MEMBERSHIP:
Cuffs,
Nightstick,
Wiretap
THOUGHT POLICE
MEMBERSHIP:
Cuffs,
Nightstick,
Wiretap
PURPOSE: Enforcers of the O.I.E.
AFFILIATIONS: Colonel Tolliver Smith, The O.I.E.
ENEMIES: The Fantastic Four, Rick Sheridan and "Ricky" see comments, Sleepwalker
BASE of OPERATIONS: Mobile
FIRST APPEARANCE: Sleepwalker#14 (July, 1992) in civvies;
Sleepwalker#15 (August, 1992) in costume
HISTORY: (Sleepwalker#14) - The Thought Police were called by Colonel Tolliver Smith. They met with him and went to the Four Freedoms Plaza where they where met by the Fantastic Four.
(Sleepwalker#15, 16) - Colonel Tolliver asked Reed Richards
to transport him and the Thought Police into the mind of Sleepwalker's host,
telling him instead that it was an alien dimension and not an individual
mind. Reed thought it too dangerous for the Colonel and accompanied the Thought
Police himself. Reed wore one of his
oscillation
jackets and provided each member of the Thought Police with a remote
hook-up to allow them to travel with him. Whilst in Rick Sheridan's mind
they were attacked by an army of mental constructs based on children's action
figures that had been summoned by Ricky. The Thought Police easily defeated
the toys. Fortunately Sleepwalker returned to the mental plane to recover
his strength and Ricky told him of the Thought Police's invasion. The Thought
Police attacked Sleepwalker, who defended himself. Reed Richards tried to
stop the violence by restraining Sleepwalker, but the Thought Police continued
attacking. They bound Sleepwalker and sentenced him to death. Reed Richards
tried to intervene, but was interrupted by a communication from the Thing.
Reed's signal was breaking up and when Sleepwalker blamed it on the deterioration
of his host's mind, Richards realised the true nature of the dimension they
were in. Refusing to endanger the life of an innocent human being, Reed had
Thing activate the return sequence. While Richards returned to Four Freedoms
Plaza, Wiretap prevented him from taking the Thought Police with him. The
Thought Police attempted to complete their mission, but Sleepwalker fought
back. Reacting to the deterioration of his mind, Rick Sheridan manifested
himself on the mental plane to fight the Thought Police. He pulled Sleepwalker
away from the confrontation. When he realised his coma was a result of
Sleepwalker's actions he decided to take on the Thought Police by himself.
He seemed to be doing well, but unfortunately by using his mental energies
he was weakening himself. Sleepwalker stopped Rick before it was too late
and scared the Thought Police away. The Thought Police left the mental plane
and reappeared in Four Freedoms Plaza. The Thing was about to deal with the
Thought Police, but Colonel Smith threatened to have him arrested.
COMMENTS: Created by Bob Budiansky and Bret Blevins.
Issue 15 billed them as "the new new Fantastic Four!?!". While they did temporarily team up with Reed Richards, they were certainly not official members of the FF!
Reed Richards recognised the action figures Ricky was fighting alongside as "Star Warriors" figures because his son Franklin apparently played with them. Star Warriors, now where have I heard that one before... Anyway, "Ricky" is actually a mental creation of Rick Sheridan's who represents Rick's youth and spirit of adventure. While he is technically just a figment of Rick's imagination I still included him as an enemy. I did so because while Rick's mind was in a weakened state (in reality he was in a coma) and Sleepwalker was suffering from addiction (to the light of a synthetic diamond) Ricky was initially the only "person" who could defend Rick's mind from it's attackers. The whole reason Rick was in a coma was that Sleepwalker has inadvertently damaged his host's mind while forcing his way out to feed his "addiction".
From the Thought Police's name it would appear they had been intended to face Sleepwalker (or perhaps a similar character) on the mental plane all along, but without Reed Richard's oscillation jacket they wouldn't have been able to get there. If they were to return they would need to find an alternate method.
I'd imagine that the name Thought Police was derived from
the Thought Police from George Orwell's classic 1984.
There's a brief intro here:
http://www.shire.net/big.brother/
-Snood.
Profile by Changeling
CLARIFICATIONS:
Cuffs has no known connection to:
Nightstick has no known connection to:
The Thought Police have no known connection to:
Wiretap has no known connection to:
Cuffs wore a backpack that generated a liquid like substance through units on both her wrists. She could control and solidify the substance in order to restrain her opponents at a distance.
-- Sleepwalker#14,#15 (named) (16)
Nightstick was the big strong guy of the group, and was armed with you guessed it! sticks which extended from both of his wrists. The sticks could be detached and held in his hands. He also appeared to be the leader of the team.
-- Sleepwalker#14,#15 (named) (16)
Wiretap's equipment allowed him to track energy signatures and detect mental activity (while in a human mind). It also gave him the ability to generate and control electricity for various effects; energy blasts, and a protective energy sheath that could surround either himself or the entire team, and to jam signals, such as that of Reed's Oscillation Jacket.
-- Sleepwalker#14,#15 (named) (16)
Images: Sleepwalker#16, p3, pan 4;#15, p15, pan4; p12, pan2; p20, pan5; cover
Other appearances:
Sleepwalker#16 (September, 1992)
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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