Spectrum (organisation)

Spectrum, occassionally styled SPECTRUM, was a Earth security organisation active in either the 2060s (PROSE: Capt. Black Mars Expedition Lost! et al.) or the 2080s. (PROSE: Captain Scarlet in Death Crash! et al.) Headed by Colonel White, each officer was given a colour-oriented codename, with a division of female pilots called the Angels also existing. (COMIC: Traitor Black Gives In!)

The organisation initially operated in secret, (PROSE: Capt. Black Mars Expedition Lost!) before being unveiled to the world when it was announced they would be taking over the commitments of the Universal Secret Service on Earth. (PROSE: SPECTRUM is Green) This soon fell by the wayside for the most part, however, and Spectrum instead became the planet's main defence against the Mysterons after the outbreak of the Mysteron War. (COMIC: Traitor Black Gives In!, PROSE: They Watch the World et al.)

Beginnings
Spectrum was either founded in 2067 (COMIC: SPECTRUM) or during the 2080s (PROSE: Captain Scarlet in Death Crash!) no later than 2086. (PROSE: Rogues Gallery) Charles Grey, second-in-command of the Universal Secret Service, was chosen to lead the organisation, becoming Colonel White, (PROSE: SPECTRUM is Green) while Conrad Turner was recruited as its first field agent, becoming Captain Black. (PROSE: Rogues Gallery) According to one account, Spectrum quickly became a "pet project" of World President Melchior after it saved his life. (PROSE: They Watch the World)

In either June of 2067 (PROSE: Capt. Black Mars Expedition Lost!) or 2087, (PROSE: Rogues Gallery) Black commanded a Zero X expedition to Mars in order to investigate the "strange radio signals" (PROSE: Capt. Black Mars Expedition Lost!, 'Jinx Ship' Blasts Off For Mars) received from the Rock Snake Hills area over the previous year. (PROSE: Capt. Black Mars Expedition Lost!) Upon reaching the planet, Black proceeded to investigate the Mysteron City. In a moment of panic, he opened fire on the city, (PROSE: Rogues Gallery) thus beginning the Mysteron War. (PROSE: 'Jinx Ship' Blasts Off For Mars, Rogues Gallery)

The apparent loss of Black's expedition was reported by TV 21 on 2 September 2067. By this time, the secret organisation he belonged to was a matter of serious speculation, with the publication mentioning that it seemingly had World Government backing and also noting the similarities between the symbol on Black's hat and the symbol spotted on a mysterious aircraft carrier which had seemingly been spotted over Nice. European newspaper reporters flocked to the city but were prevented from arranging chartered flights to get a closer look by the World Air Force. (PROSE: Capt. Black Mars Expedition Lost!)

TV 21 reporters Pete Tracker and Lens Sharpe were also sent to Nice and were likewise denied access. However, they were crucially able to follow and track Destiny Angel to her destination of Glenn Field upon noticing her take-off. On 23 September, once at Glenn Field, Tracker and Sharpe's craft collided with Zero X, carrying Captain Black on return from Mars despite previous reports of his death. In the confusion, Black exited Zero X and left the base in a car, vanishing without trace. Although a full-scale search was ordered by Colonel White, all reports proved to be negative. White first suspected Tracker and Sharpe of orchestrating some kind of plot but his fears were allayed and they were eventually able to convince him to take part in an interview. (COMIC: SPECTRUM)

Tracker's article, which appeared on the front page of TV 21, unveiled Spectrum as Earth's newest security organisation and announced that they would be taking over all duties of the USS on Earth, a task Tracker was confident they could handle. A photograph of Cloudbase also accompanied the article, as did a list of Spectrum personnel which included Captains Blue, Fawn, Magenta, and Scarlet, and Lieutenant Green. (PROSE: SPECTRUM is Green)

The Mysteron War
In an account dated to August 2088, World President Lhomel returned to Unity City following the recent Mysteron threat there, despite Spectrum's requests not to do so. Also, Kylie Walker reported that Captain Scarlet had been involved in a "spectacular" mid-air crash "which left no chance of survivors" when his jet made a deliberate turn into an Angel aircraft. (PROSE: Captain Scarlet in Death Crash!) Despite this, his survival was later confirmed. (PROSE: Zero X: Four Crew Missing)

In January 2089, (PROSE: Sniper!) members of the World Senate were keen to know why Spectrum had not responded to the assassination of the Astran Kaplan in Unity City and were angered to learn that Cloudbase was heading away from Bermuda, over the Pacific. Action 21 speculated that this had something to do with Colonel White being against holding peace talks in Unity City on security grounds. (PROSE: Get the Gunman!) In February, Lieutenant Green broke Spectrum's silence, revealing they had been attacked by knock-out gas but were now fully recovered. He promised that agents would be sent to Unity City as soon as an "internal security matter" was cleared up on Cloudbase. (PROSE: Zero X Beats Space Curse!) Due to his position as head of Spectrum, Colonel White was a member of the World Security Council and thus took part in the Kaplan Commission. (PROSE: They Watch the World)

In March, a local news service in Australia picked up a signal from Cloudbase to Captain Black in which Spectrum agreed to send Angel aircraft to a location chosen by him. This started rumours that Black and the Mysterons might have surrendered. (PROSE: Captain Black Surrenders) In July, Spectrum announced that they wanted help to locate Captain Scarlet, who was being held prisoner by the Mysterons beneath the South Pacific. (PROSE: Send For Stingray)

In August, the Mysterons announced the Earth Observatory Network as their next target after their failure to destroy Unity City. Spectrum promptly moved into position to foil their plan. (PROSE: Showdown in Space!)

In 2068, Spectrum arranged a search for Lim-Po, the Mysteron controlling Chinese agents, with Scarlet eventually tracking him down after several weeks of investigation. However, Lim-Po had circled around and was poised to kill Scarlet until he himself was shot and killed by Caprain Black. Scarlet questioned why Black had saved his life after he amicably revealed himself, asking whether the Mysterons had finished with him. Instead of answering, Black accused Scarlet of speaking in riddles, though agreed to return to Cloudbase so that Doctor Fawn could run some tests. The conclusion of these tests was that Black was free of any Mysteron influence, had no memory of them and was otherwise fit to return to active service. Once Fawn reported this to Colonel White, he held a meeting with Scarlet and Captain Blue on how best to take advantage of the Mysterons' apparent loss of power. Scarlet's plan to destroy the Mysteron City with an electrode cannon mounted on a spaceship was approved and was carried out successfully by him alone.

Six months past with no sign of Mysteron activity, prompting World President T.J. Younger to disband Spectrum at the final celebration of humanity's victory. The Angels and their craft were reassigned to the World Army-Air Force while the World Army took the S.P.V.s and the Universal Secret Service got the Spectrum saloons. The former Captains Scarlet and Blue joined the World Space Patrol while Black retired and White eventually became the ambassador for Astra. Sometime later, it became clear the Mysterons' defeat was a clever ruse and that they posed an imminent threat to Earth. Almost immediately, the World Security Council took the decision to recall Spectrum's former personnel from their posts and reform the organisation. (COMIC: Traitor Black Gives In!)

On 27 September 2069, Colonel White sent out a personal message to all members of Spectrum which stated they had all been tricked by the Mysterons. He elaborated that the whole world breathed a sigh of relief for several weeks as they believed the Martian threat had gone, unaware as they went about their business that the "deadliest Mysteron attack" was merely days away. He finished his message by proclaiming that Spectrum was once more in a "bitter struggle" and was relying on its agents to play their part and report any and all suspicious activity without delay. (PROSE: Stingray Strikes Back!)

Around this time, the Mysteron agent Tansi Trefoil attempted to destroy the Unity City games but was foiled by Captain Scarlet. She later escaped from Cloudbase in a stolen SPJ. On 4 October, it was reported that Spectrum forces all around the world were continuing to search without success for Scarlet, who had failed to contact Cloudbase following his disappearance while pursuing Trefoil. She was the first Mysteron agent known to have retro-metabolised after the failure of their mission, spawning fears that he might have also reverted to Mysteron control. (PROSE: Zodiac Death Sentence!)

On a later occasion, White assured reporters there would be "no repeat of history" as Spectrum officers prepared to oversee security arrangements at the opening of London's rebuilt Car-Vu, which was to be attended by the World President. (PROSE: Thunderbirds Film for Sale!)

Behind the scenes

 * Spectrum were the protagonists in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, a TV series created by Sylvia and Gerry Anderson and produced by Century 21 Productions. The Indestructible Man has a number of pastiche versions of Gerry Anderson characters, with Spectrum being represented as PRISM.