Marvel Database
Register
Advertisement

Quote1 My name is Reginald James Fortean. I'm 42 years old. I was once a Major General in the United States Air Force. For my country, I have become something else--something divorced from all conventional military structure. A commander of shadows. But even in the shadows, there must be an order. I am that order. Quote2
General Fortean[src]

History

Reginald Fortean became obsessed with the idea of structure and order at a young age through sermons at Sunday school. By the time he was twenty-eight years old, Fortean was a Major in the United States Air Force.[1] Reginald also had a daughter named Dionne, who followed a similar path to her father and joined the Marines to impress him.[2]

Fortean was one of the soldiers assigned to help General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross track down the Hulk, Fortean became one of Ross' most trusted soldiers, learning all he could from the general. When Ross used a Life-Model Decoy to fake his death at the hands of the Red Hulk, having become the Red Hulk himself, Fortean swore to get revenge on Ross' alleged killer. Promoted to general to fill the gap left by Ross' apparent death, Reggie Fortean wanted to get approval for his superiors to let him hunt down the Red Hulk so as to make him pay for killing Ross and attacking the White House. After his superiors turned him down, Fortean met some of Ross' old military friends who combined their resources to build the Thunderbolt, a massive aircraft that would be used as a mobile base to help track the Red Hulk which Ross previous wanted to use to track Hulk.[3] As part of their alliance, Fortean and Ross' friends established a clandestine new version of the United States Hulk Operations codenamed Shadow Base.[1]

Eventually finding the Red Hulk bounding through Colorado, Fortean ordered his forces to engage the Red Hulk, knocking him around in mid-flight, and resulting in the Red Hulk landing atop the Thunderbolt, where Fortean engaged him personally, managing to defeat the Hulk and kick him from the Thunderbolt while secretly infecting him with nanobots. Engaging Red Hulk days later, Fortean was separated from the troops he commanded, as Red Hulk attempted to reveal his identity to Fortean, though the Redeemer Armor Fortean was wearing malfunctioned at that point, preventing him from hearing who the Red Hulk was. At this point, Fortean informed the Red Hulk of the nanobots he'd released which contained nano-mines, and that when Red Hulk had transformed into his human form earlier, that the nanobots had gotten specific readings on the transformation, and that Fortean would fry the Red Hulk's brain the second he became human again. Fortean also stated to Red Hulk that the person that is Red Hulk is nothing like Bruce Banner and that Red Hulk's days are numbered. With his Redeemer Armor damaged however, Fortean chose to abandon the armor and the Red Hulk.[3]

Reginald Fortean (Earth-616) from Immortal Hulk Vol 1 17 001

Tracking Red Hulk to Llano, Texas, Fortean launched special missiles from the Thunderbolt, creating large creatures out of nearby rock while taunting Red Hulk. After Red Hulk quickly beat them, Fortean thanked him for helping test them and then let Red Hulk know that sleep might be a good idea (which added to Red Hulk's fears that sleeping might revert him to Ross and enable Fortean to kill him). Fortean also apologized to Annie as his scanners had not detected her presence and he had no wish to harm her.[4] Following the Red Hulk to Beebe, Arkansas, Fortean was frustrated to see him save the townspeople from a tornado, believing it was a manipulative attempt on Red Hulk's part to get the public behind him and not a genuine attempt at saving the people.[5] Later tracking Red Hulk to the Mojave Boneyard, Fortean witnessed Black Fog's escape following a battle with the Red Hulk.[6] Fortean later headed overseas for unknown reasons.[7] Upon hearing of Red Hulk's battle with Omegex in Boston, Fortean returned, deploying his rock troops to attempt to finally kill the Red Hulk. When Red Hulk was phase-shifted by Zero/One, Fortean turned his attention to Omegex, who swiftly defeated him. Red Hulk forced Zero/One to restore him to normal phase with the Earth so that he could save Fortean.[8]

Following Omegex's defeat and Zero/One neutralizing the nano-mines in Red Hulk's brain, Fortean tracked Red Hulk to Manitoba where he again confronted him while in a further upgraded Redeemer Armor. The two battled inconclusively until Fortean received a call regarding the death of former colleague Will Krugauer. This caused Fortean to retreat as Red Hulk got word from Annie on what Fortean was told.[9] When Red Hulk later investigated the death with the help of Machine Man and found himself facing the Sultan Magus, Fortean's arrival ended the fight when he informed Red Hulk that the US was recognizing the Sultan Magus' rogue state of Sharzhad, and that continued hostility against the Magus would result in US armed forces attacking Red Hulk.[10]

Reginald Fortean (Earth-616) from Hulk Vol 2 40 001

Piloting the Redeemer Armor

Reginald Fortean had brought some government officials and a financial backer with him to test his Echelon project. The test is interrupted by Red She-Hulk who beat up the E1 and threatened Fortean to shut down the project or else. Fortean then received the go ahead to continue his project with unlimited funding.[11] At Desecheo Island, a telepath Echelon named Remmick alerted Fortean to the presence of Red She-Hulk in the base. When Fortean called an Echelon Alert, Red She-Hulk defeated most of the soldiers. Upon donning the Redeemer armor, Fortean pulled Red She-Hulk into a gravity well. When it appeared that Fortean had Red She-Hulk trapped, Machine Man freed her and the two of them disappeared.[12] At Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Fortean showed Captain America the effects of Red She-Hulk's rampage and convinced him to tell him who Red She-Hulk was. It was presumed that Captain America told Fortean Red She-Hulk's identity, as the US Military and two Echelon Soldiers tried to capture Betty Ross before she could turn into Red She-Hulk.[13]

Fortean eventually found out the truth that Thunderbolt Ross was the Red Hulk, and visited him at a holding facility following his depowerement at the hands of the Hulk and subsequent arrest. With the conviction to carry on Ross' mission to stop the Hulk, Fortean made Shadow Base operative.[1] Taking a cue from Ross' approach of turning himself into the kind of monster he was trying to take down, Fortean had Shadow Base specialize in the weaponization of gamma mutation and the creation of gamma monsters they could use against the Hulk.[14] One of the creatures produced by Shadow Base came from forcibly encasing Rick Jones in Gamma-Activated Tissue recovered from the corpse of the Abomination. Fortean grew frustrated after the Hulk freed Jones from the tissue during their fight, and the matter was confiscated by the gamma task force Gamma Flight. Taking matters into his own hands, Fortean donned an upgraded Redeemer Armor and raided Gamma Flight's headquarters aboard the Alpha Flight Space Station. Incapacitating its members, he retrieved the tissue and returned to Shadow Base. Fortean decided to enter in contact with the tissue and it engulfed him, giving him a physique similar to the Abomination.[1]

Gamma-Activated Tissue from Immortal Hulk Vol 1 21 003

Becoming the new Abomination

Gamma Flight teleported into Shadow Base in retaliation, but Fortean saw them coming through his operation's use of psychic surveillance. Their encounter was interrupted by the unexpected raid of the Hulk, Betty Ross' new gamma alter-ego Harpy, Rick Jones, and reporter Jackie McGee.[15] The Hulk and his allies joined forces with Gamma Flight to subdue Shadow Base.[16] Fortean confronted the Hulk, becoming increasingly erratic. When Fortean accidentally killed two of his own men with an acid attack and showed no compunction, his second in command, Dr. McGowan, relieved him of his duty due to no longer being able to control himself, and ordered everyone to stand down. Further enraged, Fortean was locked in combat with the Hulk and they killed each other. Due to having become a gamma mutate, Fortean's soul was transported to the Below-Place alongside Bruce Banner. Under the control of his Joe Fixit alter, Bruce snapped Fortean's neck, preventing his immediate resurrection.[17]

Reginald Fortean (Earth-616) from Gamma Flight Vol 1 3 001

Failed resurrection

Fortean eventually passed through the Green Door in an attempt to resurrect himself. However, his body had been taken over by the Abomination, sending his soul to an Astral Plane-like dimension for gamma energy.[18] Having absorbed Fortean's memories, the Abomination posed as him to establish Project Green Spring and entice Fortean's daughter Dionne to join him.[2] Gamma Flight and Dionne encountered Fortean in this gamma Astral Plane after being shunted into it by a teleportation accident. He managed to warn Dionne about the theft of his identity and the Abomination's plan to stage an insurrection. Before he could continue talking to his daughter, Gamma Flight and Dionne were teleported away.[18]

Attributes

Powers

Abomination Shell: After touching the remains of the Abomination tissue, it quickly engulfed and transformed him into the new Abomination, granting Fortean the following powers:

  • Superhuman Strength: He possesses an unknown level of super strength, but it's enough to match the strength of the Hulk.[16]
  • Superhuman Durability: He also appears to have a high level of durability, might be able to withstand a punch from Hulk and not appear to have any injuries.[19]
  • Regeneration: As Abomination, he might be able to recover from grievous injuries, even lost organs.[20]
  • Claws: Fortean has a claw on each one of his fingers sharp enough to scratch even the Hulk.[19]
  • Acid Generation: As Abomination, Fortean can generate a highly corrosive acid that is potent enough to dissolve the flesh of the Hulk and negate his healing ability.[16]

Abilities

Fortean has military expertise

Paraphernalia

Equipment

An upgraded Redeemer Armor.

Weapons

Numerous firearms, some specially made to handle the Red Hulk including a gun that was used to release nano-mines into the Red Hulk.

Transportation

Formerly the Thunderbolt.

Trivia

  • Fortean's surname is more than likely a nod towards the movement that goes by the same name, which was inspired by Charles Fort's interest in weird occurrences.

See Also

Links and References

References

Advertisement