title: Jason Bourne

text: Jason Bourne is searching for an elusive cadre of terrorists planning to destroy America's most strategic natural resources—and needs the help of his longtime friend, General Boris Karpov. Karpov, the newly appointed head of Russia's most feared spy agency, FSB-2, is one of the most determined, honorable, and justice-hungry men that Bourne knows. But Karpov has made a deal with the devil. In order to remain the head of FSB-2, he must hunt down and kill Bourne. Now, these two trusted friends are on a deadly collision course. From the Colombian highlands to Munich, Cádiz, and Damascus, the clock is counting down to a disaster that will cripple America's economic and military future. Only Bourne and Karpov have a chance to avert the catastrophe—but if they destroy each other first, that chance will be gone forever.


title: Jason Bourne

text: The tenth book in the series was published on June 5, 2012. The man Jason Bourne fished out of the freezing sea is near death, half-drowned and bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound. He awakens with no memory of who he is or why he was shot, and Bourne is eerily reminded of his own amnesia. Then Bourne discovers that the Mossad agent named Rebeka is so determined to find this injured man that she has gone off the grid, cut her ties to her agency, and is now being stalked by Mossad's most feared killer. The answers to these mysteries may lie back in southeast Lebanon, in a secret encampment to which Bourne and Rebeka escaped following a firefight weeks ago. The complex trail links to the mission given to Treadstone directors Peter Marks and Soraya Moore: find the semi-mythic terrorist assassin known as Nicodemo. In the course of Bourne's desperate, deadly search for a secret that will alter the future of the entire world, he will experience both triumph and loss, and his life will never be the same. Now everything turns on the amnesiac. Bourne must learn his identity and purpose before both he and Rebeka are killed. From Stockholm to Washington, D.C., from Mexico City to Beijing, the web of lies and betrayals extends into a worldwide conspiracy of monumental proportions.


title: Jason Bourne

text: The eleventh book in the series was published on December 3, 2013. Bourne's friend Eli Yadin, head of Mossad, learns that Ouyang Jidan, a senior member of China's Politburo, and a major Mexican drug lord may have been trafficking in more than drugs. Yadin needs Bourne to investigate. Bourne agrees, but only because he has a personal agenda: Ouyang Jidan is the man who ordered Rebeka—one of the very few people Bourne has ever truly cared about—murdered. Bourne is determined to avenge her death, but in the process he becomes enmeshed in a monstrous worldwide scheme involving the Chinese, Mexicans, and Russians. Bourne's desperate search for Ouyang takes him from Tel Aviv to Shanghai, Mexico City, and, ultimately, a village on China's coast where a clever trap has been laid for him. Bourne finds himself pursued on all sides and unsure whom he can trust.


title: Jason Bourne

text: The twelfth book in the Bourne series was published on June 10, 2014. Bourne has been hired to impersonate a high-level government minister at a political summit meeting in Qatar, shielding the minister from any assassination attempts. Suddenly, armed gunmen storm the room, killing everyone but Bourne. Their target, however, isn't the minister Bourne impersonates...it is Bourne himself.


title: Jason Bourne

text: Kidnapped and transported to an underground bunker, Bourne finds himself face-to-face with an infamous terrorist named El Ghadan ("Tomorrow"). El Ghadan holds as his captive Soraya Moore, former co-director of Treadstone, and a close friend to Bourne, along with her two-year-old daughter.


title: Jason Bourne

text: Meanwhile, the President of the United States is in the midst of brokering a historic peace treaty between the Israelis and the Palestinians—an event that El Ghadan is desperate to prevent. He demands that Bourne carry out a special mission: kill the President. If Bourne refuses, Soraya and her daughter will die. Bourne must make a monstrous choice: save Soraya and her daughter, or save the President.


title: Jason Bourne

text: The Bourne Enigma is the thirteenth novel in the Bourne series, published on June 21, 2016. On the eve of Russian general Boris Karpov's wedding, Jason Bourne receives an enigmatic message from his old friend and fellow spymaster. In Moscow, what should be a joyous occasion turns bloody and lethal. Now Bourne is the only one who can decipher Karpov's cryptogram. He discovers that Karpov has betrayed his sovereign to warn Bourne of a crippling disaster about to be visited on the world. Bourne has only four days to discover the nature of the disaster and stop it.


title: Jason Bourne

text: The trail Karpov has been following leads Bourne to Cairo and the doorstep of Ivan Borz, the elusive international arms dealer infamous for hiding behind a never-ending series of false identities, a man Bourne has been hunting ever since he abducted former Treadstone director Soraya Moore and her two-year-old daughter and brutally murdered Soraya's husband.


title: Jason Bourne

text: Bourne must travel to war-torn Syria and then Cyprus as he chases the astonishing truth. The clock is ticking, and Bourne has less than four days to solve Karpov's riddle—and hunt down Borz—if he hopes to prevent a cataclysmic international war.


title: Jason Bourne

text: "The Bourne Initiative" is the fourteenth novel in the Bourne series, and was published in July 2017. Gen. Boris Karpov, head of the feared Russian FSB, is dead. But Karpov has reached out from the grave with an unstoppable cyber operation he conceived in the months before his murder, aimed at the heart of the United States—a way to steal the president's nuclear launch codes. Who has taken over the operation? Karpov trusted only one man: Jason Bourne. But can Bourne be working against his own country? Gen. Arthur MacQuerrie, chief of the Dreadnaught Section of NSA and Morgana Broussard, head of the mysterious Meme, LLC, are convinced of Bourne's treasonous act, and will do everything in their power to kill him.


title: Jason Bourne

text: Flushed from cover, hunted by the best assassins in the business, wounded and nearly killed, Bourne's only hope is to join forces with his bitterest enemy, a Somali magus named Keyre, whose terrorist forces Bourne once decimated. Now Keyre is more powerful than ever, with a burgeoning international network—a man who can help Bourne, but to what end? Lying in wait is the young woman Bourne saved from Keyre's torture, who now calls herself the Angelmaker. Both seductive and deadly, the Angelmaker loves Bourne, watches over him, but from whom does she take her orders? Is she ally or adversary?


title: Jason Bourne

text: These are questions Bourne must answer before he can unravel the mystery of Boris Karpov's last legacy, a weaponized code that may very well bring about the unthinkable: a violent end to America.


title: Jason Bourne

text: "The Bourne Nemesis" is the fifteenth novel in the Bourne series, and had been scheduled to be published in 2019, but missed its publication date and no future publication date was given.


title: Jason Bourne

text: Jason Bourne returns. He's fought against the NSA, Black off-site cyber operations, a Somali terrorist organisation and been accused of treason against the US. Now the Russians have planted a mole to uncover Bourne's secrets and launch cyber-warfare against the United States.


title: Jason Bourne

text: Meanwhile, Bourne's former colleague, Soroya Moore, needs his help. Six highly skilled field agents have disappeared, the body parts of three found in a national park in Georgia. Facing death and destruction in the shadows of civilisation, Bourne will battle his deadliest nemesis yet.


title: Jason Bourne

text: Jason Bourne has gone rogue, leaving Treadstone behind and going on a new mission to infiltrate and expose an extremist group, called Medusa. And while more enemies begin to hunt down Bourne while he investigates, it's a race against time to discover who led him into this trap and what their next move is going to be.


title: Jason Bourne

text: In 1988, a two-part made-for-television movie of "The Bourne Identity" aired on ABC. It starred Richard Chamberlain as Jason Bourne and Jaclyn Smith as Marie St. Jacques. The TV movie was largely faithful to Robert Ludlum's novel, both in plot as well as in the portrayal of the character of Jason Bourne.


title: Jason Bourne

text: A spin-off of the Universal-produced film franchise entitled "Treadstone" began airing in October 2019 on USA Network. It explores the origins of the Treadstone program and operatives other than Bourne. Producer Ben Smith, who worked on the recent two "Bourne" films, said the show will tie into the next film in the franchise.


title: Jason Bourne

text: The Jason Bourne novels were adapted into a series of films – "The Bourne Identity" (2002), "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004), "The Bourne Ultimatum" (2007), "The Bourne Legacy" (2012), and "Jason Bourne" (2016). The films retain the titles and some base elements but otherwise feature different plots independent of the novels. In these films, Bourne is portrayed by Matt Damon.


title: Jason Bourne

text: Bourne does not appear in "The Bourne Legacy", with the exception of his picture being featured in the film as well as brief discussions of how he's caused problems to the organization he worked for. As a result, the film focuses on the fallout in the intelligence community from Bourne's actions in "Ultimatum". "Legacy" features Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross, an operative in a different clandestine program evolved from Treadstone.


title: Jason Bourne

text: In 2019, Damon reprised his role as the fallen angel Loki from the View Askewniverse film "Dogma" (1999) in "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot" in a cameo appearance; in the film, Loki indicates that he was Jason Bourne, having lived Bourne's life and that of Damon's in the films' fictional universe.


title: Jason Bourne

text: A video game titled "Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy" was released in 2008 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.


title: Jason Bourne

text: The Ludlum estate obtained the rights to the video game franchise and sold it to Electronic Arts in 2009. EA planned to make several "Bourne" games. Their first game was to have been developed by Starbreeze Studios, but has since been shelved.


title: Jason Bourne

text: Radical Entertainment were reportedly developing a Bourne game titled "Treadstone" after a former animator of the now-defunct developer released a rough test reel, but it has since been canceled.


title: Jason Bourne

text: The Bourne franchise consists of several novels, movies, television series, a video game and a tourist attractions, all featuring one of the several versions of the Jason Bourne character.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: Cassiopeia () is a constellation in the northern sky named after the vain queen Cassiopeia, mother of Andromeda, in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivaled beauty. Cassiopeia was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century Greek astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. It is easily recognizable due to its distinctive 'W' shape, formed by five bright stars.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: Cassiopeia is located in the northern sky and from latitudes above 34°N it is visible year-round. In the (sub)tropics it can be seen at its clearest from September to early November, and at low southern, tropical, latitudes of less than 25°S it can be seen, seasonally, low in the North.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: At magnitude 2.2, Alpha Cassiopeiae, or Schedar, is generally the brightest star in Cassiopeia, though it is occasionally outshone by the variable Gamma Cassiopeiae, which has reached magnitude 1.6. The constellation hosts some of the most luminous stars known, including the yellow hypergiants Rho Cassiopeiae and V509 Cassiopeiae and white hypergiant 6 Cassiopeiae. In 1572, Tycho Brahe's supernova flared brightly in Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia A is a supernova remnant and the brightest extrasolar radio source in the sky at frequencies above 1 GHz. Fourteen star systems have been found to have exoplanets, one of which—HR 8832—is thought to host seven planets. A rich section of the Milky Way runs through Cassiopeia, containing a number of open clusters, young luminous galactic disc stars, and nebulae. IC 10 is an irregular galaxy that is the closest known starburst galaxy and the only one in the Local Group of galaxies.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: The constellation is named after Cassiopeia, the queen of Aethiopia. Cassiopeia was the wife of King Cepheus of Aethiopia and mother of Princess Andromeda. Cepheus and Cassiopeia were placed next to each other among the stars, along with Andromeda. She was placed in the sky as a punishment after enraging Poseidon with the boast that her daughter Andromeda was more beautiful than the Nereids or, alternatively, that she herself was more beautiful than the sea nymphs. She was forced to wheel around the north celestial pole on her throne, spending half of her time clinging to it so she does not fall off, and Poseidon decreed that Andromeda should be bound to a rock as prey for the monster Cetus. Andromeda was then rescued by the hero Perseus, whom she later married.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: Cassiopeia has been variously portrayed throughout her history as a constellation. In Persia, she was drawn by al-Sufi as a queen holding a staff with a crescent moon in her right hand, wearing a crown, as well as a two-humped camel. In France, she was portrayed as having a marble throne and a palm leaf in her left hand, holding her robe in her right hand. This depiction is from Augustin Royer's 1679 atlas.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: In Chinese astronomy, the stars forming the constellation Cassiopeia are found among three areas: the Purple Forbidden enclosure (紫微垣, "Zǐ Wēi Yuán"), the Black Tortoise of the North (北方玄武, "Běi Fāng Xuán Wǔ"), and the White Tiger of the West (西方白虎, "Xī Fāng Bái Hǔ").


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: The Chinese astronomers saw several figures in what is modern-day Cassiopeia. Kappa, Eta, and Mu Cassiopeiae formed a constellation called the Bridge of the Kings; when seen along with Alpha and Beta Cassiopeiae, they formed the great chariot "Wang-Liang". The charioteer's whip was represented by Gamma Cassiopeiae, sometimes called "Tsih", the Chinese word for "whip".


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: In Hindu Mythology, Cassiopeia was associated with the mythological figure Sharmishtha – the daughter of the great Devil (Daitya) King Vrishparva and a friend to Devayani (Andromeda).


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: In Welsh Mythology "Llys Dôn" (literally "The Court of Dôn") is the traditional Welsh name for the constellation. At least three of Dôn's children also have astronomical associations: Caer Gwydion ("The fortress of Gwydion") is the traditional Welsh name for the Milky Way, and Caer Arianrhod ("The Fortress of Arianrhod") being the constellation of Corona Borealis.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: In the 17th century, various Biblical figures were depicted in the stars of Cassiopeia. These included Bathsheba, Solomon's mother; Deborah, an Old Testament prophet; and Mary Magdalene, a follower of Jesus.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: A figure called the "Tinted Hand" also appeared in the stars of Cassiopeia in some Arab atlases. This is variously said to represent a woman's hand dyed red with henna, as well as the bloodied hand of Muhammad's daughter Fatima. The hand is made up of the stars α Cas, β Cas, γ Cas, δ Cas, ε Cas, and η Cas. The arm is made up of the stars α Per, γ Per, δ Per, ε Per, η Per, and ν Per.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: Another Arab constellation that incorporated the stars of Cassiopeia was the Camel. Its head was composed of Lambda, Kappa, Iota, and Phi Andromedae; its hump was Beta Cassiopeiae; its body was the rest of Cassiopeia, and the legs were composed of stars in Perseus and Andromeda.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: Other cultures see a hand or moose antlers in the pattern. These include the Sámi, for whom the W of Cassiopeia forms an elk antler. The Chukchi of Siberia similarly saw the five main stars as five reindeer stags.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: The people of the Marshall Islands saw Cassiopeia as part of a great porpoise constellation. The main stars of Cassiopeia make its tail, Andromeda and Triangulum form its body, and Aries makes its head. In Hawaii, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Cassiopeiae were named. Alpha Cassiopeiae was called "Poloahilani", Beta Cassiopeiae was called "Polula", and Gamma Cassiopeiae was called "Mulehu". The people of Pukapuka saw the figure of Cassiopeia as a distinct constellation called "Na Taki-tolu-a-Mataliki".


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: Covering 598.4 square degrees and hence 1.451% of the sky, Cassiopeia ranks 25th of the 88 constellations in area. It is bordered by Cepheus to the north and west, Andromeda to the south and west, Perseus to the southeast and Camelopardalis to the east, and also shares a short border with Lacerta to the west.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: The three-letter abbreviation for the constellation, as adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1922, is "Cas". The official constellation boundaries, as set by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte in 1930, are defined by a polygon of 30 segments. In the equatorial coordinate system, the right ascension coordinates of these borders lie between and , while the declination coordinates are between 77.69° and 46.68°. Its position in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere means that the whole constellation is visible to observers north of 12°S. High in the northern sky, it is circumpolar (that is, it never sets in the night sky) to viewers in the British Isles, Canada and the northern United States.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: The German cartographer Johann Bayer used the Greek letters Alpha through Omega, and then A and B, to label the most prominent 26 stars in the constellation. Upsilon was later found to be two stars and labelled Upsilon and Upsilon by John Flamsteed. B Cassiopeiae was in fact the supernova known as Tycho's Supernova. Within the constellation's borders, there are 157 stars brighter than or equal to apparent magnitude 6.5.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: The five brightest stars of Cassiopeia – Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon Cassiopeiae – form the characteristic W-shaped asterism. All five are prominent naked eye stars, three are noticeably variable, and a fourth is a suspected low amplitude variable. The asterism is oriented as a W when below Polaris during northern spring and summer nights. In northern winter, and when seen from southern latitudes, it is "above" Polaris (i.e. closer to the zenith) and the W appears inverted.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: Alpha Cassiopeiae, traditionally called Schedar (from the Arabic "Al Sadr", "the breast"), is a four-star system. The primary dominates, an orange-hued giant of magnitude 2.2, 228 ± 2 light-years from Earth. With a luminosity of around 771 times that of the Sun, it has swollen and cooled after exhausting its core hydrogen over its 100 to 200 million-year lifespan, spending much of it as a blue-white B-type main-sequence star. Magnitude 8.9 yellow dwarf companion (B) is widely separated; companions (C and D) are closer and magnitudes 13 and 14 respectively.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: Beta Cassiopeiae, or Caph (meaning "hand"), is a white-hued star of magnitude 2.3, 54.7 ± 0.3 light-years from Earth. Around 1.2 billion years old, it has used up its core hydrogen and begun expanding and cooling off the main sequence. It is around 1.9 times as massive as the Sun, and around 21.3 times as luminous. Rotating at about 92% of its critical speed, Caph completes a full rotation every 1.12 days. This is giving the star an oblate spheroid shape with an equatorial bulge that is 24% larger than the polar radius. It is a Delta Scuti variable with a small amplitude and period of 2.5 hours.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: Gamma Cassiopeiae is the prototype Gamma Cassiopeiae variable star, a type of variable star that has a variable disc of material flung off by the high rotation rate of the star. Gamma Cassiopeiae has a minimum magnitude of 3.0 and a maximum magnitude of 1.6, but is generally near magnitude 2.2, with unpredictable fades and brightenings. It is a spectroscopic binary, with an orbital period of 203.59 days and a companion with a calculated mass about the same as the Sun. However, no direct evidence of this companion has been found, leading to speculation that it might be a white dwarf or other degenerate star. It is 550 ± 10 light-years from Earth.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: Delta Cassiopeiae, also known as Ruchbah or Rukbat, meaning "knee," is a possible Algol-type eclipsing binary star with a maximum brightness of magnitude 2.7. It has been reported to show eclipses of less than 0.1 magnitudes with a period of 2 years and 1 month., but this has never been confirmed. It is 99.4 ± 0.4 light-years from Earth.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: Epsilon Cassiopeiae has an apparent magnitude of 3.3. Located 410 ± 20 light-years from Earth, it is a hot blue-white star of spectral type B3 III with a surface temperature of 15,680 K. It is 6.5 times as massive and 4.2 times as wide as the Sun, and belongs to a class of stars known as Be stars—rapidly spinning stars that throw off a ring or shell of matter.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: The next seven brightest stars in Cassiopeia are also all confirmed or suspected variable stars, including 50 Cassiopeiae which was not given a Greek letter by Bayer and is a suspected variable with a very small amplitude. Zeta Cassiopeiae (Fulu) is a suspected slowly pulsating B-type star. Eta Cassiopeiae (Achird) is a spectroscopic binary star with a period of 480 years, and a suspected RS Canum Venaticorum variable. The primary is a yellow-hued star of magnitude 3.5 and the secondary is a red-hued star of magnitude 7.5. The system is 19 light-years from Earth. Kappa Cassiopeiae is a blue supergiant of spectral type BC0.7Ia that is some 302,000 times as luminous as the Sun and has 33 times its diameter. It is a runaway star, moving at around 2.5 million mph relative to its neighbors (1,100 kilometers per second). Its magnetic field and wind of particles creates a visible bow shock 4 light-years ahead of it, colliding with the diffuse, and usually invisible, interstellar gas and dust. The dimensions of the bow shock are vast: around 12 light-years long and 1.8 light-years wide. Theta Cassiopeiae, named Marfak, is a suspected variable star whose brightness changes by less than a tenth of a magnitude. Iota Cassiopeiae is a triple star 142 light-years from Earth. The primary is a white-hued star of magnitude 4.5 and an α Canum Venaticorum variable, the secondary is a yellow-hued star of magnitude 6.9, and the tertiary is a star of magnitude 8.4. The primary and secondary are close together but the primary and tertiary are widely separated. Omicron Cassiopeiae is a triple star and the primary is another γ Cassiopeiae variable.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: Sigma Cassiopeiae is a binary star 1500 light-years from Earth. It has a green-hued primary of magnitude 5.0 and a blue-hued secondary of magnitude 7.3. Psi Cassiopeiae is a triple star 193 light-years from Earth. The primary is an orange-hued giant star of magnitude 4.7 and the secondary is a close pair of stars that appears to be of magnitude 9.0.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: Rho Cassiopeiae is a semi-regular pulsating variable yellow hypergiant, among the most luminous stars in the galaxy at approximately . It has a minimum magnitude of 6.2 and a maximum magnitude of 4.1; its period is approximately 320 days. It has around 450 times the Sun's diameter and 17 times its mass, having begun life 45 times as massive as the Sun. Rho Cassiopeiae is about 10,000 light-years from Earth. Cassiopeia includes V509 Cassiopeiae, a second example of the extremely rare yellow hypergiants, which is around 400,000 times as luminous as the Sun and 14 times as massive, as well as 6 Cassiopeiae which is a hotter white hypergiant. It also hosts the red supergiant PZ Cassiopeiae, which is one of the largest known stars with an estimate of and is also a semiregular variable. Between 240,000 and 270,000 times as luminous as the Sun, it is around 9,160 light-years distant from Earth.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: AO Cassiopeiae is a binary system composed of an O8 main sequence star and an O9.2 bright giant that respectively weigh anywhere between 20.30 and 57.75 times and 14.8 and 31.73 times the mass of the Sun. The two massive stars are so close to each other they distort each other into egg-shapes.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: Tycho Brahe's supernova was visible within Cassiopeia, and the star Tycho G is suspected of being the donor of the material that triggered that explosion.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: A rich section of the Milky Way runs through Cassiopeia, stretching from Perseus towards Cygnus, and it contains a number of open clusters, young luminous galactic disc stars, and nebulae.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: The Heart Nebula and the Soul Nebula are two neighboring emission nebulae about 7,500 light-years away.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: Two Messier objects, M52 (NGC 7654) and M103 (NGC 581), are located in Cassiopeia; both are open clusters. M52, once described as a "kidney-shaped" cluster, contains approximately 100 stars and is 4600 light-years from Earth. Its most prominent member is an orange-hued star of magnitude 8.0 near the cluster's edge. M103 is far poorer than M52, with only about 25 stars included. It is also more distant, between 8000 and 9500 light-years from Earth. Its most prominent member is actually a closer, superimposed double star; it consists of a 7th-magnitude primary and 10th-magnitude secondary.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: The other prominent open clusters in Cassiopeia are NGC 457 and NGC 663, both of which have about 80 stars. NGC 457 is looser, and its brightest member is Phi Cassiopeiae, a white-hued supergiant star of magnitude 5.0. However, it is uncertain whether Phi Cassiopeiae is part of the open cluster or not. The stars of NGC 457, arrayed in chains, are approximately 10,000 light-years from Earth. NGC 663 is both closer, at 8200 light-years from Earth, and larger, at 0.25 degrees in diameter.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: There are two supernova remnants in Cassiopeia. The first, designated 3C 10 or just "Tycho's Supernova Remnant", is the aftermath of the supernova called Tycho's Star. It was observed in 1572 by Tycho Brahe and now exists as a bright object in the radio spectrum. Within the 'W' asterism formed by Cassiopeia's five major stars lies Cassiopeia A (Cas A). It is the remnant of a supernova that took place approximately 300 years ago (as observed now from Earth; it is 10,000 light-years away), and has the distinction of being the strongest radio source observable outside the Solar System. It was perhaps observed as a faint star in 1680 by John Flamsteed. It was also the subject of the first image returned by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory in the late 1990s. The shell of matter expelled from the star is moving at per second; it has a temperature of 30,000 kelvins on average.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: NGC 457 is another open cluster in Cassiopeia, also called the E.T. Cluster, the Owl Cluster, and Caldwell 13. The cluster was discovered in 1787 by William Herschel. It has an overall magnitude of 6.4 and is approximately 10,000 light-years from Earth, lying in the Perseus arm of the Milky Way. However, its most prominent member, the double star Phi Cassiopeiae, is far closer – between 1000 and 4000 light-years away. NGC 457 is fairly rich; it is a Shapley class e and Trumpler class I 3 r cluster. It is concentrated towards its center and detached from the star field. It contains more than 100 stars, which vary widely in brightness.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: Two members of the Local Group of galaxies are in Cassiopeia. NGC 185 is a magnitude 9.2 elliptical galaxy of type E0, 2 million light-years away. Slightly dimmer and more distant NGC 147 is a magnitude 9.3 elliptical galaxy, like NGC 185 it is an elliptical of type E0; it is 2.3 million light-years from Earth. Though they do not appear in Andromeda, both dwarf galaxies are gravitationally bound to the far larger Andromeda Galaxy.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: IC 10 is an irregular galaxy that is the closest known starburst galaxy and the only one in the Local Group of galaxies.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: Cassiopeia also contains part of the closest galaxy group to our Local Group, the IC 342/Maffei Group. The galaxies Maffei 1 and Maffei 2 are located just to the south of the Heart and Soul nebulae. As a result of this location in the Zone of Avoidance, both are surprisingly faint despite both being within 10 million light-years away (Maffei 2 is below the range of most amateur telescopes).


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: The December Phi Cassiopeiids are a recently discovered early December meteor shower that radiates from Cassiopeia. Phi Cassiopeiids are very slow, with an entry velocity of approximately 16.7 kilometers per second. The shower's parent body is a Jupiter family comet, though its specific identity is unknown.


title: Cassiopeia (constellation)

text: USS "Cassiopeia" (AK-75) was a United States Navy "Crater"-class cargo ship named after the constellation.


title: John Rambo

text: John James Rambo (born July 6, 1947) is a fictional character in the "Rambo" franchise. He first appeared in the 1972 novel "First Blood" by David Morrell, but later became more famous as the protagonist of the film series, in which he was played by Sylvester Stallone. The portrayal of the character earned Stallone widespread acclaim and recognition. The character was nominated for American Film Institute's list "100 Years…100 Heroes and Villains". The term "Rambo" is used commonly to describe a lone wolf who is reckless, disregards orders, uses violence to solve all problems, enters dangerous situations alone, and is exceptionally tough, callous, raw and aggressive.


title: John Rambo

text: Morrell says that in choosing the name Rambo he was inspired by "the sound of force" in the name of Rambo apples, which he encountered in Pennsylvania. These apples, in turn, were named for Peter Gunnarsson Rambo who sailed from Sweden to America in the 1640s, and soon the name would flourish in New Sweden. The name Rambo was likely derived from a shortened form of Ramberget (a hill on the Hisingen island in Gothenburg, where Peter Gunnarsson was born) plus "bo" (meaning "resident of"). Today, many of his descendants can still be found in this region of the US. Morrell also felt that its pronunciation was similar to the surname of Arthur Rimbaud, the title of whose most famous work "A Season in Hell", seemed to him "an apt metaphor for the prisoner-of-war experiences that I imagined Rambo suffering". Furthermore, an Arthur J. Rambo was an actual U.S. soldier in Vietnam, but he never returned. His name can be seen on the Vietnam War Memorial wall in Washington, DC. He was granted the first name "John" as a reference to the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again".


title: John Rambo

text: In the novel and first film, Rambo appears as a soldier who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and has difficulty adjusting to normal life. He is shown to be prone to violence because of the torture he suffered at the hands of North Vietnamese soldiers in the Vietnam War. In the next films and novelizations he is displayed as a man who wants to stay away from conflict but is willing to do anything to save his friends and the people he cares about from any danger. Due to his violent nature, many civil people tend to fear him. However, Colonel Samuel Trautman (who was his commanding officer in Vietnam and is probably his only friend) understands him and the pain and torture he has endured in the war and is the only one able to reason with him when he becomes an outlaw after incapacitating police officers in the town of Hope.


title: John Rambo

text: Rambo has a muscular physique due to his time as a soldier in the army and his intense training regimen. He has a high amount of strength and stamina. Rambo is an expert in surviving in dense forests against a large number of enemies due to his experiences in the Vietnam War. He is also an expert in guerrilla tactics, weapons, and hand-to-hand combat. Rambo has black hair and brown eyes. His height is 5'10" (1.78 m). In the DVD commentary for "First Blood" Morell remarks that the inspiration for Rambo was World War II hero Audie Murphy.


title: John Rambo

text: In all five films, Rambo is portrayed by Sylvester Stallone. In the animated TV series, the character is voiced by Neil Ross.


title: John Rambo

text: According to "Rambo: Last Blood", the character's full name is John Rambo. He was born on July 6, 1947, in Bowie, Arizona, to father Reevis Rambo (1922–2000) and mother Helga Rambo (1926–1969), as shown on the graves at Rambo's farm in "". In "", he is said to be of Native American and German descent; the character Major Marshall Roger T. Murdock says: ""Of Indian and German descent. A hell of a combination, isn't it?"" The film's novelization reveals he has an Italian father and a Navajo mother. John's niece is also well known, Shirlene. Rambo enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 17 on August 6, 1964, although he states in Rambo he was "drafted into Vietnam". After he graduated from Rangeford High School in 1965, his military service began in January 1966. Rambo was deployed to South Vietnam in September 1966. He returned to the U.S. in 1967 and began training with the U.S. Army Special Forces at Fort Bragg, North Carolina under Colonel Samuel Trautman's tutelage.


title: John Rambo

text: In late 1969, Rambo was re-deployed to Vietnam as a member of a SOG brigade. He became part of a Special Forces Long-range reconnaissance patrol unit commanded by Colonel Trautman. Trautman's team received the code name of "Baker Team" and usually consisted of eight men. Other known members were Delmar Barry (a black operative who quickly became Rambo's best friend), Joseph "Joey" Danforth (another friend of Rambo), Manuel "Loco" Ortega, Paul Messner, Delbert Krackhauer, Giuseppe "Greasy Cunt" Colletta, and Ralph Jorgenson. In an event that would haunt Rambo for the rest of his life, Danforth died in Rambo's arms after being fatally wounded by a rigged shoeshine box while their unit was on rest and recuperation time.


title: John Rambo

text: During a mission in November 1971 Rambo's unit came under surprise attack by NVA forces. Delmar, Rambo, and some other surviving members were captured by North Vietnamese forces near the Chinese-Vietnamese border and held at a POW camp, where many other American POWs were imprisoned and repeatedly tortured. Rambo's unit was decimated during the ordeal, but Delmar and Rambo managed to escape captivity in May 1972, and Rambo was immediately re-deployed at his own request. At some point in his military career he also received training in flying helicopters. Rambo finally received his official military discharge on September 27, 1974. His final rank is not known but, judging from the crossed arrows (officer) insignia on the lapel of his Army Alpha Dress Green uniform, it is safe to assume that he was either a 1st Lieutenant or Captain.


title: John Rambo

text: Upon his return to the United States, Rambo discovered that many American civilians hated the soldiers returning from Vietnam, and he claimed that he and other returning soldiers were subject to humiliation and embarrassment by anti-war "hippies" who threw garbage at them, called them "baby killers", and excluded them from society. His experiences in Vietnam and back home resulted in an extreme case of post-traumatic stress disorder. At the same time, inner questions of self-identity and reflectiveness had commenced to cause Rambo to lash out at society rather than handling difficult situations in a "civilized" manner. "First Blood" picks up from this point.


title: John Rambo

text: In the original novel "First Blood", Rambo is hitch-hiking in Hope, Washington. He is picked up by Police Chief Teasle and dropped off at the city limits. Repeatedly coming back, Rambo is arrested by Teasle and driven to the station. He is charged with vagrancy and resisting arrest, and is sentenced to 35 days in jail. Being trapped inside the cold, wet, small cells gives Rambo a flashback of his days as a POW in Vietnam and he fights off the cops as they attempt to cut his hair and shave him, beating one man and slashing another with the straight razor, killing him. He flees, steals a motorcycle, and hides in the nearby mountains. He becomes the focus of a manhunt that results in the deaths of many police officers, civilians, and National Guardsmen.


title: John Rambo

text: In a climactic ending in the town where his conflict with Teasle began, Rambo is finally hunted down by Special Forces Colonel Sam Trautman and Teasle. Teasle, using his local knowledge, manages to surprise Rambo and shoots him in the chest, but is himself wounded in the abdomen by a return shot. He then tries to pursue Rambo as he makes a final attempt to escape back out of the town. Both men are essentially dying by this point, but are driven by pride and a desire to justify their actions. Rambo, having found a spot he feels comfortable in, prepares to commit suicide by detonating a stick of dynamite against his body; however, he then sees Teasle following his trail and decides that it would be more honourable to continue fighting and be killed by Teasle's return fire.


title: John Rambo

text: Rambo fires at Teasle and, to his surprise and disappointment, hits him. For a moment he reflects on how he had missed his chance of a decent death, because he is now too weak to light the dynamite, but then suddenly feels the explosion he had expected – but in the head, not the stomach where the dynamite was placed. Rambo dies satisfied that he has come to a fitting end. Trautman returns to the dying Teasle and tells him that he has killed Rambo with his shotgun. Moments after, Teasle dies, succumbing to his wounds.


title: John Rambo

text: The film "First Blood" takes place in December 1981, and begins with Rambo, now a homeless, unemployed drifter, searching for his old friend Delmar Barry. He goes to Barry's home but is told by his mother that Barry died of cancer brought on by Agent Orange exposure. Rambo realizes that he is the last surviving member of his Special Forces unit (with unit members Delmar, Westmore, Bronson, Danforth, and Ortega now all dead). He then travels to the small town of Hope, Washington (the movie was filmed in Hope, British Columbia, evidenced by the town sign), where he is quickly spotted by the town's arrogant and abusive sheriff, Will Teasle, due to his long, unkempt hair, army jacket and overall scruffy appearance. Teasle soon picks him up and drives him to the edge of town, refusing to let him have a meal in town (Rambo only wanted something to eat) while stressing his prejudged dislike of drifters and "trouble makers". Rambo, still hungry, begins defiantly walking back into town almost immediately after being dropped off, and Teasle, spotting him again, arrests him on the spot this time and takes him to the local police station.


title: John Rambo

text: When searching Rambo, Teasle discovers a large survival knife under Rambo's jacket. At the station, the Head Deputy Sheriff, Art Galt, beats Rambo and, along with others, harasses him. Rambo begins having flashbacks to his time in Vietnam when he was a tortured POW. When officers attempt to dry shave him, Rambo finally snaps and fights his way out of the station, beating up Galt, Teasle, and every deputy caught in his path while retrieving his knife. Outside, he hijacks a motorcycle from a man driving past the station and flees into the nearby mountains, while being pursued by Teasle in his police car. Teasle crashes his car, and Rambo escapes. Teasle calls in more officers and a helicopter, while Rambo abandons the motorcycle and makes his way into the deep terrain on foot. He finds an old sack near a dumped truck which he uses as an item of clothing. Later, he finds himself at the top of a cliff face whilst trying to escape the advancing policemen and is spotted by the search helicopter with Galt in the passenger's seat. Galt fires at him a number of times with his rifle, forcing Rambo to leap from the cliff, falling through a tree. Galt continues to fire upon the injured Rambo on the ground. Fighting back, Rambo throws a rock and hits the helicopter's windshield, causing the pilot to lose control and Galt to lose his balance and fall to his death. Rambo takes Galt's gun and radio, tends his own injuries, and eventually confronts the lawmen on the cliff above. Rambo shouts to them that Galt's death was an accident, but Teasle tells Rambo not to move or they will shoot. Rambo says he wants no more trouble, and begins to back away, but the men open fire; Rambo flees into the woods with Teasle and his deputies in pursuit.


title: John Rambo

text: The men catch up to Rambo and release tracking dogs. Rambo shoots two and their owner in the leg with his last bullets, and kills the other with his knife. The men begin to flank out and pursue Rambo, but Rambo easily disables them using guerrilla tactics. Rambo severely wounds each man, but does not kill any of them. Using a deputy as bait, Rambo jumps out of the brush and grabs Teasle, putting his knife to his throat. He threatens Teasle with further action if the police do not leave him alone. Teasle refuses to back down, and the State Police and National Guard are called in to assist in the hunt. Colonel Samuel Trautman soon arrives, taking credit for training Rambo. He is surprised to find any of the deputies still alive, and warns Teasle that it would be safer to let Rambo go and find him after the situation has calmed down. Still refusing to give in, Teasle asks Trautman to try and contact Rambo on his stolen radio to get a fix on his position. Trautman identifies himself and calls out the names of Rambo's Vietnam company, which gets Rambo to respond. Rambo declines to turn himself in and tells Trautman, "They drew first blood, not me". Rambo is eventually cornered by the National Guard in an abandoned mine entrance. Teasle gets word that Rambo is trapped, and gives an order not to fire. The inexperienced guardsmen ignore this, and fire a rocket at him. The blast collapses the mine entrance, sealing him inside. The men assume Rambo is dead, but unknown to his pursuers, Rambo has instead escaped into the mine tunnels.


title: John Rambo

text: Rambo eventually finds an old exit vent, near a main road from out of which the troops are clearing. Rambo hijacks a passing Army truck (forcing its driver to jump out onto the road in the process) and returns to town, crashing it into a gas station; he blocks the highway to anyone in pursuit by igniting the spilled fuel. Now heavily armed with an M60 machine gun, Rambo destroys power transformers, knocking out the town's electricity. By this time, Teasle has received word of Rambo's escape from the cave and orders the town's population to remain indoors for safety. Rambo sees Teasle on the station roof after destroying a gun shop and makes his way to the police station, taking out the police station's power before making his way inside. Teasle spots Rambo and fires at him, but misses. Rambo shoots back at Teasle through the ceiling, critically injuring him. Teasle falls through the skylight onto the floor. Rambo steps over him, prepared to kill him. Before Rambo can shoot Teasle, Colonel Trautman appears and tells him that there is no hope of escaping alive. Now surrounded by the police, Rambo rages about the horrors of war, the hateful insults from antiwar protesters when he returned home, and his inability to hold down a steady job. Breaking down, he then weeps as he recounts witnessing the gruesome death of his friend Joey Danforth. He reveals to Trautman how they were in a bar, talking about his friend's Chevy and driving to Las Vegas in it, when a boy came in with a booby-trapped shoeshine box. Rambo had gone into the bar to buy beers when the box suddenly exploded, tearing his friend's lower body off. Rambo then turns himself in to Trautman, and is arrested as Trautman walks free.


title: John Rambo

text: There is an alternative ending where Rambo wants to die and tells Trautman to kill him. Trautman does not respond. Soon after, Rambo hands a gun to Trautman, who proceeds to pull the trigger and shoot Rambo in the stomach; Rambo subsequently dies of his wounds. Trautman then walks away, leaving Rambo's body in the station.


title: John Rambo

text: After the incident in Washington, Rambo is found guilty after a jury trial and sent to a labor camp prison. in 1985, he is visited in prison by Colonel Trautman, who offers him the chance of early release if he goes to Vietnam to search for American POWs at the camp that he escaped from back in 1971. Promised a presidential pardon if the mission succeeds, Rambo accepts and is temporarily reinstated in the U.S. Army. He later meets Marshall Murdock, an American bureaucrat who is in charge of the operation. He tells Rambo that he is only to photograph the POWs and not to rescue them nor engage any enemy soldiers; Rambo reluctantly agrees. He is then told that an agent of the U.S. government will be there to receive him in the jungles of Vietnam.


title: John Rambo

text: Rambo is parachuted into the Vietnamese jungles. However, while parachuting, he gets stuck on the plane and cuts the rope holding his equipment. This allows Rambo to continue parachuting, but it leaves him with only his knife, his bow, and arrows. On the ground, he meets Co Bao, a local woman working with the Americans. She takes him to a POW camp where he is able to rescue Banks, a captive, killing a number of enemy soldiers with his bow in the process of doing so. The trio then escape by boat but are attacked by a gunboat.


title: John Rambo

text: Rambo destroys the gunboat with a rocket launcher. When Rambo calls for extraction, he is denied, as Murdock fears what will happen to him and his party if the American public learn about Murdock's activities and that American servicemen were still being held prisoner. Rambo and Banks are both captured, and back at the camp Russian advisors soon arrive to interrogate Rambo. Meanwhile, Co enters the camp under the disguise of a prostitute and comes to the hut in which Rambo is held captive. There she witnesses Rambo being tortured by Russian Lieutenant Colonel Podovsky and his second in command Sergeant Yushin, who demands that the American contact his base and confess to war crimes. After being electrically shocked on a bedspring by Yushin and then burned on the cheek with his own knife, Rambo pretends to agree to Podovsky's condition, but instead tells Murdock on the radio that "he is coming to get him", after which he promptly escapes with Co's help. They hide in the jungle and Co tends to Rambo's wounds. She then asks him if he will take her with him to the U.S.; he agrees and kisses her, but they are attacked by some Vietnamese soldiers and Co is fatally shot by their commander, Tay. Enraged and distraught by Co's death, he kills them all (except for Tay, who escapes, but is later killed by one of Rambo's exploding arrows) and then buries Co's body in the jungle.


title: John Rambo

text: After the violence at the camp and on the river, Soviet and Vietnamese troops are scrambled to find and kill Rambo. While they are hunting for Rambo in a forest, he kills a number of them using guerrilla tactics. Vietnamese soldiers continue to chase Rambo into and through a village. In a patch of tall grass there, Rambo sets a booby trap explosion that ignites a fire, burning many of the Vietnamese soldiers.


title: John Rambo

text: While still running away from the soldiers, a Soviet captured UH-1 Huey helicopter finds Rambo and drops a keg of napalm onto his position. Rambo dives off a cliff into a river as the keg explodes. The helicopter pursues him, shooting bullets into the water. As the helicopter gets closer to the water while shooting bullets, Rambo jumps up from under the water, yanks the gunman from the helicopter, and climbs in to confront Yushin. As they fight inside the helicopter, it flies away and Rambo throws Yushin out of the helicopter to his death. As Rambo approaches the pilot, the pilot also jumps out of the helicopter. Gaining control of the helicopter, Rambo flies it back to the camp to rescue Banks and the remaining POWs. He kills the remaining guards and gets the captives into the chopper. Another Soviet attack helicopter, a Mi-24 Hind with Lieutenant Colonel Podovsky at the cockpit, then tails Rambo's chopper. After he loses Rambo's chopper in a haze of smoke from firing at it, he notices it smoldering in a river. As the Russian chopper flies in low to investigate and finish off the bird, Rambo – who had appeared to be dead – suddenly sits up, rocket launcher in hand, and fires through the windshield, finishing off Podovsky once and for all.


title: John Rambo

text: Rambo then returns to the base and, using the M60E3 machine gun from the helicopter, destroys Murdock's command center. He then unsheathes his knife and threatens Murdock, ordering him to find and rescue the remaining American POWs in Vietnam, snarling almost under his breath, "You know there's more men out there. You know where they are. Find 'em... or I'll find you." Trautman then comforts Rambo and tries to pacify him and to convince him to rejoin the Special Forces, also telling him he would get another Medal of Honor for his actions. Rambo, however, visibly angry and fighting back tears, says that the soldiers he rescued deserve the Medal more than he does, and he only wants the same thing as the soldiers he rescued: for their country to love its soldiers as much as its soldiers love their country. Rambo then starts to leave. Trautman asks him, "How will you live, John?"; Rambo replies, "Day by day". The film ends as Rambo walks off into the distance while his mentor watches him. Because of his actions in saving the POWs, Rambo is granted the Presidential pardon he had been promised and decides to stay in Thailand.


title: John Rambo

text: The third film opens with Colonel Trautman returning to Thailand to once again enlist the help of Rambo. After witnessing Rambo's victory in a stick fighting match, Trautman visits the construction site of the temple Rambo is helping to build and asks Rambo to join him on a mission to Afghanistan. The mission is meant to supply weapons, including FIM-92 Stinger missiles, to Afghan jihadists called the Mujahideen who are fighting the Soviets in the Soviet–Afghan War. Despite being shown photos of civilians suffering under Soviet military intervention, Rambo refuses, fearing a betrayal by the U.S. government similar to the last mission and wanting a life without more bloodshed; Trautman chooses to go on his own.


title: John Rambo

text: While in Afghanistan, Trautman's troops are ambushed by Soviet soldiers while passing through the mountains at night. Trautman is imprisoned in a Soviet base and interrogated by Colonel Zaysen and his henchman Kourov. Rambo learns of the incident from embassy field officer Robert Griggs and convinces Griggs to take him through an unofficial operation, despite Griggs' warning that the U.S. government will deny any knowledge of his actions if killed or caught. Rambo immediately flies to Pakistan where he meets up with Mousa, a weapons supplier who agrees to take him to a village deep in the Afghan desert, close to the Soviet base where Trautman is kept. The Mujahideen in the village are already hesitant to help Rambo in the first place, but are definitely convinced not to help when their village is attacked by Soviet helicopters after one of Mousa's shop assistants informs the Soviets of Rambo's presence. Aided only by Mousa and a young boy named Hamid, Rambo makes his way to the Soviet base and attempts to free Trautman. The first attempt is unsuccessful and results not only in Hamid getting shot in the leg, but also in Rambo himself getting splinters in the side. After escaping from the base, Rambo tends to Hamid's wounds and sends him and Mousa away to safety.


title: John Rambo

text: The next day, Rambo returns to the base once again, just in time to rescue Trautman from being tortured with a blow-torch. After rescuing several other prisoners, Rambo steals a helicopter and escapes from the base alongside Trautman. However, the helicopter soon crashes and Rambo and Trautman are forced to continue on foot. After a confrontation in a cave, where Rambo and Trautman eliminate several Spetsnaz commandos, including Kourov, they are confronted by an army of Soviet tanks, headed by Zaysen. Just as they are about to be overwhelmed by the might of the Red Army, the Mujahideen warriors, together with Mousa and Hamid, ride onto the battlefield by the hundreds in a cavalry charge, overwhelming the Communists. In the ensuing battle, in which both Trautman and Rambo are wounded, Rambo manages to kill Zaysen by driving a tank (somehow doing the work of a four-man crew all by himself, by also loading and firing the main gun) into the Russian's helicopter. Rambo survives the explosion and gets out of the tank. At the end of the battle Rambo and Trautman say goodbye to their Mujahideen friends and leave Afghanistan to go home.


title: John Rambo

text: The fourth film opens with newsreels of the 2007 crisis in Burma. Burma is under the iron-fisted rule of Than Shwe and takes harsher stances against the nation's pro-democracy movement. Rebels are thrown into a mine-infested marsh and then gunned down by the Tatmadaw, while the Burmese military officer Major Pa Tee Tint, who ordered the genocides, watches the shootings grimly.


title: John Rambo

text: Meanwhile, Rambo is still living in Thailand. Residing in a village near the Burmese border, he makes a living capturing snakes and selling them in a nearby village. He also transports roamers in his boat. A missionary, Michael Burnett, asks Rambo to take him and his associates up the Salween River to Burma on a humanitarian mission to give aid to Karen tribespeople. Rambo refuses, having lost all faith in humanity at this point, but he is convinced by Sarah Miller to take them.


title: John Rambo

text: The boat is stopped by Burmese pirates, who demand Sarah, in exchange for passage. After negotiations fail, Rambo kills them all. Although his actions save the missionaries, it greatly disturbs them. Upon arrival, Michael says that they will travel overland and will not need Rambo's help for the return trip, informing him that he intends to report him. The mission goes well until the Tatmadaw, led by Major Tint, attack. They kill most of the villagers and two missionaries and kidnap the rest, including Michael and Sarah. Ten days after the missionaries are scheduled to return, their pastor comes to ask Rambo's help in guiding hired mercenaries to the village where the missionaries were last seen.


title: John Rambo

text: Rambo agrees to transport the soldiers, then returns to his village and forges himself a new machete. At their destination, Rambo tries to accompany the mercenaries with a black-wrapped package in hand, but their leader, described as a former "old school" and egotistical S.A.S. trooper, refuses. After arriving at the destroyed village with their guide, a Karen freedom fighter, they are forced to hide when some Tatmadaw arrive by truck and force their villager prisoners to run a gauntlet of hidden land mines thrown into the village rice paddies. The mercenary leader will not order a rescue, as he is concerned that the missing Tatmadaw will put the rest on alert. However, Rambo shows up with what is revealed to be his compound bow and shoots down the Tatmadaw. Rambo confronts the leader when the man threatens him, and with his arrow pointed at his eye socket, Rambo tells him and the others that soldiering is what they are and do, and gives them the option to "Live for nothing...or die for something". When Rambo stands down and tells the others to come, they follow without question with the leader in tow.


title: John Rambo

text: Rambo and the mercenaries locate and infiltrate a Tamawdaw base where Major Tint is the commander. They plan to save the hostages at a P.O.W. camp adjacent to the base. Rambo helps Sarah and the others to escape. The Tatmadaw unit finds the hostages missing and organizes a massive manhunt. Everyone is captured except for Rambo, Sarah, and the mercenary sniper "School Boy". But just as the group is to be executed, Rambo seizes a truck-mounted .50-caliber machine gun and massacres the Burmese army, giving an opening for School Boy to shoot down the Tatmadaw near the others and provide them also with weapons. Karen rebels join the fight to help Rambo and the mercenaries win. Major Tint attempts to get away, but is personally disemboweled by Rambo with his survival knife.


title: John Rambo

text: Encouraged by Sarah's words, Rambo leaves Thailand and returns to his home in the United States. He is seen walking along a Bowie, Arizona, highway until he sees a horse farm and a rusted mailbox. Reading the name "R. Rambo", Rambo smiles and walks down the house's gravel driveway.


title: John Rambo

text: In this film "", eleven years after the events in Burma, Vietnam War veteran John Rambo lives in Bowie, Arizona, in his deceased father's horse ranch, which he manages with his old friend, Maria Beltran, and her granddaughter, Gabrielle. Gabriela reveals to Rambo that a friend of hers, Gizelle, has found Gabrielle's biological father, Manuel, in Mexico. Against Rambo and Maria's wishes, Gabrielle secretly drives to Mexico to ask why Manuel had abandoned Gabrielle and her mother years ago. Gizelle leads Gabrielle to Manuel's apartment, where he reveals to her that he never really cared for Gabrielle or her mother.


title: John Rambo

text: Gizelle takes a heartbroken Gabrielle to a local club, where Gabrielle is drugged and kidnapped by enforcers of a Mexican cartel. Meanwhile, Maria informs Rambo of Gabrielle's disappearance to Mexico. Rambo travels to Mexico and interrogates both Miguel and Gizelle about Gabrielle's whereabouts. Rambo is reluctantly led by Gizelle to the club where Gabrielle was last seen and confronts El Flaco, the man who last spoke with Gabrielle. A mysterious woman, Carmen Delgado, tails Rambo as El Flaco leads him to Gabrielle's location. Rambo is immediately confronted, beaten and marked by the cartel, led by brothers Hugo and Victor Martinez. They take his driver's license, revealing the ranch's location, and a photo of Gabrielle, whom Victor recognizes. The cartel vow to mistreat Gabrielle further due to Rambo's actions.


title: John Rambo

text: Carmen takes Rambo back to her home where she cares for him until he fully recovers. Carmen reveals herself to be an independent journalist who had been investigating the Martinez brothers, the kidnappers and murderers of her sister. Rambo later raids one of the brothels, killing several men until he finds a drugged Gabrielle. On the way back home, Rambo thanks Gabrielle for giving him hope for ten years before she dies from the forced overdose. Enraged, Rambo sends Maria away and rigs the ranch with traps for a confrontation, and later returns to Mexico to ask Carmen's help in finding Victor. Carmen initially refuses, believing that it will solve nothing, but is convinced after Rambo appeals to her grief and frustrations.


title: John Rambo

text: Rambo raids Victor's home, killing several guards and decapitating Victor. In retaliation, Hugo leads a group of hitmen to Rambo's ranch, where each falls victim to the rigged traps. Saving Hugo for last, Rambo mutilates him and rips his heart out as an act of revenge. In the aftermath, a weakened Rambo sits on the porch of his father's house, vowing to continue fighting and to keep the memories of his loved ones alive. During the credits, Rambo saddles up his horse and rides off into the sunset.


title: John Rambo

text: A Bollywood remake of "First Blood" to be released in October 2020, with Tiger Shroff cast in the role of Rambo expected to star in Hindi remakes of all five films in the "Rambo" franchise.


title: John Rambo

text: During the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, Stallone said he would continue portraying Rambo if the fifth film succeeded. Grunberg, however, said that "Rambo: Last Blood" "closes the circle", hoping it would conclude the film series. In September 2019, Stallone confirmed that he has plans for a prequel to the series; although he would not reprise the title role, he would like to explore who Rambo was before the war:


title: John Rambo

text: Stallone has expressed interest in having Rambo take refuge in an Indian reservation for the sixth "Rambo" film. In June 2020, Stallone briefly elaborated on the idea, stating, "If I ever did another one, I think he would go back to the Indian reservation that he grew up on because he has Indian family. As of 2022, there will be no Rambo 6. "


title: John Rambo

text: John Rambo is considered a cultural icon. The character influenced many action heroes and films in the 1980s and 1990s. The John Rambo character became a prominent part of pop culture, and "Rambo", a word that can function as a noun, adjective, or a verb, became part of the English language. Perhaps more crucial from a cultural perspective, Rambo is a word that can be found in the prestigious Oxford English Dictionary. According to this source, Rambo is "a Vietnam War veteran represented as macho, self sufficient and bent on violent retribution." As well, it is widely popular to use adjectives such as Ramboesque, Ramboid, or Ramboism, to denote an ideological position that resembles Rambo's attitude and behavior.


title: John Rambo

text: In the legal profession, a "Rambo lawyer" is one who habitually engages in "all manners of adversarial excess, including personal attacks on other lawyers, hostility, boorish and insulting behavior, rudeness and obstructionist conduct" or embraces "a 'take no prisoners' attitude".


title: John Rambo

text: Rambo has become the quintessential representation of America during the Reagan years. President Ronald Reagan referred to Rambo in public speeches to exemplify his political ideology and aggressive foreign policy. Towards the end of the 1985 Beirut hostage crisis, President Reagan stated at a press conference that: "Boy, after seeing "Rambo: First Blood Part II" last night, I know what to do next time this happens." Reagan often referred to "Rambo: First Blood Part II" as a model for his domestic and foreign policies. For instance, in his 1985 Labor Day speech, Reagan stated that he would clean the federal tax system "in the spirit of Rambo".


title: John Rambo

text: The "Rambo" film series also introduced and popularized the concept of the "One Man Army" in films, in which a protagonist is a well trained individual who can defeat countless enemies by himself. Rambo's weapons also became part of American pop culture. Weapons such as the M60 machine gun and the bow became synonymous with the character. But it was his signature weapon, the survival knife that became popular, which led to an increase in knife sales during the 1980s.


title: John Rambo

text: Among the Kamula of Wawoi Falls in Western Province, Papua New Guinea, Rambo was very popular in the late 1990s.


title: John Rambo

text: Rambo has also been mentioned or referenced in many films, such as "Die Hard", TV shows, cartoons, novels and comic books. The character of John Rambo has been featured in many lists of greatest action heroes. In 2013, Rambo was voted #1 in WatchMojo.com's top 10 film soldiers of all times and #6 in a list of the top 50 action movie heroes in "Total Magazine".


title: John Rambo

text: Football tight end player Mark Bavaro, who played professionally in the NFL from 1985 to 1995, was nicknamed Rambo during his career.


title: John Rambo

text: In the Philippines, local comic actor Palito, known for his skeletal stature, had a resurgence in his career in the mid 1980s starring in several comedy movies parodying the "Rambo" films. This started with a supporting role in the parody "Johnny Rambo Tango" (1985) starring Redford White. This led him to the lead in "Rambuto", (1986), which translates to "Ram-bone," the title being a pun of the Tagalog word "buto" which means "bone", again to capitalize on his being "thin-boned", compared to the bulk Rambo character. Palito also had the lead in "No Blood, No Surrender". In this parody, he played a clumsy veteran who goes to a village searching for daughter.


title: John Rambo

text: In the 1987 film "Spaceballs", before they escape Spaceball City, when Princess Vespa of Druidia shoots the last of the Spaceball guards with one of the guards' blaster gun, resembling a Tommy gun, on the non-parking entry, her droid sidekick Dot Matrix congratulates her that that was "pretty good for Rambo".


title: John Rambo

text: In the 1988 film "Die Hard", Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) asks John McClane (Bruce Willis) who he is trying to imitate with his heroics, and he mentions Rambo as well as John Wayne and Marshal Dillon.


title: John Rambo

text: In the 1989 film "Tango & Cash", LAPD narcotics detective Ray Tango (ironically portrayed by Sylvester Stallone) is described by a county sheriff as "think[ing] he's Rambo" after roughing up a team of truckers he suspects of smuggling cocaine, while out of his geographic jurisdiction. "Rambo is a pussy" was Tango's response.


title: John Rambo

text: In the summer 1993 film "Hot Shots! Part Deux", Richard Crenna reprises his Colonel role in a parody of "Rambo: First Blood: Part II" and "Rambo III". In the same film, protagonist Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen), originally a parody of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) from "Top Gun", is remodeled to resemble Rambo.


title: John Rambo

text: In the 1993 film "Demolition Man", when antagonist Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) is robbing the armory exhibit of a museum, he tells a soldier mannequin, "Excuse me, Rambo. I need to borrow this." Ironically, the protagonist John Spartan is portrayed by Stallone.


title: John Rambo

text: In the 1994 film "True Lies", Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis) says "I married Rambo", after discovering her husband Harry (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a very capable CIA operative. The film's director, James Cameron, co-wrote the screenplay for the second "Rambo" film along with Sylvester Stallone.


title: John Rambo

text: In 2007, the film "Son of Rambow" is set during the early 1980s; the film is a coming of age story about two schoolboys and their attempts to make an amateur film inspired by "First Blood".


title: John Rambo

text: In 2013, a Cheetos commercial features a little boy (played by child actor Indiana Wilson), who is dressed up like Rambo, as he goes around blowing darts through a blowgun just by taking deep cleansing breaths and aim at targets all over town.


title: John Rambo

text: Rambo inspired the character named Yousef Rambu (an Arabic form for "Joseph Rambo") from a Kuwaiti action movie "Second Blood" (2016). Rambu has been portrayed by bodybuilder Abdulhadi Al-Khayat.


title: John Rambo

text: An Imperial Guard character exists in the Warhammer 40,000 universe named "Sly Marbo", who serves as both an homage to and parody of Sylvester Stallone and the character of Rambo.


title: John Rambo

text: The 1989 film UHF features a fantasy sequence where the main character George Newman (played by "Weird Al" Yankovic), wearing a muscle suit, searches a Vietnamese POW camp for his kidnapped friend Stanley Spadowski. The sequence is a parody of "".


title: John Rambo

text: In 2021, Rambo was featured in an episode of comedy web series Epic Rap Battles of History, played by american musician Nice Peter.


title: John Rambo

text: The 2022 Mountain Goats album, Bleed Out, references Rambo, in both the title and lyrics of the song "First Blood", which asserts that ‘John Rambo never went to Vietnam’ in the chorus.


title: Mike Ditka

text: Michael Keller Ditka (born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former football player, coach, and television commentator. A member of both the College (1986) and the Pro (1988) Football Halls of Fame, he was UPI NFL Rookie of Year in 1961, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, and a six-time All-Pro tight end with the National Football League's Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys.


title: Mike Ditka

text: He was an NFL champion with the 1963 Bears, and is a three-time Super Bowl champion, playing on the Cowboys' Super Bowl VI team, winning as an assistant coach for the Cowboys in Super Bowl XII, and coaching the Bears to victory in Super Bowl XX. He was named to the NFL's 75th- and 100th-Anniversary All-Time Teams.


title: Mike Ditka

text: As a head coach for the Bears from 1982 to 1992, he was twice both the AP and UPI NFL Coach of Year (1985 and 1988). He also was the head coach of the New Orleans Saints from 1997 to 1999.


title: Mike Ditka

text: Ditka and Tom Flores are the only people to win an NFL title as a player, an assistant coach, and a head coach. Ditka, Flores, Gary Kubiak, and Doug Pederson are also the only people in modern NFL history to win a championship as head coach of a team for which they played previously. Ditka is the only person to participate in both of the last two Chicago Bears' league championships, as a player in 1963 and as head coach in 1985.


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 2020, Ditka became the owner of the X League, a women's tackle football league that was originally the Lingerie Football League.


title: Mike Ditka

text: He is known by the nickname "Iron Mike", which he has said comes from his being born and raised in a steel town in Pennsylvania.


title: Mike Ditka

text: Ditka was born as Michael Dyczko in the Pittsburgh-area town of Carnegie, Pennsylvania on October 18, 1939. The oldest child of Charlotte (Keller) and Mike Ditka Sr. he grew up in nearby Aliquippa with siblings Ashton, David, and Mary Ann. His father, a welder, was one of three brothers of a Polish and Ukrainian family in the coal-mining and steel-manufacturing area in Western Pennsylvania. His ancestry on his mother's side is Irish and German. The Ukrainian surname "Dyczko" was difficult to pronounce in his hometown, so the family name was changed to "Ditka". Ditka attended St. Titus School.


title: Mike Ditka

text: Under head coach Press Maravich, Ditka was a three-sport star at Aliquippa High School. The team doctor, Dr. John L Miller, took Mike and other players to Pitt games and encouraged them to play for Pitt. Ditka is quoted as saying, "Doc Miller patched me up many times". Ditka hoped to escape his hometown's manufacturing jobs by attending college with a football scholarship. Planning to become a dentist, he was recruited by Notre Dame, Penn State, and the University of Pittsburgh.


title: Mike Ditka

text: Ditka played for the University of Pittsburgh from 1958 until 1960, where he also became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He was a three-sport athlete at Pitt, playing baseball (outfielder) and basketball (forward). He also was an intramural wrestling champion.


title: Mike Ditka

text: He started on the football team all three seasons, leading the team in receiving in each, while also serving as a linebacker, defensive end, and punter. As a sophomore, he led the team with 18 receptions for 252 yards and averaged 42.5 yards per punt. He had one touchdown reception (tied for second on the team).


title: Mike Ditka

text: As a junior, he led the team with 16 receptions for 249 yards and four receiving touchdowns. He also averaged 38.3 yards per punt.


title: Mike Ditka

text: As a senior, he was named a team captain, while leading the team with 11 receptions for 229 yards and two receiving touchdowns. He was a unanimous first-team selection on the College Football All-America Team as a two-way end. He finished his college career with 45 passes for 730 yards and seven touchdowns.


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 1986, Ditka was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. In 1997, his 89 jersey number was retired by the University of Pittsburgh at halftime of the game against the University of Miami. In 2018, he was inducted into the inaugural 16-member class of the University of Pittsburgh Athletics Hall of Fame.


title: Mike Ditka

text: Ditka was selected by the Chicago Bears fifth overall in the 1961 NFL Draft, while the Houston Oilers drafted him eighth overall in the first round of the 1961 AFL Draft. He signed with the Bears and his presence was immediately felt. In his first season, Ditka had 58 receptions, introducing a new dimension to a tight end position that had previously been dedicated to blocking. He also scored 12 receiving touchdowns, which was the most by a Bears rookie. His success earned him Rookie of the Year honors. He continued to play for the Bears for the next five years, earning a Pro Bowl trip each season.


title: Mike Ditka

text: He played on the 1963 NFL championship team. Many of the players from that team, including Ditka, were drafted by assistant coach George Allen, a future Hall of Famer, who was then in charge of the Bears' drafts. During the season, against the Los Angeles Rams, Ditka tied Harlon Hill's franchise record for the most receiving touchdowns in a game with four. Ditka ranks first among tight ends and fourth in Bears history with 4,503 yards, fifth in both receptions (316) and touchdown catches (34).


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 1962, he started all 14 games, making 58 receptions (tied for the team lead) for 904 yards (led the team) and five receiving touchdowns (led the team). In 1963, he led the team with 59 catches for 794 yards and eight touchdowns.


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 1964, he was second on the team with 75 receptions for 897 yards and five touchdowns. The next year, he posted 36 receptions (second on the team), 454 receiving yards (third on the team), and two receiving touchdowns (tied for fourth on the team).


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 1966, he registered 32 receptions (second on the team), 378 yards (third on the team) and two touchdowns (tied for second on the team). Ditka was also noted for decking football fan Felix Carbajal, who had run onto the playing field late in a Week 2 31–17 loss to the Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 16. He had played out his option that season after not being able to reach a contract agreement with Bears' owner/head coach George Halas.


title: Mike Ditka

text: On February 8, 1967, "The New York Times" reported that just before the AFL–NFL merger, Ditka had signed a $300,000 contract with a $50,000 signing bonus with the Houston Oilers, the team that owned his AFL draft rights.


title: Mike Ditka

text: On April 26, 1967, Ditka was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles along with a 1968 fourth-round pick (#106-Alan Bush), in exchange for quarterback Jack Concannon. The transaction was intended to fill roster vacancies created by the retirements of Eagles' tight end Pete Retzlaff and Bears' quarterback Rudy Bukich. His Oilers contract was transferred to the Eagles and Ditka was able to keep his $50,000 bonus to avoid any legal conflicts. His time as a Bears player bitterly came to an end with a parting shot in which he stated that Halas "threw nickels around like manhole covers." He wore number 98 in his first season with the Eagles, while only playing in nine games with four starts because of injuries. Ditka was outplayed by tight end Jim Kelly, registering 26 receptions for 274 yards and two touchdowns.


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 1968, he changed his jersey number back to his usual 89. He appeared in 11 games with six starts, and his statistics were below tight end Fred Hill. He posted 13 receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns.


title: Mike Ditka

text: On January 28, 1969, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for wide receiver Dave McDaniels. Pettis Norman ended up being named the starting tight end, but Ditka still was able to play in 12 games with four starts, while making 17 receptions for 268 yards and three touchdowns.


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 1970, he remained a reserve player behind Norman. He appeared in 14 games, while tallying eight receptions for 98 yards and no touchdowns. The Cowboys reached their first Super Bowl, losing 13–16 against the Baltimore Colts, by way of a field goal scored with five seconds left in regulation time.


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 1971, he was a backup player behind Billy Truax, appearing in 14 games with four starts. He set the franchise record for tight ends with 30 receptions in a season, while also compiling 360 receiving yards, one touchdown, and three kickoff returns for 30 yards. His highlight was a touchdown reception in the Cowboys' 24–3 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI.


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 1972, he was named the starter at tight end, after Truax was limited by off-season knee surgery. He started all 14 games, posting 17 receptions for 198 yards and one touchdown, while alternating in some passing situations with rookie Jean Fugett.


title: Mike Ditka

text: On March 1, 1973, Ditka announced his retirement as a player, opening the door for him to be named the Cowboys wide receiver assistant coach under head coach Tom Landry. At the time, his 427 receptions were the most by a tight end in NFL history.


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 1988, his blocking and 427 career receptions for 5,812 yards and 43 touchdowns earned him the honor of being the first tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ditka also scored two touchdowns on offensive fumble recoveries, tying seven other players for the most in NFL history. In 1999, he was ranked number 90 on "The Sporting News"'s list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.


title: Mike Ditka

text: Retiring after the 1972 season, Ditka was immediately hired as an assistant coach by Landry. Ditka spent nine seasons as an assistant coach with the Cowboys. During his tenure, the Cowboys made the playoffs eight times, won six division titles, three NFC championships, and a Super Bowl victory in 1977.


title: Mike Ditka

text: While working with the Cowboys, Ditka sent a letter to George Halas, his former head coach, who was still owner of the Bears. In the letter, Ditka expressed regret for the acrimonious manner in which his time with the Bears had come to an end and said that he would like to come back to Chicago and be the head coach of the Bears "when he was ready". Meanwhile, the Cowboys continued to win games, although they did not win another Super Bowl while Ditka was there. His last game with the Cowboys was the 1981 NFC championship game, where the team fell to the San Francisco 49ers.


title: Mike Ditka

text: After firing previous coach Neill Armstrong following the 1981 season, Halas decided to take Ditka up on his offer from several years earlier, and hired him to become the team's head coach for 1982 season. Although the Bears had made the playoffs under Armstrong and his predecessor Jack Pardee, those were the only two winning seasons since Halas' retirement as coach, so he was looking for a coach who would bring the Bears back to prominence. Shortly after his hiring, as recounted by Mike Singletary in 2006, Ditka called a team meeting. In the meeting, he warned that the team would experience some turnover, but if they were all willing to work hard for him and stand with him, Ditka promised a trip to the Super Bowl within three seasons. Specifically, Ditka said, "Give me three years, and if you walk with me, we'll get to the dance."


title: Mike Ditka

text: By his third season, Ditka led the Bears to the NFC Championship Game, where the Bears were shut out by the eventual Super Bowl-winning 49ers in San Francisco. The following year, Ditka's coaching career hit its pinnacle on January 26, 1986, with a 46–10 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. Ditka has stated that one of his biggest regrets in life was not letting Walter Payton score a touchdown in the Super Bowl, instead opting for Jim McMahon to run it in twice and rookie defensive tackle William "The Refrigerator" Perry to run it in once. Nevertheless, Ditka has contended that his reluctance to give Payton the ball was justified on account of the disproportionately heavy coverage the Bears' star running back faced from the Patriots' defense, and insisted that Payton's mere presence on the field was a decisive factor in the Bears' crushing victory notwithstanding personal statistics.


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 1985, Ditka led the Bears to a 15–1 record, and he was named NFL Coach of the Year by the Associated Press following the regular season. Football commentators widely regard the 1985 Bears defense as one of the best. It was masterminded by defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, with little oversight from Ditka; in fact, Ditka and Ryan had a largely adversarial relationship dating back to Ditka's hire as Ryan, who was already on the coaching staff when Ditka joined the Bears, felt that he should have been promoted into the head-coaching position. Although the two men continued to work together, the relationship continued to deteriorate, and with the Bears trailing by three touchdowns in a late-season Monday-night game against the Miami Dolphins that resulted in the team's only loss, Ryan finally snapped after Ditka, as he recounted in 2006 for NFL Network, told him that the defensive scheme was not working. The two began throwing punches at each other and had to be separated, and Ditka said that the relationship at that point became unsalvageable. In an unusual gesture, following the Bears Super Bowl victory, the players carried both Ryan and Ditka off the field. In addition, the 1985 Chicago Bears are one of several teams to consistently challenge the undefeated 1972 Dolphins for the unofficial title of the "Greatest NFL Team of All-Time". The NFL Network series "America's Game" rated the 1985 Bears as the second-best Super Bowl champion, only behind the 1972 Miami Dolphins.


title: Mike Ditka

text: Buddy Ryan left in 1986 to become the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. When asked if he was happy Ryan was gone, Ditka replied he was not happy, but "elated". In 1986, 1987, and 1988, the Bears won the Central Division title and earned three home playoff games. The first of those years saw the Bears finish the regular season with a 14–2 record to tie the New York Giants for the best in the entire league. However, the Bears were upset by the Washington Redskins in their first playoff game. The next year, the Bears finished second in the NFC with an 11–4 record, but were again upended by the Redskins en route to that team's second Super Bowl victory of the decade. The Bears finished 12–4 in 1988 and got homefield advantage. They defeated Ryan's Eagles in the Fog Bowl in their first game, but the team was defeated by the 49ers in the NFC championship game. This was the third time in five years that Ditka led the Bears to the NFC championship game, and was the last time they advanced this far until 2006.


title: Mike Ditka

text: Ditka suffered a heart attack during the 1988 season, which he attributed to stress since he was in excellent physical condition and had no significant family history of heart disease. However, despite being expected to miss much of the season, Ditka was on the sidelines as an "advisor" the next week and back in full charge the week after. He led the Bears to a 12–4 record and received his second coach of the year award from the AP.


title: Mike Ditka

text: The Bears started 4–0 in 1989, but a series of last-second losses eventually led to a complete meltdown at the end of the season, as the Bears finished 6–10. The Bears rallied to win a weak Central Division in 1990 and make the playoffs as a wild card in 1991, but were eliminated convincingly in the early rounds. After dropping to 5–11 in the 1992 season, the Bears fired Ditka on January 5, 1993. His 106 wins are the second-most in Bears history, behind only Halas.


title: Mike Ditka

text: On December 9, 2013, Ditka's Bears jersey, number 89, was retired in a halftime ceremony during a "Monday Night Football" game in Chicago as the Bears hosted the Dallas Cowboys, for whom Ditka also played and worked as an assistant coach under the late Tom Landry. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, and go Bears!" Ditka told the crowd.


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 1997, after a five-year absence in which he had served as a television analyst, Ditka returned to the NFL to take over as the permanent replacement for Jim Mora with the New Orleans Saints. Ditka inherited a team that had not made the playoffs, nor had recorded a record above .500, since 1992, and had finished the 1996 season, during which Mora had resigned, tied with the Atlanta Falcons for the second-worst record in the league (only the New York Jets, who only won once, had a worse record).


title: Mike Ditka

text: In Ditka's first season back in the league, he struggled early, as the Saints lost four of their first five games. They did manage to beat his former team, the Bears, along the way, and recorded five more wins, but after winning only one game in the division (even being swept by the last-place St. Louis Rams), the Saints finished at 6–10.


title: Mike Ditka

text: Ditka's team played more inconsistently in 1998, as the Saints started out 3–0, but could not keep the momentum going. Still, they were in playoff contention toward the end of the season, and defeated the eventual NFC East champions in Ditka's other former squad, the Cowboys, to get to 6–7 with three games to go. They dropped their last three, though, and were eliminated in week 16 on a last-second field goal against the Arizona Cardinals.


title: Mike Ditka

text: Then, in the offseason that followed, Ditka was roundly criticized for the trading of all of the team's 1999 draft picks (plus their first-round draft pick in 2000) to the Washington Redskins to move up in the draft and select Texas running back Ricky Williams (Washington later used the picks to select future All-Pro and Hall of Famer Champ Bailey, Jon Jansen, and LaVar Arrington). The trade was further mocked because of a magazine cover in which Ditka posed with Williams, who was wearing a wedding dress.


title: Mike Ditka

text: The 1999 season proved to be the worst of Ditka's coaching career. After winning the season opener against the Carolina Panthers, the Saints dropped their next seven games, including a loss to the expansion Cleveland Browns. As the season wore on, Ditka's frustrations began showing in the local media. After a late-season practice with the team sitting at 2–7, Ditka was very abrupt and dismissive of reporters, whom he felt were asking him stupid questions, and was asked by one of them why he was in such a bad mood. Ditka responded by asking the reporter, "What do you care?" When the reporter tried to follow up, he said, "If you were 2–7, you'd be in a bad mood, too." Shortly thereafter, Ditka walked away from the reporters and left.


title: Mike Ditka

text: The low point of the season came three weeks later in a loss to the Falcons, which was the Saints' 10th in 11 weeks. Ditka came into the postgame press conference appearing emotionally exhausted, and said he felt the Saints would be better off hiring someone else to coach the team. Ditka claimed, "[he] didn't have it anymore", and said to the reporters, "God puts people in places for reasons, and he probably put me here to be humbled. I deserve it." He said that he did not feel they had much talent on the offensive side of the field. A reporter asked him if he was considering leaving the team, and Ditka replied affirmatively. When followed up with a question about whether he would resign before the season was over, Ditka said that he would if he felt that he was going to be fired. When asked if he believed the team quit on him, Ditka said that he did not believe that, that it was his responsibility to have the team ready to play, and that he had "failed" in that role. After a few more questions, Ditka walked away from the reporters and called the whole exercise "silly".


title: Mike Ditka

text: After two more losses, Ditka and the Saints faced the 7–7 Cowboys in their home finale on Christmas Eve. Ditka chose to give the start to Jake Delhomme, his third-string quarterback. In his first NFL start, Delhomme threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third, and Fred Weary took a forced fumble 56 yards for the game-winning score, as the Saints knocked off the Cowboys, 31–24. This proved to be Ditka's final victory as a head coach; after a 45–13 loss to the Panthers the following week left the Saints with a 3–13 record and their seventh consecutive nonwinning season, Ditka and general manager Bill Kuharich were fired on January 6, 2000.


title: Mike Ditka

text: Over a total of 14 seasons as a head coach, Ditka amassed a regular-season record of 121–95 and a postseason record of 6–6.


title: Mike Ditka

text: Almost immediately after his dismissal from the Bears in 1992, Ditka took a broadcasting job with NBC, working as an analyst on "NFL Live" and as a color commentator for many other NBC broadcasts. After he was fired by the Saints, Ditka joined CBS Sports, spending the 2000 and 2001 seasons as a studio analyst on "The NFL Today". He is currently a commentator on ESPN's "NFL Live", ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown", and CBS Radio–Westwood One's "Monday Night Football" pregame show. On his radio show, Coach Ditka is called "America's Coach" by well-known sidekick Jim Gray. Beginning in 2006, Ditka appeared on a Seattle radio program, "Groz with Gas" on 950 KJR-AM Seattle, on Thursday afternoons with Dave Grosby and Mike Gastineau. Ditka regularly appears on Chicago radio station ESPN 1000 (WMVP-AM), often broadcasting on Thursday mornings from one of his eponymous restaurants along with ESPN 1000 mid-morning hosts Marc Silverman and Tom Waddle, a former Bears player under Ditka.


title: Mike Ditka

text: Ditka served as color commentator for ESPN's September 10, 2007, broadcast of "Monday Night Football", alongside Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic. He replicated this role on the second game of the doubleheader in 2008, as well. Ditka spent several years with ESPN working on "Sunday NFL Countdown". In March 2016, ESPN and Ditka announced he would move to "SportsCenter" for remote-broadcasting analysis, as Ditka disliked the long distance from his home to the studio. This new role allows him to stay at home, while still maintaining an analyst role with the network.


title: Mike Ditka

text: Ditka has written or contributed to a number of books since 1986. He wrote "Ditka: An Autobiography" with friend and sports journalist Don Pierson; he authored "The 85 Bears: We Were the Greatest" with Rick Telander. He also wrote with Telander "In Life First you Kick Ass: Reflections on the 1985 Bears and Wisdom from Da Coach".


title: Mike Ditka

text: Ditka has also been the subject of several books including "Ditka: Monster of the Midway" by Armen Keteyian and "Ditka: The Player, the Coach, the Chicago Bears Legend" which is a compilation of Chicago Tribune stories written about Ditka throughout the years. He is also a large topic in books written about the Bears as a team such as "Then Ditka said to Payton" and "Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football".


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 1987, following the success of the Chicago Bears' charity single "The Super Bowl Shuffle", the video's producer Richard E. Meyer created a similar music video starring Ditka, titled "The Grabowski Shuffle." The video, about "working hard to get what you want", was inspired by a comment Ditka had made about his team's reputation: "There are Smiths and there are Grabowskis; we're the Grabowskis."


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 1991, Ditka cooperated with Accolade to produce the computer game "Mike Ditka Ultimate Football" and the Sega Mega Drive game "Mike Ditka Power Football". In 1995, Ditka starred as a football coach in a full-motion video game called "Quarterback Attack with Mike Ditka", released for the Sega Saturn, PC, and 3DO. "Quarterback Attack" was re-released for iTunes and Google Play in December 2016.


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 1993, Ditka appeared as himself in the 271st and final episode of the American TV sitcom "Cheers". Ditka also appeared as himself in the show "According to Jim", in the 2002 episode "Cars & Chicks". Ditka has made guest appearances and cameos on several other shows, including "L.A. Law", "Saturday Night Live" and "3rd Rock from the Sun". In 2005, Ditka had a major role in the comedy "Kicking & Screaming", playing himself; he was recruited by Will Ferrell's character to be an assistant little league soccer coach.


title: Mike Ditka

text: Ditka appeared in several ads for Montgomery Ward in the early 1990s, promoting their electronics and appliances department, known as "Electric Avenue".


title: Mike Ditka

text: Ditka performed "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field in 1998, the first season after the death of Harry Caray, who had previously led the song. "Chicago Now" blogger Marcus Leshock derided the performance, dubbing Ditka "the worst 7th-inning singer in history."


title: Mike Ditka

text: In January 2007, Ditka used the Super Bowl return of the Chicago Bears as a platform to promote efforts by many early NFL players trying to raise support for former NFL players in need of money and medical assistance; he is a key member in the Gridiron Greats. Angry at the wealthy NFL for ignoring the players who helped to create the league, Ditka and other former players have since been attempting to raise funds, in the words of Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure, "for guys who made this league and built it on their backs, their knees, their legs and now they're all broken down and they can't even get a decent pension." Ultimately, however, in December 2007, Ditka folded his "Hall of Fame Assistance Trust Fund" charity amidst revelations that, "in 2005, the group gave out more money to pay celebrities to play golf than the group in its entire three years of operation gave out to injured players", according to Laurie Styron of the American Institute of Philanthropy. During Super Bowl XLIV, Ditka (who was not in the original group) joined other members of the 1985 Chicago Bears in resurrecting the "Super Bowl Shuffle" in a Boost Mobile commercial.


title: Mike Ditka

text: In the spring of 2007, Ditka worked alongside X Management and Geneva Hospitality to form Mike Ditka Resorts, currently consisting of two resorts in the Orlando, Florida, area. Ditka owns a chain of restaurants, "Ditka's", which has three locations in Illinois and one in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ditka discovered singer John Vincent, who has been performing at his Chicago restaurant since 2001. Vincent performs in 20 different voices and sings the National Anthem regularly for the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Ditka and Vincent also own a record label together.


title: Mike Ditka

text: Ditka was a co-owner the Chicago Rush, an Arena Football League team. In August 2011, media reports noted that Ditka would be a financial investor for the new Elite Football League of India, a proposed American football league that will be India's first.


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 2012, Ditka partnered with Terlato Wines to produce his own collection of wines, produced in California. The partnership stemmed from a 20-year friendship between Ditka and Bill Terlato and their shared love of sports and food and wine. The first Mike Ditka Wines were released in fall 2012, including eight labels highlighting his career: "The Player" (2011 Pinot Grigio and 2010 Merlot), "The Coach" (2011 Sauvignon Blanc and 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon), " The Hall of Famer" (2011 Chardonnay and 2011 Pinot Noir), and "The Restaurateur" pair which includes "The Icon" (2010 Cabernet Sauvignon) and "The Champion" (2010 Red Blend)." The same year, Ditka and Camacho Cigars partnered and produced a line of cigars called "The Mike Ditka Kickoff Series". These cigars are named to highlight the milestones of Coach Ditka's football career: "The Player", The Coach", and "The Hall of Famer". All of these cigars are produced in Honduras.


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 2013, Ditka and Vienna Beef partnered to create Ditka Sausages, which will be eight inches long and one-third pound in weight. The two types are "Hot Beef Polish Sausage" and "Chicken Sausage with Mozzarella and Sun-Dried Tomatoes".


title: Mike Ditka

text: Also in 2013, Ditka and former Bears quarterback Jim McMahon are featured in a new series of commercials for the online discount retailer Overstock.com.


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 2014, Ditka and Resultly partnered to feature his profile and product collections. Ditka's profile is featured on Resultly and he regularly interacts with users about the collections he creates of his favorite items from all over the web.


title: Mike Ditka

text: In 2015, Ditka did several television ads for McDonald's. He was seen wearing a Green Bay Packers sweater vest. Some would later question if Ditka "jinxed" the Packers, as their six-game undefeated streak halted to a three-game losing streak during the airing of the commercials (including a loss to the Bears on Thanksgiving, which was part of a three-game winning streak they were enjoying at the time). A follow-up commercial would show Ditka throwing the Packers sweater vest out the window and donning his more familiar Bears sweater vest once the contest was over. Just hours after the spot was aired, the Packers went on to beat the Vikings, ending the "curse".


title: Mike Ditka

text: Ditka was married to his first wife, Marge from 1961 to 1973. They had four children together, Mark, Matt, Mike and Megan. He married his current wife Diane (née Trantham) Ditka in 1977.


title: Mike Ditka

text: During the 1985 season, he was arrested on Interstate 294 near O'Hare International Airport and later convicted of DUI after returning from a game against the San Francisco 49ers.