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"My squid-sense is tingling."

Gordon Cooper Tracy is a character from the Thunderbirds Are Go! television series. He is the pilot of Thunderbird 4, co-pilot of Thunderbird 2, and aquanaut for International Rescue. He is the fourth eldest of Jeff Tracy's sons, the younger brother of Scott, Virgil and John, and the older brother of Alan, as well as the adoptive brother of Kayo and the fourth grandson of Grandma Tracy.

Gordon’s signature colour for his iR uniform is yellow.

While attempting to recover the robot Braman from the wreck of the Calypso in SOS Part 2, Gordon was severely injured after Thunderbird 4 was crushed underneath rock debris thanks to the Chaos Crew. He was taken out of action for several months until he returned with full recovery in Upside Down.

Personality and Traits[]

Gordon Tracy is the outgoing and outspoken practical joker of the Tracy family, he is rarely seen without an air of mischief about him and has always got a great sense of humour about almost anything that comes his way - in fact the only thing louder and more vibrant than his personality is his taste in Hawaiian shirts.

Gordon does take his work seriously, even if he has to tell jokes about it here and there to lighten the current situation on occasion, but nevertheless he is always in control on the scene when it comes to rescuing people. He always has the ability to put people at ease, even if it’s the ever nervous Ned Tedford (Under Pressure) or the very clever Aidan Williams (Extraction). However, like his brothers, he has very little tolerance for the stupidity of Francois Lemaire (Lost Kingdom) and Langstrom Fischler (Weather or Not) who only seem to cause more trouble than their rescues needed to be.

Gordon does annoy his siblings sometimes, for being a total slob (Deep Search, City Under the Sea) even around people, and insensitive, by watching full seasons of his favorite TV show -Into the Unknown with Buddy and Ellie- onboard Thunderbird 3 to pass the time, much to the annoyance of Alan who was in charge of their rescue on Jupiter's moon (Deep Search). Virgil, who usually has to put up with Gordon’s mischievous personality always has a few come backs of his own after being on the end of them a majority of the time. However his jokes can be really frustrating to people who are not used to them. Even Lady Penelope - whom he has a crush on - doesn’t think his humorous remarks are funny when they take a little bit of a personal dig at her lifestyle (Under Pressure).

His heart is always in the right place as he does acknowledge mistakes caused by his own actions (Ring of Fire Part 1 and Deep Search) and also admires the ingenuity of others like John’s unconventional way of using Thunderbird 5 (Skyhook), to Kayo's ability to control Thunderbird 4 without any instruction from him and even surprising him with a few maneuvers he wasn’t even aware that his own craft was capable of (City Under the Sea).

Gordon has had the misfortune to be trapped inside his own Thunderbird while it was being torn apart (Up from the Depths Part 1). However, it isn’t the first time he has had to have Thunderbird 4 undergo serious repair work - his carelessness tends to put him in situations where things do go wrong, and Thunderbird 4 comes back more damaged than it needs to be, to the annoyance of Brains. But, there are times when he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (Tunnels of Time and Weather or Not). Despite specializing in underwater rescue, there are times where he is called to tag along on missions that do not involve diving underwater-yet another testament of the versatility of the Tracy brother's training.

Duties[]

Gordon Tracy is primarily Thunderbird 4's aquanaut, which allows him to be International Rescue's head of underwater search and rescue. Due to Thunderbird 4 requiring being carried by Thunderbird 2 for most, Gordon is also the primary co-pilot of the craft, which he is also capable of piloting (as seen in Bolt From the Blue). When Thunderbird 4 was required on Jupiter's ice moon, Europa, Gordon acted as co-astronaut while Thunderbird 3 took the submarine to the moon (as seen in Deep Search). Gordon is also capable of co-piloting and piloting Thunderbird 1 (as seen in Attack of the Reptiles and SOS Part 1). Gordon has also taken over space monitor duty when John had to leave Thunderbird 5 (as seen in The Man From TB5). When required, Gordon acts as the navigator of the Zero-XL (as seen in The Long Reach Part 1 and Part 2).

Along with his roles in the Thunderbirds, Gordon can also operate some of the PODs. Using the POD chassis in Thunderbird 2, Gordon can operate the Bulldozer Pod (Tunnels of Time), the Elevator Car Pod (Fireflash), the Helipod (Skyhook), the debris variant of the Pod Explorer (Escape Proof), the Gecko Pod (Weather or Not), and the Foam Stabilisation Pod (Chain Of Command). Using the Earth Pod chassis in Thunderbird 2, Gordon can operate the Mountain Pod (Path of Destruction), the Dragonfly Pod (Buried Treasure), the Land Pod (Firebreak), and the Gecko Pod (Firebreak).

Equipment[]

During rescue missions, Gordon wears a specialised pressure and thermal compensating drysuit that is blue in colour and has a pair of blue and yellow shoes and a Thunderbird 4 badge on the right shoulder. Along with the drysuit, Gordon wears a pair of elbow-high gloves, the left having a yellow dive computer terminal and holographic display. Gordon’s suit also contains a yellow sash containing a diagnostics computer, a magnetic grapple, and buoyancy control weights. The sash also has a bio-filtration rebreather and an integrated breathing regulator to provide Gordon with safe air to breath while underwater or performing rescues. In order to move quicker underwater, Gordon has a Turbo vortex propulsion device, the Aqua Scooter. The Aqua Scooter covers Gordon’s back and arms, and contains a propulsion turbine and two plasma cutters. Gordon also has a grey and yellow dive chute, which can be used when dropping towards the ground from Thunderbirds 1 and 2. To protect his head, Gordon wears a blue and yellow helmet, with an ‘iR’ on the left and a ‘4’ on the right, both in white. The helmet can be connected to the integrated breathing regulator to provide Gordon with air.

As well as this underwater exo-suit, Gordon also has the deep water exo-suit, a deep water propulsion and rescue exo-suit. This suit covers Gordon’s body, arms and legs, and is able to withstand deep pressures and freezing temperatures. The back of the exo-suit has a turbine used for propulsion, able to to be controlled precisely in strong currents. The left arm has a communications and control panel for Thunderbird 4, and the left arm has a hyper-charged plasma cutter. The helmet is replaced with a blue helmet, containing a yellow breathing regulator.

Suit Up Sequences[]

Primary Suit Up[]

To launch Thunderbird 4, Gordon runs to the fish tank, placing his hand on the glass, revealing it to be a handprint scanner on its surface. This causes the floor around him to rise up and surround him with a hidden lift, revealing his drysuit and diving equipment. The floor Gordon is standing on descends into his launch tube, bringing the risen lift and fish tank with it. As Gordon is descending, his drysuit and gloves are attached to him by robotic arms, with him personally putting on his sash and diving equipment.

Thunderbird 3 Suit Up[]

To launch in Thunderbird 3, Gordon sits in the co-pilot seat in the lounge, with Alan in the pilot seat on his left. The two seats lower to the Thunderbird 3 and Thunderbird S launch tube, which Alan and Gordon are taken along via a trolley. At the end of this launch tube, the seats are rotated 90° clockwise so that the two are facing the two separate launch tubes at the end of the one they are currently in. The pilot seat is taken into the launch tube on the left, while the co-pilot seat is taken into the launch tube on the right. With Gordon now in the co-pilot launch tube, his drysuit and gloves are attached to him by robotic arms with him personally putting on his sash and diving equipment, all while the seat is rotated 180° so that he exits the launch tube backwards. Alan and Gordon rejoin and exit the launch tube.

Launch Sequences[]

Notable Missions[]

Main article: /Missions

Gordon has a wide range of skills and roles on various missions. However, there are a select few episodes in which he stands out from his brothers.

Tunnels of Time[]

After saving some trapped miners and discovering an ancient temple, Gordon arrives again later at the temple of Sapa Capanqui after Parker sends the boys a call hoping that 'one of the others' would turn up so he doesn't have to enter the temple. They become trapped in the temple after he triggers a trap that forces them to explore the rest of the temple in order to escape.

Under Pressure[]

The Heavy Metal Extraction Platform on the bottom of the ocean starts to malfunction and becomes out of control. Gordon has to separate the driver's cabin from the toxic cargo and then stop the waste from going over the edge of an underwater cliff into deeper waters.

Extraction[]

An illegal hydro-methane extraction platform is discovered by Robert Williams and his son Aidan. They become trapped in the cabin under the platform, and Gordon must find a way to get to them from a series of underwater tunnels, before the platform falls through the ground and crushes them.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Gordon can swim the 100m butterfly in 51.2 seconds.
    • He later claimed that he once did it in "fifty [seconds] flat" but there weren't any witnesses.
  • Gordon's favourite TV show is Into the Unknown with Buddy and Ellie, and in both Deep Search and Attack of the Reptiles he gets to meet his two television show idols.
  • In Attack of the Reptiles, it is revealed Gordon is afraid of reptiles (herpetophobia) and he also mentions a 'Pet store nightmare' he has in regards to it. When he receives a thank you gift of two bearded dragons from Buddy and Ellie he recoils away from them, cementing this phobia he has of the animals.
  • Gordon is the only one out of the Tracy boys that has been in all the ships (not counting TBS).
  • Gordon and Virgil both have brown eyes a dominant trait while the other siblings have blue eyes a recessive trait.
  • So far, Gordon and John are the only Tracy boys not to have personally talked to Captain Lee Taylor.
  • Gordon is the only character to have been seen piloting or co-piloting the most Thunderbird craft.

Foreign Names[]

  • Japanese: ゴードン・トレーシー (Gōdon Torēshī)
  • Chinese: 戈登·崔西 (Gēdēng Cuīxī)


International Rescue
Ir2015-logo

Primary Operatives:
Jeff TracyScott TracyJohn TracyVirgil TracyGordon TracyAlan TracyBrainsMAXKayoMr. Kyrano (retired)• Grandma Tracy

Field Agents:
Lady Penelope Creighton-WardAloysius ParkerCaptain Lee TaylorColonel Casey

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