Freedom Force is the name of two fictional teams appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...

Publication history

The original version first appeared in ''

Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of superheroes called the X- ...

'' #199 (November 1985) and was created by

Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on '' Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marve ...

and John Romita Jr. Freedom Force was a

supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are of ...

team, though they occasionally acted in a heroic capacity as well. It was a government-sponsored team composed mainly of Mystique's version of Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. They mostly interacted with the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

X-Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003) ...

, and

New Mutants The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally in association with the X-Men. Originally depicted as the teenaged junior class at the Xavier Institute, subs ...

, but also repeatedly met the Avengers. The second team first appeared in ''Avengers: The Initiative'' #12 (June 2007) and were created by

Dan Slott Dan Slott (born July 3, 1967) is an American comic book writer, known for his work on Marvel Comics books such as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', as well as ''She-Hulk'', ''Silver Surfer'', '' The Superior Spider-Man'', '' Tony Stark: Iron Man'', ''Th ...

, Christos N. Gage, and Steve Uy. It was set up as

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

Fifty State Initiative ''Avengers: The Initiative'' is a comic book series from Marvel Comics. Written by Dan Slott and Christos Gage with artwork initially by Stefano Caselli, Steve Uy and Harvey Tolibao, the series deals with the aftermath of Marvel's "Civil War" ...

superteam.

Fictional team biography

Mystique's Freedom Force

When

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...

and human relationships worsen, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants's leader Mystique decides that it has become too dangerous for them to continue their current path. She offers the group's services to Valerie Cooper, a United States

National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

, in exchange for full

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

s. Cooper sees a great opportunity in Mystique's offer, but wants the team to prove their loyalty first by arresting the original group's founder

Magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

. The team accepts, and is renamed "Freedom Force" with the sorceress

Spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europ ...

. Though they meet a decisive defeat at the hands of Magneto's new allies, the

, Magneto decides to surrender himself to Freedom Force. On their next mission,

Spider-Woman Spider-Woman is the code name of several fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and original version is Jessica Drew (later impersonated by Veranke), the second version is Julia Carpenter, and the third vers ...

is added to the team's line-up. When the Avengers are framed by their embittered former member Quicksilver, the U.S. government sends Freedom Force to arrest the Avengers, which they do successfully. Spider-Woman feels guilty for these actions, frees the Avengers from jail, and leaves Freedom Force, becoming a fugitive. Another three members are added:

Crimson Commando Crimson Commando is the name used by three fictional characters, which are either a mutant or a cyborg appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Frank Bohannan first appears in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #215 ( ...

, Stonewall and Super Sabre, all

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

veterans who decided to take justice in their own hands and hunt down and execute criminals. When they targeted

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...

, they were defeated and turned themselves in. It was thought that the former heroes could be redeemed and they were offered a position on Freedom Force. Over the next few months, they are given many unpopular tasks, such as enforcing the

Mutant Registration Act Discrimination against superheroes is a common theme and plot element comic books and superhero fiction, usually as a way to explore the issue of superheroes operating in society or as commentary on other social concerns. Often in response to t ...

, arresting the outlaw X-Men, and saving the people of

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

from an attack by an evil god. Freedom Force clashes with

and the

when they learn that Freedom Force is helping the U.S. government forcibly recruit young mutants and potential mutants for training and eventual government service. During this time, Spiral leaves the team for her own reasons. Freedom Force also helps train

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

and assists in apprehending the mutant terrorists

Resistants The Resistants, also known as Mutant Force, are a supervillain group appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They were originally the second incarnation of the Brotherhood of Mutants, but have become completely independent ...

. Freedom Force also participates in other missions of a more general nature, including the rescue of Senator Robert Kelly from a South American drug syndicate that had kidnapped during a diplomatic visit, as well as helping to contain a jailbreak at

Truman Marsh M-11 Originally known as the Human Robot, the character was given the name "M-11" in the 2006 to 2007 '' Agents of Atlas'' miniseries as an allusion to its first appearance in '' Menace'' #11 from Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics. ...

Vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

. The team begin to fall apart after the mutant

Forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to th ...

asks them to protect

Muir Island The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...

against the Reavers. During this mission, Stonewall and Destiny are killed, and Avalanche is severely injured. The death of Destiny especially hits Mystique hard and the team fights the Avengers without her leadership. Shortly after the battle at Muir Island, Cooper is possessed by the

Shadow King The Shadow King (Amahl Farouk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is particularly associated with the X-Men family of comics. His nemesis is the X-Men's leader, Professor X, while he also ...

and ordered to kill Mystique, however, Cooper resists the Shadow King's influence and seriously injures herself rather than commit murder. Mystique then assumes Val's identity, passing Cooper's injured body as her own corpse, and later aids the X-Men and X-Factor as a "mole" among the Shadow King's servants. Without Mystique, the remaining Freedom Force members are sent on a disastrous mission in

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Ku ...

during the first

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, in which Super Sabre is killed and Crimson Commando severely injured. To save Crimson Commando's life, Avalanche leaves Pyro and Blob stranded in enemy territory. Avalanche and Crimson Commando, now a cyborg, continue to work for the US government, apparently as covert operations agents. The team is soon replaced by the government team

, also under Val Cooper's supervision.

Initiative Freedom Force

After the superhuman "Civil War", registered superheroes were teamed up and assigned to a state.

team is Freedom Force. This Freedom Force team consists of Cloud 9, Think Tank,

Equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...

and Spinner, led by the Golden Age hero

Challenger Challenger, Challengers, or The Challengers may refer to: Entertainment Comics and manga * Challenger (character), comic book character * ''Challengers'' (manga), manga by Hinako Takanaga Film and TV * ''The Challengers'' (TV series), a 1979 ...

. During the ''

Secret Invasion "Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight-issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008. The story involves a subversive, long-term in ...

'' storyline, Equinox was revealed to be a

Skrull The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Skrulls first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They originated fro ...

infiltrator who is killed by Cloud 9. Spinner dies soon after while trying to destroy a Skrull weapon system. During the '' Dark Reign'' storyline, new Initiative leader

Norman Osborn Norman Osborn is a fictional character, fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July ...

orders Freedom Force to attack the

Heavy Hitters ''Heavy Hitters'' is a 2005 album of cover songs by the Michael Schenker Group. Originally planned by Schenker as a collection of covers featuring himself and a "revolving all-star cast of guest musicians," the album was labeled and marketed a ...

after they secede from the Initiative. He feels he can trust the team to follow orders due both to Equinox's criminal past and to Challenger coming from a time where authority is to be respected and obeyed without question. They help the other Initiative teams to defeat and capture the Heavy Hitters' leader,

Prodigy Prodigy, Prodigies or The Prodigy may refer to: * Child prodigy, a child who produces meaningful output to the level of an adult expert performer ** Chess prodigy, a child who can beat experienced adult players at chess Arts, entertainment, and ...

. During the Siege of Asgard, Steve Rogers reports that Challenger refused to take part in the attack on

Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr'' ; "enclosure of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts. It is described as the fortified home of the Æsir ...

. Norman Osborn excludes his team and Stark-formed teams from the Siege. During the '' Fear Itself'' storyline, members of Freedom Force appear at a meeting held by Prodigy regarding magical hammers that have crashed into the Earth. Between these, there is also an inexplicably alive Spinner.''Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt'' #1

Members

Mystique's Freedom Force members

* Mystique - Leader. *

Avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and ea ...

* Blob * Valerie Cooper - Freedom Force's government liaison. *

Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

* Pyro *

Initiative Freedom Force members

- Leader. * Cloud 9 - A superhero who can manipulate a cloud-like gas form. *

- Was revealed to be a Skrull infiltrator who had Equinox's powers. Killed by Cloud 9. * Spinner - A superheroine whose powers rotate every 24 hours. Some of her known powers have included invulnerability, super-strength, super-speed, and flight. * Think Tank - A superhero with telekinesis. His brain is in a liquid-filled globe that is in place of his head.

Freedom Force trademark

Marvel Comics abandoned the Freedom Force trademark in the 1990s and it was eventually re-registered by computer game developer

Irrational Games Irrational Games (known as 2K Boston between 2007 and 2009) was an American video game developer founded in 1997 by three former employees of Looking Glass Studios: Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier. Take-Two Interactive acquired t ...

, which used it as the name for their own team of comic book heroes (with no connection to Marvel or its characters). These all-new characters were featured in two games and one comic book miniseries (through

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-o ...

Alternate versions

undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly-alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, who have been reanimated b ...

version of Freedom Force appears in the '' Marvel Zombies'' universe consisting of Mystique, Pyro, and Avalanche. They are seen in pursuit of the still-living Blob, whom they apprehend and convert into a zombie like themselves. United as a foursome, they then attack the X-Men who defeat and destroy them all.''Marvel Zombies - Dead Days'' #1

In other media

Freedom Force is alluded in '' X-Men: Evolution''. In the series finale,

Professor Charles Xavier Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co- ...

caught glimpses of future actions via

Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...

; one action being the former

Brotherhood of Mutants The Brotherhood of Mutants (originally called the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, sometimes referred to as BoEM or B.O.E.M) is a fictional team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters are depicted as being devote ...

group (

Toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientif ...

, Blob, Quicksilver and

Scarlet Witch Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Her first appearance was in ''The X-Men'' #4 (March 1964) ...

) as well as Pyro standing in front of a

S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in ''Strange Tales'' #135 (August 1965), it often deals ...

sign, foreshadowing Freedom Force.