Henry Bendix
Encyclopedia
Henry Bendix, also known as Weatherman, is a fictional character in the Wildstorm
universe
. He first appeared in the Stormwatch
series.
, alcoholic
father. It appears that his father more than once killed a girlfriend during a drunken rage. Even as a child, Henry was extremely intelligent, designing the bodily enhancements that eventually led to the creation of the superheroes Midnighter
and Apollo
while still a child. Henry's diary from this time would mention that he had been contacted by the alien Weavers, who showed him the future. Young Henry was shocked to find out that he would become a villain, but the Weavers told him that till then he could be a hero. Henry killed his father with a self-built energy weapon in order to save his father's girlfriend, Delia. (See notes, as this origin was told in the Monarchy
series.)
During the 1960s, he worked for the US government
, developing a mobile weapon that was operated through a combination of manual controls and cybernetic uplink. It was dubbed "Think Tank". He was recruited into Team One
, a secret task force designed to deal with the emerging Daemonite
threat. Team One was dissolved following its first mission. The actual tank was destroyed by Daemonites, causing energy to surge into Bendix's brain. The experience gave Bendix a lifelong interest in Earth's secret history. This fascination put him in contact with the villains known as the Four, and led him to discover the interdimensional realm known as the Bleed
, among other things. Although he continued to work for the US government, he kept most of his funding for himself.
, the United Nations Special Crisis Intervention Team. During that time, he was outfitted with cybernetic implants that granted him direct cybernetic link to Skywatch's operating systems. He retained this post until 1994, when he was temporarily replaced by Christine Trelane
. He regained his post a year later following the Second Despot Incident. All the while, he continued to explore the world and advance his own, secret agenda.
The Fire From Heaven
incident inspired him to take a more proactive approach to peacekeeping. He reorganizes StormWatch, firing most of the junior members, recruiting Jenny Sparks
, Rose Tattoo
and Jack Hawksmoor
and placing all members of the original team into inactive duties. He split the remaining memberships into three teams: StormWatch Prime, StormWatch Red and StormWatch Black. Bendix believed that this structure would allow for a more flexible response to post-human threats.
Weatherman and his team attended a superhero 'conference' only to learn the earth was splitting up into separate realities. Most just the same, but with far less superheroes. Despite visible evidence of friends forgetting others had existed a moment ago, Bendix expressed pleasure at the idea of having less super-powered competition.
Shortly after StormWatch's reorganization, Bendix was approached by an alternate universe version of him. He offered Bendix a chance to explore the Bleed. In exchange, he asked Bendix to allow him to replace him. This alternate Bendix attempted to shape an orderly world and was killed by Jenny Sparks after he slaughtered members of a superhero team that was attempting to create a crime-free utopia. At the time members of Stormwatch believed this to be the real Bendix gone insane. The new Weatherman Jackson King even believed Bendix' madness was a result of the cybernetic implants (which were part of the Weatherman's job), and refused to have them himself.
After exploring the Bleed and gathering allies, Bendix returned to his world in 2004. Discovering that the Authority was now in charge of America, he devised a plan to remove them from power whilst, at the same time, breaking up the team. His plan was successful. Following that, he assumed control of the shattered Secret Monarchy, the loose coalition of secret groups that run the world behind the scenes. He implemented an active post-human advancement agenda, facilitating integration of Kherubim
and other otherworldly technology into American (and to a lesser extent, global) society. In 2008, he faced off against the reorganized Authority. After a prolonged struggle, he was killed by Midnighter
.
William's main goal has been to crack his father's "memory tower," containing his most secret files. He manages to do this in The Authority: Prime miniseries, uncovering a secret bunker in the Nevada desert and leading to a battle between The Authority and Stormwatch Prime for custody of its contents. During the battle, an AI copy of Henry Bendix activates in response and proceeds to release zombie-like clones of his secret Stormwatch team (including copies of Apollo and Midnighter), seduce Rose Tattoo to his side yet again and install itself in a younger cloned body which has been engineered with the powers and abilities of every superhuman present. William arrives at the scene and convinces Rose to kill the clone of his father but not before he is seriously wounded by the reborn Henry Bendix. Although his body is not found by either of the teams after the resulting destruction of the bunker; the horrifically scarred William emerges from the wreckage, his father having psychically grafted his own consciousness onto William's mind. In control of his son's body, Bendix muses that the body is young and strong enough.
, the Spirit of Murder, apparently being attracted to her lust for death and destruction (when a later, evolved Tattoo asked the original why her poisoned kiss did not affect him, he replied "Because I embrace it."). It was alternate Bendix who was defeated after attacking a group of superhumans attempting to establish a utopia in South America. He was killed by Jenny Sparks.
Wildstorm
WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
universe
Wildstorm Universe
The Wildstorm Universe is a fictional shared universe where the comic books published by Wildstorm take place. It represents an alternate history of the real world where ideas such as interstellar travel and superhuman abilities are commonplace...
. He first appeared in the Stormwatch
Stormwatch (comics)
Stormwatch is a fictional United Nations-sponsored superhero team that originated in the Wildstorm Universe and has since been revived as part of the DC Universe. The original version of Stormwatch first appeared in Stormwatch Stormwatch is a fictional United Nations-sponsored superhero team that...
series.
Early life
Henry Bendix's past remains fairly muddled, partly because of the existence of an alternate Bendix who has been known to pose as the original. He grew up in Maladyville, Mississippi, raised by his abusiveChild abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
, alcoholic
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
father. It appears that his father more than once killed a girlfriend during a drunken rage. Even as a child, Henry was extremely intelligent, designing the bodily enhancements that eventually led to the creation of the superheroes Midnighter
Midnighter
Midnighter is a fictional comic book superhero, best known as a member of the rogue superhero team The Authority. Created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Bryan Hitch, he first appeared in Stormwatch #4, before appearing in various Authority books and series and his own eponymous ongoing series...
and Apollo
Apollo (comics)
Apollo is a fictional character, a comic book superhero who first appeared in the Stormwatch series, but is best known for his role in The Authority. While visually distinct, Apollo is cast in the mold of the Superman archetype....
while still a child. Henry's diary from this time would mention that he had been contacted by the alien Weavers, who showed him the future. Young Henry was shocked to find out that he would become a villain, but the Weavers told him that till then he could be a hero. Henry killed his father with a self-built energy weapon in order to save his father's girlfriend, Delia. (See notes, as this origin was told in the Monarchy
Monarchy (comic book)
The Monarchy was an American comic book series written by Doselle Young with art by John McCrea. It was published by Wildstorm. The Monarchy lasted 12 issues and had an intro-issue in The Authority #21....
series.)
During the 1960s, he worked for the US government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
, developing a mobile weapon that was operated through a combination of manual controls and cybernetic uplink. It was dubbed "Think Tank". He was recruited into Team One
Team One
Team One is a comic book team from DC Comics/Wildstorm.It was published as two separate but intertwined two issue mini-series, each focusing on different members of the same team and showing events from their different perspectives. Team One: WildC.A.T.S focused on members who would go on to be...
, a secret task force designed to deal with the emerging Daemonite
Daemonite
The Daemonites are a fictional alien race in the . They were created by Jim Lee and first appeared in WildC.A.T.s. #1 .-Biology:Daemonites are reptilian aliens from the planet Daemon, who are capable of possessing host bodies...
threat. Team One was dissolved following its first mission. The actual tank was destroyed by Daemonites, causing energy to surge into Bendix's brain. The experience gave Bendix a lifelong interest in Earth's secret history. This fascination put him in contact with the villains known as the Four, and led him to discover the interdimensional realm known as the Bleed
Bleed (Wildstorm)
The Bleed is a fictional interdimensional realm, a comic book construct that appears in books published by DC Comics. It first appeared in Stormwatch #7 , and was created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch.-Publication history:...
, among other things. Although he continued to work for the US government, he kept most of his funding for himself.
Weatherman One
In 1978, he was appointed to the post of Weatherman One, head of StormWatchStormwatch (comics)
Stormwatch is a fictional United Nations-sponsored superhero team that originated in the Wildstorm Universe and has since been revived as part of the DC Universe. The original version of Stormwatch first appeared in Stormwatch Stormwatch is a fictional United Nations-sponsored superhero team that...
, the United Nations Special Crisis Intervention Team. During that time, he was outfitted with cybernetic implants that granted him direct cybernetic link to Skywatch's operating systems. He retained this post until 1994, when he was temporarily replaced by Christine Trelane
Synergy (comics)
Christine Trelane, formerly known as Synergy is a fictional character in the Wildstorm universe. She was created by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi as a member of Stormwatch....
. He regained his post a year later following the Second Despot Incident. All the while, he continued to explore the world and advance his own, secret agenda.
The Fire From Heaven
Fire From Heaven (comics)
"Fire From Heaven" was a company-wide crossover event story arc published by Wildstorm comics in 1996. The story ran across at least one issue of most Wildstorm titles at the time and several independent one-shots...
incident inspired him to take a more proactive approach to peacekeeping. He reorganizes StormWatch, firing most of the junior members, recruiting Jenny Sparks
Jenny Sparks
Jenny Sparks, also known as "The Spirit of the 20th century", is a fictional character in the Wildstorm comic book universe created by Warren Ellis during his 1997 revamp of the dwindling Stormwatch series...
, Rose Tattoo
Rose Tattoo (Wildstorm)
Rose Tattoo is the name of two characters appearing in books owned by Wildstorm Productions, an imprint of DC Comics. Both characters exist within the Wildstorm Universe.-Character history:...
and Jack Hawksmoor
Jack Hawksmoor (comics)
Jack Hawksmoor is a fictional character, a superhero and member of The Authority in the Wildstorm Universe and of Stormwatch in the DC Universe...
and placing all members of the original team into inactive duties. He split the remaining memberships into three teams: StormWatch Prime, StormWatch Red and StormWatch Black. Bendix believed that this structure would allow for a more flexible response to post-human threats.
Weatherman and his team attended a superhero 'conference' only to learn the earth was splitting up into separate realities. Most just the same, but with far less superheroes. Despite visible evidence of friends forgetting others had existed a moment ago, Bendix expressed pleasure at the idea of having less super-powered competition.
Shortly after StormWatch's reorganization, Bendix was approached by an alternate universe version of him. He offered Bendix a chance to explore the Bleed. In exchange, he asked Bendix to allow him to replace him. This alternate Bendix attempted to shape an orderly world and was killed by Jenny Sparks after he slaughtered members of a superhero team that was attempting to create a crime-free utopia. At the time members of Stormwatch believed this to be the real Bendix gone insane. The new Weatherman Jackson King even believed Bendix' madness was a result of the cybernetic implants (which were part of the Weatherman's job), and refused to have them himself.
After exploring the Bleed and gathering allies, Bendix returned to his world in 2004. Discovering that the Authority was now in charge of America, he devised a plan to remove them from power whilst, at the same time, breaking up the team. His plan was successful. Following that, he assumed control of the shattered Secret Monarchy, the loose coalition of secret groups that run the world behind the scenes. He implemented an active post-human advancement agenda, facilitating integration of Kherubim
Kherubim
The Kherubim or Kherans are an alien race in the fictional Wildstorm Universe. They were created by Jim Lee and first appeared in WildC.A.Ts #1 .-Biology:...
and other otherworldly technology into American (and to a lesser extent, global) society. In 2008, he faced off against the reorganized Authority. After a prolonged struggle, he was killed by Midnighter
Midnighter
Midnighter is a fictional comic book superhero, best known as a member of the rogue superhero team The Authority. Created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Bryan Hitch, he first appeared in Stormwatch #4, before appearing in various Authority books and series and his own eponymous ongoing series...
.
Bendix's son
In Stormwatch PHD #8, it is revealed that Bendix has a son named William. The spitting image of his father, the younger Bendix is the child of a call girl that Henry paid off to raise on her own in secret. William was recruited by Jackson King to be the new Weatherman (no longer a leadership role) for the reconstituted Stormwatch Prime. This is due to most of the cybernetic integration systems having been designed for Henry's physiology, so William is a wise choice. Williams is deeply concerned that he will turn into his father despite King's faith that he is his own man.William's main goal has been to crack his father's "memory tower," containing his most secret files. He manages to do this in The Authority: Prime miniseries, uncovering a secret bunker in the Nevada desert and leading to a battle between The Authority and Stormwatch Prime for custody of its contents. During the battle, an AI copy of Henry Bendix activates in response and proceeds to release zombie-like clones of his secret Stormwatch team (including copies of Apollo and Midnighter), seduce Rose Tattoo to his side yet again and install itself in a younger cloned body which has been engineered with the powers and abilities of every superhuman present. William arrives at the scene and convinces Rose to kill the clone of his father but not before he is seriously wounded by the reborn Henry Bendix. Although his body is not found by either of the teams after the resulting destruction of the bunker; the horrifically scarred William emerges from the wreckage, his father having psychically grafted his own consciousness onto William's mind. In control of his son's body, Bendix muses that the body is young and strong enough.
Alternate Bendix
The alternate Bendix who replaced the original has had a substantial impact on the team as well, though in a much more negative way. Whilst the first Bendix had an undoubtedly ruthless and cold-hearted side, the new one was an entirely self-centred, psychotic individual pursuing an ultra-conservative agenda. He had a bizarre romantic affair with Rose TattooRose Tattoo (Wildstorm)
Rose Tattoo is the name of two characters appearing in books owned by Wildstorm Productions, an imprint of DC Comics. Both characters exist within the Wildstorm Universe.-Character history:...
, the Spirit of Murder, apparently being attracted to her lust for death and destruction (when a later, evolved Tattoo asked the original why her poisoned kiss did not affect him, he replied "Because I embrace it."). It was alternate Bendix who was defeated after attacking a group of superhumans attempting to establish a utopia in South America. He was killed by Jenny Sparks.
Other appearances
- In the MonarchyMonarchy (comic book)The Monarchy was an American comic book series written by Doselle Young with art by John McCrea. It was published by Wildstorm. The Monarchy lasted 12 issues and had an intro-issue in The Authority #21....
series, Henry Bendix appears, claiming to have planned his death by Jenny Sparks so that he could become an imaginary being, capable of assisting the Weavers and the Monarchy in their battle against Chimaera. Jackson King visits Bendix' home and finds his childhood diary there. In it Bendix relates the events of his first contact with the Weavers. The Authority: Revolution series seems to have retconRetconRetroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
ned these events away. Therefore it is also unclear whether his youth in Maladyville, Mississippi is still part of continuity.