STRIKE FORCE ONE
Membership: Amazon, Behemoth, Demi-God, Dragon Fist, Knight Errant, She-Cat, Stinger
Purpose: To protect and serve the Master of the
World
Affiliations: Power Man (Luke Cage), Master of the
World (Eshu)
Enemies: Heroes for Hire (Ant-Man/Scott Lang, Black Knight/Dane Whitman, Hercules/Heracles, Iron Fist/Daniel Rand, Power Man/Luke Cage, She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters, Thena, White Tiger)
Base of Operations: Hydra Island in the Pacific Ocean
First Appearance: (Dragon Fist, unidentified) Heroes for Hire I#11 (June, 1998); (full group) Heroes for Hire I#12 (July, 1998)
History:
(Heroes for Hire I#12 (fb) - BTS) - Reckoning his latest scheme to rule the world would succeed without fail, the Master of the World realized he would soon need a command staff to help administrate and enforce his new world order. Therefore, the Master ordered his mind controlled pawn, Oracle CEO Jim Hammond, to obtain DNA samples from the members of Heroes for Hire. The only exception being Power Man (Luke Cage), who the Master already considered an ally. The Master cloned the heroes, but intentionally left their minds blank so he could fill them with copies of his own personality and memories. He then gave them their names: Amazon, Behemoth, Demi-God, Dragon Fist, Knight Errant, She-Cat and Stinger.
(Heroes for Hire I#11) - Dragon Fist, dressed like one of the Master's footsoldiers, joined the retrieval unit sent to extract Luke Cage and Professor Wolfgang Hessler from Symkaria. Opposed by Iron Fist, the hero was stunned to see this unknown soldier was able to anticipate his every move. Before teleporting away with Cage and Hessler, the smug Dragon Fist assured the hero he was every bit his equal...and more.
(Heroes for Hire I#12 - BTS) - The Master moved Strike Force One to Hydra Island, which he planned to use as the new base of operations during his latest bid for world domination.
(Heroes for Hire I#12) - Luke Cage was shocked when the Master introduced him to Strike Force One. Briefly explaining their creation process, the Master revealed that this was the fate that awaited all who dared oppose him: either be converted or be destroyed. As if on cue, the Hydra Island sensors picked up the approaching Heroes for Hire who had come to get Luke Cage back. After bringing their aircraft down with an EMP pulse, the Master introduced Strike Force One to H4H before moving to a secure location inside the base from which he planned to launch his scheme.
Quickly determining that Strike Force One didn't have a copy of Jim Hammond, Iron Fist ordered the former Human Torch to help out the others, claiming teamwork would be the key to defeating their enemies. However, the Master had long since been able to mind control Hammond and forced him to strike down H4H ally Thena the Eternal.
With that tactical advantage gone, the Heroes for Hire engaged their own Strike Force One counterparts at first, finding them meaner and far more ruthless than they ever could be. The heroes finally managed to gain the upperhand when Thena used her powers to deactive Hammond, freeing her up to join in. Then, She-Hulk suggested the team switched opponents, thereby creating enough breathing room for Hercules and She-Hulk to combine their might and take out Strike Force One heavyhitters such as Behemoth.
The Heroes for Hire left all the defeated Strike Force One
members behind on Hydra Island as it crashed and burned up in the
atmosophere. If any of them survived remains to be seen.
Comments: Created by John Ostrander (writer), Pascual Ferry (pencils), Jamie Mendoza (inks).
Poor Strike Force One... not only were they clones of one
of the least popular superhero teams of the era, they were also imbued
with the Master's... winning... personality. And what about those
codenames? Sheesh, you'd think a 40.000 year old man would have plenty
of time to come up with something a little more creative than She-Cat or
Demi-God. Also, where's Thena's clone? It almost looks as if the female
Strike Force One member on the top of the main panel is supposed to be her
(after all, neither She-Hulk or White Tiger have energy generating
capabilities). Did her unofficial membership status (she was merely
visiting at the time) save her from being cloned? Or does the very
nature of an Eternal, always in complete control of their entire
molecular structures, make it hard to obtain DNA?
Profile by Norvo.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Strike Force One has no known connections to:
Cloned from She-Hulk, the emerald powerhouse all but disappeared when the fight against Heroes for Hire started in earnest. This forced Jennifer Walters to face her cousin's clone Behemoth. It's very possible Amazon is the only Strike Force One member still around. That is, if she left the scene early on to sneak aboard one of the many Hydra Island escape pods to get to safety.
--Heroes for Hire I#12
The strongest of Strike Force One didn't get the chance to find out if he was more powerful than the Hulk himself and had to contend with the She-Hulk. He answered her mocking question which Hulk he was supposed to be copying by hitting her full force in the stomach, knocking the wind right out of her. Behemoth was finally brought down by She-Hulk and Hercules.
--Heroes for Hire I#12
Hercules was most displeased when he met his Strike Force One counterpart Demi-God. Slamming into him with all his might, he couldn't help but state the obvious: that he was the true son of Zeus. In the end, Demi-God was knocked out with a little assistance from She-Hulk and Thena.
--Heroes for Hire I#12
After briefly trading blows in Symkaria, Dragon Fist faced his counterpart Iron Fist in his proper costume on Hydra Island. Once more, the two proved equally skilled. Hoping to take out his copy by focussing his chi and summoning the iron fist, the clone cheerfully revealed his ability to siphon off the energy to make it work for him. In the end, Iron Fist's years of training and experience won the day.
--Heroes for Hire I#11 (Heroes For Hire I#11-12
Far more vicious and bloodthirsty than Dane Whitman, the Knight Errant wielded a flaming sword and engaged his counterpart in aerial combat using a rocket propelled glider. Black Knight was offended by Errant's unchivalrous conduct when he tried to strike Dane's flying horse Strider. In order to deal with his foe, Dane quickly flew over Knight Errant and sent his magic steed back to Avalon. Landing on Errant and his glider, the two slowly dropped to the ground where Whitman eventually was proven to be the superior knight.
--Heroes for Hire I#12
White Tiger faced her copy, a giant, feral and grey human/tiger hybrid dubbed She-Cat. Their confrontation started with a lot of posturing and snarling (as most (big) cats are wont to do) before tearing into each other. Despite her foe's superior size and ferocity, the White Tiger managed to singlehandedly best the beast off panel.
--Heroes for Hire I#12
The Master equipped Ant-Man's equally tiny clone with a mechanized flying insect to ride, outfitted with twin machine guns. Hopelessly outgunned and feeling that facing a copy of yourself was like trying to commit suicide, Scott Lang wasn't able to take his double out. In the end, a well timed gush of air, courtesy of Hercules' Olympian lungs, dismounted Stinger, who was most likely knocked out by the impact.
--Heroes for Hire I#12
images: (without ads)
Heroes for Hire I#12, p22, pan1 (main image)
Heroes for Hire I#12, p7, pan1 (introduced)
Heroes for Hire I#12, p22, pan4 (Amazon)
Heroes for Hire I#12, p27, pan4 (Behemoth)
Heroes for Hire I#12, p22, pan1 (Demi-God)
Heroes for Hire I#12, p28, pan4 (Dragon Fist)
Heroes for Hire I#12, p27, pan3 (Knight Errand)
Heroes for Hire I#12, p28, pan2 (She-Cat)
Heroes for Hire I#12, p29, pan4 (Stinger)
Other Appearances:
Heroes for Hire I#11 (June, 1998) -
John Ostrander (writer), Scott Kollins (pencils), Dan Panosian (inks),
Mark Bernardo (editor)
Heroes for Hire I#12 (July, 1998) - John Ostrander (writer), Pascual Ferry
(pencils), Jamie Mendoza (inks), Mark Bernardo (editor)
Last updated: 01/07/14.
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099
Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!