H.A.R.D. Corps was a Valiant Comics title which ran from 1992-1995. The acronym stands for Harbinger Active Resistance Division. The title's focus was a corporate strike team (representing Omen Enterprises) dealing with Toyo Harada, a character from the Harbinger title, and his goal of controlling all Harbingers. The characters were normal humans who were comatose and revived with an experimental brain implant that also enabled them to access an assortment of artificial Harbinger super-abilities via an operator named "Softcore." Capture or death caused the implants to explode, killing the Corps member if he or she was still alive.
H.A.R.D. Corps first appeared in Harbinger #10 (Oct. 1992), and were created by Jim Shooter and David Lapham.
Bob Layton explained the style of the series: "When David [Michelinie] and I set out to do H.A.R.D.Corps it was because ... We like light-hearted, hard hitting, bash 'em in the face, sock 'em guys."
The cover of the first issue was pencilled by Jim Lee over a layout by Bob Layton. Lee had initially declined to take on the cover because he was too busy, but eventually did it in return for Valiant president Steven Massarsky getting him two U2 tickets.
The original team was composed of former fighter pilots and went by call signs in the field, starting a Corps tradition of using codenames.
The original team were all Vietnam War veterans who served together in the same unit.
Gunslinger — The H.A.R.D. Corps leader, Charlie Palmer is often referred to as Major by the others (his military rank).
Shakespeare — Aaron Brillstein is a Vietnam vet with a tendency to quote literature.
Maniac — Jan Chahosky is a reckless warrior who seldom waits for orders. He dies in H.A.R.D. Corps #1. He is later replaced by Flatline.
Hammerhead — Marion Virgil Peeves loves to fight and is overly proud of the scars he accumulates on his bald head. He also hates his first name.
Superstar — A former movie star, Rick Silver is not one of the original members of the project, but he is with the team as of their first appearance. He dies covering the group's escape when the implants that make him invulnerable fail. This failure was a deliberate malfunction caused by the CEO of Omen due to his feeling that Superstar's behavior was becoming more and more erratic. He is replaced by Hotshot.
Flatline — (first appearance: H.A.R.D. Corps #1) Sam Yoom Kim was once a cop in his native Korea, but while in an L.A. riot he was injured trying to help others and fell into a coma. He replaced Maniac. Sam's clever thinking made the team see his merit, and he was the first member to question the morality of some missions the Corps undertook (such as capturing Bloodshot).
Hotshot — (first appearance: H.A.R.D. Corps #7) Christine Eastman is both the first female member of the Corps and the first member of the reserves to make the grade. The former leader of the reserve squadron, her leadership abilities and dedication to completing a mission reflect her military training.
Perp - Former gang member, he adapts easily to H.A.R.D Corps-style shootouts, but lacks the strategic abilities of the first string members.
Wipeout - A California surfer-type, his unwillingness to kill in combat situations often places him at risk. Wipeout will usually employ his kickboxing training or a nonlethal power to fight, though experience made him more willing to use deadly force.
Grasshopper - Especially trained in martial arts and infiltration, Grasshopper is an espionage agent who is sent on solo missions.
Ironhead - A former boxer, drugged into a coma to fix a big match. He is allowed to die seeking revenge when his access to Harbinger powers is cut off.
Towards the end of the series, other recruits were drafted to form a second Corps team with Perp, Grasshopper, and Wipeout. These included:
Football
Brainsmash
Satin Doll
Payback
Disco
The operators who maintain contact with field agents and manage their powers.
Softcore — usually the operator for most missions.
Lifeline
Safeguard
Sigmund Heydrich — The director of the H.A.R.D Corps operation, he determines how to deploy the team. An expensive operation (Softcore remarks that training and equipping a single operative runs into eight figures), he frequently had to justify expenditures to Omen Enterprises.
Midnight — also known as Earl, a teenaged scientist working for Harada, he scrambles the Corps's transmissions when they attack a lab he's in, enabling them to be captured. Hotshot disillusions him on the Harbinger Foundation, and he allows the Corps to escape without opposition from his devices. He later appears to aid the strike team.
Powers and abilities
Each member of the H.A.R.D. Corps could utilize one Harbinger power at a time. To switch powers, an operative had to radio Softcore and request she make the switch while at headquarters. They are often seen using a defensive power and firearms for offense, but switching powers is a quick enough process to be accomplished in combat. Needing to communicate to switch their powers sometimes becomes a weakness: Corps operatives who lose their headset cannot switch powers, and sometimes their opponents will jam or disrupt communications with their base, knowing that "microbeams" are used to alter the mimicked powers. In new continuity powers are supplied to operatives via Lifeline through their reverse engineered Harada Tech neural implants developed by Project Rising Spirit. Agents can only utilize one power at a time due to the human biology being unaccustomed to hardwired harbinger ability usage, special command sequences for chaining different powers in tandem through the bio-configuration process can be initiated such as; sequence 2, 4, 6, sequence epsilon, etc. The Implants are also wired to explode and can be detonated automatically either upon capture or death of perative and remotely from PRS home base.
VH 1 The powers the H.A.R.D. Corps demonstrate include:
Ghost Mode - Also known as intangibility
Airborne - Flight
Detonation Mode - User is able to cause explosions via hand contact
Invulnerability - User is unable to be damaged, but can still be knocked out
Shield Mode - Ability to form an energy shield in one direction
Ultra-Mass - Greatly increases user's density
Neural Spike - Ability to throw "spikes" which disrupt the nervous system in order to incapacitate targets
Sunburst - Ability to fire blasts of flame from hands
Strobe Burst - Generation of a blinding flash of light
Arc Charge - Projection of electrical energy
Stun Ram - Projection of a ray of concussive force
Tsetse - Touch range sleep attack
Strength Mode - Grants superhuman strength
Grenade Mode - Ability to generate and throw explosive "grenades" of energy
Static Mode - Disrupts communications and transmissions
Decoy Mode - Creation of illusions, such as holograms
Jolt Mode - Administers an adrenaline surge upon touch, used to counteract soporifics
Invisibility - Turns user invisible
Forcefield - Completely encases user in a protective aura
Valiant Entertainment
Ghost Mode - Enables invisibility and intangibility
Arc Charge - Electrical blasts
Stun Ram - Telekinetic concussive force
True Sight - dispels illusions
Fire - Pyrokinetic discharge and flame resistance
Breakdown - Molecular cohesion dissolving
Shields - Force barriers
Detonation - remote explosions
Flight - aviation
Neural Spike - Telepathic stunning
Suggestion Mode - Hypnotic persuasion
Muscle Mode - Psionic super strength
Sleep - Induced neurocognitive deficit
A special store of one off powers called Bee Stings can be issued, but are adeptly named due to the fatality ratio making them useful only once.
Radiation - Destructive nuclear blasts
Speed - Enhanced locomotion
Absorption - Energy drain
Occasionally H.A.R.D. Corps will capture new Harbingers to analyze their powers. If a previously unknown power is discovered, a record is made in order to enable replication of the power.
A spinoff of the Harbinger title, H.A.R.D. Corps was the ancestor of Psi Lords, which was set in the 41st century and dealt with the descendants of the Corps.
