Nathan Spencer

Background

Captain Nathan "Rad" Spencer is the bionic arm-sporting hero of the Federation. He sports a military green uniform, spiky red hair, and dark sunglasses. His bionic arm is depicted as an attachment to his regular arm.

Major Story Arcs

Bionic Commando

The story begins with Rad Spencer being tasked with rescuing Commando's protagonist, Super Joe from the "Badds," an evil empire bent on world domination, lead by the terrorist fiend, Master D. Spencer is also tasked with stopping Wiseman from resurrecting Adolf Hitler and completing the Albatross. He succeeds in his mission, which is supervised by HQ, with flying colors, destroying the already-operational Albatross and blowing the cockpit out of Hitler's escape helicopter with the newly-developed Hyper bazooka, receiving it from a comrade named Hal. In the end, both Joe and Spencer narrowly escaped the explosion of the Imperials' base.

Bionic Commando Rearmed

Note: Bionic Commando Rearmed borrows its plot largely from the Nintendo Entertainment System version of the game.

In this incarnation, Nathan Spencer was originally a member of the Federal States of America's armed forces, but his military career was cut short when he lost his left arm to a grenade. While on rehabilitation leave, he accepted a position as the first test subject for bionics technology by T.A.S.C., the FSA military's intelligence division. He was given the codename Research and Development #1, or RAD #1, and the name stuck; many continued to call him "Rad" Spencer for years.

Under the supervision of TASC agent and supervisor of bionics technology Joseph Gibson, Nathan was the first human subject to be fitted with and control a bionic limb--the bionic arm--a much-needed breakthrough for the technology. Though the technology was still in the prototype phase, the fascistic Imperial Army attacked, and TASC's first operative, Super Joe, was captured. Nathan was activated early and sent into the field, given the field rank of Captain, and sent to rescue Super Joe and stop the Imperials.

Nathan succeeded in stopping the project and saving Joe, along with killing a freshly resurrected Adolf Hitler. For his valiant efforts Joe is promoted to director of T.A.S.C., and he and Nathan go on to train a new breed of bionic commandos.

Bionic Commando Rearmed 2

The sequel focuses on Spencer leading a team of bionic soldiers, including Jayne Magdalene, into the Papgayan Islands to prevent General Sabio from attacking the FSA. It is during this period in Nathan Spencer's life that he adopts a mustache, altering his previously clean-shaven appearance as he commands his unit of super soldiers.

Equipment and Abilities

Nathan Spencer is a futuristic Commando equipped with a Bazooka and a bionic arm featuring a grappling gun, allowing him to pull himself forward or swing from the ceiling.

Other Media

Novelization

A book was written in the Worlds of Power series of novels based on the NES version. The main character is identified as Jack Markson, who loses an arm when ninjas attack his hotel room and kidnap Super Joe. The Federation replaces his missing limb with a bionic arm that has a grappling hook and a number of other gadgets that are not featured in the game, like a flamethrower and a device that forces prisoners to tell the truth.

Like most books in the series, the violence was toned down to non-legality in most cases (he usually shoots enemy soldiers with tranquilizers), although certain events, like the deaths of Hal and Killt, are kept. Much of the game's middle is skimmed over in order to fit it all into the book.