As the DC Universe draws closer to the "Future State" status quos, the question of what will happen to Clark Kent's Superman when his son, Jonathan Kent, takes up the mantel will soon be answered in the new series Superman and the Authority by Grant Morrison, Mikel Janín and Jordie Bellaire.
The Authority was originally created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch as part of the Wildstorm imprint. Now a part of the DC Universe, with the latest incarnation assembled by Superman himself, the team looks a little different from how it did before. Here are the heroes who will be a part of Superman's Authority.
SUPERMAN
Although Superman is still wearing his classic costume in current issues, the cover of the first issue of Superman and the Authority has the Man of Steel sporting a look more akin that seen in Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross. Donning the iconic black and red symbol from the series along with silver streaks in his hair, it looks like tomorrow's Superman may have arrived sooner than anyone expected. Now with a new mission to save Kryptonians trapped on Warworld, Superman needs a different sort of team to rescue them.
APOLLO
Created by Ellis and Hitch, Apollo was in the original Stormwatch team before Wildstorm became a part of DC. After the first Stormwatch team was destroyed, Apollo, along with fellow Stormwatch teammate and boyfriend Midnighter, was approached about forming a new team -- the Authority. When the character entered the mainstream DCU, his origins changed somewhat. When he was 13, Apollo was abducted by aliens and experimented on, resulting in him gaining abilities similar to Superman. He joined the DCU's version of Stormwatch for a brief time and will now be fighting alongside DC's greatest hero as a member of the new Authority.
MIDNIGHTER
Also created by Ellis and Hitch, Midnighter joined Stormwatch and the Authority alongside Apollo. When Wildstorm and DC's regular continuities merged as part of the New 52, Midnighter gained a new origin with many similarities to that of Apollo. Midnighter was also abducted by aliens and experimented on, enduring torturous operations that installed cybernetic implants in his body. This granted him abilities such as a healing factor and battle precognition, allowing him to predict the outcome of any battle. Midnighter briefly split from Apollo when Apollo objected to Midnighter's increasingly violent methods. However, the two have since rekindled their relationship and are currently living together.
ENCHANTRESS
Created by Bob Haney and Howard Purcell and first appearing in Strange Adventures #187, the Enchantress has been both a superhero and a supervillain. June Moone was initially granted the power of the Enchantress to fight a demonic presence, but the next time she appeared she was fighting Supergirl. In recent years she worked as part of the Justice League Dark and the Suicide Squad. When the Justice League clashed with the Suicide Squad, she easily took down Superman, perhaps giving him the idea to recruit her for the Authority.
MANCHESTER BLACK
Superman villain Manchester Black was created by Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke. The character first appeared in Action Comics #775, leading the Elite -- DC's answer at the time to Wildstorm's original Authority team. Manchester's more extreme team clashed with Superman's ideals, particularly in regards to killing criminals. The last time he was seen, he attempted to turn Superman's son Jonathan into a twisted version of Superman, one willing to abandon his moral code. This, however, ended with Manchester's consciousness trapped inside the mind of a cow.
LIGHTRAY
Although Lightray is the name of one of Jack Kirby's New Gods characters with similar powers, the character taking the name here is altogether different. This character is named, Lia Nelson, and she appears to be the Flash of Earth-9. She was created by Dan Jurgens, Todd Dezago and Gary Frank for DC's Tangent Comics. Tangent Comics focused on creating new characters based on, but separate from the existing DCU. Somewhat of a celebrity since birth, the line between that identity and being a hero was always blurred for Lia, even when she became the Flash. She later joined the Flashes of the multiverse and helped the Flash Family defeat the Legion of Zoom.
OMAC
This series also sees a new character take on the name OMAC. The original OMAC was created by Jack Kirby and was a mohawk wearing super-soldier from the future. OMAC would later be reimagined as the Observational Metahuman Activity Construct in The OMAC Project by Greg Rucka and Jesus Saiz. That OMAC, cyborg assassins targeting metahumans, eventually evolved into the Kirby version of the far future. It follows then that this version of OMAC would be a part of that evolution, especially considering the similarity in design to Kirby's version.
NATASHA IRONS
Created by Louise Simpson and Chris Batista, Natasha is the niece of Superman ally John Henry Irons. Like her uncle, she built her own power armor and took the same superhero moniker -- Steel. Natasha eventually left her uncle's shadow, forming her own identity as Steel. She joined the Titans, earning a reputation as their most tech-savvy team member, and also assisted the Justice League in the fight against Perpetua.