THE RESISTANTS
Membership: Crucible (Byron Calley, Burner), Meteorite (Ned Lanthrop, Lifter), Mist Mistress, Quill, and a dozen or so unidentified others
formerly Occult (Peter Quinn, Peepers), Paralyzer (Randall Darby, Shocker), Rust, Think Tank (Marvin Flumm, Mentallo)
Purpose: To oppose the Mutant Registration Act and other such oppressions of mutants. Also they were one of the many groups funded by the Red Skull to increase the problems in the world.
Affiliations: The Red Skull, Slither (Aaron Solomon)
Enemies: Battlestar (Lemar Hoskins), Captain America (John Walker), Code: Blue, Dead Ringer, Freedom Force, Machinesmith/Magneto Robot, Spider-Man, Super-Patriot (Mike Farrell)
Base of Operations: The remains of Mesmero's fortress beneath Death Valley, California
First Appearance: Captain America I#343 (July, 1988)
History: (Captain America I#343) - When Captain America and Battlestar captured a suspected unregistered mutant, Meteorite, Paralyzer, Crucible and Occult attacked the helicopter escorting them and demanded his release. When Captain America refused, the Resistants destroyed the helicopter and killed the pilot. They took the mutant and asked him to join their cause; he went on to take the name Quill.
(Captain America I#346) - Meteorite, Crucible, Quill and Mist Mistress attacked a truck en route to the Vault and freed the mutant criminal named Marvin Flumm (AKA Mentallo). The Resistants brought Flumm to their headquarters, where they asked him to join them. He accepted and chose to go by the name Think-Tank. Later Meteorite, Occult, Crucible, Think Tank, Mist Mistrss and Paralyzer went on a mission to free Quicksilver while he was on trial, but on the way Think Tank realized it was a Freedom Force trap to capture them. Meteorite launched a chunk of rock at the courthouse and the team was attacked by Captain America. During the fight Occult was electrocuted, Meteorite shot multiple times and all the rest were knocked out and captured.
(Captain America I#350) - A Resistant named Rust was among the group gathered by the Red Skull to fight Captain America.
(Amazing Spider-Man I#325) - An unidentified gun-toting Resistant joined ULTIMATUM soldiers, Watchdogs and Sweat Shop goons in the Red Skull's plan to destroy priceless documents in the Pentagon. When Spider-Man arrived, the criminals fought him. The Resistant was left covered in webs.
(Fantastic Four I#335) - Quill was mentally influenced by a device built by Doctor Doom and attempted to attack the Fantastic Four while they testified before Congress. However, he jumped the team at the same time as Plantman and the two collided; both were injured and arrested.
(Avengers Spotlight#29) - Quill was among the many villains brought to the Vault as the Avengers and Fantastic Four supervised.
(Captain America I#368) - The Resistants held a peaceful demonstration in front of the White House where they were confronted by what appeared to be Magneto (it was actually the Machinesmith's robot). They asked it to join them, but it attacked them. When Captain America (Rogers) showed up to fight the robot, one of the Resistants jumped at Magneto, but it just threw him away.
(Captain America I#394) - Crucible attended a meeting with the Red Skull and operatives of his various subversive organizations.
(Captain America I#411) - A couple of unidentified members of the Resistants attended a fighting competition hosted by Batroc at the AIM Weapons Expo.
(Captain America I#426) - On their way to attack the Mutant Liberation Front, Crucible, Meteorite and Occult spotted Captain America and the Night Flyer (though it was actually Super Patriot impersonating Cap, and Dead Ringer as Night Flyer). Seeing an opportunity to be rid of one of their enemies, the Resistants attacked. Not wanting to reveal his identity, Super Patriot fought back. When he and Dead Ringer were caught in Meteorite's gravitational grasp, Dead Ringer changed his form to that of Death Adder, which turned the tide long enough for Code: Blue to arrive. As the three Resistants were taken in, Super Patriot told Lt. Stone they had been forcing him to commit a crime. Thinking Super Patriot to be the real Captain America (and knowing the Resistants to have warrants for their arrests), Stone accepted his story. The three mutants were taken to jail.
(JLA/Avengers#4) - An unidentified member of Resistants was pulled forward in time and fought for Krona. (see comments)
Comments: Created by Mark Gruenwald, Kieron Dwyer and Al Milgrom
The first four members of the Resistants -- Meteorite, Crucible, Occult and Paralyzer -- were first assembled (along with Slither) as a Brotherhood of Evil Mutants by Magneto. They went on to become Mutant Force after that didn't work out so well.
I've listed every appearance of a member of the team in uniform, even if they weren't acting with the group at the time (like Quill in "Acts of Vengeance"), since there's really not all that many appearances of the group in the first place.
The next appearance of the core members of the Resistants was in New Warriors II#4, where they'd taken the name Mutant Force, rejoined by Slither, and were robbing an armored truck. I like to think that they needed money to support the Resistants and had gone by the other name to keep themselves incognito, but it could be that they just aren't Resistants any more.
Certainly Paralyzer could have quit. He went solo supervillain in Midnight Sons Unlimited#3 and is apparently now a Magneto follower, so he'd be more interested in mutant superority than mutant rights. And Occult turned up suffering brain damage from his electrocution as an inmate of the Cage, only to escape but not go back to his teammates. For the record, I'd explain his two appearances post-electrocution (where he appeared fine) by saying that while he was with the Resistants, he recieved treatment, but in the Cage he couldn't. Also, Mentallo/Think Tank was never shown with the group again after his original appearance. At the very least I'd like to think that Meteorite and Crucible (plus perhaps Slither) and the other members of the Resistants are continuing to this day.
I understand the Red Skull uniting people from all his organizations in Cap#350 to dramatically mess with Walker, but I don't understand why he'd bring them together to bomb the Pentagon in the Spider-Man appearance. If they're seen (which they were), it only helps the witnesses realize that all those groups have the same backer. Clumsy.
The Resistants member in JLA/Avengers could've been Crucible, Paralyzer, Meteorite, Rust, Think Tank or any other normal looking member.
Thanks to Ron Fredricks for pointing out to link the Resistant's base to Mutant City.
Thanks to Loki for providing the main image from the Gamer's Guide to the Marvel Universe 1992 Character Update.
Profile by Patrick D Ryall
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Resistants should not be confused with:
The Resistants' base
The Resistants' base was the remains of Mutant City, a fortress used by Mesmero which was destroyed in a battle with the X-Men (in X-Men I#52). It was likely given to the Resistants by the Red Skull.
--Captain America I#346
Unidentified Members
When the Resistants brought Mentallo to their base, there were over a dozen members of the team present, most of whom are unidentified. Here's what I can see in the overhead view and what I can discern from the position in the following panel (shown above): Going clockwise...
I admit, number 14 is a bit iffy. If we allow the group more time to move around between the panels the fiery guy (#5) may indeed be Crucible, the long-haired person (#3) could be Mist and #14 may not be anyone. Any one of the unidentified mutants (particularly #s 6, 8 or 10) could be Rust, the strange headed mutant seen below, or the unidentified member seen in Spider-Man.
At a protest in Washington, I counted at least eighteen Resistants. Quill was imprisoned and thus can't be there and Think Tank was no longer with the team. Those present for certain include Crucible, Mist Mistress, Paralyzer and probably Meteorite. One of the protestors holds a sign reading "Am I a mutant or do I just dress like one?" so it is possible that the team could have been joined by some human sympathyzers by this point. Most of them, after all, do look rather human, save for one unidentified mutant with a strange head.
Could #4 be Cinder, who appeared a few years later in Cage#9?
--Lonewolf36
I don't think anyone else made the possible connection. While I doubt it was intended to be him (since he didn't exist at that point, and I doubt Cinder's creators remembered a one-panel "extra" in a crowd scene when they came up with Cinder), it's not a bad suggestion.
--Loki
Images taken from:
Gamer's Guide to the Marvel Universe 1992 Character, p193 (main)
Captain America I#346, page 17, panel 2
Captain America I#346, page 17, panel 1
Captain America I#368, page 14, panel 1
First Posted: 02/07/2005
Last updated: 01/30/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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