Free Radical
From Jalassociatecomics
| Gender | Male |
| Role | Villain |
| Affiliation |
|
| Status | Dead |
| Voiced by | Guydo Prinsep |
The man who refers to himself as Free Radical is a recurring villain in the show Thompson Colton. He is considered one of the three most dangerous villains in the show's history, having nearly killed Thompson Colton twice, and injuring all his allies near-fatally. Free Radical is also responsible for the deaths of six important government figures, most of them ministers, and nearly killing the then-Prime Minister, Lamorak Purser. His real name might be Johnathan Baxter Goodwins (see below).
Before he became Free Radical, the man was a patriotic sergeant in the British Army in the Palestine before he was taken to the Buckenham Tofts military base in Norfolk for "evaluation", after supposed accounts of rash action towards his men. There, without his consent, he was taken to a top-secret subterranean test facility and injected with excessive amounts of steroids, along with nine other "test subjects", in a bid to bio-engineer the ultimate super soldier. The four men in the rooms before him died of severe neural confusion and subsequent implosion of the blood vessels, while the five after him survived in pain for weeks before dying horribly.
However, the sergeant miraculously survived, and killed all the staff at Buckenham Tofts in a fit of enraged betrayal before escaping into the night. Some clothes he picked up defined his "look": a hooded jacket with shadowed glasses. He worked as a mercenary in many an aggressive guerrilla group or freedom fighter faction before signing on for a brief period with SCEPTER. The organization welcomed him with open arms, secretly delighted at the thought of employing a man with all the knowledge concerning the inner workings of the British military. After learning all he could from them, he abruptly turned traitor and destroyed their base in Vienna, and set forth on his crusade of a vendetta to destroy the United Kingdom and its peoples.
Following these incidences, Free Radical decided to work alone. 10 government figures essential to the "Steel Rapier" missile system became his imminent targets. The super-soldier soon found himself discovering an arch-enemy in the form of Thompson Colton, who managed to save four out of the ten, Prime Minister Purser included. Free Radical mercilessly pursued the agent, narrowly emerging unsuccessfully. One of Free Radical's more deadly pursuits involved hunting down those who were closest to 0011, nearly killing his boss "C" in the process.
He reckoned that regardless of how badly he wounded Thompson Colton, he would always bounce back thanks to his allies. But remove such allies, and one good strike could "kill Thompson Colton forever" (see Quotes below.) Throwing Sykes Fairbanks off a building and knecapping Marianne Suzette with a sniper rifle were two such monstrous acts. Enraged, 0011 pursued him and took him on. In a climatic battle on the rooftops of Parliament, Colton lost his nerved and started to strike Free Radical grievously. After nearly beating him to a pulp, 0011 returned to his senses and sent Radical to be arrsted.
However, in one final act of defiance, just before he entered the meatwagon, Free Radical set off five grenades on his belt, and destroyed the facades of an entire block. Once the dust cleared, there was nothing left of him barring his signature shadowed glasses. At long last, one of the greatest threats to the UK was dead.
Name
As above, his name is theorised to be Johnathan Baxter Goodwins. This can be drawn from his "origin episode", Free Radical Strikes. One of the files he is seen burning a file with the name on him. The photo, though it burns quickly, bears a resemblance to his appearance.
Trivia
Free Radical's inspiration is drawn mainly from the renowned Batman villain Bane, who shares similar origins and subsequent superpowers to the Thompson Colton villain. Free Radical, in a manner similar to Bane, also dons a mask to conceal his identity, who's real name is also not known in most incarnations of the character. Bane is also the villain who has come closest to killing the Dark Knight by famously breaking his back. In a similar manner, Free Radical also nearly kills Thompson Colton twice.
Another DC Comics supervillain, namely The General (General Wade Eiling) serves as one of the influences for the creation of Free Radical. Free Radical shares The General's military background and is also injected with a serum intended to engineer the ideal super-soldier. However, while Free Radical was injected with the serum against his will, Eiling used the "Captain Nazi" formula voluntarily.
Free Radical's cry of "HEEERE'S JOHNNY!!" (see quotes below) is also a reference to the Stephen King novel "The Shining" (And the film based upon it). Lastly, his presumed real name of Jonathan Baxter Goodwins would make his name nearly Johnny B. Goode, a an example of pop culture reference few studios pass up.
Quotes
- "HEEERE'S JOHNNY!!" - on breaking his door and staring wild-eyed through it.
- "It was described as the greatest single moment of his life." - Mi6 file on Free Radical, describing his destruction of Buckenham Tofts.
- "Your organization has benefited me enough. A pity I must destroy you now." - Free Radical announcing his resignation from SCEPTER.
- "YOU! You disgusting misanthrope of a minister - making the people think you serve them, while you suck money from their pygg-banks. DIE!" - Free Radical just before shooting at PM Pursuer.
- "Who do you think you are? James Bond?!"
"Sometimes. But only on my off-days." - a witty exchange between Free Radical and Thompson Colton.
- "As long as your allies exist, Thompson Colton will always survive. Regardless of how badly I defeat you, you will always bounce back. BUT! - Without them, Thompson Colton can die - forever."
