FREEDOM FORCE
FREEDOM FORCE
Membership: Challenger (Bill Waring), Cloud 9,
Spinner, Think Tank;
formerly Equinox, Equinox (Skrull
impersonator)
Purpose: To defend Montana from superhuman menaces
Affiliations: Devil-Slayer, Gravity (Greg Willis), Hardball (Roger Brokeridge), Jocasta, Komodo (Melati Kusuma), Nonstop (Madeleine Michaels), Riot (Heidi Sladkin), Ryder, 3-D Man (Delroy Garett)
Enemies: Equinox (Skrull impersonator)
Base of Operations: Billings, Montana
First Appearance: Avengers: The Initiative#12 (June, 2008)
History: (Avengers: The Initiative#12) - Freedom Force, joined by their newest recruit, recent Camp Hammond graduate Cloud 9, saved the inhabitants of a burning building in Billings, Montana.
(Avengers: The Initiative#18) - When confronted by the remnants of the Skrull Kill Krew and a ragtag group of Initiative heroes, Equinox revealed himself as a Skrull, injuring Challenger and Think Tank. He quickly defeated Spinner and the other heroes, before being shot in the head by Cloud 9. Spinner and Cloud 9 joined up with the others to purge the Initiative of Skrulls, leaving Challenger and Think Tank for the paramedics.
(Avengers: The Initiative#28) - Freedom Force (Challenger, Cloud 9, Equinox, Think Tank) participated in an attack alongside the Force of Nature (Aqueduct, Skybreaker, Sunstreak, Terraformer), the U-Foes (Ironclad, Vapor, Vector, X-Ray) members of the Shadow Initiative (Badd Axe, Ringer (Keith Kraft), Warbow), and other trainees (Brother Grimm, Griffin, Scorcher, Razor-Fist) on the rogue Initiative team the Heavy Hitters. The Heavy Hitters Nonstop and Telemetry were saved by the Avengers Resistance, though Resistance member Night Thrasher was captured. Heavy Hitters member Prodigy chose to remain behind and make a final stand for himself and was defeated as well.
(Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt#1) - When the Serpent (Cul) began his reign of terror on Earth, Steve Rogers commissioned Prodigy to reassemble the Initiative to handle the fear-induced rioting that was spreading across the country. Action Pack's Think Tank and Spinner were among the Initiative members who gathered in Washington DC to rejoin.
Comments: Created by Dan Slott, Christos N. Gage, and Steve Uy
Challenger seems to be the leader of Freedom Force - the Initiative entry in volume 5 of the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z hardcovers confirms this.. He doesn't show up in #18, but Cloud 9 refers to her wounded "teammates", plural, so Challenger was presumably there off-panel.
Think Tank should team up with Martha Johansson and the "Belgian Brain" to form, like, Disembodied Floating Brain Force.
And they could all fight time-travelling WW2 villains including Otto von Schmittsder, Werner Schmidt and the Japanese Head.
--Markus Raymond
I didn't realize it until LV! pointed it out to me, but the Equinox impersonator has the powers of Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends.
Profile by Minor Irritant.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Freedom Force is likely named after, but should not be confused with:
...but has no known connections to:
Spinner has no known connections to
Think Tank has no known connections to
(Avengers: The Initiative#18 (fb)) - At some point in time, a Super-Skrull abducted and replaced Terry Sorenson. This Skrull was chosen by Criti Noll, a Super-Skrull impersonating Yellowjacket, to be a member of Montana's Initiative team.
(Avengers: The Initiative#12) - "Equinox" used his ice powers to cool the flames of a burning building.
(Avengers: The Initiative#18) - Exposed by the Skrull Kill Krew and a motley crew of Initiative operatives, the Equniox impersonator assumed his true form and disabled Challenger and Think Tank. He froze Ryder, Riot, and Hardball in a slab of ice, threw Spinner into Nonstop, and exploded his ice-slab to injure Jocasta, Gravity, and Komodo. Striking down the 3-D Man, he had all of his attackers at his mercy, until he was killed by a sniper shot from Cloud 9.
In addition to his Skrull shapeshifting powers, the Equinox impersonator also possessed the abilities of Spider-Man, Iceman, and Firestar.
--Avengers: The Initiative#12 (Avengers: The Initiative#12, 18
(Avengers: The Initiative#12) - Currently in possession of super-strength, Spinner held up the collapsing building, but found herself affected by the heat, as she had been in possession of superhuman endurance the day before.
(Avengers: The Initiative#18) - Initially overwhelmed by the revelation of a Skrull in their midst, Spinner soon turned her speed power against the Equinox impersonator, but was thrown into Nonstop. With the Skrull defeated by Cloud 9, Spinner joined her and the other heroes in journeying to Philadelphia, where they battled the Skrull which had infiltrated the Liberteens as the Revolutionary, recruiting Whiz Kid in the process. They next ventured to Georgia, where they defeated the Thor Girl impersonator of the Cavalry. Moving on to South Dakota, Spinner, Whiz Kid, and Nonstop were given explosives and sent to destroy the Negative Zone gates of every Initiative base in order to prevent the Skrulls from destroying the planet.
(Avengers: The Initiative#19) - After assisting the Spaceknights battle Skrulls in Chicago, Spinner met up with Whiz Kid, then sped to Hawaii, where she found a small army of Skrull soldiers. Her twenty-four hours up, she gained the power of flight, but was unable to reach the Initiative base. In desperation, she activated her explosives and blew herself up along with the Skrulls. Unfortunately, one dying Skrull was able to activate the Negative Zone gate before expiring.
(Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt#1) - When the Serpent (Cul) began his reign of terror on Earth, Steve Rogers commissioned Prodigy to reassemble the Initiative to handle the fear-induced rioting that was spreading across the country. Spinner was among the Initiative members who gathered in Washington DC to rejoin.
Spinner rotated through a set of superpowers, receiving a different one every twenty-four hours. At the end of that day, she lost that power and received a new one. These powers have included superhuman strength, endurance, speed (which she received only infrequently), and flight.
--Avengers: The Initiative#12 (Avengers: The Initiative#12, 18, 19, Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt#1
(Avengers: The Initiative#12) - Think Tank levitated the occupants of a burning building in Billings, Montana to safety, despite the heat causing him some discomfort.
(Avengers: The Initiative#18) - Think Tank's braincase was shattered by the Skrull who had replaced Equinox. Gravity took him away from the scene of the battle, but was left for the paramedics with Challenger.
(Avengers: The Initiative#28) - Think Tank participated in the Initiative's attack on the rogue Heavy Hitters team and helped capture Night Thrasher, of the Avengers Resistance, and Prodigy, though the other Heavy Hitters escaped with the Avengers Resistance.
(Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt#1) - When the Serpent (Cul) began his reign of terror on Earth, Steve Rogers commissioned Prodigy to reassemble the Initiative to handle the fear-induced rioting that was spreading across the country. Think Tank was among the Initiative members who gathered in Washington DC to rejoin.
Think Tank possesses telekinesis.
--Avengers: The Initiative#12 (Avengers: The Initiative#12, 18, 28, Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt#1
images: (without ads)
Avengers: The Initiative#12, p21, pan1 (main image)
Avengers: The Initiative#18, p1, pan1 (Equinox Skrull impersonator)
Avengers: The Initiative#19, p13, pan3 (Spinner)
Avengers: The Initiative#12, p21, pan1 (Think Tank)
Appearances:
Avengers: The Initiative#12 (June, 2008) - Dan Slott & Christos N. Gage (writers),
Steve Uy (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers: The Initiative#18 (December, 2008) - Dan Slott & Christos N. Gage (writers),
Steve Kurth (pencils), Drew Hennessey (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers: The Initiative#19 (January, 2009) - Dan Slott & Christos N. Gage
(writers), Harvey Tolibao and Bong Dazo (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers: The Initiative#28 (November, 2009) - Christos Gage (writer),
Rafa Sandoval (penciler), Roger Bonet (inker), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt#1 (July, 2011) - Sean McKeever (writer), Mike Norton (artist), Lauren Sankovitch (editor)
First Posted: 01/06/2009
Last updated: 06/08/2016
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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