StormWatch #4

History

The issue was written by Warren Ellis, whose ongoing run on the WildStorm title had already pushed the book away from early-Image bombast toward science-fiction-inflected political drama; by this point Ellis was also writing Transmetropolitan, the experience of working without Marvel or DC continuity constraints having clearly accelerated his creative ambitions. Pencils were provided by Bryan Hitch, with inks by Paul Neary and colors by Laura DePuy (later Laura Martin) — the same core art team that would follow Ellis directly onto The Authority. The creative team was working within WildStorm's Image-imprint infrastructure, with Jonathan Peterson listed as editor; the issue carried a cover date of February 1998 and was published on February 11 of that year.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Midnighter, created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Bryan Hitch; his debut story is titled 'A Finer World (Part 1 of 3)'.
• First appearance of Apollo, also created by Ellis and Hitch in the same issue; both characters are revealed as sole survivors of a secret seven-member Stormwatch black-ops squad called Stormwatch Zero, engineered and then abandoned by former Weatherman Henry Bendix.
• This issue also marks the first appearance of the other five members of Stormwatch Zero — Amaze, Lamplight, Stalker, Impetus, and Crow Jane — all of whom perished on Bendix's original proving mission.
• Midnighter and Apollo are deliberately constructed as dark-mirror analogs of Batman and Superman respectively: Apollo possesses solar-powered strength, flight, and heat vision, while Midnighter's implanted combat computer allows him to pre-calculate every move in a fight.
• Although their romantic relationship is not stated outright in this issue, subsequent issues and The Authority #8 confirmed them as a gay couple; Apollo is noted as among the first openly gay superheroes in mainstream print, and The Authority later received a GLAAD award for their portrayal.
• The full creative team credited in the issue: story by Warren Ellis; pencils by Bryan Hitch; inks by Paul Neary; colors by Laura Martin (DePuy); letters by Amie Grenier; editor Jonathan Peterson.
• The arc beginning here — 'A Finer World' — was collected in the trade paperback Stormwatch Vol. 4: A Finer World (WildStorm/Image, ISBN 1-56389-535-8), which reprints StormWatch vol. 2 #4–9.
• Stormwatch was originally created by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi; this second volume, launched in late 1997, ran for only 11 issues before Ellis used the WildC.A.T.s/Aliens crossover to disband the team and transition its Ellis-created characters into The Authority.

Full credits