This chapter lays the foundation for the broader arguments regarding not only the importance of Mark Gruenwald’s Squadron Supreme limited series but its ongoing relevance to twenty-first-century readers, a point I’ll return to address throughout this monograph. The priority in this chapter is to introduce key terminology that will provide the critical foundation for unpacking Squadron Supreme; in addition, this chapter also connects Squadron Supreme to some of the dominant trends in 1980s-era U.S. superhero comics, particularly in the use of utopia as a storytelling device. In so doing, I’ll start to address what makes Squadron Supreme a compelling series, including setting up the various access points to connect Squadron Supreme to the utopia problematic.