An orphaned alien, a princess from a secluded all-female utopia island, and a wealthy man dressed as a winged creature of the night, team up with several of their super powered peers to fight crime. It’s a familiar setup.

The Squadron Supreme has its roots in an earlier, villainous team called the Squadron Sinister. The Squadron Sinister was created as an obvious imitation of the Justice League, designed to offer fans an unofficial battle between the Avengers and the Distinguished Competition.

The Squadron Supreme was quickly introduced as the Squadron Sinister from an alternate reality where the members were heroic.

This story starts in the aftermath of one of the Squadron Supreme’s adventures. Previously the villainous Overmind was able to force the Squadron Supreme to conquer the world for him. Once the Squadron free themselves from the Overmind’s control, they conduct a tour of America to find the country in ruins. After being confronted with the consequences of their actions, the team votes to enact a utopia plan. The Squadron swears to eradicate crime, end hunger, create equality, and even cure death.

Each new step the team takes on their path their path to utopia blurs the line between heroism and fascism. The Squadron must cross moral lines they once believed to be sacred in service of the greater good. By the end of the book you too will question whether the ends always justify the means. Maybe there are some lines you just don’t cross.

Many people credit Watchmen with exposing the fascist morality of superheroes but the same ideas can be find in Squadron Supreme, published a year prior. Squadron Supreme was a book that was remarkably ahead of its time.

Unfortunately the Squadron Supreme was overshadowed by the massive changes in the comic book industry just months after its inception (1986 in comics). In spite of this lack of recognition, Squadron Supreme remains one of the best examinations of the morality of superheroism.

All 12 issues of this series are on marvel unlimited, and a trade paperback containing the whole series is easy to find. The individual issues can also be found in your local comic book store. (Fun Fact: Mark Gruenwald was so proud of this story he had his ashes mixed in with the first printing of the trade paperback.)