F.O.R.C.E. Files 7: Zenith

Like much of her team, Zenith is a character with a long history before and after the one chapter of the ongoing series she leads. Her history ties closely to that of Powerhouse and Legend, but she has her own unique path, the secrets of which will become apparent as her tale is told in F.O.R.C.E. 7.

She's also somewhat unique in my first round of characters as she doesn't have an obvious analog to a superhero stereotype. I can't say I did that with any particular purpose though: Zenith is a character that's floated around my skull since I was thirteen. The concept of living light is fascinating to me, as it opens a ton of unique features and abilities. I have distinct memories of the early 90s iteration of Living Laser as he became a literal living laser and the use of his abilities under the writing of John Byrne, Len Kaminski and Mark Gruenwald are really the only outside influences I can muster when it comes to Zenith and her power set.

The main tale of F.O.R.C.E. 7: Zenith takes Zenith, Doc Tesla and the other female members of the team into Pashtunistan, a Middle Eastern dictatorship. As revealed in the final pages of the last chapter, a group of militant extremists named the Femazons attacked the oppressive regime and literally incapacitated every male in a society where all women are treated as second class citizens. This creates an interesting conundrum for our heroines: who is the lesser evil between the standing government and the Femazon conquerors?

As the first full year of F.O.R.C.E. races to a close in the next month and a half, this chapter also reveals a major plot point that comes to play starting with the next chapter. While an excellent standalone tale, it is also a key plot point in the ongoing saga of the team.

F.O.R.C.E. 7: Zenith is now available for 99 cents at Amazon.