Pride (comics)

The Pride
The Pride. Art by Adrian Alphona.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Runaways #1 (July 2003)
Created by	Brian K. Vaughan Adrian Alphona
In-story information
Base(s)	Los Angeles; secret lair beneath the La Brea Tar Pits.
Member(s)	Geoffrey Wilder Catherine Wilder Dale Yorkes Stacey Yorkes Frank Dean Leslie Dean Victor Stein Janet Stein Gene Hayes Alice Hayes Robert Minoru Tina Minoru

The Pride are a fictional supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters are depicted as a criminal organization that controlled the Los Angeles area of the Marvel Universe. As they are the parents and the initial and most prominent foes the Runaways have faced, they are perhaps the team's greatest enemy to date. The Pride consists of six couples - the mafia controlling Wilders, the time-traveling Yorkes, the telepathic mutants Hayeses, the alien invaders Deans, the mad scientists Steins and the dark wizards, the Minorus.

The Pride was often considered to be an efficient super-villain team that barred other villains from controlling Los Angeles. Although the real world did not know of The Pride's existence, other mafia mob bosses controllers had, such as the Kingpin, who admits the group ran Los Angeles with efficiency and vision. The Pride first appeared in Runaways #1, published by Marvel Comics in 2003, and were created by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona.

Although The Pride were the center of focus throughout the first volume of the series, their actual origin was only covered in the thirteenth issue. The six couples were called together in 1985 by the Gibborim, three mythical giants who had ruled the world when it had "originally been one, serene utopia". The Gibborim informed the couples (who revealed themselves to be aliens, time-travelers, magicians, scientists, mutants, and criminals) that they desired to turn the world into the same peaceful utopia it had been millions of years before, but did not have the strength. The Gibborim required the six couples' help ("a Pride") to wipe out the entire planet, and when they achieved their goal, six of the twelve who served them the best would be able to rule the world with them, while the other six would perish with the rest of the human race. The couples agreed, and formed The Pride.

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