T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents (New Earth)

{{DC Database:Team Template
 * Image                  = THUNDER Agents 001.jpg
 * OfficialName           = T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents
 * Aliases                = The Higher United Nations Defence Enforcement Reserves


 * Status                 =
 * Identity               =
 * Alignment              = Good
 * Universe               = New Earth
 * BaseOfOperations       =


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 * Origin                 =
 * PlaceOfFormation       =
 * PlaceOfDefunction      =
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 * Equipment              =
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 * Notes                  = The THUNDER Agents were a group of characters originated by Tower Comics during the 1960s. According to ThunderAgents.Com, DC Comics has (as of 2009) acquired "comic book rights to publish the new stories from the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents !"

The Source July 19,2010
From DCU Blog, The Source:



What happens when the very powers that drive you to be a hero are also killing you?

Do you burn out or fade away?

Do you resign yourself to your fate or risk it all to die a hero?

Those are just some of the questions being faced by the new heroes that take the mantle of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents – a new and modern take on the classic 1960s property for today’s reader.

A while back, we showed off a teaser image announcing that the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents – the international UN heroes – would be joining the DC Universe. Well, now we’re ready to unveil some exciting details about these classic heroes and their latest incarnation.

Starting in November, a new version of The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves will reach comic book fans, courtesy of writer Nick Spencer (JIMMY OLSEN) and CAFU, in a new ongoing series featuring a 20-page lead story and 10-page co-features.

Featuring a new batch of recruits brought in to take on the mantle of the original Agents, the team faces some difficult choices of their own, while revisiting the classic team’s troubled past and deadliest threats.

Spencer and CAFU will handle the main feature with an all-star lineup of artists handling the co-features. And a certain Mr. Frank Quitely is the artist on the cover to T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS #1, with a variant cover by Darwyn Cooke.

Wil Moss, editor of the new series, swung by The Source to give us a few more details beyond the basics.

“The new series casts the team as a covert special ops force dealing with global threats the rest of the DCU don’t even know exist — all the while struggling with their own choices to become agents and the tortured pasts they’re running from. With character-first storytelling and threats exploding from real-world headlines, this relaunch of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS will offer something new, different, and daring for both today’s broader comics audience and fans of the original team.

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS will prove that there are still fresh new ways to approach the superhero team concept nd it will provide a platform to show off two very talented new creators — the writer, Nick Spencer, and the artist, CAFU.”

Thanks, Wil! T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS #1 hits in November.

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents is (c) and (R) Radiant Assets, LLC

The Source August 18, 2010
From The Source: Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

By Alex Segura

Not long ago, we broke the news that Nick Spencer and artist CAFU would be relaunching the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS in November – along with a lovely cover by superstar artist Frank Quitely. But why stop there? Editor Wil Moss was kind enough to not only shoot over some lovely CAFU character designs, but he also kept me on the phone for a few minutes to talk up just what you guys are looking at. So, what’s the score, Wil?

“When tasked with reviving the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS property for a modern audience, we needed an exciting new take on the concept, so we went to writer Nick Spencer.

But how do you make a 50-year-old superhero team like T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS look fresh and modern? Hire a one-of-a-kind artist like CAFU. Problem solved! Let’s take a look at the brand new cast and CAFU’s terrific designs of them …

DYNAMO

The new Dynamo has a number of demons to wrestle with, and how better to do so than strapping on a belt that gives you super-strength and beating the snot out of some terrorists?

This character more than the others was just a name on a piece of paper until CAFU brought him to life with his pen. He gave the classic Dynamo costume a striking update and filled it with a pensive-looking flesh-and-blood character.

LIGHTNING

Lightning’s past is one readers of the sports page will be familiar with. It’s one of failure, self-doubt and, ultimately, redemption – if he can manage to outrace death long enough, that is.

CAFU came up with a number of designs for Lightning’s suit, but we ultimately settled on this one as it seemed both the most stylish and the most practical. Zipping around that fast, you’re going to need some protection!

NOMAN

The only original member returning to (active) duty on the book, NoMan has become so out-of-touch with his humanity after years of jumping from one body to another that he just doesn’t know what to do with himself – hence being foolish enough to return to the team.

We didn’t want to change NoMan’s look too much from the original, so CAFU just gave it some thought and figured out what a guy who doesn’t care about appearances at all would be wearing.

MENTHOR

Menthor is a bit of an enigma. His identity and true motives are elements that will be up in the air for quite a while. All we can say is, whatever you think you know about Menthor based on the original series, don’t expect things to turn out the same way here.

This design is certainly a favorite – there’s just something so bizarre about seeing a superhero wearing a suit like that, especially with a covered face. For the helmet, CAFU came up with a very sleek-looking update of Menthor’s original look – a nod to the original, yet still thoroughly modern. Just like the book!

One of the best parts of this new T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS series is finding out who all these people in the costumes really are. What kind of person willingly takes on something like this that they know will kill them? You can find out starting November 10th when T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 hits the stands!”


 * Trivia                 = In 1984, David Singer's Deluxe Comics began publishing a new series, Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, featuring some of the best artists of the era, including George Pérez, Dave Cockrum, Keith Giffen, Murphy Anderson and Jerry Ordway. Singer claimed the group was in the public domain. A lawsuit by John Carbonaro claimed otherwise. The lawsuit was eventually decided in US District Court in favor of Carbonaro, with Singer acknowledging Carbonaro’s registered copyrights and trademark. Under the decision, Carbonaro also received, among other things, an assignment of all rights to Wally Woods T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, previously published by Singer, and an undisclosed sum of money. Deluxe Comics closed its doors in 1986, when several major distributors failed to pay sizeable past-due invoices.


 * Links                  = *News:THUNDER Agents Are Coming
 * T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents return (finally)! at The Daily P.O.P.
 * Discussions about the revival, with posts by Kurt Busiek
 * THUNDER Agents website
 * T.H.U.N.D.E.R._Agents at Wikipedia
 * T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents at Toonopedia
 * The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Archives

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