The Green Team is one of DC’s most obscure teams, and now they have received a dark (and timely) upgrade.
Warning: contains spoilers for Danger Street #2!An underrated and obscure DC supergroup, the Green Team, has just received a dark upgrade in the modern comics universe. The publisher’s new Danger Street miniseries has scraped the barnacles off a number of forgotten DC characters, giving them makeovers for the modern era. In issue two, the Green Team are revealed to be among the series’ primary villains–and they are a far cry from the fun-loving, jet-setting teens readers first met in the 1970s.
The Green Team first appeared in 1975’s First Issue Special #2 and were co-created by the legendary Joe Simon. Simon had been a pioneer in the “boy adventurers” genre, having created the Newsboy Legion in the 1940s with Jack Kirby, and he wished to bring that same sensibility to the Green Team. When they were introduced, the Green Team was a group of boy millionaires who used their extensive wealth to finance fantastic adventures. The Green Team only made one appearance before slipping into obscurity; a new version of the team appeared during the New 52 era, but it too failed to gain traction and the team went back into limbo. As stated earlier, the Green Team debuted in a series called First Issue Special. The book was an anthology, with each issue serving as a potential “first issue” to a new series; First Issue Special featured a mix of characters old and new. Now, these characters are getting another time in the spotlight in Danger Street–and the Green Team is playing for keeps.
The issue is written by Tom King, illustrated by Jorge Fornes, colored by Dave Stewart and lettered by Clayton Cowles. Multiple threads run through the book, all seemingly unconnected for the time being. One saw a group of wealthy citizens out at sea on a yacht, run by a mysterious person called “the Commodore.” The boat is attacked by Manhunter, who destroys it. In another thread, news commentator Jack Ryder (the Creeper) is giving a rant against a leftist terror group called “the Outsiders.” Later, Ryder is having a conversation with one of his backers–revealed to be the Commodore, a member of the Green Team. It becomes clear the Green Team is using their money and clout to manipulate world events, and are not above killing people to get their point across. Whoever the Outsiders are, the Green Team despises them, and wants them gone.
The Green Team Have Undergone a Shocking Transformation
Of all the characters to get a makeover in the pages of Danger Street, the Green Team are perhaps the most shocking. In their initial appearance, they were a harmless team of adventurers, harkening back to the glory days of the genre in the Golden Age of Comics in the 1940s. Now, they are hyper-capitalist villains, manipulating world events to their own end. Whatever their goals may be, the Green Team is willing to murder and bully innocent people to achieve them. Groups like the Green Team embody all that is bad about capitalism, making them natural villains.
This shift in the Green Team’s characterization, from adventurers to murderous manipulators, comes at a time when attitudes towards billionaires and the wealthy are shifting; in recent years both Iron Man and Batman have lost substantial money, reflecting this shift in perspective. The Green Team are the latest to be affected, receiving a dark upgrade that turns them into villains.
Danger Street #2 is on sale now from DC Comics!
#Underrated #Hero #Team #Dark #Upgrade