Major Force (Clifford Zmeck) is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Major Force is the evil counterpart of the superhero Captain Atom.
Publication history
Major Force first appeared in Captain Atom (vol. 3) #12 (February 1988) and was created by Cary Bates, Greg Weisman, and Pat Broderick.
Fictional character biography
Early life
Major Force is a product of the same U.S. Federal project which created Captain Atom during the Vietnam War. The government, in a project headed by Wade Eiling and the scientist Megala, was experimenting with the effects of atomic energy on an alien metal they had taken from a crashed spaceship to determine its full protective abilities; such as protecting a human being from a nuclear blast. After the disappearance of Nathaniel Adam and the perceived failure of the Captain Atom Project, the government restarted the project with a new subject, Clifford Zmeck and increased the amount of metal used (Captain Atom #36, December 1989). While in the USAF, Zmeck had been jailed in a high security prison for rape and murder and sentenced to life in prison. He was offered a pardon in exchange for participation in the high-risk governmental experiment. The results were the same as with the Captain Atom Project and Zmeck disappeared into the Quantum Field, emerging one year after the return of Nathaniel Adam. This time, the government was ready and placed microimplants ranging from knockout gas to mini-explosives under the metal while it was still malleable, to control Zmeck in case he went rogue. During one mission, a government operator (who was actually the son of the woman Zmeck had murdered) activated one such charge, amputating Zmeck's left hand. Introduced as an ally, then successor to Captain Atom, Force's brutality betrayed his government-concocted role of superhero and brought him in frequent conflict with Atom. Major Force is now arguably Captain Atom's arch-enemy. Eventually, he became a hired gun for General Wade Eiling's or any other crooked government affiliated group's purposes.
Crime and punishment
In Green Lantern (vol. 3) #54 (August 1994), Major Force killed Alexandra "Alex" DeWitt, girlfriend of Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, and stuffed her remains in a refrigerator where Kyle would find her on behalf of the Quorum Organization who wanted the GL ring that fell into Kyle's lap. Rayner tortured Major Force after their fight, but was stopped by forces of LAPD's Special Crimes Unit. In an issue of Guy Gardner: Warrior, Major Force seemingly slays Guy Gardner's mother in the same manner as Alex. After some confusion, it is learned Force had killed a neighbor who had been house-sitting. Having heard from Rayner about how Zmeck murdered his beloved, Guy, who has by now awakened to his Vuldarian heritage, summarily executes him with a shifted weapon's edge.
This was not the end of Zmeck, however, as Quorum (the very people who employed him to harass Rayner and Gardner) had revived him and enhanced him with Vuldarian DNA. His return started with Force killing Arisia, a former Green Lantern and dear friend of Guy Gardner, as a declaration of war against him in Guy Gardner: Warrior #43 (June 1996). Force was apparently confronted in New York, United States of America by Gardner; after a brief skirmish between the two, Force seemingly murdered Guy in his weakened state, only for the latter to revive himself before dealing Major Force a fatal blow causing the villain to implode, seemingly killing him again in revenge.
In reality, Force is made of energy and not matter. He cannot die and has effectively gained immortality. As is made apparent in Resurrection Man #21 (February 1999) he somehow revived himself from death prior to a ripple in the quantum field of reality which somehow revitalized Major Force. Giving him enough raw power to challenge the JLA directly with the assistance of a quantum powered Resurrection Man, only to be disassembled into particles by the immortal loner but still to reform himself at a later date. Some time afterwards he gets into a skirmish with Superman over misinformation regarding his position in the government, gaining the upper hand using Dark Quantum Energy to sap Superman's Solar Energy. Kal-El turns the tables on him by exploiting his lack of ability, namely by hyper heating his Dilustel body to the point of flash melting him in place like a smelted statue. He was taken into custody by Amanda Waller shortly afterwards, adamantly disclaiming any connection he might have to the U.S. Government when asked by Waller.