Hamilton "Ham" Tyler is a resistance cell leader and a mercenary in V (1983-85). The character is not actually introduced until "V: The Final Battle".
Biography[]
Ham Tyler (or better known in the Resistance as "The Fixer") was a CIA operative who, along with his associate, Chris Farber, went on specially requested incursions for the U.S. government into other countries. While on a mission in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, Ham married a Eurasian woman and had a daughter with her. His superiors promised that his family would be evacuated during the mission, but while he and Farber were sent to their target, a bombing raid caused his family's disappearance (and most likely deaths) and he never saw them again. Ham was devastated by the loss of his family and he and Farber left the agency, becoming mercenaries-for-hire.
During the First Invasion, he and Farber join the Resistance and helped get the fledgling Los Angeles Resistance group better organized and use proper tactics and better weaponry (such as Teflon-coated bullets designed to cut through both the body armor and reptilian skin of their enemy). He also informs them that their current hideout is poorly chosen since it doesn't have an effective way to escape a raid. When Tyler finds them, he tells the group that the Resistance is much larger than they know and has formed cells worldwide. Furthermore, while their stunt of exposing the Visitors' alien nature was bold, the L.A. Resistance must join the larger organization or face certain destruction. He also tells them that the Visitors know where they are, a fact reinforced by a warning received by spy Ruby Engels that Visitor troops are currently on their way. Donovan's group barely makes it out of their hideout alive while Tyler and Farber prove their credentials as they cover the new recruits' escape with deadly efficiency against the Visitors.
When the Resistance launches their counteroffensive, Tyler leads the small group of hot air balloon pilots outside of Los Angeles. He sees to the successful launching of the balloons, loaded with Red Dust, and leaves for his real mission. In conjunction with Mike's attack on the Mothership, leaving the Earth poisonous to Visitor habitation. Tyler leads the attack on the Visitors' Los Angeles security headquarters on the ground, using mortar rounds loaded with Red Dust. In the foyer of the building, Tyler takes down Steven who was in a firefight with Farber and then kills him mercilessly by dumping a small bag of Red Dust directly on his face. Later, when members of his squad try to topple the Visitors' flag, Tyler shoots it down easily with a machine pistol. As his squad celebrates their victory with champagne, Tyler remarks that Donovan's operation to take over the LA mothership is more important.
One year after Liberation Day, Ham has started a high-tech security agency and is hired by Nathan Bates for $500,000 to capture Diana and assist in interrogating her for Visitor technological information. This is a decision he comes to regret as this leads to Martin's death and Diana causing the Second Invasion of the Earth. Ham was disgusted by how Bates treated human life and deserters, rejoining the reformed Resistance. He continued his friendship with Donovan and became Kyle Bates' (Nathan's son) mentor, giving him the nickname "Ace". During an unauthorized raid on a Visitor convoy, Ham was captured. Using him as a test subject for Charles' improved conversion chamber, Ham endured visions of his wife and child with Donovan against him. Converted, they implanted a "trigger phrase" that would cause him to kill Donovan. During a prisoner transfer, the trigger was used by Bates. However, Elizabeth caused a floodlight to crash into Tyler, causing him to miss Donovan and hit Nathan Bates.
Ham is converted by Charles and Diana
He fought for the Resistance time and again and departed with Farber to escort Robin Maxwell to Chicago. In the (unaired) series finale, Ham and Farber return to help Mike's Resistance group escape Visitor attack shuttles. Ham now currently works with the Resistance to find the "Anyx", an artifact that can defeat the Visitors, amidst the destruction the Visitors wrought during the Armistice, when the Visitors took advantage of the peace to wipe out the majority of In Liberation Day. When Ham is at Science Frontiers, Nathan looks to a Television Feed a sees a "File Footage" Photograph of the Alien Commander Diana, Nathan then asks Ham what would he do with Diana, which causes Ham to also look at the picture of Diana, he says to Tyler that he would use Diana for target practice and when Nathan was thinking about capturing her so that Diana could assist with this universal cure for cancer, Ham says that Diana is a disease.
Personality & Skills[]
Ham Tyler possesses a forceful personality, one that gives him the advantage of organizing large groups of people into effective fighting forces. However, it can also work against him since he is often arrogant, belligerent and gruff with people, prompting them to dislike him. He often suggests brutal tactics to accomplish goals that would otherwise take too much time, for instance when he believes the test on the toxicity of the red dust can be tested faster by using Willie as a subject when the alien strolls innocuously into the room, instead of taking the time to capture another alien. His compatriots, trusting Willie as an ally, immediately nix the idea, however Tyler's facial expression is one of sadistic joy at the opportunity to simply kill one of the aliens, seemingly for sport as much as scientific results.
Tyler already has a rivalry with Resistance leader Mike Donovan, one that has existed between them for years. The two have crossed paths many times in the past, with Donovan covering covert operations overseen and committed by Tyler that ended in horrific violence. Despite Donovan's and Ham's disgust for each other, Donovan had earned a small measure of respect from Tyler, who gave him the nickname "Gooder", short for "Do-gooder".
Their disdain for each other comes to a head when Ham, coordinating the first dispersal of the Red Dust, insists against Donovan's orders, that it be shipped to Resistance cells before an effective antidote could be produced for Fifth Column members before the large operation to drive the aliens off Earth. Donovan countermanded Tyler's order to ship several truckloads of the dust, prompting a ferocious fistfight between the two until Tyler finally gave up, realizing Mike's resolve was stronger than he'd predicted. As they fought, a bemused Caleb Taylor told everybody in the vicinity not to interfere and let the two fight it out.
Tyler is proficient with many forms of weaponry, hand-to-hand combat and surveillance. He is the first to supply the LA cell with Teflon-jacketed ammunition that can kill Visitor shock troops. He likely has many contacts in illegal markets for other necessary provisions like explosives and equipment. When he and Chris first present a voice-altering device that can disguise a human voice in the presence of the Visitors, it's not made clear if he and Chris invented it or if they were able to obtain it from other distant pockets of the Resistance. Still, the device proves to be very effective for infiltration. When he first makes contact with the LA cell, he is seen almost in plain sight, surveilling and photographing the Toluca station and making little effort to conceal himself. With Chris watching his back, they are easily able to capture and disarm Mark and Sancho without resorting to violence. Tyler also proves himself to be a capable tactician, offering valuable practical advice to Donovan and Julie's crew in their guerrilla operations.
Miniseries Novelization[]
In the novelization of the V and V: The Final Battle miniseries by A.C. Crispin, Tyler is mentioned briefly in the opening scene: as Donovan tries to escape the attack on the Central American village he's covering as a cameraman, he spots Tyler in a helicopter, sitting next to the pilot. Just as the chopper seems about to open fire on Donovan, it zips off at the sight of the Visitor mothership's approach.
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| The Main Characters |
Diana ·
Lydia ·
Elizabeth Maxwell ·
Willie ·
Juliet Parrish ·
Ham Tyler ·
Mike Donovan ·
Nathan Bates ·
Robin Maxwell ·
Elias Taylor ·
Kyle Bates | |||