Power Company

Power Company
The Power Company, art by Tom Grummett.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	JLA #61 (February 2002)
Created by	Kurt Busiek (writer) Tom Grummett (artist)
In-story information
Base(s)	San Francisco
Member(s)	Bork Firestorm Josiah Power Manhunter Sapphire Skyrocket Striker Z Witchfire

The Power Company is a team of superheroes-for-hire in the DC Comics universe. The team, created by Kurt Busiek and Tom Grummett, first appeared in JLA #61 (February 2002).^[1] They subsequently starred in an eponymous series that ran for eighteen issues, from April 2002 to September 2003, also written by Busiek.

Josiah Power was one of America's best lawyers until his meta-gene was triggered during the alien invasion by the activation of the Gene Bomb.^[2]

Following the untimely public activation of his metagene in the courtroom, attorney Josiah Power is dismissed from his law firm. Power had little interest in becoming a traditional costumed hero, but it became readily apparent that he could not continue to practice law without any undue public attention. He capitalizes on his professional experience to organize a for-hire team of heroes much along the lines of a law firm. Their very first mission as a team is against the East Asian criminal organization known as the Black Dragon Society. They successfully defuse a hostage situation initiated by the Society and returned to their base of operations.

The Power Company make a brief one panel appearance in a later Justice League of America story arc, "Syndicate Rules" in JLA #107-114 (2004-2005). The Crime Syndicate of America had attacked a S.T.A.R. Labs facility in San Francisco and the Power Company is shown and described to have been defeated.

Skyrocket is seen much later, in Action Comics #832-833 as one of the dozens of superpowered beings. She is part of a small grouping of escaped beings who save the rest and the world from the attentions of marauding aliens. A communications error beams the adventures of Skyrocket and her allies to every single TV on earth.

Sapphire was abducted and became a combatant in Dark Side Club. After being rescued by Miss Martian and brought to Titans Tower with the other survivors, she leaves, preferring to stay loyal to the "forgotten, but not gone" Power Company.

Recently, the team appeared in the pages of James Robinson's Justice League of America title. They were hired to defend a S.T.A.R. Labs facility, only to be brutally defeated by Doctor Impossible and his new gang of villains. In a conversation at the JLA Watchtower, the Guardian mentions that all of the Power Company members are currently hospitalized, and that Josiah would've died had Mon-El not forced open his rib cage in order to help treat his heart.

Power Surge was a DC Comics event in 2002 intended to promote the start of The Power Company, a new comic book series by writer Kurt Busiek, who also wrote all seven issues of Power Surge. The event was composed of seven eponymous one-shot issues (although each story had its own title), each highlighting one of the seven primary members of the Power Company. Each story prominently featured the involvement of a classic, already-famous comic book character (with the 'classic' character looming much larger on the cover than the book's nominal main character).

Since each issue was essentially an origin story told in the past tense, writer Kurt Busiek used a retro style reminiscent of DC Comics' 1980s output, and even incorporated characters who were not available under other circumstances, such as the Barry Allen Flash and the Hal Jordan Green Lantern, both of whom were "dead" in regular DC Comics continuity.

The comics featured were:

• Bork, "Vulnerability", featuring Batman and The Flash, art by Kieron Dwyer
• Josiah Power, "Career Opportunities", featuring Superman, art by Keith Giffen
• Manhunter, "A Well-Respected Man...", featuring Nightwing, art by Dan Jurgens
• Sapphire, "Hatch of the Serpent's Egg", featuring the Justice League, art by Mark Bagley
• Skyrocket, "First Gleamings", featuring Green Lantern, art by Joe Staton
• Striker Z, "Hk Jiangtou", featuring Superboy, art by Ramon F. Bachs
• Witchfire, "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight", featuring Wonder Woman, art by Matt Haley

The Power Company had several superpowered partners and associates, as well a support staff dedicated to daily corporate operations. These included:

• Josiah Power - A lawyer who was forced to quit his job after the Dominators' gene bomb transformed him into a metahuman.
• Manhunter (Kirk DePaul) - A mercenary and clone of Paul Kirk / Manhunter. He is later killed by Mark Shaw.
• Skyrocket (Celia Forrestal) - A former Navy officer who inherited the energy-manipulating Argo Harness from her murdered parents.
• Witchfire (Rebecca Carstairs) - A magician and entertainer who is later revealed to be a plant-based homunculus.

• Bork (Carl Andrew Bork) - A former criminal who possesses superhuman durability derived from a magical statue.
• Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond) - A nuclear-powered hero and brief associate of the Power Company.
• Sapphire (Candace Jean Gennaro) - A teenage runaway who possesses telekinetic abilities derived from an alien gem known as the Serpent's Egg.
• Striker Z (Daniel Tsang) - A former Hong Kong stuntman and martial artist who gained superhuman physical abilities from exposure to experimental fuel.

• Charlie Lau - A technical support specialist and a former employee of S.T.A.R. Labs' Hong Kong branch.
• Raul - The pilot of the Company Car airship.
• Silver Shannon - Josiah's assistant and the former lead singer of the Maniaks.^[3]
• Garrison Slate - An interim administrator and CEO of S.T.A.R. Labs in San Francisco.

Other corporate superhero teams have been active in the DC Comics universe. The best known are the Conglomerate, the Blood Pack, Hero Hotline, S.T.A.R. Corps and the Captains of Industry.

• Cosmic Teams: Power Company Chronology
• DCU Guide: Power Company
• DCU Guide: Silver Shannon