Brian Falsworth (Earth-616)

Early in World War II, Brian Falsworth and his friend and lover Roger Aubrey tried to leave Germany. The Nazi government was unwilling to risk the possibility that Falsworth and Aubrey would reverse their anti-war positions, and a Gestapo chief in Hamburg, Germany tore up their passports. Falsworth lost his temper and attacked the Gestapo chief, only to be imprisoned. Aubrey then became violent and was likewise made a prisoner, but he was finally turned over to the Institute of Nazi Science, where he was brainwashed and subjected to experiments that transformed him into Dyna-Mite, a man less than a foot tall.

Brian Falsworth was imprisoned in Hamburg in the same cell as the German biochemist Eric Schmitt, who had concocted a variant of the Super-Soldier Formula that was used to turn Steve Rogers into Captain America. Dying, Schmitt asked Falsworth to keep the sample of the formula he had concealed on his person from falling into Nazi hands. Falsworth took the disguised flask, drank its contents, and was immediately physically enhanced by the formula. Falsworth escaped the prison and became a costumed fighter of Nazis within Germany itself known as the Destroyer.

In England in 1942, Lord Falsworth and his daughter Jacqueline befriended the Invaders, a team of costumed champions serving the Allied cause much as Freedom's Five had done during World War I. Lord Falsworth again donned the costume of Union Jack in order to help the Invaders battle the returned Baron Blood, and was made an Invader himself. However, during a battle between Union Jack and Baron Blood in a cave beneath the Falsworth estate, the vampire hurled a massive boulder at Union Jack, crushing his legs and leaving him permanently crippled. Union Jack managed to pry the boulder off his legs, causing the huge rock to strike Baron Blood, knocking him backwards. The vampire fell onto a sharp stalagmite, which impaled his body, killing him.^[1]

Lord Falsworth's career as Union Jack was over, but as a result of being bitten by Baron Blood and then receiving a blood transfusion from the original Human Torch, Falsworth's daughter Jacqueline became the superhumanly powerful Spitfire and joined the Invaders herself.^[1]

Lord Falsworth, Spitfire, and Dyna-Mite parachuted into Nazi Germany in the hope of finding a means of restoring the brainwashed Dyna-Mite's memory. Lord Falsworth knew that Dyna-Mite was Roger Aubrey and hoped that once Aubrey's memory was restored, he could reveal what happened to Brian Falsworth. Lord Falsworth and Dyna-Mite were captured by the Germans but were rescued by the Destroyer, who revealed his true identity to his father and was reconciled with him. Lord Falsworth suggested that Brian adopt the costume and name of Union Jack, and Brian agreed.

Meanwhile, Spitfire and her fellow Invaders had been captured by the Germans and were to be executed by a firing squad under the command of Hitler himself. Brian Falsworth, as the second Union Jack, came to the Invaders' rescue, and the Invaders, Lord Falsworth, Dyna-Mite, and the new Union Jack all escaped back to Britain. There a captured Nazi scientist restored Aubrey to his true height. Aubrey, whose memory had finally fully returned, adopted Brian Falsworth's previous identity of the Destroyer and returned to Germany to continue battling the Nazis there. Brian Falsworth, as the new Union Jack, became a member of the Invaders.

File:Union-jack.jpg

Union Jack doing an athletic stunt

Later, Hitler succeeded in contacting the Asgardian thunder god Thor and deceived him into aiding the cause of the Germans, the descendants of the people who had once worshiped him, in the current war. Thor therefore clashed with the Invaders and nearly killed the second Union Jack with a blast of lightning from his enchanted hammer. Learning that Hitler was evil, Thor vowed to aid him no more, and withdrew most of the electricity in Union Jack's body back into his hammer, somehow restoring him to health in the process. The second Union Jack now possessed the superhuman power to discharge electrical bolts from his body. It is not known how long Union Jack retained this power. ^[2] Following the war Brian remained occasionally active as Union Jack and was instrumental in founding the V-Battalion alongside other heroes of the era, including his best friend (and lover) who had been Dyna-Mite (and then the second Destroyer) during the war. A car crash in 1953 abruptly ended his career and his life.

Attributes

Power Grid^[4]

Powers

Falsworth possessed various superhuman attributes as a result of ingesting a derivative of the Super-Soldier Serum that would be used on Steve Rogers.

Superhuman Strength: The Super-Soldier Serum derivative augmented Falsworth's musculature, granting him a slight degree of superhuman strength. At his peak, Falsworth possessed sufficient strength to lift approximately 1,000 lbs.

Peak Human Speed: The Super-Soldier Serum derivative also increased Falsworth's running speed to the peak of human efficiency. Falsworth could sprint at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour.

Superhuman Stamina: Falsworth's augmented and superior musculature produced less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of a normal human. At his peak, he could exert himself at peak capacity for up to three hours before the build up of fatigue toxins in his blood began to impair him.

Superhuman Durability: Falsworth's bodily tissues were augmented by the Super-Soldier Serum derivative to the point that they were tougher and more resistant to some kinds of injury than the bodily tissues of an ordinary human. While far from invulnerable, Falsworth could withstand powerful impact forces. He could withstand impacts with little to no injury to himself, such as being struck by a superhumanly strong opponent or falling from several stories, that would severely injure or kill a normal human.

Superhuman Agility: The Super-Soldier Serum derivative augmented Falsworth's natural agility, balance and bodily coordination to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. Falsworth's agility was often likened with that of a tiger.

Superhuman Reflexes: Falsworth's reflexes were similarly enhanced and were superior to those of the finest human athlete.

Electrokinesis: For several months, Falsworth possessed the power to discharge bolts of electricity form his hands. The limits on this power were unknown. He acquired this power after being struck with a near-fatal bolt of lightning, generated by Thor's hammer Mjolnir. Thor extracted the lightning from Brian's body to save his life, but the experience left him with the ability to generate bursts of electricity from his hands. ^[3]

Abilities

Union Jack was a superb athlete but was later enhanced to the peak of human potential by SSS variant. He was also a formidable armed and unarmed combatant with considerable experience in the use of conventional firearms.

Paraphernalia

Weapons

Dagger: Union Jack carried a steel dagger with a 6-inch blade, which he strapped to his left hip.
Sidearm: Union Jack carried a Webley .455 caliber pistol in a tied-down flapped holster on his right hip.

Trivia

Brian was in a homosexual relationship with Roger Aubrey, making them chronologically the first gay characters in Marvel Comics.

Brian had a lasting impression on DC character Cole MacGrath, as Cole also has the power of electricity, and in InFAMOUS 2, Cole wears a Union Jack on his pants.

Links and References

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Invaders #9
↑ Invaders #32–33
↑ Invaders #33
↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 12

[Invaders_#9-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Invaders #9

[Invaders_#32-33-2] Invaders #32–33

[Invaders_#33-3] Invaders #33

[4] Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 12

[1]

[2]

[4]

[3]

Brian Falsworth (Earth-616)

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