Nuke (Squadron Supreme)

Squadron Supreme

Albert Gaines was born in a suburb of Motor City, Wyandota (the Earth-712 equivalent of Detroit, Michigan), where his father and mother lived. Albert was a nuclear plant worker when he accidentally gained his superhuman powers. He became Nuke, an adventurer and member of the Squadron Supreme, and a super-powered hero who kept his identity a secret from even his own family.

Alongside the other Squadron members, he became mind-controlled by the Over-Mind. He was used along with the other members as pawns in the Over-Mind's conquest of "Other-Earth," until he was freed by the Defenders. He battled and defeated the Over-Mind and Null the Living Darkness alongside the Squadron and the Defenders.

Alongside the Squadron Supreme, Nuke assumed control of the government of the United States of "Other-Earth," and publicly revealed his true identity. Nuke then found out that his parents were dying from radiation poisoning, brought on by exposure to his own powers. Nuke turned to Tom Thumb to help find a cure for them; however, when Tom could not find a cure for cancer, Nuke vowed revenge on Tom. Nuke went insane with grief over his parents' death, and went on a rampage. Doctor Spectrum, however, tried to hold Nuke back and prevent him from murdering Tom Thumb, by encasing him in one of his energy bubble constructs, accidentally killing him when Nuke's use of his own powers burned up the oxygen supply inside the bubble and he suffocated.

Supreme Power

Nuke is introduced as Mr. Al Gaines, a young, severely depressed man living underground in a fallout shelter alone because his body emits high levels of radiation he cannot control. He is near invulnerable, can fly, and apparently superhumanly strong. General Alexander offers him a suit that will control his radiation output in return for fighting Hyperion, whom General Alexander directs the blame for his condition.

In a fight with Hyperion the combination of Hyperion's eye-beams, Nuke's radiation blast, and Arcanna Jones' quantum alterations creates a brief and unexplainable skip in reality that sends Gaines, Jones, Dr. Emil Burbank and Raleigh Lund two years into the future. An off-hand remark noted that Doctor Spectrum will kill Nuke at some point.

Nuke has joined the government's Squadron Supreme. During a session in which all the Squadron members were asked to fill out information about themselves, Nuke's parents were revealed deceased. In the first mission he is high up in the sky to be used as a tactical nuke, the person of last resort.

Powers and abilities

Albert Gaines was imbued with superhuman powers as a result of mutation through exposure to radioactive waste products. He thus had the ability to generate nuclear energy within his body through nuclear decay. Hence, his body continually gave off low-level radiation, although this level became much higher over the last year of his life. Nuke himself was immune to adverse effects of radiation. He could mentally manipulate the nuclear energy generated and stored within his body. He could project destructive bursts of radiation from his body. He could fly by propelling himself with nuclear energy. Towards the end of his life, Nuke also wore an air-conditioned radiation containment suit equipped with a radiometer to measure his radiation output, designed by Tom Thumb. Nuke was a fair hand-to-hand combatant, and received coaching from Nighthawk. Nuke suffered from emotional and psychological instability that finally led to insanity.

Television

Earth-13034

The Earth-13034 version of Nuke is a member of this reality's version of the Squadron Supreme. He and his fellow Squadron Supreme members were killed when Earth-13034 collided with another reality which left their Hyperion the only survivor that led to him ending up on Earth-616.