PHILIP NELSON VOGT

Real Name: Philip Nelson Vogt

Identity/Class: Human mutate

Occupation: Government official

Group Membership: National Security Agency (NSA), U.S. National Security Council;
    formerly First Eternity Battalion

Affiliations: Henry Peter Gyrich, Iron Patriot (Toni Ho), Knights of Wundagore, Emmett Proudhawk, Troubleshooters (Codename: Spitfire/Kathy Ling, Indigo/Dionne McQuaid, Network/Terry Jessup, Simon Rodstvow, James Tensen), Ultimates (Black Panther/T'Challa, Blue Marvel/Adam Brashear, Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers, Miss America Chavez/America Chavez, Spectrum/Monica Rambeau)

Enemies: Chthon, the First Firmament, Hydra

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "the Man in the Shadows"

Base of Operations: Washington D.C., USA

First Appearance: The Ultimates III#8 (August, 2016)

Powers/Abilities: Philip Nelson Vogt is a powerful psychic who can tap into an energy source called the Psi-Force. By linking his psychic powers with other psychics, he can conjure up the Psi-Hawk, a powerful psychic being that is guided by the consciousness of Emmett Proudhawk.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'10")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 165 lbs.)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: White, formerly brown

History:
(Ultimates 2 II#5 (fb)) - As a teenager, Philip Nelson Vogt was restless and "uncool." As he was flunking out of school, his parents sent him to military school. Suffering from depression, Vogt volunteered for a test to determine psychic ability. The results were unusual and the U.S. Army assigned him to an experimental unit called the First Eternity Battalion. Vogt soon made friends with James Tensen and began to feel he belonged there. The First Eternity Battalion were eventually sent on a "routine" deployment to Transia.

(Ultimates 2 II#6 (fb)) - Emmett Proudhawk led the First Eternity Battalion to Mount Wundagore, where they found themselves in a battle between the Knights of Wundagore and the demon Chthon. Chthon slew most of the First Eternity Battalion but while Emmett died, he became one with a power that became known as the Psi-Force and into which Tensen and Vogt could tap for vast psychic power.

(Ultimates 2 II#5 (fb)) - Following the incident, Vogt revived in the hospital, his hair having turned white. Only Vogt and Tensen survived; neither of them told the Army what had happened to Emmett Proudhawk. Vogt was discharged from the U.S. Army but joined the National Security Agency (NSA). Vogt was eventually placed in charge of the Troubleshooters, a team designed to monitor superhumans.

(Ultimates 2 II#6 (fb)) - Simon Rodstvow was assigned to the Troubleshooters. Unknown to Vogt, Rodstvow had been planted there by the cosmic being the First Firmament as part of a scheme to remake the Multiverse to its own liking.

(Ultimates 2 II#3 (fb)) - Vogt went to meet with Jim Tensen and interrupted him as he was training his Justice Warriors to wield the Psi-Force. Moving to Tensen's trailer, Vogt explained that he was forming a monitoring and reconnaissance team to keep tabs on alpha-level special response groups without their knowledge. Tensen was uninterested in joining Vogt's team but Vogt told him about Simon Rodstvow and expressed his terror at what Rodstvow was capable of. He noted that there were others in the NSA who wanted more agents like Rodstvow and might go ahead without him. Tensen eventually agreed to lead the Troubleshooters.

(Ultimates 2 II#5 (fb)) - Vogt was happy to be working with Tensen again but the U.S. government underwent a political shift. After a chaotic transition, Vogt's superiors were removed from their offices and the reports he was writing were sent back unread. Vogt asked for guidance but was told there were other priorities, leaving him to make his own decisions.

(The Ultimates III#8 (fb)) - When Captain Marvel first began forming the Ultimates super hero team, Vogt participated in a top-secret meeting of the U.S. National Security Council, where other council members expressed their concerns about whether the Ultimates' interests would coincide with theirs. Vogt was told the NSA would be responsible for monitoring them and Vogt promised his Troubleshooters were already hard at work.

(The Ultimates III#8) - When Captain Marvel and Iron Man began quarreling with each other, Vogt reported on the incidents to the National Security Council. When the Council was surprised at how in-depth Vogt's reports were, he informed them his Troubleshooters "have their ways."

(The Ultimates III#9/recap) - Vogt filed a private audio log in which he noted that the recent death of War Machine (James Rhodes) at the hands of Thanos paired with the precognitive powers of Ulysses had created division in the superhuman community. Vogt wondered how these tensions were affecting the Ultimates.

(The Ultimates III#9) - Vogt filed a private audio log about the Infinaut, a cosmic being who had repeatedly threatened the Earth and whose next appearance had been foretold by Ulysses. Vogt noted this would be the first real test of the Ultimates since Thanos killed War Machine. When the Ultimates proved the Infinaut was not malevolent but had been accidentally imperiling the Earth due to the difficulties of interdimensional travel, they resolved the matter non-violently. Network of the Troubleshooters observed the event and reported to Vogt, telling him the team had regained their confidence.

(The Ultimates III#10/recap) - Vogt filed another private audio file about the resolution of the Infinaut affair and noted the Ultimates were presently confining Thanos and the Anti-Man.

(The Ultimates III#10) - Alongside Kathy Ling of the Troubleshooters, Vogt filed another private audio log concerning the Ultimates and their confrontation with Alison Green, whom Ulysses had claimed was carrying something destructive in a briefcase but the case proved to be empty.

(The Ultimates III#12/recap) - In another private audio file, Vogt noted Thanos had recently escaped the Ultimates' confinement and was recaptured but the Anti-Man had also escaped and remained at large. Vogt noted the Ultimates team appeared to be breaking apart and wondered who would take their place.

(The Ultimates III#12) - Vogt assembled the Troubleshooters just as he took a phone call from the U.S. President informing him the Ultimates had disbanded. The Troubleshooters believed their actions had contributed to the team's dissolution which Vogt conceded was true. Vogt informed the Troubleshooters that Sunspot would be taking on "the classic 'super-spy' arrangement" but the Troubleshooters would be the ones working in the shadows to take the Ultimates' place.

(Ultimates 2 II#2) - Vogt attended a briefing held by Captain Marvel in which she delivered updates on recent extraterrestrial matters her Alpha Flight program had observed. Henry Peter Gyrich and the Black Panther were also present and Vogt was clearly aware that the Ultimates had reassembled.

(Ultimates 2 II#3) - Vogt assembled the Troubleshooters in his office and told them about his suspicions that the Ultimates were active again and that whatever they were involved in was certain to be a cosmic-level threat. Vogt sent the Troubleshooters into the field to determine what the Ultimates were up to.

(Ultimates 2 II#5) - While the Troubleshooters were in the field, Vogt contemplated the Ultimates and wondered why the job of deciding what happened to them had fallen to him. He was unaware he was being observed by the cosmic entity the First Firmament, who was behind the problems the Ultimates had been dealing with. Suddenly, Vogt was visited by Network, who showed him a mental image of Galactus, who had reverted to his identity as the devourer of worlds. Network wondered what they should do but Vogt didn't know how to answer him.

(Ultimates 2 II#6 - BTS) - Vogt finally told Network to instruct Tensen to wield the Psi-Force against Rodstvow, whose true nature had finally been revealed. Tensen, Network and Codename: Spitfire used the Psi-Force to summon the Psi-Hawk, who destroyed Rodstvow.

(U.S. Avengers I#8 (fb) - BTS) - When Galactus recruited the Psi-Hawk to confront the First Firmament, it resulted in all of the Troubleshooters losing their powers, including Vogt.

(U.S. Avengers I#7) - As Hydra conquered the United States, Vogt and his Troubleshooters were incarcerated in a prison for superhumans called the Schoolhouse.

(U.S. Avengers I#8) - In the Schoolhouse's exercise yard, Vogt met with his fellow prisoner Toni Ho, who was making a plan to escape Hydra. Vogt noted that he couldn't be much help because he lacked his psychic powers but Toni simply took his glasses, using one of the temples as a makeshift screwdriver for her escape plan.

Comments: Created by Al Ewing and Kenneth Rocafort.

    Vogt and all of the Troubleshooters are 616 counterparts to familiar New Universe (Earth-148611) characters with slight name changes. Note that his "man in the shadows" moniker is a subtle reference to his counterpart's alias, Overshadow.

    In Ultimates 2 II#2, Captain Marvel remarked of Vogt "What was his name? Voight, or..." This was an in-joke referencing the many times Philip Nolan Voigt's name was misspelled over the years.

    It's not spelled out definitively in Ultimates 2 II#6 but since the incident at Mount Wundagore with the Knights of Wundagore and Chthon took place in "the eighties" (re: more than 30 years prior), it's possible the First Eternity Battalion were present on the night Wanda and Pietro were born.

    This profile was completed 09/16/2025 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.

Profile by Prime Eternal.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Philip Nelson Vogt is the Earth-616 counterpart of:

...but he'd be annoyed if you confused him with:

images: (without ads)
The Ultimates III#8, page 7, panel 4 (main)
The Ultimates III#9, page 6, panel 4 (face)

Appearances:
The Ultimates III#8 (August, 2016) - Al Ewing (writer), Kenneth Rocafort (artist), Wil Moss (editor)
The Ultimates III#9-10 (September-October, 2016) - Al Ewing (writer), Kenneth Rocafort (artist), Djibail Morissette (artist), Wil Moss (editor)
The Ultimates III#12 (December, 2016) - Al Ewing (writer), Christian Ward (artist), Alanna Smith (editor)
Ultimates 2 II#2-3 (February-March, 2017) - Al Ewing (writer), Travel Foreman (artist), Alanna Smith (editor)
Ultimates 2 II#5-6 (May-June, 2017) - Al Ewing (writer), Travel Foreman (artist), Alanna Smith (editor)
U.S. Avengers I#7-8 (August-September, 2017) - Al Ewing (writer), Paco Medina (pencils), Juan Vlasco (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)

First posted: 09/07/2026
Last updated: 09/16/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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