HAMILTON HAMILTON
Real Name: Hamilton (presumably it is his first name that is unrevealed)
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: US government (possibly S.H.I.E.L.D.) agent
Group Membership: Possibly S.H.I.E.L.D. (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division) and/or Project Gladiator
Affiliations: Ted Sallis;
possibly Dr. Wilma Calvin, Dr. Barbara Morse (later Mockingbird), Dr. Wendell;
possibly formerly Paul Allen (secretly and AIM agent)
Enemies: A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics; notably Alan and his associate, presumably under the guidance of Paul Allen), Ellen Brandt
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
died in his cabin in the swamps outside Citrusville, Florida, near the Nexus of Reality
First Appearance: Savage Tales I#1 (May, 1971)
Powers/Abilities: Unrevealed.
Height:
Unrevealed (he's lying on the ground in the foreground compared to Ted
Sallis; he looks kind of small, like maybe 5'6" or 5'8")
Weight: Unrevealed (perhaps 140-160 lbs.)
Eyes: Unrevealed (eyes closed in only panel)
Hair: Brown (or black)
History:
(Savage Tales I#1 (fb) - BTS / Astonishing Tales#12 (fb) - BTS / others (see comments)) - Hamilton was a US government agent (see comments) involved in some fashion with Ted Sallis in Project Gladiator, a SHIELD research program based in the Florida Everglades (unknown to all involved to be the Nexus of Realities) and aimed at re-creating the lost “Super-Soldier” serum that created Captain America. Working separately from his colleagues, including Drs. Paul Allen, Wilma Calvin, Barbara Morse (later Mockingbird), and Wendell, Sallis modified his SO-2 formula as the basis for a new Super-Soldier serum.
Sallis met with Hamilton multiple times, and Hamilton was consistently punctual.
(Savage Tales I#1 (fb) - BTS / others (see comments)) - The subversive organization AIM (Advanced Idea Mechanics) wanted the serum and conspired with a bitter Ellen Brandt, whom Ted had neglected since their honeymoon, to obtain it.
(Savage Tales I#1 (fb) - BTS) - After Sallis completed his serum, he made arrangements for Hamilton to pick it up.
(Savage Tales I#1 (fb) - BTS / others (see comments)) - A pair of AIM slew Hamilton and waited at his cabin for Sallis.
(Savage Tales I#1 - BTS) - Sallis became distraught when Hamilton failed to show up. Given Hamilton's previously consistent reliability, Sallis considered his failure to show at this critical time to be ominous, and he figured something must have happened to Hamilton. Unwilling to take any chances, Sallis -- knowing he had one dose of completed/distilled serum, as well as the formula committed to his memory -- burnt his written records on the formula.
Sallis then brought Ellen with him in his airboat to Hamilton's cabin.
(Savage Tales I#1) - Thinking
he had just been nervous and overreacting, Sallis opened the door to
Hamilton's cabin and saw Hamilton lying dead on the floor.
(Savage Tales I#1 - BTS) - The AIM agents then came out of hiding and confronted Sallis, after which Ellen revealed her true loyalties.
Sallis escaped, stole a car, and
fled, injecting himself with the serum to prevent if from being
obtained by enemy agents. After he crashed and sank beneath the swamp,
Sallis was mutated by both the serum and the Nexus' energies into the
monstrous Man-Thing.
Comments: Created by Gerry Conway, Roy Thomas, and Gray Morrow.
I don't have all references for
all of the ret-con information that's been added to the Man-Thing's
origin. There was no mention of SHIELD, AIM, Project Gladiator (or
Calvin or Morse or anyone else), Project Sulfur, the Super-Soldier
serum, the Nexus of All-Realities, or anything else in the original story.
In Astonishing Tales I#12, AIM was identified as the business that hired Ellen; the project Sallis was
working was identified as Project Gladiator; the project was identified
as working under SHIELD; and the term "super-solider" was used.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Hamilton should be distinguished from:
images: (without ads)
Savage Tales I#1, third story, pg. 6, panel 1 (dead on the floor)
Appearances:
Savage Tales
I#1 (May, 1971) - Gerry Conway & Roy Thomas (writer), Gray Morrow
(art), Roy Thomas (associate editor), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 05/11/2019
Last updated: 03/01/2020
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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