DEPARTMENT H
Creator: John Byrne [Steve Seagle is responsible for the Department's
current reorganization. -C]
When last seen, the federal
government agency called Department H was in its fourth, (and most troubling)
incarnation.
Department H was originally a
top secret branch of the Ministry of
Defence named after its top employee: James MacDonald
Hudson. Using H's resources James Hudson refined the set of armor that
he eventually came to wear, and also recruited the other super-human beings
that came to form Alpha Flight.
H was first disbanded by the
Federal gov't for financial reasons. [An eminently
Canadian thing to do. Trust me. :) - Compiler] Following a fight between
Alpha Flight and the Hulk in Vancouver the Department's funding was
restored. H shut down for the second time after Alpha Flight severed ties due
to repeated violations of a promised "hands off" policy.
The Department was recreated
for the second time following the Sorcerer affair. This
lasted until a scandal arose over Joshua Lord and
his influence on Canadian super-human policy. The Department put Alpha Flight
on suspension during an investigation into the situation, and following the
investigation H was shut down for the third time.
Department H started up for
the fourth time in the wake of the
Onslaught mess in the United States. The latest incarnation of the agency
was troubled. Although the situation seemed to be clearing up at the end of
Alpha Flight v2, the latest Department
H started off using morally repugnant and illegal means to pursue its
goals. These methods included brainwashing the members of Alpha Flight,
experimenting upon sentient test subjects without their consent, and forced
conscription of orphans into the super-powers program.
At some point after the
conclusion of Alpha Flight v2 Alpha Flight was captured by the alien Plodex.
Sasquatch (who either escaped or was let go) set about recruiting individuals
for a new Alpha Flight to rescue the team. During his recruitment efforts
Sasquatch was approached by an
Agent Skimmer from Department H. Sasquatch informed Skinner that his Alpha Flight would have
nothing to do the department. The current activities of Department H
have not been revealed.
During Alpha Flight v2 several
key Department H personnel were focused on. They are:
- Director X: Head of Department H
Next to nothing has been
revealed about this person. Who he really is, (and how he rose to
such a powerful position), what he looks like, his goals, plans, ambitions,
etc.: all a mystery. Also a mystery is why he first seemed to approve of the
methods of General Clarke and Dr. Huxley, and then threw full support behind
the very different Mr. Gentry.
- General Jeremy Clarke: Former Director, Super-Hero Development and
Deployment.
Until his death Jeremy Clarke
had been involved with Alpha from the
beginning in one way or another. He was a major player in getting H started
for the fourth time. How he accomplished the rebirth is unknown.
Clarke's time as Alpha Flight's
main manager has come to symbolize the
"dark" era of Department H. However, there were hints that change was coming
to H even before Clarke's death.
Clarke was apparently killed
shutting down a bomb that was set in Department H's nuclear reactor.
- Mr. Gentry: Director, Super-Hero Deployment & Development
Mr. Gentry was General Clarke's
replacement. With the apparent full co-operation of Director X, he set
about "cleaning house" in Department H. As of the end of Alpha Flight v2 Gentry had had a good amount of
success, and had regained a bit of Alpha Flight's faith and trust.
- Coordinator Proctor: Chief Administrator, Super Hero Youth Acceleration
Program.
This is the program that was
responsible for
Flex,
Radius,
Murmer and
Ghost Girl being
recruited from Hull House
into Alpha Flight. The fate of this program under Mr. Gentry's regime is not
yet known.
- Dr. Horatio Huxley:
Dr. Huxley was the brains
behind most of Department H's black ops projects, including the
Beta Flight,
Helios and
Weapon X projects.
Huxley's wrong-doings were
discovered by Alpha Flight, but he managed to
escape. He was last seen attempting to get employment from S.H.I.E.L.D. One
hopes he was unsuccessful.
- Chief Engineer Ko Bin Su:
Dr. Su was responsible for
design and maintenance of much of Alpha Flight's tech gear, including,
supposedly, the "geothermal" battlesuit used by
Heather Hudson.
- Lt. Oculus: Head of Monitor Division
Given the nature of his
occupation, it's safe to say that Lt. Oculus was using an alias. His real name
is not known. Monitor Division spied on Alpha Flight 24 hours
per day, seven days per week, 365 days per year. They often used the being
known as Manbot in their efforts.
The fate of Monitor Division under Gentry's regime is unknown.
- Dr. Myra Haddock: Head of Prometheus Division, H's tech acquisition and
adaptation arm. The Division was named after the Prometheus Pit, an inter-
dimensional portal that Haddock eventually succeeded in mastering.
Haddock demonstrated
considerable distrust of others in
H, and for a time deliberately hid her progress with the Prometheus Pit from
her superiors. She was eventually
found out, and Clarke used the knowledge to blackmail her into tricking
Alpha Flight into using the Pit.
During an attack by the
Zodiac
on Department H headquarters Haddock
was targeted for death. The attempt failed, but Dr. Haddock was injured during
the course of events. The reason that the Zodiac
wanted her dead is not yet clear. Dr. Haddock has not appeared since she
was injured.
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