DALTON

Real Name: Alec Dalton

Identity/Class: Human mutate

Occupation: Adventurer, formerly an object of worship, and before that, a pawn of the British Government

Affiliations: Super Soldiers (Joseph Hauer, Gog (Owen Llewelyn), Dragonfly (Andre LeRoux), Guvnor, Xantia; formerly Turner (Dreadnaught, deceased), Wright (Victory, deceased), Black (Challenger, deceased), The Buddhist Monks, Sarah Wilde, U.S. Agent, Captain America, Mercy Corporation, Mr. Stasser, SHIELD

Enemies: Empire Chemical Enterprises (ECE), Childs (deceased), Sir Marcus Grantby-Fox, Hydra, Warlord (Huang Zhu), Mandarin, Shinobi Shaw

Known Relatives: None named

Aliases: Dauntless, "Long Haired Fag" and "Hippy" (U.S. Agents names for him when he thought he wasn't around: his response is depicted below)

Base of Operations: Formerly the Thai/Cambodian border, and before that various ECE safe houses in the U.K.; Mercy Science Central, Alaska

First Appearance: Super Soldiers#3 (April, 1993)

Powers/Abilities: Dalton has undergone physical enhancements to make him a super soldier. He has enhanced human strength (class 10) and a remarkable endurance. His appendix has been replaced with a genetically engineered drug-producing organ. When Dalton is exited the organ produces "Red", an amphetamine to improve his performance in combat. It can also produce "White" to bring him down and "Blue" to keep him calm and relaxed once the amphetamine high is over. He also heals faster than most humans. He has studied the martial arts, and this combined with his superhuman physique makes him a very dangerous fighter.

Dalton has a number of mental abilities developed during his time in Thailand with the monks. He can use the "White" mode to meditate to much deeper levels than the other monks, reaching a state he described as "blissful emptiness". He has experimented with astral projection and limited telepathy, enabling him to link his enhanced nervous system with that of another person. Since then he has also used shown the ability to send his astral form into computers. I imagine he could develop these abilities further with time, practice, and if Marvel UK ever bothered to revive the Super Soldiers comics... Yeah right.

Equipment: Chobham plate body armour, head mounted targeting system, twin .44 automags (Teflon dum dums), adamantium combat knife, kevlar helmet, fire proof fatigues, shock boots, royal Enfield X-4 retaliator (with depleted uranium armour piercing rounds, grenade launcher and laser range-finder). However Dalton is now very pacifistic and prefers to use his martial arts skills in combat, so he donated his weapons to Hauer.

Limitations: Previously Dalton had undergone brain operations, hypnosis and been subjected to ultra low frequency sound to make him controllable and induce amnesia, however the treatments required regular application so this no longer applies.

History: (Super Soldiers#1-2 (fb))- Dalton had been subjected to a super soldier program similar to the one Nuke had been through, developed by Doctor Khan and four others: Doctors Stratton, McDonald, Ogilvey and Brown. Dr Khan had then given him a genetically altered organ to control his moods and increase his fighting ability by producing the same drugs that the pill-popping Nuke had used. Apparently there had been six British Super Soldiers: Hauer, Childs, Dalton, Turner, Wright, Black-- run by the cabinet and answering only to the prime minister.

Around the time Nuke had died after having fought Daredevil and Captain America, the British super soldier program was cancelled and Hauer was placed in suspended animation. However this was not before their last mission, which had been on the Thai/Cambodian border. Childs, had become addicted to the "Reds" and developed increasingly violent tendencies. Childs had lost control again, attacking his companions, but Dalton limped away. Hauer had returned badly injured and the others where all (presumed) dead.

Dr Khan's break through in genetically engineered organs was quashed by Whitehall for reasons of "National Security" and the other scientists on the program were killed when they tried to go public with them.

(Super Soldiers#3-5)- Dalton had been taken in by monks in a Buddhist community on the Thai/Cambodia border. He had long since learnt to control his "Red" and "White" moods through the teachings of Buddhist monks. He had developed limited telepathic abilities such as astral projection eventually becoming worshipped by the monks. He was not happy when Hauer turned up looking for him, assuming he had come to take him for reconditioning.

Meanwhile Sir Marcus had contacted Henry Peter Gyrich who in turn had sent the U.S. Agent to capture Hauer, convincing him that the British Super Soldier was a "commie traitor". Sir Marcus had also reactivated his corporate commando unit of super soldier test subjects, a group of Welsh guardsmen and put them in the care of Childs. U.S. Agent attacked Hauer believing him to be a traitor. Sarah tried to convince Dalton to help Hauer, but he wouldn't break his oath of non-violence.

Suddenly the Welsh Squadies attacked. U.S. Agent realized his mistake and finally sided with Hauer. Meanwhile, Dalton had dissapeared, and they assumed he had deserted him, but he returned with his old weapons. Giving them over to Hauer to use, he joined them in fighting the Squadies. Before long there was only one squadie left, named Gog. Rather than kill Gog, Dalton destroyed the implant on the side of his neck, theorising that it was a control unit. He was correct. Using his telepathy, Dalton broke Gog's conditioning. Gog explained his real name was Owen Llewelyn, and that he had been a cook in the Welsh Guards during the Falklands war before his transformation. Dalton decided to join forces with Hauer, Gog, U.S. Agent, Dalton and Sarah and the others in a raid on E.C.E Headquarters.

They took a Quinjet ride to an old Super Soldier safe house in order to hack into the computers.When Sarah's hacking skills failed her, she convinced Dalton to link telepathically with the E.C.E databanks, inspired by the film "Scanners". While he was booted out by the defence programs, he learnt that the E.C.E. headquarters was protected by hi-tech A.I.M. defence systems. U.S. Agent contacted "another super soldier" friend of his, setting up for the inevitable crossover. Hauer raided the armoury and he and his motley crew set out for Canary Wharf.

Once inside the building, Dalton, Gog and U.S. Agent took on hoards of guards and varius A.I.M defence systems while Hauer and Sarah separated from the team in order to reach the top floor. Childs ambushed them, shooting Sarah. Hauer cut Childs' hand off and tossed him through a window into the path of an oncoming train. Storming into Sir Marcus's office, believing Sarah to be dead, Hauer would have killed Sir Marcus as well, had Captain America not stepped in and calmed him out of his "Red" mood. Sir Marcus gave in and turned the defences off. Meanwhile, their battle over, Dalton and the others were gathered together with Sarah, who had been wearing bullet proof armour when Childs shot her.

(Super Soldiers#6-7)- The Super Soldiers were then recruited by SHIELD (Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate) to capture the Warlord, Huang Zhu, who was working with HYDRA, and hosting a martial arts tournament in the Savage Land. SHIELD and the Super Soldiers broke up the HYDRA operation, which involved the creations of some genetically engineered "super-poppies" (synthetic opium-derivative). Unbeknownst to them, the information they gained had been leaked by the Mandarin and Shinobi Shaw, who wished to have HYDRA's operation eliminated for their own reasons.

As a result of this adventure, the Super Soldiers gained three new members: Dragonfly, Guvnor, Xantia

(Super Soldiers#8)- The funding for the Super Soldiers was cut by the Cabinet Office, and so they were sold to the Mercy Corporation, which had their own corps of super-soldiers. The team relocated to Mercy's base in Alaska, where they were tossed in with Mercy's group of malcontents and tested for future missions.

They next faced the ultimate threat: Cancellation of their comic!

Unfortunately the Super Soldiers have not been seen since...

Well except Captain America that is.

Comments: Created by Lee Stevens and Andrew Currie, for Marvel UK.

While those of you who have read my other Super Soldiers profiles will know that I enjoyed them very much, I think Dalton was my favourite. I was intrigued by his mysterious mental skills and wanted to learn more about them. Some of these stories and others were collected in the Marvel UK publication Overkill which ran for fifty two issues before being cancelled.

Oh yeah I did think it was kinda funny that he went from "I've taken an oath of non-violence" to wading into battle chopping Squaddies heads off with Martial Arts skills taught him by a bunch of Buddhist monks!

Super-Soldiers#9 and 10 were scheduled to be part of the "Red Mist" cross-over storyline, which never came out. It involved a virus accidentally induced in government's super soldier program, set have run thru new series Death Duty, 'Roid Rage, and Bloodrush, as well as Wild Thing#9-10. Super-Soldiers#9 would also have featured the Punisher (Frank Castle).--Snood.

by Richard Green, Changeling

CLARIFICATIONS:
Challenger has no known connection to:

• Challenger, the World War II era hero, @ Daring Mystery Comics#7
• Challenger, a demon agent of Mephisto, @ Ghost Rider II#17