S.T.A.R. Corps
Encyclopedia
S.T.A.R. Corps is a fictional organization
, a team of comic book
superheroes published by DC Comics
. The S.T.A.R. Corps first appeared in S.T.A.R. Corps #1 (November 1993), and was created by Dan Vado
and Norman Felchle.
codenamed "Deadzone", which they developed for the United States Navy
. Due to a malfunction during the press conference where the armor was to be revealed, the Deadzone Armor becomes fused to Daniels' nervous system. This is the first of a series of engineered accidents triggered by S.T.A.R. Labs' proprietary networked artificial intelligence
, a hardware/software combination known as "Mindgame". Mindgame is billed as the first stable A.I. in the DC Comics universe, and debuts one year after the Digitronix corporation from the Hacker Files
limited series created their own illegal A.I. in Kazakhstan
. According to the explanation Mindgame's supposed inventor Jean Louis Mardis gives to facility director David Ramsey, and medical researcher Kitty Faulkner
, the Mindgame A.I. deliberately altered the Deadzone Armor so that it would fuse with the next person who put it on.
Because Clark Kent
and Lois Lane
were covering the Metropolis
press conference for the Daily Planet
, Superman
was able to disarm and stun a rampaging Jay Daniels.
Later, after Kitty Faulkner stabilizes Daniels on a trauma table and his pain from the fusion subsides, he is asked to investigate a radiation leak deliberately caused by Mindgame at the radiation labs located in building 9, and to evacuate Ed Wilder and Beth Wilder, the two researchers trapped there. By the time Daniels arrives at building 9 in his radiation hardened Deadzone armor, the Wilders have already been transformed, the release of charged particles from the building's reactor having apparently triggered their metagenes, causing them to combine into an energy being which would later be dubbed "Fusion". This combined form, the abilities it possesses, and the accident that caused it, are all reminiscent of Firestorm
.
and uses it to create cadres of flying robotic soldiers which it names the "Gamesmen".
that led to Mindgame's development was salvaged from a crashed alien ship discovered by the Australia
n government, possibly the vessel of an unknown species which participated in the Invasion!
of earth, auxiliary to the Alien Alliance. Mardis was unable to decipher the device's higher code functions, but was able to disable them. And so Mardis submitted the chimeric mainframe
with his grant proposal to S.T.A.R. Labs.
location, due to Mindgame's machinations Charles Ndoki an exchange student from Cameroon
is trapped inside a massive linear particle accelerator
, similar to that operated by the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center
. The accelerator activates and apparently disintegrates Ndoki.
. Director David Ramsey requests that Ndoki be driven to the San Francisco location, their primary metahuman testing facility. Doctor Mardis discovers that the alien code round which Mindgame's processes were designed has generated a computer virus
which infected the entire S.T.A.R. network. Mardis has a plan to scrub the virus from their network, but states that the Gamesman robots all carry parts of the Mindgame code and will need to be disabled as well. While driving to San Francisco, Ndoki and a fellow employee are attacked by Gamesman units, forcing Ndoki to defend himself, it is here he reveals that his surname
"Ndoki" means wizard in swahili
.
of the human race. The Gamesman units all join together in Death Valley
to form a collective colossus which refers to itself as Mindgame. The S.T.A.R. Corps are deployed and all take codenames except for Ndoki who decides to use his surname. Mardis creates special modem modules for them to attach to Mindgame's body from discontinued PDA
units, and the attaches a modem module to every Gamesman unit they disable. The team confronts the combined Mindgame form and due to a civil war within Fusion, the Wilders accidentally phase inside the construct's chest. Deadzone empties his ordinance into Mindgame's chassis, Ndoki transforms into his earth form and attacks, and Brainstorm attempts to hack Mindgame's mind. The team attaches their remaining wireless modem modules to the construct's legs, allowing Mardis and Ramsey to upload and trap the A.I. inside a specially prepared mainframe. This mainframe's purpose seems very similar to the Code Zoo, a special prison for artificial intelligences developed by Checkmate
's Castellan Carl Draper
. At story's end the future of the S.T.A.R. Corps is left wide open.
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
, a team of comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
superheroes published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. The S.T.A.R. Corps first appeared in S.T.A.R. Corps #1 (November 1993), and was created by Dan Vado
Dan Vado
Dan Vado is a comic book publisher and writer, and a fixture of the independent comics community. Vado is the owner, president, and publisher of Slave Labor Graphics.-Biography:...
and Norman Felchle.
S.T.A.R. Labs, Metropolis
Former U.S. Navy Seal Jay Daniels is contracted by S.T.A.R. Labs as the test pilot for a new suit of combat hardened powered armorPowered exoskeleton
A powered exoskeleton, also known as powered armor, or exoframe, is a powered mobile machine consisting primarily of an exoskeleton-like framework worn by a person and a power supply that supplies at least part of the activation-energy for limb movement.Powered exoskeletons are designed to assist...
codenamed "Deadzone", which they developed for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. Due to a malfunction during the press conference where the armor was to be revealed, the Deadzone Armor becomes fused to Daniels' nervous system. This is the first of a series of engineered accidents triggered by S.T.A.R. Labs' proprietary networked artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, a hardware/software combination known as "Mindgame". Mindgame is billed as the first stable A.I. in the DC Comics universe, and debuts one year after the Digitronix corporation from the Hacker Files
The Hacker Files
The Hacker Files is a twelve issue DC Comics mini-series published from August 1992 to July 1993. It was written by Lewis Shiner and illustrated by Tom Sutton.-Publication history:...
limited series created their own illegal A.I. in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. According to the explanation Mindgame's supposed inventor Jean Louis Mardis gives to facility director David Ramsey, and medical researcher Kitty Faulkner
Rampage (DC Comics)
Rampage is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. The character first appeared in Superman comic books, and was later utilized in Starman. Rampage has a distinct appearance, with orange skin, a towering, muscular build, and a fiery red mohawk...
, the Mindgame A.I. deliberately altered the Deadzone Armor so that it would fuse with the next person who put it on.
Because Clark Kent
Clark Kent
Clark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
and Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
were covering the Metropolis
Metropolis (comics)
Metropolis is a fictional city that appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and is the home of Superman. Metropolis first appeared by name in Action Comics #16 ....
press conference for the Daily Planet
Daily Planet
The Daily Planet is a fictional broadsheet newspaper in the , appearing mostly in the stories of Superman. The building's original features were based upon the AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio...
, Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
was able to disarm and stun a rampaging Jay Daniels.
Later, after Kitty Faulkner stabilizes Daniels on a trauma table and his pain from the fusion subsides, he is asked to investigate a radiation leak deliberately caused by Mindgame at the radiation labs located in building 9, and to evacuate Ed Wilder and Beth Wilder, the two researchers trapped there. By the time Daniels arrives at building 9 in his radiation hardened Deadzone armor, the Wilders have already been transformed, the release of charged particles from the building's reactor having apparently triggered their metagenes, causing them to combine into an energy being which would later be dubbed "Fusion". This combined form, the abilities it possesses, and the accident that caused it, are all reminiscent of Firestorm
Firestorm (comics)
Firestorm is the name of several comic book superheroes published by DC Comics. Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein, the first Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #1 , and was created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom. Martin Stein, by himself as Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm the Nuclear...
.
S.T.A.R. Labs, Wichita
Mindgame takes over a S.T.A.R. Labs robotics facility in Wichita, KansasWichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
and uses it to create cadres of flying robotic soldiers which it names the "Gamesmen".
S.T.A.R. Labs, Metropolis
In Metropolis the Wilders figure out how to split their fused form and doctor Mardis figures out that Mindgame has decided that the Metropolis personnel are an impediment to its goals. Two hours later the Gamesman units arrive in Metropolis after flying at Mach 2 speeds from Wichita. Mindgame orders the Gamesmen to slaughter all human personnel, excepting its metahuman test subjects. Jay Daniels, Kitty Faulkner and the Wilders in their fused form manage to fight the Gamesmen off and force a tactical retreat.S.T.A.R. Labs, Seattle
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Seattle Alan Barnes a paid research volunteer is part of a trial to trigger latent Extra Sensory Perception through the use of cybernetic implants. A process similar to technology later perfected by criminal researcher Cliff Carmicheal. The procedure made Barnes catatonic but left his mind active in a waking nightmare which was slowly driving him insane, Mindgame contacted him through his cybernetic implants and brings him out of his stupor. According to an attending physician Barnes is the only test subject to survive the procedure. The implants grant Barnes contact telepathy, broadcast technopathy which allows him to link with machines, and the ability to generate focused psionic blasts from his brain.S.T.A.R. Labs, Metropolis
In Metropolis, Doctor Mardis reveals the truth about Mindgame to facility director David Ramsey, the hardware and program codeSource code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
that led to Mindgame's development was salvaged from a crashed alien ship discovered by the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n government, possibly the vessel of an unknown species which participated in the Invasion!
Invasion! (DC Comics)
Invasion! was a three issue comic book limited series and crossover event published in late 1988-early 1989 by DC Comics. It was plotted by Keith Giffen, and ties up a great many plotlines from various Giffen-created DC series, including Omega Men, Justice League International, and Legion of...
of earth, auxiliary to the Alien Alliance. Mardis was unable to decipher the device's higher code functions, but was able to disable them. And so Mardis submitted the chimeric mainframe
Mainframe computer
Mainframes are powerful computers used primarily by corporate and governmental organizations for critical applications, bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.The term originally referred to the...
with his grant proposal to S.T.A.R. Labs.
S.T.A.R. Labs, San Jose
At the San Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
location, due to Mindgame's machinations Charles Ndoki an exchange student from Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
is trapped inside a massive linear particle accelerator
Linear particle accelerator
A linear particle accelerator is a type of particle accelerator that greatly increases the velocity of charged subatomic particles or ions by subjecting the charged particles to a series of oscillating electric potentials along a linear beamline; this method of particle acceleration was invented...
, similar to that operated by the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center
Los Alamos Neutron Science Center
The Los Alamos Neutron Science Center , formerly known as the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility is one of the world's most powerful linear accelerators. It is located in Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico in Technical Area 53 . It was the most powerful linear accelerator in the world...
. The accelerator activates and apparently disintegrates Ndoki.
S.T.A.R. Labs, San Jose
In actuality the linear particle accelerator triggered Ndoki's metagene. He becomes sentient energy, animating a hill sized mound of earth and stone, while raging confusedly and shatters a wall surrounding the facility. Eventually Ndoki reverts back to human form and passes out. Later Ndoki discovers that he can destabilize or animate any matter he touches or phases into, and manipulate external energy fields by transforming part or all of his body into a stable waveformWave–particle duality
Wave–particle duality postulates that all particles exhibit both wave and particle properties. A central concept of quantum mechanics, this duality addresses the inability of classical concepts like "particle" and "wave" to fully describe the behavior of quantum-scale objects...
. Director David Ramsey requests that Ndoki be driven to the San Francisco location, their primary metahuman testing facility. Doctor Mardis discovers that the alien code round which Mindgame's processes were designed has generated a computer virus
Computer virus
A computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability...
which infected the entire S.T.A.R. network. Mardis has a plan to scrub the virus from their network, but states that the Gamesman robots all carry parts of the Mindgame code and will need to be disabled as well. While driving to San Francisco, Ndoki and a fellow employee are attacked by Gamesman units, forcing Ndoki to defend himself, it is here he reveals that his surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
"Ndoki" means wizard in swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
.
S.T.A.R. Labs, San Francisco
At the San Francisco location, Amy Southern is the lone research volunteer in "Project Trauma". Due to Mindgame's interference Amy's metagene was triggered by an adrenaline overdose, and she became superstrong and tough. Amy then went on a pain blinded rampage due to adrenaline toxicity. Amy's metahuman body produces abnormal levels of adrenaline, this makes her unstable and so she needs constant sedation in order to stay calm. Amy joins the other S.T.A.R. Corps test subjects as they come together to fight off another attempt by the Gamesmen to capture them all.S.T.A.R. Labs, San Francisco
The entire team is assembled in San Francisco, with Kitty Faulkner serving as their corporate liaison, Ramsey wants to use them as corporate security and cites their existing contracts. The alien Mindgame computer reverts to its original program directive, "prepare the earth for colonization", a process that would require the immediate extinctionExtinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
of the human race. The Gamesman units all join together in Death Valley
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California. Situated within the Mojave Desert, it features the lowest, driest, and hottest locations in North America. Badwater, a basin located in Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet below...
to form a collective colossus which refers to itself as Mindgame. The S.T.A.R. Corps are deployed and all take codenames except for Ndoki who decides to use his surname. Mardis creates special modem modules for them to attach to Mindgame's body from discontinued PDA
PDA
A PDA is most commonly a Personal digital assistant, also known as a Personal data assistant, a mobile electronic device.PDA may also refer to:In science, medicine and technology:...
units, and the attaches a modem module to every Gamesman unit they disable. The team confronts the combined Mindgame form and due to a civil war within Fusion, the Wilders accidentally phase inside the construct's chest. Deadzone empties his ordinance into Mindgame's chassis, Ndoki transforms into his earth form and attacks, and Brainstorm attempts to hack Mindgame's mind. The team attaches their remaining wireless modem modules to the construct's legs, allowing Mardis and Ramsey to upload and trap the A.I. inside a specially prepared mainframe. This mainframe's purpose seems very similar to the Code Zoo, a special prison for artificial intelligences developed by Checkmate
Checkmate (comics)
Checkmate, a division of Task Force X, is a fictional covert operations agency within the DC Comics universe. It first appeared in Action Comics #598 and proceeded to have its own ongoing title in Checkmate!...
's Castellan Carl Draper
Carl Draper
Carl Draper is a fictional character in DC Comics, an enemy of Superman. He has gone by the names Kator, Master Jailer, and Deathtrap. Draper made his first appearance in Superman Vol 1 #331 , written by Martin Pasko and drawn by Curt Swan and Frank Chiaramonte.-Pre-Crisis:In Pre-Crisis comics,...
. At story's end the future of the S.T.A.R. Corps is left wide open.
Membership
- Brainstorm (Alan Barnes) - A research volunteer with artificially generated psionic abilities created by S.T.A.R. Labs. He uncovers the true nature of the Mindgame computer and the Gamesman units.
- Deadzone (Jay Daniels) - A former Navy Seal fused with a suit of high tech combat armor.
- Fusion (Ed Wilder & Beth Wilder) - A married couple, this pair of scientists hate each other, but were fused together in a process similar to the one that created the original FirestormFirestorm (comics)Firestorm is the name of several comic book superheroes published by DC Comics. Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein, the first Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #1 , and was created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom. Martin Stein, by himself as Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm the Nuclear...
duo. - Ndoki (Charles Ndoki) - A metahuman exchange student from CameroonCameroonCameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, who can transform his body into living energy. - Trauma (Amy Southern) - A woman with superhuman strength that rivals RampageRampage (DC Comics)Rampage is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. The character first appeared in Superman comic books, and was later utilized in Starman. Rampage has a distinct appearance, with orange skin, a towering, muscular build, and a fiery red mohawk...
which she can barely control due to her elevated adrenaline levels, she requires constant sedation.