NUKE
Real Name: Frank Charles Simpson
Identity/Class: Human cyborg
Occupation: Convert government agent, assassin, and terrorist; former sergeant in the U.S. Army
Group Membership: None;
formerly Thunderbolts (Ant-Man/Eric O'Grady, Ghost, Grizzly/Max Markham, Headsman, Mr. X, Paladin)
Affiliations: American P.O.W.s
and M.I.A.s (imaginary), Avengers (Ares, Hawkeye/Bullseye, Iron Patriot/Norman Osborn), "Betsy", Generalissimo Felix Guillermo Caridad,
unidentified colonel, Doctor Mindbubble (Horace Littleton), H.A.M.M.E.R., General Lewis Haywerth (U.S. Army), Iron Nail (Ran Shen), Kingpin (Wilson Fisk), Nuke Platoon, Viper (Ophelia Sarkissian), Weapon Plus;
formerly Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff; posing as Yelena Belova), Logan (James Howlett), Sabretooth (Victor Creed), U.S. Army, U.S. Government
Enemies: Agents of Atlas (Gorilla-Man, Human
Robot, Marvel Boy/Robert Grayson, Namora, Venus, Jimmy Woo), Ant-Man (Eric O'Grady),
Asgardians, Avengers (Amadeus Cho, Stature/Cassandra Lang, USAgent/John Walker, Vision), Black
Widow (Natasha Romanoff), Luke Cage, Captain America (Steve Rogers),
Samantha Chan, Daredevil (Matt Murdock), Deadpool ("Wade Wilson"), Emilio Duarte, Falcon (Sam Wilson), Iron Fist (Daniel Rand), Paladin, Phobos (Alexander Aaron; posing as Nick Fury), Redwing, S.H.I.E.L.D., Songbird (Melissa Gold), Umbral Dynamics, Viet Cong (imaginary and for real in
the past), Weapon X (Domino/Neena Thurman, Lady Deathstrike/Yuriko Oyama, Logan/James Howlett of Earth-21923, Sabretooth/Victor Creed, Warpath/James Proudstar), Wolverine (James "Logan" Howlett), whoever his assigned targets were;
formerly Nuke Platoon
Known Relatives: Charles Simpson (father), unidentied mother
Aliases: Agent Simpson, Scourge, Weapon VII
Base of Operations: Mobile;
formerly The Raft on Ryker's Island;
formerly the Cube;
formerly mobile
Education: Extensive military training
First Appearance: (Mentioned) Daredevil I#230 (May, 1986); (seen) Daredevil I#232 (July, 1986)
Powers/Abilities: Nuke possessed enhanced strength, speed and durability due to his cybernetic parts and the chemical agents in his bloodstream. Nuke's bones and muscles were replaced with metal while his skin was bonded to several kinds of plastics to make it more durable and fire resistant; these enhancements also rendered him almost completely impervious to pain. Over the years many of Nuke's cybernetic implants were replaced with updated state-of-the-art versions. He was completely insane, a savage fighter, and good with a firearm. He took red pills (placebos, although they were originally thought to be amphetamines...and they are definitely more than placebos now) to boost his adrenaline in a fight, white (barbiturates) to bring him down and blue (sedatives) to keep him calm and relaxed. The pill system was later replaced with a remote-controlled hydraulic pump that introduced chemical control agents directly into his bloodstream. The pump system was apparently destroyed during one of the many instances he took massive physical damage as he is once again using the pill system (including red pills that enhance his physical strength and speed).
Nuke was quite mentally unstable due to the many traumatic experiences and mental manipulations throughout his life. Because of his use of the red, white, and blue drugs, Nuke was more than likely physically and emotionally addicted to them. He more than likely had a number of physiological as well as neurological problems due to the side effects related to the use of such powerful drugs. Without the blues, Nuke would have nightmares about combat.
Nuke originally used an enormous sub-machine gun nicknamed "Betsy" (named after the babysitter he loved as a child) in his missions. Besides conventional machine gun ammunition, Betsy also held six light artillery rounds and two incendiary missiles. On Betsy's side Nuke used an LED counter to count the number of fatalities he had inflicted with his weapon. In recent years Nuke upgraded to a specialized minigun version of "Betsy". Nuke also had an unmarked military helicopter for air support, operated by an unnamed colonel. The copter had two mounted machine guns. Both the colonel and the chopper were destroyed by Daredevil.
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 270 lbs. (variable)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blond
Distinguishing Features: Nuke had a colored tattoo of the American flag covering his face.
History:
(Captain America VI#15 (fb) - BTS) - As a boy Frank saw on a newsreel one of the last interviews Captain America gave before he went MIA. Cap's words inspired him.
(Wolverine: Origins#3 (fb) ) <1953> Frank was raised in Dayton, Ohio by an abusive, alcoholic mother and a pitiful father. One day Frank tried to make Cherry Kool and made a mess. She insulted Frank before leaving with her husband and told Frank's babysitter to clean up the mess. Frank loved his babysitter Betsy (an agent) and that day she told him that everyone would be better off if Frank's mother was gone forever. When Frank's parents came home, his mother was heavily drunk again. She crawled upstairs where Frank already waited for her. Meanwhile Frank's dad brought home Betsy, who seduced him. Their car was found by Logan, who was disguised as a police officer. He shot Betsy and convinced Mr. Simpson to commit suicide. After that Logan was sent to the Simpson house where Frank opened him the door. He had just killed his mother by pushing her down the stairs. Logan took Frank with him and Frank didn't even ask him where because he trusted policemen.
(Wolverine: Origins#3 (fb) - BTS) - Logan brought Frank to his superiors.
(Captain America VII#15 (fb) - BTS) - Simpson was trained to win wars no matter the body count.
(Captain America VII#17 (fb) - BTS) - At some point Horace Littleton befriended Frank Simpson, whom he warned of the lengths his superiors would go to turn him into a weapon for their wars.
(Wolverine: Origins#2 (fb) - BTS) - Simpson became a major in the U.S. Marines and was stationed in the Quang Ngai province in Vietnam.
(Wolverine: Origins#2 (fb) ) <1968> - Major Frank Simpson was caught in the Quang Ngai province in South Vietnam and tortured by Logan with electric shocks and a knife. Two Vietcong, who thought Logan was a Russian advisor, watched him while he sliced the American flag into Frank's face. Logan repeatedly told Frank "No V.C." during the torture. Logan left and let the two Vietcong continue with the torture, but Frank bit one Vietcong's ear while being electrocuted and the electricity was passed on to the Vietcong. The other Vietcong stabbed Frank and was electrocuted as well (the poor idiot). Frank broke free and stabbed another Vietcong, who just entered the cave with a machine gun, in the head. More Vietcong entered and were shot by Frank. Heavily armed Frank left the cave and the people that saw him all screamed "No Vee-See". He remembered these words from the torture and like a good trained dog Frank attacked and killed everyone in the village Lai Chi. After Nuke was finished Logan returned in a helicopter.
(Captain America VII#15 (fb) ) - Despite his training (and previous actions...he was already sporting the flag on his face so it had to be after Origins) Simpson was inspired by an interview with Captain America he had heard as a child to protect the troops because they were there to win the war and he was only their support. The result was him being more interested in protecting American soldiers than killing Vietcong when he was first deployed as Nuke. He was blown to pieces while saving saving PFC Franklin Lamia and his company, whose location was given away by Officer Klutz.
The Weapon Plus program pledged to rebuild Nuke and turn him into the next super-soldier.
(Daredevil I#233 (fb) - BTS) - Simpson was one of 20 men, including James McPherson, Michael Labash, Andrew Perlmutter and John Walsh, who were chosen by the U.S. government to take part in the new super-soldier program.
(New X-Men I#145 (fb) ) - Nuke became a test subject of the Weapon Plus Program, a multi-national effort to develop various types of super-soldiers. Simpson was empowered in some of the later super-soldier trials, when criminals, psychopaths and "violent mutations" were experimented on; Nuke was one of those psychopaths.
(Captain America VI#15 (fb) - BTS) - Weapon Plus rewired Nuke's brain to make sure he was incapable of ignoring orders from superiors. In the process he also lost many of his memories including his heroic actions in Vietnam.
(New X-Men I#145 (fb) ) - Weapon Plus attempted to control the aggressive impulses of their test subjects with medication, but the approach failed and was discontinued.
(Daredevil I#233 (fb) - BTS) - Many didn't survive the program.
(Uncanny X-Force I#5 (fb) ) - Weapon Plus turned Nuke into a successful subject of the Weapon VII program.
(Wolverine: Origins#4 (fb) - BTS) - Apparently all these experiments were part of an attempt to recreate Logan.
(Wolverine II#18 (fb) ) - Nuke was employed for Generalissimo Felix Guillermo Caridad of Tierra Verde (who had managed an alliance with certain members of the US government) to penetrate and destroy a rebel stronghold. Nuke's proficiency impressed Caridad, who liked the idea of having a superhuman government agent/national symbol.
(Daredevil I#230 - BTS) - While Nuke was stationed in Nicaragua, the Kingpin managed to persuade (via some form of bribery) General Lewis Haywerth to bring Nuke to Hell's Kitchen to be deployed against Daredevil.
(Daredevil I#232) - Nuke asked for a red pill on his way to his next mission. The Colonel flying the helicopter he was riding in tried to explain, probably not for the first time, that he wasn't in Vietnam looking for MIA's, but rather in Nicaragua. Nuke reset the kill counter on "Betsy" from 162 to 000, and promised he would break that number for the Colonel. Nuke said that they are holding "our boys" as he pulled on his gas mask. The red pill started to work as Nuke leapt from the helicopter. He started by firing napalm at the tower. Nuke ended up killing 197. Haywerth then sent him to New York to be in service of the Kingpin. The Kingpin sent Nuke to Hell's Kitchen, in an attempt to destroy Daredevil. The Colonel dropped Nuke off low. He told him to skip the Napalm because these were Americans. Daredevil heard from four blocks away a baby's lung collapsing from Nuke's gunfire. Nuke moved up on the helicopter. They were being shot at by another copter. Nuke destroyed it. Just then a billy club bounced off Nuke's temple, and back to Daredevil. Nuke asked for a red...
(Amazing Spider-Man I#280 - BTS) - When Jack O'Lantern (Jason Macendale) offered his services to the Kingpin, the Kingpin declined his offer because he had already hired Nuke.
(Daredevil I#233) - A water tower exploded as Nuke shot at Daredevil. When Daredevil became out of sight the Colonel tried to abort the mission, but Nuke leapt from the copter saying, "Won't let you down…won't let…our boys down." Daredevil heard people dying every time Nuke fired his gun. Nuke went on to beat the snot out of Daredevil, not even feeling pain from Daredevil's strongest attacks. Until eventually, Daredevil kicked him off the top of the building into some power lines. Nuke fell onto an on fire police car. Nuke fired up, but Daredevil leapt onto him and knocked him through the roof. Daredevil took Nuke's gun and rolled off as the car exploded. Daredevil broke of the butt of the gun on Nuke's face. The colonel started to shoot, but Daredevil blew up the helicopter with Nuke's gun. The Avengers arrived. Daredevil had Nuke by the throat yelling that he wants to hear that it was Kingpin that sent him. Nuke just kept asking for a white.
The Avengers took Nuke into custody. As Nuke begged for a white pill, Captain America looked dejectedly downward. Haywerth was talking to the Kingpin as Captain America barged in. Haywerth said Cap wasn't cleared for information. Cap didn't leave, but broke into the sub-level six, the Vault. Cap found out about Agent Simpson and the super soldier info. Haywerth told Nuke that he was being shipped off against the enemy. Nuke said that the enemy was there. He grabbed the newspaper and said, "This is the enemy…this...they lie about us…make us feel ashamed." He grabbed a guard's gun and shot everyone in the room killing them all but Haywerth. He broke off his handcuffs, and reached for the red pills. Nuke took the whole bottle. Then Captain America showed up when he heard the siren. Nuke pushed some soldiers down and took his rifle. Nuke fired on Cap, but his last shot bounced off Cap's shield. Cap pushed him through the outside wall. They fell through the building next door. Cap struggled up, and picked up Nuke. Daredevil tried to move Nuke, but another helicopter fired multiple shots through Nuke's chest. Cap stopped the other soldiers as Daredevil tried to drive Nuke to a hospital. Nuke didn't want to go. Daredevil took Nuke to the Daily Bugle and put Nuke's dead body on Ben Urich's desk.
(Amazing Spider-Man I#284 - BTS) - Ben Urich held a presentation on Kingpin hiring Nuke and the destruction caused by the latter at the Daily Bugle.
(Wolverine: Origins#2 (fb) - BTS) - After his apparent death Nuke was retrieved by the U.S. government and brought to a bunker beneath the U.S. embassy in Santiago, Chile. There scientists worked on him for years. He was outfitted with further cybernetic enhancements until he was barely human anymore. The pill-system was replaced by a remote-controlled hydraulic pump.
(Wolverine: Origins#1) - Two government agents went to the bunker to tell Nuke that his country needed him again. He was ready to take the assignment.
(Wolverine: Origins#2) - Nuke's physical condition was tested one last time before he was sent to his current mission. During the tests one of the agents got the permission to use Nuke from the White House and a scientist told him about all the changes made to Nuke over the years. The scientist also revealed that the red pills originally used were placebos.
A helicopter brought Nuke back to the village Lai Chi where he was tortured by Logan in 1968. Again he slaughtered everyone in the village without mercy and the media soon covered the incident in the news. Logan, who saw the news, took his sword and went to the village to oppose Nuke.
(Wolverine: Origins#3) - When Wolverine asked Nuke to surrender, he immediately shot at Wolverine. Wolverine managed to hide from Nuke until he was out of ammo, but Nuke was also a good hand-to-hand combatant. He took Wolverine down by hitting him in the head with his gun and then stepped onto Wolverine's face to squash his head like a bug, but Wolverine just cut off Nuke's legs with his Adamantium claws. Nuke still had his gun and changed its mode to Rocket Launcher. He shot, but Wolverine kicked the gun and the rocket exploded right next to Nuke. The gun was destroyed, Nuke heavily damaged as well. Parts of his skin fell off and revealed the metal beneath it. Wolverine was ready to kill Nuke, who was powered down to be even more helpless. Wolverine was stopped by Captain America.
(Wolverine: Origins#4) - Nuke crawled to Wolverine's sword when after he had lost it in the fight against Captain America, but Captain America took it before Nuke could reach it. Nuke continued to watch them from the bushes. Nuke crawled to Cap and Wolverine and called Captain America a traitor when he reached him, but Cap was able to avoid Nuke's grip and even kicked Nuke in the face.
(Wolverine: Origins#5 - BTS) - Nuke was handcuffed.
(Wolverine: Origins#5) - Wolverine left Nuke in the X-Men's custody and asked Emma Frost to help him.
(Thunderbolts II#133) - Osborn met with Nuke at Avengers Tower and was disappointed what Nuke had done to his face after Osborn's people had gone through so much trouble to make him a new one. Osborn handed Nuke a ballistic mask he would've to wear at all times. From now on Nuke would be known as Scourge as a member of the Thunderbolts. Osborn made it clear that he needed someone to follow orders without questions and Scourge was the right man. Upon arriving at the Cube, the Thunderbolts' HQ, Scourge was welcomed by the Black Widow (Romanoff posing as Belova).
(Secret Warriors I#7) - Norman Osborn sent the Thunderbolts, including Scourge, after Nick Fury when Baron Strucker asked Osborn for help.
(Thunderbolts II#134) - The Thunderbolts, including Scourge, were sent after Songbird. Scourge made it clear to the others that he would assume control of the mission as soon as Songbird was on the ground. Unfortunately the Thunderbolts' plane crashed when Songbird hurled one of the plane's rockets back at the plane.
(Thunderbolts II#135) - After the crash Scourge, Paladin and Headsmen held position. Scourge got angry because Ghost and Mister X had gone ahead after Songbird and Black Widow. Scourge called Ant-Man and ordered him to maintain cover. Following Ant-Man Scourge led the Thunderbolts to Nick Fury's Homerun base where they fought Songbird, Black Widow and Nick Fury (actually Phobos posing as Fury by wearing an LMD like a suit). A grenade from Paladin knocked the Thunderbolts' enemies unconscious.
Scourge and the rest of the Thunderbolts were present when Widow, Songbird and Nick Fury regained consciousness and watched Fury being beaten up. After the Black Widow spit into Osborn's face he ordered Scourge and the Thunderbolts to decapitate the women.
(Secret Warriors I#8/Thunderbolts II#135) - Scourge, Mr. X and Ghost took the captured Black Widow and Songbird with them while Phobos (inside a Nick Fury LMD) was beaten up by Hawkeye (Bullseye).
(Thunderbolts II#135) - Scourge told Black Widow and Songbird that they had to follow orders when Mister X started beating up Black Widow.
(Thunderbolts II#136) - Scourge ordered to have Black Widow shipped for enhanced interrogation and to decapitate Songbird. Headsman didn't follow the latter order and hit Scourge in the chest with his axe instead. Scourge didn't take too kindly to the attack and while Headsman was still surprised that Scourge was a cyborg, Scourge knocked out Headsman with a single blow. Black Widow and Songbird fled while the Thunderbolts fought among each other. Headsman cut off Scourge's left arm when he tried to grab his gun. Scourge caught the next swipe at him in mid-air and hurled Headsman through the room, but before Scourge could slay Headsman with his own axe, Paladin shot the cyborg in the back several times. After Ghost knocked Mister X, who was loyal to Scourge, as well, Ghost used an electro-convulsive shock to erase the short term memories of Scourge and Mister X.
Scourge had to report to Norman Osborn at Avengers Tower after Fury, Black Widow and Songbird had escaped. Osborn was angry and made it clear that Scourge could easily be replaced with Yelena Belova as team leader. Nuke wasn't happy with his new codename, but he had to accept it for now.
(Captain America: Reborn#3) - The Thunderbolts, including Scourge, were going to transport Captain America (James Barnes) after he was caught by HAMMER to their base. Scourge took Captain America's shield and kicked Barnes in the head. When Falcon attacked the Thunderbolts' plane Scourge lost the shield during the battle. Barnes, who had secretly been freed by Ant-Man (Eric O'Grady), then beat up Scourge and knocked him out with a kick before escaping with Falcon.
(Thunderbolts II#137) - Scourge and the Thunderbolts kidnapped Iron Fist from his Manhattan skyscraper after Osborn arranged a meeting under the fake moniker Mr. Thompson.
Scourge had lunch with the rest of the team and the brainwashed Iron Fist at the Cube.
The next day Scourge participated in an attack on Luke Cage with Iron Fist as a member of the Thunderbolts. They caught Cage.
Later at the Cube Scourge got into a fight with Cage when he tried to escape. Cage used the security system against Scourge by throwing one of the DNA lasers' robots at Scourge. The robot recalibrated the lasers to Scourge's DNA and he was attacked by the lasers and then knocked out by Cage. Iron Fist and Cage both escaped in the end. Scourge and the rest of the team received a lecture afterward from Norman Osborn.
(Thunderbolts II#138) - When Mister X went to the Venezuela/Colombia border to find a challenge, Scourge led the other Thunderbolts in pursuing him and wound up battling guerrillas in the jungle. Scourge started hearing voices and was startled by Ant-Man, who realized how crazy Scourge actually was. Scourge intervened when Mister X attempted to kill Headsman with his own axe. Mister X nearly choked out Scourge. Back on his feet Scourge was accidentally hit by Headsman when Mister X ducked, angering Scourge, who accused Headsman that he attempted to disembowel Scourge. The inter-team squabble ended as Colombian soldiers arrived, causing the team to join forces against them; during the fight, Scourge used a rocket launcher, killing several soldiers. Finishing the fight, the team returned to the USA and Osborn ordered them on their new assignment: to bring down the Atlas Foundation's Agents of Atlas.
(Thunderbolts II#139) - Osborn met the Thunderbolts just over the Gulf of Mexico at an airbase and introduced them to the Grizzly, their newest teammate because of his experience against the Agents of Atlas, telling them how Atlas cheated the USA out of an arms deal. Grizzly briefed the Thunderbolts on the Agents of Atlas as they set a course to Baou Choupique, Louisiana, site of an Atlas Foundation facility. After Ghost and Ant-Man had the facility destroyed, the Agents of Atlas arrived via Marvel Boy's flying saucer, correctly guessing Osborn was behind the assault. Venus briefly subdued Scourge with her siren's call, but Scourge resisted its effects and disrupted her power, as the women he saw turned to zombies. Namora knocked out Scourge, who lost his mask. The Thunderbolts were defeated by the Agents of Atlas, but Scourge was not down yet. He put his mask back on and gutted Marvel Boy with one of Mister X's swords.
(Thunderbolts II#140) - The fight began to turn against the Agents of Atlas after Scourge took down Marvel Boy. Gorilla Man bit Scourge's head, but was quickly knocked away by Grizzly. Venus used her powers to drive the Thunderbolts insane. When Marvel Boy revived he planted a psychic message in Scourge's brain to kill Osborn the next time he saw him. Regaining consciousness the Thunderbolts returned to their craft and flew back to the Cube. When a holographic transmission from Osborn arrived to give the team their next assignment, Scourge's conditioning kicked in at the sight of Osborn, and he fired his gun at the hologram; the bullet passed through the hologram and hit Headsman in the head, killing him instantly.
(Thunderbolts II#141) - Scourge called together the Thunderbolts, who were ordered by Norman Osborn to invade Asgard. Arriving there their plane was shot down by Hogun with an arrow. The team parachuted down and entered Asgard's armament and treasury to pillage it while the Asgardians battled Osborn's forces. Scourge grew angry hearing his teammates talk about stealing anything else than the Spear of Odin, which they were sent to steal for Osborn. They found the spear and after Mister X slew an Asgardian guard the Thunderbolts were attacked by Hank Pym's Avengers (Amadeus Cho, Stature, USAgent, Vision).
(Thunderbolts II#142) - Scourge tossed Ant-Man at Stature and ordered him to grow to giant size so he can take Stature down. After Mister X used the Spear of Odin against Vision the distracted Avengers became easy targets for the Thunderbolts. Scourge knocked down Cho and USAgent. The fight continued outside with Scourge, after he had lost his mask once again, showing no mercy to USAgent. When USAgent gained the upper hand Nuke attempted to swallow some of his pills to get a boost, but USAgent kicked him into an open fire. Badly burnt Nuke got his hands on the Spear of Odin after Asgard had been destroyed by the Sentry (Robert Reynolds).
(Mighty Avengers I#36/Thunderbolts II#142) - Using the Spear of Odin Nuke cut off USAgent's left arm and leg in one swoop and held on to the spear.
(Thunderbolts II#143) - Iron Patriot (Osborn) called Nuke to deliver the Spear of Odin to him. Paladin turned on Nuke and shot him in the face, which put Nuke into a coma. Paladin ultimately kept the Spear of Odin and left without ever handing it over to Osborn or anyone else.
(Thunderbolts II#145) - Nuke was put in the Raft where a doctor told John Walker, the former USAgent, that a stimulus therapy could help Nuke, but Walker was against it because he didn't feel Nuke had a chance to reform.
(Captain America VII#12 (fb) - BTS) - Iron Nail hired Nuke and sent him to Nrosvekistan to gain the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. to gain access to the base of his former employers.
(Captain America VII#11) - Nuke arrived in the first engagement zone in Nrosvekistan, Eastern Europe, a former warzone in a war lost by the US. Standing in front of civilians Nuke talked about lot war, the surviving soldiers that came home and were forgotten and then proclaimed the war in Nrosvekistan was just on pause because it was not the American way to lose a war. Nuke swallowed three red pills, pulled out his minigun "Betsy" and started shooting wildly into the crowd.
(Captain America VII#12) - A helicopter took Nuke to the second engagement zone in Nrosvekistan. With "Betsy" in hand and Iron Nail in his ear, to further rile him up, Nuke engaged the local military, taking out numerous soldiers and even a tank. Bullets bounced off his cyborg body while Iron Nail harped on about this ungrateful generation and how Nuke was going to win all the wars the US fled in disgrace to save America's reputation. At the end of the engagement Nuke raised the US flag on several poles.
(Captain America VII#13 (fb) - BTS) - Nuke kept going and planted American flags in the rubble of the cities in Nrosvekistan he had decimated. Meanwhile S.H.I.E.L.D. did their best to keep a media blackout over the area to avoid a war.
(Captain America VII#13 - BTS) - S.H.I.E.L.D. called Captain America to apprehend Nuke and find out who was giving him the order to attack Nrosvekistan.
(Captain America VII#13) - Secretly filmed by Daily Bugle's Samantha Chan Nuke kept killing soldiers in Nrosvekistan until Captain America and Falcon (with Redwing) arrived. Nuke knocked them both down and kept murdering soldiers without mercy. Cap, Falcon and Redwing caught up to him and did everything in their power to protect the local soldiers from Nuke, but Nuke had his orders and was only angered by Cap going against his own troops.
(Captain America VII#14) - Nuke took down Cap, who while on the ground, convinced him to fight for a peaceful world and not fanaticism and xenophobia. Nuke helped Cap to his feet and was promised help by Cap. Nuke flipped out when he saw reporter Samantha Chan. Cap was unable to convince Nuke that Chan was with him and after knocking Cap down again Nuke hunted the representative of the press he deemed manipulative liars. Falcon came to her aid, but Nuke was only further infuriated by his claims that Nuke was destroying the peace US soldiers had died for. Nuke knocked out Falcon and continued his hunt for Chan with Cap in hot pursuit. When they reached a cliff Nuke was going to slice Chan open, but she fell backwards and was saved by Falcon. Cap caught up with Nuke and after a brutal fight finally defeated him. He was stopped by Falcon when he tried to incapacitate Nuke with his shield. Cowering before Captain America Nuke revealed he only ever wanted to make Cap proud and fight for the forgotten soldiers. Nick Fury Jr. arrived to pick up Nuke and revealed to Cap that a reporter (Chan) had managed to upload an article about the attack on Nrosvekistan, which painted Cap and Nuke as allies.
(Captain America VII#15) - On S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicopter Nuke told Cap and Fury that he never liked the name Nuke and always just wanted to follow his commanding officers orders and protect other soldiers. Fury, who had read Nuke's file, reminded Nuke that he was given the name because he was supposed to win wars no matter the body count, but when he was first employed was more interesting in protecting soldiers than killing the enemies, which led to Nuke getting blown up and rebuilt by Weapon Plus. Agent Lamia, who was taken on this mission to remind Nuke of the good he had done in the past, thanked Nuke for saving her father back in Vietnam. Cap revealed to Nuke that his orders to attack Nrosvekistan were based on lies and Nuke promised to try to reveal what he knew.
(Captain America VII#15 - BTS) - Simpson was interrogated by Fury at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Hub Station in the Grand Canyon, but the red pills and mind blocks made it impossible for him to reveal the identity of his employer.
(Captain America VII#15) - Fury ended the interrogation with Simpson, who was willing to cooperate, but couldn't. Fury vowed to continued the interrogation the next day. Simpson, who couldn't remember his heroic actions in Vietnam, talked with Agent Lamia about his time in Vietnam. Lamia promised to Simpson they would find out who had used Simpson to clear his name. Simpson only asked her that whatever happened to him to not let them call him Nuke. Iron Nail, who had hacked into the surveillance systems at the base, watched the whole conversation and activated a bomb hidden inside Simpson with the press of a button. Simpson finally became what he was always called and the detonation almost destroyed the whole Hub Station, freeing Doctor Mindbubble in the process.
(Captain America VII#17 - BTS) - 166 S.H.I.E.L.D. agents died in the explosion.
(Captain America VII#17) - Doctor Mindbubble used his powers on his old friend to grant the dying Frank Simpson beautiful dream of him getting a parade after coming home from the war only to get shot in the head by his father, which apparently killed him in his dream and the real world.
Captain America arrived at the Hub Station to learn from Maria Hill of the ironic use of Nuke as a bomb to destroy station. Looking at Simpson's burnt remains Maria Hill made sure to point out that he was dead along with 166 agents. Realizing it was all a setup Cap felt guilty for bringing Nuke in.
(Death of Wolverine#1 (fb) - BTS) - Nuke got better when he was rebuilt by an unknown party (as a cyborg he was barely human anymore so somebody did it and turned him into a muscular cyborg monster with a roid belly...he also joined with a crew of disposable mercenaries, whom he didn't care for at all...which is so not Nuke, but whatever)
(Death of Wolverine#1) - Nuke and his crew came to Eric's Bar somewhere in British Columbia in search for Logan. Nuke ordered four beers and information on the whereabouts of Logan. The bartender pulled a rifle on Nuke, who paid for the beers, broke the rifle and asked again for information on Logan. The bartender gave Nuke the map Logan had left behind for everyone who came looking for him.
Nuke and his crew headed to the island on the map. Nuke sent Henry to check on the boat on the shore, which blew up when Henry boarded it. Logan then attacked Nuke's boat from beneath. Nuke swam to the shore with Spencer and Hynes, who were both pulled down into the water and killed by Logan before they could reach shore. Nuke saw all the other victims of Logan, some of which had killed each other before they could even get to him, then tossed Logan against a rock. Nuke was surprised at how long it took Logan to get up while telling him about the hefty bounty on Logan. When Logan got up he smashed in Nuke's face with his own head and asked him about his employer. Nuke revealed Viper had put out the bounty and wanted Logan brought to Madripoor alive and the bounty decreased with each day. Logan allowed Nuke to leave, but demanded of him to spread the word that he would kill everyone that came for him and Nuke would be the last to be allowed to walk away.
SECRET WARS III HAPPENED
(Deadpool & the Mercs for Money II#3 (fb) - BTS) - Nuke hung out with colleagues at a bar in West Virginia every night for three months.
(Deadpool & the Mercs for Money II#3) - Deadpool and his Mercs for Money followed bad intel to Nuke's regular bar in West Virginia in search for the radioactive Nuklo to catch him for Umbral Dynamics. When they ran into Nuke instead, the situation quickly escalated and Deadpool shot Nuke in the head, which merely angered him. With his cyborg parts revealed Nuke beat the crap out of Deadpool.
(Deadpool & the Mercs for Money II#3 - BTS) - Deadpool and the Mercs for Money somehow defeated Nuke and his colleagues and handed Nuke over to their employers Umbral Dynamics.
(Deadpool & the Mercs for Money II#5) - Nuke was freed when the new Mercs for Money attacked Caroline Le Fey's Umbral Dynamics' HQ in Bagalia after learning they were actually evil. Nuke presumably joined the battle against Umbral Dynamics' forces.
(Weapon X III#13 (fb) - BTS) - Nuke was sent to Santo Marco to assassinate President Duarte, but got captured. Duarte stole Nuke's pills from him and mass produced them to give them to other captured American assassins and turn them into his mutant hunting Nuke Platoon.
(Weapon X III#12) - Sabretooth found Nuke in a cell behind Duarte's pill manufacturing factory. Nuke asked for a red pill so he could join the battle against the Nuke Platoon, the traitors wearing his flag on their faces.
(Weapon X III#13) - Nuke and Sabretooth fought the Nuke Platoon. Nuke cut off the American flag from the face of one of the Nuke Platoon members. When Domino, Warpath, Lady Deathstrike and Logan joined the battle along with some of the captured mutants. Logan and Deathstrike were shocked to learn that Sabretooth had found and released Nuke. Sabretooth kept stirring on Nuke and when the Nuke Platoon followed Sabretooth's teammates into the pill factory he told Nuke the other soldiers were after his pills. Considering his right to take the pills and nobody else's Nuke took out several Nuke Platoon members, inadvertently aiding Weapon X. Warpath was stabbed in the gut by Nuke when he hit the mad soldier in the face, but then punched Nuke through a wall. Outside Nuke now believed Weapon X were trying to get their hands on his pills and joined forces with the rest of the Nuke Platoon to take the mutants down. Threatened by the combined forces of Nuke and the Nuke Platoon Weapon X decided to take the red pills to gain the strength and speed to deal with the crazed super-soldiers.
(Weapon X III#14) - Weapon X fought their way through the Nuke Platoon. Nuke hit Warpath with a propulsion grenade, but was then slashed across the gut by Logan and across the face by Sabretooth. Nuke eventually used a rocket launcher against Sabretooth, who tossed the rocket right back at him. Nuke was tackled by Warpath before he could reach Logan to prevent him from blowing up the pills. Angered when the pills were destroyed Logan threatened to kill Logan, but Warpath poured the content from a calming white pill into a wound he cut into Nuke's back. Calmed down Nuke listened to Warpath, who reminded him that his mission in Santo Marco was not to kill Logan.
When the mutant Acero approached the president's palace alongside Weapon X and the captured Nuke Platoon members, they all became witnesses in front of the media, local citizens and the National Guard, when Nuke tossed Duarte to his death from a window on the top floor of the palace. Nuke fled the scene under gunfire and jumped into the ocean to escape.
Comments: Created by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.
The process used on Nuke later evolved into the process used by the UK's Super Soldiers, in which the super soldiers had genetically engineered organs to produce the same effects as the pills Nuke took.
The Kingpin's involvement with Nuke later came out at his trial in Daredevil I#300 when Nuke's colonel (who apparently survived the helicopter explosion) testified against the Kingpin.
His fear of POWs being held in secret prison
camps is a motif going back at least as far as the Shadow
novel the Shadow Unmasks. For Vietnam, this idea of
missing veterans held in secret camps has been used in
the following books and films, Mission MIA by J.C.
Pollock, Uncommon Valor, Wolf, Missing in Action,
Rambo: First Blood Part II, Executioner#43: Return to
Vietnam by Stephen Mertz, and others. Nuke's delusion
may have been intended as a parody of these books.
--Per Degaton
In addition:
In Spider-Man/X-Factor#1. Various
lab guys are talking about Shadowforce and an unnamed lab guy says "yes,
but the nuke protocols" and then gets cut off. When Spider-Man
downloads the information on Project: Homegrown he discovers that they
are trying to create designer superheroes using fragmentary data and incomplete
records from Captain America's Super-Soldier Serum, the Fantastic Four's
space flight, the Gammabomb explosion that created the Hulk and "more".
While Spidey doesn't actually say that the nuke protocols were a part of
it, as they obviously had access to that information it would be logical
to assume they had used it in the creation of Shadowforce. Each member
of Shadowforce wore a harness that temporarily altered their body chemistry,
but the process wasn't perfect General Macauley Sharpe (the head of Project:
Homegrown) was having them kidnap superbeings (apart from mutants who are
born with their powers) like Spidey to scan them and help stabilize the
Shadowforce process.
--Changeling
There are actually a few classifications of "Super Soldiers":
The Weapon Plus Program designated their various trials using a roman numeral. According to Fantomex and the Weapon Plus files seen in New X-Men I#145, the subjects of the trials were as follows:
The way NEW X-MEN words it, it sounds like the use of medicated psychopaths ended with the Weapon IX trial. So what part of the Weapon Plus Project did Nuke come from? As far as we knew, he was neither a mutant (VIII-today), nor an ethnic minority (IV-VI), and he certainly wasn't an animal. So what was his designation?
Flank's Answer: We've seen the Weapon Plus project return to previous experiments; Wolverine, Maverick, Sabretooth, etc. were part of the original Weapon X, but it was resurrected at some point to produce Deadpool, Slayback, Kane and others, and it's currently been revived and has a whole comic series following its exploits. Nuke seemed to be another attempt to recreate the Project: Rebirth serum, which was said to be the most successful of all the Weapon Plus; perhaps he was designated Weapon I as well? Or maybe he was just an ethnic minority and it wasn't obvious.
Wolverine: Origins reveals him as another attempt to recreate Wolverine.
--Markus Raymond
In Uncanny X-Force I#5 it was revealed that Nuke was part of the Weapon VII program.
--Markus Raymond
Tarantula Serum
An attempt at recreating the Super Soldier Serum, this formula was developed by Dr. Karl Mendoza and used to
give the second Tarantula (Luis Alvarez) his heightened abilities.
type: strength enhance, speed enhancer
form: liquid (injectable)
comic: Web of Spider-Man I#35
see also: Super Soldier Serum
--John McDonagh
Jackie Dio was exposed to SSS.2 gas, a super-soldier variant with steroid-like properties, as part of his evolution into Underworld.
Nuke was the inspiration for Caridad, who unwittingly attempted to empower agents via cocaine tainted by the deviant known as Spore.
In 2099 AD of Earth-928, the Anarquistadores used White Heat, a drug that
"when taken in megadoses kicked the metabolism into overdrive, boosted the IQ,
the whole superhuman nine yards. It's like a more potent version of the Captain
America Super-Soldier serum from the twencen--except turned into an addictive
street drug."
--Snood
This profile would not have been possible without the help from Jake at Leader's Lair. The image and some of the information was his. Thanks Jake!
In Daredevil I#236 Jack Hazzard read about Nuke's killing spree in a newspaper. In Spider-Man: Mysterio Manifesto#2-3 (February-March, 2001) Nuke was one of the Daredevil enemies used as illusions by Mysterio. In Captain America I#333 (September, 1987) General Haywerth talked about Nuke and called him a near successful recreation of Captain America....despite him going crazy and dying (the C.S.A. needed a replacement for Captain America at this time).
The massacre in Lai Chi is made up, but it was likely a reference to the Mai Lai massacre that happened in 1968.
--Markus Raymond
Nuke has a full entry in Marvel Legacy: The 1980s Handbook.
Updated by Markus Raymond (Wolverine: Origins onward).
CLARIFICATIONS: Nuke should not be confused with:
(Daredevil I#233 (fb) - BTS) Captain America discovered evidence that 19 separate soldiers had been killed by the government in an attempt to recreate Project: Rebirth. Among the names he found: James McPherson, Michael Labash, Andrew Perlmutter and John Walsh. The only survivor of the experiments would be Frank Simpson, who became Nuke.
--Daredevil I#233 (fb) - BTS
images: (without ads)
Weapon X III#13, p5 (main)
Daredevil I#233, p17, pan4 (pill-popping)
Daredevil I#233, p22, pan3 (fighting)
Wolverine: Origins#2, Variant Cover (VS Wolverine)
Thunderbolts II#138, Cover (as Scourge)
Thunderbolts II#143, p2 (holding Spear of Odin)
Captain America VII#13, p, pan (no war lost)
Captain America VII#17, p2, pan1 (blown to pieces)
Death of Wolverine#1, p19, pan4 (back with a beer belly)
Appearances:
Daredevil I#230 (May, 1986) - Frank Miller (writer), David Mazzuchelli (artist), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Daredevil I#232 (July, 1986) - Frank Miller (writer), David Mazzuchelli (artist), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Daredevil I#233 (August, 1986) - Frank Miller (writer), David Mazzuchelli (artist), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man I#280 (September, 1986) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (layouts), Brett Breeding (pencils/inks), Jim Owsley (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man I#284 (January, 1987) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (pencils), Josef Rubinstein (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Wolverine II#18 (early January, 1989) - Archie Goodwin (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
New X-Men#145 (October, 2003) - Grant Morrison (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils), Aaron Sowd, Tim Townsend & Al Vey (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
Wolverine: Origins#1-5 (June-October, 2006) - Daniel Way (writer), Steve Dillon (artist), Axel Alonso (editor)
Thunderbolts II#133-134 (August-September, 2009) - Andy Diggle (writer), Miguel Sepulveda (artist), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Secret Warriors I#7 (October, 2009) - Jonathan Hickman (writer), Alessandro Vitti (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts II#135-136 (November, 2009) - Andy Diggle (writer), Miguel Sepulveda (artist), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Secret Warriors I#8 (November, 2009) - Jonathan Hickman (writer), Alessandro Vitti (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Captain America Reborn#3 (November, 2009) - Ed Brubaker (writer), Bryan Hitch (pencils), Jackson Guice (inks), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Thunderbolts II#137 (December, 2009) - Rick Remender (writer), Mahmud A. Asrar (pencils), Rebecca Buchanan (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts II#138-140 (January-March, 2010) - Jeff Parker (writer), Miguel Sepulveda (artist), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Thunderbolts II#141 (April, 2010) - Jeff Parker (writer), Miguel Sepulveda (artist), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Thunderbolts II#142 (May, 2010) - Jeff Parker (writer), Wellington Alves (pencils), Nelson Pereira (inks), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Thunderbolts II#143 (June, 2010) - Jeff Parker (writer), Miguel Sepulveda (artist), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Mighty Avengers I#36 (June, 2010) - Dan Slott (writer), Khoi Pham (pencils), Craig Yeung & Dave Meikis (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts II#145 (August, 2010) - Jeff Parker (writer), Kev Walker (artist), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Uncanny X-Force I#5 (April, 2011) - Rick Remender (writer), Esad Ribic (pencils), John Lucas (inks), Jody Leheup (editor)
Captain America VII#11-12 (November-December, 2013) - Rick Remender (writer), Carlos Pacheco (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Captain America VII#13 (January, 2013) - Rick Remender (writer), Nic Klein (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Captain America VII#14-15 (February-March, 2013) - Rick Remender (writer), Carlos Pacheco (pencils), Mariano Taibo (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Captain America VII#17 (April, 2013) - Rick Remender (writer), Nic Klein (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Death of Wolverine#1 (November, 2014) - Charles Soule (writer), Steve McNiven (pencils), Jay Leisten (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
Deadpool & the Mercs for Money II#3 (November, 2016) - Cullen Bunn (writer), Iban Coello (artist), Heather Antos & Jordan D. White (editors)
Deadpool & the Mercs for Money II#5 (January, 2017) - Cullen Bunn (writer), Iban Coello (artist), Heather Antos & Jordan D. White (editors)
Weapon X III#12-14 (February-April, 2018) - Greg Pak (writer), Yildiray Cinar (artist), Darren Shan (editor)
First Posted: 09/11/2003
Last updated: 09/26/2019
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you
should check out the real thing!
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