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Quote1 It's the last thing I wanted...but what choice have I got? Put on your best smiles, gang, 'cause we're about to...introduce the world...to UltraForce. Quote2
Hardcase[src]

History

Origin[]

Tom Hawke was a struggling actor working in Hollywood, California whose life was changed after being struck by the "Jumpstart Effect", a burst of energy from the Entity, the ancient alien spaceship responsible for most of the world's super-beings called Ultras. He gained superhuman strength and durability, Hardcase realized that he wanted more than short term success. He met with Starburst, DJ Blast, and Forsa, who had also gained powers. The team decided to help people while bolstering their careers, and together they formed the Squad.

The Squad[]

The Squad was active in Los Angeles for several months as heroes and celebrities. They arranged official sanction with the police department, assisting in raids against local gangs and emergency response. The Squad was woefully unprepared for their first Ultra opponent, the Nano-Mechanized Entity or NM-E. The creature tore through the Squad, dismembering Forsa and seriously injuring Starburst, before DJ sacrificed himself in a massive blast that apparently killed him and the creature. Forsa died at the hospital and Starburst remained in a coma, prompting Hardcase to retire from ultra-heroics.[2][3]

Return to Activity[]

During his retirement, Hardcase became an action movie star, portraying himself on the screen. He came out of retirement to battle Headknocker, an Ultrahuman with incredible strength, who outmatched the police. Defeating the villain, Hardcase announces his return.[4]

Soon afterwards, he was visited by the ultraheroine Choice, who asks for his help as she is being pursued by various super-powered agents from the Choice corporation.[5] Hardcase agrees and allowed her to stay with him. The two soon began a relationship, though Hardcase was reluctant at first. The two have several adventures together, including rescuing tsunami victims. Once, teamed with The Strangers, they invaded Aladdin's Groom Lake facility, where Hardcase discovers that the government agency was using the Squad's genetic material.[6] Then, Hardcase was attacked by an assassin called Hardwire hired by Rex Mundi. Hardcase was hurt for the first time since he was an ultra, but Hardwire left after an attack from Choice. [7] During this time, Hardcase stopped a city-bombing attempt,[8] and meet the private detective Alexander Swan a.k.a. Firearm, who was investigating a series of murders. Hardcase and Firearm didn't get along, but Hawke gave information to Swan to continue his case. [9]

Around this time, Hardcase teamed-up with Prime, Prototype and Zip-Zap to help flood victims and they defeated a mechanical monster created by Ultratech, that was causing the flood.[10]

Later, Hardcase and Choice went to work for a woman known as the Alternate or Regina. She explain to the ultraheroes that Rex Mundi was planning to kill all the ultraheroes in earth. The Alternate also contracted the mercenary group The Solution and asked Hardcase and Choice to join them in a travel to the moon to discover the origin of the ultras. She also prevented them Rex Mundi was looking for the same thing. [11] [12]

Break-Thru[]

The same night, it began a strange phenomenon in the sky: the moon was colored blue, the common people was driven into a state of madness and various Ultras had strange visions and their powers were out of control. In the interim, Hardcase and his companions fought the Rex mundi's minions who tried to captured Amber Hunt, who was acting like a center of the madness and was a herald of an unknown entity.[13] After the flight of the villains, Hardcase, Choice and the members of the Solution travelled to the moon in a UFO provided by the Alternate. When they arrived, they meet the superhero group The Strangers, and the ultras Prime, Mantra and Prototype. All the Ultraheroes discovered the source of the "Jumpstart Effect" which has been granting people powers all across Earth: it was the Entity, a crashed alien starship that was causing the Jumpstart Effect, and was object from attack from Mundi's minions.[14] After the battle, Hardcase, Choice and The Solution returned home in the UFO of Rex Mundi, and left the villains in the moon. They had to use magic to return to earth.[15]

As payment, the Alternate told Choice and Hardcase that Choice's origins would be found in Groom Lake. In the meantime, Hardcase said goodbye to a comatose Starbust and apologized to her for his new relation to Choice. [16] The Aladdin Assault Squad stopped the plans of the heroes to invade, so the duo hired Tech of the Solution to obtain the information they sought. [17] The information revealed that Choice was given her abilities by using the genetic material from the brains of Forsa and Starburst, which greatly distresses Hardcase. Moments later, Choice was teleported away to the Godwheel.

Ultraforce and Battle Royale[]

After some remarks that he said in the press about Ultras regulating ultras instead of the government,[18] Hardcase and several heroes formed Ultraforce to stop the subterranean warlord Atalon's plans for world conquest. Hardcase became the leader of the team and gained government support from the president Clinton himself. [19] Successful, the new team stayed together to police other ultras.[20]

Hardcase faced his greatest challenge when NM-E returned. Hardcase had just defeated Hardwire once more, when he contronted the metallic menace.[21] Outmatched by the creature, Hardcase would have died if not for Prime's intervention. Though unable to stop the creature himself, Prime's attack allowed Hardcase to recover, with help from the Alternate. Renewing his assault, Hardcase savagely attacked NM-E, who was drained from its fight with Prime. Fueled by vengeance, Hardcase reduced the creature to debris.[22]

Godwheel[]

The god Argus, from the Godwheel dimension ,was resurrected and was searching for new champions. He telepored Hardcase and other ultras to his dimension to recover the keys to the Crucible of Life for him. Rebelling, the ultras fight Argus. The kidnapped Ultras split into two factions, those willing to serve Argus and those wishing to oppose him. The escapees travel to the Godwheel on the 'Godyacht' itself to take control of the keys. Hardcase gains a new uniform and teams up with the heroine Flygirl to search for the key called the Roc's Egg. They lose the key to Lord Pumpkin and Flygirl is blasted off the edge of a cliff and falls to her death. This deeply traumatized Hardcase.[23]

After further adventures, the surviving Ultras banished Argus with the help of the Asgardian god Thor.[24] Hardcase discoveeds that Choice was on the Godwheel and was briefly reunited with her. During this short time, he learns she was pregnant.

Returned to Earth, Hardcase sought out the man responsible for his misfortune, Rex Mundi. He meets with ultras formerly employed by Mundi to extract Mundi's location. To hinder Hardcase, Mundi frames him for murder[25]

Time Stone and Loki[]

Inadvertently, Hardcase discovered the Time Stone, one of the Infinity Stones lost in the Ultraverse, and using it tried to prevent the Squad's death. He failed, but his actions created an alternate timeline. The trickster god Loki then stole the gem from him.[26]

After getting information from Death Dance and Meathook, Hardcase confronted Mundi in his underground lair. Capturing Hardcase, Mundi revealed that he was, like himself, composed of nanotech. His true nature somewhat explained to him, Hardcase willed himself back in time to undo the damage he had done. He reappeared and witnessed a confrontation between Mundi and the Alternate. Dismissed by the combatants, Hardcase returned to Hollywood where he finally was reunited with Choice.[27]

Black September[]

Following the arrival of the eternal Sersi to the Ultraverse, Hardcase joins his teammates of Ultraforce to fight the Asgardian god Loki, who was reuniting the six Infinity Gems. Hardcase and Ghoul searched for the Soul and Time gems but encountered reanimated corpses of his old allies from the Squad and the Exiles and have to abandoned the illusions. Thanks to Sersi, Ultraforce could escaped to Earth. [28] Later Loki contacted the Grandmaster of Marvel Universe and they agree to pit Ultraforce against the Avengers in a fight for the infinity gems. In the encounter, Hardcase fought Captain America. The Ultra hero was stronger, but Captain America was more experienced and convinced Hardcase to have a truce. The two teams saw the defeat of Loki and the birth of Nemesis, the entity contained in the Infinity stones.[29] Nemesis created a pocket dimension with elements of Ultraverse and Marvel universes. Finally, Hardcase and Captain America led their teams to defeat Nemesis. The destruction of the entity, created a reality shock in the Ultraverse, that apparently erased Hardcase from existence.[30]

Demomseed[]

However (because Hardcase's corpse was composed of nanotech) when the Black September Event struck the Ultraverse and rewrote reality, Hardcase was shunted into a limbo dimension, erased from reality. He observed the Earth and created the entity Demonseed as a companion. Demonseed rebelled against his creator and escaped from Limbo through a portal to the past. Here, Demonseed destroyed unnumerable alien civilizations.[31] Hardcase chased the villain and reappeared to a new Ultraforce that didn't recognize him. He explained to them the changes in the space time continuum. Finally, Hardcase joined Ultraforce to battle the Demonseed once for all. In the end, with Prime's help, he banished himself and Demonseed back to limbo to battle him for all eternity.[32]

Attributes

Powers

  • Nubotech Enhanced Physiology: Hardcase, who was made into an Ultra by the "Jumpstart effect" that changed him, had effectively been converted into an organic nanotech being. With each cell an independent thinking machine and as such, Tom learned he had many untapped abilities. Such as not needing to sleep and/or breathe for starters.
    • Superhuman Strength: Incredibly strong, Hardcase is able to throw a car over 50 yards with little effort. His leg muscles allow him to leap nearly a mile.
    • Superhuman Speed: Hardcase is capable of running and moving at speeds much greater than even the finest human athlete.
    • Superhuman Stamina: Hardcase's musculature generates less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of a human being. Hardcase can physically exert himself at peak capacity for several hours before fatigue begins to impair her.
    • Superhuman Agility: Hardcase's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of even the finest human athlete.
    • Superhuman Reflexes: Hardcase's reaction time is similarly enhanced, enabling him to react at a level that is beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete.
    • Self-Sustenance: Hardcase would soon come to learn he was for all intents and purposes a self perpetuating nourishment device. Essentially, Tom doesn't require food nor rest or even really need breathable atmosphere to actuate his own survival. Eliminating the need to direct biophysical intake to keep himself in peak physical condition nor health.
    • Nigh-Invulnerability: Hawk's bodily tissues are much harder and more resistant to injury than those of a human. He is capable of withstanding tremendous impact forces, falls from great heights, exposure to temperature and pressure extremes, the vacuum of space, and powerful energy blasts without sustaining injury. His body is also specially adapted to withstand the physiologically debilitating effects of moving and running at high rates of speed without sustaining injury.
    • Regenerative Healing Factor: Hardcase possesses a regenerative healing factor, allowing him to regenerate from what would normally be considered life-threatening wounds in a matter of moments. The process is sped up if he drinks seawater.
    • Diverse Nubotech Manipulation: As he developed his powers, Hardcase discovered his abilities were virtually unlimited. He demonstrated the ability to control other sources of organic nanotech, generate intense cold, emit energy blasts, mentally merge with technology, create life, time travel, etc.

Paraphernalia

Transportation

A heavily armored RV originally built for a post-apocalyptic movie he was going to star in.

See Also

Links and References

References

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