[citation needed] The Squadron, created by Mephisto and led by Phil Coulson, acts as the US government's sanctioned superhero team in place of the Avengers.

[citation needed] The Squadron Supreme are first encountered by four members of the Avengers – the Vision, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch and Goliath – who have arrived in the Earth-712 universe by mistake.

The issue is put to a vote, with the so-called "Utopia Program" favored by the majority of the Squadron; Nighthawk, unable to agree with the decision in clear conscience, resigns from the team.

The team implement a series of sweeping changes, including revealing their secret identities; instituting a program of behavior modification in prisons where inmates are forced to submit to a process that mentally inhibits their criminal instincts; enforcing a strict gun control policy; and developing medical technology to cryogenically preserve the dead, while opposed by the future dictator (and usurper) of mankind Victorex Prime (formerly the Scarlet Centurion), serving as the main antagonist.

[volume & issue needed] Despite the economic and technological advances, there are setbacks: the Golden Archer abuses the behavior modification technology by forcing fellow member Lady Lark to love him,[10] resulting in his eventual removal from the team;[11] the Amphibian becomes increasingly disgusted with the Squadron's methods and abandons the surface world altogether;[11] Nuke inadvertently kills his parents via unnoticed and uncontrollable release of radiation and dies while battling Doctor Spectrum during a rampage;[12] and Tom Thumb discovers he has cancer[13] but chooses not to inform his teammates, eventually succumbing to the disease.

[19][full citation needed] In a graphic novel sequel by Gruenwald, Ryan and inker Al Williamson, Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe, remnants of the team and their former enemies (including Victorex Prime) reunite to battle the Nth Man.

Although they succeed, several members of the Squadron are killed, with the remainder (Hyperion, Doctor Spectrum, the Whizzer, Power Princess, Lady Lark (now known as Skylark), Arcanna, Haywire, and the Shape) marooned in the mainstream Marvel universe.

After another encounter with the Overmind and a visit to the laboratory world of the Stranger,[21] the Squadron attempt unsuccessfully to return to their own universe[22] and members Hyperion, Doctor Spectrum and the Whizzer battle the entity the Deathurge.

Army Corporal Joseph Ledger is given a strange crystal removed from Hyperion's spaceship by the government that bonds to him, causing him to fall into a coma for years.

The second volume of the series Squadron Supreme[30] brings together all the superhumans (except a reluctant Nighthawk), who are split into two teams – one for international/public missions and another for covert operations.

The final issue is a battle to the death against Redstone (with the Blur recruiting Nighthawk to assist) who threatens to detonate a nuclear weapon.

[32] A third volume of the title Squadron Supreme, written by Howard Chaykin and with art by Greg Land (and other artists), is published,[33] with the 12-issue series being set five years after the battle with Redstone.

Most of the Squadron have disappeared, with Ultimate Nick Fury, Burbank and Arcanna now a team of intelligence officers working for the government and investigating a group of returning astronauts that exhibit strange abilities.

The heroes unite to stop a group of superhuman terrorists from the Middle East, but then, via a government device, apparently all lose their abilities.

[34][full citation needed] Versions resembling these characters later appear on the Battleworld created by Doctor Doom during the Secret Wars event, only to be killed again at the hands of the Squadron Sinister.

[38][full citation needed] The actions caused by the Squadron Supreme led the Avengers Unity Division to apprehend them before anyone else ends up killed by their hand.

[41][full citation needed] The Squadron Supreme shatter the crystal that Druid was using to enhance his mind control powers and return home.

Although this action is easy for Hyperion, who has had second thoughts about the cutthroat methods the Squadron Supreme has been using, it is more difficult for Doctor Spectrum, as Namor destroyed her Earth.

[43][full citation needed] When the Avengers become a global peacekeeping force, Thunderbolt Ross meets with Phil Coulson to discuss the matter.

[44][full citation needed] With Doctor Spectrum as their leader, the Squadron Supreme of America were first used to fight Namor and his Defenders of the Deep when they attacked a Roxxon oil rig that is off the coast of Alaska.

[46][full citation needed] During the War of the Realms storyline, the Squadron Supreme of America were summoned to Washington D.C. by Phil Coulson, who brought them up to speed on Malekith's invasion.

The Squadron Supreme are seen fighting the Masters of Doom consisting of Doctor Juggernaut, Black Skull, Silver Witch and All-Gog after their escape from the Negative Zone.

[49] The Skrullian Skymaster was shown to be a member of this reality's Squadron Supreme before he was killed by Rogue to avenge Mystique's death.

[50] Nighthawk and Blur had a Secret Squadron team that consisted of Tom Thumb (who is an amalgam of both versions), Amphibian, Blue Eagle, Golden Archer, and Arcanna Jones.

Putting aside their differences and without telling President Coulson, they gather clues and rule out suspects before eventually arriving in Wakanda, where they confront the Avengers.