Workforce (comics)

Workforce
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 4) #64 (January, 1995)
Created by	Mark Waid (script) Lee Moder (art) Tom McCraw (art)
In-story information
Member(s)	Amber Blast-Off Dune Evolvo Inferno Karate Kid Live Wire Lori Morning Particon Radion Repulse Spider Girl Ultra Boy

The Workforce is a semi-heroic super-team in DC Comics' post-Zero Hour Legion of Super-Heroes continuity. It was introduced in Legion of Super-Heroes #64 (January 1995).

Fictional history

The Workforce was founded by the corrupt industrialist Leland McCauley as a response to the Legion of Super-Heroes, founded by his rival R.J. Brande. When Live Wire was replaced in the Legion by his sister Spark, he joined the Workforce with the belief that McCauley could help him find his brother Mekt. While the team often appeared to be performing heroic deeds, everything they did was designed for McCauley's profit. Karate Kid commented that the only reasons for being in the Workforce were selfish ones.

The team had little teamwork skills, often getting in each other's way in battle. McCauley would often shout orders at them through holographic projection, thereby telegraphing their moves to their opponents. Live Wire eventually quit and rejoined the Legion, inspiring other members to do the same, which forced McCauley to hire new members frequently.

A later version of the group consisted entirely of adults, to make the point that the Legion was endangering teenagers. However, a member of this group was actually the eight-year-old Lori Morning, using her H-Dial to appear adult.

The group disbanded during the "One Year Gap" and was replaced by the "Oversight Watch." Neither team is a part of current Legion continuity.

Membership

Original members

• Live Wire (quit, rejoined Legion)
• Spider Girl (fired to create "Adult Workforce")
• Evolvo (fired to create "Adult Workforce")
• Ultra Boy (quit, joined Legion)
• Karate Kid (quit, joined Legion)
• Inferno (transported to 20th century Earth)

Later members

• Blast-Off ("killed", see Wildfire)
• Particon (contract bought out by R.J. Brande)
• Radion (contract bought out by R.J. Brande)

Adult Workforce

• Repulse
• Amber
• Dune
• Lori Morning

Appearances in other media

In the Legion of Super-Heroes animated series, the "Light Speed Vanguard", although mostly based on the Legion of Super-Villains, has some similarity with the Workforce, most notably by being a team of apparent heroes who work for profit, and by having Lightning Lad temporarily join before realizing the truth.

External links

• Workforce at the Comic Book DB.
• The Workforce at Cosmic Teams!