Project Wideawake
Encyclopedia
- Colon omitted from article title due to Wikipedia technical requirements and naming conventions
Project: Wideawake is a fictional United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government program in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
universe. Its purpose is detecting and capturing mutants
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
employing the robots known as Sentinels.
History
The U.S. Government had been studying the mutant problem for years. Federal Judge Chambers headed up the Federal Council on Mutant Activities, which concluded with a 5-year study that was interpreted to show mutants were a menace to mankind. Meanwhile, Senator Robert KellyRobert Kelly (comics)
Robert Edward Kelly is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. He most often appears in Marvel's X-Men and X-Men-related comic books. He is a prominent United States Senator who began his career on an anti-mutant platform, and as the X-Men team is made up entirely of mutants, his role...
was also conducting a study on the mutant situation. He, too, did not trust mutants, but his aspirations toward the presidency prompted him to be much more vocal about the "mutant menace."
Mystique
Mystique (comics)
Mystique is a fictional character associated with the Marvel Comics' franchise X-Men. Originally created by artist David Cockrum and writer Chris Claremont, she first appeared in Ms...
, and her Second Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, sought to show people that mutants could not be pushed around and attempted to assassinate Kelly. They were stopped in the nick of time by the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
. Instead of defusing the situation, Mystique had only made it worse. Despite the fact that he was saved by mutants, Kelly clung to his radical mutant deterrent theories and helped press the White House for more action.
In response to all these pressures, the President secretly instructed the National Security Council to create a covert, illegal commission to deal with the problems posed by the increasing numbers of mutants in America. Codenamed Project: Wideawake, the commission is headed by the National Security Advisor, Judge Petrie, and includes Frank Lowell of the C.I.A., Raven Darkholme of the Defense Department, Dr. Valerie Cooper, Special Assistant to the National Security Advisor, plus many other currently unknown members of the U.S. intelligence community. Henry Peter Gyrich
Henry Peter Gyrich
Henry Peter Gyrich is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Avengers Vol. 1 #165 and was created by Jim Shooter and George Pérez.-Fictional character biography:...
, a top agent for the National Security Council, was chosen to be head of operations for Project: Wideawake.
Right from the start the commission had troubles, mainly because they had not completely defined their course of action for handling the American mutant population explosion. Because mutants were beginning to pop up all over the world, some members of the administration decided that America should start enlisting the aid of friendly mutants into the ranks of government agencies (under careful control, of course) for America's protection. Other members of the administration felt that the mutants should be rounded up and used as a resource, but their methods denied mutants even their most basic civil rights. Still other bureaucrats believe that all mutants should be destroyed. Project: Wideawake has evolved more towards the second way of thinking (mutants as a resource) under the direction of Petrie and Gyrich.
Realizing that they would have a fight on their hands against mutant teams, such as the X-Men, the government enlisted the aid of various private firms and interests to develop methods and equipment which would strengthen their position. Strangely enough, some of the most efficient items and fighters were recruited from the mutants themselves, whether knowingly or unknowingly. The mutant named Forge
Forge (comics)
Forge is a fictional character in the , a superhero associated with The X-Men.A mutant with an unsurpassed brilliance in technology, Forge has had a lengthy career as a government weapons contractor. He shared a romantic relationship with Storm, and a brief affair with Mystique which led him to...
developed many items for the various defense departments, including a gun that would strip a mutant's powers away from them for an indeterminate period of time. This item was to be used against Rogue
Rogue (comics)
Rogue was first slated to appear in Ms. Marvel #25 , but the book's abrupt cancellation left her original introduction story unpublished for over a decade, before seeing print in Marvel Super Heroes #11 in 1992. Rogue's first published appearance was in Avengers Annual #10...
, but when Storm intervened, it stripped her powers away instead. While all known models of the device have been destroyed, and Forge made sure the plans were eliminated, he still continues to blindly work for the U.S. defense agencies. Recently, Mystique and her Second Brotherhood of Evil Mutants struck a deal with the U.S. government to become a mutant deterrent force answerable only to the Oval Office through a Special Presidential Liaison, Dr. Valerie Cooper. Thus Freedom Force
Freedom Force (comics)
Freedom Force is the name of two teams within Marvel Comics' universe.The original was a supervillain team, though they occasionally acted in a heroic capacity as well. It was a government-sponsored team originally composed mainly of Mystique's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants...
was born, a mutant team designed to fight mutants. But it was the involvement of Sebastian Shaw
Sebastian Shaw (comics)
Sebastian Hiram Shaw is a fictional comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe, and an adversary of the X-Men.A mutant, Shaw possesses the ability to absorb energy and transform it into raw strength...
, the Black King of the Hellfire Club
Hellfire Club (comics)
The Hellfire Club is a fictional society within the Marvel Comics Universe that often comes into confrontation with the mutant superhero team, the X-Men...
, and himself secretly a mutant, that turned out to be the greatest threat to American mutants. As head of Shaw Industries, a major U.S. defense contractor, Shaw provided the Department of Defense with new versions of the mutant-hunting Sentinels.
Television
- In the Wolverine and the X-Men episode "Backlash," Project Wideawake is established when the MRD start hunting mutants using Sentinels.
Movies
- In the movie X2: X-Men UnitedX2 (film)X2 is a 2003 superhero film based on the fictional characters the X-Men. Directed by Bryan Singer, it is the second film in the X-Men film series...
, there is a folder on William Stryker's Computer titled "Project Wideawake."
Video games
- In the game X-Men Origins: WolverineX-Men Origins: Wolverine (video game)X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 2009 action-adventure game loosely based on the film of the same name. The game release coincided with the release of the film on May 1, 2009 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable. The game was developed...
(based on the film of the same nameX-Men Origins: WolverineX-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 2009 American action film based on the Marvel Comics' fictional character Wolverine. The fourth installment in the X-Men film series, it was released worldwide on May 1, 2009...
), Project Wideawake is created by Dr. Bolivar TraskBolivar TraskBolivar Trask is a fictional character and a military scientist in the Marvel Comics universe. He first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #14 . He is the creator of the Sentinels.-Fictional character biography:...
, supported by Senator KellyRobert Kelly (comics)Robert Edward Kelly is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. He most often appears in Marvel's X-Men and X-Men-related comic books. He is a prominent United States Senator who began his career on an anti-mutant platform, and as the X-Men team is made up entirely of mutants, his role...
, and takes place in the Systemized Cybernetics Lab created by Sebastian ShawSebastian Shaw (comics)Sebastian Hiram Shaw is a fictional comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe, and an adversary of the X-Men.A mutant, Shaw possesses the ability to absorb energy and transform it into raw strength...
. The project is about demolishing the mutant race with the use of SentinelsSentinel (comics)Sentinels are a fictional variety of mutant-hunting robots, appearing in the Marvel Comics Universe. They are usually portrayed as antagonists to the X-Men. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, they first appeared in The X-Men #14 .According to Marvel canon, Sentinels are programmed to locate...
.