| The Hood | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Gender | Male |
| Date of Birth | 17th July 1989/2018 |
| Hair | None, because of his baldness, however judging by the color of his eyebrows, it is most likely black |
| Eyes | Black (glow yellow when using his hypnotic powers) |
| Series | Thunderbirds |
| Role | Kyrano's half-brother, Tin-Tin's uncle, Master Criminal and Arch-enemy of International Rescue |
| Voice Actor | Ray Barrett |
"International Rescue! If only I knew their secrets, I would be the wealthiest man in the world!"
He's a sinister, cunning, malevolent master of disguise and all-around Number-One Bad-Guy of the Gerry Anderson Supermarionation series Thunderbirds. He's the ever-persistent nemesis of both International Rescue and the Tracy family who secretly run it.
Never, ever, look into his glowing eyes...
He is - The Hood!
The Series[]
History[]
The Hood's origins - full background, parentage et al - are unknown. He does have a half-brother, Kyrano[1] - close confidant of Jeff Tracy, and domestic majordomo of his household on Tracy Island - and, through him, a niece, Kyrano's daughter Tin-Tin (a relationship of which she is unaware).
He maintains a secret hideout of his own, somewhere deep in the jungles of Malaysia...in the guise of a complex of ancient temples and pyramid-shaped towers. Safe from detection, he plots and devises an endless array of schemes that will bring him the wealth and power he craves...
His modus operandi shifts with the goal he seeks. Often he works alone; sometimes, he will take on an assignment from a third-party (eg General Bron, or the unseen General X) if there's enough material gain guaranteed for him, to draw his interest. Common to virtually all his criminal plans though, are his talents for disguises (of which he has many, hence his nickname) and use of aliases, which allow him to infiltrate the most top-secret locations...
None of these, though, even begin to approach the intensity of his obsession with possessing the secrets of International Rescue - which, he believes, would make him "the richest man in the world." He even has a most-unwitting spy in their very midst - none other than Kyrano, whom he is able to compel from afar, via a mysterious tele-hypnotic power, to reveal to him what the secret organization is up to...
So far, every time he and IR have met, he's been thwarted - and taking down the only organization that's managed to stop him, is his overriding goal. He sometimes causes disasters (as in the series' first episode, Trapped In The Sky), in order to lure one or more of the Thunderbird crafts out into the open. However, his methodology and (though he wouldn't admit it) his own colossal ego invariably conspire to wrong-foot him - sometimes when certain victory appears within his grasp!
Personality[]
Smart, ambitious, daring and calculating, The Hood nonetheless seems either unable or unwilling to trust anybody else; and, as noted, this can and does come to work against him. While strategy is something he appears to be good at, he can't improvise sufficiently when the situation suddenly shifts: he once drove through a road-block he'd assumed had been set up to stop him - only to discover, too late, that that a bridge ahead of him had been washed out!
The Movie (2004)[]
History[]
As portrayed by Sir Ben Kingsley, The Hood is again a figure cloaked in darkness and mystery; however, it's revealed that, due to having once been trapped and left to die by Jeff Tracy (the late Bill Paxton), he was able to develop a telekinetic ability over other humans while being incapacitated and eventually recuperating.
He attempts to exact his revenge on Jeff, his family and International Rescue, in order to obtain both immense personal satisfaction and complete freedom for his nefarious activities. Using a small team of reprobates, and creating a disaster, The Hood manages to track one of the Thunderbirds... and discovers the secret location of Tracy Island. Then, causing all but one of the family members to be trapped on Thunderbird 5, he steals Thunderbird 2 and the Mole in order to break into the Bank of London.
Before making off with the craft, Alan (Brady Corbet) and Brains (Anthony Edwards) are unable to prevent him due to him controlling their movements. Each time The Hood uses his powers on them, though, he weakens, needing some time to recover. During the theft in London where Alan has managed to get to the vault (where his father and Lady Penelope (Sophia Myles) are imprisoned) using Thunderbird 1, he notices that The Hood is weakening while using his telekinetic power. He then baits The Hood, and ensures that eventually he is too weak to fulfill all his plans...
Personality[]
Able to devise, in faultless detail, superior plans (along with the ability to improvise), The Hood is at the top of his game as a superior genius - only this time, he's menaced by his need to gloat as he demonstrates his power over others...his only weakness in an otherwise-flawless plan.
The Comics[]
History[]
In the various Thunderbirds-themed comics, The Hood is a much-more-developed character. His first appearance in the comics was in the story Atlantic Tunnel (Issue 72 to Issue 83 of the TV21 Comics).
Another difference from the TV series: in 80% of the stories, he is know to International Rescue as being called The Hood. The TV 21 Comic story Tracy Island Exposed showed the first point where the members of IR become aware of this name.
Black Phantom[]
Black Phantom and The Hood: one man's family?
It's long been debated by Thunderbirds fans: is the Black Phantom (from the feature film Thunderbird 6) actually The Hood himself? The character apparently was given no stand-alone origin of his own; and the only true feature that might link the two characters, is their face...
While the same puppet (of the Hood) was used for Black Phantom, some fans have said that there's nothing about his plan that makes sense. BP also sported a full head of hair, quite unlike The Hood's famously-bald pate (it could, of course, have been yet another of those many disguises!)
Real Name?[]
What, indeed, is in a name? The Hood was never referred to as such, in the TV series (although Jeff once name-checked him, in the original audio version of Introducing Thunderbirds). In issue 65 of ’Thunderbirds The Comic, it was stated that his real name is Belah Gaat. As this story was written by Alan Fennell, some fans have liked to believe that it can officially be considered his name.
In the 2004 movie, he was given the name Trangh Belaghat and In 2008, Joan Marie Verba's Countdown To Action! gave him the name as Bela Ghat.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Although The Hood was the main villain of the series, he appeared in only six episodes - all during the first season (Trapped In The Sky, Edge Of Impact, Desperate Intruder, The Mighty Atom, Cry Wolf and Martian Invasion).
- His alias comes from the many disguises he wears.
- His puppet was created with an oversized head and hands to strengthen his antagonistic appearance.
- His head had batteries in it, to make his eyes light up.
- The only International Rescue members to have come face-to-face with him were Brains and Tin- Tin, who he hypnotized (in Desperate Intruder), and Scott Tracy - who literally exposed his disguise as part of the crew - in the Zero X MEV, in Thunderbirds Are Go (film).
- The Hood's last "official" on-screen appearance was also in Thunderbirds Are Go (film), wherein his helicopter was shot down over the ocean.
Read More...[]
The Hood on Thunderbirds Wiki: https://thunderbirds.fandom.com/wiki/The_Hood
