257:
computer would often attempt to overrule or counter his human emotions, but as the story wore on Probe became more and more resentful to both the computer and Sharpe's orders, often disobeying the computer's advice completely. Eventually, M.A.C.H. 1 killed Sharpe and then sacrificed himself to enable aliens, provoked into attacking Earth by Sharpe, to return home. Probe's life before his compu-puncture treatment was never clarified or explained, and it was stated several times that the only person who knew anything about his prior life was Sharpe himself.
322:
301:, an East European M.A.C.H. agent created after Sharpe sold the compu-puncture techniques to the Soviets. Maski had been created using inferior technology and although she possessed similar hyperpower to M.A.C.H. 1 would burn out much sooner. Aware of this, she sacrificed herself to allow M.A.C.H. 1 to escape and confront Sharpe over his involvement.
253:
military knowledge he would not normally possess. Probe eventually discovers that his superior, Denis Sharpe, had engineered the compu-puncture treatment which had given him his abilities so as to erase Probe's pre-augmented memory and to cause his death if he did not receive frequent treatments. As a result, Probe was forced to work for Sharpe.
307:
a robot successor to M.A.C.H. 1, created by Sharpe in order to remove the human element and perceived limitations from the M.A.C.H. project. M.A.C.H. 1 fought M.A.C.H. 2, and was beaten, but managed to severely damage M.A.C.H. 2 during the fight. Sharpe prevented M.A.C.H. 2 from killing M.A.C.H. 1,
256:
Probe attempted to leave Sharpe and the service several times, but was forced to return for controlling hyperpower injections to prevent his energy flow from falling below survival level - although one story suggests that he has left Sharpe for an unspecified but considerable length of time. Probe's
295:: M.A.C.H. 1 later met M.A.C.H. Zero, a prototype agent who had not been equipped with a computer implant and had consequently been driven insane by the uncontrolled hyperpower. M.A.C.H. Zero later appeared in his own strip, involving a search for his son Tommy, based on a case of mistaken identity
252:
to give him "hyperpower" equivalent to the strength of fifty men, and computer circuitry imprinted onto his skull to control and advise on use of the hyperpower. The computer also grants him occasional mental skills, such as how to pilot aeroplanes, drive an armoured car, or specific scientific and
273:
agent who volunteered for a special procedure whereby his physical strength, speed and agility would be enhanced using 'compu-puncture', a computerized form of
968:, and other British 1970s strip tropes with an over-the-top working class Zombo (playing the John Probe role) paired with an upper-class Etonian.
880:
in the late 1990s, and gained considerable media attention at the time. The story was not popular with readers, however, and was soon killed off.
764:
651:
289:, which also fed him tactical information such as the amount of strength or the exact throwing angle required for a given task.
220:, but with more graphic violence. As the strip continued the tone became increasingly dark. This contrasted directly with
79:
824:
790:
224:, who began as a killer, but was progressively softened by the TV networks until it fitted into family entertainment.
1055:
188:
after kids said they wanted to see that in a comic, and the concept of a computer brain as a partner was taken by
308:
recognising that the human element - which was what enabled M.A.C.H. 1 to damage M.A.C.H. 2 - may still have use.
1045:
17:
1050:
1060:
1040:
1018:
202:. The name came from Doug Church while Mills, according to Church, came up with the acronym on the spot.
1012:
1006:
1065:
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174:, which was published in February 1977, and ran nearly continuously until issue 64, dated 13 May 1978.
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133:
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49:
28:
214:("M.A.C.H." stands for "Man Activated by Compu-puncture Hyperpower") thematically resembled
950:
A second spoof ran in the 40th
Anniversary Special: a fake 'original' version of the strip
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27:
This article is about the 2000AD comic strip. For the Marvel Comics
282:
198:
44:"M.A.C.H. 2" and "M.A.C.H. Zero" redirect here. For the speed, see
361:
158:
730:
and Mike
Donaldson (1-2, 4, 6-8), Ramon Sola (3, 5), in
182:
Pat Mills has said the idea was a deliberate ripoff of
170:
and illustrator Enio. It debuted in the first issue of
1032:
1027:at the International Catalogue of Superheroes
956:, dropped from the comic's original line-up.
236:agent at first engaging in missions against
154:was a comic strip that ran in the British
143:Superhuman strength, speed and durability
31:member formerly known as M.A.C.H. 1, see
783:M.A.C.H. 1: The John Probe Mission Files
737:"Cyborg Express" (with Henry Miller and
14:
1033:
277:using multiple 'electro-needles'. His
776:
316:
24:
931:"He Died with his Boots on" (with
406:(1)/Robert Flynn (2) and Enio (1)/
166:. The strip was created by writer
25:
1077:
1000:
819:(Rebellion Books, 18 April 2019,
785:(Rebellion Books, 22 March 2018,
390:#6 and #9). Appearances include:
386:format (the beginning and end in
993:Thrill-Powered Overload! page 14
984:Thrill-Powered Overload! page 13
717:
320:
863:
466:"On the Roof of the World" (in
312:
987:
978:
177:
13:
1:
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945:
697:"The Final Encounter " (with
473:"Operation Death-Drive!" (in
393:
260:
817:M.A.C.H. 1: Close Encounters
533:"Skyscraper Terrorists" (in
7:
858:
459:"Our Man in Turkostan" (in
10:
1082:
849:2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1979
843:2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1978
803:2000AD Summer Special 1977
759:"M.A.C.H. 0 Book 2" (with
743:2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1978
668:"The Dolphin Tapes" (with
593:"The Death Trumpet" (with
424:"To Kill a President" (in
222:The Six Million Dollar Man
217:the Six Million Dollar Man
205:
185:The Six Million Dollar Man
145:On-board tactical computer
43:
26:
708:"The Taxaco Venture" (in
676:(1-2), Montero (3-4), in
611:"Operation Hercules" (in
604:"The Planet Killers" (in
139:
129:
121:
116:
105:
90:
78:
73:
68:
1056:Eagle (comic) characters
920:"Criminal Record" (with
909:"Blair Force One" (with
494:"Chinese Formula" (with
372:were later reprinted in
726:"Cousin George " (with
661:"Return to Sharpe" (in
227:
74:Publication information
58:Mach 2 (disambiguation)
37:Mach 1 (disambiguation)
646:"M.A.C.H. Zero" (with
540:"Corporal Tanaka" (in
480:"The Laser Hound" (in
388:2000AD Extreme Edition
360:appeared in their own
271:British Secret Service
234:British Secret Service
134:British Secret Service
48:. For other uses, see
35:. For other uses, see
894:"B.L.A.I.R. 1" (with
632:"M.A.C.H. Woman" (in
597:and Marzal Canos, in
509:Summer Special, 1977)
438:"Himmler's Gold" (in
100:#1 (26 February 1977)
50:Mach (disambiguation)
1046:2000 AD comic strips
712:Sci-Fi Special 1979)
281:was controlled by a
117:In-story information
1051:Comics by Pat Mills
586:"Terror Train" (in
452:"Spain Kidnap" (in
1061:Eagle comic strips
1041:2000 AD characters
868:A spoof, entitled
846:2000AD Annual 1979
806:2000AD Annual 1978
777:Collected editions
658:#43-46, 1977-1978)
615:Annual 1978, 1977)
431:"Probesnatch" (in
332:. You can help by
1066:Fictional cyborgs
939:#1097-1098, 1998)
917:#1071-1074, 1997)
852:Gallery of covers
809:Gallery of covers
748:"The Suit" (with
683:"Swamp Saga" (in
579:"King Karat" (in
565:"Arab Story" (in
417:"Battleship" (in
350:
349:
285:implanted in his
149:
148:
130:Team affiliations
16:(Redirected from
1073:
994:
991:
985:
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752:and Montero, in
701:and Montero, in
639:"Death Ray" (in
572:"Spy Plane" (in
345:
342:
324:
317:
250:"compu-puncture"
232:John Probe is a
92:First appearance
66:
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63:Comics character
21:
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887:(with art from
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771:#162-165, 1980)
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694:#59 - 60, 1978)
643:#40 - 42, 1977)
636:#36 - 39, 1977)
629:#34 - 35, 1977)
622:#30 - 33, 1977)
608:#27 - 29, 1977)
402:"Vulcan" (with
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346:
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330:needs expansion
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246:organised crime
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690:"Origins" (in
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625:"Everest" (in
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595:Steve MacManus
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558:"Recluse" (in
556:
551:and Lopez, in
549:Steve MacManus
547:"Tokyo" (with
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526:"Spotbox" (in
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519:"Capitol" (in
517:
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496:Steve MacManus
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756:#73-75, 1978)
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739:Kevin O'Neill
736:
734:#65-72, 1978)
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719:M.A.C.H. Zero
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705:#61-64, 1978)
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680:#54-57, 1978)
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498:and Kato, in
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370:M.A.C.H. Zero
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358:M.A.C.H. Zero
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328:This section
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293:M.A.C.H. Zero
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33:Abner Jenkins
30:
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18:M.A.C.H. Zero
1019:B.L.A.I.R. 1
989:
980:
965:
961:
957:
951:
949:
936:
928:#1084, 1998)
925:
914:
906:#1034, 1997)
903:
896:David Bishop
885:B.L.A.I.R. 1
884:
877:
870:B.L.A.I.R. 1
869:
867:
864:B.L.A.I.R. 1
816:
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505:"Kraal" (in
499:
488:
481:
474:
467:
460:
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446:
439:
432:
425:
418:
411:
394:
387:
382:was also in
379:
373:
369:
365:
357:
353:
351:
338:
334:adding to it
329:
313:Publications
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183:
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96:
41:
29:Thunderbolts
889:Simon Davis
837:Progs 53-75
834:Progs 34-46
512:"Yeti" (in
414:#1-2, 1977)
408:Ian Kennedy
299:Tanya Maski
275:acupuncture
210:Initially,
190:John Wagner
178:Development
46:mach number
1035:Categories
1025:M.A.C.H. 1
1013:M.A.C.H. 0
1007:M.A.C.H. 1
972:References
962:M.A.C.H. 1
958:Z.O.M.B.O.
946:Z.O.M.B.O.
933:Alan Grant
922:Alan Grant
911:Alan Grant
874:Tony Blair
800:Progs 1-33
765:Mike Dorey
687:#58, 1978)
665:#53, 1978)
652:Ramon Sola
618:"UFO" (in
601:#26, 1977)
590:#25, 1977)
583:#24, 1977)
576:#23, 1977)
569:#22, 1977)
562:#21, 1977)
555:#20, 1977)
544:#19, 1977)
537:#18, 1977)
530:#17, 1977)
523:#16, 1977)
516:#15, 1977)
502:#14, 1977)
491:#13, 1977)
484:#12, 1977)
477:#11, 1977)
470:#10, 1977)
395:M.A.C.H. 1
380:M.A.C.H. 1
366:M.A.C.H. 1
354:M.A.C.H. 1
305:M.A.C.H. 2
279:metabolism
267:John Probe
261:Characters
242:terrorists
238:Communists
212:M.A.C.H. 1
152:M.A.C.H. 1
125:John Probe
112:& Enio
106:Created by
1021:at Barney
1015:at Barney
1009:at Barney
966:Invasion!
960:parodied
699:Pat Mills
463:#9, 1977)
456:#8, 1977)
449:#7, 1977)
442:#6, 1977)
435:#5, 1977)
428:#4, 1977)
421:#3, 1977)
404:Pat Mills
384:anthology
362:eponymous
341:July 2017
168:Pat Mills
140:Abilities
122:Alter ego
110:Pat Mills
85:IPC Media
80:Publisher
69:M.A.C.H.1
859:Parodies
410:(2), in
364:series.
283:computer
199:Deathlok
937:2000 AD
926:2000 AD
915:2000 AD
904:2000 AD
878:2000 AD
769:2000 AD
754:2000 AD
732:2000 AD
703:2000 AD
678:2000 AD
656:2000 AD
599:2000 AD
553:2000 AD
500:2000 AD
419:2000AD
412:2000 AD
206:Premise
172:2000 AD
163:2000 AD
98:2000 AD
823:
789:
710:2000AD
692:2000AD
685:2000AD
663:2000AD
641:2000AD
634:2000AD
627:2000AD
620:2000AD
613:2000AD
606:2000AD
588:2000AD
581:2000AD
574:2000AD
567:2000AD
560:2000AD
542:2000AD
535:2000AD
528:2000AD
521:2000AD
514:2000AD
507:2000AD
489:2000AD
482:2000AD
475:2000AD
468:2000AD
461:2000AD
454:2000AD
447:2000AD
440:2000AD
433:2000AD
426:2000AD
378:, and
56:, and
54:Mach O
953:Zombo
935:, in
924:, in
913:, in
902:, in
767:, in
741:, in
654:, in
375:Eagle
352:Both
287:skull
192:from
159:comic
821:ISBN
787:ISBN
763:and
672:and
650:and
368:and
356:and
269:: A
244:and
228:Plot
891:):
336:.
1037::
964:,
827:):
793:):
240:,
196:'
52:,
898:/
745:)
343:)
339:(
60:.
39:.
20:)
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