John Hart


 * For the Royal Navy officer of the same name, see John Hart (The Sea Devils). For other individuals named Hart, see Hart.

Another Time Agent, Captain John Hart was a rogue who traveled to Cardiff in 2008. He was an old friend and lover of Jack Harkness. Like Jack, his real name is unknown. The name 'John Hart' was an alias he made up when hearing Jack's name, his intentions were to make it the same but different as an attempt of sarcasm. (TW: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang)

History
Hart was a former partner of Jack Harkness during their time in the Time Agency, both professionally and sexually. He has been in rehab for drink, drugs, sex and even murder. By the time Hart re-united with Captain Jack, the Agency had closed. In 2008, Captain John Hart appeared through the Cardiff Rift to ask for Jack's help in locating three radioactive cluster bombs, apparently scattered across Cardiff; Jack Harkness tells the team he can't be trusted but agrees to help him. John seized the containers, trying to kill Gwen Cooper using a paralyzing lip gloss, shooting Owen and pushing Jack off the top of a building, thinking he's dead. However the containers, which were supposed to contain the location of an Arcadian diamond hidden by the woman he had murdered, instead contained an explosive which latched onto the DNA signature of her killer. Superficially altering his DNA using that of the Torchwood 3 crew, Jack and Owen are able to save Johns life before forcing him back through the Rift but not before he revealed he'd found Jack's brother Gray. (TW: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang)

John found Jack's younger brother Gray, who, consumed by wrath at Jack having supposedly abandoned him, had turned against him. Gray used John as an instrument of revenge. He fused John's Time Agency wrist strap to his own skin and put a bomb on it. Gray then threatened to set off the bomb if John did not comply with his plans. (TW: Exit Wounds) John planted a bomb in an abandoned warehouse and sent Jack a message saying he was going to rip his world apart. The bomb detonated with Torchwood 3 inside. (TW: Fragments) John lured Jack back to the Hub and killed him. With the others dealing with various in Cardiff, John took Jack, who had come back to life, to 27 AD Cardiff where he met Gray. He then was forced into helping Gray bury Jack alive. Before he filled in the grave he threw a ring into the hole (which was really a tracking device). John was then set free by Gray but he decided to go back to Torchwood and find Jack and save him, calling it a matter of honour. He was briefly imprisoned by Gray (along with Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones), during which time he sent out a recall signal that stopped a Weevil infestation of Cardiff. After Gray's defeat, and the subsequent deaths of Toshiko Sato and Owen Harper, Hart left the Hub; although Jack offered to help pinpoint a Rift event that John could use to return to his own time, Hart reflected that it might be interesting to explore the world and get a better feel for what Jack found so fascinating about this time period. (TW: Exit Wounds)

Items
Hart wielded a samurai sword from feudal Japan, along with present day pistols that he keeps in holsters from the American Old West and boots from ancient Italy.

Special Abilities
Captain John's Time Agency wrist strap allowed him to time travel and teleport through use of a built-in vortex manipulator. The wrist strap's other functions allowed him to assume control of nearby technology (such as CD players), trigger long-distance explosives and project and receive holographic messages. As a 51st century male, it is possible that like Captain Jack, John possesses evolved pheromones which make him more sexually attractive. (TW: Fragments)

Behind the scenes

 * By coincidence, another character named John Hart appeared in DW: The Sea Devils
 * James Marsters is most famous for playing the character spike on "buffy the vampire slayer". Both spike and hart are very similar, both speak in cockney accents [not marsters natural accent] both have a sexual yet antagonistic relationship with the hero, [Buffy spike, Hart jack] both also have a dark and mysterious past with the hero [Hart and Jack were both time agents Spike and Angel were both powerful vampires, who hunted together.]
 * James Marsters originally wanted to be in doctor who after catching an episode of the new series with his agent, but was cast in torchwood instead
 * Marsters has expressed interest in returning as hart, it remains to be seen if hart appears in series 4.