How indestructible is Scarlet?

[Cobalt]

Hello Scarleteers!

I have often wondered...
if Capt Scarlet's retrometabolism caused a 'reboot' back to his own memories etc, what if he 'died' again? Could the Mysterons attempt to regain control of him?

CC

I don't think so in the OCS it's shown they seem to toss away or lose any intreast in theeir replicas after they have failed their Mission. I suggest it's got something to do with the object or person being a copy.

'The Mysterons: sworn enemies of Earth, possessing the ability to recreate an exact likeness of an object or person.

But first, they must destroy. '

Maybe it's the act of destruction or that you can't copy a copy. I'm not sure but I'm sure the other may have their own veiws

[Captain Indigo]

Maybe it's the act of destruction or that you can't copy a copy. I'm not sure but I'm sure the other may have their own veiws

Have you ever seen what happens if you photocopy a photocopy? The copies get worse and worse until you can barely read them. That's why you should only ever copy from the original document (or body, in this case). It's the only sure-fire way of getting an almost-exact replica.

[DartBrat701]

The comics themselves where rather unsure, in 'Noose of ice'Scarlet is shown holding onto electrical cable as the curent passes through him and he's body is recover and he makes a full recovery.

Well, not exactly. Scarlet used the cable to knock Neilson against the metal stairway and the cable came in contact with the stairs, thus electrocuting Neilson. Scarlet managed to throw himself clear of the stairs, only just stunned from the electrical discharge.

[Parker Gabriel]

As I explain in my treatise "Mysteron Reversal Of Matter," Mysteron likenesses of objects and/or people consist of a form of matter I call "retro-matter," which is extra-dimensional in source. Its ability to absorb energy from the ambient electrons if damaged or destroyed enables it to regenerate what was damaged or destroyed by converting that energy to mass. Its capability of absorption of such energy is not unlimited, and the Cherenkov radiation that a Mysteron rifle fires can exceed that capability and overload it. When the Dr. Theodore Magnus likeness attempted, unsuccessfully, to assassinate General J. F. Tiempo, his cerebral pulsator did NOT bombard Captain Scarlet's brain with electric current; it bombarded it with collimated microwaves as a kind of two-emitter maser. There was no shortage of knowledge--and ignorance--about how "radar" ovens cooked food in the 1960s. That was essentially the method the Magnus likeness tried to use on General Tiempo--cook his brain with microwaves. He wasn't trying to "zoot" Tiempo or Captain Scarlet. During the six hours Captain Scarlet needed to return to life after the Magnus likeness microwaved his brain, his retro-metabolic powers effectively had to "uncook" what amounted to "brain steak." Not a painless process, and one that left him with a miserable headache for the last of those six hours.

The Mysterons, moreover, tend to adopt a once-and-done policy towards their retro-material likenesses. If they take over an Earthman or an object, and their likeness fails in the task they have assigned, they simply move on to the next target.

Captain Scarlet is indestructible. You are NOT. Remember this. DO NOT TRY TO IMITATE HIM!!!

[MMK]

I'm not sure if we can actually compare NCS with OCS concerning retrometabolism, but I do agree that, in both case, the healing would depend on the severity of the injury - and if it was fatal or not.

Also, it would depend on whether it was a "flesh wound" or bones that had been damaged/broken

[Skybase Girl]

I know we generally don't compare OCS and NCS, for lots of good reasons, but I think where Scarlet is concerned, Gerry Anderson did not intend the new version to be so very different from the old.

The circumstances surrounding his Mysteronisation were different, but maybe not the eventual outcome. Both series gave clues as to what may or may not kill Scarlet and both were rather vague about certain things - maybe because the writers were hoping that people like us wouldn't try to dissect problems they didn't have an answer to !

In NCS, it seems fairly conclusive that Scarlet's abilitites to heal wouldn't survive anything nuclear. In "Chiller", he appears to have finally died following a massive explosion, but comes back after a kind of out of body experience. The scene in "Shapeshifter" where the neanderthal hillbillies were about to chop off his hand for his watch, was built up sufficiently to suggest that, should he have lost a limb, it might not be replaced.

In "Best of Enemies", both Scarlet and Black admit that they don't know what effect suffocation might have on them. It's curious that Black doesn't seem to get much help from the Mysterons where that's concerned - almost as if they control his mind, but don't regard him as one of them. He's an alien to his own kind and an alien to the Mysterons, too. Almost makes you shed a tear for him !

In NCS, no-one actually suggests Scarlet has died, other than the man himself ( at the end of "Instrument of Destruction part 2"). All that Dr Gold says, is that his DNA has been altered and that he's not the man who went to Mars. Cryptic, or what ! Capt Blue believes Scarlet broke free of Mysteron control because of the force of his personality ( but then Blue is a bear of little brain ).

It does seem strange that it could take a couple of days to recover from broken limbs, whereas gunshot wounds seem to take only a few hours.....

[Marion]

The length of time it takes for Scarlet to recover from wounds - of varying severity - isn't really covered in OCS, at least. I know that in NCS there is a reference to 'getting his (broken) legs back in a day or two'.
I remember that in one story I wrote - but I can't remember which one - I had a scene where Blue was hypothesizing that the speed of his partner's recovery was affected by the amount of adrenalin in his system at the time, and Dr Fawn was agreeing that he'd noticed some wounds healed quicker than others, equally severe.
Of course, that's just a handy way of letting him recover quickly if the plot demands he's up and about as soon as possible, and it has no basis in known 'fact'

[Captain Indigo]

The length of time it takes for Scarlet to recover from wounds - of varying severity - isn't really covered in OCS, at least. I know that in NCS there is a reference to 'getting his (broken) legs back in a day or two'.
I remember that in one story I wrote - but I can't remember which one - I had a scene where Blue was hypothesizing that the speed of his partner's recovery was affected by the amount of adrenalin in his system at the time, and Dr Fawn was agreeing that he'd noticed some wounds healed quicker than others, equally severe.
Of course, that's just a handy way of letting him recover quickly if the plot demands he's up and about as soon as possible, and it has no basis in known 'fact'

Oh, I've just finished reading that one (again ) - Synchronicity. The relationship between retrometabolism and adrenaline levels sounds like a perfectly plausible explanation to me.

[Cobalt]

Thanks Guys,

Yeh i've heard a bullet would kill him, but he will always come back with a replicant copy of himself. But if something doesn't kill him, then he heals really quickly.

I mean could he regenerate a lost eye or a severed hand?, i know he can in fan fiction but would his hand or eye stay severed until he died and a new copy of Scarlet was made, or would it just simply grow back?

Hmm bullets alright here's what I know from Dr Fawn, if scarlet is shot he would feel the pain and 'die' but come back to life due to retrometabolism.

In 'The Mysterons' it's stated by Blue that they can affect objects, in a few of the OCS it's shown that they can affect things they have not destoryed but I think it must take alot of power an that's why they don't do it often. in 'White As Snow' it's shown the Mysterons affect a chain on the casing of a submarien. They use the chain to drowned one of the ratings who comes back under Mysteron control. (Never show what happens to the original body though). Blue states they must 'destory' first but it seems not to be completly true. The Mysterons are able to recreate an exacat likeness of an object or person.

So as I said if scarlet is shot he will bleed, feel pain and 'die' but his body will absorb the bullet.

[chrisbishop]

Or maybe he will spit it out, like the Cheerleader did in one Heroes episode . We are not quite sure what happen to foreign bodies during retrometabolism, but that might be another question!

They use the chain to drowned one of the ratings who comes back under Mysteron control. (Never show what happens to the original body though). Blue states they must 'destory' first but it seems not to be completly true.

Okay, a few points: maybe it's the Mysterons who used the chain to drown the guy, but maybe it was a simple accident? Seeing the way the chain seemed to roll around the man's ankle, it could appear like they indeed controlled it from a distance, though...

The original body, we suppose, must have continued to float onto the ocean after it had been scanned for mysteronisation. Often, we see the double taking care to dispose of the body. In this case, I think it would have been quite difficult. Probably, the Mysterons 'transported' their new born agent onto the submarine for his mission.

As for destroyed... Well, I don't quite understand what you mean. When a person is killed, I think we can safely assume he was destroyed, no?

[MMK]

Or maybe he will spit it out, like the Cheerleader did in one Heroes episode .

I was going to watch Heroes to see what happened to her. I DID watch a bit though... the part where she has some of her ribs sticking out of her side and she just pushes them back in. I wonder if Scarlet could do that or would he have past out because of the pain?

Have you ever seen what happens if you photocopy a photocopy? The copies get worse and worse until you can barely read them. That's why you should only ever copy from the original document (or body, in this case). It's the only sure-fire way of getting an almost-exact replica.

I've never thought of it that way

[Marion]

Captain Blue's remark about the Mysterons needing to destroy in order to recreate a likeness of an object or person, is made in a quite early episode, and Spectrum are always learning more about what the Mysterons can and can't do throughout the series. Blue may have simply been stating what was the given wisdom at the time.
That said, The Mysterons do seem to be able to manipulate things they haven't destroyed - such as the chain on the submarine and the countdown mechanisms on various bombs - but if they want to use something for a complex mission, such as a human being, or the airliner in 'Winged Assassin', they destroy it first.
Perhaps that's because - as in Flight 104 - circumstances can interfere with their schemes if they are merely controlling a human-made object? After all, Scarlet and Blue save the plane after the Mysterons' hold is weakened by an unlikely mountain top electricity station. Maybe if they'd destroyed and recreated the plane, the Mysterons would have been able to prevent that?
I shall have to go and ponder on that theory for a while...

[Parker Gabriel]

I understand that the Mysterons are able to influence objects to a small degree--the chain with which the crew member of the U.S.S. Panther II was drowned in "White As Snow," the valve control in "Fire At Rig Fifteen," the saloon that drove the unarmed Captain Scarlet to his "Dangerous Rendezvous" after he, outfitted in civilian clothes, had ejected from the Spectrum Passenger Jet and allowed it to crash, and more than a few other objects. I also understand that such influences of objects are the exception, not the rule. For example, in "Dangerous Rendezvous," they give up the saloon after Captain Scarlet realizes that the shared fears of the entire Cloudbase senior staff that the rendezvous is a trap (fears that the Mysteron threat to destroy Cloudbase at midnight, or 24:00 hours, have sparked) are all too painfully confirmed. So the idea of the high electrical voltage from an array of mountain-top power lines--actually not so far-fetched as that's sometimes the only way such electrical energy can be transmitted--breaking the Mysteron hold on "Flight 104" is not out of the question.[/size]

[Marion]

Parker Gabriel said:

So the idea of the high electrical voltage from an array of mountain-top power lines--actually not so far-fetched as that's sometimes the only way such electrical energy can be transmitted--breaking the Mysteron hold on "Flight 104" is not out of the question.

What I meant to infer was that it was an unlikely place to have built an electrical power station, not that it was unlikely the electrical energy field had weakend their hold. It is a generally accepted fact - at least in fanon - that electricity does 'interfere' with the Mysterons' control of their agents or machines, or even, in some stories, with Captain Black.

Apart from that we seem to be in agreement.

[Intensity Angel]

I guess the most catastrophic of his injuries, was falling 800 feet from the London Car-Vu (Which at that same time, freed him from Mysteron control)

However, like other Mysteron duplicates, he is impervious to X-rays, and is vulnerable to electricity. Ergo, Spectrum is a little apprehensive about Scarlet going into situations where electricity may be involved.

The one exception to this was in "Operation Time". He was on the operating table, instead of General Tiempo. However, it was determined that the electrical impulses from a Cerebral Pulsator was insufficient enough to permenantly kill Scarlet.

Surely the electrical impulses would've shaken him up through, and was he even asleep when that happened? In the episode you see his body shake.