M.A.C.H. 1
Encyclopedia
M.A.C.H. 1 was a comic strip that ran in the British science fiction
comic 2000 AD
. The strip was created by writer Pat Mills
and illustrator Enio. It debuted in the first issue of 2000 AD, which was published in February 1977, and ran nearly continuously until issue 64, dated 13 May 1978.
. His metabolism
was controlled by a computer
implanted in his skull
, which also fed him tactical information such as the amount of strength or the exact throwing angle required for a given task.
Initially, M.A.C.H. 1 thematically resembled the Six Million Dollar Man
, but with more, and more graphic, violence. As the strip continued the tone became increasingly dark. This contrasted directly with The Six Million Dollar Man, who began as a killer, but was progressively softened by the TV networks until it fitted into family entertainment.
At first engaging in missions against Communists, terrorists
and organised crime, Probe eventually discovered that his superior, Denis Sharpe, had engineered the compu-puncture treatment which had given him his abilities so as to erase Probe's pre-augmented memory and to cause his death if he did not receive frequent treatment. As a result Probe was forced to work for Sharpe.
, appeared in 2000 AD in the late 1990s, and gained considerable media attention at the time. The story was not popular with readers, however, and was soon killed off.
ous series. M.A.C.H. 1 was later reprinted in Eagle
and also in anthology
format (the beginning and end in 2000AD Extreme Edition #6 and #9). Appearances include:
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
comic 2000 AD
2000 AD (comic)
2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serialises a number of separate stories each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold...
. The strip was created by writer Pat Mills
Pat Mills
Pat Mills, nicknamed 'the godfather of British comics', is a comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since....
and illustrator Enio. It debuted in the first issue of 2000 AD, which was published in February 1977, and ran nearly continuously until issue 64, dated 13 May 1978.
Plot
John Probe was a British Secret Service agent who volunteered for a special procedure whereby his physical strength, speed and agility would be enhanced using 'compu-puncture' (M.A.C.H. stands for "Man Activated by Compu-puncture Hyperpower"), a computerised form of acupunctureAcupuncture
Acupuncture is a type of alternative medicine that treats patients by insertion and manipulation of solid, generally thin needles in the body....
. His metabolism
Metabolism
Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in the cells of living organisms to sustain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories...
was controlled by a computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
implanted in his skull
Human skull
The human skull is a bony structure, skeleton, that is in the human head and which supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.In humans, the adult skull is normally made up of 22 bones...
, which also fed him tactical information such as the amount of strength or the exact throwing angle required for a given task.
Initially, M.A.C.H. 1 thematically resembled the Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
, but with more, and more graphic, violence. As the strip continued the tone became increasingly dark. This contrasted directly with The Six Million Dollar Man, who began as a killer, but was progressively softened by the TV networks until it fitted into family entertainment.
At first engaging in missions against Communists, terrorists
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
and organised crime, Probe eventually discovered that his superior, Denis Sharpe, had engineered the compu-puncture treatment which had given him his abilities so as to erase Probe's pre-augmented memory and to cause his death if he did not receive frequent treatment. As a result Probe was forced to work for Sharpe.
M.A.C.H. Zero
M.A.C.H. 1 later came across M.A.C.H. Zero, a prototype who had not been equipped with a computer implant and had consequently become insane, and Tanya Maski, an East European M.A.C.H. agent created after Sharpe had sold the compu-puncture techniques to the Soviets. Sharpe also created a robotic M.A.C.H. 2 with which to kill Probe. Eventually, M.A.C.H. 1 killed Sharpe and then sacrificed himself to enable aliens, provoked into attacking Earth by Sharpe, to return home. M.A.C.H. Zero later appeared in his own strip.B.L.A.I.R. 1
A spoof, entitled B.L.A.I.R. 1, a satire on Tony BlairTony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, appeared in 2000 AD in the late 1990s, and gained considerable media attention at the time. The story was not popular with readers, however, and was soon killed off.
Publication
All three characters have appeared in their own eponymEponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous series. M.A.C.H. 1 was later reprinted in Eagle
Eagle (comic)
Eagle was a seminal British children's comic, first published from 1950 to 1969, and then in a relaunched format from 1982 to 1994. It was founded by Marcus Morris, an Anglican vicar from Lancashire. Morris edited a parish magazine called The Anvil, but felt that the church was not communicating...
and also in anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
format (the beginning and end in 2000AD Extreme Edition #6 and #9). Appearances include:
- M.A.C.H.1:
- "Vulcan" (with Pat MillsPat MillsPat Mills, nicknamed 'the godfather of British comics', is a comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since....
(1)/Robert Flynn (2) and Enio (1)/Ian KennedyIan Kennedy (comic artist)Ian Kennedy is a UK artist who worked initially for D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd, then later for Amalgamated Press-Biography:...
(2), in 2000 AD #1-2, 1977) - "Chinese Formula" (with Steve MacManusSteve MacManusSteve MacManus is a British comic writer and editor, particularly known for his work at 2000 AD.Born in London and educated in Devon, MacManus joined IPC in 1973, aged 20, as a sub-editor on the boys' weekly comic Valiant, until 1975 when he moved to Battle Picture Weekly under editor David Hunt...
and Kato, in 2000 AD #14, 1977) - "Tokyo" (with Steve MacManusSteve MacManusSteve MacManus is a British comic writer and editor, particularly known for his work at 2000 AD.Born in London and educated in Devon, MacManus joined IPC in 1973, aged 20, as a sub-editor on the boys' weekly comic Valiant, until 1975 when he moved to Battle Picture Weekly under editor David Hunt...
and Lopez, in 2000 AD #20, 1977) - "The Death Trumpet" (with Steve MacManusSteve MacManusSteve MacManus is a British comic writer and editor, particularly known for his work at 2000 AD.Born in London and educated in Devon, MacManus joined IPC in 1973, aged 20, as a sub-editor on the boys' weekly comic Valiant, until 1975 when he moved to Battle Picture Weekly under editor David Hunt...
and Marzal Canos, in 2000 AD #26, 1977) - "M.A.C.H. Zero" (with Steve MacManusSteve MacManusSteve MacManus is a British comic writer and editor, particularly known for his work at 2000 AD.Born in London and educated in Devon, MacManus joined IPC in 1973, aged 20, as a sub-editor on the boys' weekly comic Valiant, until 1975 when he moved to Battle Picture Weekly under editor David Hunt...
and Ramon Sola, in 2000 AD #43-46, 1977-1978) - "The Dolphin Tapes" (with Steve MacManusSteve MacManusSteve MacManus is a British comic writer and editor, particularly known for his work at 2000 AD.Born in London and educated in Devon, MacManus joined IPC in 1973, aged 20, as a sub-editor on the boys' weekly comic Valiant, until 1975 when he moved to Battle Picture Weekly under editor David Hunt...
and Jesus RedondoJesus RedondoJesús Redondo Román is a Spanish comic artist who has been published in many countries, including Spain, the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden and the USA....
(1-2), Montero (3-4), in 2000 AD #54-57, 1978) - "The Final Encounter " (with Pat MillsPat MillsPat Mills, nicknamed 'the godfather of British comics', is a comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since....
and Montero, in 2000 AD #61-64, 1978)
- "Vulcan" (with Pat Mills
- M.A.C.H.0:
- "Cousin George " (with Steve MacManusSteve MacManusSteve MacManus is a British comic writer and editor, particularly known for his work at 2000 AD.Born in London and educated in Devon, MacManus joined IPC in 1973, aged 20, as a sub-editor on the boys' weekly comic Valiant, until 1975 when he moved to Battle Picture Weekly under editor David Hunt...
and Mike Donaldson (1-2, 4, 6-8), Ramon Sola (3, 5), in 2000 AD #65-72, 1978) - "Cyborg Express (with Henry Miller and Kevin O'NeillKevin O'Neill (comics)Kevin O'Neill is an English comic book illustrator best known as the co-creator of Nemesis the Warlock, Marshal Law , and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen .-Early career:...
, in 2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1978) - "The Suit" (with Steve MacManusSteve MacManusSteve MacManus is a British comic writer and editor, particularly known for his work at 2000 AD.Born in London and educated in Devon, MacManus joined IPC in 1973, aged 20, as a sub-editor on the boys' weekly comic Valiant, until 1975 when he moved to Battle Picture Weekly under editor David Hunt...
and Montero, in 2000 AD #73-75, 1978) - "M.A.C.H. 0 Book 2" (with Steve MacManusSteve MacManusSteve MacManus is a British comic writer and editor, particularly known for his work at 2000 AD.Born in London and educated in Devon, MacManus joined IPC in 1973, aged 20, as a sub-editor on the boys' weekly comic Valiant, until 1975 when he moved to Battle Picture Weekly under editor David Hunt...
and Mike Dorey, in 2000 AD #162-165, 1980)
- "Cousin George " (with Steve MacManus
- B.L.A.I.R. 1 (with art from Simon DavisSimon Davis (comics)Simon Davis a British comics artist best known for his fully painted art work on Sinister Dexter, Black Siddha and Stone Island...
):- "B.L.A.I.R. 1" (with David BishopDavid BishopDavid Bishop is a screenwriter and author. Born in New Zealand, he was a UK comics editor during the 1990s, running such titles as the Judge Dredd Megazine and 2000 AD, the latter between 1996 and the summer of 2000....
/Steve MacManusSteve MacManusSteve MacManus is a British comic writer and editor, particularly known for his work at 2000 AD.Born in London and educated in Devon, MacManus joined IPC in 1973, aged 20, as a sub-editor on the boys' weekly comic Valiant, until 1975 when he moved to Battle Picture Weekly under editor David Hunt...
, in 2000 AD #1034, 1997) - "Blair Force One" (with Alan Grant, in 2000 AD #1071-1074, 1997)
- "Criminal Record" (with Alan Grant, in 2000 AD #1084, 1998)
- "He Died with his Boots on" (with Alan Grant, in 2000 AD #1097-1098, 1998)
- "B.L.A.I.R. 1" (with David Bishop
External links
- M.A.C.H. 1 at Barney
- M.A.C.H. 0 at Barney
- B.L.A.I.R. 1 at Barney
- M.A.C.H. 1 at the International Catalogue of Superheroes