History:(Amazing Adventures II#15 (fb) - BTS) - Linda Donaldson was Number Nine, an agent of the Secret Empire.
LINDA DONALDSON
Real Name: Linda Donaldson
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: Scientist, subversive agent
Group Membership: Brand Corporation, Secret Empire (Griffin, Carl Maddicks, Number 1, Number 13, Number 16, Quasimodo)
Affiliations: Captain Buzz Baxter, Mr. Grant, Iron Man (Tony Stark), Patsy Walker
Enemies: The Beast (Hank McCoy), the
Blob (Fred Dukes), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Lorna Dane, Falcon
(Sam Wilson), Havok (Alex Summers), Jack O'Diamonds
(Jack Winters), Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), Mesmero (Vincent),
Marianne Rodgers, S.H.I.E.L.D. (Gabe Jones, others), Unus the
Untouchable (Angelo Unuscione), Wolverine (Logan/James Howlett), X-Men
(Angel/Warren Worthington III, Cyclops/Scott Summers, Iceman/Bobby
Drake, Marvel Girl/Jean Grey, Professor X/Charles Xavier)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Agent Nine, Number Nine
Base of Operations: Brand Corporation facility, Long Island, New York, USA
First Appearance: Amazing Adventures II#11 (March, 1972)
Powers/Abilities: Linda had access to sophisticated technology belonging to the Secret Empire, including a mobile video communication device which she used to report to her superiors. Linda used both a normal handgun and a powerful laser rifle at various times.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'8")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 126 lbs.)
Eyes: Green
Hair: Blonde
History:
(Amazing Adventures II#15 (fb) - BTS) - Linda Donaldson was Number Nine, an agent of the Secret Empire.
(Amazing Adventures II#12 (fb)) - Linda was assigned to infiltrate the Brand Corporation and seduce scientist Hank McCoy as a means of obtaining valuable research for her superiors.
(Amazing Adventures II#11 (fb)) - The Brand Corporation's head Mr. Grant introduced Linda to the newly-hired Hank McCoy, whom she would be assisting. Carl Maddicks also took notice of Hank's arrival and became incensed at the perceived "administrative bungling" until Mr. Grant clarified that Hank would be working on his own project, not assisting Maddicks. After a full day of working with Hank, Linda asked him out to dinner. After dinner, they took a moonlight drive on Long Island Sound, ran together across the beach and finally kissed. More than a week later, Hank overheard Maddicks speaking on the phone to Linda (although Hank only heard the name "Agent Nine"). Paranoid, Maddicks was convinced that Hank was on to their activities at Brand and arranged for a co-conspirator guard named Bennie to break into the Genetic Research Subdivision vault. Hank intervened as the Beast, having newly mutated into a more powerful (and furry) form. Bennie was ultimately shot to death by Brand security.
(Amazing Adventures II#11) - After the Beast fought Maddicks but left him alive, Linda entered the scene. Maddicks protested to her that his failure was the fault of the Beast but Linda answered "that's hardly an excuse for incompetence --- and incompetence deserves only one reward." She shot him and declared she would take over the operation.
(Amazing Adventures II#12) - Linda intruded on a conversation between Hank and Tony Stark on the pretext that she wanted to invite Hank to lunch. Sizing up Stark, Linda mused that it would be a coup to her superiors if she could seduce him. However, Tony's psychic companion Marianne Rodgers was also present and after Linda left the room, she told Tony and Hank she sensed something "wrong" about Linda. Tony dismissed Marianne's concerns as jealousy. Hank was angered by Marianne's accusations and left to catch up with her. Linda noticed Hank wasn't sweating but didn't realize it was because he was wearing a lifelike mask to conceal his new bestial features. Hank was going to kiss Linda but stopped when he realized she would be able to tell his "face" was rubber. Later, the Beast fought Iron Man at Brand over a misunderstanding. When Brand security forces arrived, Linda told them not to threaten Iron Man. Linda's actions convinced Tony that Marianne was wrong about her. The Beast fought his way out of Brand, seeming to Linda and Iron Man as though he were delusional (unknown to either, Mastermind had conjured an illusion in which the Beast thought he had killed Iron Man).
(Amazing Adventures II#13) - Mr. Grant introduced Linda to Brand's Air Force liaison Captain "Buzz" Baxter and his wife Patsy Walker. When Grant suggested that the Beast might have killed Hank, Linda reacted with genuine shock, as Hank was the reason for her infiltration of Brand.
(Amazing Adventures II#14 (fb) - BTS) - Linda submitted a report about the Beast to the Secret Empire. Quasimodo read the report and became convinced the Beast's physiology could aid him in his quest to become more human.
(Amazing Adventures II#14) - Linda came by Hank's apartment to check on him. Hank (again wearing a mask) claimed he had been suffering from a cold. Linda offered to massage medication on his stomach but Hank again withdrew from her. Linda returned to the Brand facility and was surprised to find Hank was already there, no longer suffering from his supposed "cold." Captain Baxter demanded to know where Hank had been and Hank claimed he'd been with Linda. Linda refused to go along with Hank's deception and told Baxter it wasn't true. Baxter was about to arrest Hank but was distracted by a sighting of Quasimodo at Brand, who was mistaken for the Beast. Linda told Hank she couldn't lie to an Air Force officer because she loves her country (although she didn't meant America) but she was certain Hank had a good reason for being evasive.
(Amazing Adventures II#15) - Linda held her regularly-scheduled meeting with Number One of the Secret Empire. She registered a complaint against whoever had sent Mastermind and Quasimodo to interfere with her operations because they had drawn unwanted attention to Brand. Number One explained that he himself had sent Mastermind to capture the Beast but Quasimodo had come on an unauthorized mission. Number One had his own questions for Linda, wondering why she sabotaged Hank's attempted alibi to Captain Baxter. Linda replied that she wanted to solidify her standing as a good American. She refused to hurt McCoy and told Number One not to "badger" her. Number One retorted that death is the reward for incompetence in the Secret Empire. As Linda started to exclaim that if he would stop intefering by sending other agents but was interrupted when another Secret Empire agent, the Griffin, intruded into her room. The Griffin flew in, wanting to discuss their operation against the Beast. Linda became livid, berating the Griffin for flying into her room in broad daylight. As the Griffin went into a monologue about his origins, Linda strolled out of the room, telling Griffin to complain to Number One about his problems because she didn't care. Number One was still on the line and was upset that Linda left the room without finishing their call. Entering the adjacent room, Linda checked a security camera monitoring Captain Baxter's office, where he was meeting with Hank McCoy.
(Captain America I#173 (fb) - BTS) - Linda finally delivered the Beast over to the Secret Empire as a prisoner. The Secret Empire was seeking mutants to power a vehicle they intended to use to stage an attack on Washington D.C. To continue this scheme, Linda was ordered to deliver to the Secret Empire the Electron-Gyro designed by the Brand Corporation.
(Captain America I#173) - Leaving the Brand Corporation facility, Linda took a drive in her car during which she contacted Number One to tell him she hadn't yet been able to steal the Electron-Gyro. She told Number One that Cyclops and the Banshee had both been sighted but the Secret Empire was already aware of this and Number One emphasized the need for the Electron-Gyro. Linda drove back to her apartment but as she exited her car, she was attacked by Cyclops of the X-Men. Two seeming vagrants came to Linda's "rescue" but the two men were actually Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson wearing disguises, having staged the attack with Cyclops to determine if Linda was connected to the Secret Empire. Linda threw Cyclops herself with a judo toss but the ruse fooled Linda. Cyclops fled and Steve and Sam gave Linda false names and notice of where to find them, letting her know they were looking for work. Linda told the Secret Empire and they sent Number Thirteen to recruit the two men for the theft of the Electron-Gyro.
(Captain America I#174) - The disguised Steve and Sam were brought to the Secret Empire's base and shown to a room but the two men suspected a trap and donned their super hero costumes as they escaped the room through an air duct, narrowly missing the activation of a laser beam grid. Linda entered the room with Number 16 and Number 68 to see if the men were dead and was shocked to find the room empty. Linda and the others sounded the alarm but by the time they caught up to the heroes, they had set all the captured mutants free from the Secret Empire's machines. However, Number 68 defeated all of the superhumans with a blast from the Atomic Annihilator weapon.
(X-Men Legends II#2) - Two of the captured mutants, Mesmero and the Beast, awoke and escaped during the confusion caused by the heroes' attack. Number One ordered Number Nine to retrieve them. Linda tracked them to the Brand Corporation plant on Long Island, where Mesmero was attempting to steal the working model of the Electron-Gyro, having learned the one Captain America stole was just a prototype. Wolverine and Jack O'Diamonds had also intruded on behalf of Canada's Department H. The Beast had been under Mesmero's control but the sight of Linda restored his memories. Seeing the Electron-Gyro, Linda decided to steal it on behalf of the Secret Empire, fearing that the four mutants were too powerful for her to best. She attempted to flee with the device on a forklift but Jack O'Diamonds caught the forklift and smashed it. Jack decided to simply murder Linda to clear up loose ends but the Beast jumped in the way to shield her. As he did so, Linda recognized the Beast's voice as that of Hank McCoy. Dazed from Jack's blow, Hank insisted to Linda that he loved her but Linda retorted she loved the Electron-Gyro and made another attempt to take it from Jack. Jack easily swatted her aside and again tried to kill her but this time, Wolverine stabbed him in the back. Jack then either exploded or teleported to safety. Wolverine took Mesmero prisoner and advised Linda to get away before the security guards arrived. Linda looked at the stunned Beast and told him he was a fool for ever loving her but also that she might be a fool for not loving him back. Linda then left the Brand Corporation.
(Captain America I#175 - BTS) - Number 68 turned out to be the undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Gabe Jones who set the heroes free in time for them to halt the Secret Empire's staged attack on Washington D.C. Number One finally committed suicide.
Comments: Created by Gerry Conway, Tom Sutton and Syd Shores.
Linda's codename was simply "Agent Nine" in her first appearance. It wasn't until Amazing Adventures II#15 that we learned she was an agent of the Secret Empire. She continued to refer to herself as Agent Nine but Number One would refer to her as Number Nine.
The question is, then, who did Gerry Conway intend Linda to be working for?
In Amazing Adventures II#14, Linda stated she loved her country but thought to herself that she didn't mean America. This suggests she wasn't an American citizen, which was an added incentive for why she had to behave as a good citizen.
The Number One whom Linda served was heavily implied to be Richard M. Nixon in Captain America I#175. Of course, that doesn't fit the sliding timeline.
Can I just say I adore the scene in Amazing Adventures II#15 where Linda contacts Number One? Scenes of subordinates reporting to their superiors are usually pretty blasé but Linda's sarcastic remarks to Number One and the Griffin's entrance treated as yet another irritation are extremely amusing.
The Beast's capture is briefly shown in flashback in Captain America I#174 but neither Linda nor any other Secret Empire agents appear on panel.
Although Captain America I#175 started immediately where the previous issue ended, Linda disappeared from the scene. It took nearly 50 years to learn what became of her! The events of X-Men Legends II#2 happen more-or-less simultaneously with Captain America I#175.
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
As one of many Number Nines of the Secret Empire, Linda Donaldson should not be confused with:
images: (without ads)
Amazing Adventures II#11, page 10, panel 4 (main)
Amazing Adventures II#15, page 11, panel 8 (head)
Appearances:
Amazing Adventures II#11 (March, 1972) - Gerry Conway (writer), Tom Sutton (pencils), Syd Shores (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Amazing Adventures II#12 (May, 1972) - Steve Englehart (writer), Tom Sutton (pencils), Mike Ploog (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Amazing Adventures II#13 (July, 1972) - Steve Englehart (writer), Tom Sutton (pencils), Frank Giacoia (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Amazing Adventures II#14 (September, 1972) - Steve Englehart (writer),
Tom Sutton (pencils), Jim Mooney (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Amazing Adventures II#15 (November, 1972) - Steve Englehart (writer),
Tom Sutton (pencils), Frank Giacoia (inks), John Tartaglione (inks),
Roy Thomas (editor)
Captain America I#173-175 (May-July, 1974) - Steve Englehart (writer),
Sal Buscema (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
X-Men Legends II#2 (November, 2022) - Roy Thomas (writer), Dave Wachter (artist), Mark Basso (editor)
First posted: 12/20/2022
Last updated:
12/20/2022
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 http://www.g-mart.com/ for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!