Force Works

Force Works
Cover to Force Works #1, July 1994. Pencils by Tom Tenney.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Publication date	July 1994 – April 1996
No. of issues	22 plus 1 ashcan mini-comic
Main character(s)	Century Cybermancer Iron Man Moonraker Scarlet Witch Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter) U.S. Agent War Machine Wonder Man
Creative team
Created by	Dan Abnett Andy Lanning Tom Tenney
Written by	Dan Abnett (plots) Andy Lanning (scripts)
Penciller(s)	Tom Tenney (Ashcan; #1–4) Tod Smith (#5) Dave Taylor (#6–7) Staz Johnson (#8) Jim Calafiore (#9–12) Dave Ross (#13–14) Jim Cheung (#15–17) Yancey Labat (#18, 21) Hector Oliveira (#19–20) Andrew Wildman (#21–22)
Inker(s)	Michael Avon Oeming (Ashcan) Rey Garcia (#1–4, 6–7, 9–13, 15–22) Kevin Yates (#5) Don Hudson (#8) Mark McKenna (#14) Sandu Florea (#21) Sergio Cariello (#21)
Letterer(s)	Susan Crespi (Ashcan) Jack Morelli (#1–22)
Colorist(s)	Joe Rosas
Editor(s)	Tom DeFalco Nelson Yomtov Mike Marts

Force Works was the name of different fictional superhero teams appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Publication history

The first version of Force Works first appeared in the comic book series Force Works #1 (July 1994) where they were created by writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and initially drawn by Tom Tenney. The team was formed from the remains of the West Coast Avengers, after leader Iron Man left the Avengers due to an internal dispute. Force Works maintained a different outlook than the Avengers, trying to preempt natural and man-made disasters.

The second version of Force Works was mentioned in Civil War #6.

Fictional team biography

From the ashes of West Coast Avengers

Force Works began shortly after the West Coast Avengers disbanded. Tony Stark, otherwise known as the hero Iron Man, sought to form a superhero group with a different philosophy than its predecessors, most notably the East Coast branch of the Avengers: they would not just stop disasters, but prevent them. The team was initially composed of Iron Man, U.S. Agent, Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter), Scarlet Witch, and Wonder Man. By the end of their first mission, Wonder Man was thought dead at the hands of the invading Kree, and shortly thereafter the alien Century took his place. The group used a combination of The Chaos Computer, a supercomputer that used incoming information to predict future events, and the hex powers of the Scarlet Witch to attempt to prevent major world problems.

Force Works used a Stark Enterprises facility known as The Works as their base. The building was fully equipped for the team's use; it featured powerful security and stealth systems and incorporated nanotechnology that would repair the building if it were damaged. It was maintained by a Stark Industries staff, leaving Force Works to focus on its duties. The facility was also administered by an artificial intelligence system called P.L.A.T.O. (Piezo-electrical Logistic Analytical Tactical Operator). The Works also included living and training accommodations and could also produce hard-light holographs.

Although Force Works was officially led by the Scarlet Witch, Iron Man would often act insubordinately and make his own decisions during their missions. Later it was revealed that Iron Man was under the influence of the time-traveling villain Kang the Conqueror (even later revealed to be his future self Immortus in disguise). The team fought several battles, existed for just less than two years, and disbanded. Most of its members rejoined the Avengers or sank into obscurity.

Shortly after the disintegration of the group, Tony Stark died in his attempts to regain control of himself from "Kang" and was replaced by a younger, alternate-reality version of himself. The original Stark did not remain dead for long, due to the events that culminated in the "Heroes Reborn" storyline.

Force Works in the Fifty State Initiative

A new version of Force Works was mentioned as being active and sent to Iowa as a part of the Fifty State Initiative. Although no members were shown or even named. According to editor Tom Brevoort on a Newsarama interview it could be that the team consists of new super-heroes, some could be existing "Pro-reg" heroes and some could be established heroes "with an upgrade".

Force Works was again mentioned as a team when War Machine was sent into space to deal with attacking Skrulls. Investigating a Stark Satellite, he discovered Cybermancer there, and it was implied by War Machine she was a member of Force Works.

Third Force Works

In light of an uprising of robots and A.I. during the "Iron Man 2020" event, a new Force Works team was formed at the request of the U.S government to act as the nations last, best line of defense. In East Brunswick, New Jersey, a group of robots associated with the A.I. Army are attacked by Force Works members Solo, Gauntlet, and War Machine where one of them self-destructs. Three hours later, Maria Hill is shown to be part of Force Works as she meets up with War Machine. She informs him that Gauntlet is in the hospital for a few weeks and Solo quit because he didn't think War Machine was teammate material as well as the fact that an agent has gone missing. Three hours later, Quake is in an airplane where a transmission from Maria Hill where she is to implement the Poseidon Protocols. When her airplane is attacked, Quake is saved by War Machine. U.S. Agent is also on the airplane as he bails out. He lands in the jungle and is held at gunpoint by Lingares soldiers until a disguised Mockingbird rescues him. Quake and War Machine meet up with them as Mockingbird states that the missile used on their airplane is just the beginning. They are then attacked by a group of Deathloks as they start to become overwhelmed. War Machine sends out a priority one distress call asking for assistance.

Members

• Iron Man
• Century
• Cybermancer
• Moonraker
• Scarlet Witch
• Spider-Woman
• U.S. Agent
• War Machine
• Wonder Man
• Solo
• Gauntlet
• Mockingbird
• Quake
• Maria Hill

Collections

Title	Material collected	Date Released	ISBN
Avengers/Iron Man: Force Works	Force Works #1–15, Force Works: Ashcan Edition; Century: Distant Sons #1; material from Iron Man/Force Works Collectors' Preview	May 2016	978-1302900564
Iron Man/War Machine: Hands of the Mandarin	War Machine #8–10, Iron Man #310–312, Force Works #6–7 and material from Marvel Comics Presents #169–172	May 2013	978-0785184287
Avengers: The Crossing	Avengers #390–395, The Crossing #1, Timeslide #1; Iron Man #319–325; Force Works #16–22; War Machine #20–25; Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man #1	May 2012	978-0785162032

In other media

Television

Force Works as seen in Iron Man.

• The group was adapted into the supporting cast of the 1994–1996 Iron Man animated series. For the series, Hawkeye appeared in place of U.S. Agent (though he did appear in the eight issue adaptation of the cartoon). Shortly after the characters were written out of the series, Force Works was canceled at issue #22 (April 1996).

External links

• Force Works I at Marvel Wiki
• Force Works II at Marvel Wiki
• Force Works at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
• Force Works at the Grand Comics Database
• Force Works at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)