Who the Clix? is a series of articles featuring information on comic book characters that have been made into figures for the popular tabletop game Heroclix. These articles are meant to help Heroclix players learn more about the characters behind their favorite pieces.

Today we look at the group that dared to make the world better: The Authority

Appearances in Heroclix: The Flash

First Appearance: The Authority #1

Members: Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawksmoor, Swift, the Engineer, Midnighter, Apollo, The Doctor, Jenny Quantum



The Authority was a group that spun directly out of the ashes of Stormwatch. Nearing the end of her long life, Jenny Sparks was sick and tired of the world as it was and was determined to make a better one. And to that end, she recruited some like minded and incredibly powerful super-humans.

Swift: Shen Li-Min was a “seedling,” a person with a genetic quirk activated by a passing comet that resulted in meta human powers. She was recruited into Stormwatch with her powers only partially activated and placed on a team with Jenny Sparks and Jack Hawksmoor. Her powers fully manifested, making her a very skilled tracker and able to fly at incredible speeds. She helped her teammates defeat Henry Bendix and formed the Authority, renouncing her pacifist vows in order to make a better world.

Jack Hawksmoor: Young Jack was abducted repeatedly over several years and experimented on, being given upgrades that made him specially capable of living in urban environments (for example, Jack is able to breathe smog as though it were clean air). Though he thought these beings were aliens, they were in fact humans from the 70th century that had been upgraded themselves, and lived in a symbiosis like state with living cities. These upgrades were gifted to Jack so that he could fight and defeat the living Kansas City from the 70th century, which had decided human life needed to be destroyed. Before and during his tenure with Stormwatch, Jack always went after corrupt politicians and industrialists that treated the little people like dirt. Which is why, when Jenny began recruiting, Jack was among the first on her list.

The Engineer: Angela Spica was a brilliant scientist that had known the first Engineer because of his brilliant work with nanotechnology. When he died (as a result of Stormwatch), Angela’s computer was filled with his notes and work; he had chosen Angela because she had been pioneering the hybrid fusion process between humans and machines. Using his notes, Angela distilled the nano-machines into nine pints of liquid and replaced her blood with this cocktail. So powerful is this transformation that she is able to do almost anything she can think of. Her body is constantly covered in the fluid and it allows her to transform her appendages into different shapes (including weapons and firearms), create life size duplicates of herself as well as interface with other machines. This has also allowed her to form a special bond with the Carrier.

The Doctor: Jeroen Thornedike was a dot-com billionaire chosen as yet another in a long line of super powerful “shamans,” the moment his predecessor died. As the Doctor, Jeroen had access to a special astral plane location that contained the spirits of every Doctor before him which allowed them all to give him aid and advice. At first, Jeroen was overcome with the responsibility, as the Doctor is to be the shaman and care-giver for the Earth and all of the human race. He turned to heroin to try and dull the experience. He was in the midst of a heroin stupor when Swift and Sparks first tried to recruit him. Even in this state, he was still powerful enough to teleport the pair far away. Sparks then returned and shot herself in the head, forcing the good in Jeroen to use his powers to revive her. She leveraged the morality in him to bring him onto the Authority, though he continued to struggle with his addiction. He was only eventually cured of his addiction when Midnighter gave him a small transfusion of his own blood (which had cured the Midnighter’s AIDS).

Apollo: Little is known about Apollo’s origins or the nature of his powers. What is known is that he is incredibly powerful, takes power directly from the sun, and can exist in space for extended periods of time. Apollo, along with Midnighter, had been members of a super secret Stormwatch squad that only Henry Bendix knew about. After the rest of their team was killed, they went off the grid and fought crime in back alleys. They did this to try and make the world a little better while also staying off of Bendix’s radar. Apollo would go on to marry his teammate Midnighter and together they adopted young Jenny Quantum.

Midnighter: Midnighter is as mysterious as his husband, though his powers are more well known. He has super human speed, resilience and strength. He also has enhancements to his mental capabilities so that he is able to run simulations of any battle a million times, allowing him to anticipate the actions of any opponent before the first punch is thrown. He also has a miraculous healing factor, along with a secondary heart, that allowed him to cure AIDS in himself in six weeks. A small amount of this blood was enough to cure the Doctor of his heroin addiction. Despite his love of violence, Midnighter tends to be incredibly loving and protective of young Jenny Quantum. He is also one of the most dedicated to the cause of a better world, only rivaled by Jenny Sparks herself and Jack Hawksmoor.