The N-Forcer

The N-Forcer © Juke Box Productions AstroFacts Status: Active Earliest Appearance: 1959 Affiliation: founding member of Honor Guard Base of Operations: Astro City, and possibly Los Angeles at one point Personal Data InfoDump Headlines: February 8, 1995: N-Forcer Saves Senate Appearances (in Publication Order): Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol.1 #1, 2, 6 Wizard Presents: Kurt Busiek's Astro City #1/2 Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol.2 #1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, 16, 19, 20, 22 Astro City: Local Heroes #1, 3, 4 Astro City: The Flip Book Astro City: The Dark Age Book One #1, 2, 4 Astro City: The Dark Age Book Two #1 Astro City: Beautie #1 Astro City: The Dark Age Book Three #2, 3, 4 Astro City: The Dark Age Book Four #3 Astro City: Silver Agent #2 Astro City #1, 2 Event Timeline 1959     Dialog The Formation of Honor Guard. 1959/10/14     Current Honor Guard's First Big Clash with Pyramid. 1964     Flashback Honor Guard's Near Fatal Encounter With the Myth-Master. 1966     Flashback The Death of Supersonic in 1966. 196?     Flashback El Hombre joins Honor Guard. 1970/0?/??     Flashback Beautie Becomes a Member of Honor Guard. 1970/0?/??     Flashback Honor Guard Defends Washington DC from the Toymaker and His Diabolical Toys. 1972/09/27-28     TVreport Honor Guard Breaks The L.S.Deviant's Tropogenic Field. 1974/08/18     Current Vince Oleck Takes His Family to the Park. 1982     Current Kerresh the Devaster Pronounces Doom on All of Earth. 1982     Current Omega Rangers Join the Battle Against Kerresh the Devaster. 1982/05/03     Current Silver Agent's Appointed Arrival at Romeyn Falls. 1996/01     Current An Avalance In Montana. 1996/01     Current Rex and Natalie Call in Reinforcements. 1996/01     Current Samaritan Goes On a Prearranged Blind Date With Winged Victory. 1996/09     Current Heroes of Astro City battle Thunderhead. 1997/07     Current Honor Guard battle an alien scout ship(assumed to be Enelsian) orbiting Earth. 1998     Current Unholy Alliance in Detroit. 2004/10     Current Omnius Rex/Danielle Battles Honor Guard. 2013/06     Current Heroes of Astro City Attempt to Open the Doors En Masse. 2013/??/??     Current Honor Guard Stops Lord Volcanus' Plot to Conquer the Surface World. 2017/09/dd     Current G-Dog Encounters Honor Guard Following His Battle With Lichen-Thrope. The N-Forcer The N-Forcer, one of the original members of Honor Guard, seems to have always been a member throughout their history. That makes him not only the longest active member, but also the only original member remaining. That would be as a brand and an entity, not so much as an individual. History It has been more than half a century since the debut of the N-Forcer. While the general public does not know the identity of the person or persons inside the suit, we are aware that there has been at least two people donning the enigmatic and powerful uniform of the N-Forcer. The current individual under the armor met the first Hummingbird and we assume other contemporary Honor Guard members when he was approximately eight years old. Powers His powers are based on some form of high energy production, derived no doubt from some exotic and complex application of the N-Field. He can construct force-shields out of that energy, and he possesses super-strength. Beyond that, the exact nature of his powers, their attack capabilities, its effects on human life forms, the range and nature of its use, the ability to control it, its source, and almost everything related to the hows, whys and whats; are still major question yet to be revealed. His suit transforms his body into something called "n-force". In this state, his "body" retains a human form, but one pulsating with an energy-like substance that flows over (with?) his body. He does not seem to breathe while in this form. Equipment N-Forcer circa 1959 To date, six(?), seven(?) unique uniforms have presented themselves in the ongoing narrative. Juxtapositions of them against each other increases the mystery of this long term enigmatic character. Over the decades, his suit has undergone significant upgrades, overhauls and at least two complete redesigns. Much sleeker today, far more refined, portable and probably more durable. The first somewhat bulky contrivance(circa 1959) seems to be a vessel of sorts to either generate the N-Force energy or contain it. There are also primitive (by today's standards) miniaturization devices for duplicating certain physical body activities. N-Forcer circa 1970 The second or 1960s period costume seems to project more human like features and the structure of the facial coverings seems to be a bit of a throwback to an earlier technology. N-Forcer circa 1972 Over the years, with redesigns and upgrades, most of the clumsiness of the first suit have been reduced or completely eliminated. For example, the Mechanical hands, assumed to have been manipulated using finger harnesses, are now completely gone. But the sense of the suit being used to contain or control the energy remains. N-Forcer circa 1982 The differences upgrading the suit from version three to four and to the present version have been minor. The fourth version of the uniform seemed to feature more armor. While, the fifth version of the suit, first seen in the 1990s, the thigh bands were removed and the upper chest structure is now sculpted more closer to the "body". This suit is also very compact, with two leg pieces, two arm gauntlets, a chest covering, a modesty belt (of sorts), and a helmet. N-Forcer circa 2004 N-forcer's most recent outfit appears to consist primarily of a flexible, metallic outfit with a series of designs that allow energy to vent. N-Forcer circa 2016 In closing, it should be noted, these explanations of the various version delineations are not definitive. Much of this is best guess observations of obserservable uniform upgrades and changes that have occurred since the character's first appearance 'lo those many decades ago. Observations He clearly has significant scientific knowledge or access to it from others. Not only did he provide insight into a microspore buildup in the special storage "Closet" used by the Samaritan, he was also shown manipulating technological sensors so as to disrupt a warp-gate in Astro City: Beautie. The N-Forcer is also a representative, practically a the corporate symbol, for Nicholls-Royce Electronics and later their business transformation into N.R.-Gistics Inc. Just as Nicholls-Royce Electronics' insignia could be seen on the original suit, N.R.Gistic's trademark insignia is located on the present-day N-Forcer's armored suit, near the upper left chest area. When N.R. Gistics main headquarters moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s, The N-Forcer likewise started spending more time in Los Angeles as well. Speculations, Theories While probably a human inside the suit, there are additional possibilities: Based on his first somewhat clumsy contrivance circa 1959, his suit seems to be a containment device for the energy, with some limited miniaturization devices for duplicating certain physical actions. It is not too hard to image the human like face as being a holographic type technology. His middle period costume seems to project the most human like structure, as the later facial coverings seems to be a bit of a throwback to an early technology. If other speculation about a lab-accident applies, then maybe the physical conditions improved for awhile in the 60s-70s. Now with age, the problems have degenerated. Summary Despite the numerous appearances, and the long history of the character(s), this Herocopia entry still remains more questions than revelations, more speculations that facts, and not much substance beyond basic observations of his many appearances. With so little to go on except a handful of images, it is hard to define N-Forcer, except in purely speculative forms. Part of the charm and fun of a very colorful and intriguing character. Series creator Kurt Busiek has hinted that there is a storyline in the works, a detailed exposé focused on the N-Forcer program. This should lead to many of these persistent questions being answered in the near future...