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"Who knew being evil could be such fun?!"

As the world's most notorious and powerful criminal mastermind, "the Hood" (only known name) was the nemesis of both International Rescue and the Global Defence Force - forever seeking to take over the world, and to rebuild it in his image. His primary modus operandi towards achieving this goal was stealing cutting-edge technology, which invariably leads him into conflict with I.R. - not only because his ambitious operations often cause hideous disasters, but also because he knew they possess the greatest technology in existence.

At the end of Legacy, he was captured and incarcerated in Parkmoor Scrubs - but the Mechanic broke him out, in Escape Proof; and he was on the loose until The Long Reach Part 2, where he was arrested alongside the Chaos Crew.

Personality and Traits[]

This classy, manipulative, suit-clad felon - with a demeanour as smooth as his head - is ruthless and cunning... so much so, he's become to villainy and crime what iR and the GDF are to heroism and order. His existence was only ever a rumour during his earliest days, and "The Hood" is merely his nom de guerre; his real name and origins remain a mystery. His crimes include theft, terrorism, mass destruction and attempted murder.

The Hood's name derives from his trademark ability to disguise as anybody, and thus to hide in plain sight. He's used it to pose as the rich and the powerful, to gain access to the resources he needs to act out his evil plans. So complete are his masquerades, that there's seemingly no limit to identities he can steal and create. To achieve them, he utilises a futuristic holographic array and nanoscopic light emitters in his clothing, along with a voice synthesizer - which, used together, allow him to change everything about himself in the blink of an eye. This technology was apparently created and provided by one of his most notable henchman, one notorious in his own right: the Mechanic...

The Hood is feared by both his henchmen and hired allies - yet respected, and obeyed. He was very strict with those henchmen, too; they had to obey any and all orders, without question. And he wasn't not above insulting them, if they blundered or talked back. Or even worse: when Martin Janus failed to deliver Thunderbird 2 to him, his erstwhile boss infiltrated the prison where the G.D.F. had incarcerated him... just to tell him he'd have nowhere to run from his vengeful wrath, upon his release...

The Tracy brothers had a notable grudge against The Hood, and for good reason: because of what they thought he did to their father, Jeff Tracy. Whenever a disaster seems to have someone to blame for it, the brothers - especially Alan - are quick to assume The Hood's the culprit. (His existence may, at least in part, be why Brains created Thunderbird Shadow.) Despite the run-ins between I.R. and The Hood - and their being his primary targets - the brothers are rescue workers, not crime-fighters. And they don't let him change that. If it's down to a choice between saving a life or stopping The Hood (as in Unplugged), saving life has always come first.

No one, though, despises The Hood more than Kayo Kyrano: she is, of all things, his niece, a fact long kept secret from the Tracy siblings (although both their father and grandmother had known). Kayo had known her uncle from childhood; and she seemingly got on with him back then, as evidenced by a photo of them together and smiling at the camera. Much like Jeff did with their friendship, she abandoned him at some point, after seeing him for the monster he truly was; and she joined the residents of Tracy Island - where, in the Tracy clan, she would find a new family as well as a new vocation, with International Rescue. Although Kayo's malevolent towards her uncle (once claiming, to his face, that "ruining your plans is the best part of my job!"), The Hood (as much as he taunts her back) still believed she would choose the Kyrano family again one day, and join him as a valuable ally.

While the Hood can, indeed, be cruel and cold-blooded, even he has his limits: he often went out of his way to avoid killing people who crossed his path, frequently using non-lethal weaponry to subdue them instead. He used sleeping gas on the passengers and crew aboard the Fireflash when he intended to steal it; he left the escape pods on the Estrella Grand Space Hotel available, when he caused it to plummet to Earth (only launching them empty later on when I.R. showed up, and he needed a diversion); and he also cancelled Project Sentinel, a weapon of mass destruction he'd have had the Mechanic build, when he reconsidered it too destructive and vile. It seems he only puts the public in mortal danger when he has no alternatives, and when his criminal empire has a lot to gain. And, there's also one person who'll never perish, if he can prevent it: his niece Kayo, whose life he saved in Touch And Go (when he could've instead saved the giant tank of Alsterine he went through painstaking measures to steal).

Abilities[]

The Hood's greatest weapon? His mind. With it, he leads a vast global criminal empire; and the king of that empire he remains, regardless of the heroes and villains alike who've challenged him. His goons, intelligence, and disguises give him the potential to go anywhere and do anything. The GDF has only ever successfully captured him twice in all of their attempts, but they've never contained him for long - in the most recent instance, he escaped the very same day he was caught.

He often keeps various devices concealed on his person, the most notable of which is an array of holographic emitters and a voice synthesizer that can allow him to pass himself off as another person... as long as he knows that person's identity. Completing the illusion, he's also a skilled actor, being able to maintain a cover for prolonged periods of time. Other items he usually carries include explosives, detonators, flash grenades; and a small, multipurpose remote control he can use to activate his holographic disguises, his ship, as a flash emitter or a taser.

He keeps himself in top physical shape, and has demonstrated superb agility and skill in hand-to-hand combat (being able to easily match his niece Kayo in a fight). He can deliver blows capable of sending his opponents hurling back several feet, and avoid incoming assaults from opponents. That said - being a crime boss and a spy - he prefers to flee when caught, leaving violence to his henchmen and his gadgets.

At the end of Earthbreaker, it was revealed that his right eye had been replaced with a cybernetic one. It can emit a hologram, to appear as a normal human eye; and features built-in communications technology that allowed him to communicate remotely with the Mechanic, while he was incarcerated. His eye can also be used to force the Mechanic to follow his orders. How this works - as with so much about The Hood - is, as yet, a complete mystery...

Notable Episodes[]

Main article: /Appearances

Prior to the start of the series, Jeff Tracy disappeared in a final confrontation with The Hood - who also acquired footage of all five Thunderbird craft and their pilots, so he was able to decipher their identities. With this knowledge in hand, he gloated that the organisation could never defeat him.

Falling Skies[]

The Hood fakes a scare about the Estella Grand Hotel, and then sabotages the hotel's integral structure - causing it to start tearing itself apart, molecule by molecule, in space...

Heist Society[]

When a new compound 'Centurium 21' is being taken to a secure G.D.F. facility via an underwater railway, The Hood stops the train and hijacks the Centurium while disguised as Professor Moffat - but he's prevented from making a clean getaway by Lady Penelope and Gordon, who recover the stolen Centurium from the ruins of his underwater ship...

Legacy[]

The Tracys are tricked into individual rescues to lure them away from Tracy Island - and it's all the work of The Hood, who tries to convince Kayo to give him control of International Rescue. She agrees...only to double- cross her uncle by leading him to Mateo Island instead, and The Hood is left to watch the destruction of his ship by the Tracys and their Thunderbirds...

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Unlike in the original series, International Rescue knows about The Hood's existence... and eventually learns from Kayo that he is part of the Kyrano family. It was eventually revealed that Jeff himself was a former friend of The Hood.
  • While this iteration of The Hood may not have any supernatural powers (as was the case in the original series), he is revealed to have a cybernetic right eye, which allows him to communicate and control The Mechanic - much like how his classic counterpart could communicate with, and control, his half-brother Kyrano while his eyes glowed mystically.
  • According to Kayo, her uncle was jealous of her father, his brother as he would always get upset when Kyrano wouldn't share his toys with him. Despite this, this version of The Hood is more caring than the original, as he actually cares for his family (at least his niece).

Foreign Names[]

  • Japanese: フッド (Fuddo)
  • Chinese: 胡德 (Hú dé)
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