With the MCU introducing new heroes and more experimental stories, the time is right to adapt the cult favorite Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.
After the climactic finale of the Infinity Saga, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has spent Phase Four exploring new avenues of storytelling in its shared continuity. Audiences have seen new characters answer the call to heroism, like Jen Walters, Kamala Khan and Xu Shang-Chi, and more experimental fare like WandaVision, Moon Knight and Eternals. Marvel has demonstrated its willingness to explore what it means to live in a society of superheroes beyond the boundaries of just the Avengers and their related characters.
However, life in a violent and chaotic world can’t possibly be all good. Satires like The Boys and Invincible have demonstrated the carnage, corruption and sheer terror that might go along with sharing a planet with unstoppable vigilantes. And the House of Ideas itself explored such a concept in a cult-favorite title from 2006 that’s perfect for a post-Endgame MCU: Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.
What Is Marvel’s Nextwave?
Created by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen, Nextwave was a humorous take-off on Marvel Comics meant to skewer and parody the stories of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. As Ellis himself summarized, “I took The Authority and I stripped out all the plots, logic, character and sanity. It’s an absolute distillation of the superhero genre. No plot lines, characters, emotions, nothing whatsoever. It’s people posing in the street for no good reason. It is people getting kicked, and then exploding. It is a pure comic book, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. And afterwards, they will explode.”
The story concerned the titular Nextwave squad, a team of lesser-known Marvel heroes, including former Avenger Monica Rambeau, former X-Man Tabby Smith, advanced robot Aaron Stack, monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone and original character The Captain, recruited by the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort (H.A.T.E.) to stop unusual weapons of mass destruction. However, the squad soon learns that H.A.T.E. is funded by the Beyond Corporation, whose real purpose is to test the U.W.M.D.’s on United States soil before selling them to the highest bidder. After hijacking a dimension-folding jet called the Shockwave Rider, Nextwave sets out to stop H.A.T.E.’s plans and, in the words of the series itself, heal America by beating people up.
What Makes Nextwave a Worthwhile Series to Adapt
Nextwave set itself apart by casting its heroes as exaggerated caricatures of their former selves. Aaron, supposedly enlightened by his travels with the Celestials, condescends to his “fleshy” teammates. Elsa’s upper-crust mannerisms belie the trauma of her father’s strict training and her violent temper. Monica loves to remind the squad that she used to lead the Avengers but doesn’t seem to have any good memories of her time there. The series implies that living in a world that constantly throws chaotic, impossible situations at a person is damaging to the psyche and turns them into their worst selves.
No character epitomizes this more than the series’ main villain: Dirk Anger, the director of H.A.T.E. and an over-the-top parody of Nick Fury. Like his one-eyed progenitor, Dirk is decades older than he seems, having been kept alive and spry by experimental drugs and his undying loyalty to H.A.T.E. Unfortunately, the treatments have clearly worsened whatever manic-depressive condition he has, and he spends the series alternatively hunting the Nextwave squad with a Captain Ahab-esque fervor or attempting elaborate methods of suicide. Dirk’s ever-increasing madness show’s the dark side of living in a world where the impossible happens every day — and the pitch-black sense of humor that makes Nextwave so unique.
Nextwave was not a sales hit for Marvel, and the series was canceled after 12 issues and declared out-of-continuity. However, many writers for the company fell in love with the story and began incorporating details introduced in Nextwave into the broader Marvel Universe. There’s a sticking power to the concept that can’t be denied, which is why it’s perfect for the MCU. In a universe where extraterrestrial giants can rise from the sea and a distraught sorcerer takes over an entire town, the Nextwave squad is just the team to tackle the madness — or at least make it funnier.
