Wendell Elvis Vaughn was an unassuming young man born in Fon du Lac, but raised in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He had served his country in the army with distinction, and had applied at SHIELD with the intent to be a field agent. However, despite his high marks in all his classes it was the committee''s opinion that Vaughn lacked a certain ‘killer instinct'' that they felt was required in all their field agents. Feeling that he would likely be relegated to desk work Wendell went home and quietly awaited word of his first assignment. Word came weeks later in the form of a letter offering him an assignment working security for Stark International on his father''s project. Wendell assumed that his dad, Dr. Gilbert Vaughn pulled some strings.