ZEITGEIST

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Extra-terrestrial, presumably extra-dimension/extra-temporal being
--possibly Gallifreyan mutate

Occupation: Mercenary

Affiliations: Special Executive; Captain Britain (Brian Braddock), Saturnyne (former employer), Technet (sub-contracted them on occasion); Gallifreyans/Time Lords (former employers);
Rassilon (possible creator)

Enemies: Brilox, Fury, Newborn, Order of the Black Sun

Known Relatives: Rassilon (possible creator)

Aliases: The loom-born are also known as The Bastards of Rassilon

Base of Operations: Unrevealed

First Appearance: Dr. Who Monthly#57 (October, 1981), Daredevils#5 (May, 1983)

 

 

Powers/Abilities: Zeitgeist exists in the physical plain in only the most abstract sense. He apparently materializes from some other dimension, likely a pocket of Limbo, as need be. He can pass through solid matter with minimal effort and is indetectable by virtually all forms of mechanical, computerized, or energy scanning. With a thought, Zeitgeist can physically materialize as much as need be, in order to physically contact objects or beings. He can solidify all or any portion of his body. By partially materializing within solid matter he can cause great physical pain, destroy matter, and/or disrupt computerized systems.
His physical form is not subject to normal injury and can reform even after being shredded
Zeitgeist is virtually humorless and he considers himself a professional. He steadfastly refuses to use his abilities for others unless he is employed for profit to do so.

 

HISTORY: (Dr. Who anthology: Walking in Eternity - p285 - 287:  "Executive Action" (fb))
Zeitgeist, like many of the Special Executive, is Loom-born, a new breed of Gallifreyans created in artificial wombs, Rassilon's "Looms." However, unlike the Newborn, they are the early experiments, the prototypes, parahumans imbued with time energies which give them strange abilities - the "Bastards of Rassilon". Disowned by their creator, they are used by the High Council to do the Time Lords' dirty work.

(Captain Britain II#12) - The leader of the Special Executive, "the Steward," sought to bring Fascination into his group, despite the fact that Cobweb predicted that it would not occur for another 300 years. Zeitgeist accompanied the Steward on the failed adventure to obtain Fascination.

(Dr. Who#51-BTS) - Hundreds of years later (perhaps 300), the Special Executive, now led by Wardog, were working for the Gallifreyans. Wardog recovered Fenris the Hellbringer and the Gallifreyans learned that the Order of the Black Sun were their enemies in the War in Four Dimensions.

(Dr. Who#57) - Ten years later, the Zeitgeist was part of the squad of the Special Executive which escorted Rema-Du to a negotiations ceremony for Uranium rights to the planet Desrault. These negotiations involved the Gallifreyans, the Sontarans, and an unknown third group. Zeitgeist discovered that the third party was, in fact, the Order of the Black Sun (As part of a great time paradox, the Order had come from the future to attack the Gallifreyans, who had never encountered them before (#51). In this story, the Time Lords knew that they and the Order would become enemies, but the Order of the present had yet to meet the Gallifreyans. Got it? No? Too bad!). Hoping to prevent their future enmity, the Gallifreyans sought to achieve a healthy relationship with the Order. Rema-Du met with Lord Adamath, the representative, and the two swiftly became friends and even lovers.
However, Brilox, the Sontaran representative sought to sabotage the growing relationship between Rema-Du and Adamath, and between the Gallifreyans and the Order of the Black Sun. Brilox ambushed Millenium with a Psy-Snare, wiping her mind and allowing him to control her. The next day, at the Conference Hall, Millenium ambushed and killed Adamath. Wardog was forced to kill Millenium by breaking her neck in an effort to stop her, but he was too late to save Adamath.
Wardog correctly identified Brilox as the perpetrator and subjected him to his own weapon, leaving him a mindless vegetable. However, the damage was done, and the enmity between the Gallifreyans and the Order of the Black Sun was initiated (Millenium, as part of the Special Executive, was seen as an agent of the Gallifreyans, and thus they were blamed for the murder of the Order's representative).

(Excalibur#47) - Zeitgeist was with the Special Executive when they traveled back to the modern era, perhaps drawn by the energies from the Core Continuum contained within Excalibur's lighthouse, and negotiated a contract with the Technet, who had been exiled to Earth by Saturnyne. It is presumably at this time that Scatterbrain is recruited to the Special Executive.

(Dr. Who anthology: Walking in Eternity - p285 - 287:  "Executive Action") - It has been two years since the death of Adamath, an ambassador for the Black Sun. The Special Executive were attacked by the Newborn, a new, more advanced breed of Gallifreyans created in artificial wombs, Rassilon's "Looms", as a way of continuing the race since the Pythia, former ruler of Gallifrey, rendered her people sterile as a last gesture of defiance before she was driven from the planet by Rassilon's armies.  
Zeitgeist reported that the Newborn have risen up in revolt, and are rounding up the outnumbered Womb Born Gallifreyans. Feeling no kinship to the Newborns, and knowing they cannot turn the tide for the Womb Born, the Executive depart their homeworld, leaving the two sides to battle it out.

(Daredevils#5) - Zeitgeist was part of the squad led to Braddock Manor on Earth-616 to forcibly recruit Captain Britain to testify for Saturnyne. He first entered the manor undetected and pulled the insomniac telekinetic Tom Lennox's head up against a wall, knocking him out. He then traveled to subterranean caverns beneath Braddock manor and rendered its computer systems inoperable. This enabled them to approach the sleeping Braddock undetected, although they still had to fight to apprehend him.

(Daredevils#6) - Braddock went berserk upon awakening in the Dimensional Development Court, and Zeitgeist and other members attempted to subdue him. He was also present at the trial of Saturnyne, in which Mandragon obliterated the entire dimension of Earth-238 from existence. This not only killed trillions of trillions, but also wiped out any evidence of Saturnyne's innocence.

(Daredevils#7) - Zeitgeist watched as Braddock went berserk and attacked the DDC's security force after Saturnyne was sentenced to death. Feeling responsible for dragging Braddock into this, Wardog reluctantly sent the Executive to assist him, although Zeitgeist stood back initially.

(Daredevils#8) - Zeitgeist joined the struggle. During the battle he questioned Cobweb about whether she had known that this conflict would occur. She told him that she had known about it for a year, but had decided not to tell them because she was angry about an insult Zeitgeist was going to hurl at her. Zeitgeist was astounded that she could be angry at him for something he hadn't even done yet, and that she would place the entire team in jeopardy over something so trivial: "Cobweb, you are the most thoroughly irrational squack-head that I have ever set eyes upon"--thus fulfilling her prophecy.
Zeitgeist and the rest of the Executive fled to Earth-616 and took up temporary residence in Braddock manor.

(Daredevils#9) - The Special Executive made themselves at home in Braddock Manor. As the events on Earth-616 began to parallel those of Earth-238, the Crooked World, Wardog argued with Zeitgeist over whether to get involved in this struggle. Zeitgeist firmly insisted that they should do nothing and stay with Saturnyne only until she could pay them.

(Daredevils#10) - The Fury ambushed Captain UK, and, despite the protestations of Zeitgeist, Wardog led the Special Executive in an effort to take down the killer cybiote. Cobweb plunged into a seizure from the immensity of the forces at play in this timeline, Wardog had his cybernetic arm ripped off, and one of Legion's temporal counterparts was killed-- meaning the death of Legion within a few weeks.
Zeitgeist refused to get involved.

(Daredevils#11) - Oxo was killed by the Fury, and the rest of the Executive and Captain Britain were soon at its mercy. Zeitgeist had continued to refuse to enter the fray, but could not allow the rest of his friends to be slaughtered. Rising up from the ground, he entered the form of the Fury, disrupting its circuitry in the process, and proceeded to tear at its form. They Fury knew it was being attacked, but could not identify an attacker. Despite the use of numerous means of detection, it could not register his presence. With the Fury temporarily disoriented by this anomaly, Zeitgeist urged the others to attack it. Captain Britain and the Executive joined forces and crippled the Fury, although it escaped in an ensuing cave-in.
War Dog thanked Zeitgeist, who chided him for his stupidity, recklessness, and lack of professionalism. Zeitgeist resigned from the group until Wardog admitted his mistake. The Executive left Earth, leaving the whole mess (the Fury and Mad Jim Jaspers) for Captain Britain to deal with.

 

Comments: Created by Alan Moore and David Lloyd.
His series were published in the UK as part of Marvel Comics Ltd, which I guess is what evolved into Marvel UK.

This whole Crooked World saga by Alan Moore and Alan Davis is THE BEST I have ever read, in my collection of nearly 20,000 issues.

Zeitgeist is literally translated as "Time Ghost." It is more loosely translated to mean "Spirit of the Times."

See the profile on the Special Executive for a more detailed discussion of their timeline, and for Alan Moore's discussion on their creation.

I'd place Zeitgeist and the Special Executive in a distant portion of the Multiverse, if not the Omniverse.

Descriptions of time between events probably should not be taken literally when discussed by a time traveler.

Doctor Who and the related characters are the property of BBC (or at least they were in 1981).
The good Doctor has also encountered Death's Head (The Freelance Peacekeeping agent, yes?), @ Dr. Who#135 and 137--It was the Doctor who shrunk Death's Head from 30' (from his Transformers days) to @ 6' tall via his tissue compression eliminator.
In addition, Justin Alphonse Gamble, @ Power Man and Iron Fist#79 and Avengers Annual#22, is definitely based on the good Doctor.

Much thanks to Loki, Jeph York, Per Degaton, Mark Caithness, and Silver Acre Comics, who identified the Dr. Who stories, and helped me get the original issues.
Loki wrote the summary to the Anthology issue, since I don't have it, and he also helped make sense of the Special Executive's timeline.

Our own John McDonagh, aka Per Degaton, aka Doc Savage, aka Dagda, pointed out a possible appearance of Zeitgeist in Death's Head I#7 (to your right). I checked it out and was skeptical: the appearance was a little too different. But then I thought that since it was a Marvel UK title, that maybe it was supposed to be him. However, Loki, our expert on all things Dr. Who and most things Marvel UK, had this to say:
I don't think it's Zeitgeist - he's too chunky and muscular, compared to Zeitgeist's wasted (skin and bones) appearance. Also his costume around his face comes to a point on his forehead, with what looks like a little diamond below it, whereas Zeitgeist's comes to a straight end, across his eyebrows.
Likewise, this guy appears to have his costume come to a point over his chin, pointing towards his mouth - Zeitgeist's chin is not obscured.
However there is a distinct similarity in the overall appearance, and especially in the rest of the shape framing his face. If we accept the idea that Zeitgeist was a prototype Loomborn Gallifreyan, perhaps this was another of the same batch - his brother as it were, in much the same way Legion and Thug appear to be Loomborns from a different batch of prototypes.
And possibly the same goes for Elmo/Waxworks and Ferro2/Ferro4, etc.

CLARIFICATIONS: No known connections to:

Fenris the Hellbringer has no known connection to:

 

First Posted: 08/11/2002
Last updated: 10/27/2002

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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