S.H.I.E.L.D. Globemaster

The Bus
Name	CXD-23 Airborne Mobile Command Station
Owners
Current Owner(s)	S.H.I.E.L.D.
Physical Characteristics
Transport Method	Flight
Current Model	Boeing C-17 Globemaster III
Dimensions	Length: 174 feet (53 m) Wingspan: 170 feet (52 m)
Origin
Reality	Earth-199999
Status	Destroyed
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen
First	Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S1E01 (September 24, 2013)
First	Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S1E01 (September 24, 2013)
Destruction	Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S2E19 (April 28, 2015)
Destruction	Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S2E19 (April 28, 2015)

History

Deck plan

The CXD-23 Airborne Mobile Command Station is a modified Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft used by agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..

Active in the 90's, The Bus was mothballed with the completion of the helicarrier until Agent Coulson requested its reactivation and refurbishment as a favor from Nick Fury. The recommissioned aircraft was then returned to service as the mobile base for Coulson's new team of field agents, formed to act independently from the bureaucratic S.H.I.E.L.D. command structure.

Following the Hydra uprising, Coulson and his team took the Bus while on the run from the US military. With coordinates sent from Nick Fury, they were able to hide the Bus at Providence base. However, a Hydra mole within their team, Grant Ward, stole the Bus and for a time it functioned as a mobile base for John Garrett's Hydra cell before Coulson's team reclaimed it.

The Bus later spent months gathering dust at the Playground, as it lacked the cloaking technology that the helicarriers and quinjets possessed, and Leo Fitz, having suffered damaged to his temporal lobe after being ejected from the Bus by Ward, was unable to create a cloaking device, thereby making excursions impossible with the world at large still persecuting S.H.I.E.L.D. Once they stole a quinjet from Glenn Talbot's base, Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie was able to reverse-engineer a device for the Bus.

The Bus later was destroyed over Hydra's Arctic base so Coulson's team could infiltrate the base while their Quinjet was disguised as falling debris.

The Globemaster's successor is the Zephyr One, designed by Fitz as a replacement.

Capabilities

The aircraft is powered by six Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 turbofan engines. The traditional Globemaster has only four engines. The engines can can be reoriented to provide downward thrust, thereby allowing the aircraft VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) capability. Skilled pilots can use this upgrade to reverse the direction of travel by decelerating to a near-stop, before pivoting the plane for a new heading.

The interrogation room is made of a vibranium alloy, intended to contain even captives with superhuman strength. The ceiling is retractable, allowing the crew to launch or threaten to launch captives from the plane.

The plane lacked the cloaking capabilities of newer S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft like the helicarriers and quinjets when it was first designed. This feature was later installed by reverse engineering the cloaking mechanism of a stolen quinjet.

Trivia

The Bus's call sign is 6-1-6, a reference to Marvel's mainstream universe, Earth-616.

See Also

• 42 appearance(s) of S.H.I.E.L.D. Globemaster
• 1 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of S.H.I.E.L.D. Globemaster
• 2 minor appearance(s) of S.H.I.E.L.D. Globemaster
• 3 mention(s) of S.H.I.E.L.D. Globemaster
• 6 image(s) of S.H.I.E.L.D. Globemaster