S.T.A.R.S.
Membership: Allie Magruder, Farley Mowat, Frisco Pike, U.S. Agent, Kali Vries
Purpose: To police superhuman activity in the United States
Affiliations: Avengers, Captain America, S.H.I.E.L.D., Sub-Mariner
Enemies: Atlanteans, Blood Brothers, HYDRA, Kree, Machete, Morcan, Piledriver, Poundcakes, Power Broker, Ronan the Accuser, Senator Warkovsky
Base of Operations: S.T.A.R.S. Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
First Appearance: Maximum Security#1 (December, 2000)
History: (Maximum Security#1 (fb))- The S.T.A.R.S (Superhuman Tactical Activities Response Squad) were set up by Dr. Valerie Cooper of the Commission on Superhuman Activities to oversee all aspects of super-powered crime and imprisonment, and selected the U.S. Agent to serve as the organization's marshal.
(Maximum Security#1)- While arresting the criminal Piledriver, the U.S. Agent discovered one of the extraterrestrial Blood Brothers; he began to search for the second Blood Brother, only to learn that extraterrestrials had been appearing across the globe. Dr. Cooper directed the U.S. Agent to join the Avengers in confronting the menace, which proved to be orchestrated by the Intergalactic Council, deporting their criminals to Earth.
(Maximum Security#2)- The U.S. Agent sent his agents to communicate with the extraterrestrial
convicts to request their aid in an assault upon Ronan the Accuser, the Earth's "warden." The Agent also discovered that the Kree had been manipulating the Intergalactic Council.
(Maximum Security#3)- With the assembled might of Earth's heroes and the convicts, the U.S. Agent was able to repel Ronan the Accuser and his Kree forces. Afterward, Captain America offered to shake hands with the Agent, but he refused him, claiming that he stuck up for the little people. When Farley Mowat was subsequently derisive towards the Avengers, however, the U.S. Agent shut him up.
(U.S. Agent II#1 (fb))- Senator Warkovsky forced the Commission to accept Kali Vries as the co-leader of S.T.A.R.S.
(U.S. Agent II#1)- The U.S. Agent went on a mission to Italy to investigate Machete selling apparent extraterrestrial mind-control devices to HYDRA, but as he escaped the HYDRA base, Vries accidentally shot Machete dead while laying down cover fire. After learning that Poundcakes was selling some more of the devices to the Atlanteans, the U.S. Agent led his team to Atlantis.
(U.S. Agent II#2)- The U.S. Agent succeeded in capturing several of the devices before the Atlantean Morcan could claim them with the aid of the Sub-Mariner, but Poundcakes escaped. After learning that Vries had attempted to place one of the devices on him, the U.S. Agent had Mowat build him a device to render him immune to its control, so that when Vries tried to plant one on him again, he was able to use his slight connection to the mother creature to locate it, leading him to the Power Broker. Believing the U.S. Agent to have gone rogue, Captain America joined Vries in pursuing him.
(U.S. Agent II#3)- The U.S. Agent pretended to be under the Power Broker's thrall, but was able to determine the Power Broker's connection to Warkovsky, and set him free of the creature's control. The U.S. Agent then confronted the Power Broker, and discovered that he was wearing the mother creature on his back. The Agent tore the creature loose, just as S.H.I.E.L.D. came to claim it. Believing that the creature wasn't an extraterrestrial at all, but a genetically-engineered creature designed by S.H.I.E.L.D. to control the remaining extraterrestrials left on Earth, the U.S. Agent destroyed the creature. Kali Vries was revealed to have been on an undercover mission for S.H.I.E.L.D. all along to learn who was controlling the mother, and she was released from her duties with S.T.A.R.S., leaving the U.S. Agent to set off on another adventure.
Comments: Created by Kurt Busiek, Jerry Ordway, Al Vey, Will Blyberg, Paul Ryan and Chris Ivy.
by
CLARIFICATIONS: Frisco Pike is the resident mechanical genius of S.T.A.R.S., originally stationed at Groom Lake. He designed the Black Mariah aircraft for the U.S. Agent. Pike had a daughter, but was reluctant to introduce her to the U.S. Agent because he had been so irresponsible in his use of the Black Mariah.
--U.S. Agent II#1 Images taken from: Last updated:
10/04/04
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
S.T.A.R.S. should not be confused with:
Maximum Security#1, page 10, panel 1-2
U.S. Agent II#1, page 21, panel 3
Maximum Security#2 (December, 2000) - Kurt Busiek (writer), Jerry Ordway (pencils), Will Blyberg, Paul Ryan & Walden Wong (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Maximum Security#3 (January, 2001) - Kurt Busiek (writer), Jerry Ordway (pencils), Will Blyberg, Paul Ryan & Mark McKenna (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
U.S. Agent II#1-3 (August-October, 2001) - Jerry Ordway (writer/pencils), Karl Kesel (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
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