Number of the Beast (comics)
| Number of the Beast | |
|---|---|
Cover of the first issue
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Wildstorm |
| Schedule | Bi-weekly |
| Format | Limited series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | June - September, 2008 |
| Number of issues | 8 |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Scott Beatty |
| Penciller(s) | Chris Sprouse |
| Collected editions | |
| Number of the Beast | |
Number of the Beast is a comic book limited series, written by Scott Beatty, with art by Chris Sprouse.
Number of the Beast was the second in a number of bi-weekly series, it was preceded by Wildstorm: Revelations, which resulted in the relaunch of a number of Wildstorm titles.
As well as regular Wildstorm characters the series introduced a new team, The Paladins, comprising:
The story chronologically began in 1945, when General Zebulon McCandless, a very pious and dogmatic person, oversaw the American recovery of a crashed Daemonite flying saucer in Nevada's Black Rock Desert. The saucer was deliberately buried where it was and turned into a bunker facility. McCandless looked upon the saucer's teleportation, virtual reality and suspended animation technology, and an impossible idea occurred to him. He began drafting a plan to capture this era's superhuman heroes and villains, some of whom had contributed their services in World War II, and train them to fight off the End of Days under a program he titled "Number of the Beast". McCandless had America's hero team, the Paladins (who also knew the general very well), sent to observe the Hiroshima bombing, but they were teleported into the facility built around the saucer, known as Number of the Beast Bunker #1 (NOTB #1). Eventually the Paladins' allies and enemies were similarly captured and placed in suspended animation, without ever aging, for more than sixty years, during which the Paladins protected "the City" (the name of the simulation) from the portents of Christian eschatology.
In 2008, this all changed when the remains of The High, who remained alive since colliding with Skywatch due to his regenerating cells, was transported into the NOTB bunker and placed into the simulation. It was during this simulation that the Paladins and their enemies, the Crime Corps, endured the End of Days and encountered The High's former ally, the Eidolon, a former member of the High's Changers who was also placed into the simulation. The Eidolon had tried and failed to tell the simulation's prisoners of their unknown imprisonment. After entering the simulation, The High encountered his wounded archenemy Doctor Sin. After helping Dr. Sin and remembering his death during the events of "Change or Die" and his past encounter with Sin, The High 'killed' Dr. Sin and knew that there was something wrong when he tried to leave The City and realized his situation from The Eidolon's information. After being 'killed' by The Eidolon, The High woke up from the simulation with his body fully healed and formed.
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Wikipedia