Spinning out of Civil War, a new super hero team has been formed by Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man); one that embodies everything he's fought for over the last year. Branded by Stark himself, THE ORDER (Formerly known as the Champions) is the first team to launch as part of the Fifty-State Initiative. Culled from the best and the brightest America has to offer, these everyday super heroes are First Super Hero Team of Tomorrow™. This L.A. based team will not only have to deal with a demanding boss in Stark, but also the challenges of being celebrities, scrutinized for their every move and constantly targeted by villains who don't realize that in California, the good guys always win!

Series writer, Matt Fraction, says "The Order is a modern superhero book, in terms of how it's been created and how it's managed, and, behind the scenes, in terms of how Barry and I are telling their stories. But below the surface, everything about the team-- how it's run, who's on it, and what they can do -- follows a classical tradition by being modeled after the Greek pantheon of Gods... the first Order, if you will, of heroes. Inside and out, The Order is organized around the same principals that held together those twelve legends. Tony Stark sits on top, playing the role of Zeus. His girl Friday and the on-site leader of The Order is Pepper Potts, playing the symbolic role of Hera. And on and on, down through the ranks. All of our characters have a mythical, symbolic role they fulfill, along with their quite-literal new superhuman identities.

"The Greek gods were really kind of the original superhero team-- and if (artist) Barry Kitson and I were going to be launching a superhero team of our own, it seemed like following the order of the oldest and the best wasn't such a bad idea!"

But being the best can come at a price! Even if you manage to survive, there's one catch: mandatory retirement after one year. What kind of people could wield such tremendous powers under even more tremendous pressure? And just what is Tony Stark's mysterious agenda? Meet the men and women of THE ORDER—they've got a year to save the world and you better not get in their way!

Please note that THE ORDER #1 was originally solicited as The Champions #1. Retailers may use the same Diamond code to place their orders for THE ORDER #1.


THE ORDER #1
Written by MATT FRACTION
Pencils and Cover by BARRY KITSON
50/50 Variant Cover by STEVE MCNIVEN
Rated T+ …$2.99
Retailers: use Diamond Code MAY072110
FOC - 6/28, On-Sale - 7/18/2007