title: St. Francis Dam

text: On July 1, 1924, the same day Mulholland was to submit his annual report to the Board of Public Service Commissioners, Office Engineer W. W. Hurlbut informed him that all of the preliminary work on the dam had been completed. In his report presented to the Board, Mulholland wrote that the capacity of the reservoir would be (). Hurlbut, who also presented the Board with his annual report, "Report of the Office Engineer", gave a clarification for this change from the prior year's estimate. In his report he wrote that:


title: St. Francis Dam

text: ...at the St. Francis Reservoir the dam site has been cleared and the foundation trench started. All concrete placing equipment has been contracted for and it is expected actual work of pouring the concrete will start in approximately ninety days. Additional topographic surveys have been completed and disclose a storage capacity of 32,000 acre feet at elevation 1825 feet above sea level.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Construction of the dam itself began five weeks later, in early August, when the first concrete was poured.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: In March 1925, prior to Mulholland's report to the Board of Public Service Commissioners, Hurlbut again reported to Mulholland on the progress of the St. Francis project. He stated the reservoir would now have a capacity of () and that the dam's height would be above stream bed level. Hurlbut wrote, in an explanation of these changes that was presented to the Board of Public Service Commissioners, that:


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Additional surveys and changes in the plans for this reservoir have disclosed the fact that at crest elevation of 1835 feet above sea level the reservoir will have a capacity of 38,000 acre-feet.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: This increase in the dam's height over the original plan of 1923 necessitated the construction of a long wing dike along the top of the ridge adjacent to the western abutment in order to contain the enlarged reservoir.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: A distinctive aspect of the St. Francis Dam was its stepped downstream face. While the height of each step was a constant , the width of each step was unique to its respective elevation above sea level. This width varied between near the stream bed base at and decreased to at an elevation of , the base of the spillways and upright panels.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: When completed on May 4, 1926, the stairstep-faced dam rose to a height of 185 feet above the canyon floor. Both faces leading up to the crest were vertical for the final . On the downstream face, this vertical section was fashioned into wide sections. A portion of these made up the spillway, which consisted of eleven panels in total divided into two groups. Each spillway section had an open area that was high and wide for the overflow to pass. The dam also had five diameter outlet pipes through the center section which were controlled by slide gates attached to the upstream face.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Water began to fill the reservoir on March 12, 1926. It rose steadily and rather uneventfully, although several temperature and contraction cracks did appear in the dam, and a minor amount of seepage began to flow from under the abutments. In accord with the protocol for design, which had been established by the Engineering department during construction of the Mulholland Dam, no contraction joints were incorporated. The most notable incidents were two vertical cracks that ran down through the dam from the top; one was approximately west of the outlet gates and another about the same distance to the east. Mulholland, along with his Assistant Chief Engineer and General Manager Harvey Van Norman, inspected the cracks and judged them to be within expectation for a concrete dam the size of the St. Francis.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: At the beginning of April, the water level reached the area of the inactive San Francisquito Fault line in the western abutment. Some seepage began almost immediately as the water covered this area. Workers were ordered to seal off the leak, but they were not entirely successful, and water continued to permeate through the face of the dam. A two-inch pipe was used to collect this seepage and was laid from the fault line down to the home of the dam keeper, Tony Harnischfeger, which he used for domestic purposes. Water that collected in the drainage pipes under the dam to relieve the hydrostatic uplift pressure was carried off in this manner as well.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: In April 1927 the reservoir level was brought to within of the spillway, and during most of May the water level was within of overflowing. There were no large changes in the amount of the seepage that was collected and, month after month, the pipe flowed about one-third full. This was an insignificant amount for a dam the size of the St. Francis, and on this subject Mulholland said, "Of all the dams I have built and of all the dams I have ever seen, it was the driest dam of its size I ever saw." The seepage data recorded during the 1926–1927 period shows that the dam was an exceptionally dry structure.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: On May 27, 1927, the problems in the Owens Valley escalated once again with the dynamiting of a large section of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, part of the California Water Wars. A second incident took place a few days later, destroying another large section. In the days that followed, several more sections of the aqueduct were dynamited which caused a complete disruption of the flow. The near-full reservoir behind the St. Francis Dam was the only source of water from the north and withdrawals began immediately.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: During this time, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department received an anonymous phone call that a carload of men were on their way from Inyo County with the intention of dynamiting the St. Francis Dam and "to get some officers on the way as quick as possible." Within minutes, all personnel of the Bureau of Power and Light and the Bureau of Water Works and Supply either working or residing within the canyon had been notified. Cars carrying dozens of officers from both the Los Angeles Police and Sheriff's Departments rushed to the area. Although no sign of the threat that brought all this about materialized, for many days after, the canyon resembled an armed encampment.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The Daily Record of High Water Elevations of the St. Francis Dam shows that between May 27 and June 30 alone, 7000 to 8000 acre-feet of water was withdrawn. Through June and July the Owens Valley fight continued, as did interruptions in the flow from the aqueduct. This in turn caused continued withdrawals from the reservoir.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: In early August, opposition to Los Angeles's water projects collapsed after the indictment of its leaders for embezzlement. The city subsequently sponsored a series of repair and maintenance programs for aqueduct facilities that stimulated local employment. The St. Francis reservoir level rose once again, although not without incident. Late in 1927, a fracture was noticed which began at the western abutment and ran diagonally upwards and toward the center section for a distance. As with others, Mulholland inspected the fracture, judged it to be another contraction crack and ordered it filled with oakum and grouted to seal off any seepage. At the same time, another fracture appeared in a corresponding position on the eastern portion of the dam, starting at the crest near the last spillway section and running downward at an angle for sixty-five feet before ending at the hillside. It too was sealed in the same manner. Both of these fractures were noted to be wider at their junction with the hillside abutments and narrowed as they angled toward the top of the dam.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The reservoir continued to rise steadily until early February 1928, when the water level was brought to within one foot of the spillway. During this time though, several new cracks appeared in the wing dike, and new areas of seepage began from under both abutments. Near the end of February, a notable leak began at the base of the wing dike approximately west of the main dam, discharging about 0.60 cubic feet per second (4.5 U.S. gallons, or 17 liters, per second). The fracture was inspected by Mulholland, who judged it to be another contraction or temperature crack and left it open to drain. During the first week of March, it was noticed that the leak had approximately doubled. Due in part to some erosion taking place, Mulholland ordered an eight-inch (20.3 cm) concrete drain pipe to be installed. The pipe led the water along the dike wall, discharging it at the west abutment contact with the main dam. This gave the hillside a very saturated appearance, and the water flowing down the steps of the dam where it abutted the hill caused alarm among the canyon residents and others traveling on the road to the east, as at that distance it appeared the water was coming from the abutment.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: On March 7, 1928, the reservoir was three inches below the spillway crest and Mulholland ordered that no more water be turned into the St. Francis. Five days later March 12, while conducting his morning rounds, Tony Harnischfeger, the dam keeper, discovered a new leak in the west abutment. Concerned not only because other leaks had appeared in this same area in the past but more so that the muddy color of the runoff he observed could indicate the water was eroding the foundation of the dam, he immediately alerted Mulholland. After arriving, both Mulholland and Van Norman began inspecting the area of the leak. Van Norman found the source and by following the runoff, determined that the muddy appearance of the water was not from the leak itself but came from where the water contacted loose soil from a newly cut access road. The leak was discharging 2 to 3 cubic feet (15 to 22 U.S. gallons, or 57 to 85 liters) per second of water by their approximation. Mulholland and Van Norman's concern was heightened not only by the leak's location but by the inconsistent volume of the discharge, according to their testimony at the coroner's inquest. On two occasions as they watched, an acceleration or surging of the flow was noticed by both men. Mulholland felt that some corrective measures were needed, although this could be done at some time in the future.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: For the next two hours Mulholland, Van Norman, and Harnischfeger inspected the dam and various leaks and seepages, finding nothing out of the ordinary or of concern for a large dam. With both Mulholland and Van Norman convinced that the new leak was not dangerous and that the dam was safe, they returned to Los Angeles.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Two and a half minutes before midnight on March 12, 1928, the St. Francis Dam catastrophically failed.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: There were no surviving eyewitnesses to the collapse, but at least five people passed the dam less than an hour before without noticing anything unusual. The last, Ace Hopewell, a carpenter at Powerhouse , rode his motorcycle past the dam about ten minutes before midnight. At the coroner's inquest, Hopewell testified he had passed Powerhouse without seeing anything there or at the dam that caused him concern. He stated at approximately one and one-half miles (2.4 km) upstream he heard, above his motorcycle's engine noise, a rumbling much like the sound of "rocks rolling on the hill." Hopewell stopped, got off his motorcycle, and smoked a cigarette while checking the hillsides. The rumbling had begun to fade, and Hopewell assumed the sound was a landslide common to the area. Hopewell finished his cigarette, got back on his motorcycle, and left. He was the last person to see the St. Francis Dam intact and survive.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: At the Bureau of Power and Light at both Receiving Stations in Los Angeles and the Water Works and Supply at Powerhouse , there was a sharp voltage drop at Simultaneously, a transformer at Southern California Edison's Saugus substation exploded, a situation investigators later determined was caused by wires up the western hillside of San Francisquito Canyon about ninety feet above the dam's east abutment shorting.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Given the known height of the flood wave, and the fact that within seventy minutes or less after the collapse the reservoir was virtually empty, the failure must have been sudden and complete. Seconds after it began, little of the dam remained standing, other than the center section and wing wall. The main dam, from west of the center section to the wing wall abutment atop the hillside, broke into several large pieces and numerous smaller pieces. All of these were washed downstream as 12.4 billion gallons (47 million m³) of water began surging down San Francisquito Canyon. The largest piece, weighing approximately 10,000 tons (9,000 metric tons) was found about three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) below the dam site.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Somewhat similarly, the dam portion east of the center section had also broken into several larger and smaller pieces. Unlike the western side, most of these came to rest near the base of the standing section. The largest fragments fell across the lower portion of the standing section, coming to rest partially on its upstream face. Initially, the two remaining sections of the dam remained upright. As the reservoir lowered, water undercut the already undermined eastern portion, which twisted and fell backwards toward the eastern hillside, breaking into three sections.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Harnischfeger and his family were most likely among the first casualties caught in the initially high flood wave, which swept over their cottage about a quarter of a mile (400 m) downstream from the dam. The body of a woman who lived with the family was found fully clothed and wedged between two blocks of concrete near the base of the dam. This led to the suggestion she and Harnischfeger may have been inspecting the structure immediately before its failure. Neither the bodies of Harnischfeger nor his six-year-old son were found.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Five minutes after the collapse, the then flood wave had traveled one and one-half miles () at an average speed of , destroying Powerhouse and taking the lives of 64 of the 67 workmen and their families who lived nearby. This cut power to much of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. Power was quickly restored via tie-lines with Southern California Edison Company, but as the floodwater entered the Santa Clara riverbed it overflowed the river's banks, flooding parts of present-day Valencia and Newhall. At about 12:40 a.m. Southern California Edison's two main lines into the city were destroyed by the flooding, re-darkening the areas that had earlier lost power, and spreading the outage to other areas served by Southern California Edison. Nonetheless, power to most of the areas not flooded was restored with power from Edison's Long Beach steam electric generating plant.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Near the mass of water, then high, followed the river bed west and demolished Edison's Saugus substation, cutting power to the entire Santa Clara River Valley and parts of Ventura and Oxnard. At least four miles of the state's main north–south highway was under water and the town of Castaic Junction was being washed away.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The flood entered the Santa Clarita River Valley at . Approximately five miles downstream, near the Ventura–Los Angeles county line, a temporary construction camp the Edison Company had set up for its 150-man crew on the flats of the river bank was hit. In the confusion, Edison personnel had been unable to issue a warning and 84 workers perished. Shortly before , a Santa Clara River Valley telephone operator learned from the Pacific Long Distance Telephone Company that the dam had failed. She called a Motorcycle Officer with the State Motor Division, then began calling the homes of those in danger. The officer went from door to door warning residents about the imminent flood. At the same time, a deputy sheriff drove up the river valley, toward the flood, with his siren blaring, until he had to stop at Fillmore.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The flood heavily damaged the towns of Fillmore, Bardsdale, and Santa Paula before emptying both victims and debris into the Pacific Ocean downstream south of Ventura, at what is now the West Montalvo Oil Field around , at which point the wave was almost two miles () wide and still traveling at .


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Newspapers across the country carried accounts of the disaster. The front page of the "Los Angeles Times" ran four stories, including aerial photos of the collapsed dam and the ruins of Santa Paula. In a statement, Mulholland said, "I would not venture at this time to express a positive opinion as to the cause of the St. Francis Dam disaster... Mr. Van Norman and I arrived at the scene of the break around 2:30a.m. this morning. We saw at once that the dam was completely out and that the torrential flood of water from the reservoir had left an appalling record of death and destruction in the valley below." Mulholland stated that it appeared that there had been major movement in the hills forming the western buttress of the dam, adding that three eminent geologists, Robert T. Hill, C. F. Tolman and D.W. Murphy, had been hired by the Board of Water and Power commissioners to determine if this was the cause.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: There were at least a dozen separate investigations into the disaster. With unprecedented speed, eight of these had begun by the weekend following the collapse. Almost all of these involved investigative panels of prominent engineers and geologists. The more notable of these groups and committees were those sponsored by Governor C. C. Young, headed by A. J. Wiley, the renowned dam engineer and consultant to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Boulder (Hoover) Dam Board; the Los Angeles City Council, which was chaired by the Chief of the Reclamation Service, Elwood Mead; the Los Angeles County coroner, Frank Nance, and Los Angeles County District Attorney Asa Keyes. Others were convened: the Water and Power Commissioners started their own inquiry, as did the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, who hired J. B. Lippincott. The Santa Clara River Protective Association employed the geologist and Stanford University professor emeritus, Dr. Bailey Willis, and eminent San Francisco Civil Engineer and past president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Carl E. Grunsky. There were still others, such as the state railroad commission and several political entities who only sent investigators or representatives.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Although they were not unanimous on all points, most commissions quickly reached their respective conclusions. The governor's commission met on March 19 and submitted their 79-page report to the governor on March 24, five days later, and only eleven days after the collapse. Although this may have been sufficient time to answer what they had been directed to determine, they had been deprived of the sworn testimony at the coroner's inquest, which was scheduled to be convened March 21, the only inquiry that took into consideration factors other than geology and engineering.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The need for immediate answers was understandable, having its roots in the Swing–Johnson Bill in Congress. This bill, which had first been filed in 1922, and failed to be voted on in three successive Congresses, was again before Congress at the time. This bill ultimately provided the funding for constructing the Hoover Dam. Supporters and responsible leaders alike realized the jeopardy in which the bill then stood. Although the water and electricity from the project were needed, the idea of the construction of such a massive dam of similar design, which would create a reservoir seven hundred times larger than the St. Francis, did not sit well with many in light of the recent disaster and the devastation. The bill was passed by Congress, and signed into law by President Coolidge on December 21, 1928.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The governor's commission was the first to release its findings, titled "Report of the Commission appointed by Governor C. C. Young to investigate the causes leading to the failure of the St. Francis dam near Saugus, California". The report became the most widely distributed analysis. Along with most of the other investigators, they perceived the new leak as the key to understanding the collapse, although the commission believed that "the foundation under the entire dam left very much to be desired." The report stated, "With such a formation, the ultimate failure of this dam was inevitable, unless water could have been kept from reaching the foundation. Inspection galleries, pressure grouting, drainage wells and deep cut-off walls are commonly used to prevent or remove percolation, but it is improbable that any or all of these devices would have been adequately effective, though they would have ameliorated the conditions and postponed the final failure." They placed the cause of the failure on the western hillside. "The west end," the commission stated, "was founded upon a reddish conglomerate which, even when dry, was of decidedly inferior strength and which, when wet, became so soft that most of it lost almost all rock characteristics." The softening of the "reddish conglomerate" undermined the west side. "The rush of water released by failure of the west end caused a heavy scour against the easterly canyon wall ... and caused the failure of that part of the structure." There then "quickly followed ... the collapse of large sections of the dam."


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The committee appointed by the Los Angeles City Council, for the most part concurred in attributing the collapse to "defective foundations", and wrote, "The manner of failure was that the first leak, however started, began under the concrete at that part of the dam which stood on the red conglomerate; this leak increased in volume as it scoured away the foundation material already greatly softened by infiltrated water from the reservoir which removed the support of the dam at this point and since no arch action could occur by reason of the yielding conglomerate abutment, made failure of the dam inevitable." Likewise, they concluded the failure most likely followed a pattern similar to that which was proposed by the governor's commission, although they did acknowledge that "the sequence of failure is uncertain."


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The committee ended their report with, "...having examined all the evidence which it has been able to obtain to date reports its conclusions as follows:


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The consensus of most of the investigating commissions was that the initial break had taken place at or near the fault line on the western abutment, which had been a problem area since water first covered the area. The prevailing thought was that increasing water percolation through the fault line had either undermined or weakened the foundation to a point that a portion of the structure blew out or the dam collapsed from its own immense weight. This was supported by a chart made by the automatic water level recorder located on the dam's center section. This chart clearly showed that there had been no significant change in the reservoir level until forty minutes before the dam's failure, at which time a small though gradually increasing loss was recorded.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The only theory to vary greatly from the others was that of Bailey Willis, Carl E. Grunsky and his son. They believed that the portion of the east abutment below the dam was the first to give way, clearing the way for the collapse to take place.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Their investigations, while somewhat collaborative, culminated in two separate reports (one by the Grunskys and the other by Dr. Willis) which were completed in April 1928. These reports, according to Carl Grunsky, "were reached independently" and "are in substantial agreement."


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Dr. Willis and the Grunskys agreed with the other engineers and investigators about the poor quality and deteriorating conditions of the entire foundation, although they maintained that a critical situation developed on the east abutment. Dr. Willis, the geologist of the investigative team, was most likely the first to discover the "old landslide" within the mountains which had made the eastern abutment for the dam. In his report, he discussed it at great length and the Grunskys drew substantially on it, as they did his analysis of the schist, for their own report. The Grunskys, as civil engineers, took the lead in that area of the investigation, and in describing the role played by "hydrostatic uplift".


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Uplift takes its name from its tendency to lift a dam upward. Although many designers and builders of dams had become aware of this phenomenon by the late 1890s to early 1900s, it was still not generally well understood or appreciated. Nevertheless, it was becoming a matter of debate and a concern to dam builders of this era that water from a reservoir could seep under a dam and exert pressure upward. Due for the most part to inadequate drainage of the base and side abutments, the phenomenon of uplift destabilizes gravity dams by reducing the structure's "effective weight", making it less able to resist horizontal water pressure. Uplift can act through the bedrock foundation: the condition most commonly develops where the bedrock foundation is strong enough to bear the weight of the dam, but is fractured or fissured and therefore susceptible to seepage and water saturation.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: According to their theories, water from the reservoir had permeated far back into the schist formation of the eastern abutment. This lubricated the rock and it slowly began to move, exerting a tremendous amount of weight against the dam, which according to the Grunskys was already becoming less stable due to "uplift". Making the situation worse, Dr. Willis established, was that the conglomerate, on which the western abutment of the dam rested, reacted upon becoming wet by swelling. In fact, the amount of swelling was such that it would raise any structure built upon it.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: This hypothesis was reinforced when surveys taken of the wing wall after the failure were compared with those taken at the time it was built. They reveal that in some areas the wall was 2 to 6 inches higher than when built.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Therefore, the dam was caught between forces that were acting on it much like a vise, as the red conglomerate swelled on one side, and the moving mountain pressed in on it from the other.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: As soon as the dam was loosened on its base the toe of the structure spalled off. This was probably the beginning of its breaking up, and probably occurred sometime after 11:30 PM during the 23 minutes in which the water in the reservoir apparently fell 3/10 of a foot. Thereupon, quite likely, a part of the east end of the dam, meanwhile undermined, went out and the dam at this end lost its hillside support. Hydrostatic uplift at the already loose west and the weight of the remaining portion of the undermined east end caused a temporary tilting of the dam towards the east, accompanied by a rapid washing away of the hillside under the dam at its west end which then also began to break up. The reservoir water was now rushing with tremendous force against both ends and against the upstream face of all that was standing of the dam. This rush of water carried away huge blocks of concrete from both ends of the dam...


title: St. Francis Dam

text: There was and remains a difference of professional opinions on the amount of time that elapsed, shown by the chart made by the Stevens automatic water level recorder, from when the line indicating the reservoir level broke sharply downward until it became perpendicular. Most investigating engineers feel the amount of time indicated on the chart is thirty to forty minutes, not the twenty-three minutes that Grunsky stated.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: In support of his theory of the dam tilting, Grunsky pointed to an odd clue near the western lower edge of the standing section. Here a ladder had become wedged in a crack that had opened apparently during this rocking or tilting process and then had become tightly pinched in place as the section settled back on its foundation. Measurements taken proved the crack must have been much wider at the time that the ladder entered it. Further, surveys indeed showed the center section had been subjected to severe tilting or twisting. These surveys established that the center section had moved downstream and toward the eastern abutment.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Although this investigation was insightful and informative, the theory, along with others which hypothesized an appreciably increasing amount of seepage just prior to the failure, becomes less likely when it is compared against the eyewitness accounts of the conditions in the canyon and near the dam during the last thirty minutes before its collapse. Grunsky hypothesized, though failed to explain, the action of the dam tilting as he described. This action would have the dam in motion as a single unit while conversely, testimony given at the Coroner's Inquest indicates that the dam was fractured transversely in at least four places. Furthermore, the two cracks, which bordered each side of the standing center section, would have served as hinges to prevent this.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The center section, which had become known as "The Tombstone" due to a newspaper reporter's description of it as such, became an attraction for tourists and souvenir hunters.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: In May 1929, the upright section was toppled with dynamite, and the remaining blocks were demolished with bulldozers and jackhammers to discourage the sightseers and souvenir hunters from exploring the ruins. The wing dike was used by Los Angeles firemen to gain experience in using explosives on building structures. The St. Francis Dam was not rebuilt, though Bouquet Reservoir in nearby Bouquet Canyon was built in 1934 as an early replacement, with additional capacity added with the completion of the Castaic Dam decades later in 1973.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The exact number of victims remains unknown. The official death toll in August 1928 was 385, but the remains of victims continued to be discovered every few years until the mid-1950s. Many victims were swept out to sea when the flood reached the Pacific Ocean and were never recovered, while others were washed ashore, some as far south as the Mexican border. The remains of one victim were found deep underground near Newhall in 1992, and other bodies, believed to be victims of the disaster, were found in the late 1970s and 1994. The death toll is currently estimated to be at least 431.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: At the Coroner's Inquest, the leak that Tony Harnischfeger had spotted was cited as evidence that the dam was leaking on the day of the break, and that both the Bureau of Water Works and Supply and Mulholland were aware of it. Mulholland told the jury he had been at the dam the day of the break, due to the dam keeper's call, but neither he nor Van Norman had observed anything of concern, nor found any dangerous conditions. Mulholland further testified that leaks in dams, especially of the type and size of the St. Francis, were common. During the inquest Mulholland said, "This inquest is a very painful thing for me to have to attend but it is the occasion of it that is painful. The only ones I envy about this thing are the ones who are dead." In subsequent testimony, after answering a question he added, "Whether it is good or bad, don't blame anyone else, you just fasten it on me. If there was an error in human judgment, I was the human, I won't try to fasten it on anyone else."


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The Coroner's Inquest jury determined that one of the causative factors for the disaster lay in what they had termed as "an error in engineering judgment in determining the foundation at the St. Francis Dam site and deciding on the best type of dam to build there" and that "the responsibility for the error in engineering judgment rests upon the Bureau of Water Works and Supply, and the Chief Engineer thereof." They cleared Mulholland as well as others of the Bureau of Water Works and Supply of any criminal culpability, since neither he nor anyone else at the time could have known of the instability of the rock formations on which the dam was built. The hearings also recommended that "the construction and operation of a great dam should never be left to the sole judgment of one man, no matter how eminent."


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Mulholland retired from the Bureau of Water Works and Supply December 1, 1928. His assistant, Harvey Van Norman, succeeded him as chief engineer and general manager. Mulholland was retained as Chief Consulting Engineer, with an office, and received a salary of $500 a month. In later years, he retreated into a life of semi-isolation. He died in 1935, at the age of 79.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: In response to the St. Francis Dam disaster, the California legislature created an updated dam safety program and eliminated the municipal exemption. Before this was added, a municipality having its own engineering department was completely exempt from regulation.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: On August 14, 1929, the Department of Public Works, under the administrative oversight of the State Engineer, which was later assumed by the Division of Safety of Dams, was given authority to review all non-federal dams over 25 feet high or which could hold more than 50 acre-feet of water. The new legislation also allowed the state to employ consultants, as they deemed necessary.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Additionally, the state was given full authority to supervise the maintenance and operation of all non-federal dams.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Having determined that the unregulated design of construction projects constituted a hazard to the public, the California legislature passed laws to regulate civil engineering and, in 1929, created the state Board of Registration for Civil Engineers (now the Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists).


title: St. Francis Dam

text: At present, the popular hypothesis is that collapse may have begun with the eastern abutment of the dam giving way, possibly due to a landslide. This scenario, having its roots in the works of Willis and Grunsky, was expanded upon by the author Charles Outland in his 1963 book "Man‑Made Disaster : The Story of St. Francis Dam". The material on which the eastern abutment of the dam had been built may itself have been part of an ancient landslide, but this would have been impossible for almost any geologists of the 1920s to detect. Indeed, the site had been inspected twice, at different times, by two of the leading geologists and civil engineers of the day, John C. Branner of Stanford University and Carl E. Grunsky; neither found fault with the San Francisquito rock.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: J. David Rogers, inspired by the work of Outland, investigated the failure and published an extensive scenario, albeit somewhat controversial, of the possible geological and rock mechanic actions which may have led to the dam's failure. He attributed the failure to three major factors: the instability of the ancient landslide material on which the dam was built, the failure to compensate for the additional height added to the dam's design, and the design and construction being overseen by only one person.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: A critique of Rogers's historical analysis of the dam's collapse was published in the journal "California History" in 2004 by historians Norris Hundley Jr. (Professor Emeritus, UCLA) and Donald C. Jackson (Professor, Lafayette College). While accepting most of his geological analysis of the failure, the article makes clearer the differences and deficiencies of the structure built in San Francisquito Canyon and how it fell short of the standards for large-scale concrete gravity dams as practiced by other prominent dam engineers in the 1920s.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: Shortly after the disaster, many living below Mulholland Dam, which creates the Hollywood Reservoir, feared a similar disaster and began to protest, and petitioned the City of Los Angeles to drain the reservoir and remove the dam.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: A Committee of Engineers & Geologists to Assess Mulholland Dam was appointed to evaluate the dam's safety. An External Review Panel to evaluate the structure, convened by the State of California, followed in 1930. The same year, the City of Los Angeles Board of Water & Power Commissioners appointed their own Board of Review for the dam. Although the state's panel did not recommend modification of the dam, both panels came to similar conclusions: that the dam lacked what was then considered sufficient uplift relief, which could lead to destabilization, and was unacceptable. Again in 1931, a fourth panel, the Board of Engineers to Evaluate Mulholland Dam, was appointed to assess the structure. As well, an external study group appointed by the Board of Water & Power Commissioners produced a "Geological Report of the Suitability of Foundations". Certain design deficiencies were uncovered in the plans made by the engineering department during the planning phase of the dam. These had to do with the dam's base width in conjunction to its ability to resist uplift and sliding and to withstand earthquake loading.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The decision was made to permanently keep the Hollywood Reservoir drawn down. It was also decided to keep the amount stored in the reservoir to no more than and to place an enormous amount of earth, , on the dam's downstream face to increase its resistance against hydraulic uplift and earthquake forces, and to screen it from public view. This work was carried out in 1933–34.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The only visible remains of the St. Francis Dam are weathered, broken chunks of gray concrete and the rusted remnants of the handrails that lined the top of the dam and the wing dike. The ruins and the scar from the ancient landslide can be seen from San Francisquito Canyon Road. Large chunks of debris can still be found scattered about the creek bed south of the dam's original site.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The site of the disaster is registered as California Historical Landmark #919. The landmark is located on the grounds of Powerhouse and is near San Francisquito Canyon Road. The marker reads:


title: St. Francis Dam

text: NO. 919 ST. FRANCIS DAM DISASTER SITE – The 185-foot concrete St. Francis Dam, part of the Los Angeles aqueduct system, stood a mile and a half north of this spot. On March 12, 1928, just before midnight, it collapsed and sent over twelve billion gallons of water roaring down the valley of the Santa Clara River. Over 450 lives were lost in this, one of California's greatest disasters.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: San Francisquito Canyon Road sustained heavy storm damage in 2005, and when rebuilt in 2009, it was re-routed away from the original road bed and the remains of the main section of the dam. The new road is routed through a cut which was made in the hillside on the western edge of the wing dike.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, signed March 12, 2019, established the Saint Francis Dam Disaster National Monument and authorized the establishment of the Saint Francis Dam Disaster National Memorial. The sites will be administered by the United States Forest Service within Angeles National Forest to commemorate the collapse of the dam and preserve of land for recreation and protection of resources. Access to the Monument will be by foot via Old San Francisquito Canyon Road.


title: St. Francis Dam

text: The St. Francis Dam National Memorial Foundation is a non-profit organization, established in 2019, with the goal of raising funds to support the United States Forest Service in building and maintaining the St. Francis Dam Disaster National Memorial and Monument, including the construction of a visitor center and a memorial wall with the names of all the identified victims.


title: Corona discharge

text: A corona discharge is an electrical discharge caused by the ionization of a fluid such as air surrounding a conductor carrying a high voltage. It represents a local region where the air (or other fluid) has undergone electrical breakdown and become conductive, allowing charge to continuously leak off the conductor into the air. A corona discharge occurs at locations where the strength of the electric field (potential gradient) around a conductor exceeds the dielectric strength of the air. It is often seen as a bluish glow in the air adjacent to pointed metal conductors carrying high voltages, and emits light by the same mechanism as a gas discharge lamp.


title: Corona discharge

text: In many high voltage applications, corona is an unwanted side effect. Corona discharge from high voltage electric power transmission lines constitutes an economically significant waste of energy for utilities. In high voltage equipment like cathode ray tube televisions, radio transmitters, X-ray machines, and particle accelerators, the current leakage caused by coronas can constitute an unwanted load on the circuit. In the air, coronas generate gases such as ozone (O) and nitric oxide (NO), and in turn, nitrogen dioxide (NO), and thus nitric acid (HNO) if water vapor is present. These gases are corrosive and can degrade and embrittle nearby materials, and are also toxic to humans and the environment.


title: Corona discharge

text: Corona discharges can often be suppressed by improved insulation, corona rings, and making high voltage electrodes in smooth rounded shapes. However, controlled corona discharges are used in a variety of processes such as air filtration, photocopiers, and ozone generators.


title: Corona discharge

text: A corona discharge is a process by which a current flows from an electrode with a high potential into a neutral fluid, usually air, by ionizing that fluid so as to create a region of plasma around the electrode. The ions generated eventually pass the charge to nearby areas of lower potential, or recombine to form neutral gas molecules.


title: Corona discharge

text: When the potential gradient (electric field) is large enough at a point in the fluid, the fluid at that point ionizes and it becomes conductive. If a charged object has a sharp point, the electric field strength around that point will be much higher than elsewhere. Air near the electrode can become ionized (partially conductive), while regions more distant do not. When the air near the point becomes conductive, it has the effect of increasing the apparent size of the conductor. Since the new conductive region is less sharp, the ionization may not extend past this local region. Outside this region of ionization and conductivity, the charged particles slowly find their way to an oppositely charged object and are neutralized.


title: Corona discharge

text: Along with the similar brush discharge, the corona is often called a "single-electrode discharge", as opposed to a "two-electrode discharge" – an electric arc. A corona forms only when the conductor is widely enough separated from conductors at the opposite potential that an arc cannot jump between them. If the geometry and gradient are such that the ionized region continues to grow until it reaches another conductor at a lower potential, a low resistance conductive path between the two will be formed, resulting in an electric spark or electric arc, depending upon the source of the electric field. If the source continues to supply current, a spark will evolve into a continuous discharge called an arc.


title: Corona discharge

text: Corona discharge forms only when the electric field (potential gradient) at the surface of the conductor exceeds a critical value, the dielectric strength or disruptive potential gradient of the fluid. In air at sea level pressure of 101 kPa, the critical value is roughly 30 kV/cm, but this decreases with pressure, therefore, corona discharge is more of a problem at high altitudes. Corona discharge usually forms at highly curved regions on electrodes, such as sharp corners, projecting points, edges of metal surfaces, or small diameter wires. The high curvature causes a high potential gradient at these locations so that the air breaks down and forms plasma there first. On sharp points in the air, corona can start at potentials of 2–6 kV. In order to suppress corona formation, terminals on high voltage equipment are frequently designed with smooth large-diameter rounded shapes like balls or toruses. Corona rings are often added to insulators of high voltage transmission lines.


title: Corona discharge

text: Coronas may be "positive" or "negative". This is determined by the polarity of the voltage on the highly curved electrode. If the curved electrode is positive with respect to the flat electrode, it has a "positive corona"; if it is negative, it has a "negative corona". (See below for more details.) The physics of positive and negative coronas are strikingly different. This asymmetry is a result of the great difference in mass between electrons and positively charged ions, with only the electron having the ability to undergo a significant degree of ionizing inelastic collision at common temperatures and pressures.


title: Corona discharge

text: An important reason for considering coronas is the production of ozone around conductors undergoing corona processes in air. A negative corona generates much more ozone than the corresponding positive corona.


title: Corona discharge

text: Coronas can be used to generate charged surfaces, which is an effect used in electrostatic copying (photocopying). They can also be used to remove particulate matter from air streams by first charging the air, and then passing the charged stream through a comb of alternating polarity, to deposit the charged particles onto oppositely charged plates.


title: Corona discharge

text: The free radicals and ions generated in corona reactions can be used to scrub the air of certain noxious products, through chemical reactions, and can be used to produce ozone.


title: Corona discharge

text: Coronas can generate audible and radio-frequency noise, particularly near electric power transmission lines. Therefore, power transmission equipment is designed to minimize the formation of corona discharge.


title: Corona discharge

text: In many cases, coronas can be suppressed by corona rings, toroidal devices that serve to spread the electric field over a larger areas and decrease the field gradient below the corona threshold.


title: Corona discharge

text: Corona discharge occurs when the electric field is strong enough to create a chain reaction; electrons in the air collide with atoms hard enough to ionize them, creating more free electrons that ionize more atoms. The diagrams below illustrate at a microscopic scale the process which creates a corona in the air next to a pointed electrode carrying a high negative voltage with respect to ground. The process is:


title: Corona discharge

text: Thermodynamically, a corona is a very "nonequilibrium" process, creating a non-thermal plasma. The avalanche mechanism does not release enough energy to heat the gas in the corona region generally and ionize it, as occurs in an electric arc or spark. Only a small number of gas molecules take part in the electron avalanches and are ionized, having energies close to the ionization energy of 1–3 ev, the rest of the surrounding gas is close to ambient temperature.


title: Corona discharge

text: The onset voltage of corona or corona inception voltage (CIV) can be found with "Peek's law" (1929), formulated from empirical observations. Later papers derived more accurate formulas.


title: Corona discharge

text: A positive corona is manifested as a uniform plasma across the length of a conductor. It can often be seen glowing blue/white, though many of the emissions are in the ultraviolet. The uniformity of the plasma is caused by the homogeneous source of secondary avalanche electrons described in the mechanism section, below. With the same geometry and voltages, it appears a little smaller than the corresponding negative corona, owing to the lack of a non-ionising plasma region between the inner and outer regions.


title: Corona discharge

text: A positive corona has a much lower density of free electrons compared to a negative corona; perhaps a thousandth of the electron density, and a hundredth of the total number of electrons.


title: Corona discharge

text: However, the electrons in a positive corona are concentrated close to the surface of the curved conductor, in a region of the high potential gradient (and therefore the electrons have high energy), whereas in a negative corona many of the electrons are in the outer, lower-field areas. Therefore, if electrons are to be used in an application which requires high activation energy, positive coronas may support a greater reaction constant than corresponding negative coronas; though the total number of electrons may be lower, the number of very high energy electrons may be higher.


title: Corona discharge

text: Coronas are efficient producers of ozone in the air. A positive corona generates much less ozone than the corresponding negative corona, as the reactions which produce ozone are relatively low-energy. Therefore, the greater number of electrons of a negative corona leads to increased production.


title: Corona discharge

text: Beyond the plasma, in the "unipolar region", the flow is of low-energy positive ions toward the flat electrode.


title: Corona discharge

text: As with a negative corona, a positive corona is initiated by an exogenous ionization event in a region of a high potential gradient. The electrons resulting from the ionization are attracted "toward" the curved electrode, and the positive ions repelled from it. By undergoing inelastic collisions closer and closer to the curved electrode, further molecules are ionized in an electron avalanche.


title: Corona discharge

text: In a positive corona, secondary electrons, for further avalanches, are generated predominantly in the fluid itself, in the region outside the plasma or avalanche region. They are created by ionization caused by the photons emitted from that plasma in the various de-excitation processes occurring within the plasma after electron collisions, the thermal energy liberated in those collisions creating photons which are radiated into the gas. The electrons resulting from the ionization of a neutral gas molecule are then electrically attracted back toward the curved electrode, attracted "into" the plasma, and so begins the process of creating further avalanches inside the plasma.


title: Corona discharge

text: A negative corona is manifested in a non-uniform corona, varying according to the surface features and irregularities of the curved conductor. It often appears as tufts of the corona at sharp edges, the number of tufts altering with the strength of the field. The form of negative coronas is a result of its source of secondary avalanche electrons (see below). It appears a little larger than the corresponding positive corona, as electrons are allowed to drift out of the ionizing region, and so the plasma continues some distance beyond it. The total number of electrons and electron density is much greater than in the corresponding positive corona. However, they are of predominantly lower energy, owing to being in a region of lower potential gradient. Therefore, whilst for many reactions, the increased electron density will increase the reaction rate, the lower energy of the electrons will mean that reactions which require higher electron energy may take place at a lower rate.


title: Corona discharge

text: Negative coronas are more complex than positive coronas in construction. As with positive coronas, the establishing of a corona begins with an exogenous ionization event generating a primary electron, followed by an electron avalanche.


title: Corona discharge

text: Electrons ionized from the neutral gas are not useful in sustaining the negative corona process by generating secondary electrons for further avalanches, as the general movement of electrons in a negative corona is outward from the curved electrode. For negative corona, instead, the dominant process generating secondary electrons is the photoelectric effect, from the surface of the electrode itself. The work function of the electrons (the energy required to liberate the electrons from the surface) is considerably lower than the ionization energy of air at standard temperatures and pressures, making it a more liberal source of secondary electrons under these conditions. Again, the source of energy for the electron-liberation is a high-energy photon from an atom within the plasma body relaxing after excitation from an earlier collision. The use of ionized neutral gas as a source of ionization is further diminished in a negative corona by the high-concentration of positive ions clustering around the curved electrode.


title: Corona discharge

text: Under other conditions, the collision of the positive species with the curved electrode can also cause electron liberation.


title: Corona discharge

text: The difference, then, between positive and negative coronas, in the matter of the generation of secondary electron avalanches, is that in a positive corona they are generated by the gas surrounding the plasma region, the new secondary electrons travelling inward, whereas in a negative corona they are generated by the curved electrode itself, the new secondary electrons travelling outward.


title: Corona discharge

text: A further feature of the structure of negative coronas is that as the electrons drift outwards, they encounter neutral molecules and, with electronegative molecules (such as oxygen and water vapor), combine to produce negative ions. These negative ions are then attracted to the positive uncurved electrode, completing the 'circuit'.


title: Corona discharge

text: Ionized gases produced in a corona discharge are accelerated by the electric field, producing a movement of gas or "electrical wind". The air movement associated with a discharge current of a few hundred microamperes can blow out a small candle flame within about 1 cm of a discharge point. A pinwheel, with radial metal spokes and pointed tips bent to point along the circumference of a circle, can be made to rotate if energized by a corona discharge; the rotation is due to the differential electric attraction between the metal spokes and the space charge shield region that surrounds the tips.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Havok (Alexander Summers) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. He first appears in "The X-Men" #54 (March 1969), and was created by writer Arnold Drake and penciller Don Heck. Havok generates powerful "plasma blasts", an ability he has had difficulty controlling. One of the sons of Corsair, he is the younger brother of the X-Men's Cyclops, and the older brother of Vulcan. He often resents Cyclops's authoritarian attitude and reputation as a model member of the X-Men.


title: Havok (comics)

text: In contrast, Havok and his longtime love interest Polaris have had a love-hate relationship with the team, often finding themselves roped into it. Both were also members of the 1990s-era Pentagon-sponsored mutant team X-Factor. After X-Factor disbanded, Havok starred in "Mutant X", a series in which he explored a strange alternate reality. He has since returned to the X-Men, later taking over his father's role as leader of the Starjammers to bring Vulcan's reign over the Shi'ar to an end.


title: Havok (comics)

text: In 2013, ComicsAlliance ranked Havok as #44 on their list of the "50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics". Lucas Till played Havok in the films "" (2011), "" (2014), and "" (2016).


title: Havok (comics)

text: Created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Don Heck, Havok first appeared in "X-Men" (March 1969). He is typically portrayed as struggling under the shadow of his more esteemed brother.


title: Havok (comics)

text: In the 2012 relaunch of Marvel comic books, Havok led a team called the Uncanny Avengers, a mix of the X-Men and the Avengers teams.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Alexander Summers was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is the second of the three known sons of Christopher Summers, a United States Air Force Major and test pilot, and his wife Katherine Anne. When Alex was a boy growing up in Anchorage, Alaska, United States, his father took the family for a flight in their airplane, which came under attack by a Shi'ar spaceship. As the plane caught fire and was crashing, his parents fastened Alex and his older brother Scott into a parachute and pushed them off the plane in hopes that they would survive. His brother hit his head and was in a coma for a short while.


title: Havok (comics)

text: The Summers boys were recovered and put into an orphanage and Alex was soon adopted though Scott remained there for much of his childhood. Alex was raised by the Blandings whose son Todd had died in a car accident. They tried to make Alex fit into the image of their son, and he tried to do as best he could. When the boy responsible for Todd's death kidnapped Alex and his foster sister, Haley, Alex manifested his powers for the first time, incinerating the boy. Mister Sinister, an evil geneticist who was obsessed with the Summers bloodline, appeared eager yet surprised that Alex's potential exceeded Scott's – despite the fact that he seemed to lack control over his gift. Sinister placed psi-blocks on both Alex and Haley's minds, causing them to forget what had happened that night.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Alex went on to study and earn a degree in geophysics at college. There he first met the original X-Men, and learned that Cyclops is his brother. His mutant powers became apparent when he was kidnapped by the Living Pharaoh, who declared Alex the only being able to rival his power. The two shared the same cosmic energy-absorption abilities, in reverse proportion to each other. By locking Alex in a shielded cell, the Pharaoh was able to absorb enough cosmic energy to become the Living Monolith. The X-Men fought a losing battle against the virtually unstoppable Monolith, until Alex managed to free himself, and the Monolith turned back into the Living Pharaoh.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Alex's mutant power at first seemed to manifest itself only when he was near death. He was unable to control it, and feared its immense power.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Alex was later captured by Larry Trask and his Sentinels, who were bent on controlling or eradicating all mutants. Trask fashioned a costume for Alex that would help him control his powers and Alex was given the code name Havok. Trask turned out to be a mutant himself and the Sentinels were defeated by the X-Men. Havok lost control of his powers, however, and his excess energy was absorbed by Sauron. Havok then gained control of his powers.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Havok actively joined the X-Men team, and began a relationship with Lorna Dane/Polaris, much to the anger of Iceman who was romantically interested in her as well. While the senior X-Men were in the Savage Land, Havok and Polaris were approached by Professor X about the imminent invasion of the alien Z’Nox. During this time, the couple fell in love.


title: Havok (comics)

text: With the original X-Men, Havok and Polaris were captured by Krakoa the living island, but were rescued by the new X-Men. Havok and Polaris then quit the team's active membership along with most of the original members.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Havok and Polaris were occasional members and allies of the X-Men for years. They alternated between doing graduate work and earning a postgraduate degree in the American Southwest – where they occasionally encountered the Hulk – and helping out Moira MacTaggert at her facility for genetic research on Muir Island, off the coast of Scotland. It was during their stay on Muir Island that Havok helped the X-Men battle Proteus.


title: Havok (comics)

text: During one of their adventures, Polaris was possessed by the mutant Marauder Malice, ending the romantic relationship for a time. Havok then sought out and rejoined the X-Men.


title: Havok (comics)

text: During this period, Havok became involved with Madelyne Pryor. Both of them had been rejected by their previous lovers: Pryor's then-husband Cyclops had left her for Jean Grey. Madelyne was manipulated by N'astirh and became the Goblin Queen. She attempted to use Havok to help take over the world and transform it into a demonic realm. Havok eventually came to his senses and Madelyne killed herself after discovering she was a clone of Jean Grey.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Havok befriended Wolverine and others, then they shared adventures. While they were vacationing in Mexico, they were targeted by a terrorist cell. They defeated the cell, but were fooled by a damsel in distress who was actually a member of the terrorist group. Havok woke up in a hospital, in the care of nurse Scarlett McKenzie, the assassin without disguise. She manipulated Havok and made him fall in love with her. Scarlett was working for the Russian terrorists, Dr. Neutron and Meltdown. Having previously failed to charge up Meltdown's superpowers with the energy released from Chernobyl nuclear disaster, they wanted to use Havok as a conduit to channel the energy of an atomic reactor into Meltdown. Scarlett fed Havok with false information that terrorists were trying to sabotage a nuclear power station. When he ventured into the heart of the reactor, he found it reaching critical limit. According to plan, Havok tried to absorb the dangerous radiation; however, when he witnessed Meltdown killing Scarlett, he unleashed the energy into Meltdown bringing him up to full power. Wolverine arrived and prevented a full disaster by battling with Meltdown, while Havok continued to absorb energy from the reactor, still on the verge of explosion. Wolverine killed Meltdown by penetrating his body with multiple control rods that slowed down the nuclear reactions raging within him, and Havok redirected the nuclear radiation into space.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Havok ultimately went through the Siege Perilous with several other X-Men fleeing the Reavers, the cyborg hunters. Havok ended up an amnesiac in Genosha, a country that used mutants and genetically-engineered slaves called Mutates. He became a high-ranking Magistrate in the Genoshan army. His fellow X-Men had no idea what had happened to him until, during the "X-Tinction Agenda", the Genoshan government kidnapped members of the mutant teams X-Men, X-Factor and the New Mutants. During a pitched battle with Cyclops, Havok's memory returned, but he kept it a secret hoping to catch the Genoshan leader, Cameron Hodge, off guard. He succeeded and delivered the killing blow to Hodge, yet he and Wolfsbane decided to remain in Genosha, as they wanted to help in rebuilding the once proud nation.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Havok and Wolfsbane were soon brought back from Genosha by Professor X and Cyclops as they wanted him to become the leader of the new government-sponsored X-Factor. He reunited with Polaris and Havok led the team effectively for quite some time. He dealt with the unwilling, unwitting affections of Wolfsbane, the physical problems of Strong Guy and various public relations disasters, such as the destruction of the Washington Monument. Much of the team's bad image was orchestrated by Mister Sinister, his Nasty Boys and a mutant senator who could cause bad luck. He dealt physically with Random and personally, as they clashed for various reasons. He grew in new directions as a leader, once seemingly drinking poison in an effort to buck up the spirits of Strong Guy, who had been poisoned. (What Alex drank had been water).


title: Havok (comics)

text: Havok and X-Factor were called on to subvert a civil war aggravated by the Pantheon. In this instance, Alex physically challenged the Hulk. He soaked up the various energies that fuel Hulk and used them to bolster his plasma blasts, thereby gaining an advantage. It was the second time Havok had beaten the Hulk.


title: Havok (comics)

text: During this time, Havok's team participated in the events of the Infinity War and the Infinity Crusade. Alex and Strong Guy participated the most in far reaching, reality altering cosmic battles.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Multiple Man had contracted the Legacy Virus in Genosha and later chose to undergo a seemingly mystical healing effort. Despite the procedure's previous success with Wolfsbane, curing her of her unnatural love for Alex, Multiple Man perished. This hit Havok hard, as he felt responsible since Madrox was under his command. He left the team for Hawaii, where he and Polaris enjoyed a romantic honeymoon until Malice, Mr. Sinister and The Nasty Boys showed up. Reinforcements helped Havok and Polaris survive the villains. Shortly afterward, Strong Guy suffered a heart attack and ended up in stasis, and Wolfsbane left to be with her foster mother.


title: Havok (comics)

text: After the Age of Apocalypse event, Havok accidentally destroyed a dam and was forced back into his old containment suit. After new members Wild Child, Shard and Mystique were introduced to the team, Havok fought Random and was captured by the Dark Beast. He was brainwashed into serving Dark Beast and Onslaught. He broke free of the brainwashing, but used it as an opportunity to infiltrate the enemy and recreated a version of the Brotherhood of Mutants. He succeeded in defeating Dark Beast and attempted to mend fences with his former X-Factor teammates, specifically Polaris and Multiple Man (the man who had died had been a Madrox duplicate).


title: Havok (comics)

text: While Havok was attempting to reform X-Factor, one of his time-traveling team members, Greystone, created an experimental time travel device to return him to the future. It exploded in mid-air, seemingly killing Havok and Greystone in front of their teammates.


title: Havok (comics)

text: In actuality, Havok was cast into a parallel world where he was the leader of a drastically altered version of X-Factor, known as The Six. In this world, he was the leader of the original X-Men, since his brother Cyclops was abducted by the Shi'ar along with his parents. He found he was married to Madelyne Pryor, with whom he had a son named Scotty, and all his friends were twisted versions of the ones he knew. Despite being unfamiliar with this realm, Havok willingly took over the role of father for Scotty, though the boy knew he was not really his dad. Havok becomes leader of The Six and his adventures in this reality lead to a disaster which leaves most of the superhumans dead. Havok is able to save the world itself before being cast into black nothingness.


title: Havok (comics)

text: However, Havok was found back in the original reality in a coma. The X-Men were able to restore his psyche with the help of the son of Havok's nurse, Annie Ghazikhanian. When he was reunited with Polaris, she asked him to marry her, to which he did not respond. Beast immediately congratulated them, and Havok said nothing further. Likely he felt he "should" want to marry Lorna, but did not love her as he had before. Unknown to Havok, Polaris, and Annie, Carter had used his telepathy to link Annie and Alex's dreams while Alex was comatose. In their dreams, Havok and Annie fell in love, unknown to Alex but not Annie. Before his wedding, Scott tested Alex's resolve by hiring a shapeshifter to morph into Annie, something that disturbed Alex very deeply. The night before the wedding, Alex had a dream convincing him that he now loved Annie. During the wedding, Alex stopped the proceedings and called off the marriage. Lorna, already affected by the incident at Genosha, tried to kill Annie and Carter, only to be stopped by Juggernaut and Havok.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Alex revealed to Annie that it was Carter who linked the two due to their loneliness and that Alex loved her. Despite the fact that Iceman had started a relationship with Annie, he expressed his feelings for Lorna.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Havok and Annie's relationship continued until an impending attack on the X-Mansion at the hands of a new Brotherhood of Mutants led by Exodus. This caused Annie to leave Havok and take her son away from the X-Men, feeling it was no longer safe for the two to live at the mansion. She wanted Alex to come with them but his duty was to his team, so mother and son left for parts unknown.


title: Havok (comics)

text: With Annie and Carter now gone, Havok's mind seems to be mending, since he expressed feelings to resume his relationship with Polaris, who moved on after being rejected and was dating her former boyfriend Iceman. During the post-"House of M" storyline titled "Decimation," many mutants lost their powers. When Polaris revealed that she had lost her powers, she left the X-Men, and Havok decided to leave with her. However, after he and Polaris encountered the creature called "Daap", during which Lorna was abducted, Havok returned to the X-Mansion to see a sphinx bearing the face of Apocalypse.


title: Havok (comics)

text: He then returned to active duty to bring down Apocalypse with the remainder of his squad, composed of Rogue, Iceman, and new member Mystique. Havok single-handedly destroyed the antidote to Apocalypse's meta-plague, which had been a key element in his plan to decimate the human population. Gambit was turned into a horseman and clashed with Havok and the other X-Men. During the last battle, Iceman struck down Polaris's Pestilence form. As her esophagus closed down, Havok administered CPR to save her life but was infected with the meta-plague. Luckily, Emma Frost had saved some of the antidote that Havok destroyed earlier and cured him with it.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Havok was recruited by Professor X, along with Marvel Girl (Rachel Summers), Nightcrawler, Warpath, Darwin, and Polaris to participate in a space mission to stop Vulcan from unleashing his powers on the Shi'ar empire. Havok had recently been reunited with Corsair, his father, and brought him news about Vulcan. His current relationship with Polaris is still developing. Polaris seems to finally show concrete signs of forgiving Havok, telling him to "just shut up and kiss" her after the team won their first battle against the entire regiment of Shi'ar soldiers in their beginning struggle against D'Ken and in support of Lilandra. Although Havok initially rebuffs her advances, hesitant to "start up again after" everything that happened between them, Lorna says that he needs to "blow off some steam" and the scene ends with them kissing. During the final battle, Corsair tries to reason with his son Vulcan but Vulcan kills his father where he stands. Havok, enraged by this, launches an attack on his brother with intention of killing him but is easily defeated. In the end, Nightcrawler, Warpath, and Hepzibah get the injured Professor X and Darwin back to the ship, but Lilandra sends the ship back to Earth, leaving Havok and his teammates stranded.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Havok, along with Polaris, Rachel, Korvus, Ch'od, and Raza form a new team of Starjammers after the death of Corsair, dedicated to defeating Vulcan and restoring Lilandra to the throne.


title: Havok (comics)

text: The civil war between Vulcan's forces and those loyal to the dethroned Lilandra rages on. Led by Havok and the Starjammers, Lilandra's forces gradually whittle away at Vulcan's forces, which are plagued by defections. The Shi'ar, contrary to Vulcan's expectations, are not happy to have an outsider as their ruler. Vulcan is discouraged by this, but Deathbird convinces him that they will come to accept him.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Warned in advance of a rebel raid on Feather's Edge, Vulcan and his fleet ambush the Starjammers. However, in the middle of the battle, his ship, the "Hammer", is destroyed by the Scy'ar Tal (translates as "Death to the Shi'ar"). Vulcan and Gladiator attack the leader of the Scy'ar Tal and are easily defeated, whereupon they retreat deeper into Shi'ar space. Marvel Girl makes contact with the Eldest Scy'ar Tal and discovers their true origin. The Scy'ar Tal were originally called the M'Kraan. Early in their history, the Shi'ar attacked them and killed a great number of their people, making the rest flee for their lives. Eventually, the Shi'ar settled on their planet, took the M'Kraan Crystal as their own, and passed down the legend of the M'Kraan Crystal as a sacred gift from their deities, Sharra and K'ythri. The M'Kraan then changed their name to Scy'ar Tal and devoted their culture and society to the destruction of the Shi'ar Empire. With their first attack, they destroyed Feather's Edge by transporting a star to obliterate it. After that, Vulcan makes contact with the Starjammers to call a temporary ceasefire.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Under the ceasefire, the Shi'ar and the Starjammers decide to take out the Finality, thus crippling the Scy'ar's biggest threat. Once Havok and Vulcan are in a position to destroy Finality, the Eldest Scy'ar tries to stop them. When Vulcan figures out how the Eldest is powered, he severs the connection that Eldest has with his brothers, making him powerless. Once the connection is severed, the Scy'ar become unorganized and the tide of the battle shifts to the Shi'ar. The Shi'ar then proceed to attack both the Scy'ar and the Starjammers. Meanwhile, Vulcan blasts Havok into a sun.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Vulcan decides to use Finality to destroy the Scy'ar by using the weapon to place a star in the middle of their fleet. Alex returns and, having absorbed enough power to burn Vulcan, decides to end things with him. While they battle, Rachel and Korvus try but fail to stop the beacon that will initiate the attack by the Shi'ar. The Shi'ar Imperial Guard end Alex's battle with Vulcan by appearing with the Starjammers in captivity, threatening to kill them. Before surrendering, Alex destroys Finality. Alex and the Starjammers are then taken into Vulcan's custody and placed in prison, while Rachel Summers remains free.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Alex and Lorna, along with the other captured Starjammers, are kept in a deep underwater prison below a planet's surface. Alex and Lorna are tortured daily and forced to hear each other's screams, and Alex is powerless as he's nowhere near a star from which to draw his powers. Vulcan informs Havok of the events of Messiah Complex and that the baby is gone, Charles Xavier is dead, and the X-Men are no more (not knowing the full truth of the result). Alex laughs off Vulcan, seeing the baby as a beacon of hope.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Despite ploys such as telling Havok that his teammates are dead and it was all Alex's fault, Havok remains defiant. Alex Summers was last seen displaying energy coming from his left hand proving that he had at least some power left.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Havok allowed some time to go by, allegedly with these moments of exposure continuing, before making his move. Waiting until it was his mealtime and the guards slid the food through the door, he blasted it open, warning the guards to run. When they instead attacked, he mercilessly defeated them, killing both. Alex then raced into the depths of the complex searching for his teammates.


title: Havok (comics)

text: He had no problem locating the cells of his crew and liberating them from captivity. He then went in search of Lorna, defeating more guards along the way. Alex, with Raza and Ch'od in tow, made it to Lorna's lab where Alex set her free. After receiving a thank-you kiss upon waking her, Havok surprised his team as he informed them of his true plan. Instead of running, they would wait; Vulkan would be coming to defeat them and Havok planned to kill him when he did.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Due to the incident of Rachel and Korvus both losing their connection to the Phoenix Force, Havok, Polaris, Rachel and Korvus have departed for Earth. According to Rachel, they are still "half a universe away" from Earth. Havok, Polaris, and Rachel return in "X-Men Legacy" #254, in which Rogue launches a rescue mission after Rachel sends a telepathic distress signal. Frenzy, Magneto, Gambit, and Rogue help de-brainwash Polaris and Havok from the mental control of the insect-like alien "Friendless".


title: Havok (comics)

text: Havok and Polaris are seen joining Wolverine's side due to Polaris wanting to keep herself away from her father Magneto. Shortly after they arrived back on Earth, the duo is encouraged by Wolverine to lead X-Factor Investigations after Jamie Madrox's death. Jamie returns to life shortly after, but Havok remains with X-Factor for a while. Polaris decides to remain with the team even after he leaves.


title: Havok (comics)

text: During "Avengers vs. X-Men", Havok joined the Avengers, the X-Men, and Nova in the final battle against his brother. He is asked to lead the Avengers Unity Squad by Captain America, reasoning that the mutant race needs a new 'spokesperson' with Xavier dead and Cyclops imprisoned, although Havok doubts his ability to fulfill such a role.


title: Havok (comics)

text: The Celestials destroyed Earth and mutants were relocated to 'Planet X' by the machinations of Eimin—one of the children of the Celestial-infected Archangel and the latest Horseman of Pestilence. Havok married the Wasp (Janet van Dyne) and they had a daughter, Katie, but Katie is lost when she is captured by Kang the Conqueror after he helps the team avert this timeline by projecting their minds back into their past selves. Although Alex is left disfigured after the battle, he and Janet remain together, and are contacted by Immortus, who informs them that he can return their daughter to them if they take action at the right time and place to conceive her, but also warns them about the imminent threat posed by the Red Skull.


title: Havok (comics)

text: During the "AXIS" storyline, the Red Skull and Scarlet Witch accidentally morally invert various heroes and villains. Havok is among those affected by the inversion spell. He resigns from the Avengers Unity Division and reconciles with his brother. Havok remains corrupted after the other heroes and villains are returned to normal, where Havok and Sabretooth have been unintentionally 'protected' from the reversion by a shield generated by Iron Man, prompting him to join Cyclops' team after using the Wasp as a hostage to escape.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Unlike Iron Man (who was apparently restored to normal after reality was reconstructed after the Incursions) and Sabretooth (who remained inverted but whose true persona began to reassert itself), Havok simply remained inverted. Havok and Emma Frost are later seen observing the funeral of his brother Cyclops from afar. Because he does not believe his brother had become suicidal at all and was convinced that Scott was actually alive but in hiding, Emma tells him the truth about what truly happened in the confrontation with the Inhumans. Emma takes Alex to see his brother's dead body and reveals that Scott was one of the victims of the Terrigenesis clouds. She used a telepathic projection of him to rally mutant attempts to destroy a Terrigenesis cloud, subsequently faking his death in a final confrontation with Black Bolt.


title: Havok (comics)

text: After the truth of Emma's actions is revealed at the conclusion of the war against the Inhumans, which ended with Medusa destroying the Terrigenesis cloud to save the mutants, Havok saves Emma when the mutants and the Inhumans turn on her. Havok makes it clear that he is only doing this out of respect for his brother's memory and his old feelings for Emma rather than forgiving her for what she did to Cyclops' reputation. Havok then began working with the White Queen, Bastion, and Miss Sinister to infect the world’s population with the Mothervine virus, thereby making mutants the dominant species on the planet until he was eventually inverted back to his normal self by Emma Frost and Lorna Dane, and Elixir soon afterward cured his scars.


title: Havok (comics)

text: In the new status quo for mutants post-"House of X and Powers of X", Professor X and Magneto invite all mutants to live on Krakoa and welcome even former enemies into their fold. He spends some time with his family in the Summer House, the new residence of the Summers Family, located on the Moon.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Later, he joins a loose group of outcast mutants, operating under Mister Sinister: the Hellions, which also comprise Wild Child, Kwannon, Empath, John Greycrow, Nanny, and Orphan Maker.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Havok is a mutant possessing the power to absorb ambient cosmic energy, process it, and emanate it from his body as waves of energy that heat the air in their path, turning it into plasma in the form of a beam with a tell-tale concentric circle pattern. These waves will emanate from his body in all directions unless he purposefully tries to channel them in a single direction, usually along the length of his arms. This results in control over an extremely powerful sort of destructive force. He is immune to the adverse effects of most forms of radiation and heat. In the past, he was not entirely able to control this ability, which made him a danger to those around him unless he wore a special containment suit equipped with special sensors for measuring and controlling his power output. Havok is immune to his own powers and to those of his brother Scott. He is resistant but not immune to Vulcan's powers.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Despite past accounts, the energy that Havok releases is not truly a concussive force. When Havok strikes an object with hot plasma, the sudden temperature jump often causes objects to shatter or disintegrate. Should Havok direct his energy at the lowest level, he can project it toward a human being and his target will suffer a severe headache but will not burn up.


title: Havok (comics)

text: While his absorption capabilities are normally passive, he can also willingly absorb, store, and re-process various other energies from other sources through conscious force of will (such as starlight, x-rays, and gamma radiation). He once absorbed the whole energies of a collapsing star to fight his brother Vulcan, and actually beat the Hulk twice, once with a tightly focused beam to the forehead, and once by absorbing parts of his gamma energy during an invasion of Transia.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Nonetheless, Havok's body is constantly absorbing cosmic radiation. When his body reaches its capacity, excess energy is then immediately re-emitted in negligible quantities. The circle on his chest is an indicator of how much energy he has left. Upon the expenditure of all his available energy, it takes Havok about 17 hours to recharge to peak level under normal circumstances. The concentration involved in releasing his energy in focused beams is exhausting for Havok, especially if he does it over an extended period.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Havok can also use stored energy for flight by directing it as a downward thrust. At full energy capacity, he has an easier time managing his energized propulsion through his powers. By emanating plasma from his body in directed waves, he can form a sort of shield against projectile weapons for a short time.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Havok has demonstrated immunity to his brother Cyclops's optic beam. Similarly, Cyclops is immune to Havok's power.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Havok has the normal human strength, height, and build of a man who engages in intensive regular exercise. Havok is well-educated in the field of geophysical science, where he has earned a master's degree and completed some doctoral work, and he has been trained in hand-to-hand combat and martial arts by Wolverine. He is an instinctive tactician and strategist.


title: Havok (comics)

text: It was also revealed in the "Mutant X" and "Exiles" books that his body and mind were a nexus for all other Alex Summers in other realities and his very existence is sort of a "back door" to the others. This revelation caused the problem in the "Uncanny X-Men" and "Exiles" crossover. Not much more is known about his multidimensional status.


title: Havok (comics)

text: In the Age of Apocalypse continuity, Alex and his brother Scott are not separated after the plane crash but adopted together by Sinister. Raised together as the cream of the new mutant aristocracy in Apocalypse's America, the brothers, under the rank of Prelate, work to oversee their foster father's interests. Alex, being the more emotional and thus unstable of the two, loses ground in Sinister's eyes and watches with envy as his brother gains favor.


title: Havok (comics)

text: The two brothers reunite briefly with their real father, Christopher Summers, who has been kept in Sinister's medical labs. They discover that Christopher had been infected by the Brood and was transforming into the new Brood Queen, forcing Scott to kill him. Alex refuses to believe that there were no other options and blames his brother for their father's death.


title: Havok (comics)

text: Alex meets Lorna once, but they have no relationship other than that of jail warden and prisoner. The power-hungry Alex is arrogant about his powers both as a mutant and as a Prelate. He frequents the club which Angel owns, Heaven, and has an affair with the club's diva, a flatscan (or human) woman named Scarlett (presumably that reality's version of the woman who appeared in the "Meltdown" miniseries). Because of the antagonism between humans and mutants, they both must keep this affair a secret. Scarlett, it turns out, is a spy working for the Human High Council. Scarlett is arrested right after she discovers that she is pregnant with Alex's child.


title: Havok (comics)

text: At almost that moment, Alex has just recaptured Jean Grey to use against his brother, Scott. Indeed, when Jean was originally a prisoner, she had captivated Scott and inspired him to release other prisoners. Alex exposes his brother as a traitor by asking Scott to execute Jean Grey, which Scott refuses to do. Following this, Alex has Scott arrested and gives him over to the Dark Beast for experiments; however, Jean Grey and Scott escape. Alex tracks them down and knocks out his brother and seemingly kills Jean, but this action proves fatal for Alex when Weapon X takes vengeance on Jean's behalf.


title: Havok (comics)

text: When Wolverine kills Hank Pym to avert the future in which Ultron nearly annihilated the human race in the "Age of Ultron" reality, a new timeline where Morgan le Fay conquered half the world is created in which Havok relinquished his birthname and married Rogue. He worked as leader of the Morlocks until he was killed by Archangel's son Uriel of the Apocalypse Twins.


title: Havok (comics)

text: In "Ultimate Fantastic Four" #23, Havok is seen as one of the zombies attacking the surviving humans.


title: Havok (comics)

text: In the four-issue series "Mys-Tech Wars", an alternate universe version of Havok, along with the rest of X-Factor, appear in order to assist the mainstream heroes in their battles. An enemy's energy bolt pierces Havok through the neck, killing him instantly.


title: Havok (comics)

text: On the world of the Sons of Iron and Daughters of the Dragon, the New Exiles face a squad of alternate 'core X-Men' who are loyal to Lilandra. These X-Men include an alternate version of Alex who is codenamed 'Warshot'. Alex is covered from head to toe in battle armor and combines his mutant powers with his weaponry.


title: Havok (comics)

text: In the Ultimate Marvel continuity of "Ultimate X-Men", Alex Summers, a.k.a. Havok, is the headstrong, brash field leader of the Academy of Tomorrow, the mutant peacekeeping squad of Emma Frost. In this incarnation, he is the boyfriend and teammate of Polaris.


title: Havok (comics)

text: In this incarnation, he also is the brother of Cyclops. As in the mainstream comics, their powers are useless on each other. However, there are several key differences: first, Alex is sometimes called the older brother and other times called the younger brother; second, in this world, Alex and Scott are frequently at odds with each other, both ideologically and physically; and third, neither seems interested in mending this rift. Ideologically, their rift was evidenced by Alex's affiliation with Emma Frost's Academy of Tomorrow. There is also more than one reference to their physical competition over Polaris. In one case, Alex even knocked out Scott with a wrench, though he states that this was because Scott let him. The two have shown to help each other in great danger, but in general, they have a lot of sibling issues separating them.


title: Havok (comics)

text: During the Ultimatum event, the Academy of Tomorrow is attacked and everyone inside are killed by Madrox, but Alex's body isn't found and he is listed as missing in action after the end of the event. Alex is later revealed not only to be alive but also a patient in Kennerman Acres mental institute; he suffers from amnesia but has recollections of an explosion and his only company is an imaginary version of his brother Scott. Alex is eventually found by Nathaniel Essex (who can see the imaginary version of Scott) and brought to Roxxon where Essex introduces him to Layla Miller as one of the four mutants they needed for their unknown plans.


title: Havok (comics)

text: In the alternate future "", Carter creates an illusion that he is still a child and Havok and Annie are together. Both Havok and Annie are killed prior to the beginning of the series.


title: Baashha

text: Baashha is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Suresh Krissna. The film stars Rajinikanth, Nagma and Raghuvaran, with Janagaraj, Devan, Shashi Kumar, Vijayakumar, Anandaraj, Charan Raj, Kitty, Sathyapriya, Shenbaga and Yuvarani in supporting roles. It revolves around an auto-driver who maintains a humble exterior and stays away from violence, but has a dark past which he conceals from his family.


title: Baashha

text: During the making of "Annaamalai" (1992), Rajinikanth and Krissna discussed a scene from the former's Hindi film "Hum" (1991) which was not filmed. The story of "Baashha" was adapted from that scene along with that film's core plot and key elements. Principal photography began in August 1994 and was completed in less than five months. P. S. Prakash was the cinematographer, and it was edited by Ganesh Kumar. The dialogues were written by Balakumaran. The music was composed by Deva and lyrics were written by Vairamuthu.


title: Baashha

text: "Baashha" was released on 12 January 1995 to positive feedback and became one of the most successful films and in the career of Rajinikanth, running for nearly 15 months in theatres. Rajinikanth won the Filmfans Association Award and the Cinema Express Award for Best Actor for his performance. The film was remade in Kannada as "Kotigobba" (2001). A digitally restored version of the film was released on 3 March 2017.


title: Baashha

text: Manikam is a humble auto-driver who lives in Madras with his mother Vijayalakshmi, brother Shiva, and sisters Geetha and Kavitha, and would go to any extent for their well-being. He gets Kavitha married to her boyfriend, who is from an affluent family. Shiva manages to become a sub-inspector. On seeing Manikam's photo, DIG Dinakar, who interviewed Shiva, wants to meet Manikam. Manikam hesitatingly comes to meet Dinakar in his office. Dinakar suspects Manikam's identity. Geetha gets admission in a medical college, but the chairman asks for her carnal company in return for a seat. Manikam interferes and tells the chairman something behind closed doors that Geetha cannot hear, after which the chairman unconditionally gives Geetha a seat.


title: Baashha

text: Meanwhile, Priya travels in Manikam's auto frequently and develops a liking towards him seeing his good character. Priya discovers that her father is a smuggler and decides to maintain a distance from him. Priya proposes her love to Manikam but Manikam does not initially accept as he learns she is the daughter of Kesavan (with whom Manikam has a past history) but eventually does so.


title: Baashha

text: Indiran is a gangster who uses his henchmen to collect "commission" from all business owners. When Shiva beats two of Indiran's henchmen who attacked a man for not being able to pay commission, Indiran tells Shiva that he runs that area and his laws apply. Shiva and Indiran's fight is stopped by Manikam, who requests Indiran to beat him and spare Shiva. Manikam is tied to a pole and severely beaten by Indiran, but bears it for the sake of his brother without retaliating.


title: Baashha

text: Later, Shiva again takes action against Indiran by submitting an arrest warrant which makes him furious again. This time after his release from jail, Indiran kidnaps Geetha and tries to molest her in front of the public. To everyone's surprise, Manikam hits back Indiran and his men, thereby saving his sister. The beating of Indiran and his henchmen is so severe that it shocks Shiva. He confronts Manikam about his activities in Bombay, where he lived previously, but Manikam does not respond.


title: Baashha

text: It is revealed that, a few years before, Manikam lived with his parents in Bombay while his siblings were studying in Madras. Manikam's father Rangasamy was an honest man, but was employed with gangster Mark Antony, as Rangasamy helped Antony during the initial days, which made him to stay loyal to Antony for life. Manickam and his friend Anwar Baasha were protesting against the ridiculous behaviors of Antony's men, which prompted Antony to kill Anwar; Manikam was spared as he is Rangasamy's son. Enraged, Manikam decided to take the same path to destroy Antony and had killed Antony's hitmen to avenge Anwar's death.


title: Baashha

text: Manikam received the support of local people in Bombay who feared for Antony, where he transformed himself into a gangster named "Manick Baashha" and had frequently interfered in Antony's illegal activities which created enmity between the two. Baashha's command over the city had increased, where Antony decided to kill Baashha, but Baashha escaped from Antony's plan. Enraged, Antony killed Rangasamy, prompting Baashha to help the police arrest Antony while Kesavan (who was Antony's henchman) killed Antony's family and inherited his business and wealth. Before dying, Rangasamy requested Baashha to return to Madras and start a peaceful life. Baashha assented, faked his death and secretly left to Madras along with Vijayalakshmi.


title: Baashha

text: After remembering his past, Manikam learns that Kesavan has arranged Priya's wedding against her wishes, where he arrives to the wedding hall to stop him. Kesavan is shocked to see Baashha alive in the form of Manikam. Frightened, he permits Priya to go along with Manikam. On learning that Baashha is alive, Antony escapes from prison, kills Kesavan for betraying him, and also kidnaps Manikam's family members, where he threatens Manikam to surrender failing which his family members will be killed. Manikam rushes to the spot, fights Antony and his gang and also saves his family. He nearly kills Antony, but is stopped by Dinakar. Antony then steals Dinakar's gun and tries to shoot Manikam, but is shot dead by Shiva from behind.


title: Baashha

text: During the making of the Hindi film "Hum" (1991), its director Mukul S. Anand had considered and discussed with Rajinikanth a potential scene, where Shekhar (Amitabh Bachchan) would help his younger brother Vijay (Govinda) get a seat in the Police Academy. Anand discarded the scene because he did not find it suitable, but Rajinikanth felt it had the potential to develop into a script for a feature film. On the sets of "Annaamalai" (1992), Rajinikanth and its director Suresh Krissna discussed the scene, which Krissna also found to be interesting. The title "Baashha" was suggested by Rajinikanth to Krissna, who suggested to Rajinikanth that a Muslim connection to the script was needed.


title: Baashha

text: Krissna brought up the subject again to Rajinikanth during the making of "Veera" (1994), but Rajinikanth wanted to discuss the script only after completing "Veera". The discarded scene from "Hum" became the foundation for "Baashha" where Rajinikanth's character in the film, Manikkam, helps his sister Geetha (Yuvarani) get admission to the medical college she had applied for. Krissna planned to weave the rest of the film's story around the scene. Though Manikkam was initially considered to be written as a bus conductor, the "auto driver was the commonest man around. And Rajini liked the idea".


title: Baashha

text: R. M. Veerappan, who had earlier collaborated with Rajinikanth in "Ranuva Veeran" (1981), "Moondru Mugam" (1982), "Thanga Magan" (1983), "Oorkavalan" (1987) and "Panakkaran" (1990), was the film's co-producer, along with V. Rajammal and V. Thamilazhagan. Development regarding the film's script commenced in the Taj Banjara hotel in Hyderabad. Eighty percent of the script, including the flashback portions of Rajinikanth as Baashha, were ready in ten days. Balakumaran was selected to write the film's dialogues. The entire team of technicians who had worked with Krissna in "Annaamalai", including music composer Deva, returned to work with him for "Baashha".