HUMANITY'S LAST STANDHUMANITY'S LAST STAND
Membership: Burnout (Megan O'Toole), Garibaldi, Corpus Derelicti (Adam Fisher), Thomas "Tom"
Hurdler, Thermal (Molly Peterson), Simon Trask, Washington, numerous unidentified
others; formerly Col. Julian
Armstrong, Blastfurnace, Blindspot (Kylie Kopeiken), Burnout (Kristine
Calverly), Corpus Derelicti (Michael Black), Deadeye (Jay Burnell), Deadeye (Mark
Randall), Joelle Guthrie, Preacher
Purpose: To "survive" against mutant superiority and be the victor in a proposed, impending genetic war against mutantkind
Aliases: None
Affiliations: Graydon Creed (loosely, many
Humanity's Last Stand members supported him for President)
Enemies: Acolytes (Joanna Cargill,
Orator/Victor Ludwig, the Kleinstocks/Harlan & Sven Kleinstock,
Scanner/Sarah Ryall, others), Bastion (Master-Mold/Earth-811's
Nimrod) and his Maulers (Bastion sought to kill many Humanity's Last
Stand members despite working with the group), Rev. William Connover,
the Daily Bugle (J. Jonah Jameson, Peter Parker, Joe "Robbie"
Robertson, Ben Urich, others), the FBI (Mully, Sculder, others), the
Guthrie family (Elizabeth
Guthrie, Jedediah Guthrie, Joelle Guthrie, Josh Guthrie, Lucinda
Guthrie, Husk/Paige Guthrie), Joseph (Magneto/Max Eisenhardt clone),
Preacher, Punisher (Frank Castle), Rogue (Anna Marie), S.H.I.E.L.D.
(G.W. Bridge, Agent Kymberly
Taylor, others), Trish Tilby, X-Cutioner (Carl Denti), Melody Watkins,
Steven "Stevie" Watkins, X-Men (Lucas Bishop, Cannonball/Sam
Guthrie, Storm/Ororo Munroe, Wolverine/James Howlett), mutants in
general
Base of Operations: A compound in east Buffolk, Olkahoma, USA;
formerly A compound and an office on the 1401 block of an unidentified street in Pine Bluff, South Carolina, USA;
formerly a survivalist camp at the edge of the Appalachian Mountains, USA
First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men I '95 Annual
(November, 1995)
History: (Uncanny X-Men I '95 Annual (fb) -
BTS) - Humanity's Last Stand formed in the Appalachian hills of
Kentucky as a pro-human group.
(X-Men Unlimited I#11 (fb) - BTS) - Humanity's Last
Stand preyed on humanity's eternal fear of change by promising
sheltered communities free of the unpredictable perils of the world,
gaining ground from its weakest supporters, who feared the rise of
mutants.
(Uncanny X-Men I '95 Annual (fb) - BTS) - After the mutant-killing Legacy Virus
was discovered, Joelle Guthrie left her family with a drifter called
Preacher to join Humanity's Last Stand, which Joelle's mother referred
to as a cult.
(Uncanny X-Men I '95 Annual) - Within Humanity's Last
Stand's chapel, Joelle Guthrie met with her lover Preacher, who had
painted a massive painting involving mutants overtaking humans in an
oppressive war. Concerned for the Preacher's haunted look, Joelle asked
where the Preacher came up with the ideas for his paintings, prompting
the Preacher to reply that he merely painted what was on his mind and
lately, his mind had been on the future of humanity. Suggesting that
the Preacher was spending too much time in the chapel, Joelle reminded
him that they had a rally to prepare for. After the X-Men were drawn
into the search for Joelle Guthrie due to her brother Sam being a
member of the X-Men as Cannonball, the X-Men visited the Guthries'
Kentucky home, where Cannonball and his sister, Generation X's Husk,
decided to infiltrate the Humanity's Last Stand camp. That evening,
Humanity's Last Stand held their rally, where one of their officials
explained to its members and those curious who had attended the rally
about Humanity's Last Stand's intentions. He announced that "God's plan
had gone awry" and that humanity had been eclipsed in the shadow of
evolution, a branch of nature that was unnatural, diseased and
spreading the Legacy Virus worldwide. Having attended the rally in
their civilian garb, Cannonball and Husk watched as the Humanity's Last
Stand official proclaimed that humans suffered at the hands of mutants
and that their god would help those who helped themselves. At those
words, Cannonball prepared to get his sister Joelle out of their but
Husk suggested they wait and let Joelle make her own decisions. The
official, announcing himself as Garibaldi, then turned the floor over
to Preacher, who told the members and supporters of his visions of a
world of mutant vs. man. As Preacher spoke, the enigmatic head of
Humanity's Last Stand screened the rally attendees and identified
Cannonball and Husk as mutants, unleashed his armored "flock" to make
an example of the heroes. Preacher soon concluded his speech, urging
the attendees to do whatever they could to keep the "night" from
finding them, and Cannonball and Husk took the opportunity to meet up
with Joelle. As Cannonball lectured Joelle and learned that she had
left the family behind out of jealousy of Sam and Paige's mutant
natures, Husk investigated Humanity's Last Stand further, noticing
Preacher being led away by Garibaldi. Cannonball's lecture was soon cut
short by a blast from Humanity's Last Stand "flock," who exposed
Cannonball's mutant nature to the others. One of Humanity's Last
Stand's "shepherds" then ordered the other members to kill Cannonball
in the name of Trask. Humanity's Last Stand members then dogpiled on
Cannonball while Husk continued following Preacher, who was led into a
meeting with Simon Trask. Preacher asked Trask why he was being held
back from telling the rest of Humanity's Last Stand all that he saw and
Trask explained that truth was a weapon to be used as a means to the
continued survival of humanity against mutants. Husk was eventually
noticed by Garibaldi, who pulled a gun on her before seriously beating
her despite Preacher's concerns for her well-being after he overheard
her cries. Feeling that the beating was necessary, Trask then ordered
Garibaldi to assemble the shepherds within the hour. As the seriously
wounded Cannonball returned to his family home to recruit the X-Men,
Preacher visited Joelle's room and tried to get her to run away with
him, disturbed at seeing Husk's beating minutes earlier. When the
confused Joelle heard what Preacher had seen, she was shocked that the
victim of the beating was her sister Paige but before either could
leave, the perimeter breach sirens went off as the X-Men arrived.
During the breach, Cannonball freed Husk from Humanity's Last Stand but
both Guthries were confronted by Garibaldi and a group of armored
"flock" members. Bishop rescued Joelle Guthrie and Preacher realized
that Bishop had seen the future in Preacher's visions as the rest of
the X-Men rescued Cannonball and Husk from Garibaldi and his soldiers.
Preacher soon suspected that his visions were coming true when the
"flock" attacked Bishop in the camp's Creed House bunker and attempted
to flee, only to be deemed a traitor by the "flock" members. Bishop,
Joelle and Preacher soon reunited with the other X-Men and the robotic
"flock" soldiers attacked. Bishop managed to cause a rock slide with
his powers, burying the "flock" soldiers in the rubble. In the
aftermath, Joelle chided Preacher, accusing him of knowing Humanity's
Last Stand's true nature the entire time and while Preacher insisted
that he did not know, Garibaldi pulled himself from the rubble and
warned the X-Men to leave while they still could. When Garibaldi
announced that the authorities had been called, the X-Men decided to
leave peacefully, knowing they had exposed Humanity's Last Stand's true
nature, while Joelle and Preacher went their separate ways, Joelle
returning home and Preacher retreating into his painting.
(X-Men Unlimited I#11 (fb) - BTS) - The Magneto clone
Joseph happened across recruitment drive for Humanity's Last Stand in
the north and took advantage of the opportunity to infiltrate the
organization in hopes of observing the tragedy of their misguided
nature and gaining information on the X-Men. Humanity's Last
Stand eventually opened an office while basing themselves out of a
compound in the
southern town of Pine Bluff, South Carolina. Once rooted into the town,
Humanity's Last Stand began airing televised infomercials that included
the "Evolution Revolution" advertising jingle, urging viewers to report
any suspected mutants, even if they appeared normal or harmless.
Eventually, their compound came to house over a hundred men, women and
children who sought to live their lives under Humanity's Last Stand's
security.
(X-Men Unlimited I#11 (fb)) - Months later, having
seen Humanity's Last Stand's infomercials, a reluctant Melody Watkins
returned to her hometown of Pine Bluff and visited the Humanity's Last
Stand office, where she met with HLS member Tom Hurdler to report a
mutant.
(X-Men Unlimited I#11) - Nearly a week later, the former X-Man Rogue returned to the apartment she rented from Melody Watkins above the Watkins' garage, only to find a a crying Melody waiting for her. Admitting that she had contacted Humanity's Last Stand out of fear and worry for her son Stevie following the outbreak of the Legacy Virus, Melody was comforted by Rogue as Humanity's Last Stand's robotic Flock agents arrived on the scene. Shortly after the two discussed Melody's fears about the Legacy Virus, armored troops calling themselves the Maulers revealed themselves and the squad leader Mauler-One attempted to arrest Rogue. Having never seen the Maulers before, Rogue fought back, asking if they were working with Humanity's Last Stand or perhaps the Genoshan militia or even Doctor Doom. When Mauler-One was defeated by Rogue, another Mauler, M-3, reported back to the extraction command of the defeat and Rogue's resistance. M-3 was then sanctioned with using lethal force against Rogue, terrifying Melody as Rogue hurled a bicycle into M-3. Melody then pleaded with all present to stop fighting, as Stevie was still in the house. Rogue stopped, only to find the anti-mutant Bastion standing next to Stevie. Taking Stevie hostage and announcing himself the head of the extraction squad, Bastion ordered Rogue to come peacefully. Rogue quickly assured Melody that she was prepared to surrender in order to save Stevie but Bastion coldly asked what Rogue planned to do to save Melody, whom Bastion then fired upon. Rogue intercepted the blast and was downed and Bastion quickly took Rogue into custody, warning that he did not compromise. Back at Humanity's Last Stand's compound, Bastion met with Simon Trask, who warned that Rogue could not stay at the compound lest HLS risk encountering the X-Men so soon after their previous fight. Bastion promised to keep Trask's concerns in mind before turning his attention to the captured Rogue, whom Bastion informed was no longer of any use. Bastion then informed Trask that Rogue's end would be classified as "need to know," prompting Trask to leave the room, wishing to keep maximum deniability of the entire situation. As Trask departed, leaving Rogue to Bastion, he warned Bastion that the Trask name still carried considerable influence and that he was not without his own power and resources. Once Trask had left the room, Bastion revealed his plans to slaughter everyone in the Humanity's Last Stand complex and pin the crime on Rogue to turn public opinion towards Bastion's plans to exterminate mutantkind. The Humanity's Last Stand agents standing guard in the room overheard Bastion's plans and when one of them refused to allow Bastion to kill his friends, Bastion shot the guard dead and proclaimed him a martyr. Bastion then warned the other guard that if he shared the deceased guard's reservations, he could take it up with Bastion's Maulers. The guard proclaimed Bastion a murderer and announced he would face whatever was needed to stop Bastion's bloodbath before it began. Magnetically constricting the Maulers' armors, the guard then revealed himself as the Magneto clone Joseph, forcing Bastion to flee as Joseph freed Rogue. Thinking Joseph to be the true Magneto, Rogue fiercely attacked Joseph until he restrained her and revealed his infiltration of Humanity's Last Stand in hopes of gaining information on the X-Men. Joseph then explained that Bastion's plans had forced him to shed his disguise and told Rogue that she had a choice either to join or work against Joseph's attempts to prevent Bastion from murdering the Humanity's Last Stand members inside the compound. Freeing herself, Rogue kicked Joseph and agreed to a truce, warning him against lying to her. A short time later, as night fell, Rogue and Joseph stormed the Humanity's Last Stand compound just as Bastion's Maulers were rounding up the Humanity's Last Stand members including Tom Hurdler. As HLS members, terrified at seeing who they thought was Magneto, watched, Joseph and Rogue made short work of the Maulers. Bastion soon escaped and following their victory against the Maulers, Rogue and Joseph were threatened by members of Humanity's Last Stand led by Tom Hurdler. Announcing that the two mutants' rescue of the HLS members was the only reason they were being allowed to leave in one piece, Humanity's Last Stand warned that a day would come when Humanity's Last Stand would cleanse the world of the genetic pox of mutantkind. Joseph angrily announced that Humanity's Last Stand would be long-settled at the bottom of the gene pool by the time mutantkind was destroyed. He then levitated while magnetically taking apart Hurdler's gun, warning that Humanity's Last Stand stood no chance against the powers of mutants like himself. Tom reminded Joseph that he didn't understand the lengths a man would go to to protect his family and world, prompting Joseph to depart stating that Tom was welcome to such a world where discrimination ran so rampant. Rogue followed and confronted Joseph outside the compound before a helicopter housing Simon Trask fired on them. Frustrated, Joseph asked why the group was attacking yet again and Rogue explained that they would attack again and again until they took the fight directly to Simon Trask himself. When a Humanity's Last Stand questioned what they should about the two mutants, Trask announced that their fates were sealed as soon as Bastion targeted them and that their capture by Bastion could not be allowed to jeopardize Humanity's Last Stand security. He then ordered his agents to kill the two mutants but Joseph magnetically grabbed the two helicopter missiles. After facing Simon Trask down eye-to-eye in the helicopter, Joseph decided to destroy the missiles by colliding them into one another. Despite the HLS agents thinking Joseph had killed himself in the blast, Simon Trask reminded his agents that mutants, especially the X-Men, were notoriously difficult to kill as the helicopter departed the scene. Returning to Melody Watkins' home, Rogue prepared to leave South Carolina with Joseph but Melody stopped them and apologized for reporting Rogue to Humanity's Last Stand in the first place. Rogue admitted that she understood Melody's fears and assured Melody that Bastion had only been after her and likely would never even have a second thought about Melody and Stevie. As Rogue and Joseph left, Stevie told Rogue that he would hug her if he were able to.
(Punisher III#12 (fb) - BTS) - Empowering others via
technological gear and drugs, Simon Trask of Humanity's Last Stand
arranged for his newly-empowered agents to become a new Mutant
Liberation Front. The terrorist group would act as a front for
Humanity's Last Stand's activities while committing crimes, posing as
mutants to stir up anti-mutant hysteria.
(Punisher III#12 (fb)) - When pro-mutant Rev. William Connover publicly announced his stance on television, Simon Trask recorded footage of himself, hidden in the shadows, and claimed that he represented the new Mutant Liberation Front. Following Trask's announcement of a death sentence for Connover, S.H.I.E.L.D. opted to hold back the footage of Trask in an effort to quell anti-mutant hysteria and assigned S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Kymberly Taylor and the vigilante Punisher to act as Connover's bodyguards. Following a hearing at the White House, Connover was attacked by Mutant Liberation Front member Deadeye, who shrugged off Punisher's bullets due to his armor, all while spouting rhetoric about how a pathetic human with a gun could not take a down a mutant. With opposition from Taylor and the Punisher, as well as FBI agent Carl Denti, Deadeye teleported away, only to resume his attack on Connover a short time later. Deadeye's fight with the Punisher led the two onto the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial.
(Punisher III#12) - Deadeye continued battling Punisher until he managed to down the Punisher. Before Deadeye could kill the vigilante, the mutant-hunting X-Cutioner appeared and killed Deadeye with a blast from his Shi'ar battle staff.
(Magneto I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Simon Trask sent members of Humanity's Last
Stand to search the Andes Mountains, hoping to find where the
Magneto-worshiping Acolytes were building their New Avalon haven. From
their temporary base, the Humanity's Last Stand agents began purging the area's
mutant population using newly-developed modules known as Razors.
(Magneto I#1) - As the Magneto clone Joseph tried to
convince the
Acolytes that he was not a reborn Magneto, Humanity's Last Stand
attacked the Acolytes using the piloted Razor modules. Using the
techno-organic modules to adapt and morph their mechanical suits,
Humanity's Last Stand took the Acolytes completely by surprise, forcing
the Acolytes into a huddle while inadvertently knocking a dazed Joseph
into the river. When Joseph recovered, he ordered an end to the
violence and upon facing down Joseph, Razor pilot Julian Armstrong
reported back to Simon Trask via video screen, asking if he should kill
Joseph. Basing his decision entirely on Armstrong's description of the
events, Trask became curious if his Humanity's Last Stand agents were
facing down the true Magneto but Armstrong assured Trask that his
potential victim seemed to be just a kid rather than Magneto. Reluctant
to take any chances, Simon Trask ordered Armstrong to go ahead with the
kill but Joseph tore through the Razor modules with an electromagnetic
pulse. Trask quickly ordered the
agents to retreat, insisting their primary target location had been
confirmed and the Razor-piloting agents fled, much to the Acolytes'
praise.
(Magneto I#2) - Razor module pilot Julian Armstrong
continued to search for Magneto's Acolytes in a dense jungle. When he
picked up heat signatures on whom he thought was Magneto and the
Acolytes, Armstrong reported back to Simon Trask, who was visiting his
military general ally in a Nevada military base. Explaining that his
group had sixteen Razor units surrounding the area, Armstrong requested
permission to attack but Trask denied permission, instead giving
Armstrong and his men two hours to get as far away from the area as
possible, ordering Armstrong to leave a remote heat seeker in the area
to allow Trask and the general's men to find the area. When Armstrong
reminded Trask how Magneto had killed his brothers and that he wanted
revenge, Trask again denied Armstrong the chance to attack, warning
that he was not going to let Armstrong's personal vendetta get in the
way of Humanity's Last Stand wiping out the Acolytes. Trask then ended
the communication as his military general ally readied missiles for
launch. Annoyed, Julian Armstrong asked if his co-pilot Washington had
heard their orders and when Washington suggested Armstrong relax,
Armstrong opted to ignore their orders and attack on his own. He then
had Washington tell the rest of their squad to leave if they'd like or
stay and aid in the attack. When Washington left, Armstrong quietly
remarked that the attack was for his brothers Bobby, Sam and Ethan.
Unfortunately for Armstrong, the Magneto clone Joseph and Magneto's
Acolytes opted to be proactive and they attacked first, decimating most
of Humanity's Last Stand's Razor units and forcing many to flee.
Exiting his Razor unit, Julian Armstrong took the Acolyte Orator
hostage but Joseph magnetically rendered Armstrong's gun useless. An
angry Armstrong began ranting about his brother Ethan that had been
killed by Magneto in the past but soon passed out from his injuries.
Joseph took him inside, where Joseph learned from an Acolyte healer
that Armstrong's injuries were beyond repair. When he awoke, the
delusional Armstrong demanded that "Magneto" kill him despite Joseph's
insistance that he had no hate towards Armstrong. A calm Joseph asked
Armstrong if there was a final message he could deliver but Armstrong
only called Joseph a hypocrite before dying. Following Armstrong's
death, Joseph found his wallet and learned that Armstrong had two
children and resided in Maryland.
(Magneto I#3 - BTS) - Feeling guilty over Julian Armstrong's death, Joseph visited Julian's wife Marion and their son Jake, who
insisted his father's death was due to mutants. Reluctantly admitting
that Julian's death had occurred during a battle against mutants,
Joseph told the Armstrong family that Julian's death was caused by a
mechanical malfunction. Jake remained unconvinced and suggested that
Joseph might have been the mutant who killed Julian. Joseph responded
by claiming Julian's last wishes to give his family a
different life other than Humanity's Last Stand's anti-mutant violence
but a grieving Marion refused to believe Joseph's claims and ordered Joseph to leave. Her exclaims of Joseph's
mutant nature caused the local townspeople to turn against Joseph, who
fled.
(Magneto I#3) - After Marion Armstrong contacted
Humanity's Last Stand regarding the mutant Joseph, Simon Trask traveled
to Kansas personally to meet with her alongside a military general.
Upon hearing Marion's story, Simon Trask assured the Armstrong family
that Joseph would be apprehended. When Jake asked if Trask knew the
truth about how his father had died, Trask told Jake that Julian had
died a hero and reminded Jake to never forget that. As Trask and the
general prepared to leave, the general asked Trask if the mutant Marion
had described could be the man reported to be Magneto and both
questioned why Joseph would come to the Armstrong home. The general
then informed Trask that his intelligence had located Magneto's
Acolytes somewhere in the Arctic Ocean but they couldn't determine
exactly where, possibly due to a cloaking device. A short time later,
when the Acolytes raised their New Avalon headquarters into the air,
Simon Trask deciphered the incoming data from a mobile survelliance van
and deduced it to be the Acolytes.
(Magneto I#4) - A battle between Magneto clone Joseph and the leader of the Acolytes, Exodus, caused damage to the psycho-kinetic veil that kept the Acolytes' New Avalon headquarters hidden from the rest of the world. During the moment of the damage, Humanity's Last Stand leader Simon Trask and his military general ally noticed a radar blip in the area where Trask had earlier deduced the Acolytes' location. Asking if the general had locked in on the signal, Trask's hopes were confirmed when the general sent military planes to the area and assured Trask that his men would have no trouble locating New Avalon even if the psycho-kinetic barrier was restored. The general then admitted that his state-of-the-art planes were still out-powered and the best they could hope for was to damage New Avalon and take a few of its mutants with it in the destruction, pointing that they would likely lose several of their men in the attack on New Avalon. Moments later, the general noticed a computer forecast of New Avalon's impending rise into the atmosphere and, worried about the planetary damage, the general remarked that the situation was now out of Humanity's Last Stand's jurisdiction. When the general suggested informing the President and even the United Nations, Simon Trask pulled a gun on him and ordered the general to put down the phone. Shocked, the general accused Simon Trask of working with the mutants but Trask quickly denounced the idea and admitted that a serious loss would benefit Humanity's Last Stand's cause more than a messy victory. Informing the general that he wanted New Avalon to rise into the atmosphere so that the resulting damage and chaos would turn the public against mutants, Simon Trask shot the general dead, exclaiming that no one must know Trask's part in the situation.
(Punisher III#13) - Some time later, Trask sent the
robotic Mutant Liberation Front member Blastfurnace to the local police
station, where the robot announced that previously killed MLF agent Deadeye's autopsy would not
occur before incinerating Deadeye's corpse. Blastfurnace then announced
that no member of the Mutant Liberation Front, living or dead, would
stay in human custody. The robot then teleported away. Not long after,
the Mutant Liberation Front member Corpus Derelicti posed as a homeless
man and learned that Rev. Connover would be helping the homeless at the
Glory Day Mission from a homeless man whom he killed. Corpus Derelicti
then proceeded to the Glory Day Mission in an attempt to kill Connover
but he was quickly noticed by Punisher. Agent Taylor and Carl Denti
teamed with Punisher to battle Corpus Derelecti, who shrugged all
physical attacks, including a knife wound, gunfire and a broken leg and
back. When Taylor shot off Corpus Derelicti's arm, he reported back to
Trask that he was unable to complete his mission and suggested he abort
the mission. Blastfurnace then teleported onto the scene and
incinerated Corpus Derelicti before leaving the Mission and announcing
that it would burn the entire city down until Connover and his three
defenders were dead.
(Punisher III#14) - Noticing Punisher, Taylor, Denti
and Connover on the roof, Blastfurnace blasted the building wall,
causing Connover to fall. Punisher rescued William Connover and Agent
Taylor jumped to join Punisher on the ground against Blastfurnace.
X-Cutioner quickly appeared on the scene and combined his energy staff
with water from a firehose wielded by Punisher, to trap the evaporating
water within Blastfurnace's body. Unable to escape Blastfurnace's body
due to X-Cutioner's energy blasts, the evaporating water became steam
and the subsequent pressure created caused Blastfurnace to explode.
Some time later, as Punisher, Denti and Taylor escorted William
Connover to his upcoming mission speech in Oklahoma via special train,
Simon Trask sent the Mutant Liberation Front member Burnout to attack
Connover on the train. Avoiding Punisher's gunfire due to her
drug-induced speed, Burnout killed the train's conductors and increased
the train's speed to dangerous levels. Punisher then battled Burnout on
top of the train, shooting her in the shoulder, while Agent Taylor got
Connover off the train to safety. Noticing the escape, Burnout turned
her attention towards Taylor and Connover while Punisher and Denti soon
noticed what appeared to be the deceased MLF member Deadeye (actually
Humanity's Last Stand's replacement Deadeye, Jay Burnell) on the
tracks. Taunting Punisher and Denti, the new Deadeye blew up the tracks
with dynamite.
(Punisher III#15) - While Punisher and Denti were
forced to jump from the crashing train due to the dynamite explosion,
Burnout caught up to and attacked Taylor and Connover, forcing them to
crash their motorcycle when she shredded its tires. Before the injured
Taylor could catch up, Burnout grabbed Connover and teleported away,
just as X-Cutioner teleported in to assist. Later that evening, a
rebuilt Blastfurnace teleported into the Washington, D.C. FBI lab where
the parts of its previous body were being held and blasted FBI agents
Sculder and Mully before incinerating the parts of its previous body.
Later, after Punisher deduced the Mutant Liberation Front's non-mutant
nature and had Carl Denti hold a fake press conference to lure out the
MLF, Humanity's Last Stand leader Simon Trask met with his Mutant
Liberation Front agents and admitted that the press conference had to
be a trap. Despite this knowledge, Trask ordered the MLF agents to kill
Carl Denti, feeling that Humanity's Last Stand had to learn what Denti
apparently knew. When a Humanity's Last Stand agent remarked on the
severe power drain that would be caused by teleporting all of the
Mutant Liberation Front at once, Trask ordered the agent to divert from
elsewhere to accomplish the task. Trask then visited with the captive
William Connover, whom Trask remarked would eventually see the light
and serve Trask by publicly denouncing mutants. Connover only replied by
commenting on how he pitied the misguided Simon Trask. While Punisher,
Denti and Taylor lured the MLF into their trap by having Denti appear
unprotected, Agent Taylor informed Punisher that she had learned of
Blastfurnace's robotic nature. Before she could tell Punisher who the
parts that composed Blastfurnace were shipped to, Burnout appeared and
attacked Denti, followed shortly by Blastfurnace and the new Deadeye.
New Mutant Liberation Front agents Thermal and Blindspot appeared next
and Denti was quickly surrounded on all sides. Punisher then entered
the fray, taking down the new Deadeye with a kick to the neck but the
other MLF agents soon had Punisher and Agent Taylor on the defensive.
Burnout eventually caught up to Denti and captured him, teleporting
away with the other MLF agents after retrieving the unconscious
Deadeye. Warning Punisher not to make further moves against the MLF,
the group teleported back to Simon Trask, who revealed himself to Carl
Denti. Announcing himself as the leader of Humanity's Last Stand, Trask
gloated that his group was the last hope against the threat of mutants.
Blaming mutants for killing his brother Bolivar Trask, Simon announced
that Humanity's Last Stand would be the victors in the upcoming genetic
war for the soul of America and that they would do anything necessary
to ensure that victory, including killing quislings like Carl Denti and
his allies.
(Punisher III#16) - Still planning to take down Trask
and rescue William Connover, Punisher took an opportunity to phone the
Daily Bugle and informed Ben Urich of the Mutant Liberation Front's
true nature as a front for Humanity's Last Stand and Simon Trask's
status as Humanity's Last Stand's leader. Urich admitted that the
offices were slammed due to the recent assassination of anti-mutant
Presidential candidate Graydon Creed but agreed to aid in exposing the
story while Punisher and his allies left to rescue William Connover. As
Punisher and Agent Taylor prepared for their assault on Humanity's Last
Stand, Trask was busy torturing Carl Denti and monologuing how Creed's
assassination had nearly made Connover's pro mutant stance pointless,
as it would take very little to push the anti-mutant hysteria over the
edge. Trask was interrupted when Burnout began asking for another hit
of the drugs that empowered her and Trask ordered Burnout to take Denti
to the prison cells and kill him before she received another drug dose.
Trask then turned his attention towards Connover, whom he planned to
either convert into an anti-mutant stance or kill, as Burnout led Carl
Denti away. In the halls, Denti began provoking Burnout before shoving
her hard into a wall, stunning her before teleporting away to change
into his X-Cutioner gear. A recovering Burnout quickly returned to
Trask to report Denti's escape, prompting Trask to order Blastfurnace
to gather the other Mutant Liberation Front members together to find
and kill Denti. Begging for her drugs again, Burnout was told that she
would not be rewarded for incompetence. Trask then had Blastfurnace
incinerate Burnout, sternly reminding the other MLF members that as
long as Humanity's Last Stand possessed the technology and drugs, any
of their number could be replaced. He then ordered his Humanity's Last
Stand agents to prepare to empower a new Burnout as X-Cutioner
teleported back to Punisher and Agent Taylor, informing them of
Connover's location beneath Humanity's Last Stand's Buffolk, Olkahoma
compound. X-Cutioner also informed his allies of Trask's plans to
unleash the Mutant Liberation Front in random terrorist attacks to
spark a genetic war. Punisher had Agent Taylor inform Ben Urich and
reporter Trish Tilby that they assault was about to begin and
X-Cutioner then teleported the trio into Humanity's Last Stand's
Buffolk, Olkahoma compound to rescue Connover. Once inside, Punisher
ordered Agent Taylor to evacuate the compound while he and X-Cutioner
dealt with Trask and the compound itself. Teleporting into another
corridor, X-Cutioner and Punisher were met by Deadeye as Taylor made
her way to the compound's communications room, where she took down
several HLS agents and broadcasted an evacuation message. Continuing
their own fight, X-Cutioner and Punisher battled Deadeye until Punisher
hit Deadeye with a rocket, killing him, while X-Cutioner prepared to
rescue William Connover. X-Cutioner was halted by a new Burnout, whom
X-Cutioner easily took out with a sonic blast before freeing Connover.
Blastfurnace then confronted Punisher, who destroyed Blastfurnace with
a grenade before a new Corpus Derelicti appeared. X-Cutioner teleported
Connover outside, where they were met by Trish Tilby. Punisher cut off
the new Corpus Derelicti's hand and kicked him aside while Simon Trask
witnessed the fight and decided to activate the compound's fail-safe
devices. Ordering Blindspot to delay Punisher, Trask announced that the
compound could not fall into enemy hands. When Blindspot questioned her
orders, worried about her family inside the compound, Trask shot her in
the head, remarking that his will would be obeyed.
(Punisher III#17 (fb)) - Arriving in the battle just
in time to see her teammate Blindspot killed by Trask, MLF member
Thermal realized Simon Trask was willing to kill any of the Mutant
Liberation Front and their families.
(Punisher III#16) - Having noticed Blindspot's falling corpse, Punisher took the fight directly to Trask, soon finding Trask attempting to hot wire the compound's fuel tanks to explode. Announcing that the Humanity's Last Stand movement was more important than any one person, himself included, Simon Trask was punched in the face by Punisher, who refused to allow Trask to become a martyr for his cause. When Punisher explained that Trask would live to face his humiliation, Simon Trask attempted to activate the compound's detonator.
(Punisher III#17 (fb)) - Witnessing Punisher's
pursuit of Trask, Thermal followed and arrived just as Trask had his
thumb on the detonator. Using her ice abilities, Thermal froze Trask's
hand to keep him from pressing the detonator button. Feeling as if she
had at least delayed Trask's detonation of the Humanity's Last Stand
compound, Thermal was shocked when Trask spun around and shot her with
a gun wielded in his other hand. Passing out, Thermal witnessed
Punisher hitting Trask with a bat as her head went fuzzy. When the
delayed detonation of the compound began to occur, Punisher grabbed the
woozy Thermal and rushed out of the fuel tank area to save Thermal from
the primary detonation. A secondary explosion unfortunately hit both
Punisher and Thermal, who went comatose shortly after thinking they
were dead.
(Punisher III#16) - The explosions soon destroyed a major portion of the compound, seemingly killing both Simon Trask and the Punisher. Agent Taylor was rescued by X-Cutioner as the compound erupted into flames and Trish Tilby reported live of Humanity's Last Stand's involvement in the Mutant Liberation Front's terrorist activities and the kidnapping of Rev. William Connover.
(Uncanny X-Men I#500 (fb) - BTS) - Simon Trask survived his supposed death (see comments).
(Punisher III#17 (fb) - BTS) - Having survived the
explosion of Humanity's Last Stand's Oklahoma compound, the comatose
MLF member Thermal was transferred to New York University Medical
Center.
(Punisher III#17) - Weeks later, having been informed
that Thermal had come out of her coma, U.S. Marshal Haskell Salaki
visited New York University Medical Center to speak with Thermal about
his case involving the Punisher's supposed death. Offering to help with
the federal charges against Thermal for her terrorist activities,
Salaki interviewed Thermal about Punisher's involvement in Olkahoma.
Recounting the final minutes before the explosion of Humanity's Last
Stand's Oklahoma compound, Thermal admitted that she thought she had
died before waking up weeks later in NYU Medical Center. Upon hearing
Thermal's story how the Punisher had saved her from the brunt of the
explosion, Salaki deduced that the Punisher must also still be alive.
(Uncanny X-Men I#504 (fb) - BTS) - Trask founded the
anti-mutant Humanity Now! coalition, which was similar to his previous
Humanity's Last Stand organization, albeit more a political action
committee.
Comments: Created by Terry Kavanagh, Bryan Hitch and Bob McLeod.
In X-Men Unlimited I#11, Joseph mentions coming
across and infiltrating Humanity's Last Stand and an editor's note
remarks that the story was detailed in X-Men II#52. Unfortunately,
X-Men II#52 shows no such scene and the closest tie it has to X-Men
Unlimited I#11 is that it has a few pages involving Rogue in South
Carolina with Melody and Stevie Watkins. The actual Humanity's Last
Stand group is not seen or even mentioned at all in X-Men II#52.
Therefore, the editor's note must be a mistake and Joseph's
infiltration of Humanity's Last Stand would have to have occurred in a
BTS flashback in X-Men Unlimited I#11 and that is how I listed the BTS
appearance in this profile.
While former Humanity's Last Stand member Preacher appeared in Uncanny X-Men I '96 Annual, the actual Humanity's Last Stand group was not seen or mentioned by name in that issue.
It was never revealed how Simon Trask survived his apparent death in Punisher III#16. He showed up alive in Uncanny X-Men I#500, over a decade following his previous appearance with no explanation as to how he survived. In Uncanny X-Men I#513, he displayed the ability to infect and control others with a techno-organic virus. It seems likely that when Bastion resurrected Bolivar Trask using the Technarch Magus, Bolivar, in turn, infected and resurrected his brother Simon using the techno-organic virus. That would certainly explain Simon's techno-organic abilities, which he had never displayed until that point...either that, or Matt Fraction didn't realize that Bolivar had been resurrected and not Simon when he wrote Simon into his Uncanny X-Men run. In Dark Avengers I#7, Simon Trask is referred to as a "human Sentinel Zero."
In Punisher III#17, Thermal is referred to as "Carol Peterson," yet in the late 2000s Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe entry on the Mutant Liberation Front, she is referred to as "Molly Peterson." Maybe this is a situation where the middle name rule goes into effect, making Thermal's real name "Carol Molly Peterson?"
The Magneto mini-series appearances of Humanity's
Last Stand were somewhat difficult to place. It was published at the
same time that the Punisher story was but Simon Trask apparently dies
at the end of the Punisher story. The way I see it, both stories occur
simultaneously, with Trask's sending of Razor modules against the
Acolytes in between his New York activities against the Punisher using
his Mutant Liberation Front agents. Originally, I though the final
issue occurred just before Simon Trask's death but upon re-reading the
Magneto mini-series, I've now placed Humanity's Last Stand's
appearances in the mini-series as all occuring in between Punisher
III#12-13.
Strangely enough, Simon Trask was referred to as
"Larry Trask" once in Magneto I#3. Since Larry Trask had died years
earlier, this must be a writing mistake despite Kelley Jones' art
making Simon Trask look younger in that mini-series.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Humanity's Last Stand has no known connections to
Col. Julian ArmstrongJulian Armstrong was an anti-mutant human from
Maryland who was
married to his wife Marion, a son named Jake and another unidentified
child. After joining
Humanity's Last Stand following the deaths of his brothers Ethan, Bobby
and Sam at the
hands of Magneto, Julian became consumed with hatred for mutants,
which his son picked up on and began to emulate by playing with toy
guns. Eventually, Julian was assigned to pilot one of Humanity's Last
Stand's Razor modules and was sent to the Andes Mountains to aid in
purging the mutant community there and locating the Acolytes' New
Avalon base. When his Humanity's Last Stand squad located a group of
Acolytes, Julian came face-to-face with the Magneto clone Joseph and
reported his findings back to HLS leader Simon Trask, who asked if
perhaps Joseph could be the true Magneto. The skeptical Julian replied
that Joseph was "just a kid" but Simon Trask insisted that they
couldn't take a chance and ordered Julian to kill Joseph. Acting in
self-preservation and to protect the Acolytes, Joseph responded by
unleashing an electromagnetic pulse which melted and ripped through the
Razor modules. Still aiding in Humanity's Last Stand's search for the
Acolytes, Julian Armstrong later located them in a dense jungle and
reported his findings back to Simon Trask, who instead ordered
Armstrong to leave a remote heat signature beacon there and retreat.
Consumed with vengeance for his brothers' earlier deaths, Armstrong
ignored orders and led a squad of Razor units against the Acolytes, who
had chose to attack first. Mortally wounded in the battle, Julian
attempted to take the Acolyte Orator hostage but succumbed to his
injuries. Dying, Armstrong was visited by the Magneto clone Joseph, who
admitted that they could not save his life and asked if Armstrong had a
final message he would like to deliver. Armstrong angrily called Joseph
a hypocrite before dying. Seeing from Armstrong's wallet that he had a
family, Joseph opted to deliver the news of Julian's death to his
family. During Joseph's time at the Armstrong home, Julian's son Jake
became enraged and swore that when he was old enough, he was going to
fight the mutants. When Joseph claimed that Julian had change of heart
on his deathbed and wished for his family to have a life other than
violence, Marion refused to believe Joseph's claims and ordered Joseph
from her property. When the local townspeople
overheard Marion calling Joseph a mutant, they rallied and drove Joseph
out of town. Later recalling the message given to her by Joseph, Marion
thought about Julian's supposed last
words and noticed Jake sleeping with his toy gun. Not wishing to lose
her son as she lost her husband, Marion opted to talk to Jake about
violence the following day, hoping it was not too late to change the
cycle of violence.
Julian Armstrong possessed no superhuman powers but he was
piloted one of Humanity's Last Stand's Razor modules, giant mechanical
suits piloted by two people and capable of adapting to their target's
mutant abilities.
--Magneto I#1 (#4 (fb) - BTS, #1, #2, #3-4d-BTS,
GaribaldiGaribaldi was one of Humanity's Last Stand's leader
"shepherds" and led a gathering of Humanity's Last Stand members and
those curious about the organization at the organization's Appalachian
compound. Announcing that mutants were a rotting branch of nature that
corrupted God's plan, Garibaldi preached that humanity's god helped
those who helped themselves and continued his speech until passing the
floor over to Humanity's Last Stand's then-resident mutant precognitive
Preacher. Following Preacher's rousing speech, Garibaldi led Preacher
into a meeting with another of Humanity's Last Stand's shepherds and
met back up with Preacher afterwards, leading Preacher into another
meeting with Simon Trask himself. Stepping away as Preacher met with
Trask, Garibaldi soon noticed the mutant Paige Guthrie spying on the
meeting and pulled a gun on her. Kicked by Paige, Garibaldi fought
back, ultimately gaining an edge over Paige and nearly beating her
death before being summoned to Trask's side when Preacher questioned
the violence. Trask attempted to ease Preacher's worries before
ordering Garibaldi to retrieve the wounded Paige and gather the other
shepherds. A short time later, the X-Men's Cannonball rescued his
captive sister Paige until they were confronted by Garibaldi and a
squad of Humanity's Last Stand's robotic Flock soldiers. The other
X-Men quickly arrived to assist and Garibaldi fought them alongside the
Flock. The battle eventually caused a cave-in that destroyed Humanity's
Last Stand's Appalachian headquarters. In the aftermath, Garibaldi
emerged from the rubble and advised the X-Men to leave, as the
authorities had been called, and reminded the X-Men that Humanity's
Last Stand had only acted in self-defense. Announcing that the X-Men
had accomplished nothing by storming the compound, Garibaldi was told
by Storm that the X-Men had actually uncovered the truth about
Humanity's Last Stand and commented that some would always follow the
truth.
Garibaldi had no superhuman powers but he was quite skilled in martial arts, able to take down to the trained Paige Guthrie, and he sometimes carried a gun. He also had access to Humanity's Last Stand robotic Flock soldiers.
--Uncanny X-Men I '95 Annual
Thomas "Tom" HurdlerTom Hurdler worked in Humanity's Last Stand's Pine
Bluff, South Carolina offices and met with Melody Watkins when she
visited the office to report her tenant Rogue as a mutant. Despite
comforting the nervous Melody, Hurdler nonetheless reported the
information, leading to Bastion's capture of Rogue. The Magneto clone
Joseph revealed that he had been infiltrating Humanity's Last Stand in
order to rescue Rogue and after the two mutants saved Humanity's Last
Stand's South Carolina compound from Bastion, who planned to destroy it
and everyone inside then blame the murders on mutants, Tom Hurdler and
other residents of the compound still attacked Rogue and Joseph. When
Rogue asked what was wrong with the group, reminding them that the two
mutants had risked their lives to save those in the compound, Hurdler
replied that their rescue was the only reason the mutants would be
allow to leave alive. He then warned that a day would come when mutants
would be cleansed from the Earth but Joseph replied that Humanity's
Last Stand would be long gone by the time mutants were extinct. Growing
angry, Joseph magnetically disassembled Hurdler's gun and warned that
the organization stood no chance against powered mutants but Hurdler
replied that Joseph underestimated the lengths in which a person would
go to protect their family and world. Joseph then announced that
Hurdler was welcome to such a hate-filled world.
Tom Hurdler had no superhuman powers but was charismatic and knew how to use a gun.
--X-Men Unlimited I#11
WashingtonWashington was a member of Humanity's Last Stand who
piloted their Razor units. Co-pilot alongside Col. Julian Armstrong,
Washington was present when Simon Trask ordered their unit to retreat
from the jungles where Armstrong had located Magneto's Acolytes.
Warning Armstrong to calm down after Armstrong grew angry at their
orders, Washington learned that Armstrong planned to ignore Trask's
orders. Armstrong then told Washington to physically leave the unit and
inform their other squad members that they could retreat or join
Armstrong on his mission of vengeance.
Washington had no superhuman powers but piloted one of Humanity's
Last Stand's Razor units, which had superhuman durability and was
capable of mechanically adapting to various threats.
--Magneto I#2
images: (without ads)
Uncanny X-Men I '95 Annual, p14, pan3 (Humanity's Last Stand's armored troops and rally attendees)
Uncanny X-Men I '95 Annual, p21, splash page (Humanity's Last Stand's robot "flock" troopers)
Uncanny X-Men I '95 Annual, p9, pan2 (Humanity's Last Stand's Appalachian compound)
Punisher II#16, p11, pan4 (Humanity's Last Stand's Buffolk, Olkahoma compound)
Punisher II#16, p13, pan4 (Humanity's Last Stand's communications officers)
Magneto I#1, p13, pan2 (Humanity's Last Stand agents using the Razor modules)
Magneto I#2, p13, pan6 (Julian Armstrong)
Uncanny X-Men I '95 Annual, p15, pan2 (Garibaldi)
X-Men Unlimited I#11, p3, pan4 (Tom Hurdler)
Magneto I#2, p7, pan1 (Washington)
Appearances:
Uncanny X-Men I '95 Annual (November, 1995) - Terry Kavanagh (writer),
Bryan Hitch (pencils), Bob McLeod (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
X-Men Unlimited I#11 (June, 1996) - Scott Lobdell (plot), Terry
Kavanagh (script), Steve Epting, Mike S. Miller (pencils), Mike
Sellers, Al Milgrom, Scott Koblish, Harry Candelario (inks), Kelly
Corvese (editor)
Punisher III#12 (October, 1996) - John Ostrander
(writer), Tom Lyle (pencils), Robert Jones (inks), Mark Bernardo
(editor)
Punisher III#13 (November, 1996) - John Ostrander (writer), Tom Lyle
(pencils), Robert Jones (inks), Mark Bernardo (editor)
Magneto I#1 (November, 1996) - Peter Milligan (plot),
Jorge Gonzalez (script), Kelley Jones (pencils), John Beatty (inks),
Kelly Corvese (editor)
Magneto
I#2 (December, 1996) - Peter Milligan (plot), Jorge Gonzalez (script),
Kelley Jones (pencils), John Beatty (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Punisher III#14 (December, 1996) - John Ostrander (writer), Darick
Robertson (pencils), Jeff Albrecht (inks), Mark Bernardo (editor)
Magneto I#3 (January, 1997) - Peter Milligan (plot), Jorge Gonzalez
(script), Kelley Jones (pencils), John Beatty (inks), Kelly Corvese
(editor)
Punisher III#15 (January, 1997) - John Ostrander (writer), Tom Lyle
(pencils), Robert Jones (inks), Mark Bernardo (editor)
Magneto I#4 (February, 1997) - Peter Milligan (plot), Jorge Gonzalez
(script), Kelley Jones (pencils), John Beatty, Mark Heike, Jim Sanders
III (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Punisher III#16 (February, 1997) - John Ostrander (writer), Tom Lyle
(pencils), Robert Jones (inks), Mark Bernardo (editor)
Punisher III#17 (March, 1997) - John Ostrander (writer), Tom Lyle (pencils), Robert Jones (inks), Mark Bernardo (editor)
Uncanny X-Men I#500 (September, 2008) - Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction
(writers), Terry Dodson, Greg Land (pencils), Rachel Dodson, Jay
Leisten (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Uncanny X-Men I#504 (January, 2009) - Matt Fraction (writer), Terry
Dodson (pencils), Rachel Dodson (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
First Posted: 01/07/2017
Last updated: 01/09/2017
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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