NEW GUARDIANS

Membership: Betty Clawman, Exttrano, Floro, Gloss, Harbinger, Jet, Ram

Base of Operations: California

First Appearance: Millennium #8 (February, 1987)

History: The New Guardians were chosen by Guardian of the Universe Hando Hu and his Zamoran mate Nadia Safir to be the progenitors of a new race of immortal superhumans that would succeed the Guardians of the Universe. Ten individuals were chosen to be given powers by the pair and taught about the nature of the cosmos. Some of the chosen proved unsuitable, Janwillem Kroef was a white supremacist and Raoul was senile. Three other chosen, Salkima Baranizar, Nikolai Latikov and Terra I were all killed before they could become New Guardians. Finally Thomas Kalmaku rejected membership in order to remain with his family. The final assembled group of New Guardians were Betty Clawman, Extrano, Floro, Gloss, Harbinger, Jet and Ram. They set up headquarters in California, and their first major mission was protecting Earth from the alien invasion of the Alliance. Jet perished battling the Warlords of Okaara.

Kroef intended to destroy the New Guardians, first kidnapping Tom Kalmaku and locking him in a pit with the Neo-Hybrids, a race of scientifically bred creatures. Tom found he could communicate with the Neo-Hybrids and became their mentor. Kroef meanwhile had taken mental control of the New Guardians and intended to use them to make the white race dominant. The New Guardians and the Neo-Hybrids fought, and in the end Kroef's control was broken. Hando and Nadia then returned, revealing the Neo-Hybrids as the true "Chosen." The New Guardians moved to South Africa to help teach the Neo-Hybrids of their destiny.

(Green Lantern III #32, 33, 35) - The New Guardians wondered why they seemed to be the last ones to know that the Guardians of the Universe had returned from their self-imposed exile. The Guardians of the Universe were trying to usher in a new era of order, and didn't have time to focus any energy on the New Guardians. Entropy set out to destroy the works of the Guardians of the Universe, so he attacked Kroef's Island and absorbed the New Guardians and the Chosen into his body. The Green Lantern Corps defeated Entropy, but at the cost of the lives of the Chosen, who sacrificed themselves to assure the Corps victory. Entropy's body dissipated, setting the New Guardians free from him.

Comments: Created by Joe Staton & Steve Englehart

The New Guardians received profiles in Who’s Who Update ’88 #2 and Who's Who in the DC Universe #3.

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