Blood Red
Blood Red was a paramilitary unit in the Earth-668 iteration of the Clarkwoods Literary Universe. They conducted covert operations for the benefit of mankind in the early to mid 1990s, and operated out of a hidden island base staffed by seemingly hundreds (if not thousands) of individuals. It is unknown at present if a Blood Red unit exists in the current Earth-669 iteration of reality.
Their adventures were chronicled in a comic book series titled, coincidentally enough, Blood Red. It was written and illustrated by E. Christopher Clark and published from 1992 through 1993. Clark turned 15 years old during the run of the book.
The team was comprised of individuals experimented upon by Mitchell Genetics, a corporation whose ultimate aim was to resurrect Jesus of Nazareth from DNA extracted from The Shroud of Turin. The corporation’s experiments on the individuals who would go on to join Blood Red are believed to have been tied to their plan to create Jesus 2.0, but the full details of that connection have not yet been fully uncovered.
The closest we’ve gotten to an explanation came in issue 2 of the aforementioned series. In that issue, Teke explains to the team’s newest recruits that “in the future, Mitchell Genetics has taken the world by using their superhuman creations to wage war. To prevent this future, I need a team.”
Team Members
- Teke, a floating telekinetic box who bears a striking resemblance to a VCR or toaster with eyes. Teke was one of two individuals created by the joining of the minds of Tee—an alien from the planet Geometricus—and earthling Kenneth Dover. The other individual created as part of the experiment was Teke’s evil opposite: Psistorm.
- Fury, a pyrokinetic with a ball of flame for a head. Jonathan Banks was a cop before Mitchell experimented on him, and a funny, level-headed one at that. After the experiment, he was described as “anger personified.”
- Sting, who has the ability to freeze a person in time and space and to teleport. His real name was Robert Stork. Upon joining Blood Red, he handed control of the company his father “spent his life building” (Stork Enterprises) to his sister Jocelyn, who “knows virtually nothing about it.”
- Mystery: a teleporting, time-traveling telepath who draws on a supernatural power he calls “the ultimate” to do everything from create energy-based projectiles to wiping a gigantic monster out of existence with the blink of his eyes—but all at a cost. Each time he expends “too much” energy, he loses a facial feature. He is secretly a time-displaced future version of Sting, and it is his knowledge of the future which brings and keeps the group together.
- Razar, the group’s field leader. His power is a razor-sharp force field which surrounds his entire body, making him as lethal as he wants to be in hand-to-hand combat. Razar’s real name is John Horton. He was a veteran of Operation Desert Storm who went to Mitchell for help with healing from a war wound. Torn from his wife Shelly by the war, he watched everyone in his platoon die while he survived.
- Powerhouse, a short man with super strength. James Thomas was a nearly seven-foot-tall basketball player before Mitchell Genetics experimented on him. Their experiment compressed all of the former big man’s power into an ultra-small package.
Key Support Staff
- Vanessa, communications expert versed in over 30 languages
- Jasmine, surveillance expert
- Harold, the resident medic
- Flair, costume designer
- Arnold, security
- Rick, the “mad” scientist
- Jason, commander of the island “station”
- Becky, physical trainer
Notable Missions
The final mission of the previous Blood Red team (consisting of Fury, Teke, Mystery, and a man called Ace who possessed probability manipulation powers) involved a failed attack on Mitchell Genetics’ corporate headquarters. This failed mission resulted in the death of Ace at the hands of a Mitchell Genetics operative called Cyberphoenix.
Teke and Fury, the last of their team, eventually head back to Mitchell Genetics to take down “the project,” but a man called Dr. Palmer is ready with Mega—a giant monster—to take them on. Mystery and Sting, having both snuck into Mitchell to steal the same file, battle each other and then join the fray. Razar, incapacitated after side effects of a Mitchell experiment, is rescued by Powerhouse. They also join the battle against Mega. Mystery seemingly sacrifices himself to win the battle. But, as tragic as this sacrifice is, this concerted team effort by a group of strangers to take down Mitchell inspires Teke to put a team back together.
Super, a superhuman-hating contract killer, is hired by Mitchell to dispose of the team, but is easily taken out by the team of Mystery and Fury.
It is implied in issue 5 that Headbanger, a villain who has “struck again” and who is now the subject of a manhunt by the government-sponsored U.S. Steel special forces unit, will be Blood Red’s next mission. But the series did not continue, so we don’t know for certain if this ever happened.
Comments