Apologies if there has been a Strikeforce: Morituri thread already. I did a search and didn't find one, only mentions of how cheap old copies of it are, and posts about how it flamed out in "Marvel's Dropping Sales," etc.
I've been rereading this and think it was an amazing book ahead of its time. Very dark, and I'm amazed they let kids (myself included!) read it.
Humans are under attack by the evil alien "Horde" and as a last resort, humans develop "The Morituri Process," which gives a select few people superhuman powers to defend Earth. The only catch is the injection kills them after a year. Hence "Morituri" ("We who are about to die.") Our heroes are willingly sacrificing themselves to defend Earth.
The first pics are the first time we see one of our heroes die. The real kick in the gut is that this happens only after a couple of months; meaning we the reader and our heroes have just learned that they don't have a year...they have UP TO a year. This is done beautifully and tragically immediately after a victory, which needless to say, taints the moment. Unlike nearly every other Marvel/DC comic, the heroes by definition stay dead.
I think this would be a terrific show, and Googled around to see if it was attempted. Apparently SyFy tried in 2002 but the show never took off.
The third pic shows how dark the book can get. The evil "Alien Horde" has mutilated human captives, decapitating them, but keeping the head and voice box alive. The head is installed into a combat droid, emitting a blood curling shriek as psychological warfare.
The concept, art, and writing on this book was excellent, at least the first year, and I hope someday another TV producer discovers it since they are throwing money at every other comic book under the sun nowadays.
EDIT: Also, apparently Strikeforce: Morituri was part of the Marvel Universe, since they made sure to throw in a room of the alien Horde’s “trophies,” which included Captain America’s shield and Galactus’ helmet. (Bottom left of final photo.)