Alison Double

Real Name: Alison Double

Identity/Class: Human psionicist, probably mutant

Occupation: Current profession unknown; (formerly) agent of S.T.R.I.K.E. Psi Division, then fugitive

Affiliations: friend and ally of Betsy Braddock; ally of Captain Britain, Captain U.K, Saturnyne and Tom Lennox; member of the fugitive Psi Division of S.T.R.I.K.E.; (former) agent of S.T.R.I.K.E.; briefly an associate of RCX, Mastermind and their Warpie charges during the period when all of them shared Braddock Manor.

Enemies: Mad Jim Jaspers (Earth-616); Slaymaster; S.T.R.I.K.E.; Vixen

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Last seen in Switzerland; (former) S.T.R.I.K.E. Psi Division Headquarters, then Braddock Manor, then a basement in an unspecified part of London, then Superhuman Detention Camp, then Braddock Manor again.

First Appearance: The Daredevils #3 (March 1983)

Powers/Abilities: Alison is a telepath of unspecified power level (although presumably not greater than her friend Betsy Braddock). She also appears to be able to see people's auras.

History: (bts) Alison Double is recruited into S.T.R.I.K.E. Psi Division. There she meets several fellow telepaths who make up the division. When the agency is infiltrated by operatives of the crimelord Vixen, the Psi Division are the only ones who realise what is happening. The group goes on the run, Alison amongst them, and Vixen hires the assassin Slaymaster to hunt them down and silence them.

(Daredevils #3) Alison is in "mind-lock" with another of the division, Kevin, when Slaymaster catches up with him and murders him. Even though she is some distance away, she is knocked unconscious by the trauma. Very shortly thereafter Alison and most of the group hide out at Forbidden Planet, a local comic shop, while Betsy meets up with her superhero brother Brian, intending to enlist his aid. Unfortunately, as Alison stands around reading a comic, Slaymaster tracks them there, and starts to kill them. The killer has cornered the last two, Tom Lennox and Alison, when rescue arrives, in the form of Betsy's brother, now in his guise as Captain Britain.

(Daredevils #4) Tom cradles Alison in his arms while watching Captain Britain pound on Slaymaster. He communicates telepathically with his lover, Betsy; Alison however has once more been rendered insensate by her ordeal.

(bts) Alison and her two fellow survivors take up residence in the holographically cloaked Braddock Manor.

(Daredevils #5) The Special Executive are hired to break into Braddock Manor and kidnap Captain Britain. Alison, still convalescing from the series of brutal psychic shocks she has experienced, does not awaken when Cobweb, one of that mercenary group, enters her room to check on her, before moving on to their target.

(bts) The fugitives flee the Manor, no longer safe since the Fury's attack, and make their way into London. They hide from the increasingly oppressive anti-superhuman Jasper's regime in the basement of an abandoned house. Alison remains virtually comatose and her health is poor, requiring others to care for her at all times.

(Mighty World of Marvel #8) Captain Britain is cradling the unconscious Alison's head in his arm and giving her something to drink when Saturnyne and Betsy return from foraging. He asks them if they managed to get any medicine, since Alison is "feverish again". After the stressed out fugitives exchange some heated words, Betsy and Tom take over administering care to their fellow telepath.

(Mighty World of Marvel #9) After Captain Britain has departed to confront Mad Jim Jaspers, whose mutant powers have turned Britain into a terrifying police state, the fugitives' hideout is discovered by the Beetles, armoured agents of the regime. Tom sacrifices his life to try and delay the hostile force, buying time for his friends to escape. Sadly Betsy and Alison are captured anyway, downed by an entangling line just before they are forced to again experience the death of a fellow psi.

(bts) Interred in one of Jasper's camps, the two mentally scarred telepaths are befriended by fellow inmate Victoria Bentley, an ally of Doctor Strange and the Black Knight.

(Mighty World of Marvel #13) With the death of Jaspers, his regime collapses and the camp fences are torn down. Victoria Bentley helps her two friends walk to freedom. Unknown to the three released prisoners, their departure from the camps is witnessed on Otherworld by Roma, Captain U.K. and Captain Britain. Roma assures the worried Britain that Victoria is eminently suited to care for her two charges while their spirits mend.

(Mighty World of Marvel #16) Alison and Betsy return to Braddock Manor, having spent several months healing under the care of Victoria Bentley. Brian enquires how Alison feels, and she confirms her health has improved and continues to do so, thanks to the care their benefactor took of them. Emma Collins, the Manor's housekeeper, likewise welcomes them home, and then they meet Meggan, who came to stay during the telepaths' absence. Alison notes that Meggan's aura is beautiful, "like an irridescent butterfly". Everyone moves to the living room to watch a television report about the repair and re-opening of the Manor.

(Captain Britain II #8, (fb)) Alison tries to explain to Meggan about the potential she sees in the vulpine mutant's aura, stating that Meggan does not need to look like a humanoid bat/wolf-creature. Alison continues to explain that it was the superstitions of Meggan's people that shaped the young girl's appearance. Meggan says she doesn't understand, but Alison assures her that once Meggan does, "the caterpillar will become the butterfly."

(Captain Britain II #5) Extra-dimensional mercenaries once again invade the Manor late at night. This time it is the Technet on the trail of Kaptain Briton, counterpart to this dimension's Captain Britain. While the two Captain's battle, Gatecrasher, the group leader, sends Fascination to collect together the household, and Elmo, another one of the Technet, dampens Betsy's psi powers. The group watches as the evenly matched duo smash through floors and ceilings, and Gatecrasher explains to them her mission. Finally our Earth's Captain appears to be victorious. Yap confirms the winner to be Earth-616's hero, but Gatecrasher, wanting to be certain, asks Betsy to confirm the one standing is her brother. Still woozy from Elmo's dampening, Betsy is unable to do so. Gatecrasher asks Alison instead, who confirms that he is who he says he is. The Technet depart with their captive, and Alison tells Emma that they will get round to clearing the damage in the morning. But Alison has gotten it wrong - the man who won the battle is the evil counterpart, not the true Captain Britain.

(Captain Britain II #7) Mere minutes later Alison senses that Betsy is in distress. She races to Betsy's room, only to find the door locked and Betsy not answering. Meggan is attracted by her shouting, and breaks the door down. They find Betsy sitting in shock next to the corpse of the pretender, and the real Captain Britain teleporting back from the dimension the Technet took him to. Brian tries to comfort his sister and fails, turning instead to Alison (as someone who might understand what it is like to be in someone's mind as you telepathically kill them? - Loki). Alison watches as the Mastermind sends a hologram to dispose of the corpse.

(Captain Britain II #9) RCX has arrived at the Manor, bringing with them the Cherubim, combat-trained Warpies. After Meggan inadvertently releases the destructive group, Jeeves wakens Alison and Emma on Captain Britain's orders, and takes them down into the caves beneath the Manor for safety. Once the battle is over the non-combatants go outside to see what has happened. Alison is overjoyed that Meggan has finally understood her earlier message, and transformed herself into a beauty. Captain Britain is stunned by this change, and Alison snaps at him that she did try to tell him, between alien visitations and his drunken sulks. Then she turns her attention back to Meggan.

(bts) Alison is not seen during the period when Betsy helps RCX settle their superpowered junior charges into the Manor, nor when her friend Betsy is blinded by Slaymaster while working for RCX as the new Captain Britain. (see comments)

(Captain Britain II #14) It is Christmas. Alison and RCX agent Gabriel note how well Betsy has recovered from her recent injuries. A little later Gabriel and Betsy discuss leaving the Manor, and staying for a while with Alison in her Swiss chateau. A few days later, the three of them (Alison, Gabriel and Betsy) celebrate a white Christmas up in the Swiss mountains.

Comments: Created by Alan Moore and Alan Davis.

Alison is not seen during the tumultuous events that take place in the grounds of Braddock Manor in Daredevils #9 through #11. It's a fair bet she sleeps through the return of Captain Britain with the Special Executive, the arrival of Captain U.K. and the battle with the Fury. As such, she could arguably be put as being behind the scenes in those issues, as she was around, just not "on camera". Similarly Alison is briefly seen in a panel of the story in Mighty World of Marvel #7, arriving into London with her fellow fugitives. However this is a visualisation of a story being told by Meggan to her fellow concentration camp Sue, and so can't be taken as accurate.

The dates given in the story for Alison and Betsy's release from the camps is 8th September 1983 (MWOM #13). Their convalescence with Victoria Bentley is fairly long, as their return to Braddock Manor is dated as being on June 6th 1984 (MWOM #16). While the actual years in which these events happened are now invalidated by Marvel's sliding timescale, the actual duration dates could still stand, meaning that Alison and Betsy spent about nine months recovering from the ordeal they underwent.

Alison isn't seen to be around during the period when RCX settle into the Manor. Since it is later mentioned that Alison owns a chateau in Switzerland, I'd suggest that when Braddock Manor became the home for that secret agency and the Warpie children, Alison, like Captain Britain, decided to depart, taking up residence overseas. She returned for a visit at Christmas after her friend was crippled by Slaymaster, and extended an invite to Betsy to come and stay at her new chateau during the recovery period.

Alison's eyes are probably either poor sighted or sensitive to light, since she was almost always shown wearing dark glasses. However, contrary to what several online sites say, Alison is not blind. Wearing glasses most of the time does not mean you are blind - she's seen reading a comic in her first appearance.

CLARIFICATIONS:No known connections to and not to be confused with

Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.

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