The Authority (comics)
DC Comics comic book series
The Authority is an American superhero comic book series published by DC Comics under the Wildstorm imprint. It was created in 1999 by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, and follows the adventures of the Authority, a superhero team mainly composed of Ellis-created characters from Stormwatch.
The team appear in various media set in the DC Universe (DCU) media franchise. Angela Spica / Engineer appears in the film Superman (2025), portrayed by María Gabriela de Faría, while the team is expected to headline a planned self-titled film.
Publication history
Volume 1
Ellis/Hitch run
In 1999, Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch created the Authority, a team of superheroes who got the job done by any means necessary. The original line-up consisted of Jenny Sparks, a British woman who could generate and turn into electricity; Jack Hawksmoor, who was psychically bonded to cities in order to communicate with them and receive powers from them; Swift, a Tibetan woman who possessed wings and sharp talons; Apollo, a bio-engineered Superman pastiche; Midnighter, a bio-engineered Batman pastiche who possessed the ability to foresee his opponents' moves in combat; The Engineer, a scientist who had replaced her blood with nine pints of nanotechnology and could create solid objects with it; and The Doctor, a Dutch drug addict and shaman who possessed the combined powers of the hundreds of shamans who came before him. On the creation of the series, Ellis noted:
"One of the reasons I turned their Stormwatch into The Authority is that I found out that, despite the fact that no-one was buying Stormwatch, they kept it going because they liked reading it in the [Wildstorm] office and wanted to keep me employed. And I felt so bloody awful about that, and at the same time had been so struck by Bryan Hitch’s Stormwatch issues, that the train of thought that led to The Authority began."
The Ellis/Hitch run of The Authority lasted 12 issues, divided into three four-issue story arcs: The Circle, Shiftships, and Outer Dark. Outer Dark ended with team leader Jenny Sparks, thought to be the Spirit of the 20th Century, dying in the final minutes of December 31, 1999, as the 20th Century ended and the 21st began.
Millar/Quitely run
Replacing Ellis and Hitch after issue #12 were writer Mark Millar and artist Frank Quitely.
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