Alysande Stuart

Alysande Stuart
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Excalibur #6 (1989)
Created by	Chris Claremont Alan Davis
In-story information
Alter ego	Alysande Stuart
Team affiliations	Muir Island X-Men, Weird Happenings Organisation (W.H.O.), Excalibur (ally)
Abilities	none, human.

Alysande Stuart is a fictional character appearing in X-Men stories in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in Excalibur #6 and was created by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis. Her name and role, as Brigadier of a superhuman investigation organisation, was an in-joke based on Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart from Doctor Who.

Character's backgound

Brigadier Alysande Stuart and her twin brother professor Alistaire Stuart were the founders of the Weird Happenings Organization (W.H.O.), a group created to replace the Resources Control Executive (R.C.X.) as Britain's primary organization for the investigation of supernatural and superhuman incidents. The W.H.O. wasn't the only government organization concerned with the paranormal though, as the R.C.X. remained in a different form and the F.I.6. was another similar organization. The W.H.O. successfully combined military (through Alysande) and scientific (through Alistaire) methods.

Sent to investigate the disappearance of a train and the reappearance of a similar train from an alternate dimension, the W.H.O. meet Excalibur, Britain's primary superhero team. Excalibur and Alistaire himself vanish for some time as the train and team are drawn across many alternate realities. The group meets more than one alternate version of Alysande. One of these versions, where she held her brother's job, was rescued by Nightcrawler from danger, during which he confessed an attraction to 'his' version of Alysdane. After the team was recovered safely, the Stuarts and Excalibur became close friends and W.H.O. would often call in Excalibur's aid.

Alysande also assists in the defense of Muir Island against the Reavers as part of a group which would unofficially be known as the Muir Island X-Men.

Alysande is shown to have the trust of the Queen of England herself. She is asked to be part of a semi-private walk through the gardens of Holyrood Palace in Scotland. Part of Stuart's task is to ensure privacy.

During the Air-Walker incident, the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury offers Alysande limited use of the Helicarrier's surveillance equipment. She had known Nicholas Fury when she was a junior officer attached to S.H.I.E.L.D. as a N.A.T.O. liaison. Fury allowed her use of the Helicarrier's surveillance systems seeing as how it was already in British airspace on other business (concerning the hero Motormouth).

The systems were used by W.H.O. to successfully hunt for Cayre and his creations. Alysande is then accused of paying off S.H.I.E.L.D. with classified secrets.

An investigation was called, but Alysande died during Excalibur's Braddock Manor housewarming party, murdered by Jamie Braddock. At her funeral, Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D. tells Alistaire that Alysande had been framed and her name was to be cleared. Alistaire would later find out that the R.C.X. had been responsible for framing Alysande, hoping to weaken W.H.O. and increase their own power. The R.C.X. organization was neutralized by Alistaire, Excalibur, an internal mutiny and several old friends of Brian Braddock himself.

Other versions

Caledonia

Alysande Stuart returned to the mainstream Marvel Universe but as an alternate counterpart who was the last remaining Scot in her dimension. This version first appears in "Fantastic Four" vol 3 #9 (Sept. 1998). She became a prisoner of Roma but is saved by Johnny Storm, Alyssa Moy and Franklin Richards. She works for a time as a nanny to Franklin.

Name

• In Excalibur #55-56, the name of Alistaire's sister was spelled as Alysdane. Editors of subsequent letter pages in the comic series insisted that Alysdane is her real name, not Alysande.

References

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