HARLAN RYKER

Real Name: Harlan Ryker

Identity/Class: Human, advanced technology-user

Occupation: Prisoner (when last referenced);
    former weapons scientist for S.H.I.E.L.D.;
    former director of Cybertek Systems Inc.;
    former cybernetics expert for the Brand Corporation, a research subsidiary of Roxxon's Department M

Group Membership: Cybertek Systems Inc., the applied cybernetic division of Roxxon Energy Corporation;
    formerly the Brand Corporation;

Affiliations: David Borruso, Stanley Cross, Cybertek Worker Ants, Cyberwarriors, Deathlok robot, Jim Dworman, Joseph Fox, Genesis Coalition, Billy Hansen, Ben Jacobs,Mainframe (Ian Wajler), N^th Command, Tailor Group, Warwolf; Laurie (secretary);
     he offered Luther Manning-616 the chance to participate in the Deathlok project;
     formerly Clayton Burr, Dr. Amanda Hu (see comments), Dr. Miles Kimble, Shiro Yoshida (Sunfire), government of Estrella, government of Iraq and Colonel Sinje;
     formerly John Kelly (as himself and as Deathlok); Deathlok (Michael Collins) in that he was involved with that Deathlok's creation;
     formerly reprogrammed and controlled Deathlok the Demolisher (Luther Manning) of Earth-7484

Enemies: Clayton Burr, Coldblood (Eric Savin), Deathlok (Michael Collins), Deathlok the Demolisher-7484, Deathlok-32211, Nick Fury Sr., Dr. Amanda Hu (see comments), Dr. Miles Kimble, S.H.I.E.L.D., Siege (John Kelly), Silver Sable (Silver Sablinova), Sunfire (Shiro Yoshida), Wild Pack (Battlestar/Lemar Hoskins, Amy Chen, Crippler/Carl Striklan, Doug Powell, Raul Quentino), Yoritomo, rebel/guerrilla forces in Estrella; unidentified rebel forces of Earth-32111;
    indirectly Godwulf-7484;

Known Relatives: Anna Ryker (wife, deceased), Rebecca "Becca" Ryker (Deathlocket, daughter), Bryan Ryker (son, deceased);
    Simon Ryker (brother)

Aliases: "The Prometheus of modern cybernetics" (from Katy Bashir)

Base of Operations:
    formerly a suburban home in unidentified town and state, presumably in the USA;
    formerly Cyberbase, Paris, France;
    formerly Danbury Maximum Security Federal Penitentiary, Danbury, Connecticut;
    formerly Cybertek division headquarters, Paterson, New Jersey (as well as its Weapons Development Testing Facility Number Four, also in Paterson, NJ);

First Appearance: (Mentioned) Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe II (Deluxe Edition) #3 (February, 1986);
    (full appearance) Deathlok I#1 (July, 1990)

Powers/Abilities: Harlan Ryker is a genius in the field of cybernetics, experienced both with reanimating dead tissue/bodies and augmenting/bonding to living tissue and brains.

    He has no compunctions with murdering others to enhance his research and profit, nor in slaying his own allies to use their existence as leverage to ensure his own.

    He sometimes walks with a cane, but he does not need one

    He can speak Arabic in addition to English; he may well be able to speak Japanese and possibly other languages)

History:

(Avengers Arena#2 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Harlan Ryker married Ann, and they had a daughter, Rebecca (aka "Becca"), and eventually a son, Bryan.

(Avengers Arena#2 (fb) - BTS) - Harlan advised Becca, "Life is complicated...until yours is on the line. If you back somebody all the way into a corner, you can watch their life boil down to multiple choice: Fight or flight. No matter which one you pick or how it turns out, the rest of your life will be defined by a split-second decision."

    He also told her, "People worry too much about making friends when what we really need are allies. Friends make you weaker, sweetheart. Allies make you stronger."

(All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#3: Deathlok (Collins)) - Having learned of the dimensionally-displaced cyborg Deathlok the Demolisher of Earth-7484...

(Marvel Two-In-One I#54 (fb) - BTS / Deathlok II#31 (fb)) - The Roxxon Oil Company had agents steal this Deathlok from a S.H.I.E.L.D. depot.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#3: Deathlok / Deathlok II#31 (fb)) - Deathlok was placed under the supervision of Earth-616's Harlan Ryker at Brand Corporation, a research subsidiary of Roxxon's Department M (for "Mutagenics"). Ryker was to dissemble the cyborg and discover how to duplicate it.

(Deathlok II#32 (fb)) - Ryker was additionally to repair and analyze the Deathlok unit. His team spent significant time studying its structural design.

(Marvel Two-In-One I#54 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#3: Deathlok / Deathlok II#32 (fb) / ) - Based on Deathlok's systems, Ryker was part of a team that built an entirely robotic simulacrum of Deathlok, which was intended to the be prototype of their own Deathlok cyborg.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#3: Deathlok) - Ryker's robot was turned over to Roxxon's N^th Command. for testing.

(Captain America I#286 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#3: Deathlok) - At the Brand Corporation's Long Island City location, Ryker continued to work on the original Deathlok, restoring him to fully functional status and reprogramming him to serve them.

(Captain America I#288 (fb) - BTS) - Deathlok was intended to lead the N^th Commandos/Roxxon storm trooper forces to assault Washington D.C. as part of Roxxon's plot to take over the USA following the banishment of its superhumans via their Operation: Purge.

(Captain America I#288 (fb) - BTS) - Back on Earth-7484, Godwulf sent the (formerly Simon Ryker-controlled) Luther Manning clone (the one associated with the CIA and with Deathlok's memories and computer link-up) to the past of Earth-616 to prevent Operation: Purge.

(Captain America I#286-287 - BTS) - Although slain in the process, the Luther Manning clone restored Deathlok's memories, and he returned to his own timeline.

(Captain America I#289 - BTS) - Having learned of Operation: Purge from Deathlok and his future timeline, Captain America prevented it from succeeding in Reality-616.

(All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#3: Deathlok (Collins)) - After the Brand Corporation was closed following Deathlok's escape (and destruction of that Brand facility), Ryker was reassigned as head of another Roxxon subsidiary, Cybertek Systems Inc.

(Deathlok II#32 (fb) / Captain America I#287 - BTS) - Roxxon's cyborg research was moved to Cybertek.

(Avengers Undercover#6 (fb) - BTS) - Harlan had a lot of sayings, life lessons he hoped Becca would follow. He'd say things like, "friends are overrated," "life is for learning," and "goofing off is what boring people do to distract themselves from the fact that they're standing still."

 (Deathlok II#1 (fb)  -BTS / All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#3: Deathlok (Collins)) - The Warwolf was designed by Billy Hansen and others at Cybertek under Harlan Ryker's direction) as a hunter-seeker assassination cyborg, predating the creation of their Deathlok. A wolf brain was placed into the cyborg form.

(Deathlok I#3) - Ryker's design team created the Cybertek Worker Ants, heavily-armored robots used for construction and military operations.

(All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#3: Deathlok (Collins)) - Ryker oversaw the creation of Cybertek’s own Deathlok

(Deathlok I#1 (fb) - BTS) - A human brain was decided to be ideal for the Deathlok cyborg in order to function as a source of massive data storage.

(Deathlok Annual#1/3 (fb) - BTS) - Harlan Ryker dictated a journal, detailing the features of the Deathlok cyborg.

(Deathlok II#25 (fb) - BTS) - Harlan Ryker offered Luther Manning the chance to participate in Cybertek's cyborg super-soldier (Deathlok project), but Manning declined.

(Deathlok II#1 (fb) - Ryker met with Colonel John Kelly, a police officer and former soldier (and American hero), showing him and convincing him to run the Deathlok cyborg, telling him that he would be the first in a series of military cyborgs designed to achieve victory. Seeking to be able to go into action and be allowed to finish a job (rather than be hampered by the government), Kelly accepted.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#62/4 (fb) - BTS) - Kelly willingly agreed to have his brain transplanted into the Deathlok cyborg.

(Deathlok II#17 (fb) - BTS?) - Deathlok (John Kelly) participated in a number of test runs.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#62/4) - At Cybertek weapons development testing facility number four, Harlan Ryker detailed the nature of and demonstrated the Kelly Deathlok for Roxxon's Clayton Burr. Ryker was initially very pleased with Deathlok's performance; however, when Kelly resisted the computer's options, the computer destroyed its human brain. Cross recommended they abort the mission and call Deathlok in, but Ryker initially refused, instructing all involved to let him go. However, after Deathlok moved from test ammunition to live ammo, Ryker ordered Deathlok to abort the mission. Considering this to be a programming error, Deathlok removed the source of incoming conflicting data. After slaying the rest of the opposing soldiers, Deathlok entered the bunker. Ryker again ordered Deathlok to abort the mission, but Deathlok noted the option to be unavailable...as the program had already been completed. After Deathlok sheathed his weapon, Ryker thanked him, removed a programming card from Deathlok's wrist, and then ordered him to shut down all systems.

    Apparently unaware of the malfunction, Burr told Ryker that the performance had been very theatrical and that he was certain that Deathlok "would perform next week when it was the real thing."

    Ryker advised Cross and the rest of his people that he wanted to know what had gone wrong and that he wanted to have Deathlok ready for a brain transplant immediately. When Dr. Hu asked where they would find a volunteer in less than a week, Ryker replied, "Who said 'volunteer?'"

(Deathlok I#1 (fb) - BTS / Deathlok I#2 (fb) - BTS) - Roxxon was employed by the government of the South American nation of Estrella -- whose government was bought and paid for by multinational corporations -- to stop rebel/guerrillas who opposed their clearing of lands in the rain forest for the construction of a dam to divert waters that would drain into the Amazon river, which watered the rain forest. Roxxon had its subdivision Cybertek promise to send its Deathlok creation to crush the local resistance and force the natives off of their land.

might testify against him in the creation of Deathlok (Michael Collins).

(Deathlok II#1 - BTS) - Warwolf slew Billy Hansen, one of Ryker's closest co-conspirators, who had been let out on bail after turning state's evidence against Ryker in exchange for a suspended sentence.

(Deathlok II#1 (fb) - BTS) - The Warwolf broke into a National Security Agency facility and destroyed all records pertaining to Ryker's investigation.

(Deathlok II#1 - BTS) - Warwolf traveled to the Cybertek's main laboratory in Paterson, New Jersey, where -- despite the efforts of Deathlok -- it destroyed Cybertek's computerized records.

(Deathlok II#1 - BTS) - Deathlok then traveled to Danbury Maximum Security Federal Penitentiary in Connecticut where Ryker and the other Cybertek executives (witnesses for the prosecution) were being held.

(Deathlok II#1) - Deathlok stealthily infiltrated the prison and confronted Ryker, who congratulated him and confirmed that his infiltration and stealth abilities were as good as he had hoped. Evading Deathlok's question of sending Warwolf to kill anyone who could testify against him, Ryker noted that, if such were the case, Deathlok was exempt, as his testimony had been discredited as they could not tell if he was sentient or just a piece of hardware. Ryker also noted that if the other witnesses were killed, the case against him would fall apart, and he would be a free man. Deathlok angrily began breaking into Ryker's cell, but Ryker mocked that his moral code prevented him from killing him.

    Any further discussion was interrupted by alarms sounding as Warwolf broke into the facility and targeted Cybertek account manager John Rozum. Deathlok arrived in time to stop him, and he eventually destroyed Warwolf when its plasma beam dysfunction caused imminent detonation.

(Deathlok II#1 - BTS) - Warwolf's back up computer had enough memory that Dworman was able to call up Ryker's kill orders. The special prosecutor felt that he could convict Ryker for Billy Hansen's murder.

(Deathlok II#8 (fb) - BTS) - Following Cybertek's liquidation, most of Cybertek's research and technology ended up in the hands of A.I.M.

(Deathlok II#11 (fb)) - Cybertek's technology and contracts were sold to a wide number of corporations, including Magnum Munitions.

(Deathlok II#11) - Cybertek technology possessed by Magnum Munitions was stolen from them by Curtis Carr of Stark Prosthetics (Denver, Colorado).

(Deathlok II#17 (fb) - BTS) - Stanley Cross, Drs. Hu and Kimble and others, having fled America and working out of Paris, France, developed the Cyberwarriors.

(Deathlok II#20 (fb) - BTS) - The Cyberwarriors were created by former Cybertek employees Mainframe, Ben Jacobs, David Borruso, Stanley Cross, Joseph Fox, Dr. Amanda Hu and Dr. Miles Kimble. Using techniques similar to those Ryker had used in the creation of Deathlok, they began to manufacture armies of Cyberwarriors to sell to the highest bidder. They obtained the brains needed for processing information by bribing medical institutions for brains from the newly-deceased, but also placed subjects into comas, declared them terminal and then used their brains as well.

(Deathlok II#17 (fb) - BTS) - Harlan Ryker was released from prison.

(Deathlok II#17 - BTS) - In an underground surveilance lab in Paris,the Cyberwarriors performed well in testing, demolishing other robots. Stanley Cross, Drs. Amanda Hu, Miles Kimble, Joseph Fox and David Borruso discussed their success and how they could get rich selling the Cyberwarriors.

(Deathlok II#17) - Clayton Burr informed Deathlok of his human body's location and also alerted Deathlok to the Cyberwarriors' existence. He told Deathlok he could help him regain his humanity as long as the Deathlok cyborg was turned over to Roxxon's custody and he helped Roxxon recover the Cyberwarriors and Cybertek's tehcnology

    Burr was secretly working with Ryker, and the two were planning to get Deathlok back into their clutches.

(Deathlok II#17) - In the underground lab in Paris, Ryker looked over the Cyberwarriors, noting them to be far superior to his last endeavor. Stanley Cross greeted him, noting that it was great to have the genius behind the Deathlok project on hand to oversee the final phases of his master plan.

(Deathlok II#18) - In one of three secret laboratories scattered throughout the Paris underground, after test multiple tests of the Cyberwarriors met with success, Ryker was very impressed, and he told Jacobs and Cross that as its weapon systems had penetrated four feet of tungsten steel in under .34 seconds, perhaps they should up their rates considering the leasing of them.

    Ryker congratulated Jacobs, telling him that he had expected nothing less and that they might move into the future with bigger and better plans and without corporate paper pushers. Cross interjected that they would not have had interference if Ryker had waited for a suitable donor for the Deathlok cyborg, but the annoyed Ryker shoved his hand in Cross' face and countered that Collins was not supposed to have been able to control his cyborg and that he was supposed to have been lobotomized and used for wetware storage only, like the brains in the Cyberwarriors; "Now whose fault was that, Stanley?"

    When Mainframe arrived, Ryker complimented him on the exoskeleton that granted Jacobs mobility, which led Jacobs to futilely express his rage at Mainframe maintaining servo-restraints and being able to control or swiftly deprive him of his exoskeleton.

(Deathlok II#18 - BTS) - Deathlok, Silver Sable and the Wild Pack (Battlestar, Chen, Crippler, Powell and Quentino) broke into the facility, Jacobs, Mainframe and the Cyberwarriors battled them.

(Deathlok II#18 (fb) - BTS (Deathlok II#19 (fb) - BTS)) - Clayton Burr hired cyborg mercenary Coldblood to assassinate both Deathlok and Harlan Ryker.

(Deathlok II#19 - BTS) - The mental program of John Kelly escaped from Deathlok into one of the Cyberwarriors, which he took over and renamed Siege.

(Deathlok II#19) - As Ryker was reporting that sales to the Genesis Coalition were nearly completed,  Mainframe contacted him, reporting that the situation was out of control as Siege helped turn the course of the battle. Initially annoyed at the distraction, upon learning that they had lost several Cyberwarriors in the confrontation, Ryker ordered Mainframe to pull everyone out, not wanting Deathlok or others to destroy their stock.

    To his associates David Borruso, Stanley Cross, Amanda Hu and Miles Kimble, Ryker expressed that he was the only one who had not underestimated Collins' abilities with the Deathlok cyborg. He added, "Fortunately, I have ignored your council and kept his human body close at hand...for just such a circumstance."

    Ryker subsequently informed Clayton Burr that Kelly had gained control over one of the Cyberwarriors, but Burr informed him that he was not interested in his problems but rather the outcome of their mutual business transactions. Regardless, Burr warned Ryker that if he did not set his own house in order, he would be more than happy to inform S.H.I.E.L.D. about him.

    Assuring Burr that they were clear on the matter, Ryker further told him that Michael Collins would pay for the indignities that he had caused Roxxon, and that the Deathlok cyborg would soon be back in their possession.

(Deathlok II#19 - BTS) - Burr considered that Ryker was "squiriming like a worm on a hook," and that when he was soon no longer of any use to him, he would have Ryker taken care of.

(Deathlok II#20) - In the Parisian Cyberbase, Jacobs explained to Ryker how the Kelly-controlled Cyberwarriors had prevented them from eliminating Deathlok. Although believing Kelly's accomplishment likely impossible, he considered that if it was true, it would be magnificent (and highly marketable) to be able to capture a human essence on a microchip and transfer it into another body. Rather than being concerned about the number of Cyberwarriors Kelly had taken out or worried about Kelly seeking vengeance, Ryker was more amused with the angst that the situation would give Collins.

    Ryker then checked in on his cyber-surgeons, Drs. Hu and Kimble, and he was frustrated with Kimble expressing guilty feelings over how they had obtained the brains for their Cyberwarriors. He stated that he was not aware that ethics played any sort of role in what they were doing, and he asked if Kimble would prefer to have his stay with them terminated. Kimble replied that he was just concerned that they were moving so quickly that the error margin...and Ryker cut him off, telling him that they were not moving quickly enough and that their sloth may have jeopardized the entire operation.

    As Ryker discussed how their helping Iraq reclaim Kuwait permanently, the world would... <respect them(?)>, Siege subsequently broke into Cyberbase and confronted Ryker, who calmly commented, "the prodigal son returns." Siege swiftly took out the exo-skeleton-wearing Ben Jacobs, after which Deathlok arrived alongside the cyborg Coldblood, who had allied with him after learning the truth of his history.

    Deathlok insisted he would not let Siege kill another person, while Coldblood asserted that he would be taking Ryker for bounty. Mainframe then summoned a batch of Cyberwarriors to engage the invaders, during which time Ryker set a countdown on explosives attached to the tank holding Collins' body.

    Deathlok eventually confronted Ryker, who shot Dr. Hu and informed Deathlok that Dr. Kimble was now the only remaining cybersurgeon who might return him to his human body. Ryker then advised Deathlok that he would kill Kimble and to stop him he would have to kill him (which he knew Deathlok would not do) or protect him from Siege; additionally, only Ryker knew how to stop the countdown on the explosives planted on Collins' body. Ryker further explained that the explosion would not only destroy his human body and the base, but also kill thousands of French citizens. As a result, Deathlok prepared to defend Ryker from Siege.

(Deathlok II#21) - Feeling Ryker had gone too far in killing Dr. Hu, when he was distracted by the fighting going on around them, Dr. Kimble grabbed Ryker's gun arm and attempted to force him to drop the weapon, although Ryker fired repeatedly during the struggle. Coldblood finally reached Ryker and put a gun to his head, but Ryker leapt into Ben Jacobs' energy field, and they were both teleported away to a subterranean base in Iraq (or, at least, near Kuwait).

(Deathlok II#21 - BTS) - Deathlok, Coldblood and Siege disabled the nuclear explosives, but they were forced to flee the Cyberbase to escape the explosives on Collins' body's tank, which they could not disable. As Siege could track the Cyberwarriors by their remote signals, the three cyborg warriors agreed to end their threat.

(Deathlok II#21) - Speaking Arabic, Ryker moved away rifles aimed at him and explained to Col. Sinje that they were there to get their Cyberwarriors online and that the rest of his team members were unavoidably detained.

(Deathlok II#21 - BTS) - S.H.I.E.L.D. agent N'Gami informed Fury that their satellite uplink had gotten a fix on the Cyberwariors but that someone (presumably Deathlok) had hacked into their systems and received their information.

(Deathlok II#21) - Shortly thereafter, Ryker gave Jacobs the order to "show the world the meaning of power," and the Cyberwarriors attacked the oil fields north of Kuwait. Coldblood, Deathlok, and Siege arrived soon after and destroyed the Cyberwarriors, preventing them from attacking the American military outpost in the vicinity. Col. Sinje questioned why their Cyberwarriors were being devastated, and Ryker suggested that Jacobs' strategic planning was perhaps not as competent as he had believed.

    After Deathlok's computer located the source of the Cyberwarriors' remote programming, Deathlok led Siege and Coldblood to break into the bunker. Catching Ryker as he prepared to flee, Deathlok punched and kicked him, cursing him for taking his and Siege's humanities, destroying his last chance to become human again, selling out his country and buying and selling murder indiscriminately.

    Considering that Ryker wasn't worthy of being considered human and that his death would save countless lives, Deathlok dropped his "no killing parameter" for Ryker and prepared to execute him, but Fury convinced him not to commit murder and that Ryker was just the tip of the iceberg of treason and government corruption; nonetheless, Deathlok punched Ryker in the face another time.

(Deathlok II#21 - BTS) - Ryker provide information on Clayton Burr and everyone else involved in the development of Deathlok and the Cyberwarriors.

(Deathlok II#21) - Fury brought Ryker to the Roxxon New York City office of Clayton Burr, and Ryker told Burr he should not have put out a contract on him and that Coldblood was a major contributor to the destruction of their operation. Burr told Ryker that he would personally kill him for destroying years of planning, but Fury then revealed his presence and had Burr arrested for conspiracy to commit treason against the US government. Ryker reminded Burr that he had told him that if he fell, so would everyone who ever contributed to the operation.

(Deathlok II#21 - BTS) - Presumably unknown to Ryker, the tank holding Collins' body survived, buried under the collapsed Cyberbase.

(Deathlok Annual#2 (fb) - BTS) - An agent of Ryker gave Deathlok's schematics to the Tailor Group, offering them 20 million dollars to have their agent, the Tracer, capture Deathlok; however, they led the Tailor Group to believe Deathlok was a robot.

(Deathlok Annual#2 - BTS) - Wearing Tracer armor customized to take down Deathlok, Richard Bloom incapacitated Deathlok. However, upon discovering Deathlok's true nature, Bloom let Deathlok go and had a tech team meet him back at Coney Island to repair his cyborg form. 

(Avengers Arena I#2 (fb) - BTS) - Katy Bashir (at least later AKA Apex) was obsessed with genius inventors, including Harlan Ryker, Reed Richards and Tony Stark.

(Avengers Arena#2 (fb) - BTS) - Harlan Ryker was apparently employed by S.H.I.E.L.D. as a weapons scientist. However, they required regular communications with him and monitored him closely.

(Avengers Arena I#2 (fb) - BTS) - In the future of Earth-32111, a group of rebels sought to assassinate Harlan Ryker, one of the creators of Deathloks, before he could ever invent the technology.They apparently made multiple attempts, apparently sending his Deathloks back in time, but they were unable to get the dates right, and Harlan either evaded or thwarted them, possibly with the help of S.H.I.E.L.D. Feeling well-protected, Harlan never took the threat seriously.

(Avengers Arena I#2 (fb) - BTS) - The rebels sent another Deathlok back in time for another attempt to assassinate Harlan. An error caused Deathlok to miss the target date and arrive in the relative present of Earth-616, long after Ryker had developed the Deathlok technology.

    The Deathlok arrived at the Ryker home, confronting Anna and Bryan; Harlan was either not home or was in a protected lab, etc.. Stopping home after practice and before school, Becca was in the driveway when the Deathlok detonated. Anna and Bryan were killed, while Becca was badly injured, notably losing her left arm and leg, parts of the left half of her face, among other injuries.

     Harlan discovered his injured family and brought them into his laboratory, locking himself and them in a laboratory bunker. While working on them, he cut off communications with S.H.I.E.L.D.

(Avengers Arena I#2 (fb)) - When his computer reported that Anna was deceased and that cybernetic symbiosis had failed, Harlan refused to accept failure, as this was his wife and family. However, he was pleased when it identified Becca both as having been alive and having had a successful cybernetic symbiosis. He greeted her, thanking God that she was OK, and telling her that he was sorry that she was in a bad way but that he could fix her and make her better. 

    As he worked on Becca, Harlan related how the rebels had tried to assassinate him thusly before, but that he had felt well-protected and considered them idiots, unable to get the year right with their time-traveling; and he had never imagined that they would attack his home.

    Speaking aloud as he worked, Harlan noted that he had never worked with living tissue before and that it was a revelation. "In the past, the cybernetic brain has done the lion's share of the work, but your brain is alive and mostly intact. You'll have all the practical benefits of the Deathlok, but...you'll still be you, Rebecca. When we're through with you, sweetheart, the possibilities are..."

    He was interrupted by the arrival of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Although he thought to dismiss them, they accessed the laboratory and held him at gunpoint, with their commander noting that they had a warrant to search the premises and explaining that they were there in response to his having severed communications and locked himself in a bunker. The commander further informed him that they would be seizing any unauthorized or illegal science experiments. Placing Harlan in restraints, they approached Becca, ignoring his shouts not to touch her as she was all that he had left, and they realized that she was his daughter.

(Avengers Arena I#2 (fb) - BTS) - Harlan was presumably imprisoned by S.H.I.E.L.D.

(Avengers Arena I#2 (fb) - BTS) - When Becca revived, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Dr. Kuhlman told her that her father was safe but that he had "been through a lot and can't really help us with you." Kuhlmann additionally noted that while he was a cybernetics expert, her father's work was next level, and that he had been studying her for weeks and that he still had no idea what Harlan had done to her. All of the hardware, software and programming was all advanced, experimental work that her father had not shared with anyone.

(Avengers Undercover#6 - BTS) - Making friends with other superhumans, Becca (now known as Deathlocket) concluded that fer father had been "full of crap" about a lot of things, voice that learning was great but that friends were everything, goofing off could be awesome and that life was for living.

Comments: Created by Dwayne McDuffie, Gregory Wright, Jackson Guice and Scott Williams.

    Gregory Wright provided the full names for David Borruso, Joseph Fox, Amanda Hu and Miles Kimble to me in a personal communication. See the discussion in the Stanley Cross profile.

    During Deathlok II#9, Nightmare caused an illusion of Tracy Collins turning into Harlan Ryker, but it was not an actual appearance of Ryker.

    Ryker is shown in a flashback in Deathlok II#13-14 (involving his shooting of Michael Collins and Deathlok's creation), but it does not seem to be new information
    Ryker is mentioned in Deathlok II#26, but it only references what was stated in Deathlok II#25.
    He is also mentioned in Deathlok II#29, but only in reference to the events of #17-21, with nothing new.
    Beyond!#3 shows a flashback of Michael being shot/betrayed by Harlan Ryker, with nothing new.
    War of Realms: Journey into Mystery#1 has Becca interacting LMD, including an father figure who was a dark-skinned man, nothing like Harlan. The man behind her seeming father looks more like Harlan, but I imagine it was meant to be Tony Stark. Becca was just using a bunch of LMDs that she salvaged from S.H.I.E.L.D. and that she liked to pretend they were her family. Dum-Dum Dugan and Natasha Romanoff LMDs acted as her uncle and aunt, respectively. The LMD who was acting as her father could have represented an actual foster father, or she just may have been mad at her dad and wanted to pretend that someone else was her dad.

    As Becca Ryker was at least 14-years-old in Avengers Arena (2013), and with 4-5 years of real time roughly corresponding to 1 year of Marvel Time, that would mean she had to have been born long before not just the Deathlok (1990) series in which Harlan first appeared. She would have been before the Marvel Two-In-One#53-54 (1979) appearances in which his fully robotic Deathlok creation first appeared (even that would have only been 6-8-years Marvel Time before Avengers Arena#2).

    Harlan Ryker previously had a sub-profile under Cybertek profile, originally posted 01/31/2008.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Harlan Ryker should be distinguished from:

• HARLAN RYKER of Earth-7484 - see HELLINGER; his alternate reality counterpart--Astonishing Tales#25
• SIMON RYKER of Earth-616 - his presumed brother--Super-Villain Team-Up I#4
• SIMON RYKER of Earth-7484 - aka the SAVIOR MACHINE--Astonishing Tales I#25
  
• JOHN RYKER - US general who led a hunt for the Hulk--Incredible Hulk III#14
• LUCY RYKER - wife of the general, mutated by gamma radiation into hideous form-- Incredible Hulk III#18, 20
• SALLY RIKER - a hostage negotiator who got caught up in a plot against the Hulk--Incredible Hulk III#40
• RYKER's ISLAND - a prison in Manhattan, based on the real world version (Riker's Island)--Amazing Spider-Man I#4
• other "Harlan" or "Ryker" characters, groups, items, events, races or places...
  

(Avengers Arena#2 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Harlan Ryker married Ann, and they had a daughter, Rebecca (aka "Becca"), and eventually a son, Bryan. (Avengers Arena I#2 (fb) - BTS) - The rebels sent another Deathlok back in time for another attempt to assassinate Harlan. An error caused Deathlok to miss the target date and arrive in the relative present of Earth-616, long after Ryker had developed the Deathlok technology. The Deathlok arrived at the Ryker home, confronting Anna and Bryan; Harlan was either not home or was in a protected lab, etc.. Stopping home after practice and before school, Becca was in the driveway when the Deathlok detonated. Anna and Bryan were killed, while Becca was badly injured, notably losing her left arm and leg, parts of the left half of her face, among other injuries.      Harlan discovered his injured family and brought them into his laboratory, locking himself and them in a laboratory bunker. While working on them, he cut off communications with S.H.I.E.L.D. (Avengers Arena I#2 (fb)) - When his computer reported that Anna was deceased and that cybernetic symbiosis had failed, Harlan refused to accept failure, as this was his wife and family. However, he was pleased when it identified Becca both as having been alive and having had a successful cybernetic symbiosis. He greeted her, thanking God that she was OK, and telling her that he was sorry that she was in a bad way but that he could fix her and make her better.     As he worked on Becca, Harlan related how the rebels had tried to assassinate him thusly before, but that he had felt well-protected and considered them idiots, unable to get the year right with their time-traveling; and he had never imagined that they would attack his home. Speaking aloud as he worked, Harlan noted that he had never worked with living tissue before and that it was a revelation. "In the past, the cybernetic brain has done the lion's share of the work, but your brain is alive and mostly intact. You'll have all the practical benefits of the Deathlok, but...you'll still be you, Rebecca. When we're through with you, sweetheart, the possibilities are..."     He was interrupted by the arrival of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Although he thought to dismiss them, they accessed the laboratory and held him at gunpoint, with their commander noting that they had a warrant to search the premises and explaining that they were there in response to his having severed communications and locked himself in a bunker. The commander further informed him that they would be seizing any unauthorized or illegal science experiments. Placing Harlan in restraints, they approached Becca, ignoring his shouts not to touch her as she was all that he had left, and they realized that she was his daughter. --Avengers Arena#2

As Becca Ryker was at least 14-years-old in Avengers Arena (2013), and with 4-5 years of real time roughly corresponding to 1 year of Marvel Time, that would mean she had to have been born long before not just the Deathlok (1990) series in which Harlan first appeared. She would have been before the Marvel Two-In-One#53-54 (1979) appearances in which his fully robotic Deathlok creation first appeared (even that would have only been 6-8-years Marvel Time before Avengers Arena#2).     So, presumably Harlan was married to Anna long before he first got his hands on a Deathlok.      However, Bryan looks pretty young, like maybe 2-3 years old, so he may have been born after Ryker's last appearance in the 1990s Deathlok series.

--Avengers Arena#2

Appearances:

Marvel Two-In-One I#53-54 (July-August 1979) - Mark Gruenwald & Ralph Macchio (writers), John Byrne (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Roger Stern (editor)

All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#3 (March, 2006) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Sean McQuaid, Mark O'English, Ronald Byrd, Michael Hoskin, Eric J. Moreels, Stuart Vandal, Bill Lentz,  Richard Green, Anthony Flamini, Barry Reese, Madison Carter, Mike Fichera & Chris Biggs (writers), Michael Short (assistant editor), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editors)

Avengers Arena#2 (February, 2013) - Dennis Hallum (as Dennis Hopeless; writer), Kev Walker (artist), Jon Moisan (assistant editor), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Avengers Undercover#6 (August, 2014) - Dennis Hallum (as Dennis Hopeless; writer), Timothy Green III (penciler), Jason Gorder (inker), Jon Moisan (assistant editor), Bill Rosemann (editor)

First started: 09/05/2024
First posted: 09/05/2024
Last updated: 10/01/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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