History:(X-Force I#117 (fb) - BTS) - Spike Freeman was a venture capitalist who made trillions in software by the time he was thirty-four.
SPIKE FREEMAN
Real Name: Spike Freeman
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: Owner of X-Force/X-Statix,
venture capitalist
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Agent Wright,
Coach,
Dicky,
Vin Diesel, Euro-Trash
(Blind Ali/Ali
Al-Zubaidi, Miz Tree/Makiko
Morioka,
Oxford
Blue/Preston Allen,
Surrender
Monkey/Brad Bentley, the
Wall/Gunter Gross), Sam
Geller, Saddam Hussein, Joe, Mister Code, Nightvoid
(Joshua McMahan), Professor X (Charles Xavier), Reggie,
Kevin Smith, Dr. Brian
Swaine, Wolverine (Logan/James Howlett),
X-Force/X-Statix
(Anarchist/Tike
Alicar,
Bloke/Mickey
Tork, Dead
Girl/Moonbeam, Doop, el Guapo/Robbie
Rodriguez, Henrietta
Hunter, Mister
Sensitive/Guy Smith, Mysterious Fanboy/Arnie
Lundberg, Phat/Billy
Bob Reilly,
Saint Anna/Anna,
the
Spike/Darian Elliott, U-Go
Girl/Edie Sawyer, Venus Dee
Milo/Dee Milo, Vivisector/Myles
Alfred) (a team he owned but whom didn't especially like him)
Enemies: Bad
Guy, Corkscrew
(Timmy Glenn),
Lacuna
(Woodstock Schumacker), O-Force,
Sharon
Ginsberg,
Solomon
O'Sullivan, X-Force (Cable's team), X-Force/X-Statix
(a team he manipulated but Mister
Sensitive especially had a rocky relationship with Spike)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "Mister Maggot," "Sir," "Trillion
Dollar Man"
Base of Operations: X-Statix Headquarters,
Santa Monica, California, USA;
formerly the X-Force Building, Santa Monica,
California, USA
First Appearance: (mentioned & seen on a
television screen) X-Force I#117 (August, 2001);
(fully seen) X-Force I#120 (November, 2001)
Powers/Abilities: Spike Freeman had no
superhuman powers but he was an expert manipulator and businessman.
He was exorbitantly wealthy and also had connections that ran very deep
into the underbelly of society,
as evident by his connection with the murderous terrorist Mister Code
and past association with the dictator Saddam Hussein.
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 150 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
History:
(X-Force I#117 (fb) - BTS) - Spike Freeman was a venture
capitalist who made trillions in software by the time he was
thirty-four.
(X-Statix I#17 (fb) - BTS) - Spike Freeman became business partners
for a time with the enigmatic Mister Code, bankrolling some of Code's
bizarre seminars during which Code programmed attendees to become
killers.
(X-Statix I#15 (fb)) - Spike Freeman attended a seminar about
changing America by Mister
Code, during which Mister Code killed an attendee who asked a jokingly
stupid question, and afterwards, Spike applauded Mister Code.
(X-Force I#117 (fb) - BTS) - Years later, Spike Freeman became the new owner of the celebrity mutant group X-Force.
(Marvel Encyclopedia HC Vol. 2: X-Men - Spike Freeman entry - BTS) -
Like any savvy businessman, Spike Freeman went after the real source of
money with X-Force: merchandising. Exploiting X-Force's fame for all it
was worth, Freeman successfully licensed out the team's name for nearly
every product imaginable.
(X-Force I#120 (fb) - BTS) - Almost immediately after buying X-Force, Spike Freeman met with the Coach and tasked him with creating internal conflict within X-Force that would pit the team against itself in hopes of using the conflict to promote the X-Force brand. He also tasked four thirteen-year-old prodigies with creating the X-Force video game, spending large amounts of money and hoping to get a big return investment by tying the merchandise into real-life conflict within the team.
(X-Force I#125 (fb) - BTS) - Soon realizing that some of the
original X-Force founders still retained a portion of ownership in the
name X-Force, Spike Freeman began sending monthly checks to the X-Force
founders.
(X-Force I#117 - BTS) - When U-Go Girl requested to have the Anarchist kicked out of X-Force, the Coach denied her request, stating that the team had already been selected by its new owner, venture capitalist trillionaire Spike Freeman. U-Go Girl replied that she didn't care how much money Freeman had and that she wanted a say on who was on her team but the Coach simply told U-Go Girl "too bad," as both he and Freeman had already had the media press packets on X-Force's new members in an effort to save them time getting to know the recruits.
(X-Force I#120) - After losing X-Force members Bloke and Saint Anna,
the
Coach visited Spike Freeman, who was taking his anger over the lack of
internal conflict within X-Force out on some X-Force
merchandise. Reminding the Coach that he had wanted conflict, war and
internecine bloodletting within X-Force, Freeman asked if he had made
the Coach clear on his prior requests for conflict. The Coach assured
Freeman that the conflict would come but warned Freeman that the
popularity of X-Force might cause public resentment of the brand if
certain members perished due to the conflict Freeman wanted to start.
Insisting that they needed to first change public opinion on certain
X-Force members like the popular Orphan before they could get rid of
them, the Coach then showed Freeman a video of X-Force member the
Orphan playing Russian Roulette. Intrigued, Freeman calmed down and
expressed a like for the troubled hero. The Coach replied by reminding
Freeman that they didn't like the Orphan and explained how they would
use the information about the Orphan's suicidal tendencies to get rid
of him, having already planted the idea with the media that the Orphan
was stressed. He also informed Freeman that the world would soon see
the very thing that would push the Orphan over the edge and a short
time later, the Coach arranged for a video of the Orphan's parents to
become public.
(X-Force I#121) - Vivisector and Phat met with Spike
Freeman aboard
his yacht
to discuss their role on the team. Freeman suggested they create
internal conflict
within the team, which would put more of a spotlight on the duo and
give their marketing department something to sink their teeth into.
Assuring the two X-Force members that they didn't have to actually
fight their teammates but rather, just create false drama and tension,
Freeman claimed the popularity of the other X-Force members was a
concentrated marketing strategy to up their image and, content that he
had given Vivisector and Phat all they needed to publicly succeed in
X-Force, Freeman went parasailing, saying goodbye to the duo as he
sailed off into the air. Later, Mr.
Freeman met with the Orphan in X-Force's briefing room to discuss the
idea of the Spike joining the
team. Claiming that he didn't just want the Spike on X-Force because
they shared a name, Freeman explained to the Orphan how they couldn't
have X-Force being seen as a racist institution. The Orphan argued that
the dangers X-Force faced required they depend on their teammates and
that X-Force had to have the best of the best regardless of skin color,
gender, creed or mutation.
(X-Force I#124 (fb) - BTS) - Before leaving to confront her past by
meeting with her daughter Katie,
who grew up thinking U-Go Girl was her older sister, U-Go Girl met with
Spike Freeman and was given a new formula of nasal spray that did
wonders for her concentration while teleporting.
(X-Force I#124 - BTS) - After meeting with Katie, the Orphan
suggested U-Go Girl's teleporting had improved because she had
confronted the issues of her past but U-Go Girl light-heartedly argued
that her powers had improved due to the new formula nasal spray Spike
Freeman had given her.
(X-Force I#125) - Spike Freeman met with the Orphan and
U-Go Girl,
where he suggested changing the name of X-Force to improve their public
image. When U-Go Girl responded by announcing her plans to go to bed,
Freeman admitted that he had his own reasons for wanting a name change,
revealing that they didn't actually legally own the name "X-Force" and
that he had to send a check to the X-Force founders every month to
retain the name. He then again suggested they come up with a new name
for X-Force as long as it had an "X" in it and asked if they had
decided on a new team recruit, reminding the duo that the marketing
department could always use some "fresh blood." He later met with all
of the team to begin the briefing on their newest mission against
aliens, noting that their antagonists weren't really aliens and the
team would have to lose the mission before turning over the floor to
the CIA's Agent Wright. A short time later, Freeman appeared shocked
when the Orphan backhanded Agent Wright for suggesting he had to save
X-Force from their own leader.
(X-Force I#129 (fb) - BTS) - While X-Force was in space for Agent Wright's mission, Spike Freeman organized some very expensive focus groups with a media consulting group that eventually came up with a new team name for X-Force. The new name was revealed to Freeman and X-Force's shareholders, who approved the name. After X-Force returned from space and Freeman was informed of U-Go Girl's death during the mission, X-Force met with Freeman and the Orphan revealed that U-Go Girl's final words were the team name "X-Statix."
(X-Force I#129) - Skeptical of the suggested team name, Spike Freeman proclaimed the suggested name to be lousy then admitted that he understood how hard U-Go Girl's death must be on the Orphan, further commending U-Go Girl for thinking about the team until the very end. He then announced that a new team name had already been approved in X-Force's absence but when he suggested they not publicly reveal U-Go Girl's death in order to build up tension and get everyone discussing the team, the Orphan grew angry and hurled a U-Go Girl action figure at Freeman, accusing Freeman of utilizing U-Go Girl's death to sell more merchandise and announcing that he himself didn't care about making money. X-Force member the Anarchist then spoke with Freeman, asking if he was trying to be the Anti-Christ or if it just came naturally, but Freeman reminded the Anarchist that X-Force was still a business whether they liked it or not and that the team had marketing enemies out there. The Orphan refused to pretend U-Go Girl wasn't dead and Freeman unsympathetically explained that the Orphan only had to say "no comment" for a few days. When the Anarchist sided with the Orphan, an angry Spike Freeman ordered the Orphan to say "no comment" if anyone asked about U-Go Girl and threatened trouble if the Orphan even hinted at the truth. When Freeman claimed U-Go Girl would understood what he was trying to do, the Orphan remarked that Freeman was very close to having his neck broken.
Not long after, Freeman
witnessed on television
as the Orphan publicly announced U-Go Girl's death despite his warnings
and the drunk X-Forcers Anarchist and Dead Girl laughed at Freeman's
predicament. Later, the Orphan watched news footage about the Anarchist
and Dead Girl's drunken escapades and when he remarked to Spike Freeman
on how his marketing team could run with the prospect of the Anarchist
and Dead Girl being X-Force's newest golden couple, a still-steaming
Freeman grumbled about how he had asked and even ordered the Orphan to
keep quiet about U-Go Girl's death. When the uncaring Orphan asked if
Freeman was going to fine or fire him for his actions, Freeman at first
seemed a bit unsure of what to do before remarking that he could make
some calls to a few drug companies and tell them to go ahead with their
smear campaigns against the Orphan for releasing mutant cure-all Paco Perez and
thereby giving away any chance of curing several terminal diseases.
Exclaiming that he didn't care if he was the most hated man in the
world, the Orphan was ordered by Freeman to get himself cleaned up by
tomorrow so X-Force could visit some of their farm teams to look for
new recruits to replace U-Go Girl and the also-deceased Spike. He also
informed the Orphan that the farm team tryouts would be open to the
public in hopes of salvaging something from the mess the Orphan had
created.
Later still, after the Orphan
made a guest
appearance on the Lacuna & the
Stars television talk show and announced that U-Go Girl's last
words were "X-Statix," Spike Freeman had a change of heart about
changing the team name to X-Statix due to the media hype surrounding
the name following the Orphan's television appearance. Angered at
Spike's reasoning for changing the name, the Orphan proclaimed Spike to
be a scumbag and accused him of only caring about public opinion and
money. Insisting that he didn't care about public opinion of the team,
X-Force would think him a dictator, Freeman claimed he was on the
Orphan's side and part of the team himself. Demanding Freeman prove he
was part of the team, the Orphan handed Freeman a gun to play Russian
Roulette. Spike fearlessly did so and, surviving, tossed the gun back
into the hands of the Orphan. Shocked at Spike's fearlessness at the
possibility of dying, the Orphan was convinced Freeman was a big a
freak as the other X-Force members.
(X-Statix I#1) - After the newly-minted X-Statix team returned from
their first mission, Spike Freeman joined them in watching the new
reality show on television entitled O-Force.
Spike exclaimed that the last thing X-Statix needed was a bunch of
"good guys" and suggested the Orphan consider having Venus Dee Milo
join X-Statix to replace the recently-deceased U-Go Girl, further
suggesting Venus might injected some much-needed sex appeal into the
team. When Dead Girl became angry at Spike's comment, Freeman insisted
he meant no offense and that the team needed someone with more
mainstream appeal, further suggesting that the "real babe" Venus might
help the Orphan get over U-Go Girl. The remark prompted the Orphan to
get in Freeman's face and outright refuse the suggestion, feeling as if
Spike only brought it up because the Orphan finding love with Venus
might look great for publicity. Spike later joined the rest of X-Statix
in visiting their training grounds, where they witnessed the violence
of Corkscrew killing another mutant, Nightvoid, by spinning his
metallic hands into a drill that pierced Nightvoid's chest. As EMTs
carried Nightvoid's corpse away, Freeman informed X-Statix that the
official word would be that Nightvoid died in a covert operation and
that Corkscrew suffered from Code X, where his mutant gene had made him
insane. Freeman then explained that Doop would take care of the
situation, at which point Doop apparently made a joke that caused
everyone to burst into laughter.
Later, Spike Freeman visited
the Orphan in his
trailer to once again ask him to recruit Venus Dee Milo, to which the
Orphan replied that he had already decided she was in. A thrilled
Freeman announced that he would call a press conference to announce
Venus' membership, commenting that the media would be all over
X-Statix. The next day at the press conference, a confused Freeman
noticed that X-Fan Weekly reporter Sam Geller was the only reporter in
attendance and when he asked where everyone else was, Geller explained
that everyone else was at home watching the inaugural mission of
O-Force on television. Geller then asked if he could ask Venus Dee Milo
a few questions but Freeman refused, officially canceling the press
conference.
(Marvel Encyclopedia HC Vol. 2: X-Men - Spike Freeman entry - BTS) -
Showing slight signs of contrition, Spike Freeman seemingly saw the
error of his greedy ways and began trying to actively assist X-Statix
using his masterful marketing, management and business skills.
(X-Statix I#2 (fb) - BTS) - In an effort to improve X-Statix's own
image, Spike Freeman manipulated events to have O-Force go up against
reality-altering young mutant Arnie Lundberg by using a contact within
the police to nudge Solomon O'Sullivan into sending O-Force into the
small Minnesota town Arnie controlled.
(X-Statix I#2) - As the Orphan and Venus Dee Milo returned from a dinner during which Venus was pelted with eggs and called names by fans of U-Go Girl, Spike Freeman interrupted their arguing over the dinner to show them the televised second mission of O-Force that would pit them against Arnie Lundberg, remarking that it was never a good look to go into battle against a kid and revealing how he had manipulated events to ensure O-Force battled Arnie. As Freeman winked and claimed that was how the superhero business worked, lawyer Sharon Ginsberg entered and presented Freeman with a court order forbidding Venus Dee Milo from working with X-Statix.
(X-Statix I#3) - As Spike read over the court order, he noticed a
contract between Venus Dee Milo and Solomon O'Sullivan signing her to
his talent agency. He then asked Venus if she had actually signed the
contract and Venus reluctantly replied with a yes, admitting that she
had signed it when she was really young and had forgotten about it.
Once Sharon left, promising to see X-Statix in court, the Orphan opted
to discuss the situation with Arnie Lundberg but Spike Freeman
suggested they leave Arnie to O-Force, prompting the Orphan to argue
that the situation might be too big for a manufactured team to handle.
The Orphan then attempted and failed to rally the rest of X-Statix
against Arnie Lundberg and Freeman watched as Vivisector drunkenly
walked away from the Orphan's request.
Later, Freeman met with the Orphan to discuss the
Anarchist and Dead Girl leaving X-Statix to pursue their "Death &
Anarchy" roadshow, with Freeman agreeing with the Orphan's suggestion
of having Dead Girl keep an eye on the Anarchist to make sure he didn't
get into too much trouble. The Orphan then attempted to sober up
Vivisector but when Vivisector argued that a mission against Arnie
Lundberg was more of a personal obsession of the Orphan's rather than a
team involvement. Freeman agreed with Vivisector and suggested the
Orphan leave Arnie be before grounding Venus Dee Milo until her
contract problems were solved. Freeman then joined Vivisector and Venus
Dee Milo in watching the newest O-Force
episode as the team prepared to go after Arnie and was horrified when
the Orphan appeared, parachuting into Arnie's Minnesota town to rescue
O-Force.
(X-Statix I#4) - Venus Dee Milo teleported Spike Freeman into the offices of Solomon O'Sullivan and gave Freeman one minute to work out her contractual issues before she would go into action to rescue the Orphan, lawsuit or no. Spike immediately jumped into heated contractual arguments with Sharon Ginsberg while Venus appealed to O'Sullivan. Freeman eventually convinced O'Sullivan, against Sharon Ginsberg's advice, to sign documents that overrid his contract with Venus Dee Milo so that Venus could save O-Force and what was left of O'Sullivan's career. Later, after X-Statix returned from Minnesota, Spike spoke with X-Statix about O-Force, remarking on how, in a way, O-Force was the best thing that could've happened to X-Statix, as it helped bring the public back on their side following the team's name change and loss of U-Go Girl. When Spike commented on how having O-Force around made the public compare X-Statix's substance and dignity to the synthetic, manufactured O-Force, the Orphan remarked that it was almost as if Spike Freeman had planned the entire situation to happen. Slyly smiling, Spike brushed off the Orphan's comment, remarking that it would make him some sort of manipulative mastermind. Spike then brought up the discussion of who the team's second new member would be with Venus officially on X-Statix and the Orphan shocked everyone by nominating Arnie Lundberg himself.
(Marvel Encyclopedia HC Vol. 2: X-Men - Spike Freeman entry - BTS) -
Having come to respect the Orphan's leadership skills, Spike Freeman
began to trust the Orphan's decisions in matters affecting X-Statix.
(X-Statix I#5) - Spike Freeman
joined the Orphan and Doop inside a
bathroom stall in the mens' restroom within X-Statix HQ. When he
expressed confusion as to why the Orphan summoned here there, Spike was
told that Doop could emit a short-range pulse that dampened Arnie
Lundberg's ability to read their minds and, once he knew Arnie could
not listen in, Spike angrily demanded the murderous Arnie not join the
team. The Orphan argued that until the full of Arnie's powers were
discovered, it was best to keep him on the team so that he couldn't
hurt anyone else, and he suggested disguising Arnie's identity with a
costume and mask. Later, in order to discover the secret identity of
X-Statix's newest member, the Mysterious Fan Boy, the time-skipping
Lacuna slipped between seconds of time and snuck into X-Statix HQ
alongside an unaware Spike Freeman, where she removed the Mysterious Fan
Boy's mask, revealing him to be Arnie Lundberg on live television.
Subsequently joining X-Statix in watching the fallout from the
revelation of the Mysterious Fan Boy's identity on television, Spike
Freeman witnessed Arnie angrily destroyed the television set and when
Arnie suggested a mission to prove he had reformed, the Orphan agreed
and Freeman remarked that he would see about finding a mission nice and
uncomplicated.
(X-Statix I#6) - Following the Orphan's quitting X-Statix after his role in the death of Arnie Lundberg, Spike Freeman read an article about the rest of the team going on television to debate which side of the Orphan they liked better and he immediately panicked, asking if X-Statix were deliberately trying to ruin the entire commercial operation of the team. When Dead Girl remarked that any publicity was good publicity, Freeman argued that the statement was one of the many lies spread by so-called wisdom and that bad publicity was definitely bad, as the team's stock had already fallen thirty cents and revenue from the X-Statix Cafe restaurants had dropped two percent since the team had appeared on Lacuna's television talk show. While most of the team were uncaring of Freeman's concerns, Venus Dee Milo agreed with Freeman and chided X-Statix for not supporting the Orphan in his time of need. As the team discussed the Orphan, Spike revealed that ever since the Orphan had left the team, he had been getting a lot of pressure from the team's shareholders, who worried the Orphan was a loose cannon outside X-Statix. Freeman then informed the team that if the Orphan did not return to X-Statix, their next mission may be to eliminate their former teammate. After the mysterious Bad Guy, whom the general populace assumed was the missing Orphan, later appeared in public wearing several special costumes stolen from Professor X, Professor X tasked X-Statix with tracking down the stolen costumes and Spike accompanied X-Statix to Hollywood to search for Bad Guy. While searching, Spike, who also assumed Bad Guy was the Orphan, expressed his opinion that the Orphan was out of control before receiving a call that Bad Guy had spotted rampaging on Rodeo Drive. He then informed the rest of X-Statix, suggesting it was time to put the whole debate of Bad Guy and the Orphan to bed and move on as a profitable team. When the reluctant Venus Dee Milo to help take down Bad Guy, Spike Freeman commended her decision before the team teleported to Rodeo Drive.
(X-Statix I#7) - Spike Freeman watched the battle between Bad Guy and X-Statix on television, still thinking Bad Guy was the Orphan and yelling that X-Statix should zap their so-called former teammate. Spike later met with the Anarchist to discuss him taking over as leader of X-Statix but the conversation when Venus Dee Milo angrily stormed into the room. Despite Spike's attempts to calm Venus by commending her recent public discussion of her lack of a sex life as good for P.R., Venus confronted the Anarchist and accused both the Anarchist and Freeman of being too quick to eliminate the Orphan so the Anarchist could take over as leader. Much to the surprise of both Venus and Spike Freeman, the Anarchist revealed his plans to decline Freeman's offer of X-Statix leadership. The Anarchist then threatened Freeman, demanding that no new leader be announced for X-Statix until the situation with Bad Guy and the Orphan was sorted out. A nervous Spike Freeman agreed to the Anarchist's demands.
(X-Statix I#8) - Following the revelation that Bad Guy was not the Orphan, Spike Freeman appeared with the rest of X-Statix at a press conference to announce the return of the Orphan (now using his original codename of Mister Sensitive) and he joined the team in their HQ after the press conference, where Freeman tried to excuse his attempt to eliminate Mister Sensitive by saying how everyone though Sensitive had went crazy. Mister Sensitive admitted that he had briefly lost his way and that he probably deserved to be taken out and Freeman attempted to use Mister Sensitive's words as proof he was not a bad person. Vivisector responded that the fact that Freeman was a "mendacious, avaricious philistine" made him a bad person. When Mister Sensitive jumped back into his role as leader and shifted focus on finding Bad Guy, Freeman and the rest of X-Statix went quiet until the revelation that the Anarchist had been offered the role of leader came out.
(X-Statix I#9 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Spike Freeman met with
Vivisector and suggested he start saying more stupid things to make
himself more accessible to the public.
(X-Statix I#9) - Spike Freeman joined X-Statix in viewing some of the dailies for the X-Statix movie that was in development and he commented on the believability of the footage, as it had gotten the public thinking there was in-fighting within X-Statix. When Venus Dee Milo questioned whether that was a good thing, Freeman replied that the in-fighting was what X-Statix's fans were interested in. Vivisector soon made a dumb remark about the movie adding a scene where the Anarchist fell in love with Venus, Freeman admitted he had suggested Vivisector say more dumb things to make himself more accessible before comparing X-Statix's popularity to that of the X-Men and questioning why exactly the X-Men had a bigger fan-base. Vivisector then suggested they fill the empty slot in X-Statix with Wolverine and a smiling Freeman commented that, if it were possible, it was the smartest thing Vivisector had said all day. Later, after mutant actor el Guapo saved Mister Sensitive from an attack by the now-deranged Sharon Ginsberg, Freeman joined X-Statix in viewing footage of el Guapo in action as they discussed possibly recruiting him. Freeman eventually cut the viewing short to remind the team of their first press conference since the Anarchist took over as leader. Thirty minutes later, Spike appeared at the press conference alongside the rest of X-Statix.
(Wolverine/Doop#1) - During a mission in which Doop and Wolverine were attempting to track down the mysterious Pink Mink artifact, Doop noticed Wolverine talking to a lamppost and, thinking Wolverine crazy, Doop reported to Spike Freeman and Mister Sensitive that Wolverine appeared to be suffering from a Code X mental instability. They both agreed that they had to be certain Code X was truly affecting Wolverine but Spike exclaimed that, if Wolverine had truly gone insane, he had to be eliminated.
(Wolverine/Doop#2) - In an
effort to prove whether or not Wolverine
was suffering from Code X, Spike Freeman came up with a seemingly
fictional nightclub called Blush and instructed Doop to tell Wolverine
that they needed to find it. While Doop and Wolverine set off to find
the seemingly nonexistent club, Freeman explained his plan to Mister
Sensitive, revealing how they could tell whether Wolverine had Code X
fever based on whether or not Wolverine believed the nightclub existed.
Watching Wolverine and Doop from X-Statix HQ, Freeman and Mister
Sensitive witnessed Wolverine talking about finding Pink Mink expert Professor
Van Hosen,
at which point a confused Freeman asked if "Van Hosen" was a crappy
eighties rock band. Mister Sensitive suggested Doop was claiming to
believe in Professor Van Hosen to humor the Code X-suffering Wolverine
and commented to Freeman that Doop should be careful in such a volatile
situation. Freeman then asked Mister Sensitive about the
Pink Psychos
that had been congregating and Mister Sensitive revealed that the Pink
Psychos were converging on Toronto, Canada, where Doop and Wolverine
were searching for the Pink Mink. After both the Blush nightclub and
Professor Van Hosen were proven to actually exist and Wolverine and
Doop rescued the legendary Pink Lady
from Hunter
Joe,
Doop returned to X-Statix, who threw him a poolside party that Spike
Freeman virtually attended with the aid of a floating video screen.
(X-Statix I#11 (fb) - BTS) - In an effort to give el Guapo a test
run with X-Statix, Spike Freeman arranged a mission for X-Statix that
el Guapo would be brought into.
(X-Statix I#11) - Spike Freeman
again joined the rest of X-Statix in
viewing video footage of el Guapo, their newest potential team member.
While there, Freeman signed some paperwork and informed X-Statix that
their public relations team loved el Guapo, whom they considered the
fresh new face of X-Statix. When the rest of the team glared again
Freeman, he claimed he was only joking and assured the team that el
Guapo would be aimed at the pre-pubescent market and his popularity
would not affect the q-ratings of the rest of the team at all. The
Anarchist expressed a desire to check out el Guapo in action before
making a final decision to recruit him into X-Statix and Spike Freeman
revealed his plan to give el Guapo a taste of the super hero life by
arranging a last minute mission that el Guapo would be drawn into.
Spike then invited el Guapo to a poolside party that included the likes
of filmmaker Kevin Smith and possibly George Clooney. At the party,
Freeman asked if el Guapo was enjoying the lifestyle and when Guapo
asked about Doop, Freeman explained how Doop filmed everything and that
el Guapo would eventually learn Doop's language. Freeman then thanked
el Guapo for earlier saving Mister Sensitive and Mister Sensitive
himself officially invited el Guapo to join X-Statix. As soon as el
Guapo accepted, Freeman received a phone call about a Malaysian mission
and invited el Guapo to accompany the team. As the team teleported
away, Wolverine stumbled up and mentioned to Spike Freeman that el
Guapo was a "good-looking kid," to which Freeman replied with his
thoughts that el Guapo's sex-appeal would cause quite a stir. When
Wolverine questioned if Freeman meant among el Guapo's fans, Freeman
slyly grinned and commented "among his teammates."
After several X-Statix members received minor injuries in the Malaysian mission, Spike Freeman reminded the Anarchist how some missions get out of control and when el Guapo recovered from his own head injury, Freeman was present as X-Statix explained the daily routine of the team. Later, as Freeman joined X-Statix for a few drinks at an upscale party, el Guapo angrily attacked Doop for filming him sleeping with other women before being calmed by Mister Sensitive.
(X-Statix I#12) - Spike Freeman and most of X-Statix watched on
television as Dead Girl modeled for the first time and was attacked by
mob accusing her of being a bad role model. When Mister Sensitive
suggested Venus Dee Milo teleport Dead Girl out of the mob and the
Anarchist flirtatiously commented about Venus being a personal bus
service, Spike told the Anarchist to stop flirting with Venus and asked
if the Anarchist was still dating Dead Girl. The Anarchist proclaimed
that X-Statix was above the bourgeois "girlfriend/boyfriend" thing but
Spike changed the subject, suggesting he get Dead Girl to start working
on using her powers to learn more from the corpses gathered on an
earlier X-Statix mission to the India/Pakistan border.
(X-Statix I#14 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Spike Freeman secretly
shipped chemicals to dictator Saddam Hussein.
(X-Statix I#13 (fb) - BTS) - Spike Freeman sent moles into Europan
intelligence. When an article about Spike Freeman was published in the Financial Times, it was read by
Europan government agent Dicky, who was unaware of Freeman's moles.
Later, Freeman's moles informed Freeman that deceased pop star
Henrietta Hunter had somehow returned to life but was about to be
killed once more by the Europans.
(X-Statix I#13) - Spike Freeman informed X-Statix of their latest mission: to save recently resurrected Europan pop star Henrietta Hunter from being killed...again. He explained that they would get her out of Europa and bring her to Santa Monica. While some of X-Statix expressed misgivings, Freeman reminded them that Henrietta was a star and this was just the kind of mission to boost the team's profile. Later, once Henrietta had been saved, Spike informed X-Statix that they would be watching over Henrietta and Mister Sensitive argued about how Henrietta could help X-Statix's image, expressing his dislike of Henrietta and how he didn't want the team "babysitting" a pop star.
Mr. Freeman and Doop later met with Henrietta over dinner at Spago's in Los Angeles to discuss her marketing and she hinted at the idea of utilizing Spike Freeman as her new agent. When an assassin hired by Europan government agent Dicky tried to kill Henrietta, Doop leaped onto the assassin, ripping him to shreds as Freeman suggested he and Henrietta depart, remarking that there were some things a lady shouldn't see. As the media arrived to cover Henrietta's attempted assassination, Spike Freeman interrupted the newscast to publicly declare Henrietta under the protection of X-Statix and that Henrietta would be joining X-Statix. On live television, Henrietta suggested Freeman discuss his announcements with X-Statix first but Spike Freeman declared that he owned X-Statix and they would do whatever he told them to do. Angered by Freeman's declarations, X-Statix confronted Freeman when he returned and Venus teleported him above the X-Statix HQ and threatened to drop him. Terrified for his life, Freeman claimed he had not been serious in his announcements but when Venus asked if Henrietta would be joining X-Statix or not, Freeman asked that they at least consider adding Henrietta to the team, as she would be good for X-Statix due to her popularity. When Venus still declined to have Henrietta on the team, Freeman accused X-Statix of being scared that Henrietta was more popular than they were.
Later, Spike Freeman secretly visited Europa and offered to help a confused Dicky and his ally Reggie in their vendetta against Henrietta Hunter, presenting them with video footage of foreign mutants that they could utilize as assassins. After going over the mutants with Dicky and Reggie, Freeman was told that most were nothing more than crude stereotypes but Freeman assured the two Europan agents that the mutants were picked for an American audience, who loved their stereotypes crude. A still-skeptical Dicky questioned what Spike was getting out of the arrangement, at which point Freeman revealed he would retain all television, movie and multimedia rights to X-Statix vs. the Euro-Trash in perpetuity. After asking where such a battle would take place, Dicky and Reggie ultimately signed the contract with Freeman to use his suggested mutants as their Euro-Trash team and the Euro-Trash subsequently attacked Henrietta Hunter in New York City.
(X-Statix I#14 (fb) - BTS) - In preparation for the fight between
X-Statix and the Euro-Trash, Spike Freeman got actor Vin Diesel
interested in starring in a movie about the upcoming fight.
(X-Statix I#14) - After the Euro-Trash held Henrietta Hunter hostage
inside an X-Statix Store in New York City, an angry Dicky phoned Spike
Freeman to ask why Henrietta was not yet dead. Dicky threatened to
release documents tying Spike Freeman to chemical shipments to a
certain dictator to the press if Henrietta was not killed within
twenty-four hours but an unfazed Spike Freeman assured Dicky that
Henrietta would be killed as they had agreed and that he simply wanted
to stretch the situation out to build up some heat before Henrietta was
killed. He then informed Dicky that he had gotten Vin Diesel in
starring in a movie about the fight between X-Statix and the
Euro-Trash and assured Dicky that he need not worry about X-Statix
since the team had gotten "fat and complacent" of late. Unaware that
Doop was actually recording his phone call, Freeman continued by
bragging that his own manipulation of the media had kept X-Statix from
becoming all washed up. Doop then played back the recording to X-Statix
and Freeman claimed they heard the entire call out of context but an
angry X-Statix had grown tired of Freeman's manipulations. Announcing
that they would rescue Henrietta Hunter to prove how "washed up" they
really were, X-Statix had el Guapo tie Spike Freeman up with a very
nervous Spike trying to manipulate el Guapo into killing Henrietta the
whole time.
After X-Statix rescued Henrietta from the Euro-Trash and she began changing X-Statix's image by helping sick children and redesigning the team's costumes, a still-tied-in Spike Freeman exclaimed that they had brought events on themselves for not killing Henrietta when they had the chance. Revealing that Henrietta received more fan mail than all of X-Statix put together and that Henrietta's warm public response to not just the common people but also the team's shareholders would soon result in her being made X-Statix team leader. Thinking over the situation, X-Statix decided they had to kill Henrietta for their own good and as they walked out of the room, Spike proclaimed "That's my team!"
(X-Statix I#15) - Now allowed to resume roaming free around X-Statix HQ, Spike Freeman asked X-Statix if they had thought about how they would kill Henrietta Hunter now that they'd seen what Henrietta's good-natured charity had accomplished. Unaware that the time-slipping Lacuna was in their midst, Freeman continued, suggesting that it might difficult to kill Henrietta, who had already been killed once before. When Dead Girl jokingly suggested they chop Henrietta into forty pieces encased in hermetically sealed caskets and scatter them to mysterious and dangerous places around the world, a smiling Spike admitted he liked that idea. Still angry with Freeman's manipulations of the team, the Anarchist grabbed Spike, announced that no one cared what he liked and promised to deal with the scheming Spike Freeman after they had dealt with Henrietta. The Anarchist then shoved Freeman backward, causing Freeman to trip over a drink cooler.
(X-Statix I#16) - While Spike
Freeman relaxed poolside, one of his employees, Joe, came to warn him
that he had been unable to acquire the documents linking Freeman to
Saddam Hussein and that the documents could have already been passed on
to someone else. Apologizing for his inability to acquire the
documents, Joe wished Freeman good luck but Freeman assured Joe he
didn't need luck when he had forward planning. Freeman then immediately
phoned his old acquaintance Mister Code and asked that Code make
television talk show host Lacuna one of the victims of Code's Random
Killers. Having acquired the documents from the Europan agent Reggie,
Lacuna met with Mister Sensitive to warn him about the documents and
how they were set to be released should anything happen to her.
Uncaring of what happened to Spike Freeman, Mister Sensitive suggested
she go ahead with releasing the documents but when Lacuna revealed that
the documents also incriminated former X-Force member U-Go Girl, Mister
Sensitive returned to X-Statix HQ to confront Spike Freeman. Freeman
claimed U-Go Girl had worked with him to sell chemical weapons to
Saddam Hussein for extra money, Mister Sensitive accused Freeman of
lying. Explaining how almost all of the team past and present had made
some illegal deals for extra money, Spike Freeman grimly informed
X-Statix that they had arranged events so X-Statix would all be
implicated so that if he was brought down, he would take X-Statix with
him. Mister Sensitive then suggested he could persuade Lacuna to hand
over the documents but Freeman admitted it wouldn't be necessary,
hinting that he had arranged Lacuna's death at the hands of the Random
Killers. Completely fed up with Freeman's manipulations and horrified
that he would have Lacuna killed, Mister Sensitive jumped up and kicked
Spike, breaking his neck and shocking the other members of X-Statix.
(X-Statix I#17) - After Lacuna was shot, X-Statix met to discuss
Spike Freeman's connection to the shooting and how Freeman was stupid
enough to assume Lacuna would not have a contingency plan in place for
the incriminating documents should something happen to her. Despite
their best efforts to acquire the documents from Lacuna's lawyers, the
documents linking Spike and all of X-Statix to all sorts of illegal
activities were released to the press. Before their reputation could be
completely ruined, X-Statix decided to take down the murderous Mister
Code and his Random Killers in an effort to win back the public's
hearts while Dead Girl attempted to communicate with Spike Freeman in
the afterlife using his corpse. Soon finding Spike Freeman in the
afterlife attempting to buy anything to confirm his own existence, Dead
Girl revealed to Freeman that he no longer existed on the Earthly plane
and that his money was useless in the afterlife. Further explaining
that she was only able to contact Spike there because his ultimate fate
had not yet been determined, Dead Girl offered Freeman a Bank of Hell
Sulphur credit card in exchange for a favor. Freeman immediately agreed
and gave Dead Girl information on how he had once funded some of Mister
Code's seminars and how he had hired Code to shoot Lacuna.
Comments: Created by Peter Milligan and Michael "Zane" Allred.
Spike's eye color was shown to be
sort of gray on television in X-Force I#117.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Spike Freeman has no known connections to
Sam Geller has no known connection to
| --X-Statix I#1 |
| --X-Statix I#16 |
| --X-Statix I#13 |
Appearances:
X-Force I#117 (August, 2001) - Peter Milligan (writer), Michael
"Zane" Allred (art, letters), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Force I#120 (November, 2001) - Peter Milligan (writer), Michael
Allred (art, letters), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Force I#121 (December, 2001) - Peter Milligan (writer), Michael
Allred (art, letters), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Force I#124 (March, 2002) - Peter Milligan (writer), Darwyn Cooke
(art), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Force I#125 (April, 2002) - Peter Milligan (writer), M.D. Allred
(art), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Force I#129 (August 2002) - Peter Milligan (writer), Duncan Fegredo
(art), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Statix I#1 (September, 2002) - Peter Milligan (writer), Michael "Doc"
Allred (art, letters), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Statix I#2 (October, 2002) - Peter Milligan (writer), Michael Allred
(art), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Statix I#3 (November, 2002) - Peter Milligan (writer), Michael Allred
(art), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Statix I#4 (December, 2002) - Peter Milligan (writer), Michael Allred
(art), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Statix I#5 (January, 2003) - Peter Milligam (writer), Paul Pope
(art), Axel Alonso (editor)
Marvel
Encyclopedia HC Vol. 2: X-Men (2003) - Syd Barney-Hawke (writer), Eric
J. Moreels (writer, researcher), Michael Allred (Spike Freeman entry
art), Mark D. Beazley, Jeff Youngquist (editors)
X-Statix I#6 (February, 2003) - Peter Milligan (writer), Michael Allred
(art), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Statix I#7 (March, 2003) - Peter Milligan (writer), Mike Allred
(art), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Statix I#8 (April, 2003) - Peter Milligan (writer), Michael Allred
(art), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Statix I#9 (May, 2003) - Peter Milligan (writer), Michael Allred
(art), Axel Alonso (editor)
Wolverine/Doop#1 (July, 2003) - Peter Milligan (writer), Darwyn Cooke
(pencils), J. Bone (inks), Axel Alonso (editor)
Wolverine/Doop#2 (August, 2003) - Peter Milligan (writer), Darwyn Cooke
(pencils), J. Bone (inks), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Statix I#11 (August, 2003) - Peter Milligan (writer), Mike Allred
(art), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Statix I#12 (September, 2003) - Peter Milligan (writer), Mike Allred
(art), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Statix I#13 (October, 2003) - Peter Milligan (writer), Mike Allred
(art), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Statix I#14 (November, 2003) - Peter Milligan (writer), Mike Allred
(pencils), J. Bone (inks), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Statix I#15 (December, 2003) - Peter Milligan (writer), Mike Allred
(pencils), J. Bone (inks), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Statix I#16 (January, 2004) - Peter Milligan (writer), Mike Allred
(pencils), J. Bone (inks), Axel Alonso (editor)
X-Statix I#17 (February, 2004) - Peter Milligan (writer), Mike Allred
(pencils), J. Bone (inks), Axel Alonso (editor)
First posted: 12/08/2004
Last updated: 12/12/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
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like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
Sam Geller
Joe
Spago's