The Untold Truth Of DC Comics' Cyclone

Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns might have started the grim 'n gritty deconstructed superhero boom of the 1980s, but Kingdom Come, by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, poses one of its most essential question: "Who deconstructs the deconstructions?" This 1996 miniseries documents the return of Superman and the rest of the Justice League (except Batman) to a bleak future where metahumans have grown careless, cynical, and needlessly brutal. Superman comes out of retirement to take a stand against this wanton cruelty.

Amid all the chaos of the apocalyptic battle for the future of sentient life on Earth, readers can easily miss how much story Waid and Ross manage to squeeze into the background of Kingdom Come's frequently-crowded panels. For instance, a romantic subplot involving Bruce Wayne's son and Dick Grayson and Starfire's daughter plays out without any dialogue, or any real connection to the primary story.  This is also the context in which Waid and Ross premiere a new female Red Tornado, who eventually provides the basis for Cyclone. 

Proto-Cyclone fights alongside Justice Leaguers in Kingdom Come #2, as well as during the bonkers issue #4 showdown. We never see her speak, and she never demonstrates any individuality beyond her costume and power set. She seemingly exists only to fight other flamboyantly-attired characters, so really, she exists to help Kingdom Come satirize the notion of superheroes as interchangeable intellectual properties.