Justice Machine
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The Justice Machine is a fictional team of superheroes originally created by Michael Gustovich and appearing in comic books from many publishers in the 1980s and 1990s.
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[edit] Georwell
In the first two versions of the team, the Justice Machine is an elite law enforcement agency from the planet Georwell, a parallel world with advanced technology that the Machine members believe is a utopia. Arriving on Earth in pursuit of Maxinor, a criminal and accused terrorist from their world, the team members soon discover that Georwell is much more fascist and dystopian than they had previously believed. Meanwhile the Georwellian authorities have activated a second team, the Guardians.
Zarren, their corrupt superior, has the Machine indicted as traitors and they have no choice but to remain on Earth. Later, Zarren falls victim to his own schemes and must flee to Earth, where he sets himself up as the president of small South American island, the Arriba Atoll.
"Georwell" is a play on George Orwell, the author of 1984, and the society of Georwell is based on the society of 1984, though much more technically advanced.
In "The Chimera Conspiracy" scripted by Mark Ellis and Darryl Banks (published by Millennium Comics) it is revealed that Georwell is actually Earth in an alternate future, some 900 years hence. Rather than traveling from one dimension to another, the Justice Machine went sideways and backward in time, drawn to a temporal nexus point where the events which eventually create Georwell are in a state of flux.
[edit] Characters
The Justice Machine
- Challenger -- the leader, phyically adept and a skilled strategist, effectively the Georwellian military Batman/Captain America. He is very conscious of his age and declining physical abilities.
- Blazer -- teenager, initially thought to be daughter of the leader of an earlier version of the Justice Machine, turned out actually to be Challenger's daughter, enclosed in a protective suit to prevent her thermal powers overloading and causing a fiery cataclysm. Later, she is able to exert more control over her powers.
- Titan -- Mutant male, able to increase his size and mass, at the apparent expense of his intellect.[1]
- Demon -- highly trained (and egotistical) martial artist, and secret user of ability-enhancing drugs.
- Diviner -- Challenger's (ex-)wife (but not Blazer's mother), totally dependent on a body-suit for any of her senses, but consequently able to use those senses at paranormal levels.
- Talisman -- mutant with the power of karma: good things happen to him (and by extension to his team-mates), bad things happen to his foes, so long as his cause is righteous. Career criminal, fraudster and gambler.
- Chain--A physical education instructor who gains the ability to focus a form of telekinesis through a chain-saw and destabilize matter on a molecular level.
Allies
- Maxinor -- A rebel against the oppressive regime of Georwell. Initially an enemy of the Justice Machine, both he and the Justice Machine eventually become allies.
- Youthquake -- Maxinor's son. A mute youth with the power to control quakes. He falls in love with Blazer and the two of them marry. Eventually, Blazer gives birth to their son.
- Ms. Liberty -- From Earth. A highly-skilled athlete.
- Jubal Woolcott--Founder of the Justice Institute, a private law university near Alexandria, Virginia. The Justice Machine takes up more or less permanent residence on the campus.
The Guardians
- Big Brain -- otherwise known as "the Id" -- a bodiless intellect which led the remaining members of the group.
- Night Lightning -- mutant with the ability to generate and expel electrical energy.
- Phaser -- mutant able to phase his body out of solidity (qv Shadowcat)
- Monolith -- Titan's jealous brother, able to grow slightly more but starting out with less intellect
- Crusader -- a slightly-less effective Challenger
- Malefactor -- a man-hating female Demon, armed with a ball-and-chain weapon
- the Hunk -- large muscle-bound ex-criminal, used for wetworks (killing) operations.
Department Z
- An organization of super-powered operatives who work for Zarren. The core group consists of The Directress (AKA Ms. Liberty), Skrapiron, Aquinox, Heavyhand and Ornithon.
Independent Operators
- Dark Force -- Dedicated to destruction of the Georwellian government, willing to work with the Machine to suit its needs. Revealed to be an armored suit used by a young girl in the villain's first incarnation. Upon the entity's return in "The Chimera Conspiracy", Darkforce is obviously an entity of energy.
[edit] Publication History
- Justice Machine #1-5 (Noble Comics, 1981-83)
- Justice Machine Annual #1 (Texas Comics, 1983)
- Justice Machine featuring the Elementals #1-4 (Comico Comics, 1986) -- These feature the Elementals (comics) visiting the Georwell universe and set the scene for the succeeding Comico series which re-started the story from the beginning.
- Justice Machine #1-29 + Annual (Comico Comics, 1987-89)
- New Justice Machine #1-3 (Innovation Comics, 1989-90) -- these carry on from the Comico material, with new plotlines scripted by Mark Ellis and redesigned costumes by Darryl Banks and introduces Jubal Woolcott and the Justice Institute.
- Justice Machine Summer Spectacular #1 (Innovation Comics, 1990)
- Hero Alliance and the Justice Machine #1 (Innovation Comics, 1990)
- Justice Machine #1-7 (Innovation Comics, 1990-91) -- these are new stories, featuring the same characters, portraying the Machine as working for the Justice Institute... however, the events in issues 5-7 are not canonical.
- Justice Machine #1-2 (Millennium Comics, 1992) -- These feature updated versions of the JM characters, picking up a year or so later from Innovation issue #4, encompassing the retirement of Talisman (to become a clergyman) and the introduction of a female character, Chain, created by artist Darryl Banks. Further issues were supposed to be produced but the plans were shelved when Mark Ellis, (AKA James Axler) and artist Banks severed their relationship with the company.
Ellis, former co-owner/editor of Millennium, purchased the Justice Machine rights from Michael Gustovich in 1992. He still holds legal ownership of the property and characters.
[edit] Appearances in other media
The Justice Machine was the subject of a sourcebook for the role-playing game Heroes Unlimited, published by Palladium Books.
This version was based solely on the Noble comics version, but includes details of story-lines and characters stretching beyond the comic-published material.
[edit] External links
- James Axler comments on Justice Machine and his invovlement
- International Superhero page on Justice Machine
[edit] Footnote
[1] -- Source: The Heroes Unlimited sourcebook, and in-comic references re his brother Monolith. Hence the word "apparently", to acknowledge that it is not made a major plot-point.
