The Vanguardians (Patreon)

Big news from NRG! We've created a new superhero team consisting of Zoomorph, Hades, Persephone, Dracula and Humble Bee - "The Vanguardians", short for Savannah City Guardians, and they're one of NRG's most powerful teams that's technically not a team!

Following the events of "The Call of the Wild", the now literal urban jungle of Savannah City soon developed a reputation of being a major epicenter for various "weirdness"; including alien invasions, supernatural disturbances, mad science experiments, and a frequent siting for returning gods of mythology. Many of the cities residence felt it was because of the various questionable superheroes who chose to make Savannah City their home, including Zoomorph, Humble Bee, Dracula, Hades and Persephone. Though an argument could be made that the city's growing weird magnetism had in actually created the need for its heroes to rise to the call of action, the 5 heroes nevertheless felt a responsibility to protect their home from the dangers that frequented them. But working together proved difficult due to the duties of the fives heroes often taking them across the globe where they were needed, as well as the heroes own questionable origins making them less favorable with the public compared to Vaudeville's heroes. Considering this, it was decided that these five would only unite as an absolute last resort when the call to defend Savannah City proved greater than one of them to handle alone. But like the heroes of Vaudeville, the guardians of Savanna City have proven time and time again that despite their differences and their reputations that they can rise to the call to thwart any evil that threatens the city they call home.

So, in case it wasn't obvious, the Vanguardians are something of NRG's take on Marvel's Defenders (the original incarnation), in that they're a team of some of NRG's most powerful heroes who aren't actually an official team, just more so a bunch of heroes who live together in the same city but their adventures often taken the else where, but they do team up from time to time when the call arises. This is actually recycled from an old idea I was going to do original from Zener within the heroes of Indigo Valley (but you all know what happened there). I like the concept so much that I decided to recycle it using some of NRG's newer superheroes, only now it takes place in Zoomorph's Savannah City (which in the NRG Verse is a stand-in for Seattle with a bit of Portland thrown in, much like how Vaudeville is a melting pot stand-in for California's most iconic cities). I'm particularly excited because it allows us to find a place for Humble Bee, just like I did with Brock Sobek and the GSG.

This team is also meant to serve as a world-building purpose, showing a bit of difference between how heroes are sometimes viewed in NRGU depending on the circumstances. In Vaudeville, the heroes there are practically worshipped because Vaudeville is an entertainment and pop-culture center, and the GSG heroes all have some sort of pop-culture, celebrity aesthetic that make them lovable. Such as Toonman being a cartoon character, Slamazon being a professional wrestler, and Harmonious Melody being a superstar musician. But in Savannah City, the heroes' presence is questioned based on the growing weirdness of magic, mythology, mad science and supernatural that plague the city they often bring, but more so it's because that the heroes of the city themselves have questionable pasts that the citizens struggle to let go of. This includes Zoomorph's battled with drug and alcohol addiction, Humble Bee's monstrous appearance and her previous tabloid infamy, Hades' status as a god of the dead and how history has remember his marriage with Persephone, and Dracula being long regarded as one of the most evil and deadly monsters, despite all them proving history wrong with their actions. It's much like how heroes are view in DC in regards to Metropolis (where the Superman family and allies is practically worshipped) vs Gotham (where the Bat Family is more so only "tolerated" because Gotham is such a shitty city and the people are desperate for help).

Naturally, the Vanguardians will be facing each others enemies, such as the animen, the evil gods in NRG's Pantheon, various supernatural monsters, and the Swarm, along with a few original enemies as well. And just like the Golden State Garrison, new members will come and go, and their enemies will add to the weirdness of Savannah City.

Anyway, hope you guys are excited for NRG's newest Superhero team! Let us know what you think with a comment below!

Vanguardians © NRG Comics

Art by Danilo Cassonato