Five Swell Guys
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| Five Swell Guys | |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | America's Best Comics/Wildstorm |
| First appearance | Promethea #1 |
| Created by | Alan Moore J.H. Williams III Mick Gray |
| In story information | |
| Base(s) | New York City, The High Five |
| Member(s) | Kenneth Marv Roger Stan Bob |
Five Swell Guys is a fictional team of white-collar adventurers and the only 'science hero' team in New York City in Alan Moore's America's Best Comics series Promethea. The team meet Sophie Bangs in the first issue and Promethea in the 3rd issue, after one of the members is badly hurt.
[edit] Members
- Kenneth - Psychic ability
- Marv - Genius intellect
- Roger - Super-strength
- Stan - Mechanical aptitude
- Bob - No powers, just leadership skills
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Roger is a transgendered character. Apparently she was male originally, but became female after an incident during an adventure in 'Suffragette City'. This causes complications for Roger, especially when Bob admits an attraction towards her new, female form. Roger's original form is never seen within the comics. The general public seems unaware of the transformation, referring to the female Roger as "the new Roger."
- The team are an homage to superhero teams in general but specifically the Fantastic Four, Similarities include the use of the '5' logo on their clothing and their floating platform, similar to the FF's Fantasticar.
- The series skips a few years when Promethea as Sophie Bangs goes into hiding. When the series picks up, it is revealed that Bob was present at the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks and as a result had died.
- While Marv claims the title of team genius it is Stan who built the Five Swell Guys' orbital base 'The High Five' (which is in its turn a homage to the Justice League of America's satellite) as well as all of the teams technical gadgets and tools, this is the source of the hidden animosity between Stan and Marv and the reason Stan is the mastermind behind the Painted Doll.
- There is a single panel shot of the group at the end of the Promethea storyline (issue #31) showing the remaining members of the group (Roger, Marv and Kenneth) and the, apparently reformed or reprogrammed Painted Doll as a member. They are wearing brightly coloured spandex type costumes and each has the Roman numeral IV somewhere on their person, indicating, presumably, that they are now officially the Four Swell Guys.
