Pauline Bestley

## [Source]

**Pauline Bestley** is the Director of the Action Man Programme.

## Biography

### Early life

Pauline Bestley was born in London, England, and is the daughter of a Zimbabwean immigrant and a British diplomat. She attended Catholic School, but often felt like she was separate from her classmates. Bestley's interest in spycraft was formulated at this young age by analysing why and how her peers and their parents reacted the world. Bestley went on to attend Magdalen College, Oxford.

### Intelligence work

Recruited straight out of college, Bestley joined the Secret Intelligence Service as a field operative. Her missions are still classified, but several assignments placed her in direct contact with Action Man. Bestley's missions also saw her competing with the United Kingdom's allies, the Adventure Team and Operation Support.

### Joining the Action Man Programme

Bestley successfully broke up the "Council of Doom," a mission that brought her to the attention of Patrick Cain, Director of the Action Man Programme. Cain recruited her to head the Programme's logistics division.

### Director of the Action Man Programme

Director Cain resigned in the wake of the Cybertronian invasion, and Bestley was appointed to replace him. She moved to modernize the Action Man Programme, striving to keep up with their American counterpart, G.I. Joe. Bestley consolidated the Programme into headquarters based in the Secret Intelligence Service Headquarters and brought it closer to the British intelligence community. She also recruited field agent Terrence Salmons, eying him as a potential replacement for Mike Brogan, the current Action Man, as well as admitting Ian Noble into the Programme's tech division after he broke into their former headquarters on the South Bank of the River Thames.

### Antimatter Crisis

"*Don't mince words…just how close are we to armageddon?*"
"*Extremely close, Prime Minister.*"
"*Ah! You—you seem to be taking the end of the world well."*
*"Potential end of the world…and we have the situation in hand.*"
—The Prime Minister and Director Bestley discuss the impending antimatter disaster[src]
After Doctor X's agents stole an experimental spacecraft with an antimatter generator, Agent Noble infiltrated the facility without authorization. The generator was accidentally set to overload, threatening an antimatter explosion that could destroy the planet. At Secret Intelligence Service Headquarters, Bestley ordered Brogan to storm the facility and shut down the spacecraft. As Brogan infiltrated the base, the Director personally briefed the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on the situation, directing and monitoring the situation. When the Prime Minister inquired about which team had been sent in—the S.A.S., M.I.5, or S.F.S.G.—and the size of the squad, Bestley informed him no one had mentioned a squad at all.

During the mission, Brogan reported to Bestley that he had successfully recovered Agent Noble, and was proceeding to disarm the threat. The Prime Minister was impressed to actually be hearing Action Man's voice, and asked about both Noble and Action Man. Bestley told the Prime Minister her opinion of both, informing him that Action Man had saved the Earth on countless occasions. Action Man then chose to sacrifice his life to protect the planet by piloting the experimental spacecraft into orbit where it exploded.

### A New Action Man

Ian Noble was publicly revealed to have been the only survivor of the mission, and the Prime Minister put pressure on Bestley to appoint him as the new Action Man. Bestley was forced to promote Noble over Salmons. Shortly after, Bestley also promoted Agent Bryce Chan to the rank of quartermaster after Professor Ernst Sinclair died of a heart attack.

## Personality and traits

Bestley was known for her no-nonsense attitude, a trait that Mike Brogan admired and respected her for.

## Skills and abilities

As a field agent, Bestley was trained in physical combat, and her skills were part of the reason that she was appointed at Director of the Action Man Programme. As such, she has above-average strength and agility for a Human woman of her age, height, and build. After joining the Programme, Bestley showed that she had an adept tactical mind, as well as a willingness and ability to engage in political manoeuvring and brinkmanship.

Bestley is trained to use all NATO standard weapons, as well as all classified Secret Intelligence Service weapons and equipment.

## Behind the scenes

Pauline Bestley first appeared in the story *To The Victors The Spoils*, first published in *Rom 0* which was released as part of Free Comic Book Day in 2016.

## Appearances

* *Rom 0: To The Victors The Spoils*
* *Action Man 1: Absolute Beginners*
* *Action Man 2: England, Half English*
* *Action Man 3: Out of the Way*
* *Action Man 4: Mr Love and Justice*
* *Action Man: Revolution 1*

## Notes and references

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 *Rom 0: To The Victors The Spoils*
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 *Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook 1*
3. ↑ *Revolution 2*—Action Man biography
4. ↑ *Action Man 3: Out of the Way*