Another of Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers of Victory has Returned

CBR

Is DC Quietly Rebuilding One of Morrison's Signature Superhero Teams?

By Ian Cardona

Published Feb 7, 2018

An unexpected appearance in Green Lanterns #40 further teases the reunion of one of Grant Morrison's superhero teams in the Rebirth era.

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Green Lanterns #40 by Tim Seeley and Barnaby Bagenda, in stores now.

The letest issue of Green Lanterns starts with various superheroes lending a helping hand in the wake of a hurricane. It's a nice, low-key scene following Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz as the two join in securing civilians from terrible weather conditions. They are not alone in those efforts, however; with the Justice League away on a bigger and even more threatening mission, Tim Seeley and Barnaby Bagenda give some of DC Comics' smaller-time heroes the chance to shine. We see Firestorm carrying people to safety, while Blue Beetle, Supergirl and even Power Girl help in any way they can. Most of the characters are regular players in the Rebirth era, of course, but one of them is a face readers haven't seen in some time: The Bulleteer is back.

Created in 2005 by writer Grant Morrison and artist Yanick Paquette, The Bulleteer first appeared in her own miniseries, which was actually part of a superhero epic crossover, Seven Soldiers of Victory. The character has only had a few sporadic appearances since then, with this cameo in Green Lanterns marking her Rebirth debut. However, she isn't the first Grant Morrison-created character to make a recent return, which has us wondering if DC might quietly be rebuilding the Seven Soldiers of Victory team for its New Age of DC Heroes initiative.

The Morrison-scripted Seven Soldiers of Victory was a different kind of event. Bookended by two one-shot issues, it reintroduced several characters to the DC mythos with new costumes, new origins and often new faces under the masks in a number of own 4-issue miniseries: Zatanna, Shining Knight, Mister Miracle, Klarion the Witch Boy, Frankenstein, The Guardian and Bulleteer. The miniseries all intertwined in small ways, ultimately crafting one overarching storyline that involved the seven heroes saving the planet without actually ever interacting together. The entire story, while not the flashiest or the most publicized, is considered a classic among fans of Morrison's work.

Now, more than a decade after the publication of the event series, it seems like DC might be setting the stage for a reunion of sorts. While Frankenstein has been a player in the DCU since the New 52 era, and Klarion has popped up here and there, Bulleteer is the second Soldier of Victory to make a recent appearance in Rebirth. Just a month ago, Ystina the Shining Knight -- Morrison and Simone Bianchi's version of the character -- appeared in a flashback sequence in Ragman #4, where we learned that the suit of magical Rags that fuels Ragman had a connection to Ystina back in medieval times.

While the Shining Knight and Bulleteer's appearances were both short, the timing of their re-emergence is interesting. With barely a month separating the Rebirth/New Age of DC Heroes debut of both of these characters, we're hoping it's the start of a plan to bring the "team" back to comics.