S.T.R.I.K.E.

S.T.R.I.K.E., an acronym for Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies, is a fictional, comic book counter-terrorism and intelligence agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. The organization, that often deals with superhuman threats, and was introduced in Captain Britain Weekly #17 as the United Kingdom's version of the United States' S.H.I.E.L.D.

Bases of operation

S.T.R.I.K.E.'s original headquarters, as seen in the organization's first appearances, was an undersea air base which contained several of S.T.R.I.K.E.'s planes that were considered superior to their American counterparts at the time.^[1]

S.T.R.I.K.E.'s Psi division had their own headquarters.

Another headquarters was in a closed university, located in London, England; this headquarters was later used by D.U.C.K.^[2]

Members

Like S.H.I.E.L.D., S.T.R.I.K.E. had hundreds of agents throughout several divisions.

Executive directors and deputy directors

• Tod Radcliffe^[1] - First Director of S.T.R.I.K.E.
• Commodore Lance Hunter^[3] - Second Director of S.T.R.I.K.E. Even after the organization's disbanding, Hunter is shown to have good ties with S.H.I.E.L.D. and W.H.O. when he is seen alongside Contessa Valentina Allegro de Fontaine, and with Alistaire Stuart briefing British superhumans on the details of the British Superhuman Registration Act.^[4]

Psi-division

• Elizabeth Braddock^[5] - Twin sister of Captain Britain. She later joins the X-Men as Psylocke and is a former member of the Exiles.
• Tom Lennox^[5] - A telepath and a telekinetic; he is Betsy Braddock's lover. During the Jasper's Warp saga, Lennox is gunned down by S.T.R.I.K.E.'s armored anti-superhuman "Beetle" squad.^[6]
• Alison Double^[5]
• Kevin Mulhearn^[7] - A telepath; he took an outside job as a mentalist using the name Doctor Destiny. He was performing his mind reading act at a theater in London, using his powers to tell what people had in their possession. He was killed by one of his volunteers from the audience who turned out to be Slaymaster, who had been charged with killing all of S.T.R.I.K.E.'s Psi-Division.^[5]
• Vicki Reppion^[5][7] - Killed by Slaymaster.
• Avril Davis^[5][7] - Killed by Slaymaster.
• Dennis Rush^[5][7] - Killed by Slaymaster.
• Andrew Hornby^[5][7] - Killed by Slaymaster.
• Leah Mickleson^[5][7] - Killed by Slaymaster.
• Stuart Hattrick^[5][7] - Killed by Slaymaster.

Sci-Tech division

• "Matthew" (codename)^[8] - Recruited telepath Betsy Braddock to join S.T.R.I.K.E.'s Psi-division. He later was recruited into R.C.X. as a regulator and given the new codename of Gabriel.

Other versions

Ultimate S.T.R.I.K.E.

S.T.R.I.K.E. in the Ultimate Marvel parallel universe was first introduced in Ultimate X-Men #15. Like its Marvel Universe counterpart, this version of S.T.R.I.K.E. is the British division of S.H.I.E.L.D. S.T.R.I.K.E. also has ties with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s sister organization in Europe, the European Defense Initiative.

Known members

• Colonel Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock^[9] - a mutant telepath from the S.T.R.I.K.E. Psi-division who was possessed by Proteus and died in the ensuing conflict with the X-Men. Her consciousness came to reside in the body of a young comatose girl known as Kwannon.^[10] While inhabiting her new body Betsy was technically considered a minor and was thus unable to work for S.T.R.I.K.E. She worked undercover for Charles Xavier for a time, eventually joining the X-Men.^[11]
• Dai Thomas^[9] - a Welsh S.T.R.I.K.E. agent from Psi-division who was killed by Proteus. His Earth-616 counterpart was a police inspector who often clashed with S.T.R.I.K.E. and its descendant organizations.

In other media

Film

• A glimpse of S.H.I.E.L.D. records in The Avengers show that Black Widow and Hawkeye were partnered together under S.T.R.I.K.E. Team Delta.

• S.T.R.I.K.E. appears in the film Captain America: The Winter Soldier as a S.H.I.E.L.D. counter-terrorism team with Brock Rumlow and Jack Rollins as members, but later revealed to be composed of Hydra infiltrators.^[12][13]

References