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First appearance (modern incarnation) Femforce #1 Member(s) Miss VictoryShe CatNightveilSynnTaraRaydaStardustColtFirebeam Similar Project Superpowers, The DNAgents, Flaming Carrot Comics, Astro City, Cerebus the Aardvark | ||
Femforce is a comic book published by AC Comics that began publication in 1985, detailing the adventures of the titular team: the "Federal Emergency Missions Force" or "Femforce", some of them original creations, while others originated in the 1940s and 1950s, lapsing into public domain by the time Femforce was published. The team are, as their name implies, all female superheroes, and are the first and the longest running all-women 'super-team'. The series has passed 150 issues, a significant milestone for an independent comic book company. Writers on the book have included Bill Black, Stephanie Sanderson, Mark Heike, Paul Monsky, Enrico Teodorani and Francesca Paolucci. Artists on the book have included Bill Black, Stephanie Sanderson, Mark Heike, Brad Gorby, Jeff Austin and Rik Levins.
Contents
Fictional history
The team was formed by Miss Victory, She Cat, the Blue Bulleteer and the original Rio Rita in the 1940s during World War II, in which they fought as aides to the allied forces. After the war, Rio Rita retired. The rest of the Femforce continued to operate as an offshoot of the U.S. government, most of them kept young by their super-powers. In 1960, Blue Bulleteer was assaulted by thugs and nearly killed but was luckily taken in by Azagoth, a being from another dimension. When she returned from Azagoth's home dimension as the sorceress Nightveil she brought a new ally, the reality-altering Synn, with her.
Later members in the 1980s were weapons mistress Colt and the environmentalist Tara. The group also met up with the granddaughter of their old member Rio Rita, who was using the same codename as her grandmother though she never officially joined the team. When a villain, Black Commando, forced Ms. Victory to overdose on V-45, the serum that gave her powers, it altered her mind and she became a renegade named 'Rad'. and was replaced on the team by her now-adult daughter Jennifer, who became a second Ms. Victory. Once her mother returned and took over as leader of the team again, Jennifer's life gradually grew worse before she herself became a second Rad. In the 1990s, new members included the alien warrior Stardust, the ghost Firebeam, electric-powered Rayda, and briefly, the heroines Dragonfly and Thunderfox.
The Femforce's military liaison was initially a man named General Gordon, an old school and somewhat sexist soldier who occasionally clashed with his female allies. Gordon was later replaced by General Roberta Strock who was considerably friendlier to the Femforce's cause. Other allies have included the Sentinels of Justice and the so-called "Vault of Heroes", a group of costumed crimefighters placed in suspended animation in the 1940s by the mystic, Dr. Weird (the Vault was AC Comics' method of reviving a number of public domain superheroes from now-defunct publishing companies of the Golden Age of Comic Books).
Team members
The lineup of Femforce has frequently changed over the decades of the team's existence but has included the following characters.