Professor Matt Matic was a member of the crew aboard Fireball XL5.
Biography[]
Early 2065[]
In January 2065, Fireball XL5 was ordered to investigate an automatic space mayday from Area 4 of Sector 25. Mat picked up an adrift space freighter on the videoscope and stayed behind on Fireball with Venus while Steve investigated on his own. When Steve was attacked by Batmen and Venus pronounced him dead, Mat told her to get some rest while he him to sick bay. However, noticing the stiffness of the body and the ice on Steve's face, Mat informed Venus of these abnormalities and they were able to revive him by warming him with blankets. Following an update from Commander Zero at Space City, the Fireball crew then pursued the freighter to an asteroid in hyperspace and began to search it on jetmobiles. Mat and Steve attempted to follow the Batmen but were led into a cavern which, as predicted by Mat, turned out to be a trap, and were themselves captured. At this point the leader of the Batmen gave Steve an ultimatum: either disarm Robert and surrender Fireball or see Venus dropped into a deadly lake, with Steve agreeing to save Venus. Later, as the Batmen's leader celebrated his victory after taking Fireball for a test-run, Mat and Venus both questioned Steve on their next course of action but Steve only told them not to worry and that everything was going according to plan. When the leader passed close to Robert, Steve ordered Robert to grab him, with the robot's grip tearing off his wings and exposing him as a human wearing a spacesuit. Not wishing to risk the wrath of the World Space Patrol to protect the impostor, Valeen, who quickly emerged as the Batmen's new leader, awoke the crew of the freighter from their "frozen sleep" and allowed them and the Fireball crew to leave peacefully, with Fireball setting a course back to Earth. (COMIC: The Batmen)
In March 2065, Space Station M5 launched an emergency rescue ship in a desperate bid to save Matic, Steve and Venus. At that moment they were stranded in space with only the life-giving effects of their oxygen pills keeping them alive. (COMIC: Power Play) Mat's plight was also mentioned in a report printed on the front page of TV Century 21 on 13 March which revealed that Venus had finally collapsed from lack of oxygen. (PROSE: Superjet Shot Down)
In April 2065, Space Station K17 reported the total destruction of the planet Saharis, causing fears to grow for the Fireball crew. Mat was unharmed, though Space City were later "puzzled" by his radio report which claimed that Saharins were seeking revenge for space attacks on Saharis in 1987 by Red Star modules launched in the 1960s. (COMIC: Duel of the Daleks) Mat had orders, printed on TV21's front page on 24 April, to destroy the W.S.W.193 with all aboard if Steve failed to release the dangerous Omega-Minus device which was bolted to its underneath before the ship re-entered Earth's atmosphere. (PROSE: Zodiac's Rescue Bid!)
The Space War and the Ant War[]
Matic was present at 04.15 hours on Wednesday, 1 May, 2065 (PROSE: Battle in Space) aboard the Fireball XL5 when the solar system's Tenth Space Fleet came across an Astran force and engaged it in battle, sparking a Space War. (COMIC: Space Border Battle)
After the Ant War[]
In October 2065, when an explosion occurred in the atomic booster motors of Fireball XL5, Steve Zodiac reported that he was limping Fireball to a giant asteroid where Matic would be able to make repairs. (PROSE: Fireball Explosion!) Commander Zero referenced this as he explained why space rescue ships would not be sent to rescue XL5, stating "If Professor Matic can't mend a fuse, he's got no right to be a spaceman!". (COMIC: The Menace of the Monstrons) After landing on the asteroid, Steve went missing despite contact with XL5 remaining open. Zero confirmed that Matic and Venus had already radioed in their reports with no news yet in from Zodiac. (PROSE: FAB1 Back in Action!)
In 2066, Matic investigated the missing ten man construction crew on Syntex with Zodiac, Venus and Captain West. They quickly found nine of the men, as Matic determined, on the brink of insanity from seeing something so terrible. Matic found the tenth man dead with lash marks and, after transporting a "mysterious membrane" he had found back to XL5, they left Syntex. He later detected a meteor shower heading for GK5 which he later realised was spacecrafts used by an unidentified species. When these aggressors attempted to invade Earth by landing at Cape Apollo, in a top security conference hosted by World President Nikita Bandranaik, Matic advised concentrating firepower on just one creature to kill it to learn how to defeat the others. This was vetoed by both Zero and Bandranaik as too dangerous and it was instead decided to drop cobalt bombs on Space City Island. (COMIC: The Syntex Mystery) On 7 May, Matic's meeting with the President was reported upon. (PROSE: Destroy Space City) Ultimately the presence of the bombers was unnecessary, however, as the military units there were able to neatralise the creature, giving Matic six hours to follow up on his theory according to the President's orders. Matic discovered that they might be helpless if they could jam their method of thought transference on the master ship by being on the same frequency. Matic accompanied Zodiac in XL5 on this mission, remaining on the ship while Zodiac carefully and successfully carried out his orders, resulting in the fleet driving directly into the Sun. (COMIC: The Syntex Mystery)
In June 2066, Matic and Steve responded to the mayday call put out by Freighter 203 as it was under attack from the Black Ship and, recieving no reply, boarded the space freighter to investigate while Steve pursued the space pirates. He found all the crew unconscious, with Steve returning to pick everybody up to head for Space Station Velnar. Once there, the duo analysed an attack on a Flame King space liner and soon after leaving, they were ambushed by Damacles and the Black Ship although they were eventually forced to retreat. Matic was present when it was agreed to give Damacles XL5 in exchange for a number of his prisoners, including Venus and Earth's top scientists. Matic and Zero were forced to simply wait after Steve and XL5 were captured although they were relayed news of VA 17's destruction by Space Station Remus. Matic, Zero, Steve, and Venus later convened in Space City where they discussed that there was not enough evidence to try to true instigators of the Black Ship crisis, Bereznik. (COMIC: The Black Ship) While XL5 underwent repairs for "minor structural complications", Zodiac and his crew were said to be enjoying a well-earned local holiday. (COMIC: Legacy of Yesteryear)
While on a good-will mission to Styrax in October 2066, a death sentence was passed on Colonel Zodiac and his crew. (PROSE: Time Runs Out For Thunderbird 3)
Behind the scenes[]
Professor Matic originates from the television series Fireball XL5.
