his superiors. The same issue details the cover story for Captain Atom that Eiling helps create, one that is, in his words, "a scenario just far-fetched and hokey enough to sound authentic". His continuing conflicts with the title character were a major focus of the 1980s ''Captain Atom'' series. Eiling would also form an intensely adversarial relationship with Megala.
General Wade Eiling makes a cameo appearance in ''SoftWar'', the very first story arc of 1993 maxi-series ''
The Hacker Files
''The Hacker Files'' is a twelve issue DC Comics mini-series published from August 1992 to July 1993. It was written by Lewis Shiner and illustrated by Tom Sutton.
Publication history
The series written by cyberpunk novelist Lewis Shiner is notab ...
''.
In ''
JLA'' #24 after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, Eiling sends a military team to salvage the indestructible body of a
Shaggy Man
The Shaggy Man is a character in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. He first appeared in the book ''The Road to Oz'' in 1909.
He is a kindly old wandering hobo, dressed in rags. His philosophy of life centers on both love and an aversion to materia ...
from the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
where he has its body shaved.
Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
and
Aquaman
Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially ...
attempt to stop the Corps from retrieving the body, but their efforts are thwarted.
The General returns to his base of operations, Threshold. From there he orchestrates a military assault on the JLA. Answering a call for help in Phoenix, Arizona, the
Justice League
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
are attacked by American military forces. Spearheading the offensive is a new superhero team called the
Ultramarine Corps
Ultramarine is a deep blue color pigment which was originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder. The name comes from the Latin ''ultramarinus'', literally 'beyond the sea', because the pigment was imported into Europe from mines in Afg ...
.
Recruited and genetically enhanced by Eiling's lab team, The Ultramarines already exhibit signs of terminal illness.
Meanwhile,
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
,
the Huntress and
Plastic Man
Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brian) is a superhero first appearing in ''Police Comics'' #1, originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by cartoonist Jack Cole, Plastic Man was one of the first superheroes to ...
track Eling to Threshold, where they discover that Eiling transferred his brain patterns into the indestructible body of the Shaggy Man and called this form the General.
The JLA battle the military and the Corps until ''JLA'' #26 (February 1999). General's forces consider mutiny as doubts against attacking the League come to a head. Superman, whose super-senses have diagnosed the Ultramarine's disease, persuades the Ultramarine Corps that General has used and betrayed them. The Corps members, who volunteered for service in good faith, switch sides and speed with the JLA toward Threshold.
Even against the combined might of the JLA and the Ultramarines, the General is unstoppable. Batman notices that General's tactical edge and focus are diminished in his new artificial form. Working together, the team fights the monster onto a bulk-matter teleport platform. General is transported to
433 Eros, a 'rocky needle', six miles in length, at the heart of the Sol system's asteroid belt.
He stays there for several months until
Queen Bee
A queen bee is typically an adult, mated female (gyne) that lives in a colony or hive of honey bees. With fully developed reproductive organs, the queen is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive. Queens are developed ...
recruits him into
Lex Luthor
Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: Apr ...
's new Injustice Gang. General battles against the Justice League a second time as part of a coordinated attack, this time utilizing a large-scale machine gun. He declares that the League was wrong to banish him to the asteroid with no trial. The battle moves to one of the
White Martian
The White Martians are one of three fictional extraterrestrial races native to Mars in the DC Comics' shared universe. White Martians, also known as Pale Martians, appear in the comics of the DC Universe, chiefly '' JLA'', ''Martian Manhunter'', ...
warships that is currently inside the
Phantom Zone
The Phantom Zone is a prison-like parallel dimension appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is mainly associated with stories featuring Superman. It first appeared in '' Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961), and was created ...
. There, General states his plan to utilize the weapons of mass destruction on Earth itself.
Orion's war dog
Sturmer participates in a trick against General. The canine tackles the man through a ship's airlock, into the
Phantom Zone
The Phantom Zone is a prison-like parallel dimension appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is mainly associated with stories featuring Superman. It first appeared in '' Adventure Comics'' #283 (April 1961), and was created ...
. This naturally distresses Superman, but Orion assures him that Sturmer has willingly made this choice.
Having somehow escaped, he has since appeared in the
JSA comics fighting
Hal Jordan
Harold "Hal" Jordan, one of the characters known as Green Lantern, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created in 1959 by writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane, and first appeared in '' ...
. During the ''
Infinite Crisis
"Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, a ...
'' storyline, General is one of the hundreds of villains recruited into
the Society.
He is a participant in the
Battle of Metropolis
"Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...
, the first step of the Society's war on the heroes. This effort fails. Later, he is recruited into the
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...
, where his regenerative powers are significantly diminished. He betrays the team to their intended target.
Rick Flag
Rick may refer to:
People
*Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name
*Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality
*Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...
detonates a bomb implanted in General's head, ending the threat. His head and brain eventually regenerate, but results in some amnesia. General continues to serve as a Squad member through the "
Salvation Run
''Salvation Run'' is a seven-issue 2007-2008 DC Comics limited series which was designed to tie into the company's major event series ''Final Crisis'' in 2008.
Premise
The premise of the series, which is based on a pitch by George R. R. Martin, ...
" storyline. This is the name for a program that exiles supervillains to a distant, Earth-like planet without a trial.
In September 2011, DC Comics engaged in a line-wide revision of its superhero comics, including their stories and characters' fictional histories, known as ''
The New 52
The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...
''. In the new stories, the character of Captain Atom has a new origin with General Wade Eiling first appearing in a radiation suit while flanking Captain Atom. General Eiling tells Captain Atom to fall in line as he is a super-weapon that will keep America on the top. When Captain Atom tells them that he will be just another atomic bomb for them, General Eiling attempts to quarantine Captain Atom. While stating that he cannot eat or drink, Captain Atom counters everything that the military throws at him.
Powers and abilities
General Wade Eiling specializes in military warfare. In a shaved body of Shaggy Man that he dubs the General, Eiling has enough raw strength to engage multiple Justice League members in close combat, including powerhouses such as Steel, Orion, Martian Manhunter, and Superman. As an artificial lifeform, he can rapidly regrow lost limbs (even after they were blasted off by Superman's heat vision). Wade could smell the adrenaline in Batman's sweat, especially during their battle. The General was nearly invulnerable to extreme temperatures, high pressures, and the vacuum of space. Despite his massive frame, he was able to run much faster than others. He is functionally immortal and does not require food, water, or sleep. His vulnerability to
hypnosis
Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...
can be a disadvantage.
Other versions
JLA/Avengers
''JLA/Avengers'' (issues #2 and 4 are titled ''Avengers/JLA'') is a comic book limited series and crossover published in prestige format by DC Comics and Marvel Comics from September 2003 to March 2004. The series was written by Kurt Busiek, with ...
The General is among the mind-controlled villains defending
Krona's stronghold when the heroes assault it. He is defeated by
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
and
Vision
Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to:
Perception Optical perception
* Visual perception, the sense of sight
* Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight
* Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...
.
In other media
Television
* General Wade Eiling appears in ''
Justice League Unlimited
''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and ...
'', voiced by
J. K. Simmons
Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor, considered one of the most prolific and well-established character actors of his generation. He has appeared in over 200 films and television roles since his debut in 1986. He i ...
.
This version is an
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
General and member of
Project Cadmus
Project Cadmus is a fictional genetic engineering project in the DC Comics Universe. Its notable creations included the Golden Guardian (a clone of the original Guardian), Auron, Superboy (Kon-El) (a clone from Superman's DNA), and Dubbilex (a D ...
who regards
metahumans
In DC Comics' DC Universe, a metahuman is a human with superpowers. The term is roughly synonymous with both ''mutant'' and ''mutate'' in the Marvel Universe and ''posthuman'' in the Wildstorm and Ultimate Marvel Universes. In DC Comics, the term ...
as a threat to humanity. Following Cadmus' disbandment, he is relegated to a "pencil pusher". Upon learning his former superior
Amanda Waller
Amanda Blake Waller (née White), also known as "the Wall", is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''Legends'' #1 in 1986 and was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and ...
no longer believes the
Justice League
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
is a threat, a displeased Eiling injects himself with
Captain Nazi
Captain Nazi (Baron Albrecht Krieger) is a Fawcett Comics and DC Comics supervillain, a rival of Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr..
Captain Nazi made his first live-action appearance in a 2016 second season episode of The CW TV series ''DC ...
's super-soldier serum and transforms into a monster.
He attempts to find
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
, but is opposed by non-powered Leaguers
Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His secret identity, real name is Olive ...
,
Speedy
Speedy refers to something or someone moving at high speed.
Speedy may refer to:
Ships
* HMS ''Speedy'', nine ships of the Royal Navy
* ''Speedy''-class brig, a class of naval ship
* ''Speedy'' (1779), a whaler and convict ship despatched i ...
,
Shining Knight
Shining Knight ( cy, Marchog Disglair) is the name of multiple fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original version was created by Creig Flessel and first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #66 (Sep ...
,
Crimson Avenger
The Crimson Avenger is the name of three separate fictional characters, superheroes and supervillains who exist in the DC Comics Universe. The character debuted in 1938 and is notable as the first masked hero in DC Comics.
The first Crimson Aveng ...
,
Vigilante
Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority.
A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...
,
Stargirl, and
S.T.R.I.P.E. instead. While he soundly defeats them, a group of civilians stand between him and Shining Knight, causing Eiling to realize he was the only metahuman involved in the fight and became what he hates. He abandons the battle, but vows to return if the Justice League becomes a threat.
* General Wade Eiling appears in ''
Young Justice
Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes.
The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...
'' episode "Cornered", voiced by
Jeff Bennett
Jeffrey Glenn Bennett (born October 2, 1962) is an American voice actor who voiced Johnny Bravo in the Johnny Bravo, eponymous television series, Dexter's Dad in ''Dexter's Laboratory'', Brooklyn in ''Gargoyles (TV series), Gargoyles'' and List o ...
.
* General Wade Eiling appears in ''
The Flash
The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...
'', portrayed by
Clancy Brown
Clarence John "Clancy" Brown III (born January 5, 1959) is an American actor. Prolific in film and television since the 1980s, Brown is often cast in villainous and authoritative roles.
Brown's film roles include Viking Lofgren in ''Bad Boys'' ...
.
This version is a
two-star U.S. Army general who worked with
S.T.A.R. Labs
Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories (S.T.A.R. Labs) is a fictional scientific research facility and organization appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It first appeared in ''Superman'' #246 (December 1 ...
five years prior to the series to develop a means of creating psychic interrogators until
Harrison Wells
Harrison Wells is the name of several characters portrayed by Tom Cavanagh in The CW's Arrowverse franchise, primarily the television series ''The Flash''. The character, created by Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti, and Andrew Kreisberg, is an origin ...
learned he was abusing the program's test subject
Grodd and broke ties with him.
Video games
General Wade Eiling as the General appears in the
Nintendo DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
version of ''
Justice League Heroes
''Justice League Heroes'' is a 2006 console video game for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 platforms. It was developed by Snowblind Studios, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in conjunction with DC Comics and was distributed in Europe ...
''.
Miscellaneous
General Wade Eiling also appears in issue #5 of the ''Justice League Unlimited'' spin-off comic book.
Reception and analysis
''The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide'' found that in the character of General Wade Eiling the comic had created "an appalling specimen of military pigheadedness who can justify every iniquitous piece of behaviour under the blanket of national security". ''The Supervillain Book'' summed up Eiling's character as an "immoral soldier".
According to George A. Gonzalez, in the figure of General Eiling the creators of ''
Justice League Unlimited
''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and ...
'' represent the negative side of "aggressive military policies of the 2000s" by the
US government, like "wanton violence" and "fixation on 'power' (i.e. military force)". Through his deliberate transformation into "a huge, hideous, grayish monster with superpowers", Eiling "quite literally
..embodies the ugliness of militarism".
Eiling also serves as an example of the development of comics over the decades: While in the 1940s and 50s comic heroes were "unabashed patriots", in the figure of General Eiling from the 2000s they fight against a representative of a misunderstood patriotism that values the reputation of the nation-state higher than the lives of any number of civilians.
Markus Engelns gives a different characterization of Eiling based on the ''
World War III
World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical World war, worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use ...
'' comic arcs, in a later stage in the character's development: Eiling no longer has his function as a general, and has lost any discernable motive beyond fighting, which emphasizes his dangerousness even more.
References
External links
Generalat DC Database
General Eilingat Comic Vine
General Wade Eilingat Writeups.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eiling, Wade
Characters created by Cary Bates
Characters created by Pat Broderick
Comics characters introduced in 1987
DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds
DC Comics characters with accelerated healing
DC Comics characters with superhuman strength
DC Comics military personnel
DC Comics television characters
Fictional characters with immortality
Fictional characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability
Fictional characters with superhuman senses
Fictional generals
Fictional major generals
Fictional United States Army personnel
Suicide Squad members