THUNDERIDERS

 

THUNDERIDERS

First Appearance: Captain America (Vol. 1) #269, May 1982

Roster: Formerly known as Team America, the Thunderiders are a 5-member motorcycle stunt group comprised of (from left to right): Wolf (real name unknown), Wrench (Leonard Hebb) R.U. Reddy (Winthrop Roan, Jr.), Honcho (James MacDonald), and Cowboy (Luke Merriweather).

History and Powers: The mothers of these five men were unwitting test subjects for an experiment called “Project: New Genesis” designed by HYDRA scientists to create a race of mutants who could be trained as superhuman agents for the group. The expectant mothers were surreptitiously administered a mutagenic compound and after the children were born, HYDRA agents kept the children under surveillance as they grew to adulthood. When none of the test subjects seemed to exhibit any extraordinary superhuman power, the project was terminated. Unknown to HYDRA, the five children did develop latent mutant abilities, which ultimately established a telepathic rapport between the five team members when they reached adulthood. Perhaps not coincidentally, all five mutants developed both a passion and aptitude for motorcycles and stunt motorcycling.

The major purpose of this telepathic link was to act as a projecting gestalt, calling forth an entity known as the Marauder, the Dark Rider or the Black Rider. The Marauder was an independent personality created as an extension of the Thunderiders’ subconscious. It had the combination of roughly five times the strength, agility, endurance and reflexes of a normal man, all of their cycling ability and other skills such as electronics, machinery, etc. Although it was formed from the minds of the Thunderiders, the Marauder demonstrated its own motivation and did not require conscious direction by the Thunderiders, or even their awareness. In fact, the Thunderiders originally summoned the Rider without even realizing it in times of stress, and were unaware of its true connection to them for some time.

Typically, the Marauder is "imprinted" onto a host body -- someone in the vicinity of the Thunderiders is possessed by the consciousness and instantly garbed in the Marauder's biker outfit. When the Marauder effect fades, the host returns to its original state with no awareness of being possessed. Although it isn't clear, the Marauder's motorcycle may also materialize out of thin air with the persona, implying the Thunderiders' psychic powers extend to matter manipulation as well. Sometimes, the Marauder seemed to appear out of nowhere and vanish just as quickly, suggesting it wasn't necessary for the persona to possess a host, but could materialize tangibly without one. Initially the Thunderiders had no conscious control either over the manifestation of the Marauder or the person upon whom it was manifested.

Training by Professor Xavier gave them greater control. For instance, they learned how to voluntarily transform into the Marauder themselves and retain the memory of being in that form.