PETERS PETERS
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Alternate Reality (Earth-7484)
human;
active as an adult circa 1990 A.D. in that reality
Occupation: Technician/nurse/possible doctor, kidnapper, (would-be) assassin
Group Membership: Ryker's agents
Affiliations: Dr. Commonhate, Hugo, Simon Ryker, other unidentified agents of Simon Ryker
Enemies: Deathlok (Luther Manning), Mike Travers
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly Ryker's base (presumably within one of the World Trade Center towers), Manhattan
First Appearance: Astonishing Tales#25 (August, 1974);
(identified) Astonishing Tales#26 (October, 1974)
Powers/Abilities: Peters appeared to be something of a "jack of all trades."
He had an unspecified degree of
experience with medicine, medical technology, etc. He could monitor and
adjust anesthetic levels, and he could presumably monitor and control
the electronic drain-leads attached to Deathlok's system. He could also
speak on the function of the equipment, although Deathlok did not
conform to expectations.
He was also apparently involved with physical abduction (see comments), overpowering and clubbing a victim, dragging said victim up a helicopter ladder, and/or piloting the helicopter. He was certainly part of a group of four that grabbed Mike Travers, but it is unrevealed which actions he directly performed, as the figures were too small to be clearly identified.
He also was apparently able to operate a sniper rifle with accuracy (see comments), although Deathlok's computer warned him in time to avoid the shot.
History:
(Astonishing Tales#25 (fb) - BTS / Astonishing Tales#26 (fb) -
BTS) - Deathlok refused to complete it a mission, defying direct orders.
(Astonishing Tales#25 (fb) / (Astonishing Tales#26 (fb)) - Simon Ryker, alongside his agent Peters and two others, had Deathlok held in a power siphon.
Ryker noted Deathlok's rebellion, considering that it might be a possible dysfunction. Ryker
further instructed Peters that when Deathlok revived, he wanted to
question Deathlok, and he didn't want any trouble.
Peters assured Ryker there wouldn't be any trouble as the anesthesia they had introduced into Deathlok's chemical bloodstream would keep him groggy while the electronic drain-leads hooked into his computer were siphoning off his energy: Deathlok would be helpless even after he was reactivated.
However, Deathlok surprised them
all by suddenly speaking with Manning's voice. One of the aides (the
balding man) noted that the computer was
going wild, and Peters added that it wasn't responding, and that they
were losing control.
The third aide (with the reddish-blond hair, on an
upper level) continued that the energy flow was being reversed
back into the cyborg, which was building to an overload; that last aide
predicted Deathlok would break free, which he did.
(Astonishing Tales#25 (fb)) - Deathlok broke free from the restraints, fought his way to the roof, and stole a US Army helicopter, and escaped.
(Astonishing Tales#25 (fb) - BTS) - Deathlok became a mercenary, hoping to earn enough money to pay to have his brain transplanted into a normal human form.
(Astonishing Tales#26 (fb)) - When Deathlok and his ally Mike Travers,
landed their helicopter, cannibals swarmed over them, while
agents of Ryker (apparently including Peters) then escaped with Mike aboard the helicopter.
Deathlok's computer identified them as Ryker's employees.
(Astonishing Tales#26 (fb) - BTS) - Deathlok traced the helicopter that had abducted Mike Travers to a storehouse for black market meat.
(Astonishing Tales#26) - There a waiting sniper (one of those who had abducted Travers, the same one presumed to be Peters)
fired on Deathlok from atop the adjacent building.
Warned by his
computer, Deathlok ducked the sniper's shot, which instead struck a
pressure-bomb located in the building into which Deathlok had been
entering.
The bomb had been placed there to take
out Deathlok in case the sniper missed, but the sniper's shot set off
the bomb prematurely, and Deathlok was distant enough that he was
uninjured.
The sniper dropped his rifle and
fled across the roof, preparing to jump onto the next building in an
effort to escape Deathlok's wrath.
However, Deathlok instead entered that building and knocked down its supporting girders, causing the building to collapse as the sniper was still running across it. The sniper then fell to the street far below, landing on his head and presumably suffering fatal head trauma.
Deathlok's computer -- via memory
synapse-lock -- identified the sniper, but Deathlok interrupted, noting
that he also recognized the guy as one of the "slimy jerks" who had
kidnapped Mike in the helicopter. Deathlok continued that he had traced
that helicopter to this location via the sensors in his helicopter;
Deathlok's computer acknowledged this as correct, but also noted that
the helicopter was not present.
As Deathlok and his computer argued
over the sensor's findings, Deathlok realized that the sniper had also
been present when he was interrogated in Ryker's facility.
Comments: Created by Rich Buckler, Doug Moench, Pablo Marcos, Klaus Janson, Al Milgrom, and Mike Esposito.
It is
not explicitly stated that Peters was the sniper, but it was one of the
three assisting Rykers in studying the rebellious Deathlok. I'm not
sure why they would have otherwise named him, and so it seems a pretty
likely connection/path to me.
The sniper falling to the ground seems to have
lighter hair, but the above image was digitally re-mastered from a
pretty low-resolution image, and I think the color was just weak in the
original.
Peters may or may not have been
present during another phase in which Deathlok's resistance was
examined/treated (or perhaps this was just minutes to hours apart during the same evaluation/treatment):
(Marvel Fanfare I#4/2) - In an effort to restore their control over Deathlok, a group of scientists, including Hugo and Dr. Commonhate, subjected him to illusions of his past existence, including his wife Janice and his former pet Collie. He resisted the illusions, becoming more angry with Ryker and his men for using his cherished memories against him.
Astonishing Tales I#25 and #26
each present the scene with Deathlok being restrained in the power
siphon and then breaking free.
The version from #26 is slightly
truncated, and some things change, with Ryker's aides informing him of
things in the original flashback, and then Ryker informing his aides of
the same things in #26. 
The perspective is also changed somewhat, with
#25 being a view from above (on the right), and
#26 a view from the ground level.
Maybe one is a version from Simon
Ryker's recordings, while another was derived from Hellinger's
recordings of the events. One or the other, or both, may have been
edited for some reason.
Astonishing Tales I#26 identifies the brown-haired technician as
Peters. Neither of the others are identified...when I finally get
around to the Marvel Fanfare issues, I guess I'll see if the other two
fit with being Hugo and Commonhate.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Peters should be distinguished from:
Appearances:
Astonishing Tales#25 (August, 1974) - Rich Buckler & Doug Moench
(writers), Rich Buckler (pencils), Rich Buckler, Klaus Janson, Al
Milgrom & Mike Esposito (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Astonishing Tales#26-27 (October-December, 1974) - Rich Buckler &
Doug Moench (writers), Rich Buckler (pencils), Pablo Marcos (inks), Roy
Thomas (editor)
First posted: 06/04/2024
Last updated: 06/04/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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