title: Plasmodium

text: In the mosquito, the gametocytes move along with the blood meal to the mosquito's midgut. Here the gametocytes develop into male and female gametes which fertilize each other, forming a zygote. Zygotes then develop into a motile form called an ookinete, which penetrates the wall of the midgut. Upon traversing the midgut wall, the ookinete embeds into the gut's exterior membrane and develops into an oocyst. Oocysts divide many times to produce large numbers of small elongated sporozoites. These sporozoites migrate to the salivary glands of the mosquito where they can be injected into the blood of the next host the mosquito bites, repeating the cycle.


title: Plasmodium

text: "Plasmodium" belongs to the phylum Apicomplexa, a taxonomic group of single-celled parasites with characteristic secretory organelles at one end of the cell. Within Apicomplexa, "Plasmodium" is within the order Haemosporida, a group that includes all apicomplexans that live within blood cells. Based on the presence of the pigment hemozoin and the method of asexual reproduction, the order is further split into four families, of which "Plasmodium" is in the family Plasmodiidae.


title: Plasmodium

text: The genus "Plasmodium" consists of over 200 species, generally described on the basis of their appearance in blood smears of infected vertebrates. These species have been categorized on the basis of their morphology and host range into 14 subgenera:


title: Plasmodium

text: Species infecting monkeys and apes with the exceptions of "P. falciparum" and "P. reichenowi" (which together make up the subgenus "Laverania") are classified in the subgenus "Plasmodium". Parasites infecting other mammals including some primates (lemurs and others) are classified in the subgenus "Vinckeia". The five subgenera "Bennettinia", "Giovannolaia", "Haemamoeba", "Huffia", and "Novyella" contain the known avian malarial species. The remaining subgenera: "Asiamoeba", "Carinamoeba", "Lacertamoeba", "Ophidiella", "Paraplasmodium", and "Sauramoeba" contain the diverse groups of parasites found to infect reptiles.


title: Plasmodium

text: More recent studies of "Plasmodium" species using molecular methods have implied that the group's evolution has not perfectly followed taxonomy. Many "Plasmodium" species that are morphologically similar or infect the same hosts turn out to be only distantly related. In the 1990s, several studies sought to evaluate evolutionary relationships of "Plasmodium" species by comparing ribosomal RNA and a surface protein gene from various species, finding the human parasite "P. falciparum" to be more closely related to avian parasites than to other parasites of primates. However, later studies sampling more "Plasmodium" species found the parasites of mammals to form a clade along with the genus "Hepatocystis", while the parasites of birds or lizards appear to form a separate clade with evolutionary relationships not following the subgenera:


title: Plasmodium

text: Estimates for when different "Plasmodium" lineages diverged have differed broadly. Estimates for the diversification of the order Haemosporida range from around 16.2 million to 100 million years ago. There has been particular interest in dating the divergence of the human parasite "P. falciparum" from other "Plasmodium" lineages due to its medical importance. For this, estimated dates range from 110,000 to 2.5 million years ago.


title: Plasmodium

text: "Plasmodium" species are distributed globally. All "Plasmodium" species are parasitic and must pass between a vertebrate host and an insect host to complete their life cycles. Different species of "Plasmodium" display different host ranges, with some species restricted to a single vertebrate and insect host, while other species can infect several species of vertebrates and/or insects.


title: Plasmodium

text: "Plasmodium" parasites have been described in a broad array of vertebrate hosts including reptiles, birds, and mammals. While many species can infect more than one vertebrate host, they are generally specific to one of these classes (such as birds).


title: Plasmodium

text: Humans are primarily infected by five species of "Plasmodium", with the overwhelming majority of severe disease and death caused by "Plasmodium falciparum". Some species that infect humans can also infect other primates, and zoonoses of certain species (e.g. "P. knowlesi") from other primates to humans are common. Non-human primates also contain a variety of "Plasmodium" species that do not generally infect humans. Some of these can cause severe disease in primates, while others can remain in the host for prolonged periods without causing disease. Many other mammals also carry "Plasmodium" species, such as a variety of rodents, ungulates, and bats. Again, some species of "Plasmodium" can cause severe disease in some of these hosts, while many appear not to.


title: Plasmodium

text: Over 150 species of "Plasmodium" infect a broad variety of birds. In general each species of "Plasmodium" infects one to a few species of birds. "Plasmodium" parasites that infect birds tend to persist in a given host for years or for the life time of the host, although in some cases "Plasmodium" infections can result in severe illness and rapid death. Unlike with "Plasmodium" species infecting mammals, those infecting birds are distributed across the globe.


title: Plasmodium

text: Species from several subgenera of "Plasmodium" infect diverse reptiles. "Plasmodium" parasites have been described in most lizard families and, like avian parasites, are spread worldwide. Again, parasites can result either in severe disease or be apparently asymptomatic depending on the parasite and the host.


title: Plasmodium

text: A number of drugs have been developed over the years to control "Plasmodium" infection in vertebrate hosts, particularly in humans. Quinine was used as a frontline antimalarial from the 17th century until widespread resistance emerged in the early 20th century. Resistance to quinine spurred the development of a broad array of antimalarial medications through the 20th century including chloroquine, proguanil, atovaquone, sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine, mefloquine, and artemisinin. In all cases, parasites resistant to a given drug have emerged within a few decades of the drugs deployment. To combat this, antimalarial drugs are frequently used in combination, with artemisinin combination therapies currently the gold standard for treatment. In general, antimalarial drugs target the life stages of "Plasmodium" parasites that reside within vertebrate red blood cells, as these are the stages that tend to cause disease. However, drugs targeting other stages of the parasite life cycle are under development in order to prevent infection in travelers and to prevent transmission of sexual stages to insect hosts.


title: Plasmodium

text: In addition to a vertebrate host, all "Plasmodium" species also infect a bloodsucking insect host, generally a mosquito (although some reptile-infecting parasites are transmitted by sandflies). Mosquitoes of the genera "Culex", "Anopheles", "Culiseta", "Mansonia" and "Aedes" act as insect hosts for various "Plasmodium" species. The best studied of these are the "Anopheles" mosquitoes which host the "Plasmodium" parasites of human malaria, as well as "Culex" mosquitoes which host the "Plasmodium" species that cause malaria in birds. Only female mosquitoes are infected with "Plasmodium", since only they feed on the blood of vertebrate hosts. Different species affect their insect hosts differently. Sometimes, insects infected with "Plasmodium" have reduced lifespan and reduced ability to produce offspring. Further, some species of "Plasmodium" appear to cause insects to prefer to bite infected vertebrate hosts over non-infected hosts.


title: Plasmodium

text: Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran first described parasites in the blood of malaria patients in 1880. He named the parasite "Oscillaria malariae". In 1885, zoologists Ettore Marchiafava and Angelo Celli reexamined the parasite and termed it a member of a new genus, "Plasmodium", named for the resemblance to the multinucleate cells of slime molds of the same name. The fact that several species may be involved in causing different forms of malaria was first recognized by Camillo Golgi in 1886. Soon thereafter, Giovanni Batista Grassi and Raimondo Filetti named the parasites causing two different types of human malaria "Plasmodium vivax" and "Plasmodium malariae". In 1897, William Welch identified and named "Plasmodium falciparum". This was followed by the recognition of the other two species of "Plasmodium" which infect humans: "Plasmodium ovale" (1922) and "Plasmodium knowlesi" (identified in long-tailed macaques in 1931; in humans in 1965). The contribution of insect hosts to the "Plasmodium" life cycle was described in 1897 by Ronald Ross and in 1899 by Giovanni Batista Grassi, Amico Bignami and Giuseppe Bastianelli.


title: Plasmodium

text: In 1966, Cyril Garnham proposed separating "Plasmodium" into nine subgenera based on host specificity and parasite morphology. This included four subgenera that had previously been proposed for bird-infecting "Plasmodium" species by A. Corradetti in 1963. This scheme was expanded upon by Sam R. Telford in 1988 when he reclassified "Plasmodium" parasites that infect reptiles, adding five subgenera. In 1997, G. Valkiunas reclassified the bird-infecting "Plasmodium" species adding a fifth subgenus: "Bennettinia".


title: Kelp

text: Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms.


title: Kelp

text: Kelp grows in "underwater forests" (kelp forests) in shallow oceans, and is thought to have appeared in the Miocene, 5 to 23 million years ago. The organisms require nutrient-rich water with temperatures between . They are known for their high growth rate—the genera "Macrocystis" and "Nereocystis" can grow as fast as half a metre a day, ultimately reaching .


title: Kelp

text: Through the 19th century, the word "kelp" was closely associated with seaweeds that could be burned to obtain soda ash (primarily sodium carbonate). The seaweeds used included species from both the orders Laminariales and Fucales. The word "kelp" was also used directly to refer to these processed ashes.


title: Kelp

text: In most kelp, the thallus (or body) consists of flat or leaf-like structures known as blades. Blades originate from elongated stem-like structures, the stipes. The holdfast, a root-like structure, anchors the kelp to the substrate of the ocean.


title: Kelp

text: Gas-filled bladders (pneumatocysts) form at the base of blades of American species, such as "Nereocystis lueteana," (Mert. & Post & Rupr.) to hold the kelp blades close to the surface.


title: Kelp

text: Growth occurs at the base of the meristem, where the blades and stipe meet. Growth may be limited by grazing. Sea urchins, for example, can reduce entire areas to urchin barrens. The kelp life cycle involves a diploid sporophyte and haploid gametophyte stage. The haploid phase begins when the mature organism releases many spores, which then germinate to become male or female gametophytes. Sexual reproduction then results in the beginning of the diploid sporophyte stage, which will develop into a mature individual.


title: Kelp

text: Kelp may develop dense forests with high production, biodiversity and ecological function. Along the Norwegian coast these forests cover 5800 km, and they support large numbers of animals. Numerous sessile animals (sponges, bryozoans and ascidians) are found on kelp stipes and mobile invertebrate fauna are found in high densities on epiphytic algae on the kelp stipes and on kelp holdfasts. More than 100,000 mobile invertebrates per square meter are found on kelp stipes and holdfasts in well-developed kelp forests (Christie et al., 2003). While larger invertebrates and in particular sea urchins "Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis" (O.F. Müller) are important secondary consumers controlling large barren ground areas on the Norwegian coast, they are scarce inside dense kelp forests.


title: Kelp

text: Giant kelp can be harvested fairly easily because of its surface canopy and growth habit of staying in deeper water.


title: Kelp

text: Kelp ash is rich in iodine and alkali. In great amount, kelp ash can be used in soap and glass production. Until the Leblanc process was commercialized in the early 19th century, burning of kelp in Scotland was one of the principal industrial sources of soda ash (predominantly sodium carbonate). Around 23 tons of seaweed was required to produce 1 ton of kelp ash. The kelp ash would consist of around 5% sodium carbonate.


title: Kelp

text: Once the Leblanc Process became commercially viable in Britain during the 1820s, common salt replaced kelp ash as raw material for sodium carbonate. Though the price of kelp ash went into steep decline, seaweed remained the only commercial source of iodine. To supply the new industry in iodine synthesis, kelp ash production continued in some parts of West and North Scotland, North West Ireland and Guernsey. The species "Saccharina latissima" yielded the greatest amount of iodine (between 10 and 15 lbs per ton) and was most abundant in Guernsey. Iodine was extracted from kelp ash using a lixiviation process. As with sodium carbonate however, mineral sources eventually supplanted seaweed in iodine production.


title: Kelp

text: Alginate, a kelp-derived carbohydrate, is used to thicken products such as ice cream, jelly, salad dressing, and toothpaste, as well as an ingredient in exotic dog food and in manufactured goods. Alginate powder is also used frequently in general dentistry and orthodontics for making impressions of the upper and lower arches.


title: Kelp

text: Kelp polysaccharides are used in skin care as gelling ingredients and because of the benefits provided by "fucoidan".


title: Kelp

text: Kombu (昆布 in Japanese, and 海带 in Chinese, "Saccharina japonica" and others), several Pacific species of kelp, is a very important ingredient in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cuisines. Kombu is used to flavor broths and stews (especially "dashi"), as a savory garnish ("tororo konbu") for rice and other dishes, as a vegetable, and a primary ingredient in popular snacks (such as "tsukudani"). Transparent sheets of kelp ("oboro konbu") are used as an edible decorative wrapping for rice and other foods.


title: Kelp

text: Kombu can be used to soften beans during cooking, and to help convert indigestible sugars and thus reduce flatulence.


title: Kelp

text: In Russia, especially in the Russian Far East, and former Soviet Union countries several types of kelp are of commercial importance: "Saccharina latissima", "Laminaria digitata", "Saccharina japonica". Known locally as "Sea Cabbage" (Морская капуста in Russian), it comes in retail trade in dried or frozen, as well as in canned form and used as filler in different types of salads, soups and pastries.


title: Kelp

text: Because of its high concentration of iodine, brown kelp ("Laminaria") has been used to treat goiter, an enlargement of the thyroid gland caused by a lack of iodine, since medieval times. An intake of roughly 150 micrograms of iodine per day is beneficial for preventing hypothyroidism. Overconsumption can lead to kelp-induced thyrotoxicosis.


title: Kelp

text: In 2010, researchers found that alginate, the soluble fibre substance in sea kelp, was better at preventing fat absorption than most over-the-counter slimming treatments in laboratory trials. As a food additive, it may be used to reduce fat absorption and thus obesity. Kelp in its natural form has not yet been demonstrated to have such effects.


title: Kelp

text: Commercial production of kelp harvested from its natural habitat has taken place in Japan for over a century. Many countries today produce and consume laminaria products; the largest producer is China. "Laminaria japonica", the important commercial seaweed, was first introduced into China in the late 1920s from Hokkaido, Japan. Yet mariculture of this alga on a very large commercial scale was realized in China only in the 1950s. Between the 1950s and the 1980s, kelp production in China increased from about 60 to over 250,000 dry weight metric tons annually.


title: Kelp

text: Some of the earliest evidence for human use of marine resources, coming from Middle Stone Age sites in South Africa, includes the harvesting of foods such as abalone, limpets, and mussels associated with kelp forest habitats.


title: Kelp

text: In 2007, Erlandson et al. suggested that kelp forests around the Pacific Rim may have facilitated the dispersal of anatomically modern humans following a coastal route from Northeast Asia to the Americas. This "kelp highway hypothesis" suggested that highly productive kelp forests supported rich and diverse marine food webs in nearshore waters, including many types of fish, shellfish, birds, marine mammals, and seaweeds that were similar from Japan to California, Erlandson and his colleagues also argued that coastal kelp forests reduced wave energy and provided a linear dispersal corridor entirely at sea level, with few obstacles to maritime peoples. Archaeological evidence from California's Channel Islands confirms that islanders were harvesting kelp forest shellfish and fish, beginning as much as 12,000 years ago.


title: Kelp

text: During the Highland Clearances, many Scottish Highlanders were moved on to areas of estates known as crofts, and went to industries such as fishing and kelping (producing soda ash from the ashes of kelp). At least until the 1840s, when there were steep falls in the price of kelp, landlords wanted to create pools of cheap or virtually free labour, supplied by families subsisting in new crofting townships. Kelp collection and processing was a very profitable way of using this labour, and landlords petitioned successfully for legislation designed to stop emigration. The profitability of kelp harvesting meant that landlords began to subdivide their land for small tenant kelpers, who could now afford higher rent than their gentleman farmer counterparts. But the economic collapse of the kelp industry in northern Scotland during the 1820s led to further emigration, especially to North America.


title: Kelp

text: Natives of the Falkland Islands are sometimes nicknamed "Kelpers". This designation is primarily applied by outsiders rather than the natives themselves.


title: Kelp

text: In Chinese slang, "kelp" (), is used to describe an unemployed returnee. It has negative overtones, implying the person is drifting aimlessly, and is also a homophonic expression (, literally "sea waiting"). This expression is contrasted with the employed returnee, having a dynamic ability to travel across the ocean: the "sea turtle" () and is also homophonic with another word (, literally "sea return").


title: Kelp

text: Overfishing nearshore ecosystems leads to the degradation of kelp forests. Herbivores are released from their usual population regulation, leading to over-grazing of kelp and other algae. This can quickly result in barren landscapes where only a small number of species can thrive. Other major factors which threaten kelp include marine pollution and the quality of water, climate changes and certain invasive species.


title: Kelp

text: Some animals are named after the kelp, either because they inhabit the same habitat as kelp or because they feed on kelp. These include:


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of popular British and Irish musical acts at the time. It was recorded in a single day at Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill, London, in November 1984.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: "Do They Know It's Christmas" was released in the United Kingdom on 3 December 1984. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one and stayed there for five weeks, becoming Christmas number one. It sold a million copies in the first week, becoming the fastest-selling single in UK chart history; it held this title until 1997, when it was overtaken by Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997". UK sales passed three million on the last day of 1984.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: The song also reached number one in thirteen other countries. In the US, it fell short of the top ten in the "Billboard" Hot 100 due to a lack of airplay, but sold an estimated 2.5 million copies there by January 1985. By 1989, it had sold 11.7 million copies worldwide. Geldof hoped that it would raise £70,000 for Ethiopia; within a year, it raised £8 million. The success led to several other charity singles, such as "We Are the World" (1985) by USA for Africa, and spin-off charity events, such as Comic Relief and the 1985 Live Aid concert. The original version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" has sold 3.8 million copies in the UK. In a UK poll in December 2012, it was voted sixth on the ITV television special "The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song".


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was rerecorded and rereleased in 1989, 2004 and 2014. The 1989 and 2004 versions also raised funds for famine relief, while the 2014 version raised funds for the Ebola crisis in West Africa. All three reached number one in the UK, and the 1989 and 2004 versions became Christmas number ones. The 2004 version sold 1.8 million copies.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was inspired by a series of reports made by the BBC journalist Michael Buerk in 1984, which drew attention to the famine in Ethiopia. The BBC News crew were the first to document the famine, with Buerk's report on 23 October describing it as "a biblical famine in the 20th century" and "the closest thing to hell on Earth". The report featured the nurse Claire Bertschinger, who had to choose which children would receive the limited amount of food at the feeding station and who were too sick to be saved. The reports shocked the UK, motivating the British people to inundate relief agencies, such as Save the Children, with donations. The Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof and his then-partner, the television presenter Paula Yates, watched the broadcast on 23 October and were deeply affected by it. Geldof said about Bertschinger: "In her was vested the power of life and death. She had become godlike, and that is unbearable for anyone."


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: On 2 November, Yates was in the Tyne Tees studio in Newcastle upon Tyne, where she was presenting the weekly live music show "The Tube". Among the acts performing were Ultravox, promoting their greatest hits album "The Collection". The singer, Midge Ure, was chatting to Yates in the dressing room when Geldof called her. Geldof had worked with Ure at the 1981 charity benefit show "The Secret Policeman's Ball." Geldof asked to speak to Ure and told him that he wanted to do something to alleviate the suffering in Ethiopia. He and Ure arranged to discuss ideas over lunch the following Monday, 5 November, and decided to make a charity record.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Geldof began recruiting musicians. He called Sting and Simon Le Bon, who agreed to participate along with the rest of Duran Duran, and recruited Spandau Ballet after a chance meeting with the band's guitarist Gary Kemp at an antiques shop in London. Geldof said: "It suddenly it hit me. I thought, 'Christ, we have got the real top boys here', all the big names in pop are suddenly ready and willing to do this... I knew then that we were off, and I just decided to go for all the rest of the faces and started to ring everyone up, asking them to do it." Further phone calls from Geldof also secured promises of everybody involved in the record's making to provide their services free of charge. Other contributors included UK music magazines, which donated advertising space in their to promote the single; Geldof's record label Phonogram, which released the single; their parent company PolyGram, which distributed it; and the artist Peter Blake, who created the single's sleeve.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Geldof and Ure's biggest challenge was to write a song that could be recorded and released in time for Christmas. They realised that they would have to write one themselves and not record a cover version; otherwise, they would have to pay royalties which would have to be subtracted from the amount raised for charity. On the Monday afternoon Ure came up with the outline of what he felt sounded a Christmas-like melody on a portable keyboard, which he recorded onto a tape and sent to Geldof, who sarcastically told him that the tune sounded like the theme to "Z-Cars". Geldof came to Ure's house the next day and together they worked on the tune with Geldof on his acoustic guitar. Geldof added lyrics based on a song he had originally written for the Boomtown Rats, as he later recalled:


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Ure recorded Geldof and his guitar and used the recording to develop Geldof's ideas later back in his home studio, adding his own melody onto the end as a chorus. He later stated that he had been unable to improve on Geldof's lyrics and left most of them as they were, with the exception of the line "And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time" – the original lyric substituted "Africa" with "Ethiopia" but Ure decided that this did not scan.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Geldof asked Trevor Horn to produce the song; Horn was an in-demand producer, having produced three number-one singles that year for Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Although Horn was receptive, he said he needed at least six weeks to produce the song, which would make it impossible to release by Christmas. However, he allowed the team to use his studios, Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill, London, free for 24 hours on 25 November. Horn would later remix and co-produce the 12" version of the single, and remix it for the 1985 re-release. In Horn's absence, Ure produced the song; he spent several days in his home studio with his engineer Rik Walton creating the backing track, programming the keyboards and drum machines. He used a sample of the drums from the title track of the 1983 Tears for Fears album "The Hurting" for the intro. John Taylor of Duran Duran and Paul Weller visited Ure's studio the day before the recording to add bass guitar and lead guitar; Ure and Weller later agreed that the guitar did not fit the predominantly synthesizer-based song and did not use it. Ure sang the original guide vocal, and Simon Le Bon and Sting came to Ure's studio to record their parts.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: While Ure was occupied creating the song's backing track in the studio, Geldof was busy contacting various British and Irish artists to ask them to appear for the recording session. His plan was to have the biggest names in British and Irish music at the time appear on the record, and few declined: Geldof later revealed only three people had turned him down, but refused to disclose who. Those he asked but who were unable to appear instead sent recorded messages of support that appeared on the single's B-side, including David Bowie and Paul McCartney. Another UK act who had been successful in 1984, the Thompson Twins, were unable to appear on the Band Aid record as they were out of the country and were made aware of the recording too late to return and be involved in it, but they donated part of the proceeds of their then current single "Lay Your Hands on Me" to the Action for Ethiopia charity.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Geldof and Ure arrived at Sarm West Studios at around 8am on Sunday 25 November with the media in attendance outside. With recording scheduled to begin at 10:30am the artists began arriving. Geldof had arranged for the UK newspaper "The Daily Mirror" to have exclusive access inside the studio, and ensured that a 'team photo' was taken by the newspaper's photographer Brian Aris before any recording got under way, knowing that it would be ready in time to appear in the following day's edition of the newspaper and help publicise the record. The photograph also appeared on the back cover of the single.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Ure played the backing track and guide vocals to the artists and then decided, as a way of getting all involved straightaway, to record the climax first. The artists were put in a huge group and sang the 'Feed the world, let them know it's Christmas time' refrain over and over again until it was complete. Having recorded the group, Ure chose Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet to be the first singer into the studio to record his solo part. Hadley admitted that this had been nerve-wracking, knowing that all his contemporaries were watching him. One by one the other assigned singers then did likewise, with Ure taping their efforts and then making notes on which segments would be cut into the final recording. Le Bon, despite having already recorded his part at Ure's house, re-recorded it so he could be part of the moment. Sting also recorded his words again, this time to provide harmony vocals. Despite being lead singers themselves, both Geldof and Ure had already decided that they would not sing any solo lines, although both took part in the 'feed the world' finale. Ure later stated in his autobiography that he was constantly battling with Geldof, and telling him to leave when he would come into the production booth and wrongly tell the artist behind the microphone what to sing.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Phil Collins arrived with his entire drum kit to record a live drum track on top of the already programmed drum machine. He set up the kit and then waited patiently until early evening until after all the vocals had been recorded. Ure was content with the first take that Collins performed, but the perfectionist Collins was unhappy with it and asked for a second take to be recorded, which he was satisfied with.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Although the majority of the artists who took part were the UK or Ireland's biggest musical stars at the time, there were a few unusual participants. Members of the US group Kool & the Gang appeared on the record because they were signed to the same record label as the Boomtown Rats, and just happened to be visiting Phonogram's London offices on the day that Geldof walked in to pitch his idea for the charity single to the label. Singer Marilyn, who had scored a couple of chart hits a year earlier but whose star had faded throughout 1984, saw the opportunity to reclaim the spotlight and turned up to the recording despite not being invited to take part, a fact overlooked by Geldof and Ure who felt any publicity was good publicity and the more stars they could get to appear on the record, the better. Actor Nigel Planer, who had reached number two earlier in the year with a cover version of "Hole in My Shoe" in the guise of his character Neil from the television comedy series "The Young Ones", also showed up uninvited and in character as Neil to play up to the cameras, and after being tolerated for a while was sent away by Ure.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Geldof also asked Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt, the two frontmen of rock band Status Quo, to take part, knowing that although the group were from an entirely different musical era and background, their consistent chart success and fame would bring a certain amount of credibility to the project from the rock fraternity and ensure that the group's loyal following of fans (the "Quo Army") would buy the record in large numbers. Ure's original idea was for Rossi and Parfitt to sing the "here's to you" harmonies in the song's bridge, but he had to shelve the idea because Parfitt could not hit the high notes. This section was eventually taken on by Weller, Sting and Glenn Gregory. Rossi privately told Ure afterwards that in the studio he sang most of Status Quo's vocal parts and that Parfitt only usually sang onstage, and that Ure should have kept Parfitt away from the microphone. Parfitt admitted in a 2004 documentary that he and Rossi had been extremely hungover from partying the night before, and were in no fit state to attempt to record their vocals. However, according to the journalist Robin Eggar, who at the time was music correspondent for "The Daily Mirror" and who was the only journalist present throughout the recording of the song, the pair were able to contribute in other ways: "Once Status Quo produced their bag of cocaine and the booze started to flow – I brought six bottles of wine from my flat, which disappeared in a minute – it became a party."


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Geldof had been keen to include Culture Club's Boy George on the single, at the time one of the biggest music stars in the world, and had called him in New York the day before the recording to insist that George turn up. By midday, with George still absent, an irate Geldof telephoned him again demanding to know where he was. Having only gone to bed a few hours before, a sleepy George was woken up by Geldof insisting that he get onto a Concorde transatlantic flight later that morning. However, George went back to sleep following the phone call, and only made it onto the last Concorde flight of the day later that afternoon. George eventually arrived at Sarm West at 6pm and went immediately into the recording booth to deliver his lines, the last solo artist of the day. Once George's contribution had been recorded, Ure began working on the mix as the participants began to party in the studio. A B-side, titled "Feed the World", was also produced by Trevor Horn in his own studio, using the same instrumental track as the A-side and featuring messages from artists who had been at the recording, and also from those who had been unable to attend, including David Bowie, Paul McCartney, the members of Big Country and Holly Johnson from Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Before departing the Sarm Studio, Geldof recorded a statement, which featured as the last message on "Feed the World". Geldof's spoken-word statement said:


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: The song comprises two parts: a verse and bridge which allow individual singers to perform different lines; and a chorus in the form of two repeated phrases by ensemble. The first line of the recording is sung by Paul Young on the 1984 version, Kylie Minogue on the 1989 version, Chris Martin of Coldplay on the 2004 version, and One Direction on the 2014 version. The opening line was sung by David Bowie at the Live Aid concert in 1985.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: The day after recording, Geldof appeared on Mike Read's BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show to promote the record and promised that every penny would go to the cause. Most record retailers agreed to sell the record at its cost price of £1.35 including VAT: however, some refused, citing cost pressures. Geldof was also incensed that the British Government refused to waive the VAT on the sales of the single. He made the headlines by publicly standing up to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. In the end the government relented and donated an amount to the charity equal to the amount of tax they had collected on the single.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Radio 1 began to play the song every hour – normally an A-list single got seven or eight plays per day. The number one single at the time of its release was "I Should Have Known Better" by Jim Diamond, and Diamond was quoted as saying, "I'm delighted to be at number one, but next week I don't want people to buy my record; I want them to buy Band Aid instead".


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: The song had advance orders of 250,000 within a week of its recording, and orders from record dealers had topped one million by 8 December. In order to meet demand, Phonogram had all five of their European factories put to work pressing the single.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Initial quantities of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" were released on Monday 3 December 1984; however, it was not officially released until 7 December. It received further publicity from a launch party that day at the Royal Albert Hall during the charity event "Dinner at Albert's", an evening of music to raise money for Save the Children and the Ethiopia Famine Relief Fund. The single entered the UK Singles Chart the following week at number one, outselling all the other records in the chart put together, with the 7" single alone selling 200,000 copies in the first two days of release.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Released in the US on 10 December 1984 on Columbia Records, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" sold 1.9 million copies in its first eleven days on release but did not reach number one there, due to the more complex nature of the chart system, which counted airplay as well as sales. Despite outselling the official number one by four to one, it did not make the top ten due to a lack of airplay, ultimately peaking at number 13 on the "Billboard" Hot 100.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Due to the time constraints of releasing the single as quickly as possible, the promotional video for the song simply featured footage from the recording session. David Bowie, who had been Geldof's original choice to sing the song's opening line but who had been unable to attend the recording, flew into England from Switzerland to record a short introduction for the video to be played on the BBC's flagship television music show "Top of the Pops". However, Geldof was unhappy when he discovered that the show's regulations meant that the song and its video could not be played until it had actually charted. Undeterred, he contacted BBC1 controller Michael Grade directly and persuaded Grade to order that every programme preceding that week's episode of "Top of the Pops" should start five minutes early to make space to broadcast the song's video (complete with Bowie's introduction) just before the show.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Each week of its stay at number one, the video was shown on "Top of the Pops". However, for the Christmas Day special edition of the programme, most of the artists on the record appeared in the studio to mime to the song as it was relayed through the speaker system. The two most notable absentees were George Michael and Bono: during Michael's line the cameras focused on the studio audience, while Paul Weller mimed Bono's line to the camera.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: The charity received a further boost during Band Aid's five week tenure at the top of the UK charts with Wham! at number two with their double A-side "Last Christmas"/"Everything She Wants". Wham! singer George Michael had appeared on the Band Aid single and he and fellow band member Andrew Ridgeley donated all the royalties from their single to the Band Aid Trust. As of 2021, "Last Christmas" has sold almost two million copies, and until it reached number one in January 2021 it held the record for the biggest-selling single never to reach number one in the UK.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: A 30-minute video titled "<nowiki>'</nowiki>Do They Know It's Christmas?' – The Story of the Official Band Aid Video" was released in the UK on 15 December 1984 and in the US on 18 December 1984 on VHS and Betamax formats. The video featured documentary footage shot at the recording session and interviews with Geldof and Ure, as well as the completed promotional video. At the 1986 Grammy Awards the song's video was nominated for the Best Music Video, Short Form award, eventually losing out to its US counterpart song "We Are the World".


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: The reception in December 1984 to the original single from the UK music press was mixed. Under a caption of "TURKEY" (a double meaning referring both to the traditional Christmas dinner and an artistic failure), the biggest selling music paper "NME" dismissed the song with the single line, "Millions of Dead Stars write and perform rotten record for the right reasons". The other two major music papers looked upon the record more favourably, recognising that while musically the song was flawed, its intentions were admirable. "Sounds" said, "It's far from brilliant (if not quite the "Bland" Aid some have predicted) but you "can" have fun playing Spot the Star on the vocals, and it deserves to sell by the truckload". "Melody Maker" stated, "Inevitably, after such massive publicity, the record itself is something of an anti-climax, even though Geldof's sense of universal melodrama is perfectly suited to this kind of epic musical manifesto. Midge Ure's large-screen production and the emotional vocal deliveries of the various celebrities matches the demonstrative sweep of Geldof's lyric, which veers occasionally toward an uncomfortably generalised sentimentality which threatens to turn righteous pleading into pompous indignation. On the other hand, I'm sure it's impossible to write flippantly about something as fundamentally dreadful as the Ethiopia famine."


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: In contemporary times, the song has received criticism for what has been described as a colonial western-centric viewpoint and condescending stereotypical descriptions of Africa, notably the phrase sung by Bono: "Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you". For the 2014 version, several lyrics that were previously criticised were rewritten, and the song was changed to focus on Ebola rather than the original version's famine. The new lyrics have also been criticised as promoting stereotypes and condescension. However, criticism from Africans regarding the song remained: in 2014, African activists and Twitter users complained that the song disregarded the diversity of the continent of Africa and ultimately did more harm than good for the people. Musician Fuse ODG turned down a request to sing on the 2014 version, stating that the lyrics of the song do not reflect what Africa truly is. He cited lyrics such as "There is no peace and joy in west (sic) Africa this Christmas"; saying he goes to Ghana yearly for the sole purpose of peace and joy, so singing such lyrics would be a blatant lie.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Geldof and Ure themselves later recognised the musical limitations of "Do They Know It's Christmas?": in his typically blunt manner, Geldof told Australia's "Daily Telegraph" in 2010, "I am responsible for two of the worst songs in history. The other one is 'We Are the World'." Ure's assessment in his autobiography was that "it is a song that has nothing to do with music. It was all about generating money... The song didn't matter: the song was secondary, almost irrelevant."


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: In 2005, a parody version entitled "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" was created to poke fun at the lyrics in the original version.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was reissued the following year on 29 November 1985, reaching number three in the UK Singles Chart the week following Christmas. The 1985 single was remixed by Trevor Horn, the intended producer of the original version, and it included an updated B-side entitled "One Year On (Feed the World)", beginning and ending with a recording of a telephone message from Geldof and in between featuring Ure reciting a list of what had been bought with the money raised during the previous 12 months.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: A second version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was recorded under the name of Band Aid II in 1989, overseen by the most successful British production team of the late 1980s, Stock Aitken Waterman. Geldof had telephoned Pete Waterman to ask him to produce a new version of the song to aid the ongoing situation in Ethiopia, and within 24 hours the recording session had been arranged at Stock Aitken Waterman's studios on London's South Bank. The recording took place over the weekend of 2 and 3 December, and featured several artists who had already been produced by SAW, including Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Bananarama, Sonia, and Cliff Richard, as well as other artists who had big hits in 1989, such as Lisa Stansfield, Jimmy Somerville, Wet Wet Wet and Bros. Bananarama's Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward became the only artists to appear on both the 1984 and 1989 versions of the record. Siobhan Fahey, who had been part of Bananarama's line-up at the time the first recording of the song was released, had left the group in 1988.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: The lyrics were rearranged for a more traditional 'verse and chorus' structure, with the opening verse being split in two with a short repeat of the ending chorus being played at the end of both, followed by the "here's to you" section and a final lengthened version of the closing chorus (with commentary by Michael Buerk played over the outro in the music video).


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Released on 11 December 1989, the Band Aid II version spent three weeks at number one in the UK, becoming the Christmas number one single and the last number one single of the 1980s, and ended the year as the ninth biggest selling single of 1989.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: The sleeve also credits "A Linn" with playing drums on the record, a joking reference to the programmed Linn drum machine.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Band Aid 20 recorded a third version of the song in November 2004 for the twentieth anniversary of the original recording, and again got to number one. The recording and release of the single tied in with the release of the Live Aid concert on DVD for the first time. The idea was prompted by Coldplay's Chris Martin, although Geldof and Ure both got quickly involved. Geldof did the publicity and educated the younger artists on the issues (some of whom had not been born, or were very young, when the original was recorded) while Ure filmed the event for the corresponding documentary.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: The song was produced by Nigel Godrich, who was contacted by Ure. Godrich said: "'I thought, 'Oh fuck!' Then I thought I should do it. In our lives we give so little back." He enlisted musicians including Paul McCartney (on bass), the Supergrass drummer Danny Goffey, and Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead. He said in 2009: "I'm glad I did it – it raised quite a bit of money. It came on when I was sitting in a lobby somewhere once, and it took me a while to recognise it. It sounded good though, better than I remembered."


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: The gathering of the artists to record the song's chorus took place at AIR Studios in Hampstead in north London on Sunday 14 November 2004, although the backing track and many of the solo lines had been recorded over the previous two days. Damon Albarn did not take part in the recording but turned up to serve tea to the participants.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: This version of the song featured an extra segment—a rap by Dizzee Rascal in the midst of the "here's to you" section. Bono flew in especially from Ireland late on Sunday evening to sing the same line as he had done two decades earlier, making him the sixth artist to appear on two versions, in addition to Geldof, Ure, McCartney, Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward (Bananarama).


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: At a press conference on 10 November 2014, Geldof and Ure announced that another group of artists would come together to re-record the song, this time under the banner of Band Aid 30 and in aid of the Ebola crisis. The 2014 version was recorded on Saturday 15 November 2014 and released on the following Monday, 17 November.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: Tracey Emin provided the artwork and Paul Epworth produced the track. Vocal contributions came from artists including Ed Sheeran, One Direction, Paloma Faith, Ellie Goulding, Seal, Sam Smith, Sinéad O'Connor, Rita Ora, Emeli Sandé, Bastille and Olly Murs. Returning guest musicians from previous versions of the song included Chris Martin (who recorded the opening lines of the 2004 version) and Bono (who sang the tenth line in both the 1984 and 2004 versions). Unlike the previous versions, where lyrics were almost identical to the original, the lyrics were altered to address the then-ongoing outbreak. The lyric changes include:


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: A German-language version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was released on 21 November 2014. It was produced by Vincent Sorg and Tobias Kuhn and features vocals from artists including 2raumwohnung, Andreas Bourani, Die Toten Hosen, Jan Delay, Joy Denalane, Max Raabe, Milky Chance, Peter Maffay, Silbermond, Thees Uhlmann, and Wolfgang Niedecken.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: The song was covered by the cast of "Glee" and was released in 2011 as a single and alongside the full-length album "". The song was featured in the season three Christmas episode, "Extraordinary Merry Christmas".


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: In December 2020, a group of musicians from Liverpool recorded a version of "Do They Know It's Christmas" under the name Band Aid Liverpool as a charity record in support of Shelter. Retitled "Do They Know It's Christmas (Feed the World)" with lyrics referring to places on Merseyside, the project was given the go-ahead by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, with Band Aid Liverpool releasing their cover version on 10 December 2020.


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: In December 2020, comedian Leigh Francis recorded a version of the song in honour of late TV presenter Caroline Flack, with proceeds raising money for the Trussell Trust, Crisis, UNICEF, Shelter and Samaritans. His version, recorded in character as Keith Lemon and the Bear from "Bo' Selecta!", featured Emma Bunton, Peter Andre and Ronan Keating (with Keating also turning up on a version of LadBaby's "Don't Stop Me Eatin'", another 2020 Christmas number one contender raising money for the Trussell Trust).


title: Do They Know It's Christmas?

text: On 12 December 2022, British blogger LadBaby announced on his YouTube channel, that he (alongside wife Roxanne, and special guest Martin Lewis), had been given permission from Midge Ure, Bob Geldof, and the Band Aid trust to rewrite the lyrics to Do They Know It's Christmas. The song titled "Food Aid", was officially released on 16 December 2022, with half of the money raised, going to The Trussell Trust, whilst the other half would go to the Band Aid Trust.


title: Keith Morrison

text: Keith Morrison (born July 2, 1947) is a Canadian broadcast journalist. Since 1995, he has been a correspondent for "Dateline NBC".


title: Keith Morrison

text: Beginning his career in the 1960s, Morrison was a reporter and anchor at local stations in Saskatchewan, Vancouver, British Columbia, and Toronto, Ontario.


title: Keith Morrison

text: He joined CTV's "Canada AM" in 1973 as a newsreader and also worked as a reporter and weekend anchor as well as a producer. As a reporter at CTV, he won awards for his coverage of the Yom Kippur War. From 1975 to 1976, he was a reporter on "CTV National News" and served as National Affairs Correspondent and substitute anchor on the show from 1976 to 1979.


title: Keith Morrison

text: Morrison joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1982 as substitute anchor and Chief Political Correspondent for "The Journal", the network's nightly public affairs program, remaining until 1986. He also co-hosted "Midday", the network's noon-hour newsmagazine that he helped to create, from 1984 to 1985.


title: Keith Morrison

text: He moved to Los Angeles in 1986 as the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. news anchor for KNBC-TV. In 1988 he joined NBC News as a west coast correspondent for the "NBC Nightly News" and "Today Show". Morrison covered the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and later contributed highly acclaimed hour-long documentaries and magazine segments to various NBC programs while concurrently continuing as KNBC's anchor.


title: Keith Morrison

text: Morrison returned to Canada in 1992 to become co-anchor of the leading national morning news program, "Canada AM" on CTV. He also hosted "The Editors" on PBS. He was the substitute anchor for "CTV National News" and the heir apparent to anchor Lloyd Robertson until 1995, when he was ousted in a network shakeup. It was believed at the time that he was campaigning to replace Robertson. While at "Canada AM", then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney cancelled a live appearance after Morrison jokingly referred to him earlier in the show as "whatshisname".


title: Keith Morrison

text: Morrison appeared as a newscaster in an episode of "Seinfeld", "The Trip". In the episode, he reported the arrest of Kramer as a serial killer.


title: Keith Morrison

text: Morrison's interviews on Dateline have kept audiences watching and attracted the attention of comedians as well. "Saturday Night Live" created a sketch with him as the central figure played by Bill Hader on November 22, 2008. And on an episode of "Late Night with Seth Meyers" that aired on July 9, 2014, Morrison appears as himself, parodying his characteristic dramatic delivery of real-life murder mysteries that he is known for on "Dateline."


title: Keith Morrison

text: In 1981, Morrison married Suzanne (née Langford) Perry, a writer, consultant, one-time news anchor, and political fundraiser who was also Press Secretary to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. He and Perry have children: Caitlin (born 1981), Emily (born 1985), Willy (born 1987), and Madeleine (born 1989). Morrison also has a son, Michael (born 1974), from a previous marriage. He is also the stepfather of actor Matthew Perry .


title: Keith Morrison

text: Morrison's reporting style has been parodied on "Saturday Night Live" by cast member Bill Hader. On the March 30, 2009, episode of "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon", Hader, referencing the fact that Morrison works in 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where both "Dateline NBC" and "Saturday Night Live" are produced, jokingly stated that he lived in fear of getting into the same elevator as Morrison. The two actually would meet during a Hader interview on "Weekend Today". "I can't give him pointers, he's the master," Hader said. "I don't know how you get better than Keith Morrison."


title: 2022 in sports by month

text: Note: Sports that were originally intended to take place in 2020 and/or 2021 but were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic are indicated using .


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: Lost in Space is a 1998 American science-fiction adventure film directed by Stephen Hopkins, and starring William Hurt, Matt LeBlanc, Gary Oldman, and Heather Graham. The plot is adapted from the 1965–1968 CBS television series of the same name (itself inspired by the 1812 novel "The Swiss Family Robinson" by Johann David Wyss). Several actors from the TV show make cameo appearances.


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: The film focuses on the Robinson family, who undertake a voyage to a nearby star system to begin large-scale emigration from a soon-to-be uninhabitable Earth, but are thrown off course by a saboteur and must try to find their way home.


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: "Lost in Space" received negative reviews from critics and grossed $136.2 million worldwide with an $80 million budget.


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: In 2058, Earth will soon be uninhabitable due to the irreversible effects of pollution and ozone depletion. In an effort to save humanity, the United Global Space Force sends Professor John Robinson, his wife Maureen, daughters Judy and Penny, and young prodigy son Will on the spaceship "Jupiter II" to complete construction of a hypergate over the planet Alpha Prime, which will allow the population of Earth to be instantly transported and populate the new planet. Penny rebels by breaking curfew, while Will's prize-winning science experiment involving time travel goes largely unnoticed by John. Global Sedition, a mutant terrorist group, assassinates the "Jupiter II"'s pilot, who is replaced by hotshot fighter pilot Major Don West, to his chagrin.


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: The family's physician Dr. Zachary Smith, a Sedition spy, sabotages the ship's on-board robot before launch, but is betrayed by his cohorts and left unconscious as the ship launches and the family enters cryosleep. The robot activates and begins to destroy the navigation and guidance systems, en route to destroying the family. Smith awakens the Robinsons and West, who manage to subdue the robot, but the ship is falling uncontrollably into the Sun. Forced to use the experimental hyperdrive with an unplotted course, the ship is transported through hyperspace to a remote planet in an uncharted part of the universe.


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: Passing through a strange distortion in space, the crew finds two abandoned ships in orbit: the Earth ship "Proteus", and another ship clearly not of human origin. They board the "Proteus", with Will controlling the now-modified robot. They find navigational data to reach Alpha Prime, and a camouflaging creature Penny calls "Blarp", along with evidence suggesting the ship is from the future. They are attacked by spider-like creatures; one scratches Smith, and the robot's body is irreparably damaged but Will saves its computerized intelligence.


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: West destroys the vessel to eradicate the spiders, causing the ship to crash-land on the nearby planet, where another distortion appears. Will theorizes they are distortions in time, as his experiment predicted, but John ignores his input. Exploring the time bubble, he and West encounter a future version of Will and a robot he rebuilt with the saved intelligence. (The time-travel illusions in the 1967 "Lost in Space" television episode "Flight into the Future," such as a future statue of the Robot and descendants of Dr. Smith and Judy, are likely an influence on this part of the film.) The older Will explains that surviving spiders killed Maureen, Penny, and Judy. Constructing a time machine, the future Will intends to return to Earth to prevent "Jupiter II" from launching.


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: Young Will and Smith investigate the time bubble on their own. Smith tricks Will into handing over his weapon, but is foiled by a future version of himself, transformed by his spider injury into a spider-like creature, who has been protecting Will since the rest of the family was killed. The present Will and West return to the "Jupiter II" with an injured Smith and the robot in tow, while the future Smith reveals his true plan: He killed the Robinsons, but kept Will alive to build the time machine, so Smith could return to Earth and populate it with a race of spiders.


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: John, remembering that spiders eat their wounded, rips open Smith's egg sac with a trophy Will turned into a weapon. Smith's spider army devours him and he is thrown into the time portal, ripping him apart. The planet's increasing instability forces the "Jupiter II" to take off, but they are unable to reach escape velocity and are destroyed by the planet's debris. Realizing his father never actually abandoned them, and that he really does love him, Will sets the time machine to send John back to his family, but there is only enough power for one person. Saying goodbye to his family, the future Will is killed by falling debris, and John reunites with his living family.


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: Realizing they do not have enough power to escape the planet's gravitational pull, John suggests they drive the ship down through the planet, using the gravity well to slingshot them back into space. They are successful, but the planet turns into a black hole, and they activate the hyperdrive to escape. Using the "Proteus"’ navigational data to set a potential course for Alpha Prime, the ship blasts off into hyperspace.


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: Filming began on March 3, 1997 in London's Shepperton Studios, with more than 700 special effects shots planned, done by Industrial Light & Magic and Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The $70 million "Lost in Space" film was New Line's hope to launch a multimedia franchise, followed by animated and live-action television series. Licensing deals were made with Trendmasters for toys and Harper Prism and Scholastic for tie-in novels.


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: TVT Records released a soundtrack album on March 31, 1998, featuring 11 tracks of Bruce Broughton's original score (which makes no reference to either of the TV themes composed by John Williams) and eight tracks of electronic techno music (most of which is heard only over the film's end credits). A European version of the soundtrack album was released that omits the tracks "Spider Attack", "Jupiter Crashes", and "Spider Smith", and instead includes three new songs unused in the film ("Aah-Yah" by O.P. Phoenix, "Asphalt Ostrich" by HeadCrash, and "Anarchy" by KMFDM). Intrada Records released a score album for the film the following year, and the complete score in 2016. The track "Thru the Planet" on the TVT album is not the same as "Through the Planet" on the Intrada release, but is a shortened version of Broughton's unused end-title music heard on the score album as "Lost in Space."


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: On its opening weekend, "Lost in Space" grossed $20,154,919 and debuted at number one at the US box office, ending "Titanic"s 15-week-long hold on the first-place position. It opened in a record 3,306 theaters and grossed an average of $6,096 per screening. "Lost in Space" grossed $69,117,629 in the United States and Canada, and $67,041,794 internationally, bringing its worldwide total to $136,159,423.


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: "Lost in Space" was panned by critics on release. Roger Ebert gave the film a rating of one and a half out of four, calling it a "dim-witted shoot-'em-up". Wade Major of "BoxOffice" rated the film at 1 and a half out of 5, calling it "the dumbest and least imaginative adaptation of a television series yet translated to the screen." James Berardinelli was slightly more favorable, giving the film a rating of 2 and a half out of 4. While praising the film's set design, he criticized its "meandering storyline and lifeless protagonists," saying that ""Lost in Space" features a few action sequences that generate adrenaline jolts, but this is not an edge-of-the-seat motion picture."


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: Online aggregators have tracked both contemporary and recent reviews of "Lost in Space". At Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 27% based on 84 appraisals, with an average score of 4.9/10. The site's consensus reads: "Clumsily directed and missing most of the TV series' campy charm, "Lost in Space" sadly lives down to its title." The film holds a score of 42 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on the opinions of 19 journalists, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: "Lost in Space" received six Saturn Award nominations, including Best Supporting Actor for Oldman. The film also received a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Remake or Sequel, but lost to the tied "Godzilla", "The Avengers" and "Psycho".


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: At the 1998 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, the film won Worst Supporting Actress for Chabert and was nominated for four other awards: Worst Song in a Movie for "Lost in Space" (lost to "Come with Me"), Worst Resurrection of a TV Show (lost to "The Avengers"), Worst Director for Hopkins (lost to Jeremiah Chechik for "The Avengers"), and Worst Picture (lost to "Spice World").


title: Lost in Space (film)

text: VHS, DVD, and later a Blu-ray have been released for the film. Both the DVD and Blu-ray releases contain deleted scenes.


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent (John Walker) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually those starring Captain America and the Avengers. He first appeared in "Captain America" #323 (November 1986) as Super-Patriot. He was later redesigned as an incarnation of Captain America and a few years later, as U.S. Agent.


title: U.S. Agent

text: Wyatt Russell portrays John Walker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting with the streaming television series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" (2021) and will reprise the role in "" (2024).


title: U.S. Agent

text: The character of John Walker was first introduced as the supervillain Super-Patriot in "Captain America" #323 (November 1986). Mark Gruenwald created Walker to counter the general message in "Captain America" of patriotism being invariably good, describing him as someone "who embodied patriotism in a way that Captain America didn't—a patriotic "villain"." He said, "Basically, I just wanted to do the opposite of Steve Rogers. Okay, Steve Rogers is a poor northern urban boy. So I'll make a guy from rural middle-class south. Cap is now old, so this guy'll be a real young up-and-comer. Cap has lofty ideals, so I'll make Super-Patriot be more realistic and more pragmatic. So, I put together his background and character traits by playing the opposite game."


title: U.S. Agent

text: This character is the second Super-Patriot character in the Marvel Universe. The first Super-Patriot debuted in "Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." #13 in July 1969 and never appeared again. The original Super-Patriot's costume bears no resemblance to that used by John Walker.


title: U.S. Agent

text: After a return appearance in "Captain America" #327, Gruenwald reintroduced the character as the new Captain America in "Captain America" #333. Though Gruenwald said he would not have done this if it had not been a logical development from the preceding storylines, he also openly acknowledged that the motivating reason for replacing Steve Rogers as Captain America was to boost sales:


title: U.S. Agent

text: With "Iron Man", for example, we had James Rhodes take the lead character's place, and we did it for two years—which I'm sure was about a year and a half longer than anybody thought we would do it. In "Thor" we had Beta Ray Bill take Thor's place for two or three issues. So, this is the sort of thing that has been done to shake up people before. You know, I'm responsible for it in "Iron Man" and I was editor of "Thor" at the time of Beta Ray Bill, and believe me it's a trick I know "works" because I've seen it work a number of times. It's just to get you noticed so that people who don't normally read it will say, "Oh, I heard something about this, let me read it and see." And with luck, folks will get hooked on the storyline.


title: U.S. Agent

text: In having Steve Rogers quit as Captain America and John Walker take over the role, Gruenwald stated that he was hoping to "better define what Captain America the concept is by seeing someone groping, trying to live up to it, trying to grasp all the facets of the concept". Walker soon developed a following of his own, with Gruenwald admitting that his best selling cover of the comic was #321 which had an image of Captain America shooting a firearm, and that this resulted in many fans wanted him to "Rambo-ize" Cap and make him more Punisher or Wolverine-like. Gruenwald considered this a violation of the character's principles, so decided that he would give the fans what they wanted but that it couldn't be Steve Rogers. Walker's popularity as a character continued to grow, with Gruenwald stating that he had letters from readers saying that they didn't want Steve Rogers to ever return as they saw Walker - regardless of his faults - as more viable, younger, and more interesting because they didn't know what he would do next.


title: U.S. Agent

text: John Walker's installation as Captain America indeed provided a major boost to the series's sales, and he remained the main character of "Captain America" for issues 333 through 350, during which his character generally became more heroic. In "Captain America" #354 he was given another name and costume change, this time as U.S. Agent (created by writer Mark Gruenwald and artist Kieron Dwyer) using a discarded costume of Steve Rogers (the original Captain America): a black outfit with a different alignment of the stars and stripes to differentiate it from Steve Rogers' suit.


title: U.S. Agent

text: Like some West Coast Avengers teammates who had their own series (such as Iron Man, or Hawkeye in "Solo Avengers"), the character U.S. Agent was popular enough to support his own limited series in 1993. The mini-series was used to finish off a long-standing Marvel Universe plot thread involving the Scourge of the Underworld.


title: U.S. Agent

text: During the events of the "Maximum Security" storyline, U.S. Agent was given a new uniform reminiscent of riot police uniforms. He continued to use that uniform in his 2001 miniseries, which followed the events in "Maximum Security" and was written and drawn by Jerry Ordway.


title: U.S. Agent

text: In August 2020, Marvel announced that U.S. Agent would be getting a five-issue mini-series to be released in November that year, written by Christopher Priest and illustrated by Stefano Landini.


title: U.S. Agent

text: John Walker was born in the fictional town of Custer's Grove, Georgia. He grew up idolizing his older brother, Mike, a helicopter pilot who died in the Vietnam War in 1974. John wanted to live up to Mike's memory, who was idolized by their parents, and so he later enlisted in the military. John served at Fort Bragg, but only served during peacetime and thus never became the hero that he perceived Mike to have been.


title: U.S. Agent

text: After John received an honorable discharge from the United States Army, he was told by a friend about the Power Broker, a mysterious individual who gave people superhuman abilities. Walker and his friend received treatments that granted superhuman abilities.


title: U.S. Agent

text: Walker, now in debt to the Power Broker, intends to join the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation but meets Ethan Thurm who becomes his manager and persuades Walker to become a hero instead. Thurm secures financial backing, helps Walker design a costume, and sets out a strategy that allows him to debut as the corporate-sponsored Super-Patriot who then travels the country promoting his image to the nation through patriotic rallies and community service.


title: U.S. Agent

text: At a rally in Central Park, he holds a secretly rehearsed performance in which he publicly criticizes Captain America and is subsequently attacked by three extremist supporters called the Bold Urban Commandos or "Buckies". Walker defeats the Buckies in the staged fight as a demonstration of his combat prowess and patriotism. Steve Rogers confronts Walker privately afterwards and demands that he stop using the Buckies, since people attending the rally could have been hurt in a panic resulting from the staged attack. Walker refuses, arguing that his actions are justified by his quest to replace the outdated Captain America as the nation's symbol.


title: U.S. Agent

text: When Captain America repeatedly refuses his challenges to a fight, Super-Patriot attacks Captain America. Although Captain America proves to be a more skilled fighter and lands blow after blow, the trash-talking Walker manages to absorb the attacks. With neither man falling after a lengthy brawl, Super-Patriot flings a number of throwing stars at Captain America who is too tired to dodge. One hits in the chest, embedding into Captain America's uniform but doing little to no actual physical damage. With the successful strike, the gleeful Super-Patriot claims victory and promptly departs. The weary and dejected Captain America tries to tell himself that the fight was a draw, as neither man actually went down but is nonetheless left questioning his own fighting abilities while acknowledging Super-Patriot's superior strength and stamina.


title: U.S. Agent

text: Walker catches the eye of the nation though when he tackles the terrorist Warhead who threatens to detonate a nuclear weapon in Washington, D.C. atop the Washington Monument. Walker scales the monument, disarming Warhead with a throwing star, before sending Warhead plummeting to the ground below. Warhead—preferring to go out 'like a man'—kills himself before hitting the ground by detonating a hand grenade.


title: U.S. Agent

text: This high-profile act makes him an instant celebrity, appearing in "The Washington Post" and on national television where he claims himself to be "America's future", which in turn brings him to the attention of Valerie Cooper in her role as a Presidential advisor.


title: U.S. Agent

text: Soon after, Steve Rogers abandons Captain America's costume and identity when ordered to report directly to the Commission on Superhuman Activities, feeling that Captain America had grown beyond the name's original role as a symbol of America during the war and not wanting to be tied down to a political agenda. The Commission debates who should be the new Captain America, with Nick Fury and Sam Wilson both being considered as candidates, although it was considered that the former was too old and would not want to give up the autonomy enjoyed as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, where as in the case of the latter they did not believe that the United States was ready for a black equivalent.


title: U.S. Agent

text: Dr. Valerie Cooper, a member of the Commission, suggests that Walker should be made the new Captain America as a U.S. government operative. Though repulsed by the notion of giving up being Super-Patriot and taking on the Captain America identity he has criticized so much, Walker ultimately answers, "Ma'am, if Uncle Sam wanted me to be Mickey Mouse, I'd do it." As Captain America, he is forced to abandon Thrum as his manager, and can only retain Lemar Hoskins, one of the Buckies, since the other two fail to pass background checks.


title: U.S. Agent

text: Walker is partnered with Hoskins as the new Bucky but Hoskins later changes the codename to "Battlestar" due to the negative racial name connotations for a black man. The two follow Adrian Sammish's orders. Walker is trained by the Freedom Force, the Guardsmen, and the Taskmaster—Taskmaster's training focusing on teaching him how to use Captain America's shield—and goes on his first mission against the Watchdogs militia group.


title: U.S. Agent

text: Another of Walker's early acts as Captain America was a mission to "aid stability and democracy in South America" by teaming up with the Tarantula in order to hunt escaped political dissidents from his home country on behalf of its oppressive regime in order to silence them. Despite believing in the fight against Communism and in the principle of helping America's "Democratic allies in Latin America", Walker becomes increasingly uncomfortable with the methods used by Tarantula after he interrogates and threatens occupants of an immigration detention center for information on his targets. The two battle and wound Spider-Man, however Walker – increasingly conflicted by the fact that both the immigrants who Tarantula interrogated and Spider-Man looked upon him and the uniform he wore with fear, seeing him as an enemy – decides to walk away, convincing himself that this course of action was not something that Captain America would support. Spider-Man ultimately defeats Tarantula and Walker later learns that the individual who gave him his orders to help Tarantula was a rogue agent who did so without legal authority, beating him and telling him that the uniform he wears is supposed to inspire, not terrify.


title: U.S. Agent

text: Although Walker finds himself trying to emulate Rogers's ethics, Walker is more brutal than his predecessor due to his reactionary points of view. His superhuman strength and lack of emotional control lead him to inadvertently beat Professor Power to death. as well as badly injure 'The Resistants' mutant group.


title: U.S. Agent

text: Left-Winger and Right-Winger, the two rejected Buckies, crash the press conference arranged by Cooper to reveal the "new" Captain America and Battlestar, and announce Walker's name and birthplace on national TV. His parents are subsequently killed by the Watchdogs; this incident drives Walker closer to a mental breakdown, particularly when the Commission orders him not to step out of line in the future, resulting in him missing his parents' funeral due to his responsibilities. In a state of rage, he kills many of the Watchdogs, and beats Left-Winger and Right-Winger to a pulp, leaving the two to die in an explosion, and are left terribly burned and in critical condition. Walker is then captured by Flag-Smasher, but rescued by Rogers, Battlestar, and D-Man.


title: U.S. Agent

text: The Red Skull, now in a clone body of Steve Rogers, lures Walker to Washington, D.C. The Red Skull attacks Walker with a horde of Walker's enemies, but Walker kills or critically injures the enemies all in a single brawl. The Red Skull arranges for Walker to confront Rogers—now using "the Captain" identity and costume—but Rogers defeats him and confronts the Red Skull. Walker wakes up and throws his shield at the Red Skull, causing the latter to be exposed to his own "dust of death" which resulted in the supervillain's reddish skull appearance, but the Red Skull escapes. Rogers and Walker give a report to the Commission, which returns the Captain America uniform to Rogers. Rogers declines the offer, but Walker persuades Rogers to reconsider and accept it. At a press conference announcing the original Captain America's return, General Haywerth fakes Walker's assassination by a Watchdog in order to set up Walker in a new identity.


title: U.S. Agent

text: To address Walker's psychosis, he is hypnotized into believing his parents are still alive, and he would not recover his full memory for many years. He is also given a new cover identity of "Jack Daniels" as well as speech therapy and work to erase old mannerisms in order to help hide the fact that he was the man the public had recently seen "assassinated".


title: U.S. Agent

text: Walker soon resurfaced as an adventurer known as the U.S. Agent, wearing a variation of the Captain costume and using the vibranium disc as a shield. Walker continued to work for the Commission. He was first seen as the U.S. Agent, battling an Iron Monger as a test for the Commission. He was placed as a watchdog of West Coast Avengers and the Vision by the Commission, as a condition to possibly get their government clearance reinstated. Some time later, he rescued Battlestar from the Power Broker, and reconciled with the former; Walker learned that his memories had been altered and that his parents were dead.


title: U.S. Agent

text: The manner of his appointment to the West Coast Avengers team, and his own abrasive attitude, saw U.S. Agent frequently come into conflict with his colleagues, in particular the headstrong Hawkeye (Clint Barton), which culminated in a battle between the two that saw both suspended. He later almost killed Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter) – an ex-employee of U.S. Agent's former employers – hesitating over delivering the fatal blow before collapsing in grief – his guilt over his long history of violence catching up with him.


title: U.S. Agent

text: While under the employ of the Commission for Superhuman Activities, U.S. Agent was charged with the responsibility of taking down the Punisher. After locating the Punisher and engaging him in hand-to-hand combat, the Punisher discloses he is attempting to take down the Maggia. U.S. Agent agrees to help the Punisher, vowing to take him into custody afterwards. U.S. Agent takes down the superpowered mercenary Paladin, who had been employed by the Maggia to kill the Punisher, breaking both legs with his shield. Upon completion of the mission, the Punisher ultimately escapes U.S. Agent by dressing a deceased henchman in his uniform and leaving him in a burning building, convincing U.S. Agent that he had perished in the fire. Halfway through the resultant dressing-down by his employers, while being informed that his job is to act, not to think, and that it is no wonder he had failed as Captain America, U.S. Agent walks away.


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent was once more forced to choose between following the rules and laws of the nation he had dedicated himself to serving, or ignoring said rules in favor of doing what he personally believed to be right, when he investigated a series of gruesome murders of illegal immigrants on the Mexico/U.S border who he later discovered were being committed by a corrupt law enforcement official.


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent investigates the killer "the Scourge of the Underworld" and discovers that Scourge is not an individual at all, but is in fact essentially a franchise of killers trained towards the singular purpose of wiping out the menace posed by the world's various super-villains. U.S. Agent attempts to infiltrate the organization but is captured, tortured and interrogated until he is released by a masked operative who reveals himself to be none other than Mike Walker – U.S. Agent's older brother who he had long thought to have died in the Vietnam War. Mike tries to convince U.S. Agent to join the Scourge program before letting him go in order to think it over.


title: U.S. Agent

text: It is later revealed that "Mike" is not U.S. Agent's brother at all but rather a cleverly designed deception intended to lure U.S. Agent into joining the Scourge program himself. U.S. Agent decides against joining the program at which point 'Mike' – better known as 'Bloodstain' – attempts to wipe him out unsuccessfully.


title: U.S. Agent

text: Through interrogating members of the Scourge organization, Agent traces its mysterious benefactor back to a high-class estate, at which point he is revealed to be none other than Thomas Holloway – the man previously known as the World War II era hero "The Avenging Angel" – who reveals how he had set up the Scourge organization using his immense wealth after witnessing an innocent bystander killed by a criminal's bullet meant for him. Unable to continue his costumed career because of the guilt he instead decided to set up the organization to atone for his failings as a crime fighter and battle those criminals who would undermine America's moral character.


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent and Bloodstain battle one last time, and Bloodstain is eventually dispatched by his own bullets as they deflect off U.S. Agent's shield. Thomas Holloway is subsequently arrested for his crimes and the Scourge program seemingly closed down. Later, U.S. Agent muses that just like Holloway he had done things as a hero that he feels he needs to make amends for, but promises that unlike Holloway he will find the true path to salvation.


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent fought alongside the Avengers in several battles. After the Avengers moved to a United Nations based charter, he received only one vote (though not from himself) in the ensuing vote and consequently lost his place on the team. Even with his personality conflicts and reckless behavior, he soon proved himself worthy of being an Avenger and was able to rejoin.


title: U.S. Agent

text: During his time with the West Coast Avengers, U.S. Agent participated in the 'Infinity War' in which he was part of the team that remained on Earth to protect it against Magus' waves of superhuman doppelgangers, the 'Infinity Crusade', during which he was recruited by the Goddess along with other heroes who were susceptible, as they are either especially religious, mystically inclined, or have had a near-death experience, and Operation Galactic Storm in which he was responsible for guarding the Kree prisoners Captain Atlas and Dr. Minerva, and battled a Kree Sentry.


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent also helped the team battle the likes of the Lethal Legion, Dr Demonicus and his Pacific Overlords, Ultron and his robotic 'bride' War Toy, the 'Night Shift', the 'Bogatyri'—a group of Russian extremists intent upon ushering in a new Cold War, 'Death Web'—a team of spider-themed villains, and Immortus.


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent, along with fellow "replacement" heroes Thunderstrike and War Machine, was manipulated into battling the heroes who had inspired them—Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man—by the time-traveling villainess "Terminatrix", before putting their differences aside to team up against their common foe.


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent, along with the rest of the West Coast Avengers, the Avengers, and the X-Men, participated in the 'Bloodties' crossover, during which Professor X attempted to negotiate a peace to end the civil war on the island of Genosha. U.S. Agent was charged with the responsibility of acting as bodyguard for Professor X.


title: U.S. Agent

text: Captain America sarcastically cited U.S. Agent's use of his "famous powers of composure and diplomacy" as one example of the recent failings of the West Coast Avengers when he indicated his intention to shut the team down. This provoked U.S. Agent's fury who raised his hand to strike Captain America; Iron Man stopped him and uttered, "Not now. Not ever".


title: U.S. Agent

text: During this time, U.S. Agent was featured in a Marvel UK comic called "Super Soldiers", initially battling, then teaming up with American and British soldiers empowered by a variation of the drugs that created Nuke.


title: U.S. Agent

text: When the West Coast Avengers dissolved, he dumped his U.S. Agent costume and shield into the Hudson River. Soon after, most of the then-current members of the West Coast Avengers were asked by Tony Stark to found Force Works. Initially U.S. Agent was reluctant, however Scarlet Witch later persuaded him to join, stating that she needed U.S. Agent to be the team's "backbone" and intended to run the team on tight military lines and the values of strength and dedication that Agent had shown her during their time together on the West Coast Avengers. U.S. Agent ultimately joined the new team, wearing a new costume and using an energy-based shield provided to him by Stark. Stark describes U.S. Agent as a "loose cannon", suggesting that he could have an identity problem, expressing the desire to develop a new look for him "to get U.S. Agent out of Captain America's red, white and blue shadow".


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent travels to an isolated region of Tennessee in order to locate Hawkeye who had disappeared after the death of Mockingbird. Angry at the fact that Hawkeye had abandoned his teammates when they had desperately needed his support to avoid the dissolution of the West Coast Avengers, U.S. Agent finds him and they initially fight before eventually reconciling, at which point U.S. Agent informs Hawkeye of all the recent changes – including the formation of Force Works and the death of Wonder Man (Simon Williams).


title: U.S. Agent

text: Hawkeye vents that he has been through a lot with the loss of his wife, and that he mistrusts Tony Stark, prompting a rare showing of emotion from U.S. Agent who confesses that the death of his own parents haunts every waking moment of his life and that he more than anyone knows what it is like to live life on the outside looking in – never quite good enough for anyone – but at least he is not running and hiding from it!


title: U.S. Agent

text: The two agree to put their spat aside and sleep, with U.S. Agent telling Hawkeye that he will be taking him back in the morning regardless of any objections, however when U.S. Agent wakes Hawkeye is gone – although he leaves him a note thanking him for helping him get some things off his chest, and letting him know that he is not all bad after all.


title: U.S. Agent

text: In the spirit of forgiveness, U.S. Agent later formulates a plan to reconcile Hawkeye with the rest of his former teammates – especially Stark – by inviting him as a secret guest to the Force Works Christmas party. While Hawkeye waits alone he monitors U.S. Agent and the rest of the Force Works team via video feed as they listen to Stark issue a sincere apology for his behavior in recent times – from walking out on the West Coast Avengers team, to faking his own death and not trusting them with the truth.


title: U.S. Agent

text: Unfortunately Hawkeye only catches the part of the speech where Stark talks about Hawkeye's "loud mouthed opinions", switching the feed off before he hears Stark refer to Hawkeye as the backbone of the West Coast Avengers team, a friend, and how he misses his presence more than anything, and when U.S. Agent learns that Hawkeye has left in a temper, he wonders what on Earth could have gone wrong...


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent remained a member throughout the team's tenure, fighting threats such as the Kree, alien parasites The Scatter, Slorenian supernatural threat Ember, Slorenia's armored protectors Black Brigade, The Mandarin, fighting alongside Australian super hero Dreamguard (Willie Walkaway) against the dream-manipulating Orphan, Slorenia's undead shock troops The Targoth and Volkhvy the Eternal One, teaming up with the Avengers against the Kree commandos Excel, intergalactic mercenary The Broker, battling Force Works' own rogue security system VIRGIL, an alternate reality version of deceased former Force Works member Wonder Man (Simon Williams), and the Serpent Society.


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent was briefly referred to as the Liegeman as it was the codename for him in the Morgan le Fay verse.


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent briefly appears in "Captain America" vol. 3 during the 'American Nightmare' story arc attempting to steal an experimental jet plane. Captain America stops him, and U.S. Agent is later seen in stasis along with others affected by the villain Nightmare.


title: U.S. Agent

text: He eventually became the field leader of the Jury, a group of armored corporate vigilantes, owned by Edwin Cord, owner of Cordco. U.S. Agent again wearing his original U.S. Agent uniform and now using an eagle-shaped shield that could be directed in mid-air via remote control. The Jury's job was to take down the Thunderbolts, but they were defeated by the Thunderbolts and their new leader Hawkeye, a former Avenger teammate of Walker's. The Jury attempted to apprehend the Thunderbolts a second time, but instead the two groups joined forces together against Brute Force and the Secret Empire's soldiers.


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent was severely beaten to near death by Protocide. Due to emergency medical procedures performed on him, he was outfitted, by S.H.I.E.L.D., with an enhancing exo-skeleton.


title: U.S. Agent

text: Following his recovery, he soon adopted a new costume and rejoined the Commission on Superhuman Activities, with the position at the head of the federal government's U.S. Marshal division, called S.T.A.R.S., the Superhuman Tactical Activities Response Squad. The group battled alien invaders and superhuman threats and was responsible for their imprisonment. In this role, he was placed in charge of coordinating Earth's heroes during the 'Maximum Security' crisis when Earth became a prison planet, claiming that he was needed to prevent the other heroes getting 'sidetracked' by their concern for the prisoners to ensure that their focus remained on what was best for Earth.


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent continued to work for S.T.A.R.S as America's super human 'top cop' under the observation of Valerie Cooper. In this role his former love, and current agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, Kali Vries—who he had endured Army boot-camp with many years previously, and who had bested him in almost all physical tests—was thrust upon him as second in command. U.S. Agent was uncomfortable with Vries' appointment as she had previously jilted him, although she was still affectionate towards him. Other S.T.A.R.S agents warned Agent that Vries was playing him. Vries is later revealed to be in the employ of ambitious Senator Warkovsky and on his order places a parasite capable of allowing mind control on U.S. Agent's neck.


title: U.S. Agent

text: In their second mission together U.S. Agent and Vries teamed up to tackle a radical faction of Atlantians working with the super-villain Poundcakes (Marian Pouncey). It transpired that Pouncey was attempting to trade more of the alien parasites capable of mind control with the Atlantians. The Sub-Mariner (Namor) disrupts the battle and discovers the parasite placed on U.S. Agent's neck by Vries. Vries later attends Agent's room and attempts to seduce him, placing another parasite on him. U.S. Agent—apparently no longer in control of his own will, and despite being informed that a S.H.I.E.L.D envoy had been dispatched—then takes the duffle bag full of parasites seized by S.T.A.R.S in order to take them to his manipulator who transpires to be none other than the Power Broker (Curtis Jackson)—the man originally responsible for granting John Walker his super-human powers, whose plan is to infect the International assemblage of Heads of State with the mind-controlling parasites.


title: U.S. Agent

text: At this point Captain America (Steve Rogers), who had been revealed to be the S.H.I.E.L.D envoy responsible for collecting the parasites, along with Kali Vries, burst into the meeting between U.S. Agent and the Power Broker. Power Broker places a parasite on the neck of Senator Warkovsky intent upon influencing his address to the International assemblage of Heads of State, but is interrupted by U.S. Agent who is subsequently assaulted by Captain America intent upon stopping him. The two battle with neither of them able to gain the upper hand. Meanwhile, Vries is captured by the Power Broker who reveals that he had been attacked and left for dead by aliens during the 'Maximum Security' crisis at which point, barely alive, he had become the host for an alien which produced the mind-controlling parasites, subsequently attempting to expand its control by infecting influential individuals. Power Broker then infects Vries with a parasite. Eventually Agent manages to escape Captain Americas attentions long enough to reveal the presence of the parasite on Senator Warkovsky's neck and removes it with his energy baton. Together Cap and Agent fight off the crowd of V.I.P's (also apparently under the control of the Power Broker), escaping and then teaming up to restrain both Power Broker and Vries and removing the parasites from each of them. Dum Dum Dugan then appears on the scene to inform U.S. Agent that Vries, far from being a traitor, was actually a deep cover agent acting on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D with the intention of gaining Senator Warkovsky's confidence and discovering who was using the parasites and attempting to take the mother-parasite into custody for study and as evidence. Agent destroys the specimen and then speculates that he didn't believe it to be alien at all but rather a product of a government genetics lab that went wrong. Dugan is suspicious by his silence and shocked when Captain America indicates that he believes U.S. Agent's accusation. U.S. Agent is later seen deep in thought, looking at a photo of himself and Vries during better times and reading a letter of apology from her for her deceptions. He later burns the photo before running out of his room after being informed that there is an assignment for him, declaring "I love this job!"


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent is later summoned along with fellow Avengers Captain America, Thor, Jack of Hearts, Beast, Iron Man, and She-Hulk to unite against the common threat of litigation.


title: U.S. Agent

text: Accountants Janice Imperato and Max Catan (executives from the Maria Stark foundation who help fund the Avengers) intend to hold a meeting in order to maintain the Avengers tax exempt status, audit the team's finances, and review a recent case – a battle against the "Elements of Doom" which resulted in the expensive loss of an Avengers Quinjet, and widespread property damage.


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent – stubborn as ever – claims a complete lack of knowledge of the incident as he "is a very busy man". When asked to justify his actions, U.S. Agent refuses to do so, with his response being "Forget it. They're alive right? They should be grateful!" and accused his interrogators of just wanting to drag heroes down.


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent leaves his interviewers with one piece of advice: "I go out there to save lives. You just pay the bills. Just be good little bean counters – and pay em!"


title: U.S. Agent

text: Walker eventually became a member of the New Invaders, wearing a Captain America-like costume, serving alongside the likes of the original Human Torch, Union Jack (Joseph Chapman), and the Blazing Skull until the team disbanded.


title: U.S. Agent

text: U.S. Agent's first task was to negotiate the release of the Blazing Skull from captivity at the hands of middle Eastern terrorists. It is revealed that U.S. Agent can speak fluent Arabic, but he is forced to exterminate the terrorists when they renege on the agreed deal.


title: U.S. Agent

text: The New Invaders then team up with Namor and his Atlantean forces in order to overthrow the government of Mazikandar – an alliance Namor agrees to because Mazikandar has been choking the seas with pollution by sinking oil tankers in an effort to control supply to the USA.


title: U.S. Agent

text: The New Invaders alongside the forces of Atlantis assault Mazikandar's government forces, scattering them and moving on to the capitol building in order to capture its head of state. Suddenly however they find themselves opposed by none other than the Avengers. U.S. Agent is confronted by Captain America, who calls him a disgrace to the uniform, instructing to take it off before he tears it off, but Walker replies that his country gave him that uniform because Rogers was not willing to do what they needed him to. Walker calls Rogers a traitor, and states that his country has given him the authority of the real Captain America, and that Rogers never understood duty to country and doing what is required to keep its shores safe. Rogers retorts that Captain America represents an ideal for all people, of all countries.


title: U.S. Agent

text: Ultimately U.S. Agent is defeated by Rogers. Mazikandar's dictator is presented to his hand picked successor, who promptly executes his predecessor on the steps of the capitol building to the surprise of both the Invaders and Avengers alike.