DC’s The Authority Explained

James Gunn’s recent DCU announcement confirmed that we’re about to meet The Authority, a super hero team just like the Justice League — but without pulling any punches. This team knows the dangers of the world and will risk anything to save it, no matter the cost. That means that cities may fall and thousands may die, but they will save the world.

The Authority first started in Wildstorm comics, an independent imprint of DC Comics started by Jim Lee. The team made a big splash, especially with the character Midnighter and Apollo, which were clear parallels to Batman and Superman. The Authority influenced comics beyond its own universe and led the way for comics like The Boys and many others.

Let’s meet the members of the team.

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Jenny Sparks

Born on precisely the first second of January 1, 1900, Jenny Sparks was a Century Baby. In fact, she was quite literally the Spirit of the 20th Century. She represented the century, all the while being influenced by the century itself. Her moods would swing with the state of the world, completely influencing her electric personality — literally.

Jenny Sparks had the ability to turn into electricity, travel through power lines, and control electricity completely. She joined the super hero team called Stormwatch and despite its disastrous end, she was brave enough to assemble a new team of heroes: The Authority.

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Jack Hawksmoor

Jenny Sparks was assembling a new team of heroes, but to do that, she relied on a few of her old teammates. Jack Hawksmoor had already helped save the world as a part of Stormwatch, and now he was ready to save the world as a part of The Authority. Jack’s powers are extremely unique and versatile. He is The God of Cities, symbiotically connected to whichever city he’s in.

In a large city, his strength is unparalleled, whereas in smaller cities, he is practically a normal human. He is able to talk with cities and see and hear anything inside of them. Not only that, but he can control the city and any object in it with just a simple command. His powers are unlike anything we’ve seen before.

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Swift

Another member of Stormwatch that joined The Authority is Shen Li-Men, a Tibetan woman with powerful wings and sharp talons. She is not all too dissimilar from the Justice League’s Hawkgirl.

However, she fully embraces her bird-like qualities and has honed them beyond belief. Due to her training and dedication, Swift can fly at superhuman speeds. She has even flown fast enough to catch up to heroes that are connected to the Speed Force. Perhaps she’s even the fastest member of The Authority.

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Apollo

The leader of Stormwatch was Henry Bendix. All while conducting his own extraordinary and terrible experiments behind the scenes, he directed the team. He created secret teams within Stormwatch to test the strength of his creations. Perhaps his most successful bio-engineered superhuman was Apollo. Known to some as the Sun King, he derives his powers from solar energy, not unlike Superman.

In fact, he has extremely similar powers to Superman, granting him flight, nigh-invulnerability, heat vision, and even the ability to release solar rays as powerful energy blasts. If Apollo goes too long without the sun, he can barely use his powers at all. One of the most notable things about Apollo is his relationship with his teammate Midnighter. They’re married and eventually even adopt a daughter together.

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Midnighter

Just like Apollo, Midnighter was bio-engineered to be extraordinary. While he was enhanced to be extremely strong and fast, and given implants to make him heal faster, his most impressive and notable ability is he can predict attacks and even the outcomes of battles. Not unlike Batman, Midnighter ensures he is prepared for every single situation.

Still, he surpasses the Dark Knight by being able to prepare for every single combat situation. In fact, Midnighter can even select a potential outcome and work his way backwards so that he ensures his every action works toward his ideal. He processes so quickly that he can adapt to almost anything. While Midnighter and Apollo were together while they were a part of Stormwatch, it was only after joining The Authority that they officially got married.

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The Engineer 

Angela Spica has ingenuity that surpasses even the most creative inventors in the Justice League. Her ability to analyze technology, replicate it, and even connect with it allows her to manufacture and create almost any weapon. And what’s more, she is a bio-engineered superhuman as well. Her experiments with nanotechnology proved entirely successful when she replaced her blood with liquid tech. It gives her the ability to completely morph herself into any type of technology that she can invent.

While the nanites function as liquid running through her veins, she can easily create solid objects and influence other technology with her nanites. It’s just as effective as armor, coating her in protective metals that make her nigh-invulnerable as well. Plus, she can even duplicate her own nanites, making over 80 copies of herself without losing any strength.

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The Doctor 

Jeroen Thornedike is a genius and a fatally flawed man. He was a multimedia millionaire and dot-com billionaire, but lost it all to his addictions. And while he never wanted responsibility, he was given the power of a long line of shamans. He possesses the combined powers of the hundreds of shamans who came before him, each one passing their magic, wisdom, and experience onto the next.

He has magic that extends far beyond reality, and so long as he can visualize and commit to a spell, he can do effectively anything. Though his magic can do anything, it does drain him and the Earth since he connects to the planet itself. In addition, he can heal and he even brought Jenny Sparks back to life. Plus he can teleport and connect with all of the past Doctors for advice.

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Jenny Quantum

While Jenny Sparks started the team, we might not see her in James Gunn’s DCU film. She was the Spirit of the 20th Century, and in a comic called Outer Dark Jenny Sparks died in the final minutes of December 31, 1999. When the 21st century began, Jenny Quantum was born as the Spirit of the 21st Century. However, she is not the reincarnated Jenny Sparks, but something and someone new entirely.

Actually, she is the adopted daughter of Midnighter and Apollo. Her abilities allowed her to age herself up and reach her full potential. She can manipulate reality at a quantum level, granting her the ability to do nearly anything, from teleportation to probability manipulation, chronokinesis, dimension travel, and so much more.

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Which member of The Authority are you most excited to meet? Connect with other DC fans at side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!