The Marvel Universe is filled with bombastic superhero teams, from the Avengers to the X-Men. These stalwart heroes are often the only thing standing between Earth and destruction. One vastly underrated super-team is the off-brand Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.

Nextwave was created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Stuart Immonen. The titular heroes' series lasted for 12 issues, consisting of six two-issue story arcs. The creators of Nextwave created the team as a blatant satire and homage to superhero tropes and as a series, Nextwave was an unapologetic comedy that poked fun at the superhero genre. The entire run consists of a mixture of highly comedic moments and over-the-top action sequences.

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Even the covers of Nextwave satirized Marvel's current comics, such as a "Civil War" tie-in logo on one cover. The heroes assembled for Nextwave are generally a group of C-list Marvel characters that included Monica Rambeau, the former Captain Marvel, Boom-Boom of X-Force, Machine Man, monster-hunter Elsa Bloodstone, and original character The Captain. Each character has their own comedic quirk, such as Rambeau constantly reminding everyone that she once led The Avengers. Nextwave, as a team, was assembled by Dirk Anger, director of H.A.T.E. (Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort) to combat Ultra Weapons of Mass Destruction (U.W.M.D.) Anger and H.A.T.E. are clearly direct parodies of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. The team quickly realizes that H.A.T.E. is working for the evil Beyond Corporation, formerly the terrorist group known as S.I.L.E.N.T.

As a result, Nextwave goes rogue and decides to tackle the U.W.M.D. while also fighting against H.A.T.E. Threats such as Fin Fang Foom, The Mindless Ones and The Broccoli Men are just a few of these U.W.M.D. that Nextwave fought against. Over the course of each story arc, flashbacks detail each character's backstory that often humorously features heroes such as Captain America behaving rather uncharacteristically.

Eventually, Nextwave comes face to face with the head of The Beyond Corporation: Devil Dinosaur. Defeating this creature, Nextwave completes their offbeat journey. Throughout this road of trials, countless small moments satirize Marvel Comics, particularly the "dark and edgy" period of the '00s.

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Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.

After these initial 12 issues, there were no further series featuring Nextwave. Still, a zombified version of the team briefly appeared during Marvel Zombies: Army of Darkness, continuing their legacy. It was also largely questioned as to whether or not the events of Nextwave are actually canon.

Considering how uncharacteristically many Marvel heroes and villains behave, many believed Nextwave to take place in an alternate universe. However, Photon dealt with the mental fallout from these adventures in 2015's Captain America and the Mighty Avengers #8, by Al Ewing and Luke Ross, confirming Nextwave's place in Marvel history.

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