Guardians of the Globe

The original Guardians of the Globe was a private organization funded by War Woman and Darkwing. This version of the Guardians was a pastiche of DC Comics' Justice League of America (JLA), with each of the Guardians (except Black Samson) having an obvious JLA analog. Robert Kirkman, in his author notes for Invincible: The Ultimate Collection, Volume 1, explains that he went with these archetypes because he had only 18 pages to get the reader to care for the characters before their brutal deaths.

Along with Black Samson (who is in part based on Doc Samson, but mostly on Iron Man), the team included: Darkwing (based on Batman); the Immortal (based on Superman along with elements of Vandal Savage); War Woman (based on Wonder Woman, with elements of Thor); a Russian named Red Rush (based on the Flash); Aquarius, the King of Atlantis (based on Aquaman); Martian Man (based on the Martian Manhunter); and the Green Ghost (based on Green Lantern). Omni-Man (who is also based on Superman) was a trusted associate of the Guardians, and knew the location and password of the Guardians secret headquarters in Utah, although he was never an official member of the team (unlike Superman). This trust let Omni-Man betray and murder the Guardians, after calling them to their headquarters on an emergency. He smashed Aquarius's and Red Rush's faces together, beheaded Green Ghost, snapped War Woman's neck, disemboweled Martian Man, and impaled Darkwing. Before getting beheaded, Immortal noted to Omni-Man that he never liked him. After beheading Immortal, Omni-Man quotes "the feeling was mutual".[2]

The only member of the Guardians to survive the massacre was Black Samson, who was not an active member at that time (due to the loss of his powers). The Immortal subsequently returns to life due to the nature of his power.

At the time when Mark found his life temporarily rebooted, he remembered about what his father did and confronted Omni-Man about his history. Omni-Man then forced Mark to use his powers to break into the Guardians of the Globe's headquarters so that he can get them out of the way. Mark was able to get a warning out to them and the Guardians of the Globe successfully subdued Omni-Man where Immortal was briefly killed.[3]

After the murder of the original team, the United States government re-established the Guardians of the Globe as a state-funded agency. This new team was led by former Teen Team leader Robot, under the direct supervision of Donald, the government's superhuman liaison. Donald was ultimately responsible to Cecil Stedman. Along with Robot, the initial lineup for the new team included Dupli-Kate and Rex Splode from the Teen Team, Monster Girl, Shrinking Ray, and Black Samson, the only surviving member of the old team.

The new team's performance in its first few months did not live up to the expectations of its superiors, leading Donald and Cecil to make some changes. Bulletproof was added to the team's roster, and the newly resurrected Immortal was brought in as a consultant to improve standards. After the team continued to under-perform, the Immortal replaced Robot as team leader.

Although not a member (Robot said he was always welcome if he became interested), Invincible reports to the same agency and often helps the team in dire circumstances.

When most of the Guardians' most powerful members were sent into space to thwart a Martian invasion, they were successful, but while they were away, the team's weaker members were required to stop the Lizard League's plot to take command of nuclear warheads. Dupli-Kate and Shrinking Ray were killed by the villain Komodo Dragon; Rex Splode was badly injured in the fight, but survived.

After lashing out at Allen the Alien (who was only looking for Invincible), the Immortal realized just how deeply he had been affected by Dupli-Kate's death and resigned from the Guardians. However, it was revealed that Dupli-Kate was still alive, as she always left her "Zero" behind on missions.

In March 2010, Image began releasing teaser posters, announcing members of a new Guardians of the Globe team as a parody of Marvel's advertisements for the line-ups of their revamped Avengers, New Avengers, Secret Avengers and Avengers Academy books. In order of appearance, the released posters were:

• Invincible from Invincible[4]
• Spawn from Spawn [5]
• Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead [6]
• U.S. President Barack Obama[7]
• Gary Potter, a parody of Harry Potter[8]

In an interview with Comic Book Resources, Kirkman explained that although the later images were deliberately farcical, the campaign was intended to announce a six-issue miniseries spinning out of Invincible. The miniseries, he said, would deal with the earthbound characters of the Invincible universe, while that title focused on "The Viltrumite War", an eight-issue storyline that would be set solely in space. The six-issue series, named Guarding the Globe, was launched on August 25, 2010. The Parody Team was featured in a one-page backup in the first issue.[9][10]

Image released teaser images of the team's real members done in the same style as the parody images. In order appearance, This set of posters were:

• Brit from Brit [11]
• Outrun [12]
• Kaboomerang [13]
• Yeti [14]
• Bulletproof [15]

Outrun, Kaboomerang, and Yeti are all new characters created for the series. Issue three of the new bimonthly miniseries also introduced El Chupacabra from Mexico, a washed-up superhero who is an alcoholic with razor-sharp claws and other abilities. In issue four, seven additional new characters are added.

Japandroid

An android from Japan who resembles a young girl.

Cast Iron

A metal-skinned man from Yugoslavia.

Knockout

A boxing heroine from the United States of America. Formerly a Capes, Inc. character.

Best Tiger

A blindfolded gunman from the People's Republic of China.

Le Brusier

A French bulldog from France with super-strength.

Kid Thor

A mallet-wielding strongman from Canada, also formerly from Capes, Inc.

Pegasus

A winged woman from Russia.

When Robot began establishing a secret world dictatorship under his control, he sought to eliminate the Guardians.

In Robot's initial attack, Black Samson,Knockout,and her husband Kid Thor were killed. Brit, Outrun, Kaboomarang, Le Brusier, Pegasus and Yeti were all later captured by Robot's drones following Bulletproof's betrayal of the remaining Guardians in exchange for his freedom.

Of the Guardians present, only Best Tiger escaped, While The Immortal and Dupli-Kate went into hiding. By the end of Invincible's run, Monax and Kid Invincible joined the team.