Captain Black (Captain Scarlet)

Captain Black
Captain Scarlet character
Black's appearance changes as the Mysterons seize control of his mind ("The Mysterons")
First appearance	"The Mysterons"
Created by	Gerry Anderson
Voiced by	Jeremy Wilkin and Donald Gray (Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons) Gary Martin (Captain Scarlet and the Return of the Mysterons) Nigel Plaskitt (Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet)
Information
Aliases	Conrad Turner (Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons) Conrad Lefkon (Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet)
Species	Human (controlled by the Mysterons)
Gender	Male
Occupation	Spectrum officer (formerly)
Title	Captain
Nationality	British (Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons) American (Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet)

Captain Black is the fictional nemesis of Captain Scarlet and the primary recurring Mysteron intermediary in the 1960s British Supermarionation science-fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and its 2005 computer-animated remake, Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet. "Captain Black" is a codename; his birth name is not revealed in the original series, although tie-in media have given it as Conrad Turner (original series), in the remake series Blacks's tombstone clearly reveals his name as Conrad Lefkon (S01E01, 13m28). His transformation from human to Mysteron agent occurs on Mars in the first episodes of both the original and new series, "The Mysterons" and "Instrument of Destruction, Part 1".

While discussing his approach to writing in a 1986 interview, Captain Scarlet script editor Tony Barwick drew parallels between the premise and characters of Captain Scarlet and those of Thunderbirds – suggesting, for example, that the Spectrum Organisation invited comparisons to International Rescue, and that the character of Black was similar to the main recurring villain of Thunderbirds, the Hood.

In 2068, Black is seconded to command the Zero-X spacecraft for a manned mission to Mars, assigned with investigating anomalous radio signals detected by the Spectrum Organisation. Previously, Earth was aware only of the existence of rock snakes on the planet (as seen in the 1966 film Thunderbirds Are Go); consequently, Black is alarmed to discover a fully developed, extraterrestrial city on the Martian plains. When the inhabitants – a collective, intangible, artificial intelligence calling itself "the Mysterons" – rotate scanning apparatus towards the Martian Exploration Vehicle (MEV), Black misinterprets the attempt at peaceful first contact as preparations for an attack; believing the Mysterons to be hostile, he orders his subordinates to fire on and destroy the settlement. The Mysterons subsequently use their power of "reversing matter" to reconstruct the city, declare a retributive war against Earth – the first act of which will be the assassination of the World President – and assert mental, telepathic control over Black. After Zero-X returns to Earth, Black disappears, having been transformed into the principal instrument of the Mysterons' campaign of vengeance against Earth for what they judge to have been unwarranted aggression.