Force (born Clayton "Clay" Wilson, legally changed to Carl Walker) is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. The character first appears in ''Prince Namor, the Savage Sub-Mariner'' #67 (Nov. 1972) and was created by

Steve Gerber Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include ''Man-Thing'', ''Omega the Unknown,'' ''Marvel Spotlight:' ...

and

Don Heck Donald L. HeckDonald L. Heck
at the Social Security Death Index. Retrieved on Septembe ...

. A version of Clay Wilson appeared in the television adaption of the first season of ''

The Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

'' played by

Tim Guinee Timothy S. Guinee (born November 18, 1962) is an American stage, television, and feature-film actor. Primarily known for his roles as Tomin in the television series ''Stargate SG-1'' (1997–2007) and railroad entrepreneur Collis Huntington AMC' ...

set in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

Fictional character biography

Clayton Wilson is a graduate student at Empire State University working as a research assistant to

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

Dr. Damon Walters, who develops a prototype device for creating a protective force field. Wilson steals the prototype force field generator, creates a battle-suit that incorporates it, and adopts the alias "Force". The character then goes on a rampage through

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

until he was defeated by hero

Namor the Sub-Mariner Namor (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in early 1939, the character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies In ...

. Force retreats and appears in the title ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

'', having become a professional criminal, working for crime boss

Justin Hammer Justin Hammer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a villainous entrepreneur, head of Hammer Industries and a frequent adversary of the superhero Iron Man. As he ex ...

in exchange for modifications to his suit. Force and a group of mercenaries hijack the yacht of industrialist Tony Stark (the

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...

) and take several

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...

s. Iron Man, however, tracks the yacht, defeats Force and his men and rescues the hostages. Wilson eventually reappears in the title ''Iron Man'', and decides to reform. Hammer, however, traps the character in the suit and threatens to kill him if he reneges on the agreement. Force flees and Hammer sends villains the

Beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

Blacklash Whiplash is the name of multiple supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are commonly depicted as members of Iron Man's rogues gallery. The original Whiplash (Mark Scarlotti) also went by the name Blacklas ...

, and the Blizzard II to kill him. Iron Man aids Force in stopping the villains, then lies to the authorities and advises that Wilson was killed in battle to placate Hammer. Wilson is provided with a new identity and employment with Barstow Electronics, a subsidiary of

Stark Industries Stark Industries, later also known as Stark International, Stark Innovations, Stark Enterprises and Stark Resilient, is a fictional company appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The company is depicted as being owned an ...

. Analysis of Force's armor reveals that elements of it were actually based on Stark's own designs, Stark bringing in Wilson to quickly ask him where he acquired that technology, thus setting in motion the events of the

Armor Wars "Armor Wars" is a seven-issue Iron Man story arc written by David Michelinie and Bob Layton with art by Mark D. Bright and Barry Windsor-Smith and published by Marvel Comics. The arc first appears in ''Iron Man'' #225–232. Publication history ...

when he learns that Justin Hammer acquired some of Stark's plans thanks to a raid carried out by

Spymaster A spymaster is the person that leads a spy ring, or a secret service (such as an intelligence agency). Historical spymasters See also *List of American spies *List of British spies * List of German spies *List of fictional spymasters This is ...

. Wilson makes another brief appearance in the title ''Iron Man'', impersonating the hero to assist Stark. The character makes another appearance in ''Iron Man'' as part of the group the "Iron Legion", subsequently battling the giant

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...

Ultimo. Force then appears in the third volume of ''Iron Man'', and after being

blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

ed travels to the country

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

to aid Stark once again. Wilson reappears as Force during the '' Dark Reign'' storyline, arresting several villains employed by the criminal the

Hood Hood may refer to: Covering Apparel * Hood (headgear), type of head covering ** Article of Academic dress#Hood, academic dress ** Bondage hood, sex toy * Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt Anatomy * Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitori ...

Powers, abilities, and equipment

Clayton Wilson designed and used a powered battle-suit incorporating the force field projector designed by Dr. Damon Walters. The suit also provides enhanced strength,

flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

and can generate an

electric current An electric current is a stream of charged particles, such as electrons or ions, moving through an electrical conductor or space. It is measured as the net rate of flow of electric charge through a surface or into a control volume. The moving pa ...

that can be channelled through the force field when activated. The character is a graduate student in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

In other media

* A variation of Force appears in the '' Iron Man: Armored Adventures'' episode "Armor Wars". This version is a member of

Obadiah Stane Iron Monger is an alias used by multiple fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first character to use the alias is Obadiah Stane, who first appeared in ''Iron Man'' #163 (Oct. 1982). The Iron Mong ...

Guardsmen Guardsman is a rank used instead of private in some military units that serve as the official bodyguard of a sovereign or head of state. It is also used as a generic term for any member of a guards unit of any rank. Canada In the Canadian Forc ...

and was a former Maggia enforcer. * A variation of Clay Wilson appears in ''

'', portrayed by

. He attempts to care for his son Lewis (portrayed by Daniel Webber), a discharged Army veteran who suffers from PTSD, despite Lewis' resistance.

References

External links

* {{Steve Gerber Characters created by Don Heck Characters created by Steve Gerber Comics characters introduced in 1972 Marvel Comics scientists Marvel Comics superheroes Marvel Comics supervillains