General Eiling

General Wade Eiling is the man responsible for the "birth" of both Captain Atom and Major Force. A man twisted by his views as a servant of his country his treacherous, deceiving ways have affected many heroes. He may not have always directly affected those he has hurt but the teams and people he enhanced have left their mark on the universe. General Eiling's evil ways are seen during the Vietnam war when he frames United States Air Force officer Nathaniel Christopher Adams, the man who will become Captain Atom, for a crime Adams did not commit. The General's plan only began with his framing of Nathaniel Adams; he gives Adams a choice: be put to death or take part in an extremely dangerous military experiment. There was little chance of survival for Adams, but if he lived he would receive a presidential pardon, so Adams accepted the offer to be in the experiment. With the help of Dr. Heinrich Megala, the two were able to create an experiment was called Project Atom. The experiment was to test a nuclear weapon on a specific metal retrieved from the Silver Shield.

The experiment is viewed as a failure with the disappearance and assumed destruction of Adams, but Eiling later continued the experiment with another subject. Clifford Zmeck, also a member of the United States Air Force. Though his past was shady, he was chosen as the next participant of the Project Major Force. Zmeck was being sentenced to life in prison for a rape he had committed overseas while working as a soldier. Eiling offered him a pardon if he took part in the same experiment that Adams was subjected to. The same accident occurs, and Zmeck too was presumed dead. Little did Eiling know that Adams and Zmeck were just pulled from time and resurfaced 20 years after their individual experiments. Nathaniel Adams eventually resurfaced, followed by Zmeck roughly a year later. To Adams' shock, in the interim Eiling had married his wife. Eiling further blackmailed Adams for his own purposes, making Adams work for him and the government as the government-sanctioned hero Captain Atom. He used Adams' children as leverage to control him. While Captain Atom served Eiling, the government and Eiling prepared for Zmeck's return. When Clifford Zmeck returned, Eiling had the government implant small bombs under Zmecks metallic skin while it was malleable so he could be easily controlled and to prevent him from going rogue. Eiling had Zmeck, now known as Major Force, partner with his other pawn Captain Atom. However, Major Force's brutal ways and Eiling's constant manipulation caused Adams to break free of his controller, but Eiling kept Major Force under his control and used him as his personal enforcer.

Wade Eiling eventually received the devastating news that he suffers from an inoperable brain tumor. Eiling sent troops to recover the indestructible and immensely powerful body of the Shaggy Man from the Ocean. Green Lantern ( Kyle Rayner) and Aquaman failed to stop the troops, and while Eiling awaited his prize he orchestrated an attack on the JLA. The military attacked the super team but the assault is led by The Ultramarine Corps. The members of the Ultramarine Corps, of course unaware that they were merely pawns of the general, were enhanced by Eiling's team of scientists. Eventually Batman, Huntress and Plastic Man track General Eiling to his hide-out where they discover he had successfully taken over the Shaggy Man's body by transferring his brain patterns into the body. He shaved the hair off his new, indestructible body and began calling himself 'The General'. He joined his force's attack on the JLA, though by this point the armed forces and the Ultramarines had begun to doubt suspect their General's orders and intentions. Superman used his super senses to reveal that the Ultramarine Corp members had diseases and were pawns of General Eiling's quest for power and control. The Ultramarine Corps were furious because they had volunteered out of good faith, and so switched sides to aid the JLA. The combined efforts of the Ultramarines and JLA were unable to stop Eiling in his new powerful form, but Batman came up with a plan to get rid of him: the teams lead Eiling onto a transport pad which teleported him onto a huge space rock at the heart of an asteroid belt in another solar system.

The General was marooned on the rock for months until he was visited by Queen Bee on behalf of Lex Luthor in order to recruit him into the new Injustice Gang. He joined the team in hopes of getting revenge on the JLA. In his next confrontation with the JLA he was better prepared and part of a coordinated attack. Their fighting lead them to a White Martian warship inside the Phantom Zone, the ship being a part of Eiling's plan (he intended to harnessing the ship's devastating weapons and using them on Earth). The heroes formulated a plan to banish the General once again. Orion had his war dog, Sturmer, tackle Eiling through an airlock in ship. Eiling goes through the door and was again marooned, this time in the Phantom Zone, where he can do no damage or hurt anyone.

Of course General Eiling escaped the Phantom Zone, the exact mechanics of which remain a mystery, and continued to be a thorn in the side of many heroes. He was seen fighting Green Lantern Hal Jordan, among others until he was recruited into the super villain team know as the Society, where he is just one among hundreds of villains. The Society planned on going to war with the heroes, and the first part of their plan was The Battle of Metropolis, which Eiling was a part of. However, the Society members were defeated by the combined efforts of many heroes. Eventually The General was recruited into another team, the Suicide Squad, lead by Rick Flag. The team was assembled in order to bring in a specified target, but General Eiling betrayed his team to this target. Amanda Waller had prepared for the General's traitorous and deceptive ways by implanting a small explosive device in General Eilings head. Rick Flag detonated the bomb in order to punish the General for his betrayal. The injury sustained from the bomb slowly regenerated, but left him with slight amnesia. Surprisingly he served with the Suicide Squad through the events of the Salvation Run.

New 52

General Eiling has issues with Captain Atom and they work together begrudgingly. The differences are that he is an African American and has not used The Shaggy Man body to become The General. He sends out Major Force to help Firestorm defeat his new enemies and capture Firestorm so that he can work for the government.

Powers

Superhuman Strength- While in possession of the Shaggy Man's body, General Eiling possessed vast physical strength, enabling him to lift well in excess of 100 tons without any effort. He was one of the strongest beings on the planet, and he has been able to engage multiple Justice League members in combat concurrently, including such powerhouses as Steel, Orion, Martian Manhunter, and Superman, as well as others.

Invulnerability- Eiling was nigh-impervious to physical harm. His durability was sufficient for him to withstand blows from Aquaman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Zauriel and multiple others simultaneously. He could also survive in such harsh environments as space without any discomfort.

Regeneration- Should he take physical damage, Eiling was able to heal from injuries with incredible speed. His regenerative abilities allowed him to heal from seemingly any form of physical trauma, even going so far as regrowing an arm almost instantly.

Immortality- The Shaggy Man body is functionally immortal, and with this, Eiling had no need to eat, drink, sleep, or breathe.

Superhuman Smell- As Eiling was in control of Shaggy Man, he had a superhuman sense of smell. He stated that he could smell the adrenaline in Batman's sweat during their battle.

Abilities

General Eiling was a brilliant military strategist. He had extensive military training and experience. He was also very resourceful, having effectively framed Nathaniel Adams and persuaded him to take part in the procedure that turned Adams into Captain Atom.

Weaknesses

Psychological Susceptibility- As Shaggy Man was virtually mindless, Eiling had a particular weakness toward psychological manipulation. Batman almost successfully hypnotized Eiling; were it not for an interruption by other League members, this very likely could have led to Eiling's defeat.

Other Media

DC Animated Universe

General Eiling was a prominent antagonist throughout the Cadmus arc of Justice League Unlimited, appearing in the episodes Dark Heart, The Doomsday Sanction, Question Authority, Panic in the Sky and Patriot Act. In Patriot Act he used a mysterious Nazi serum to turn himself into an invulnerable monster, a reference no doubt to the body he hijacks in the comics. He was voiced by J.K. Simmons.

Young Justice

General Eiling appears in the Young Justice episode "Failsafe" voiced by Jeff Bennet. He is shown commanding the army who are defending from an alien invasion on Washington DC, however this later turns out to be a mind-training exercise made by Martian Manhunter.

The Flash

General Eiling appears as a recurring villain in The Flash, portrayed by Clancy Brown. He makes his debut as the head of a task force hunting down Plastique, and ends up shooting her dead at the end of the episode. This brings him into repeated conflict with Barry Allen, whose identity he discovers. It is eventually revealed that Eiling is partially responsible for the creation of Gorilla Grodd, who was the product of a series of experiments designed to create psychic soldiers. After a failed attempt to capture Firestorm, Eiling is abducted by the Reverse Flash, who seemingly feeds him to Grodd. It later turns out that Eiling is still alive, but had been brainwashed and controlled by Grodd.

Video Games

Wade Eiling as The General appears in the Nintendo DS version of Justice League Heroes.