The first introduction of General Morton and a handful of MAPLE troopers (WWII armor) in the Wireless Comics
MAPLE (Metahuman Aggression Protective and Lethal Equipment) is a fictional Canadian Black Ops group in the Wireless storyline. Founded in WWII it was created for the sole purpose of creating weapons and armor which could protect Canada from rogue metahumans. It is currently lead by General Morton and partnered with Tech Inc.
History[]
Founding[]
From the late 1920's to the mid 1940's the world underwent a lot of changes. The stock market crashed as a depression spread across the world, A rogue dictator attempted to take over the world, amazing advances in technology were made, and most of all, a new breed of human, the "Metahuman" came to be. Their powers were extraordinary! Their motives were simple. Some wanted to rule the world while others wanted to protect it. The public response to these metahumans were unprecedented! Hope shone out from every corner of the world as the citizens of every country looked to the skies to see their protectors, their guardians, their "Superheroes". But not everyone was happy about these new heroes.
CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) ran tests and simulations. They gathered the greatest minds they could find all to answer the question, "What would happen if they were to turn against us?" The results were catostrophic! Knowing the amount of morale which was held by the current Canadian superheroes and how badly they were needed at the time, CSIS decided that it would be best if they worked covertly. Behind closed doors they laid the groundwork for MAPLE, a line of defence that would hopefully never have to be used.
MAPLE was set up under the premise of a rogue black ops group. That way if they were ever to be discovered, it was possible that they would not be traced back to the government. The metahumans had done so much for Canada and they had been given no reason up to this point to doubt them. However if that day ever did come they wanted to be ready for it. CSIS appointed General Morton, a man with no past, no contacts, and no reputation to be in charge of MAPLE. No one knows where he came from or how he came to be a general, but CSIS trusted him and their choice seemed to pay off.
Termination[]
MAPLE ran behind the scenes for almost the entire duration of the war. They had never been discovered and had made some amazing advances in anti-metahuman technology for the day. With their "rogue" status they had been given more freedom to experiment than more official departments. Though they had kept their ethics this had allowed them to advance faster than any other research firm in the country. It is rumoured the Avro Arrow years later was built with some of MAPLE's early discoveries though it had to be scrapped in case it led back to the department. Despite their tremendous success however, a scandal hit that they were not prepared for.
A scientist only recorded as "The Doctor" went rogue, lying in his reports and insisting that he work alone. With his suspicions aroused, General Morton began to spy on The Doctor. No amount of training could have prepared him for the answer. The Doctor had been running biological experiments with metahuman dna, sometimes even capturing and dissecting lesser known metahumans. His goal was to create a superhuman weapon which only obeyed him. Where his plans would go from there we may never find out.
Realizing he had been discovered, The Doctor disappeared never to be heard from again. MAPLE facing a scandal too huge and dangerous to ever let out was disbanded. The workers either swore to secrecy or had their minds wiped. Projects were dismantled if they could be, and locked away in special hidden vaults across the country if they were too dangerous.
Ironically, after MAPLE was disbanded, the war ended and the Canadian Metahuman just sort of died out on their own. For almost 80 years Canada remained peaceful; occassionally letting metahumans into the country if they had to but for the most part remaining a distant spectator to the metahuman arms race which took the rest of the world be storm. Though no longer needed, General Morton stayed on with CSIS monitoring the various vaults across the country to make sure they never failed. Until one day... one did.
Code PINE[]
When Chet Masters arranged the accident which would turn him into Shock, he never truly understood just what he was about to unleash. The lab had been rented to Tech Inc. much to General Morton's woe. But parliament had the final say and try as he might to warn of the dangers that stayed in that lab, nothing talked louder than money. This lab however was different from the other vaults across the country for this lab had originally belonged to The Doctor.
When the warning light appeared warning General Morton of the power loss at the lab he wasted no time in arranging a team to storm the location. Though receiving far less resistance from Charles Masters than he had expected (mainly due to Charles' grief from Chet's transformation) the scouting mission did not go well. Arriving at the Doctor's old lab, General Morton was horrified to see the carnage in the room.
Panicked at what this meant, General Morton ordered Code PINE be placed in effect. This code was a last resort code meant to be used only in the most dire of circumstances. With no questions asked, the country was to enact the Canadian War Measures act, give MAPLE power to do as they saw fit, and to ban any and all metahuman activity within the country at threat of lethal force. It was the code General Morton had hoped he'd never have to use.
Thinking that his son was the cause of the chaos, Charles Masters gave up his company to MAPLE. From that day forth Tech Inc. would be entirely devoted to the research and development of anti-metahuman weaponry. And so began the Canadian Metahuman Crisis as well as the rise of MAPLE.
MAPLE Ranks[]
General Morton- Head of MAPLE. His word is the final say on any and all decisions.
Captain Leslie- General Morton's 2nd in command. Usually works as a driver and assistant but also has the power to order the troops. Is next in the chain of command should anything happen to General Morton
Charles Masters- Head of Research and Development. Though he is not officially a part of MAPLE he works on contract now creating anti metahuman weaponry. Though he has no real power of command in MAPLE he does occassionally feel that he does