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Val agreed, but told Mystique the deal would be on only if the group could prove itself competent, so she gave them a trial task before she accepted the offer. She ordered them to capture Magneto as their first assignment.
"Full pardon---conditional on performance. If a single member of your group breaks our agreement, you all hang."
---Val Cooper, UXM 199
"The deal's simple: we play the federal game, we get pardoned. Any one of us breaks parole---by committing a crime or deserting---everyone else pays the price."
---Mystique, UXM 223
UXM 199: Mystique approaches Val Cooper with a proposal to turn her Brotherhood of Evil Mutants into the government team Freedom Force, and is given permission to do so if they can prove themselves capable by capturing Magneto. The team (consisting of the BoEM plus new member Spiral) ambushes Magneto at a Holocaust memorial, encountering resistance from both their target and the X-Men, who quickly arrive after the trouble starts. Freedom Force is defeated (most of them knocked unconscious by various X-Men), but Magneto surrenders, fearing what he has become and upset that he frightened so many people. Mystique takes him into custody, and in the next issue he is put on trial for crimes against humanity.
By Chris Claremont.
Soon afterwards, Spider-Woman II is inducted onto the team, feeling it's the best way to serve her country. Flashbacks of this are found in Avengers West Coast 84 and issue #2 of the Spider-Woman LS.
UXM 206: Freedom Force is next seen on a mission without Mystique or Destiny, attempting to arrest the X-Men in San Francisco. Spiral proves to be their best asset, though the group---under Pyro's reluctant leadership---uses some rare clever teamwork to defeat each of the X-Men. However, the police arrive and it becomes clear that FF doesn't actually have a warrant, so they leave, promising to soon return.
By Chris Claremont.
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Click here for a scan of the reprint issue's cover!
X-Factor 8: FF is next assigned to arrest Rusty Collins, a young mutant who has escaped from a naval prison and is on the loose. They know he's with X-Factor, a group of supposed mutant hunters, and decide to capture Rusty while at the same time making life difficult for X-Factor. The two teams clash in Central Park and Rusty runs off with a mutant named Skids, FF on his tail.
By Louise Simonson.
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X-Factor 9: FF catches up to him and tries to take him into custody, only to be attacked by a mutant-hating crowd with projectiles, requiring the secret assistance of X-Factor. FF could probably have beaten off the crowd, but Mystique is insistent to Blob that every one of them play by the rules or they will lose their deal with the government, so they're forced to take a passive role. Destiny realizes that Rusty has escaped into the Morlock tunnels and so after the crowd has been subdued, FF follows, soon clashing with X-Factor in their alternate disguises as the 'evil' X-Terminators. However, Destiny foresees death in the form of the Mutant Massacre and insists that FF retreat or die; naturally, they leave. Once back at the Pentagon, Val Cooper upbraids them for losing to the X-Terminators and threatens to end their deal if they make another mistake, much to the team's annoyance.
By Louise Simonson.
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X-Factor 10: However, Mystique had recognized Warren Worthington amongst the X-Terminators' numbers, and leaks to the press that he is "an evil mutant", leading to scandal.
By Louise Simonson.
Avengers Annual 15: FF shows up as the Avengers (both teams) play baseball, in order to arrest them. They present warrants and follow procedure, but several Avengers attack them and so they retaliate in order to capture them. A battle ensues, FF winning only gradually, but Spider-Woman has doubts about the side she's fighting on and while she doesn't openly disobey, she only joins in the fight when told to. Eventually FF wins and takes the Avengers into custody, where they are imprisoned until they stand trial for treason. However, Spider-Woman is upset with the turn of events, and after being reprimanded by Mystique for her misbehaviour, she infiltrates the Vault and frees them. The Avengers then escape and vow to clear their name.
By Danny Fingeroth.
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West Coast Avengers Annual 1: Mystique asks Henry Peter Gyrich if FF can be used to track down the Avengers after their escape from the Vault (released, of course, by former FF member Spider-Woman), but is turned down in favour of Quicksilver (who provided the information leading to the group's arrest) and his LMDs, much to her annoyance. Gyrich reminds her that FF is "still proving your obedience to us", telling them to leave via the back entrance, and chagrined, they do so.
By Steve Englehart.
Captain America 333: Blob, Pyro, and Avalanche are utilized to help train John Walker, the new Captain America. Appalled when he sees them, he calls them "criminals", but Val Cooper quickly corrects him, stating that they've been pardoned "for as long as they continue to work as special government agents". They rough him up in training, but he defeats Pyro and Avalanche easily---though it takes Val to rescue Cap from an angry Blob.
By Mark Gruenwald.
Captain America 334: Later, Captain America and his partner Bucky encounter FF in a government cafeteria, and the three that Cap had just fought tease the pair, much to their disgust. Alone, they suggest to each other that FF is redundant now that the two of them are ready for battle and that with any luck, FF will be sent on a suicide mission.
By Mark Gruenwald.
UXM 223: The Crimson Commando and Stonewall, old World War II heroes who had recently clashed with Storm (in UXM 215 and 216), are inducted into FF in lieu of prison sentences. The other members of the team are not impressed, remembering the behaviour of Spider-Woman and doubting the abilities of the two veterans, but seem to accept them after a bit of teasing. Meanwhile, a sudden intruder turns out to be the veterans' friend Super Sabre---thought dead after his previous appearance, and in hiding for a while---and he decides to also join up with FF. At that moment, Destiny receives a terrifying vision that the X-Men are going to die.
By Chris Claremont.
UXM 224: Destiny and Crimson Commando appear at a television press conference held by Val Cooper. The purpose is to introduce the FF team and explain their function, though one reporter disapprovingly mentions that "all the members of Freedom Force are criminals". Val defends them, though several viewers are disgusted. Meanwhile, Mystique warns Rogue about Destiny's vision, though she's mostly shrugged off.
By Chris Claremont.
UXM 225: Since Rogue has not heeded Mystique's warning, FF goes to Dallas to save the X-Men's lives by taking them into custody, using their outlaw status as an excuse (though Mystique makes it quite clear she is doing it for altruistic motives). The two teams fight until FF has taken out the female members of the X-Men and Mystique has been taken prisoner by the opposite side. At that moment, the Adversary begins to warp reality, much to FF's shock and Destiny's horror.
By Chris Claremont.
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UXM 226: The imprisoned female X-Men attack their captors, though each one is nearly killed or injured by an angry Spiral. However, as things become more confusing and grim, Mystique is released and the X-Men and FF form a truce in order to more effectively fight the danger. The Adversary has warped time and endangered the lives of everyone in Dallas, so the various members of both teams work to protect the civilians. Pyro rescues people from a rampaging dinosaur, Super Sabre takes out some barbarians, while Avalanche carries supplies and Stonewall and Crimson Commando direct people to safety. Everyone fights in a battle against the rampaging hordes, in which Spiral and Pyro are injured. Destiny is distraught, for she sees no future for the X-Men, which she interprets to mean their deaths. Both teams go inside Forge's Aerie, where they encounter resistance, but Wolverine forces FF to stay behind in the mission to go to the top floor, reasoning that FF---as federal agents---ought to remain to protect civilians. The X-Men go upstairs just as the building begins to collapse, and Mystique and Blob barely escape.
By Chris Claremont.
UXM 227: Believing the X-Men to be dead, FF is upset and in shock, though Pyro discovers that Neal Conan's camera is still broadcasting and that they are all alive. FF watches helplessly as Forge and the X-Men battle the Adversary, but Mystique is enraged when Forge takes their lives in a spell to defeat the creature, calling him a "murderer" (nobody aside from Roma knows that the X-Men actually survived, so Mystique believes Rogue to be dead).
By Chris Claremont.
New Mutants 65: FF attempts to protect 'Forge' (actually Mystique in disguise, in order to keep enemies away from the genuine article) from Magik's wrath over the death of her brother. The other New Mutants, along to prevent their teammate from doing any harm, join in the fight against the government team. The kids are disbelieving that the "Brotherhood of Evil Mutants" could be heroes, though Blob gleefully corrects them and point out that they now stand for "truth, justice an' th' American way!" FF defeats the New Mutants, which gives Destiny a chance to show them a vision of Inferno and warn them about its imminent occurrence. The kids express surprise that FF, "bad guys", are concerned for the future of the world, though Sunspot and Illyana think they are lying and so pay no heed. Magik finally does find the real Forge, and chases after him.
By Louise Simonson.
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X-Factor 30: FF is still in Dallas, hanging around and apparently doing nothing in particular (though it's likely they were helping to clean up), when Cyclops and Marvel Girl seek them out to learn the whereabouts of baby Nathan. Destiny predicts their arrival, so the team is prepared for them, acting threatening and insisting they register under the Mutant Registration Act.
By Louise Simonson.
X-Factor 31: The pair turn the tables and attack FF in return, demanding information that FF doesn't have, until Destiny receives another vision about the child and shares it. The two then leave to continue the search.
By Louise Simonson.
Captain America 339: Captain America encounters Blob, Pyro, and Avalanche celebrating the death of the X-Men in a fairly out of character (and rather at odds with their portrayal in UXM 225-227) scene. Cap (John Walker) says that anybody hated by FF "must've had something going for them!"
By Mark Gruenwald.
Note: this issue presents major chronology problems. It's dated to March 1988, the same month as UXM 227. But it must take place after NM 65 and X-Factor 30 and 31 because of the context---all three of the Simonson issues take place in Dallas ("We know Freedom Force hasn't left Dallas yet"), whereas the scene in CA 339 specifically says it takes place in Maryland. So, despite the much later dates (July and August 1988) of the Simonson issues, they should definitely take place earlier than this scene in CA 339. Unfortunately, there are other scenes in CA 339 which have to take place during Fall of the Mutants...basically, it's a continuity mess.
X-Factor 33: FF shows up after X-Factor defeats the Alliance of Evil, taking the villains into custody. They also demand that the heroes register under the Mutant Registration Act, under threat of arrest. After a bit of grumbling and speeches, X-Factor agrees, but using only their public identities rather than their real names. Rusty Collins refuses to sign at all, though promises to turn himself in to answer old criminal charges.
By Louise Simonson.
Captain America 346: In order to draw in a group of mutant terrorists known as the Resistants (several members of which used to work for the government, as "Mutant Force"), FF is ordered to hold a mock trial of 'Quicksilver' (actually Mystique). The plan is to draw them in, then allow them to escape and follow them back to their base. Pyro and Stonewall pretend to be lawyers and Blob the judge (the plan might have worked more smoothly had they not called each other by their codenames, admitted it was fake, and actually known what they were doing...but it's a scene played purely for comedy, so their incompetence here isn't surprising), but when the Resistants realize it's a trap, they decide "we must destroy the Freedom Force, or they will surely destroy us!" and demolish the courthouse. In a fury, Captain America (John Walker) battles and kills some of them, for which Pyro rebukes him for fouling up the plan.
By Mark Gruenwald.
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A postscript for this issue: in CA 347, it's revealed that Mystique was somehow able to "salvage the situation" with the Resistants, though it isn't described how. Perhaps one *was* able to escape, and she followed him/her.
[It is unclear as to where exactly this issue fits into continuity; this is just a guess]
Marvel Comics Presents 41: Senator Robert Kelly and some comrades are about to be executed by a drug dealer's firing squad when Mystique appears in the guise of the boss and rescues them. Kelly is a bit shocked to see her (after all, it was he that the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants tried to assassinate in their first appearance), but it soon becomes clear that most of the team is present in a carefully orchestrated plan to rescue him, though Mystique grumbles that if it were up them, they would have left him and his bigotry to die. The drug boss, Muerte, arrives with a super-team of his own and they clash with FF, but FF defeats them easily. Avalanche wants to take some of the boss' money, but Mystique reminds him that would be a violation of their parole and orders him to bury it instead. She makes two rather sardonic comments about them now being "good guys", but overall seems to do the right thing.
By Scott Lobdell.
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X-Factor 40: After X-Factor defeats Nanny and rescues her kidnapped children, FF takes responsibility for administrative duties, such as finding the parents (several months later in New Mutants, Blob lets slip that they never did look for the parents, which Pyro later refutes, so it's hard to say what exactly happened here). They also tell X-Factor that due to their good work, Rusty Collins will be released from prison on his own recognizance.
By Louise Simonson.
Daredevil 269: Pyro and the Blob are sent by Spiral to register a recalcitrant mutant girl in a small town. They throw their weight around (probably sullying the government's name in the process), act obnoxious, get drunk, and battle Daredevil for control of the girl. Eventually they scuffle, Daredevil defeats them, and when Spiral returns she harshly rebukes them for letting the girl escape. Just why Spiral is in command of the mission is not explained, for she treats the others as complete subordinates even though Pyro had led several outings in the past (and would do so in the future) during Mystique's absences.
By Ann Nocenti.
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New Mutants 78: Freedom Force shows up in the team helicopter as the New Mutants are trying to deal with a crisis---Mirage has to be kept frozen or she'll burst into flame and cause vast destruction---FF is trying to arrest Rusty again because of his Navy desertion/still won't register/blamed for Dani's fires. The New Mutants resist, and Commando shoots at them, hitting and stunning Rictor. Rusty retaliates with his flames, but Pyro takes control of them and FF lands without further incident. A fight ensues between the two teams, with casualties on both sides, and then Blob accidentally lets slip that FF knows the whereabouts of the mutant children taken into custody (see X-Factor 40). Skids jumps to the conclusion that FF personally kidnapped and is holding the kids (though this doesn't seem to have been the case; rather, the government has them and FF simply knows about it). However, Blob has put FF in a risky position and they are forced to protect their interests---Avalanche, Commando, and Destiny attack the NM from the helicopter, which Rictor destroys and sends crashing into the river. Avalanche retaliates with a tidal wave, which melts Dani's ice, and releases her. Dr. Strange then teleports all the NM to Asgard, except for Rusty and Skids, who are trapped in a forcefield on Liberty Island with FF.
By Louise Simonson.
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New Mutants 80: FF is still menacing Rusty and Skids, who are protected by her forcefield and threatening to tell everyone about the missing children. Pyro tries to tell them they misunderstood what Blob said earlier, but Mystique is determined to capture them anyway so they can't disclose the information. FF takes them into custody by removing the entire forcefield and the ground beneath them.
By Louise Simonson.
New Mutants 82: Hours later, Skids finally collapses her forcefield and FF takes she and Rusty to separate cells.
By Louise Simonson.
UXM 254: Destiny has a vision of the future, one that seems to predict her death, and while this upsets her, she does not tell Mystique about it. Val Cooper then calls with a mission for FF, but when Mystique learns that it is to benefit Forge (whom she still blames for Rogue's death) and other X-affiliated people, she refuses to go. Eventually Val wears her down and she grudgingly agrees, though still feeling she made the wrong decision. Destiny suggests that Mystique and Forge's futures are "intimately...intertwined", at which Raven expresses disbelief.
By Chris Claremont.
UXM 255: FF is brought in to battle the Reavers on Muir Island (and rescue some friends of the X-Men in the process). Blob and Avalanche jump down from the plane without problem, but Destiny is quietly upset by things she will not talk about. The plane crashes after its pilots are killed by Lady Deathstrike, though Forge and the rest of the team (minus several members, who are off on another mission) survive after Pyro takes control of the flames during the explosion. However, the situation rapidly deteriorates when Avalanche is nearly killed and Blob is taken out of the fight. Soon Destiny is killed by Legion, and Mystique captured by Donald Pierce, and when Stonewall rescues her, Pierce electrocutes him. The Reavers close in on Mystique and Pyro and are about to kill them too (they say their goodbyes) when Forge shoots one and puts the others on the run. The survivors try to deal with their losses, and Mystique swears revenge on Forge for the deaths of Destiny and Rogue.
By Chris Claremont.
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X-Men Forever 2: Mystique's future self has been sent back in time to inhabit her own body shortly after the death of Destiny. She is distressed and disoriented to relive a moment of grief, and Pyro, Avalanche, and Blob watch over her with concern and sadness for her loss. She then goes off to spend time by herself as the rest of FF prepares to leave Muir Island, and angrily confronts the past version of Legion.
By Fabian Nicieza.
Avengers 312: Several Avengers are staying at the underground base in their park, when Blob, Pyro, and Avalanche show up in a Freedom Force helicopter. Noting that Mystique is off grieving for Destiny, they declare themselves independents and decide to battle the Avengers for no apparent reason. They start a confrontation, with some success, though things start going badly when Hank Pym shrinks Blob and due to his increased density he falls through the Earth. Pyro, sensing trouble, cites their government clearance and orders the police to arrest the Avengers, which they are reluctant to do. Then Captain America (Steve Rogers) arrives and declares them "free agents" because of an "upset in their membership". Pyro realizes they've lost and so he and Avalanche escape, leaving Blob behind somewhere underground. Of interest is that Loki tells his comrades that their Acts of Vengeance cabal was not involved in FF's decision to attack the Avengers---FF did it for fun, apparently. Hmm.
By John Byrne.
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Punisher v.2 #29: Blob, Pyro and Avalanche are seen battling the Avengers amidst downtown mayhem during this Acts of Vengeance story. It is worth noting that this scene is inaccurate---they should not be fighting Namor, Thor, or Captain America, nor should they be at that location. It could not have happened after their battle with the other Avengers, as Blob is in the picture, and probably couldn't have happened before or they would have been defeated and escaped/or the other Avengers would have been alerted before their attack on Avengers Park. Besides, the dialogue in Avengers 312 indicates that was their first trip out as independents.
By Mike Baron.
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Incredible Hulk 369: Mystique rejoins FF after some time off grieving for Destiny, only to be angered by the recent behaviour of the other team members. After berating them, she sends Crimson Commando, Pyro, and Blob to South Carolina to investigate a possible sighting of the Hulk, while she goes to New York to check out another. Still depressed about Destiny and not wanting to be there, she finds nothing. The others, however, run into Bruce Banner, who attacks them until he is subdued. While they're talking, he turns into the Hulk and the three of them battle him with little success. He injures both Pyro and Blob, then stops the fight to rescue a small boy he'd met earlier, Commando helping out. After the boy is on the way to the hospital, the Hulk punches out Commando and leaves FF where they've fallen.
By Peter David.
Note: though this issue is dated to May 1990, it chronologically takes place before New Mutants 86-89 (Feb-May 1990). This is clear from both the plot and the dialogue of Hulk 369.
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New Mutants 86: Rusty and Skids, after breaking out of prison, manage to stop the Vulture's heinous plan and prevent Nitro from blowing up several city blocks. However, Blob, Commando, and Pyro arrive and for some reason rough the kids up, refusing them medical treatment and giving the media a public relations spiel about heroes and villains ("because we are America's heroes...and we serve you all!"). Astute readers may recognize the origin of this site's title :)
By Louise Simonson.
New Mutants 87: Mystique questions the captive Skids and Rusty about the Mutant Liberation Front, who have committed acts of violence and demanded the kids' release. They don't know anything about it, though Mystique suggests that the MLF wants them purely for the information on the missing children, which she hints is more dangerous to Rusty and Skids than it is to FF. Skids accuses FF of plotting their deaths unless they co-operate. The MLF rescues them at the end of the issue.
By Louise Simonson.
New Mutants 88: Crimson Commando, Pyro, and Blob question Cable, shackled up at their headquarters. They want to know if he's working for the MLF, and satisfied that he is not, tell him that he either work with them against the MLF, or be destroyed as one of them. After they leave for a meeting, Cable breaks out of his cell, and when FF goes to investigate, he takes out Pyro by smashing the butt of a gun into his face. Cable then uses Pyro's flamethrower to attack Blob, with some success; Blob and Super Sabre (erroneously called "Silver Sabre") then chase him outside the building. Sabre's head is nearly taken off by Cable's well-placed wire, and only survives because Blob is able to warn him in time. Cable then takes off in a stolen helicopter.
By Louise Simonson.
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New Mutants 89: Commando, Super Sabre, Blob, and Pyro pursue Cable in another helicopter, the two copters engaging in a gunfight over a body of water. Both crash in the water, though all make it ashore some time later. Eventually, Pyro and Blob encounter Cable in the city after he stops to find a disguise; they capture him and smack him around a bit as payback for what he did to them in the previous issue. But he turns the tables and beats them up as the New Mutants stumble across the scene (the first meeting between Cable and the NM). They help to further beat up the FF agents, and when Commando and Super Sabre show up, attack them too. The last we see of FF, they are all injured and being hounded by reporters.
By Louise Simonson.
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[I am unsure as to the exact place of the following story in continuity, but it takes place after Destiny's death and before Mystique's 'death'.]
Marvel Comics Presents 82: Emma Frost, angered by Firestar's rebellion (in the Firestar LS), decides to get revenge on her. She feeds anonymous information into the Freedom Force computers, ensuring that the girl will become their target ("They'll destroy her semblance of normalcy, or she'll be forced to destroy them. Either way, I win."). Meanwhile, masked goons attack Angelica and a friend (Meg), chased off only after a lengthy battle. At the same time, Mystique receives the file from Frost, and ponders a course of action. Saying she wants Firestar to either join Freedom Force or be destroyed, she decides to impersonate Meg, and goes to Firestar's house. At the end, Avalanche and Spiral burst in, telling Firestar she's under arrest.
By Marcus McLaurin and Marie Javins.
Marvel Comics Presents 83: Mystique, Avalanche, and Spiral squabble as Firestar escapes with her father. The latter two want to use harsh force on the girl, but Mystique insists she is not to be harmed, saying she would be a useful member of the team. Spiral teleports on ahead to find her, hearing Mystique's orders but not very heedful. When Firestar shoots a blast at Spiral, she fights back and puts a sword through the father---seemingly possessing a special hatred and vendetta for Firestar. Avalanche uses too much force on her, and she escapes while covered by the debris, taking her father to the hospital. His wounds are serious, and he needs several organ transplants that may take too long to find. Meanwhile, several shadowy figures (Cross and Fitch) from a secret organ-harvesting group called the Arms of Salvation (the same people who tried to kidnap Meg), want to utilize Mystique in their operations. They realize it will be difficult, and decide they need a "patsy"---which they find in Firestar's desperate search for organs.
By Marcus McLaurin and Marie Javins.
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Marvel Comics Presents 84: Firestar trains against Arms of Salvation warriors representing FF, preparing for her upcoming confrontation. Cross and Fitch are satisfied that she seems likely to bring in Mystique for the "tissue sample", so she goes off in search of her target. Meanwhile, FF is watching the hospital for any sign of Firestar, and Mystique adopts the girl's form to prompt her father for information. Firestar arrives and realizes what is happening, and attacks Mystique in a fit of anger. They exchange some terse words, Firestar charging that FF doesn't "ever question authority", but their confrontation is broken up by the arrival of Blob and Pyro.
By Marcus McLaurin and Marie Javins.
Marvel Comics Presents 85: Pyro and Blob attack Firestar upon Mystique's orders, leading her to term them "psychos". She knocks Blob into a cesspit, from which he repeatedly attempts to climb out but fails each time. Pyro is more problematic for her and gives her more trouble, but he's over-confident and eventually she sends him into the pit too. Mystique morphs into the form of Firestar's father and attempts to fool her, but the girl sees through it and captures her.
By Marcus McLaurin and Marie Javins.
Marvel Comics Presents 86: Firestar brings Mystique to the AoS, receiving assurances that the shape-shifter will not be harmed. Meanwhile, Pyro and Blob are helped out of the pit by Spiral and Avalanche, and the group makes plans to rescue Mystique their way, complaining of being constrained by the older members of the team. They plot to attack Firestar at the same time, angry at the way she defeated them all. Meanwhile, Firestar is beaten up by the AoS for refusing to join them, but at that moment FF arrives and attacks, giving her a chance to escape. She then realizes what AoS is really doing, and frees Mystique when Cross bursts in.
By Marcus McLaurin and Marie Javins.
Marvel Comics Presents 87: Cross, furious that Firestar led FF to their headquarters, tries to kill her. She is rescued by Spiral (who wants to be the person to kill her), while Mystique, as leader of a federal group, must assist the other captured civilians. Mystique is confronted by Fitch, but eventually shows up in his form---the real Fitch's fate unknown. Meanwhile, Cross takes out Spiral, and Firestar must face him alone. She defeats him when "Fitch" appears with a gun. Mystique and Firestar discuss Spiral---they know that when Spiral wakes up, she'll want to kill Firestar, which Mystique admits "could mean trouble". So Mystique fakes the girl's death so that she'll be safe with her father, who managed to recover. Thinking to herself, Mystique muses on Destiny's prophecy that Firestar will one day be a member of a team "that would make a difference to the world. I thought you meant she'd be on this team. I guess I hoped we'd play that important role. No--I know we will." She wishes Firestar well.
By Marcus McLaurin and Marie Javins.
Avengers--Deathtrap: the Vault (Graphic Novel): A prison break is underway at the Vault, and the Avengers and Freedom Force are called in to stop it. FF is not too impressed, for as Blob points out, they are all former criminals and at one time might have been in the inmates' places. Still, they are determined to do the job. The Avengers, on the other hand, are disgusted by the idea of working with people they don't consider to be much better than the prisoners. FF speaks to the prison warden (Truman Marsh, who has secretly activated a bomb to prevent anyone from escaping) and then begins digging a tunnel into the Vault itself when they are attacked by Hydro Man and nearly drowned. He and his comrades force FF to work with them under threat of death, reasoning that "this is the side you belong on anyway" and FF is used to trap some of the Avengers. Fortunately, other Avengers are able to rescue them before the plan succeeds. However, FF and the Avengers get into a morality conflict over the use of force on prisoners---Pyro is not above threatening Mr. Hyde to get information and retorts to the protesting Captain America that "the Avengers way, we're all going to die". They are interrupted by Venom and some of his cronies, who admit to the "heroes and pseudo-heroes" that they are all desperate to destroy the warden's bomb, and so a temporary truce is formed. Thunderball, Iron Man, and Hank Pym go to disarm it, while the rest of the Avengers and FF are trapped in Klaw's sound cage as hostages to guarantee good behaviour on the heroes' part. The bomb is disarmed at the last minute and then the heroes escape the cage, leading to a free-for-all battle between the prisoners and two teams. Eventually, the inmates are subdued thanks to the efforts of Crimson Commando, Iron Man and Pym (and inadvertently, Mentallo and the Controller), though there is yet another problem to deal with. The warden is determined to kill all the prisoners and so causes the nuclear reactor in the facility to melt down (he's later tossed into the core by Venom), and it is up to Radioactive Man and Iron Man to absorb and safely release the excess radiation in order to save everyone. They manage to do so, and the whole crisis is ended.
By Danny Fingeroth.
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UXM 266: Mystique is at FF headquarters (also their home), grieving Destiny's death, when the Shadow King-possessed Val Cooper arrives and seemingly shoots her.
By Chris Claremont.
UXM 269: It is revealed on television that Mystique has been killed (although much later we learn that this was a plot and she wasn't really dead). "Mystique is but the latest in a string of tragic losses that have struck Freedom Force in recent weeks."
By Chris Claremont.
New Mutants Annual 7: Crimson Commando, Super Sabre, Pyro, Blob and Avalanche (Mystique thought dead) are sent on a mission to Kuwait City to retrieve a German physicist, Reinhold Kurtzmann, from Iraqi control during the Gulf War. Things are going well, though they find no trace of the man; then, without warning, Super Sabre is beheaded and his teammates can't see the attackers. Commando's arm is cut off from afar and so the others charge into battle, with mixed results---Avalanche is slashed with a sword, and Pyro's flames are blown back on him. Finally, the enemy is revealed to be Desert Sword, a super-powered team working for Iraq.
By Fabian Nicieza.
UXM Annual 15: Desert Sword has Kurtzmann, so the surviving members of FF have to pick themselves up and attempt to capture him. During the course of the skirmish, Kurtzmann is grabbed by Pyro and Blob, though they are then cut off from Avalanche and Commando. The latter two attempt to reach the helicopter meeting point, while Pyro, Blob, and Kurtzmann try to escape the pursuing members of Desert Sword. They do elude them for a time, but DS re-captures Kurtzmann and so Pyro kills him, claiming the orders were to "liberate or terminate" (which is supported by the text in the story's narration, though a US soldier contests his assertion in part 3). Meanwhile, as Avalanche and Commando near the landing point, they are caught in a mine explosion and lie seemingly dying.
By Fabian Nicieza.
X-Factor Annual 6: Desert Sword decides to use lethal force on FF now that the physicist is dead, and so part of the team attacks Pyro and Blob "to the death" while the others watch in amazement as Avalanche manages to get up. He discovers that Commando is still alive, though severely wounded (now missing his legs as well), and picks him up to continue on to the helicopter. Meanwhile, in the other battle, Pyro kills Veil of DS while Blob severely injures Arabian Knight, and they run off to the landing zone. Avalanche reaches the helicopter, carrying the barely surviving Commando, just as the Iraqi military is called in. The US army tells Pyro that they will be temporarily unable to pick them up as enemy troops move into the area---but a soldier informs everyone that they must get Commando to medical attention immediately, and so Avalanche and the army opt to abandon the two team members still on the ground. The helicopter leaves, and Pyro and Blob are forced to surrender as they are surrounded by enemy troops.
By Fabian Nicieza.
This was the end of Freedom Force. After this story, Pyro and Blob spent at least a few weeks as prisoners of war in the Middle East, but survived by working as bodyguards for an Iraqi commander and their freedom was eventually bartered for by Toad (as revealed in X-Men Annual #2). They then joined Toad's new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and went back to their old life until it was revealed that Pyro had the Legacy Virus (which he may well have caught in the Middle East, as it is known that one member of Desert Sword died of it soon after). The group broke up soon afterward, and Pyro spent the rest of his life trying to obtain a cure. He was very bitter about the whole experience, claiming that the Kuwait trip was a suicide mission.
Crimson Commando survived, but as a cyborg with robot legs and a replacement gun-arm. (Apparently when Erik Larsen and Fabian Nicieza were petitioning to take over the X-Factor book, their proposal outlined a team led by cyborg Commando, and Nicieza had him badly injured during the Kuwait mission so he would indeed become a cyborg. However, they didn't get the book and so the concept was dropped fairly quickly---Commando had only a few appearances after Kuwait---and the idea/character design was then used by Larsen at Image for the character of SuperPatriot)*.
*Thanks to Dave Van Domelen and The Dragon #3 for providing this information. See the X-Factor subpage for more details.
Commando and Avalanche continued to work for the government after their return, including on the anti-mutant Project Wideawake, although they temporarily defected to help out Pyro and the BoEM after his illness was revealed. For some reason they later went back to the government, though Commando has not been seen since and Avalanche appears to have eventually left its service. Though Pyro and Blob were initially very angry at their two former teammates for abandoning them, Pyro at least seems to have forgiven them.
Mystique has been busy with various private enterprises and a forced trip back into government service with X-Factor, the group that replaced Freedom Force. She did once try to kill Legion for killing Destiny, employing Avalanche and Blob in her scheme, and it's obvious that she and Avalanche are very bitter about what happened to them and their dead and dying comrades during and after Freedom Force.
"The government team all of you recently replaced was called Freedom Force. It was made up of convicted felons that we were trying to reform. A mistake, I'll grant you---not to reform, but to have used those particular felons."
---Val Cooper, X-Factor Annual 7
"As you may or may not know, Freedom Force has been disbanded. While the group had laudable goals, they ultimately proved too unstable to function well."
---Val Cooper, X-Factor 72
"It used to be so easy...everything seemed to be so clear---first in the Brotherhood, then with Freedom Force---we were going to do something---we were going to have some power! The world was going to be ours! Now it seems like it's all just falling apart, doesn't it, Raven? The government keeps me like a dog on a leash, Johnny's got the Legacy Virus, Sabre, Stonewall and Destiny are all...dead...."
---Avalanche, X-Factor 109
