Alan Tracy
Alan Tracy was a member of International Rescue and the pilot of Thunderbird 3.
Biography
In an account dated to January 1965, Alan inadvertently ruined one of Brains' experiments when he jumped in the swimming pool for a swim, thus disrupting the sonic beam of the model submarine he was testing. Although he apologised, Tin-Tin was still able to make the observation that Brains was upset by the incident. (TV: The Man from MI.5)
During the heat crisis of 2066, he took Brains up to Thunderbird 5 in TB3 to further investigate the phenomenon. He also accompanied Brains to the Moon to inspect some meteorites and watched with John as he analysed a sample back on TB 5. After Jeff persuaded World President Nikita Bandranaik to agree to the plan, Alan and Brains set off in Thunderbird 3 to photograph the Sun from within gravity limits in order to gauge its future activity. Upon reaching their destination, one of the booster rockets failed as they fell into the Sun's gravity field but Alan was able to get it working before the temperature rose too much and, after taking their pictures, they returned to Earth.
Carrying a planetomic missile to destroy the new satellite the Sun was about to produce, as well as extra isotope circuits to ensure their escape speed from the Sun's gravity, Alan and Brains boarded TB 3 bound for the Sun yet again. However, Brains had miscalculated how much time they had left and Alan was forced to use the isotopes before even reaching the Sun, with Brains proclaiming "It's us or the world!". Although his prediction did not come true after the missile was successfully deployed, a shockwave flung the duo offcourse and knocked them unconscious. (COMIC: Solar Danger) Alan and Brains were honoured and presumed deceased, in a report dated 1 October, for their supreme sacrifice and the millions of lives they had saved. (PROSE: Suicide!) They woke up two days later to the sound of a warning from Jeff and just in time to witness their crash into a Venusian river. They were briefly pursued by a hostile "monster" but Alan ejected the ship's radioactive isotopes to kill it. Forced out of the ship by damage caused by the monster, Alan and Brains donned suits to protect against the corrosive sulphur lake with Brains quickly fixing the damage — a hair crack — with a sealing compound. (COMIC: Solar Danger) The danger they were in from other creatures whilst carrying out this task was mentioned alongside their pictures in a report dated 29 October. (PROSE: Death-Lake Terror) Fearing their suits would not protect them forever, Alan and Brains swam to the surface and built a bonfire to act as a beacon. After Scott, Virgil, and Gordon arrived on Venus in Thunderbird 1, Thunderbird 2, and Thunderbird 4, Alan helped to coordinate the recovery of TB 3. He, Scott, and Gordon helped to replenish TB 3's isotope stocks before, two days later, all four Thunderbirds on Venus set course for the base on Tracy Island. (COMIC: Solar Danger)
Thunderbird 3 was docked at Maruthea, indicating the attendance of Alan at Bonjaxx's birthday party, though he was not seen interacting with the other guests. (COMIC: Party Animals)
Behind the scenes
Alan Tracy originates from the television series Thunderbirds where he was played by Matt Zimmerman in twenty-eight episodes of the thirty-two episode run, as well as both films. This included The Man from MI.5 which was a crossover with the Doctor Who universe. For the first episode, Trapped in the Sky, he was voiced by Ray Barrett.
