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    Formerly known by names including "Atlas" and "Timely", Marvel Entertainment is the publisher of comic books featuring iconic characters and teams such as the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Captain America and Daredevil. Currently owned by the Walt Disney Company, Marvel is one of the "Big Two" comic publishers along with DC Comics.

    Why hasn't some (rogue) nation created a super human army by now?

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    labarith

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    #1  Edited By labarith

    Maybe this has happened and I missed it, but it's fairly clear that people in the Marvel Universe have had access to mass produced powers for quite some time. 
     
    Just recently, a company created "temporary" gene-enhancement powers mimicking the original X-men's powers.  Before that, there was mutant-growth-hormone which was basically "the kind of powers you'd get if you were a mutant, but you're not so haha!/maxing out your powers if you are a mutant."  And there's those guys who harvested mutant organs.  And then there's sentinel tech, the latest of which gives us super powered cyborgs. 
     
    And let's not forget about everything from infinity-formula/super soldier serum to good old fashion spider clones and/or venom-offspring.   Let alone Ironman armor (Note:  The UN's Ironmen that got trashed by Jack O lanturn recently...).  
     
    And, of course, there was the whole Lyra "Norman Osborn's genetic armsrace" sort of thing.
     
    It seems like this is a story worth telling - an EVENT worth telling.  Super Heroes go to war.  Some podunk made up african/middle eastern/russian breakaway/whatever country finds itself with one or more cheap, effective means of making itself a super-army, and decides to take on the world.  Maybe the Jackle sells a few bedbugs to the baddies, or maybe they engineer MGH, or maybe they just get a hold of some starktech and reverse engineer a good-enough copy to give people a run for their money.  Not too long ago, Doom was revealed to have a symbiote "bomb" (that infected NY... why not?) sitting in orbit, a potent weapon. 
     
    Alternatively you could just have a nation that gets a hold of alien tech.  But that's a lot less "super" in a sense.  Imagine if instead of "Spider Island", we got "Spider Nation" or "Iron Country" or something.  Even if they made the powers inferior... say a group of abomination-rejects... in large enough numbers, with competent leadership, a nation like this could easily blitzkreig a good portion of their neighbors. 
     
    In a sense, I sort of see this as being an enemy of Wakanda - they have their high technology, and some nearby nation hates them for letting them go without.  So they get a super power army, and march on wakanda.  Even if wakanda wasn't in the dire straights it is now, an army of super powered humans is quite something to take on.  They defeated the Skrulls - but the Skrulls (arguably) under-committed.  Since Wakanda's rarely on the up and up with the UN, there'd be some tension even getting the UN to admit that their adversaries are using super-humans, let alone what to do about it. 
      
    So the big question is what power... or powers... are we talking about here.  As we saw in the Ultimate U, Multiple Man formed an army all by himself.  We could have a similar "one man army" in the 616 who causes problems, but that really does seem like a 2 issue arc... 4 at max.  But a SUPER POWER WAR, I would think, deserves at least 2, if not 3, major miniseries/arcs to tell the story.  Furthermore, the one-man army has a quick-fix, and that'd bad for story telling " Why didn't Pixie just teleport Wolverine in and kill him?" bang, done in a 6 page story. 
     
    So, assuming a 3 story-arc event, I see it going like this: 
     * Miniseries 1:  Bad guy nation/main bad guy collects super power goodies.  This should have been hinted at in a few arcs before (think of the current Doc Ock build), but here we should see them actively go after several unqiue powers/abilities. 
     a) Some kind of Ironman tech.  I don't know if we're talking extrimis, Hulk Buster, or just SPIN TECH (to make spin tech impotent, not to use it themselves). 
    b) some kind of "flying" tech.   You should have the whole "Rocketeer" thing going on.  If this is done by giving us a bunch of Ironmen, fine.  But if it's gotten by copying the powers of X-Factor's M, ms. Marvel, or even Archangel (hint hint), then it's pretty theatening. 
    c) Some kind of "strong-maker" tech.  Symbiotes, spiderman blood, artificial juggernaut crystals, whatever. 
    d) some kind of "long range' weapon.  Copying cyclops's eyes, Professor X's telepathy, or just shooting microwaves from your hands, Starfire style (And I do think Starfire should get a bigger role in the Marvel U, so...). 
    * miniseries 2:  The country invades Wakanda... successfully?  If this is the case, please make the "tech" they get above NOT technology, but biotech.  Wakanda forgetting they have the "hack everything" way out is annoying.  I want to see Wakanda FALL at the hands of baddies. 
    Note:  For this to happen, I sort of think they need a healing factor, since most of Wakanda's soldiers are so badass.  But since Wakanda's taken a lot of heavy losses with Secret Invasion and Doom War, this might not be necessary. 
    * miniseries 3:  The Avengers/Initiative goes to war.  The UN has been too slow to act, and Rodgers has enough of it.  He mobilizes the Avengers, and initative (including avengers academy) and they do a peace-keeping mission (Not unlike Operation Desert Storm), rush in and save Wakanda.  End of the day, though, they lack permission to go into the invading country and finish the job (paralleling not only Desert Storm, but criticism about Pakistan). 
     
    One "good thing" about this super-human war is that we can finally give some annoying cling-on characters the "retirement" they so richly deserve.  Are there any initiative characters you want killed?  They can go out as heroes.  Are there any Avengers Academy teachers you want on the disabled list?  Purr?  How about Thunderbolts-candidates you want free of whatever prison survives Fear Itself?  They get free.  All good things and all that. 
     
    This would, of course, be a big splitting point for the Avengers - are the Avengers some super powered peacekeeping force?  Steve apparently thinks so.  Luke Cage?  Probably not so much.  Spiderman likes being a (big) Avenger, but afterwards he'll tell Cap "If we ever do this again, I'm out." 
     
    And yes, we will need a build-up of new "heroes" to be fodder for when this event comes a callin'.  Perhaps a new Initiative book could cover this fairly well.

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    gethere

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    #2  Edited By gethere

     I pretty sure that been done a few times  already, that why.

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    labarith

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    #3  Edited By labarith

    Really, when?

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    TheCrowbar

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    #4  Edited By TheCrowbar

    Because genetic manipulation causes cancer more often than not.  
     
    Steroids is used by N. Korea(Rumored)  
     
    In this day in age, being strong, faster doesn't really add up to much. Not when you have predator drones that can level a village in a blink of an eye.
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    Kairan1979

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    #5  Edited By Kairan1979
    @labarith
    it's been already done.
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    joshmightbe

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    #6  Edited By joshmightbe

    I've always wonder why Doom hasn't amassed an army of super powered people I mean he has a whole nation of people who damn near worship him and he's probably got enough "cred" in the villain community to make it easy for him to recruit an army. I believe both Hydra and A.I.M. have attempted to make armies of super powered people before tho

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    labarith

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    #7  Edited By labarith

    Now, yes, DOOM has an army of Doombots and super powered stuff. 
     
    But I'm talking about some podunk nation that takes the world by storm.  I don't recall an event like this; even if it has happened in a few stories (that I don't know about). 
     
    SO if this has happened before, please tell me where/when/how.  Thanks.

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    TheCrowbar

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    #8  Edited By TheCrowbar
    @labarith said:
    Now, yes, DOOM has an army of Doombots and super powered stuff.  But I'm talking about some podunk nation that takes the world by storm.  I don't recall an event like this; even if it has happened in a few stories (that I don't know about).  SO if this has happened before, please tell me where/when/how.  Thanks.
    Until they can literally create a Superman, Super Soldiers don't mean much because we can bomb them back to oblivion really quickly.

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