Origin

In 2152, Planet "F" in the Kepler System was purchased by corporation, Better-World. They renamed it Exodus and started to colonize it seven years later. Part of the effort was to staff a series of wardens. They would be outfitted with a special helmet, created by the first warden, Bloodhound, that connected them to a neural network that would allow them to control the animals imported to the island. This would become an important aspect of terraforming the planet for human sustainability. In 2170, the earth engine failed, and the corporation started an evacuation. They left behind the wardens, promising they would bring the ships back for a second wave of evacuations. As of 2172, there has been no sign Better-World was returning.

Creation

The first Wardens appeared in a short story by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok in the anthology one-shot Ghost Machine #1

Major Story Arcs

Ursaw's Hunt

An enhanced super solider was sent by Better-World to Exodus to recover proprietary technology owned by the corporation. This included each warden helmet and the Wildlife Grid, the orb that connected all the helmets to the neural network. Armed with the bear warden helmet, he led an army with a giant mobile fortress to use any force necessary. He recruited Kaa (the snake warden) and stole the helmet of Swine (pig warden) for one of his own men, now dubbed Warhog.

He then comes across Rook (blackbird warden) and Dire Wolf (wolf warden). He attacks them, but they manage to escape He follows them to The Oasis, a hydroelectric dam turned into a safehouse by Carapace (turtle warden). Housed inside The Oasis was The Wildlife Grid. With Warhog and Kaa by his side, Ursaw lays siege to The Oasis and steals the Wildlife Grid. He also takes Carapace and Dire Wolf as his prisoners and throws Rook clear of the building, left to die in a burning forest.

Thankfully, Rook was saved by his birds. He raced after Ursaw's roaming fortress and fought him on top of it while Dire Wolf saved Carapace and the grid. Ursaw was still too strong for Rook, but when he ripped Rook's helmet off, it did not disconnect Rook from the blackbirds. Rook has evolved to influence the birds without the helmet. They swarmed Ursaw, knocking him off the fortress and putting him into a coma.

Since the bear helmet was fused to him, Rook and the others kept Ursaw locked up in case he ever woke up.

The Search for Bloodhound

Rook and his new warden allies set out to track down the rest of the wardens to manually turn on their communicators and bring them into the fold, while also tracking Bloodhound. He first found Matterhorn, warden of mountain goats, looking for the world engine in the mountains. She agreed to have her communicator turned on but warned that Bloodhound had given in to the instinct influence. He had already killed the engineers who were travelling with Matterhorn. Despite this, she volunteered to help Rook and Dire Wolf.

Together, they track him to an access hatch to the World Engine under a mountain. They were attacked by both Bloodhound and a swarm of spiders. They nearly escaped when they were interrupted by Stag, who wanted vengeance on Bloodhound for killing his wife. All four of them found themselves stuck in a trap set by Arachne, the warden of spiders. The human under the helmet was stuck in a mech suit that was being controlled by his super intelligent spiders. They admitted to sabotaging the world engine trying to kill or run off the human population.