MARK BITTNER
Real Name: Mark Bittner
Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Reality-88131) normal human
Occupation: Alien Task Force agent
Group Membership: Alien Task Force (ATF)
Affiliations: Randall
Pendergast, senator (name unrevealed); Trevor & Raquel Ochmonek (pawns) (all
Reality-88131)
Enemies: Alf (dog),
Gordon Shumway (aka ALF), Rhonda, Skip, Tanner family (Brian, Eric,
Kate, Lynn, Willie), extraterrestrials generally (all Reality-88131)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Los Angeles, USA
(Reality-88131)
First Appearance: ALF#48/1 (December,
1991)
Powers/Abilities: Mark Bittner is an average
human with an awareness (or paranoia) of extraterrestrials. He is
obsessive about their pursuit and capture, and wishes to be
publicly acknowledged for his success.
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 140 lbs.
Eyes: Dark brown
Hair: Black with grey
History:
(ALF#48/1 (fb)) - Alien Task Force (ATF) agent Mark
Bittner was scapegoated for the inadvertent destruction of a secret
island ATF base by the extraterrestrial ALF (aka Gordon Shumway).
Despite apparently not being on the island, Bittner was blamed and
demoted to case manager. He opened old case files and found the
Tanner case (which included ALF).
(ALF#48/1 (fb) BTS) - Bittner sought revenge on
the alien and secured drawings of ALF (that made him appear more
fierce), so that he could get agency support for pursuit. He found the
Tanner family, who secretly harbored and had befriended ALF. Bittner
forced the Tanner's neighbors, Trevor and Raquel Ochmonek, to provide a
base while he monitored surveillance bugs he had stealthily planted in
the Tanner's house.
(ALF#48/1) - Angered that his surveillance equipment
had been disabled after ALF had found it, Bittner confronted Kate
Tanner and pushed to go in. Kate cited the Constitution and the need
for a warrant, then shoved the disabled tiny microphones back to him.
Bittner realized he had to pursue the matter legally and went to get a
search warrant. Meanwhile, ALF and the Tanners removed all traces of ALF
from their house. The next day, bitter Bittner returned with a search warrant,
but found only suspicious items yet nothing conclusive of an alien
tenant, until he reached the garage where ALF attacked him. Bittner
pinned him down and swore vengeance to ruin the family's lives, declare
them traitors and humiliate them publicly. But Kate grabbed one of
ALF's alien "time capsule" medications that forced amnesia and shoved a
tablet into the agent's mouth. Bittner left dazed and confused.
(ALF#49)
- Still befuddled, Bittner wandered the suburban streets and was picked
up by the police as a vagrant. Bittner recovered in a cell and then
demanded release to pursue his alien hunt. Elsewhere, ALF resolved to
leave Earth to protect the Tanner family and go with his fellow
Melmacians, beloved Rhonda and friend Skip. The Tanners respected his
decision and ALF introduced a replacement playmate: a dog with an
uncanny similar appearance to ALF, so the Tanners named it Alf.
(ALF#50/1) - Bittner organized a small ATF squad and went over plans to storm the Tanner house. He then barged into the office of the senator who formerly supported the ATF before ALF destroyed their island base. To restore the senator's support, Bittner presented his evidence of alien presence and the Tanners' involvement.
(ALF#50/1 (fb) - BTS) - Bittner contacted the sleazy TV reporter Randall "Scandal" Pendergast to document his raid on the Tanner house and expose the alien ALF.
(ALF#50/1) - Bittner drove the ATF van with the
senator and three ATF agents and met up with Pendergast, and they all
rushed to the Tanner house. The Tanners briefly delayed the ATF people
while the Melmacians Rhonda and Skip fled and escaped in their
spaceship. ALF used his Holohumanizer holographic disguise unit to
imitate the Alf dog (while the real Alf dog went off with Rhonda and
Skip). In the chaos, worsened by Rhonda's spaceship's exhaust, Bittner
grabbed ALF, but it appeared that he was holding the odd-looking dog.
Bittner was humiliated; the kerfuffle was reported by Pendergast and
the senator blasted him. Bittner led the three ATF agents away, but
they openly doubted he'd keep his position.
Comments: Created by Michael Gallagher, Dave Manak, Marie Severin.
This storyline effectively provides an ending to the
cliffhanger of the final episode of the ALF TV show "Consider Me Gone"
(season 4, March 1990), which had the same elements of the pursuing
Alien Task Force plus Melmacians Rhonda and Skip, although the Marvel
comic finale was well over a year after the TV series finale.
The TV storyline was eventually wrapped up in the 1996 telemovie Project: ALF.
I'd like to see him and the Alien Task Force up
against the xenomorph from the Alien movie franchise! Although that would likely be a short clip.
By sheer coincidence, in the USA, ATF also stands for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a law enforcement agency in the United States' Department of Justice, which also engages in armed raids.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Mark Bittner has no known connections to:
Randall "Scandal" Pendergast was considered the
sleaziest reporter on television with his show "Inside Scoop". He
already had a ratings success with his would-be story on "Lady Di's
secret affair with Elvis' ghost in Pee Wee's body" exclusive. Alien
Task Force (ATF) agent, Mark Bittner, bitter at being scapegoated for
extraterrestrial ALF (Gordon Shumway)'s destruction of an ATF base, had
pursued ALF and contacted Pendergast to publicly report on the alien's
capture. Along with a supportive senator, Bittner first
rendezvoused with Pendergast before heading together to the Tanner
household, where ALF lived. However, ALF had cleverly used an alien
holographic disguise belt to imitate a dog with similar appearance, so
it appeared that Bittner and three ATF agents had instead captured an
odd-looking dog. Pendergast reported the whole messy and violent
altercation on film, leaving the senator embarrassed and Bittner
humiliated.
--ALF#50/1
images:
(without ads)
ALF#48/1, p, pan (main image)
ALF#50/1, p12, pan2 (headshot)
ALF#50/1, p1, pan2 (at desk)
ALF#50/1, p13 (Pendergast)
ALF#49, p1 (ID badge)
Appearances:
ALF#48/1 (December, 1991) - Michael Gallagher (writer), Dave Manak
(pencils), Marie Severin (inks), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
ALF#49 (January, 1992) - Michael Gallagher (writer), Dave Manak
(pencils), Marie Severin (inks), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
ALF#50/1 (February, 1992) - Michael Gallagher (writer), Dave Manak
(pencils), Marie Severin (inks), Fabian Nicieza (editor)
First posted: 10/19/2025
Last updated:
10/19/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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