M.A.C.H.1 (series)

M.A.C.H.1
First appearance in 2000AD	Prog 1
Most recent appearance	2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1979
No. of Thrills	42
No. of episodes	64

M.A.C.H.1 was one of the starting line-up of stories in 2000AD Prog 1.

M.A.C.H. is an acronym for Man Activated by Comp-puncture Hyperpower, and M.A.C.H.1 was the codename for John Probe, an agent of the British government. An experimental treatment known as compu-puncture had been used on him to give him huge strength and speed, and computer circuitry had been hard-wired into his brain to help him control the extra power.

The strip centred around Probe's missions. For its first six months or so, each week featured a new self-contained mission. Although after that, the stories started to span 2-4 progs each. As the strip went on, Probe was seen to doubt the motives of his boss, Sharpe, and became openly hostile towards him. This culminated in a final reckoning between the two of them.

The strip was clearly heavily influenced and inspired by the 1970s TV show The Six Million Dollar Man which was very popular in 1977, when the strip began.

It was reprinted in the relaunched Eagle comic in the 1980s

Recurring Characters

John Probe

Probe aka M.A.C.H.1, is the main protagonist of the strip. A government agent technologically imbued with extreme speed and strength, all of which is controlled by a computer embedded in his brain.

Denis Sharpe

Sharpe is Probe's boss in the Secret Service and in charge of the experimental compu-puncture process. Probe is convinced Sharpe is guilty of something and is determined to unearth what it is.

MACH Zero

Zero is the result of the final failed experiment with compu-puncture hyperpower before the successful conversion of Probe. He has all the power that Probe does, but lacks an internal computer so is unable to control it. The process has driven him insane so Sharpe keeps him locked away in a secure facility. He is now obsessed by both his hatred for Sharpe, and his desire to reunite with his son and family.

Colonel Krall

Col. Krall is a torturer with the Iranian Secret Police. He is believed dead after he and Probe out of a window of the Presidential Palace. He survives this, however, and Probe comes across him again, raiding a temple in the South American jungle.

List of Stories

• Vulcan (Prog 1 - Prog 2)
• Battleship (Prog 3)
• To Kill a President (Prog 4)
• Probesnatch (Prog 5)
• Himmler's Gold (Prog 6)
• Bolavia (Prog 7)
• Spain Kidnap (Prog 8)
• Our Man in Turkostan (Prog 9)
• On the Roof of the World (Prog 10)
• Operation Death-Drive! (Prog 11)
• The Laser Hound (Prog 12)
• Airship (Prog 13)
• Chinese Formula (Prog 14)
• Kraal (2000AD Summer Special 1977)
• Yeti (Prog 15)
• Capitol (Prog 16)
• Spotbox (Prog 17)
• Skyscraper Terrorists (Prog 18)
• Corporal Tanaka (Prog 19)
• Tokyo (Prog 20)
• Recluse (Prog 21)
• Arab Story (Prog 22)
• Spy Plane (Prog 23)
• King Karat (Prog 24)
• Terror Train (Prog 25)
• The Death Trumpet (Prog 26)
• Planet Killers (Prog 27 - Prog 29)
• Untitled (2000AD Annual 1978)
• Operation Hercules (2000AD Annual 1978)
• UFO (Prog 30 - Prog 33)
• Everest (Prog 34 - Prog 35)
• M.A.C.H. Woman (Prog 36 - Prog 39)
• Death Ray (Prog 40 - Prog 42)
• MACH Zero (Prog 43 - Prog 46)
• Return to Sharpe (Prog 53)
• The Dolphin Tapes (Prog 54 - Prog 57)
• Swamp Saga (Prog 58)
• Origins (Prog 59 - Prog 60)
• The Final Encounter (Prog 61 - Prog 64)
• The MACH-Man File (2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1978)
• Untitled (2000AD Annual 1979)
• The Taxaco Venture (2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1979)