History
Centuries before the Special Executive was founded, there was the Technet, another group of time-travelling bounty hunters. Due to time-travel though, the Special Executive returned in time and tried to disband the Technet. The Special Executive at this time was led by an unnamed humanoid and members included Cobweb, Zeitgeist, Legion and several unnamed members possibly including Oxo and the Technet's Numbers. Despite the warnings of Cobweb, the team's precognitive, that his plans would fail, the leader hoped to kill the Technet's leader Gatecrasher and recruit Fascination 300 years before she would actually join the Special Executive. The plan fails and the Special Executive retreats, while the leader muses that Gatecrasher will cause problems for them in the future.
At least a century later, the Special Executive's leader had died and several members had been replaced. The new leader was named Wardog and they now worked for the Gallifreyans against the Order of the Black Sun. During this time a member called Viridian the Brainfeeler was killed by the Order and Wardog lost his arm. Ten years later, another member, Millennium, was mind-controlled by the Order against her team and Wardog was forced to kill her.
Later, the Special Executive had recruited several members to its line-up, including Lady Burning Fish and Oxo, and went to Earth-616 in the late 20th century to recruit the Technet, now known as the N-men. Cobweb told the N-men that Earth was about to be destroyed and Wardog offered the N-men a place on the team. The N-men accepted and left with the team. (Years later, the Technet was restored to its former line-up, so presumably the N-men left the Special Executive again.)
The Special Executive was hired to capture Captain Britain so that he could testify on Saturnyne's behalf in a cosmic trial. Saturnyne was accused of causing the chaos on an alternate world, which in fact was caused by a version of Mad Jim Jaspers. The world was destroyed, including all evidence of Saturnyne's innocence. Captain Britain was enraged by the trial and found it a farce. He fought the Captain Britain Corps and the Special Executive, feeling responsible for him, helped him. Together they freed Saturnyne and returned to Earth-616, home of Captain Britain.
On Earth-616, the team stayed with Captain Britain in Braddock Manor, but Zeitgeist disagreed with Wardog on this course of action; Wardog felt obligated to help Captain Britain, whose world was menaced by another Mad Jim Jaspers, but Zeitgeist felt that they were mercenaries and had no obligation to anybody. Shortly afterwards the Fury attacked the manor. Wardog led his group to attack the creature but Oxo and a future incarnation of Legion died in the battle. In the end, it was Zeitgeist who blinded the Fury long enough for the group to retaliate against it, but the Fury escaped. With his team in ruins, Wardog apologized to Captain Britain and the Special Executive left Earth.
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Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The best history is but like the art of Rembrandt; it casts a vivid light on certain selected causes, on those which were best and greatest; it leaves all the rest in shadow and unseen.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)
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