DC’s Version of Marvel’s Super-Soldier Program is Even More Disturbing

Spoilers ahead for Future State: Gotham #5!

DC has unveiled a unique riff on the Super Soldier serum that gave Captain America his powers. In Future State: Gotham #5, on sale now in print and digital, Jason Todd learns the shocking truth about the Warmonger, a super-terrorist causing chaos in Gotham—that he was subjected to testing and experimentation that made him super-strong, but also a bloodthirsty psychopath.

In the Marvel Universe, the Super Solder Serum was developed by Doctor Abraham Erskine. Only one vial existed, and it was used on Steve Rogers, transforming him into Captain America. Erskine was killed shortly thereafter, taking the secret of the Serum to his grave. There have been many attempts to duplicate the Serum, with wildly varying degrees of success: Isiah Bradley and the Sentry were among the results. The idea of a special formula that can create the ideal fighting machine is a powerful one, and now DC has introduced their own version—with a dark twist. It debuts in Future State: Gotham #4 which is written by Joshua Williamson and Dennis Culver, with art by Giannis Milonogiannis and letters by Troy Peteri.

Jason Todd, as Peackeeper Red, has been forced into gladiator-style combat against Batman by the Warmonger. The two fight back and forth, until the match is interrupted by the Magistrate’s paramilitary Peacekeepers unit. Warmonger and his followers disperse while Batman and Peacekeepr Red join with the Arkham Knight and escape. Arkham Knight reveals that she and her team raided a Magistrate facility, hoping to find evidence to use against them. She found Warmonger instead and freed him before reading his file. This turns out to be a bad idea, as Warmonger is revealed to be brutal and psychotic. Arkham Knight reveals that Warmonger was dubbed “Supercop Zero” by the Magistrate. Warmonger was part of an early attempt at creating what would become the Peacekeepers. However, the process drove Warmonger insane.

The secrets of Marvel’s Super Soldier Serum died with its creator, and there have been many attempts to duplicate it—none of which have been able to match the success of the original. Many test subjects were killed or driven insane. This has apparently carried over into attempts to create a similar serum in the DC Universe. The process that created Warmonger was not unlike the one that gave the world Captain America, but instead of creating a Supercop as the Magistrate hoped, it created a monster.

War Monger is just as much a victim of the Magistrate as Batman, Jason Todd or anyone else. The Super Soldier Serum gave the world Captain America and changed the course of history in the Marvel Universe, and now DC has introduced a dark riff on it, one that creates psychopaths instead of heroes.

About The Author

Shaun Corley
(1379 Articles Published)

Shaun Corley is a pop culture enthusiast living in the Pacific Northwest. After stints in both customer service and academia, he’s turned his attention to writing about comic books–his lifelong passion. He is a graduate of Radford University, with a degree in English. When not reading comics, he enjoys spending time with his fiance and their dog.

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