Equus (comics) - Publication History

Publication History

Equus first appeared in the third issue of the year-long "For Tomorrow" storyline that ran in Superman in 2004 and early 2005. A prototype for the OMAC Project, he came into conflict with Superman when the superhero discovered that "The Vanishing", an event in which one million people completely disappeared from the face of the Earth (including his wife, Lois Lane), was traced to an unspecified country in the Middle East. Investigating, Superman intervened in a civil war by using his speed to snatch all the guns from a group of men fighting one another. The fighting continued however, and in his continued quest to put an end to it, Superman confronted Equus, a large, monstrous, cybernetically enhanced humanoid creature whose claws were actually capable of piercing Superman's skin. General Nox, the leader of the rebels, put an end to the fight between the two beings, telling Superman that his side had won the war, and showing him that the people outside the palace where Superman and Equus had fought were now cheering Nox's name.

Although Superman initially stood down, he later appeared before Nox, who had captured an advanced-looking device from the deposed regime, which his lieutenant informed him was, according to the confession of a minister of that regime, the weapon that was responsible for The Vanishing. Although still operational, it had no accuracy, functioning like a shotgun. Superman then appeared, demanding to know of the weapon's origins, and when Nox informed him that the former king had intended to use it against Nox, and that the King was to be executed, along with more than a dozen other members of the king's regime, Superman intervened, feeling that the condemned men deserved a trial, again coming to blows with Equus, who carried out the execution. During the fight, Superman ripped the claws right out of Equus' right arm, and seemingly defeated him. Superman then returned to Nox's palace, confronting him with the question of what he intended to do with the weapon, but Equus also appeared, and ignored Nox's orders to stand down, saying that he was not being paid by him. Nox reminded him that Equus was there to aid him, but Equus brushed Nox aside, and attacked Superman. Superman was less forgiving in this rematch, using his X-ray and microscopic visions to learn much about Equus' enhancements, and physically disabling much of their exterior components. Equus escaped by manipulating the weapon, causing not only himself to vanish, but another 300,000 other people from across the planet. Superman subsequently learned that Equus had been working for a mysterious mustached man named Mr. Orr, who explained to Superman that Orr's employer's financed Nox's war, and loaned Equus to them. Eventually, Superman tracked all the victims of the Vanishing to Metropia, an artificial paradise within the Phantom Zone, where he again encountered Equus, who had allied with General Zod, who campaigned to destroy Metropia. Equus, whose chestplate bears the Roman numeral "III", was the third version of a program to create super-soldiers. Equus, or "Vee Three" as he was designated, was said to be psychotic, due to the enlargement of the amygdalae to which the OMAC candidates were subjected.

Equus III later appeared in Titans/Outsiders Secret Files 2005, stored alongside the Wildebeest, who had been captured in the same story.

Equus reappeared under Mr. Orr's command in Countdown #36 (2007), clashing with Karate Kid and Triplicate Girl. After receiving a beating from Karate Kid, Equus was enraged that Mr. Orr, under Desaad's orders, would let them go. Equus severed the railroad tracks on which Karate Kid and Triplicate Girl's train was traveling. Before that he phoned the police, telling them that the derailment was a metahuman attack, and that the metahumans themselves were bio-weapons, leading the officers to shoot first and not ask questions. Karate Kid and Una eventually are able to beat Equus, disabling him and leaving him without an arm. The arm is retrieved for attachment, and Orr sets the Legionnaires on Buddy Blank's tracks.

In the 2008 Cyborg miniseries, the Titans are forced to fight numerous clones of Equus and the Wildebeest to prevent them from helping Vic Stone against Mr Orr's "Cyborg Revenge Squad".

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