Sovereign Seven

Sovereign Seven is a creator-owned American comic book series, created by Chris Claremont and Dwayne Turner, and published by DC Comics.

Sovereign Seven
Sovereign Seven #15 cover, artist Dwayne Turner.
Clockwise from left: Network, Cascade, Indigo, Rampart, Reflex, Cruiser and Finale.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceSovereign Seven #1,
April 1995
Created byChris Claremont (writer)
Dwayne Turner (artist)
In-story information
Member(s)Cascade
Indigo
Network
Finale
Rampart
Reflex
Cruiser
Power Girl

Publication history

Launched in April 1995, Sovereign Seven was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dwayne Turner, and was Claremont's first professional regular series work since his departure from Marvel Comics and the X-Men franchise in 1991. It was the first creator-owned title set in the DC Universe.

Fictional team history

The Sovereign Seven were a group of aliens from various planets exiled to Earth, where they battled various villains, most notably Darkseid. The original group consisted of Cascade, Finale, Rampart, Reflex, Indigo, Network and Cruiser; later, Rampart was killed off and then replaced by the DC character Power Girl.

The title met with middling success and was cancelled after 36 issues, in June 1998, after which Claremont returned to Marvel.

The main characters of Sovereign Seven were all gathered by Cascade as a mysterious force known as The Rapture destroyed their home worlds. Each of the Sovereigns were princes/princesses of their people.

For a time, the group operates out of a mysterious coffee house (the "Crossroads Coffee Bar") located where three Northeastern states meet, which is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. Many time portals open inside doorways to areas unfamiliar or well-known to the Sovereigns, who work as employees to earn their keep. The coffee house is run by supporting characters Violet Smith and Pansy Jones, comic-book counterparts of the musical alter-egos of Emma Bull and Lorraine Garland—The Flash Girls—of whom Claremont is a fan.[1]

One of the coffee shop's portals takes two of the Sovereigns' friends (and their cat) on a multiple-reality adventure and afterwards returns them safely home.

Despite the group's metafictional nature, they were seen fighting a squadron of Apokolips soldiers during the Genesis event.

Dangers appear outside the coffee house as well. A demonic entity takes over couples, making them go on violent rampages. Hunters roam through the woods, endangering innocent people. A well-known neighbor discovers a mystical sword in his house.

Membership
  • Cascade (Rhian Douglas) is the leader of the Sovereign Seven and has the ability to cascade, or teleport, both herself and others. Her ability generally requires some knowledge of the destination or that she be provided with a "waypoint" by Network. Cascade fled her mother, Maitresse, who ruled Cascade's homeworld with unyielding omnipotence.
  • Network (Taryn Haldane) was the first of the Sovereigns to meet Cascade, and in some ways she was the motivating force behind gathering them. Network's homeworld is never detailed. She is a telepath, and never hesitates to draw the information she needs from the minds of those around her. It has been shown that when no other people are within range of her powers, or when her powers are suppressed, she is fully illiterate and aphasic, unable to read, speak, or understand any language. It was hinted in several storylines that Network would eventually become a terrorist for captured or controlled telepaths.
  • Finale (Pahe Leilani Favaela) is a warrior from a society reminiscent of pre-American Hawaii. She is said to have come from a water world. She makes several references to Mother Ocean and The Great Orca. Unfortunately, to defend her world from the Rapture, Finale was forced to kill her world and its inhabitants. As a result, Finale fears water since joining the Sovereigns. She fears what will happen if the Mother Ocean of Earth finds out who she is. Finale wears full body armor throughout the series, and we never truly see her face.
  • Rampart (Jaffar Ibn Haroun Al Raschid) is a prince of a Muslim-like society. He has the ability to manifest force fields. He is generally considered to be attractive, as the local girls tend to swoon in his presence.
  • Reflex (Walter Thorsson) is a speedster from a seemingly Nordic/Christian heritage. Unlike most characters with super-speed, both in DC and Marvel comics, Reflex is a large person. This causes some problems for him when dealing with normal, everyday things like typing. He does have, as his name suggests, well-honed reflexes.
  • Cruiser (Nicholas Helicon) is a telekinetic who fuels his powers with his body mass. As a result, he's always hungry. Throughout the series, Cruiser goes from incredibly skinny and 'running on empty,' to quite fat, but with plenty of power in reserve.
  • Indigo is one of the most mysterious of the Sovereign Seven. 'He' is an enigma, without a true identity; even the pronoun "he" is arbitrary. When he desires it, Indigo can go completely unnoticed. His presence simply is not registered, whether it's in a dark hallway or a crowded street. He is also the consummate persuader. He can convince almost anyone (or anything) to do what he wants. He is a master infiltrator, able to get into and out of secure areas. He is also the Sovereigns' tactician, carrying out Cascade's orders no matter how difficult.

References
  1. Review of The Flash Girls' debut CD The Return of Pansy Smith and Violet Jones (SteelDragon Press/Spin Art, 1993) Archived 2006-03-17 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed May 25, 2008
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