Real Name:
Conrad Turner
Captain Black
Real Name:
Conrad Turner
Identity/Class:
Occupation:
Affiliations:
Enemies:
Known Relatives:
Aliases:
Base of Operations:
First Appearance: Captain Scarlet
Powers/Abilities: As with Captain Scarlet, Captain Black is invulnerable and if killed, can come back to life.
History: Conrad Turner was a thoughtful, contemplative character, a decisive, logical thinker with great courage, but was also a pacifist at heart, wishing for world peace rather than world wars. He was Spectrum's number one agent, until he led an ill-fated expedition to Mars.
Life had been hard for Conrad Turner, whom few knew well, with tragedy marking his life from the age of only 7 months (October 2029). When the devastating atomic war of 2028 (2028-2034) left him an orphan, with the death of his parents, in the care of a distant relative, who provided him with food, clothing and a place to sleep, but no real home. Any affection and consideration he did receive was rare and mild. The world he grew up in was distant, cold and hard, so consequently, Conrad Turner grew up to give only as he himself had received, harshly, cold, hard and logical.
Yet his unnamed foster parent did grant him with a decent education, for at the age of 15 Conrad entered Manchester Technical Academy (part of England’s famous Northern University),. But, even amongst the atmosphere of his fellow students, Conrad found it difficult to leave the self-imposed “shell” which had wrapped around him in his early years. Turner had become, and was to remain, a recluse. This situation did have its advantages however, for often wishing to remain on his own, he filled his spare time with studies. And in only 18 months (September 2045) Turner graduated from the Manchester Technical Academy with National Diplomas in physics, space navigation and international law degrees. He next move to Northern University itself, and there, after another 18 months, gained degrees in science and technology.
Age 18 Turner joined the British Air-Force, having no real feelings for a civilian life, gaining military strategy and piloting skills to the rank of flight lieutenant during his stay, and in the winter of 2047, he was recognised by the World Government for his outstanding courage, when he disobeyed orders and took a sabotaged bomber plane up from the airbase he was stationed at. A bomb had been placed in this airplane by a group of unnamed “freedom fighters”, loyal supporters of those who had plunged Britain into civil war against the military dictatorship who had held control of Britain since the “great” atomic war of Europe in 2028. The bomb was intended to destroy the base, but it instead exploded harmlessly in mid-air, scattering the wreckage for miles around. Turner ejected from the plane seconds before it blew up, and was found, hours later, still strapped into his ejector seat, floating in the Atlantic, his body almost beyond recognition. Word was rushed from the highest authority (possibly World President Bandranaik, 2045-2066) that this hero was to receive the highest priority in an unnamed London hospital. Six painful hours of precision operations later, Britain’s top surgeons saved his life (just), and then, for the first time ever, he revealed one of the secret ambitions he’d kept hidden for years. An ambition which, he assured World Government officials, was the only reason he’d survived the jaws of death. “Peace”, he confessed. “Peace is what I want to see. A secure world, but I can’t do much about it if I’m dead.” Turner’s statement made headline news, and in the late months of 2048 he was discharged from hospital with hardly a mark on him. And given the free choice whether to resign from the British Air-Force or resume his career, he accepted a position with the World Army Air Force, and enlisted as a field agent/pilot.
From that day on Turner faded from the public view, much to his own relief, until 2054 when an announcement in the press read announced that he has been promoted to the World Space Patrol. This promotion (and later promotion to the rank of Colonel in 2057) brought with it the inevitable publicity from the gutter press, and from then Turner become one of the most famous officers of the WSP. He was also part of the Solar System Exploration Centre’s Mercury survey mission. His achievements and progress were constantly acclaimed in world Government circles, particularly in early 2065 when Spectrum was being established. So Turner became one of the first people to be chosen as a Spectrum officer, and accepted Spectrum’s offer of becoming a field agent, with the reduced rank of Captain and the colour code Black. Black was appointed tutor of all the new recruits. As Spectrum’s number one agent he was the perfect choice of the World Government when the decision was made that an expedition should journey to Mars to investigate strange radio signals picked up by the Spectrum . So in early 2068 a Zero-X Mars Exploration Vehicle sponsored by Spectrum, landed on the planet in search of these signals. But Black failed in his mistaking alien scanning devices as weapon emplacements, and hearing the worlds of his fellow MEV officer, he panicked momentarily and he commanded Lieutenant Dean to open fire upon the Mysteron complex. This attack became the first blow in a devastating “War of Nerves”. The three men crew of the MEV then witnessed the miraculous “rematerialisation” of the Mysteron city, and for this act of aggression the Mysterons took control of Captain Black’s mind and body. It is as yet unknown whether Black actually died on Mars, but when the Zero-X returned to Earth with Black as its only occupant, he vanished after the craft reached Glenn Field Spaceport, and it wasn’t long after this that the people of Earth received their first threat from the Mysterons from Mars.
Comments: His voice was provided by Donald Grey. In the first episode “The Mysterons”, Jeremy Wilkin provided the voice of the human Captain Black.
There's a nice site covering all the Anderson series as they have appeared in comics.
CLARIFICATIONS:
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