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BACKGROUND DETAILS:
Born
in Winchester, England, his mother was Ann Brightman, an English
astrophysicist, his
father,
Tom Metcalfe, an American pilot who later joined the International
Space Agency.
As
a
boy of ten, Paul
watched his father take humankind's first steps on Mars and
vowed to follow in his historic
footsteps. He studied astrophysics at MIT
before
joining the US Air Force. But the outbreak of global terrorist
wars,
which saw the
death of both his parents, changed his focus.
He
transferred to
US
Special Forces and commanded an elite unit that saw action across
the
world. His second in
command was Lieutenant Conrad Lefkon, who became his closest
friend. With the end of the
wars, a new security organisation was established:
Spectrum.
Paul was an obvious choice for the new organisation, and became
Captain Scarlet. His good
friend Lefkon was also signed up as Captain Black.
Scarlet
later became Spectrum's special weapon in its war of nerves with
the Mysterons; a weapon created by
the Mysterons themselves when they killed Scarlet during a mission
on
Mars with
Captain Black. After they had discovered the Mysterons’ city, Black
fired a destructive shot against it, believing they were under
attack. The two men watched in astonishment as the city
rebuilt itself, and tried to flee to escape their fate, only to be
killed afterwards.
The
Mysterons rebuilt Scarlet as an invincible
human
replica to infiltrate Earth and lead their war against the
planet.
While controlled
by the Mysterons, Scarlet
tried to destroy Skybase, but was stopped in his efforts by
Captain Blue. Falling down through a plasma stream, Scarlet was killed, but recovered later on in Sickbay,
under the astonished eyes of Doctor Gold and other on-lookers, and
revealed himself fully free of the Mysterons' control. Metcalfe's
human psyche had survived and regained control of his physical
body. Instead of
being
killed by the power surge, the genetic mutation of the Mysteron
retrometabolisation
process
that leaves Scarlet virtually indestructible was
discovered
(Events described in 'Instrument of Destruction, Part 1')
Scarlet
is a dedicated Spectrum officer, first and foremost he's a soldier
on
the frontline of
Earth’s defences. But he’s also tormented by what he has
become - not fully human.
Utterly fearless and dedicated to saving the human
race,
for all Scarlet's heroism there's one thing that makes him very
uneasy -
his growing
feelings for Destiny Angel, girlfriend of his late friend, Captain
Black.
POWERS:
The genetic
mutation of the Mysteron retrometabolisation left Scarlet
virtually indestructible. This process was coined 'Retrometabolism'.
So far, Captain Scarlet can survive, and heal from any injuries,
even the more devastating ones.
In
a few episodes, it is stated that he can feel a Mysteron's
presence, by feeling nauseous and unwell. In the pilot
episode ('Instrument of Destruction', parts 1 and 2, it is also
said that Scarlet shared a kind of telepathic link with Captain
Black - which is considered by Colonel White as an advantage in
the war against the Mysterons that he cannot dismiss.
During
the episode 'Rat Trap', the Mysterons were able to contact Scarlet
and to talk to him, while nobody else could hear them. It is
not clear if this phenomenon was because he was on the Mysterons'
home planet, or if he would hear them, wherever he might be, if
they chose to contact him again.
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Wayne Forester |
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ADDITIONAL DETAILS:
The features of the CGI Captain Scarlet
character were based on those of the original Captain Scarlet
puppet. Scans of the head of the original character were
made and dozens of screen-grabs from the original 'Captain
Scarlet and the Mysterons' TV shows were also used, combined
with other elements from a variety of references that helped
refine the CGI character's features.
The voice for Captain Scarlet was provided
by Wayne Forester, who had a previous connection to Gerry
Anderson production, as he had been seen on stage in the Mime
Theatre Project production Thunderbirds FAB - The Next
Generation, and appeared as various different characters in
Space Precinct. He also performed the motion
capture movement for Captain Blue in the 'Captain Scarlet and
the Return of the Mysterons' CGI test short.
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