Merge:Great Lakes Avengers

The Great Lakes Avengers are a comedic superhero group, fashioned after Marvel Comics' Avengers. Created by John Byrne and Mike Machlan, they first appeared in The West Coast Avengers #46, July 1989.

The group consists of self-styled superheroes who possess bizarre powers, a lack of common sense and a naive insistence on being superheroes. The group idolizes the Avengers and, seeing as the team already had East and West Coast branches, dedicated itself to defending the Midwestern United States.

The Great Lakes Avengers have appeared sporadically since their first appearance, although a critically acclaimed, darkly comedic 2005 mini-series by writer Dan Slott has made them more popular than ever.

Characters
The members assembled in response to a newspaper ad written by Mr. Immortal after he decided that he would need help in his fight against crime.
 * Mr. Immortal &mdash; Craig Hollis, the team leader, whose only power is the ability to come back from the dead. Apparently this is due to his destiny: he is intended to be the last living being in the Universe. A demonic entity called Deathurge has haunted him all his life, preparing him for his lonely fate by killing off all his friends and loved ones in an attempt to harden him. "Mr. I" is the only one who can see and communicate with Deathurge, causing some concern for his friends since they think he is swearing at himself.
 * Dinah-Soar &mdash; a reptilian alien with flight powers and a sonic attack in the form of a high-pitched shriek. Her name is a reference to Dinah Lance, aka Black Canary who possesses similar vocal prowess, as well as a pun on both the word dinosaur, and actress Dinah Shore's name. Only Mister Immortal was able to understand and communicate with her. She was tragically killed by Maelstrom during a recent mission.
 * Big Bertha &mdash; model Ashley Crawford, who can transform into an incredibly fat (but also incredibly strong) version of herself. She must vomit before she can return to normal, spoofing the cliché that models often suffer from bulimia. Her staunch refusal to leave the less-than-glamorous city of Milwaukee to take part in photo sessions in Rome or Paris is a source of constant puzzlement to her agent. However, Bertha wishes to maintain her role with her team, primarily because she is their financial backer.
 * Flatman &mdash; Dr. Val Ventura, who possesses an incredibly flat body that can stretch and slip through narrow spaces. He recently publicly revealed that he is gay. He has a certain resemblance to Mr. Fantastic, a fact that is often exploited for comic effect.
 * Doorman &mdash; DeMarr Davis, who can use his body as a portal allowing his teammates to pass through walls. It was revealed in the GLA: Misassembled series that he has a connection to the Darkforce dimension. He is also the most sardonic member of the team. He is currently an angel of death, similar to Deathurge.
 * Squirrel Girl &mdash; Doreen Green, a buck-toothed young girl with a long, bushy tail who has the abilities of a squirrel and can summon squirrels to help her. She had a wise-cracking pet squirrel called Monkey Joe, who was also a member until his untimely death. He has been replaced by Tippy-Toe, a female squirrel who has also become an official team member.  Squirrel Girl joined the team during the Misassembled limited series.   It is worth noting that despite her arguably silly powers, Squirrel Girl has already defeated Doctor Doom, Thanos, Terrax and M.O.D.O.K..
 * Leather Boy &mdash; Gene Lorrene misread Mr. Immortal's personal ad for "costumed adventurers", and left the group soon afterwards. To quote Mr. Immortal: "The less said about it, the better." (Leather Boy was not a member of the team when it was originally introduced in WCA #46, but was retconned into the roster in the 2005 Misassembled miniseries.) He later returned briefly (clad in a leather variation of Doctor Doom's mystical armor), seeking revenge for being ignored during the team's recent recruiting drive, and murdered Monkey Joe. Big Bertha, however, caught and defeated him by sitting on him (though this excited him sexually). His own name, Gene Lorrene, echoes that of Jean Loring, wife of the DC Comics superhero The Atom, who played a central role in the miniseries Identity Crisis, which the Misassembled series satirizes.
 * Grasshopper &mdash; Doug Taggert, a Roxxon agent with a mechanical suit vaguely similar to that of Iron Man. He died 5.8 seconds after joining the team.

The story
The Great Lakes Avengers were encouraged by the Avenger Hawkeye as a joke to defend the Midwest and mistook his comments as a right to use the Avengers' name. The group found few supervillains to battle but have actually succeeded in helping other heroes on occasion. Still, the Avengers try to discourage them from endangering themselves (and from using their name!).

When the Avengers were believed dead after their battle with Onslaught, and the superhero group The Thunderbolts appeared to take their place, the GLA changed their name to Lightning Rods in their honor, only to be infuriated when they found out that the Thunderbolts were supervillains in disguise. Not realizing that The Thunderbolts soon afterwards had genuinely become heroes, The GLA attacked the Thunderbolts before the matter was cleared up.

GLA: Misassembled
In the miniseries GLA: Missassembled (2005) by writer Dan Slott and artist Paul Pelletier (a spoof and tongue-in-cheek follow up of Avengers Disassembled), a promise was made that a character would die in every issue, a parody of comic book death events (particularly the recent "Avengers Dissassembled"). Surely enough, Dinah Soar, Grasshopper, Monkey Joe, and Doorman are all killed, one in each issue, respectively, and Mr. Immortal committed suicide. However, Doorman was resurrected almost immediately, and Mr. Immortal stayed dead for only a few seconds, of course.

Telling the origin of the team and their continuing adventures, the book depicts Craig Hollis' (aka Mr. Immortal) childhood. During his childhood he met Deathurge (also known as "D'urge"), the embodiment of death who ended up becoming his childhood friend. Due to his tragic life, he attempted suicide multiple times but couldn't die regardless of his efforts. Realizing that he had superhuman powers, he became a costumed crime fighter and assembled the Great Lakes Avengers through a want-ad in the local paper.

Flashforward to the present, where the team is still failing miserably. Given their loser status as a superhero team, team leader Mr. Immortal contemplates ending the team, until learning of the death of Hawkeye and subsequent disbanding of the Avengers in the 2005 "Avengers Disassembled" storyline (Avengers #500-503). This spurs the team back into action, against Maelstrom, who is attempting to build a doomsday type device.

When the GLA take on Maelstrom, Dinah Soar is killed, driving Mr. Immortal over the brink. With their team reduced to three, Flatman and Doorman go on a membership drive. After being turned down by everyone they meet - and being mocked on TV for the loads of shame they endure during these actions - they are joined by the Grasshopper (who is killed exactly 5.8 seconds after joining) and Squirrel Girl (a mutant girl with the powers of a squirrel, an obscure character created in the early 90's by artist Steve Ditko) and her partner Monkey Joe (a squirrel, not a monkey). Mr. Immortal tries to stab himself to death, which of course is unsuccessful. Big Bertha seriously contemplates quitting the GLA, but decides that saving people is too important to her. Doorman constantly drops a barrage of sarcastic jokes on Squirrel Girl to drive her out. However, it is later revealed that Doorman really likes Squirrel Girl and just wanted to prevent her from dying like all the other members.

The GLA investigates in the Maelstrom case while enduring a constant barrage of abuse. They piece together all information, find out where Maelstrom is hiding and use their seemingly useless powers to tackle him. Doorman finds out that he may be connected to the extremely powerful Darkforce, Mr. Immortal finds out that he is a homo supreme, the ultimate omega of mankind's evolution, and Flatman finally confirms he is gay (earning a honest compliment of Doorman for his sincerity). The GLA defeat Maelstrom and save the world. However, afterwards, there is not a single word on them on TV, but instead a cease and desist order from the Maria Stark Foundation (the organization that funds the Avengers) asking them to no longer use the name "Avengers".

Following this, the team members each realize they are all mutants and re-christen themselves the GLX-Men. The last page depicts them all springing into action in the familiar black-and-gold X-Men garb, save Big Bertha, who wears the skimpy Emma Frost costume over her extremely obese frame. They later ditched these outfits for their originals, after learning Leather Boy designed them.

GLX-Mas
This Christmas Special collects several short stories:
 * Squirrel Girl is being summoned by Dum-Dum Dugan to stop MODOK, Terrax and Thanos, disposing of each threat with surprising ease. She finds out that she seemingly has the ability to take on any supervillain, and is asked by Dugan to join S.H.I.E.L.D.. However, Doreen declines, stating she is happy in the GLX.
 * Grasshopper II (Neil Shelton) is enjoying his first jumps in his new secret identity, until he tries the Maximum Jump function. This sends him into outer space, and Neil suffocates. He is picked up by Doorman in his new role as an Angel of Death.
 * Doorman visits his estranged father, who taunts him for having achieved nothing in life. The reader then learns that DeMarr's visit had an unpleasant reason: his father had actually died setting up X-Mas lights, falling from a ladder. When DeMarr escorts him into the afterlife, his father is so impressed that he has become an Angel of Death because he thinks the job must pay handsomely.
 * Deathurge (trapped in squirrel form) bargains with Oblivion that he will be returned to his original state if he can kill Tippy-Toe before X-Mas Eve. But in spite of setting up an arsenal of lethal traps, he fails. When Tippy-Toe offers him a nut, Deathurge gives up his plans and seemingly falls for her...and is subsequently booby-trapped by her.
 * The GLX see a shooting star and think it is an omen. Doorman recognizes it as Neil Shelton burning up in re-entry, but says nothing because he does not want to spoil the atmosphere.

Civil War
During the Marvel crossover event Civil War it is revealed in Cable & Deadpool #30 that the GLA have complied with the Superhero Registration Act. (They were actually waiting in line to register the day the act was announced.) While they are registered, it's not clear whether they have actually taken a side in the conflict.

Team name
Originally carrying the Avengers banner, the team has co-opted other team names in the past. This is a running joke, as each name is transitory and usually temporary.


 * Lightning Rods &mdash; First alternate name, a take on the Thunderbolts.
 * Great Lakes X-Men &mdash; Name taken at the end of the Misassembled limited series when the group realized that they were all mutants.
 * Great Lakes Defenders and Great Lakes Champions &mdash; Names taken on in Dan Slott's Thing #8 (2006), during the first Superheroes Poker Tournament. This occurs after Marvel Girl psychically rebuffs the GLX-Men name.  When Mr. Immortal then suggests the "Great Lakes Defenders," he is promptly silenced by Doctor Strange. At the end of the issue the team comes upon the name "Great Lakes Champions" after Flatman wins the Poker Tournament and the team starts signing We Are the Champions.  This elicits a strong protest from Hercules. However, in Cable & Deadpool #30 the Champions moniker still stands.

Membership?
Whether the GLA count as "actual" Avengers is a complex one. The Maria Stark Foundation does not like them using the name and has issued cease and desist orders. However, they have been trained by Avengers (which implied permission to use the name), fought with the East and West Coast branches on several occasions, and when the Scarlet Witch summoned all Avengers in the final issue of JLA/Avengers, the GLA showed up.

Referances in other comics

 * In New Warriors (Vol. 3) #5 the Mad Thinker's Intellectual Robots lay a trap for the Warriors and state that in order to subjugate humanity they must eliminate "super-humanity," starting with the least powerful super teams. They would then move up to the Great Lakes Avengers.  Understandably, this made the team very angry.

External link

 * Great Lakes Avengers