Seven Unknown Men

From Barbelith

Table of contents

1 Who are these strangers?

2 What does Grant Morrison say about them?

3 Are they a "hypersigil" or fiction-suit for Morrison?

4 Are they the Seelie Court?

5 Are they related to SHADE?

6 What about the fellow with the hat?

7 And what about The Terrible Time Tailor?

8 Appearances

Who are these strangers?

Seven bald men with a resemblance to a renowned Scottish comic-book writer (apparently in the grand tradition of Greg Feely, King Mob, Professor Charles Xavier, Lex Luthor, Doctor Sublime, 'the boy' and, of course, the writer in Animal Man #26).

This metaphysical gestalt lives in a kind of hyperspace or meta-dimension, maintaining the structure of reality. They can be contacted in a hut by Slaughter Swamp.

What does Grant Morrison say about them?

Morrison on the Seven  Unknown Men, from a Comicon interview (http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=36;t=004150), 5 Sep 05: 

Some readers have speculated that the Sheeda
are an extra-dimensional threat but in actual
fact they're from the same dimension and the
same planet as everyone else in our story.... 
"Who and what the Sheeda really are is one of
the narrative strands - the secret origin of
Faerie, if you like. The only proper extra-
dimensionals in Seven Soldiers are the mysterious
Seven Unknown Men - all of whom have previously
appeared in various DC books from the last 40
years but not all together.... And no, I don't
think anyone will ever guess where these
characters first appeared, nor does it matter,
to be honest.

From the Newsarama interview (http://www.newsarama.com/dcnew/7Soldiers/7Soldierswrap_Morrison.html):

So the Time Tailors /Seven Unknown Men, (whom I imagined to be all 
the DC writers who have appeared as themselves interacting with 
characters inside the DC Universe - like me, Julius Schwartz, 
Cary Bates, Elliot Maggin etc...) present a sci-fi take on the 
job of maintaining a comic book universe, repairing its plot holes, 
refreshing its characters and set-ups and generally patching it up, 
like tailors adding to an old, tattered quilt.

Are they a "hypersigil" or fiction-suit for Morrison?

Speculation: Given Morrison's penchant for inserting himself into his stories as a magickal way to create results... and given his latest suit-and-tie public incarnation as a magickal corporate presence, as written about on his website (http://www.crackcomicks.com)... and given his prior writing about Hexus, the Living Corporation in Marvel Boy, Mister Six in The Invisibles and mmmmaybe Madrox the Multiple Man in New X-Men... could he be trying to magickally corporatize himself? Is the Seven Soldiers project actually a hypersigil designed to spread/multiply Morrison seven different ways? A Liber 777 for comic fans?

Along those lines, note that "Seven Unknown Men" spells "SUM," as in adding them all together. They're a gestalt (http://www.answers.com/topic/gestalt-psychology). Numbers are important when fighting the Sheeda.

Are they the Seelie Court?

I've had a thought about the SUM, based on the "Thomas the Rhymer" quote (http://www.barbelith.com/faq/index.php/Seven_Soldiers_0#Page_3) in Seven Soldiers 0. In the poem, Thomas follows the middle road, just as Spyder is told he has, and goes to Elfland, where he stays for a week, only it turns out to be seven years real time. The Queen of the Elves then gives him a "superpower", the gift of prophecy.

The Seven Unknown Men, therefore, might be the successors to the rulers of the benign fairy folk (the "seelie court" in Scots myth), creating heroes to send against their malevolent counterparts.

Are they related to SHADE?

Grant makes mention of "the SuperHuman Advanced Defense Executive" in a recent interview. He says that this organization will play a major role in the DCU post crisis. Could they be the enigmatic beings who assemble the conscripts & modify the spyder in issue 0 of seven soldiers?

What about the fellow with the hat?

One of the Seven Unknown Men appears at the end of Shining Knight 2 in possession of a top hat. A top hat then appears for Zatanna in the second issue of her arc, having been left by a tall silhouetted stranger.

(In fact, all the soldiers' 'power items' were packed up at the end of Seven Soldiers 0 by the seven men.)

Is this top-hatted manifestation actually Ali-Ka-Zoom, the Merlin of the Ghetto, the bald and extra-dimensional veteran of the Newsboy Army?

No. It's Zor. Who also appears to have been...

And what about The Terrible Time Tailor?

In Guardian 4, the bane of the Newsboy Army looks the same and wears the same as the Seven Unknown Men, but apparently is an ally of the Queen and the Sheeda. What is his relation to the seven?

Given that Zor is revealed to have some relationship, it seems most likely he is the evil eighth.