- "It was uniquely calibrated for my DNA. They told me it would make me strong, and it did. I never questioned the science behind it."
- ―Jeffrey Mace[src]
The Patriot Serum is a drug created by the United States Armed Forces in order to give Jeffrey Mace enhanced strength, allowing him to masquerade as an Inhuman. A refined version of Calvin Zabo's formula, the Patriot Serum is uniquely calibrated to Mace's DNA.
History[]
- "The decision was made that the new Director had to be enhanced. No candidate fit that criteria. So we made one."
"You restarted the Erskine program."
"There's no program. Just took a very well-vetted candidate and turned him into the hero and leader that we needed." - ―Glenn Talbot and Jemma Simmons[src]
As Glenn Talbot could not find an enhanced candidate, he established Project Patriot to give Jeffrey Mace powers so he could become the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. The Patriot Serum is a refined version of Calvin Zabo's Formula with most of the volatile elements removed.[1]
During Mace's press conference commending Agent Daisy Johnson for her heroic efforts as Quake, Talbot entrusted a briefcase containing two syringes filled with the Patriot Serum to Agent Burrows, who handcuffed it to himself. Burrows kept the case with him when Mace, Agents Phil Coulson and Alphonso Mackenzie were forced to flee aboard a Quinjet when ex-HYDRA agent, Yuri Zaikin, made an assassination attempt on the director's life. Burrows was subsequently blown out of the Quinjet when more ex-HYDRA agents hired by the Watchdogs sabotaged the plane, taking the briefcase with him. The briefcase was subsequently found by the HYDRA agents, who used a machete to remove the briefcase from Burrows' corpse. Mace, having survived the crash with Coulson and Mackenzie, attempted to retrieve the briefcase, but both syringes were destroyed by one of the HYDRA agents.[1]
Capabilities and Composition[]
- "We used a modified version of that formula you confiscated from Agent Johnson's father."
- ―Glenn Talbot[src]
The serum is composed of the same elements as Calvin Zabo's Formula. However, most of the harmful contents were removed in order to not overly damage Jeffrey Mace's health. He has to take a regular dose of 30 milligrams in order to benefit from the serum's effects.
When taken by Mace, the serum grants him superhuman strength without noticeably affecting his bodily musculature but clearly augmenting such for brief periods, allowing him to lift a person with only one hand and no visible effort and to throw a podium several feet into the air; Glenn Talbot remarks that Mace can lift up at least a car with east whilst under the serum's effects. Mace's durability is also significantly enhanced, being able to withstand blows from the superhumanly strong Ghost Rider with no visible injuries.
However, frequent usage of the serum increases the risk of causing cardiac arrest in the user. And according to Mace, the altered formula was specifically synthesized to function only on him as recipient possibly as a failsafe measure to prevent the drug from being duplicated outside of Project Patriot's control.
Trivia[]
- In the comics, Jeffrey Mace did not possess any superhuman powers or use an enhancement serum.
Gallery[]
