With a natural inclination for investigation and adventure, Clive Reston joins MI-6 and becomes a secret agent that fights foes like the infamous crimelord Fu Manchu.
Hailing from Detectives and Super Spies
Clive Reston is an Englishman born with deductive reasoning skills, inherited from his great-uncle, a private detective, and his father, an MI-6 agent with a 00 license to kill. Clive follows in his father’s footsteps, joining MI-6 and inherits his love of terrible puns.
He becomes a secret agent alongside MI-6 commander Sir Denis Nayland Smith. Upon Smith’s orders, Reston first aids Shang in rescuing Doctor James Petrie from crimelord Zheng Zu, AKA Fu Manchu.
Powers of Deduction
Reston is a skilled espionage agent with particularly well-honed powers of deduction and intelligence gathering. He is also a fair hand-to-hand combatant and an expert marksman. He usually carries an ASP 9mm handgun.
Fierce Foes
Working with MI-6 and Freelance Restorations, Clive often goes up against the crimelord Fu Manchu and his many minions, including the Phansigars and the Si-Fans. He takes out most enemies he encounters using his lethal hands and sometimes brandishing a weapon, such as a gun or a scythe.
Spy Allies and Lady Loves
Reston is one of Sir Denis Nayland Smith’s most trusted friends and associates. Both agents of MI-6, Reston and Smith often work closely together, combatting the plots of crimelord Fu Manchu. Eventually tiring of MI-6’s death and deceit, they both leave to form a mercenary group called Freelance Restorations, which they form with their colleague Jack Tarr, AKA Black Jack Tarr.
While working with Smith, Reston allies with the Master of Kung Fu, Shang-Chi, and special agent Leiko Wu, the daughter of a Chinese ambassador who grows up in England.
Reston and Leiko share a romance; however, their relationship comes to an end and she and Shang soon fall in love, much to Reston’s chagrin. During an adventure with Reston, he and Leiko share a kiss. While it causes tension between him and Shang for a time, the pair move past it, and Reston and Leiko eventually marry.
Confidential Files
In MI-6, Reston served under Sir Denis Nayland Smith, the legendary opponent of Fu Manchu, President of the Si-Fan. Reston was romantically involved with fellow agent Leiko Wu, but she eventually broke off their relationship to feign an interest in agent Simon Bretnor. Reston found it difficult to move on from Leiko. Reston’s two closest allies at MI-6 soon became Shang-Chi (Fu Manchu’s son) and Black Jack Tarr, and Shang quickly became involved with Leiko when her mission to spy on Bretnor ended with the revelation that he was the assassin Mordillo. In addition to opposing Mordillo, Reston’s missions included combating drug czar Carlton Velcro, the Golden Daggers sect, and Fu Manchu himself. After the Fu Manchu incident, Shang, Leiko, Tarr, and Reston all left MI-6 and become independent. By this time, Reston had begun dating Melissa Greville, Smith’s personal secretary.
MI-6 was suspicious of Reston and his friends, who found themselves targeted by MI-6 operatives including War-Yore, Lancaster Sneed, AKA Shockwave, and Brynocki. Smith finally left MI-6 as well and set Reston’s group up with his castle Stormhaven as their new headquarters.
While in the midst of another clash with Fu Manchu, Reston and Leiko had a moment’s indiscretion. Leiko confessed this to Shang, but when Shang confronted Reston, he denied it, thinking he was defending Leiko’s honor. Shang was furious at Reston’s betrayal, and their friendship was strained. Smith ultimately named the group Freelance Restorations, and their assignments included battling Samisdat and the cult of the Dawning Light. Reston eventually broke up with Melissa and became involved with former KGB agent Mia Lessing, AKA Dark Angel.
When Smith retired from adventuring, Tarr became the new leader of Freelance Restorations. Although Shang was an infrequent agent from then on, Reston remained on board. He developed a serious drinking problem just as they were set against the terrorist group the Red Wolves. During the mission, Shang was poisoned, and Shang’s impending mortality prompted Reston to give up drinking. Reston, Tarr and Leiko helped save Shang’s life by aiding him in capturing a sample of his father’s Elixir Vitae from the would-be Si-Fan leader Shadow-Hand.
Later, Reston provided intelligence to Shang and the X-Men that helped them halt an attempt by Stark-Fujikawa to market a tainted cure for the Legacy virus. Finally, Leiko, Tarr, and Reston returned to MI-6 and temporarily parted ways with Shang. Clive and Leiko soon rediscovered their romance and got married.
During a mission investigating the terrorist leader Comte de St. Germain (actually Fu Manchu using this alias), Reston and Tarr brought Shang-Chi in to assist them. Although Shang and Leiko were still attracted to each other, she remained faithful to Reston.
Recently, Reston and Tarr have served as MI-6’s liaisons to MI-13, the division of British intelligence concerned with paranormal activity, and Reston has used his friendship with Shang to enlist him on MI-13's behalf. When MI-13's Maureen Raven was targeted by reality-altering madman James Random, Reston and Tarr tried to keep her out of Random's hands, to no avail. Random used Maureen to open a gateway into Earth-691, an alternate reality ruled by Martian invaders. To close the portal, MI-13's Peter Wisdom had to kill Maureen.
Reston and Tarr later represented MI-6 at a joint intelligence service meeting hosted by MI-13 to prepare the UK’s defenses for an invasion by Vlad Dracula, AKA Dracula’s vampire armies.
