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Were Mystique and Destiny lovers?
Yes. It was hinted at for many years, and Chris Claremont has said in several interviews that they were intended to be a couple. Canon hints included the use of the word "leman" (an archaic term meaning "lover") in Uncanny X-Men 265, Mystique referring to Destiny as "my beloved" in X-Men 105, Destiny saying "I love you" and "my love" in X-Men Forever 2, and many more. It was later stated outright in an actual comic (X-Men Forever 5) that the two were lovers, ending years of speculation.
Were Pyro and Avalanche lovers?/Was Pyro gay?
I hear this one a lot, and it baffles me. No, there is no indication that either were gay. Blob did jokingly ask in X-Men annual #2 if Pyro and Avalanche were "kissin' yet", but it seems to have just been a rude comment (he hated them both at the time because of personal disagreements). In Daredevil 269, Blob thought Pyro was trying to steal a girl he was interested in, complained to Pyro "you always get the girls!", and both made crude sexual comments about her, in addition to flirting with a barmaid. I am not saying it's impossible that Pyro and/or Avalanche (a married man) are gay or bisexual, just that there is no evidence for and some evidence against, so I don't believe it is the case. I think some readers are misunderstanding the friendship between them.
What's the codename of that elderly speedster?
Super Sabre. There are many mistaken variations of his name (as seen in New Mutants 78, 88-89, Uncanny X-Men 225-226, and other sources), but it's Super Sabre. He's named after one of the world's first supersonic jet aircraft.
Is Sabre from X-Men 106 the same guy as Super Sabre of Freedom Force?
No. It's a completely different (blond and young) person, as evidenced by Mystique calling him a "neophyte". So they haven't resurrected the dead old guy.
What happened to Sabre and his unnamed female companion from X-Men 106?
Nobody knows, as they've never been shown or mentioned since. Perhaps they didn't make the team, and went their own ways.
What happened to Avalanche? Is he dead? Who was that guy in the Dream's End Brotherhood?
The guy calling himself Avalanche in Dream's End (and in X-Men 106) was the same Avalanche we've always known. Blob made a comment about Avalanche being "just like [his] namesake", but it seems that Blob was referring to him being just like his powers, i.e., an avalanche.
Avalanche is NOT a cyborg, nor did he die during the battle with the Reavers, though both are commonly held misconceptions. He is still a normal man in fine health (and he still has his powers, despite the mass depowering of mutants).
What's Avalanche's real name?
As far as we know, it's Dominikos Ioannis Petrakis, later anglicized to "Dominic Petros". Claremont mistakenly had Blob address him as "Janos" in Uncanny X-Men 255, and called him "Domenic Szilard" in the narration of Uncanny X-Men 223, but "Dominic Petros" is the name given in his first two Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe entries and in X-Factor 109. However, his most recent Official Handbook entry establishes that it was originally "Dominikos Petrakis". Pyro, his best friend, called him "Dominic" and "Dom".
For what it's worth, 'Szilard' and 'Janos' are not Greek or Cretan names, which conflicts with his Cretan origins mentioned in the Official Handbook; on the other hand, 'Petros' is not a Cretan surname either.
Is Avalanche married?
He is apparently married to a woman named Helen (according to the Official Handbook), but no, she's never been shown or mentioned in any story.
Is Pyro dead?
Yes. See Cable 87, the issue in which he died. And X-books editor Mike Marts has confirmed that he's still dead after House of M.
Was Pyro English or Australian?
He's Australian, though he was originally written as English. If you can wrap your mind around that and ignore the fact that his nationality was changed (in 1983), there aren't too many problems figuring it out. All references over the past ten years have called him Australian, and he himself never claimed to be English (only other characters called him that). While we know what the writers originally intended, just chalk up the English references to a mistake by other characters, and move on. It's best for your own sanity that way.
Was Pyro really a romance novelist?
Yes. But everyone forgets that he had another career and wrote other types of books too. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe states: "For a time Allerdyce drifted from job to job around the South Seas. Eventually he became a journalist for an Australian wire service and covered Vietnam and Indonesia. What he saw and experienced in his travels became the basis for novels he began writing. (He also wrote torrid Gothic romances.) Allerdyce's novels were despised by serious novelists and the critics, but they found wide readership throughout the English-speaking world."
Awaiting apparent death in Uncanny X-Men 255, he said bemusedly "I'll never know if my new book's a bestseller."
How do you pronounce the name "St. John"?
SinJin, probably. The effect is that Pyro's first name is pronounced like Singein', (as in 'singe') which might be a deliberate fire pun of some sort.
Who'd win in a fight, Pyro or the Human Torch?
Oy. Nobody knows, as they never met, let alone fought. People continue to debate this endlessly, and there's very little consensus...although most argue that the Torch would win.
Who'd win in a fight, the immovable Blob or the unstoppable Juggernaut?
Another popular fight topic. At full power (his powers have been reduced), it'd certainly be the Juggernaut, for he could just walk over Blob and keep on going. Each had a win against the other during a couple of House of M battles, although now Blob has been completely depowered.
What kind of parents would name their daughter "Raven Darkholme"?
They didn't. In Uncanny X-Men 254, Destiny described her as "Raven Darkholme, the name she chose for herself, just as she did the code-identity, Mystique". Her birth name is unknown to us.
How old is Mystique?
We don't know. However, she is certainly very old. Her shape-shifting powers constantly rejuvenate her cells, making her body perpetually young (in other words, she is not disguising herself to seem young; she is naturally youthful). In flashbacks, she has been seen working with Destiny by a backdrop of horse-drawn carriages, which suggests an era of at least a century ago; she may have been around before even that. Incidentally, this means Destiny lived longer than a normal human lifespan, too.
Mystique claimed in a 2004 issue that "I wasn't born last night --- or even last century, for that matter".
Who killed Graydon Creed?
Mystique. Or rather, he was killed by her future self (from not long before Dream's End) inhabiting her past self's body. When Prosh sent her back in time during the X-Men Forever series, she took over her own body and set up the murder weapon on a timer so that she was able to look innocent and have an alibi during Creed's rally. She was taken into custody, Creed was killed by the remote gun, and she'd set up a message threatening her to further make herself look innocent. She'd also lied to Pyro, telling him they were planning to save Creed, presumably to give herself more of an alibi when he honestly told authorities he'd intended to save Creed's life.
When did Mystique meet Rogue?
The original story stated that Rogue was a small child without powers when she was adopted by Mystique and Destiny (as referred to in Uncanny X-Men 178, when Rogue talked about touching Mystique before her powers emerged). This was later retconned in X-Men Unlimited 4, which showed a flashback scene of Mystique meeting Rogue after the girl's powers had manifested and she was on the run. But this was retconned again in X-Men 93-94, when Shadowcat looked at photographs of Mystique touching a young Rogue's bare skin. And to make matters more frustrating, the recent Rogue series clearly established that she lived with her biological family until her powers manifested (although that story did not even mention Mystique). I guess that's the version we have to accept now.
Can Mystique mimic the mutant powers of somebody she morphs into?
Not usually. For instance, if she adopts the form of a larger person, she doesn't have their strength, and actually has to strain to maintain the larger form. However, she's been shown creating some physical features like claws, working wings, fur, scales, extra arms, and eyes adapted for darkness, so obviously she can mimic some aspects of other mutants. No doubt these can be a strain on her, though, which is probably why she doesn't use these features all the time.
Who is the father of Nightcrawler?
The newly told story (from Uncanny X-Men 428) is that his father is a demonic-looking mutant called Azazel who impregnated Mystique while she was married to the famed hapless baron.
Are Nightcrawler's parents really Mystique and Destiny?
No, his father is Azazel and his mother is Mystique. Years ago, Chris Claremont apparently toyed with the idea of making Destiny the mother...impregnated by an amnesiac Mystique in the form of a man. This idea was quickly nixed by someone higher up at Marvel because of the implications of homosexuality; and while we know that Claremont always considered the two women to be a couple, it's only recently that it was explicitly revealed. However, the Mystique-and-Destiny-as-Nightcrawler's-parents story is NOT canon.
How is Crimson Commando's last name spelled?
It's spelled Bohannan in Uncanny X-Men 215, 223, and the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. It was misspelled as 'Bohannon' in X-Men annual 2, but is a lingeringly common error.
What happened to Crimson Commando after the battle with Desert Sword?
He was airlifted out of Kuwait after Avalanche sacrificed Pyro and Blob to save him. He made it back to the United States, and underwent surgery to save his life, replacing his missing limbs with metal parts. Here's where it gets tricky: in Spider-Man #18, a green-clad cyborg called Cyborg X---who we can only assume was Commando---malfunctioned and started having flashbacks to the Gulf War. His rambling dialogue made it quite clear that he was referring to the battle with Desert Sword (he was calling out to "Martin" and "Dominic", ie, Super Sabre and Avalanche). In Spider-Man #21, he saved Spider-Man's life and a government scientist explained the cyborg's past; the government was creating cyborg super-soldiers, and the un-named cyborg was a man who had lost several limbs during the Gulf War and had given permission to be made into a cyborg. This was the last of the subplot, although it's notable that the issue was written by Erik Larsen, who was one of the originators of the idea to make Crimson Commando into a cyborg (see the X-Factor page for details).
In X-Men annual #2, Avalanche and a red-clad cyborg appeared, both working for the government. This cyborg was explicitly stated to be the former Crimson Commando (now just called "The Commando"), and made several references to the battle which had cost him his limbs. He and Avalanche defected from government service in order to support Pyro, although they were later seen back in federal service in X-Factor #102. Commando was not seen or mentioned for years afterward until a brief appearance in the altered House of M reality. And there he was not a cyborg at all!
Why was Freedom Force formed?
Two reasons: the US government wanted an obedient super-team to combat the increasing number of super-beings (especially mutants). They no longer trusted the Avengers to do as told. The government briefly hired Mutant Force (ironically, they were former members of Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants) to capture the Hulk, but they were not successful, and later that program lost its funding. So when Mystique offered the services of her Brotherhood, they were accepted, albeit with a trial period and some restrictions on their activities. Mystique's Brotherhood had been concerned about increasing anti-mutant sentiment in the world, and figured that they'd be safer with the authority and protection of the government; they were also offered pardons for their past crimes if they behaved and fulfilled their service obligations. All would lose their pardons and jobs if any member of the team broke the law or deserted.
Were all Freedom Force members criminals?
Spider-Woman II was not (she was given her powers by a government program, and her previous adventures were on Battleworld during the first Secret Wars), but she was placed on the team by Val Cooper because of her government afiliation. Neither she nor Mystique were thrilled with the idea, so it's no surprise that the experiment fizzled out even though everybody genuinely gave it their best shot until Spider-Woman became appalled and left.
Spiral was a recent arrival from Mojoworld and had no criminal record. Super Sabre probably had no known criminal record, as he'd been thought dead when his comrades turned themselves in and were assigned to Freedom Force. He later showed up and joined the team of his own free will, just to be with them. For what it's worth, the three vigilantes never considered themselves criminals; they were upholding morality and the law in their own way.
Were the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and Freedom Force the same team?
No, not really. As noted above, not all members of FF were criminals. Half of the team's members were never in the Brotherhood, and Spider-Woman and the three veterans/vigilantes did not approve of the Brotherhood's past. Freedom Force had a new purpose, new members, a completely different set of rules to operate under, and legal authority, all of which separate it from the Brotherhood.
Who was in charge of Freedom Force?
It's not entirely clear. Val Cooper was certainly their direct superior, but they also took orders from Henry Peter Gyrich and other members of the government organization known as the Commission on Superhuman Activities. In Mystique's original pitch to Cooper, she mentioned being answerable to the president of the USA---whether or not he ultimately ever had anything to do with them directly is unknown.
As for how they were internally structured, Mystique led the team during her tenure with them. Pyro was probably the original second-in-command, and certainly led the others in battle at times, but was later replaced when Crimson Commando joined the team. After Mystique's 'death', Commando took over as leader, and seems to have appointed Super Sabre as his deputy.
What were the team's duties?
Mostly to function as the government's "enhanced powers" team, dealing with super-powered foes and particularly mutants; the government wanted a team completely loyal to (or at the mercy of) the United States. Val Cooper seemed to believe that their pasts as criminals would enable them to better fight other criminals, so they were mainly used to retrieve super-powered fugitives, including the Hulk, the Avengers, and the escaped prison population at the Vault. Their most famed ongoing task was to enforce the unpopular Mutant Registration Act, and register any mutants who refused to do so voluntarily. However, they also had standing orders to arrest the X-Men (seen as outlaws) from the very beginning, which they attempted to do a couple of times until it was necessary to work with them. Freedom Force was not necessarily pleased with all of this; some expressed a dislike of registering fellow mutants, and others complained of being too tightly constrained by the government. Although they had federal authority, and functioned as a sort of 'mutant police', it's clear that they were fairly low-ranking and non-autonomous within the government hierarchy.
What happened to the members of Desert Sword?
Veil died during the battle. Sirocco has never been heard from since. Aminedi died of the Legacy Virus. I am not sure about what happened to Black Raazer (if he's even appeared since), although as he is a demon he surely survived. Arabian Knight survived his grave injuries sustained during the battle, and later revealed that he was working undercover in Desert Sword for the Pantheon; the family members supposedly held hostage by DS were actually Pantheon agents (this brings up the question of why the Knight would participate in hunting down Freedom Force, when in reality his family members were not actually in danger). However, he was recently killed in the Thunderbolts series.
What was the original story for Cable #87? (Pyro's death)
I asked the writer, Robert Weinberg, about this on his forum at Comixfan, and here's what he said:
"I always liked the cover for CABLE # 87. I thought it was one of the best during my run. It's too bad that the script that went with it never got used.
Here's the scoop. While I was still working on the Undying plot line (CABLE # 79-84), I started putting together the scripts for the next story arc, THE SEARCH FOR RACHEL SUMMERS. I already had laid out the bare bones of the story when I worked out my master plan for what I thought was going to be a three or four year run on the series. What I didn't realize was that sometimes the best laid plans get clipped before they can get going.
When I submitted the script for CABLE # 85 to my editor, Mark Powers, I was told that issue # 87 was going to be part of a four-issue crossover which would finally put an end to the Senator Kelly story that had been going on for years and years in the X-books. So, my four part story could only run two issues. Not much I could do about it other than shorter the story. At the same time, I did say to Mark that the CABLE section of the story should be an important part of the plot, so that readers wouldn't feel that CABLE's appearance in the series wasn't just to sell extra comics. He agreed.
Then, everything went haywire. There were problems with the basic plot of the crossover. There was a lot of disagreement with what should happen in the story and what should not. Time went by and the deadline for the individual stories got closer and closer. I was sent a cover, done before I had written a word of my script, and asked to make sure the scene on the cover somehow fit into the story. I was also told that this story would be the one that would establish that Cable had met Mystique and Rogue long before he became an X-Man.
So, I wrote a story that started off in Cable's past, that connected him with Mystique and a young Rogue, and then shifted to the present where he confronted Mystique again. It was, I thought, a pretty good script and it had some fun interplay between Cable and Mystique and Destiny. (the cover scene was a future predicted by Destiny if certain events took place). At the end of the story, Pyro made the same sacrifice for pretty much the same reasons as stated in the published story.
Then, stuff was changed. Cable and Mystique had no meeting in the past, nor did Cable have any dealings with Rogue. My script had to be revised to play up the fight between the X-Men and the Brotherhood. Fortunately, the Pyro death scene remained. The art was rushed through and that was that. I felt the published story wasn't as good as what I had planned, but the issue did sell out, with more than 50,000 copies printed, and has become fairly scarce. hope that explains stuff a little bit."
Destiny's real name, Irene Adler, is identical to that of a character from a Sherlock Holmes story, "A Scandal In Bohemia". Chris Claremont intended for her to be Arthur Conan Doyle's namesake and inspiration for this character.
Pyro did not enjoy the works of James Joyce, whereas Stonewall considered them the "ultimate precision of language" (UXM 255).
Mystique's favourite writer is Oscar Wilde (Mystique 6).
Mystique, Destiny, and Blob have referenced Beatles songs ("Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da" and "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window"). Avalanche referenced a David Bowie song ("Space Oddity").
Stonewall may have been a lawyer (UXM 255).
Super Sabre had a son who fought in Vietnam (UXM 226).
The members of Freedom Force lived in a large townhouse next to Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC. They had a 2-acre backyard (UXM 223 and 266).
Blob began his career as a circus freak (X-Men v.1 #3), and at one point was the boss of his own circus (Marvel Fanfare 7).
Blob's feet are "size 16 and a 1/2 triple FFF!" (Amazing Spider-Man v.2 #11). An old school friend of his, Jason, is 41, which suggests Blob is at or near the same age (UXM 408).
Spiral and her boss, Mojo, have made X-Baby versions of Mystique, Pyro, and Blob (Pint-Sized X-Babies: Murderama #1).
Though dead, the ghosts of Destiny (Fantastic Four v.2 #16), Pyro, Stonewall, and Super Sabre (the latter three in Wolverine 176...although there's now reason to doubt it was actually them) have all appeared in recent years.
Avalanche believes he is going to Hell (UXM annual 15). He likes to garden (UXM 223). He recently destroyed the Eiffel Tower (UXM 406).
Blob wears reading glasses (X-Factor 9).
Avalanche has a well-known fake alias, "Jon Bloom" (X-Factor 108).
The only family member Pyro has mentioned is his "old gran in Woolamaloo" (UXM 223). Destiny mentioned her mother in X-Factor annual 6 (and was possibly shown to have a daughter and grandson in later X-Factor issues, though it was never confirmed), and Mystique has talked briefly about her parents in her solo series (and her children are well-known). Other than Super Sabre's reference to his son as stated above, none of the other team members have mentioned their families.
Freedom Force members' names in France: Mystique, Destinée, Pyro, Le Colosse (Blob), Avalanche, Le Baron Ecarlate/Commando (Crimson Commando), Estoc (Super Sabre), Le Mur (Stonewall; "Le Mur" literally means "The Wall"), Spider Woman, Spirale.
