S.T.R.I.K.E., an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies, is a

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

and

intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objective ...

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 organization often deals with

superhuman The term superhuman refers to humans or human-like beings with enhanced qualities and abilities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. Th ...

threats, and was introduced in ''

Captain Britain Weekly Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

'' #17 as the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

's counterpart to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

' anti-terrorism agency

S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in ''Strange Tales'' #135 (August 1965), it often deals ...

This team appeared in the films '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' (2014) and '' Avengers: Endgame'' (2019). This version of the team were actually undercover Hydra agents. In various MCU film and television appearances, S.T.R.I.K.E. is a unit within S.H.I.E.L.D., not an independent organization.

Publication history

S.T.R.I.K.E. first appeared in ''

'' #17 and was created by

Gary Friedrich Gary Friedrich (; August 21, 1943 – August 29, 2018) was an American comic book writer best known for his Silver Age stories for Marvel Comics' ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'', and, in the following era, for the series '' The Monster of ...

and

Larry Lieber Lawrence D. Lieber (; born October 26, 1931) (Scroll down) is an American comic book artist and writer best known as co-creator of the Marvel Comics superheroes Iron Man, Thor (Marvel Comics), Thor, and Ant-Man; for his long stint both writing an ...

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. S.T.R.I.K.E.'s Psi division had their own headquarters. Another headquarters was in a closed university, located in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England; this headquarters was later used by D.U.C.K (Department of Unknown and Covert Knowledge).

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 - Director of S.T.R.I.K.E. *

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Lance Hunter Lancelot "Lance" Hunter is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Captain Britain Weekly'' #19 (February 16, 1977) and was created by writer Gary Friedrich and artist Herb Trimpe ...

- 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 Sabra Sabreclaw Sabreclaw is a character in the MC2 universe who first appeared in '' J2'' #8 (May 1999). He is the half-brother of Wild Thing and the son of Wolverine. The character has claws (similar to Sabretooth), a healing factor, enh ...

briefing British superhumans on the details of the British

Superhuman Registration Act Discrimination against superheroes is a common theme and plot element comic books and superhero fiction, usually as a way to explore the issue of superheroes operating in society or as commentary on other social concerns. Often in response to ...

. Also Hunter is an ex- SAS soldier and ex-Mercenary.

Psi-division

* Elizabeth Braddock - Twin sister of

Captain Britain Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain Weekly'' #1 by writer Ch ...

. She later joins the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

as Psylocke and is a former member of the Exiles. * Tom Lennox - A

telepath Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W ...

and a

telekinetic Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

; 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. * Alison Double - An albino telepath, clairvoyant, and aura reader. Now residing in Switzerland. * Kevin Mulhearn - A telepath; he took an outside job as a

mentalist Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include hypnosis, telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precogniti ...

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. * Vicki Reppion - Killed by Slaymaster. * Avril Davis - Killed by Slaymaster. * Dennis Rush - Killed by Slaymaster. * Andrew Hornby - Killed by Slaymaster. * Leah Mickleson - Killed by Slaymaster. * Stuart Hattrick - Killed by Slaymaster.

Sci-Tech division

* "Matthew" (codename) - 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 Marvel

S.T.R.I.K.E. in the

Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring re-imagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Those characters in ...

parallel universe was first introduced in ''

Ultimate X-Men ''Ultimate X-Men'' is a superhero comic book series, which was published by Marvel Comics, from 2001 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running X-Men comic book franchise as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint. The U ...

'' #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''

'' #17 (June 2002) - a

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...

from the S.T.R.I.K.E. Psi-division who was possessed by

Proteus In Greek mythology, Proteus (; Ancient Greek: Πρωτεύς, ''Prōteus'') is an early prophetic sea-god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" ''(hálios gérôn)''. ...

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 Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She w ...

. 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 Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writ ...

for a time, eventually joining the X-Men. * Dai Thomas - a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

S.T.R.I.K.E. agent from Psi-division who was killed by

. His

Earth-616 In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 is the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place. History of the term The term was first used in "Rough Justice", a story credited to both Alan Moore and Alan Davis p ...

counterpart was a

police inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

who often clashed with S.T.R.I.K.E. and its descendant organizations.

In other media

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 counter-terrorism and intelligence agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The organization often deals with s ...

appears in media 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 ...

. This version is

's counter-terrorism tactical unit, with

Brock Rumlow Crossbones (Brock Rumlow) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an adversary of Captain America, and played a part in his assassination. The character has been ad ...

and Jack Rollins as some of its known members, who are secretly aligned with

Hydra Hydra generally refers to: * Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology * ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to: Astronomy * Hydra (constel ...

as sleeper agents. They first appear in the live-action film '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' while alternate timeline versions of S.T.R.I.K.E. appear in the live-action film '' Avengers: Endgame'' and the animated

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

series '' What If...?'' episode " What If... the Watcher Broke His Oath?" * S.T.R.I.K.E. agents appear as playable characters in ''

Marvel Strike Force ''Marvel Strike Force'' is a turn-based role-playing mobile game by FoxNext (later acquired by Scopely) for Android, iOS, and iPadOS platforms. The game was launched worldwide on March 28, 2018, and is primarily set in the Marvel Universe. Premi ...

''. This version of the organization's acronym stands for the Special Tactical Reserve for Interdimensional Key Events.

References

External links

S.T.R.I.K.E.
at Marvel.com
S.T.R.I.K.E.
at Marvel Wiki
S.T.R.I.K.E.
at Comic Vine * {{Captain Britain Characters created by Gary Friedrich Characters created by Herb Trimpe Characters created by Larry Lieber Fictional British secret agents Fictional organizations in Marvel Comics Marvel UK teams