"Phoenix Force" романдық сериясы

Novel series (published 1982–1991)
the fiery cosmic entity that appears in Marvel Comics' X Men comic books

Phoenix Force is a series of men's action adventure novels published from 1982 to 1991 and spanning 55 novels (and several anthologized short stories), following the exploits of the five man, anti terrorist team Phoenix Force. There were 51 novels in the Phoenix Force series, plus 4 Super Phoenix Force special editions. The characters also appeared in the three Heroes paperback anthologies published by Gold Eagle. The series ended in 1991 but the characters went on to star in the Stony Man series that followed. Phoenix Force is one of two neutralization teams working for Stony Man, a top secret anti terrorist organization. It is a spin off of the Executioner series created by Don Pendleton. As with The Executioner, the Phoenix Force novels have been written by a succession of authors under the pseudonym Gar Wilson. In 1991, Gold Eagle combined Phoenix Force with another Executioner spin off series, Able Team, and launched the Stony Man book series, which ran a total of 140 novels, ending in 2015.

Originally, Phoenix Force was composed of Yakov Katzenelenbogen, a French Israeli commando; Gary Manning, Canadian demolitions expert and security engineer; Keio Ohara, Japanese Martial Arts and electronics expert; David McCarter, former SAS operator and pilot; and Rafael Encizo, Cuban survivor of the Bay of Pigs Invasion and Castro's prisons. Ohara was killed in the course of the series and replaced with Calvin James, African American Vietnam veteran. Katz retired from field work, resulting in McCarter becoming the new team leader, and T. J. Hawkins was recruited by Katz and Bolan to become the fifth member of Phoenix Force. The Phoenix Force team has used the assistance of John Trent, Japanese American ninjitsu master; and Karl Hahn, former GSG 9 operator turned BND agent.

McCarter is the current commander of Phoenix Force. A Cockney born in London's East End neighborhood, McCarter is a former SAS operator who participated in the Iranian Embassy Siege and spent a tour of duty in Vietnam as a "special observer". McCarter is a big, strong man who thrives on action. He is unmatched in combat, with significant battlefield experience and great marksmanship with a pistol. McCarter is often the first in a firefight, with a degree of desire for action that borders on recklessness. He is an action junkie with Katz summing up "that man would be lost without a battlefield." He is also highly sarcastic and always gets in the last word. McCarter's attitude often leads to friction between him and Gary Manning, and the two frequently take jabs at each other. However, their conflict is good natured and not detrimental to the team. One of McCarter's quirks is consuming large amounts of Coca Cola. McCarter's preferred SMG was the Ingram MAC 10 in 9mm, but it had jammed on one mission, causing him to adopt the Intratec KG 99. His preferred pistol is the Browning Hi Power.

Originally from Cuba, Encizo assisted in Fidel Castro's revolution in Cuba. Upon realizing that he had helped install a Communist regime, Encizo turned against the Communists and was subsequently imprisoned. He escaped and fled to America, and later came back during the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Encizo was captured a second time as a result, and tortured for several months before making a second escape. Rafael Encizo's younger brother, Raul, was taken from the family at a very young age, and joined the Cuban army. Rafael and Raul have fought against each other on two occasions, the second of which resulted in Raul's death after he turned on a group of Communist terrorists he was working with. Encizo's preferred weapons are the H&K MP5 and a Smith & Wesson or a Walther PPK pistol (later changed to the H&K P9). He is also the team's edged weapons expert, favoring the Cold Steel Tanto.

Phoenix Force's Canadian demolitions expert, the team's most talented sniper, and silent weapons expert. Manning grew up hunting and working for his uncle's demolitions company. During the Vietnam War, Manning was attached to a US Special Forces team as an "observer" (much like McCarter). Following the war, Manning settled down, got married and became an executive of a major import export firm. The marriage failed, but the business prospered. Because of his wealth, Manning is the most unlikely of the Phoenix Force members. He seems more down to earth than the others, and is annoyed at McCarter's actions, although the two are friends. Manning's weapons of choice are the FN FAL and the Desert Eagle .357 Magnum. In later books, he uses the SA80 and the Walther P5.

Hailing from the south side of Chicago, James grew up in an environment full of drugs and gang violence. His parents died when he was young; his mother murdered by a drug dealer. At the age of 17, James became a hospital corpsman with the Navy SEALs and fought in the Vietnam War. His brother, Waldo James, who was also in the Vietnam War, went MIA and was never seen again. After the war, James continued studying to become a doctor, but when his sister, Susan James, died of a drug overdose, he instead joined the San Francisco Police Department as a SWAT officer. During the time the Black Alchemist terrorist conspiracy was going on, James and his SWAT partner, Don Rambo, were infiltrating the Hilldale Pacific Bank to rescue people taken hostage by the Arma de Liberacion de Puerto Rico, or ALPR. During the infiltration, Rambo was killed by one of the terrorists. James almost shared the same fate, but was rescued by McCarter and Manning, who had infiltrated the building looking for him. After helping James deal with the terrorists, McCarter and Manning shanghaied him and transported him to Stony Man Farm, where his skills and knowledge of chemistry proved invaluable. After Keio Ohara was killed, Hal Brognola and the rest of Phoenix Force offered him a spot on the team. Since he felt that Phoenix Force was where he really belonged, he agreed, becoming the unit's unofficial medical corpsman. He regularly administers truth serums to captured terrorists in order to gain information. He is streetwise and not as knowledgeable about world affairs as the other team members, but is also a natural con artist to help with undercover work. James' weapons of choice are the M16 fitted with the M203 grenade launcher, and the Colt Commander. In later books, he is armed with a Beretta 92SB automatic pistol.

Thomas Jackson Hawkins was brought in as a new member of Phoenix Force when Yakov Katzenelenbogen retired from field work and David McCarter became the new commander of the team. Named after famous Confederate general Stonewall Jackson, Hawkins was born in the U. S. Army hospital at Fort Benning, Georgia. He is the second of three sons born to a U. S. Army career infantry NCO who served as an adviser to an ARVN Ranger battalion. His father was killed during the Tet Offensive. At age 5, Hawkins and his entire family moved to Fort Hood, Texas. Following in his father's footsteps, Hawkins joined the Army after graduating from high school in 1980. When he completed basic training, he volunteered for Airborne training, earning his parachute wings in the process. Later accepted for training by the Rangers and subsequently assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment. During this assignment, he participated in Operation Urgent Fury and Operation Just Cause as part of a recon team. Years later, he was assigned to Delta Force, leading one of its recon teams into Iraq during Operation Desert Storm to look for Scud missile launchers to be bombed by the Air Force. On one of these missions, the Black Hawk chopper transporting his unit went down outside Baghdad. Hawkins led his team to safety in the aftermath of the crash. For this action, he was awarded the Silver Star. During Operation Restore Hope, Hawkins and 12 others of his Delta Force unit were assigned to escort a United Nations team sent to secure a Somali village that was being threatened by a small time warlord and 24 of his gunmen. The leader of the U. N. team, a Swedish major, had backed down from the warlord's threats and was ready to stand by while the villagers were massacred. However, Hawkins was unwilling to follow the major's lead and refused to stand down. The warlord threatened Hawkins with his pistol, but the Georgia native responded by shooting him dead. His men chased the warlord's troops away, saving all the villagers, an act for which Hawkins should have been rewarded. Instead, upon their return to the U. N. headquarters in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu, the Swedish major declared his intention to bring Hawkins up on murder charges. The young noncom responded by threatening to break the story of the major backing down and deciding to let innocent villagers be murdered in cold blood. Because of the political implications of the incident, Hawkins was allowed to resign his commission. He was honorably discharged, returning to his Texas home shortly thereafter. Hawkins was reluctant to join Phoenix Force at first, fearing that the organization had too many political connections, but after he saw their after action reports and was made aware of Mack Bolan's true identity, he agreed to join the team. Since then, his expertise in electronic communications and airborne operations has made him a valuable asset to Phoenix Force. His friends call him either T. J. or Hawk. A serious individual when he needs to be, Hawkins has a deep sense of how things should be, and will sometimes conceal his true feelings with his Southernism.

Over the course of the series, some notable characters have died.