Guardians of the Globe

The Guardians of the Globe are the world's premiere superhero team in the Image Comics title Invincible. The original team were based on DC Comics' Justice League of America.

The original Guardians of the Globe
The original Guardians of the Globe were a private organization funded by War Woman and Dark Wing. This version of the Guardians was a parody of DC Comics' Justice League of America with each of the Guardians, with the exceptions of Black Samson and The Immortal, having an obvious JLA analogue. Kirkman explains in the author notes of Invincible Ultimate Collection Volume 1 that he went with archetypes because he had only 18 pages to get the reader to care for the characters before they die brutally.

Along with the Immortal and Black Samson, the team included Dark Wing (based on Batman), War Woman (based on Wonder Woman), a Russian named Red Rush (based on the Flash), Aquarus the King of Atlantis (based on Aquaman), Martian Man (based on the Martian Manhunter and the Green Ghost (based on Green Lantern). Omni-Man, although never an official member of the team, was a trusted associate of the Guardians and knew the location and password of the Guardians secret headquarters in Utah. It was this level of trust that allowed Omni-Man to betray and murder the Guardians after calling them to their headquarters on an emergency. The only member of the Guardians to survive the massacre was Black Samson, who was not actively a member at that time due to the loss of his powers.

The new Guardians of the Globe
After the murder of the original team, the United States government decided to reestablish the Guardians of the Globe as a state funded agency. This new team was led by former Teen Team leader Robot under the direct supervision of Donald, the government's superhuman liaison and ultimately responsible to Cecil Stedman. Along with Robot, the initial lineup for the new team were Dupli-Kate and Rex Splode from the Teen Team, Monster Girl, Shrinking Ray and Black Samson, the only surviving member of the old team.

The new team's performance, in its first few months, did not live up to expectations of its superiors, leading Donald and Cecil to make some changes. Bulletproof was added to the team's roster and the newly resurrected Immortal was brought in a consultant to improve standards. After the team continued to under-perform, Robot was replaced as team leader by the Immortal.