| Guardian | |
|---|---|
 Guardian as depicted inAlpha Flight #89 (October 1990). Art byJim Lee. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Uncanny X-Men #109 (February 1978) |
| Created by | John Byrne |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | James MacDonald Hudson |
| Species | Human cyborg |
| Place of origin | London, Ontario, Canada (Earth-616) |
| Team affiliations | |
| Partnerships | Vindicator |
| Notable aliases | Weapon Alpha, Vindicator, Jamie, Jimmy, Mac, Jimmy Hudson, Dr. Hudson, Antiguard, Major Maple-Leaf |
| Abilities |
|
Guardian (James Hudson; also known asWeapon Alpha orVindicator) is afictional superhero appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created byJohn Byrne, the character made his first appearance inThe Uncanny X-Men #109 (February 1978) which was co-plotted by Byrne and his long-time collaboratorChris Claremont.[1]
The character is a founding member and leader ofAlpha Flight. He was designed to be the Canadian equivalent ofCaptain America, hence his costume markings are modeled after theCanadian flag. Guardian is often confused withCaptain Canuck, another Canadian-themed superhero with similar costume and superpowers.[2]
As Vindicator, the character appears inX-Men: The Animated Series, voiced by Barry Flatman.
Guardian was a fan character, created byJohn Byrne years before he did any professional work in comics.[3]
He was originally called "the Canadian Shield", afterthe rock formation, but when Byrne introduced the character inX-Men, this name was rejected by publisherMarvel Comics because of their prominent fictional organization namedS.H.I.E.L.D. Byrne then suggested "Guardian", but this was also rejected due to the numerous extant Marvel characters under that name, soX-Men scripterChris Claremont came up with Weapon Alpha and later Vindicator.[3] These names were used for the character's initial appearances inThe Uncanny X-Men #109, 120–121, and 139–140.[4] Byrne disliked both these names,[3] and when he was assigned the writing and penciling of the newly launchedAlpha Flight comic, he quickly had "Vindicator" change names to his earlier suggestion, "Guardian".
James MacDonald Hudson was born inLondon, Ontario, Canada.[5] He is a leading petrochemical engineer and scientist for the Am-Can Corporation developing apowered exoskeleton suit. When he learns that his work will be used for American military purposes, Hudson raids his workplace, steals the prototype suit, and destroys the plans.[6]
Hudson's girlfriend,Heather MacNeil, uses political connections in the Canadian government to persuade Am-Can to waive the charges against him. As a result,Department H is formed, a secret branch of the Canadian Department of National Defence, and Hudson is named as head of operations. Inspired by the debut of theFantastic Four, Hudson plans to create a superhero team for Canada.[7] He starts out with a prototype superhero team calledthe Flight, which hasWolverine as one of its members.[8]
Following his prototype team the Flight, Hudson formsAlpha Flight as a superhero team for the Canadian government and develops his exoskeleton into a battle suit. As Weapon Alpha, Hudson unsuccessfully attempts to capture Wolverine, who had left Canada and joined theX-Men.[7]
With the cancellation of Department H and its funding, Alpha Flight is temporarily disbanded. Hudson laments this for a time, but then is called to action by the arrival of theGreat BeastTundra. He sets out alone, but Heather takes it upon herself to summon the rest of Alpha Flight, plus two recently "gold-striped" members. The team defeats Tundra and decides to reform, albeit without direct government support.[9]
Hudson is offered a plum job with the corporationRoxxon in New York City, which turns out to be a ruse. Hudson is trapped and set upon by an evil incarnation ofOmega Flight and his old boss from Am-Can,Jerry Jaxon.[10] The battle is joined by the rest of Alpha Flight. During the battle, Hudson is seemingly killed when his battle suit explodes due to the strain of energizing a multiple teleportation matrix system. He is transported toGanymede, where he encounters the alien Quwrlln. The Quwrlln integrate Hudson's battle suit into his body, fusing it to his biological and nervous systems.[6] Hudson returns to Earth and takes the name Vindicator, leaving the title of Guardian and position of leadership with Heather.
While again working for Department H, Hudson becomes caught up in the plans of its new director, General Jeremy Clarke. Scientists working for Clarke clone Hudson, steal his memories, and attempt to shoot his body into outer space. The clone meets up with the members of Alpha Flight, while the original Hudson is found bySasquatch in Antarctica. After his return, he once again becomes team leader while the clone becomes leader ofBeta Flight. Hudson and his clone are later captured byA.I.M., with the clone being killed in the escape.[11]
InNew Avengers, Alpha Flight is attacked by theCollective,[12] who kills Guardian, Vindicator,Shaman, andPuck.[13] During theChaos War storyline, Guardian, Vindicator, Shaman, andMarrina Smallwood are resurrected afterDeath leaves the underworld, enabling them to escape.[14]
During theKrakoan Age,Henry Peter Gyrich manipulates Guardian into joiningOrchis, an anti-mutant terrorist group. He soon decides to leave the group after reconsidering Gyrich's extreme methods.[15][16][17]
Formerly, Guardian used a skin-tight technological "battle suit" composed of steel mesh which served as an exoskeleton; it allowed him to fly, fire energy blasts and had a personal force field for defence. The suit design stems from a geological/oil-exploration exo-suit designed by Hudson during his early career. The original suit possessed an energy beam weapon system, ostensibly used for drilling/tunneling. The skin-tight suit is considered to be a later, possibly 2nd or 3rd generation, evolution of the original design. The battle suit iscybernetically controlled and contains a high resolution navigation system. The battle suit permits flight by directing beams of force towards the ground, propelling the wearer forward at up to Mach 1.
Guardian could cause the battle suit computers to trigger and release gravitons, canceling the Earth's rotation relative to himself, propelling himself westward at up to about 1000 miles per hour (at the equator). This effect would suspend his positioning relative to the Earth's electromagnetic field while the planet rotated, allowing him to travel at high speed depending on hislatitude positioning.[18]
When he returned from space, the technology of the suit that formerly existed as a separate part of him was incorporated into his body. The alien Quwrlln converted James Hudson into a cyborg incorporating much of his battle suit; some of his mechanical parts were visible on the surface of his body. As a result, his powers were greatly enhanced. Hudson's cyborg brain was half-organic (portions of his original brain) and half-mechanical. Hudson could control his mechanical systems by mental command, though he was vulnerable to being controlled by the Quwrlln through the mechanical portion of his brain. With great effort the human portion of his brain could override this control.
Guardian's power suit allows for:
Hudson has earned a Ph.D. in engineering. He is a brilliant engineer, inventor, and a good battle strategist and leader.
Several unrelated characters have called themselves Guardian:
A zombified alternate universe version of James Hudson / Guardian appears inMarvel Zombies.
An alternate universe version of James Hudson appears in theUltimate Marvel imprint. This version is aGulf War veteran, sheriff inPort St. Lucie, Florida, and acquaintance ofWolverine. Wolverine entrusts Hudson with raising his son, who Hudson namesJames Hudson Jr.
James Hudson / Vindicator appears inX-Men: The Animated Series, voiced by Barry Flatman.[22]
[The Collective] left a trail of destruction across Canada as it headed toward Genosha, which left Alpha Flight devastated in its powerful wake. The team would return to life again during the Chaos War event during a battle with recurring foes the Great Beasts.