MUTANT CIVIL RIGHTS TASK FORCE

Membership: Catherine Gray, Aaron Kearse, numerous others; formerly Paul Duncan, Jimmy Fingers (Jimmy Genovese), Kendall Green, William Sumner

Purpose: To protect the rights of mutants

Aliases: The MCRTF (abbreviated name)

Affiliations: FBI (Director Stone, others), Ramon Gray, Handlesman, Amy Kearse, Matthew Kearse, the LAPD (Chief Murray, others), Mike, Moira, Tony Robb, Helen Sumner, the X-Men (Beast/Hank McCoy, Cyclops/Scott Summers, Emma Frost, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner, Wolverine/James Howlett); formerly Jimmy Fingers (Jimmy Genovese)

Enemies: Alex Clowes, H.A.M.M.E.R. (Norman Osborn, others), Jimmy Fingers (Jimmy Genovese), Ari Hussan, Kyle Nakamura, Earl Whitacker, Malcolm Whitman, Sterling Whitman, Ashton Wither

Base of Operations: Washington, DC, USA

First Appearance: X-Factor II#1 (June, 2002)

History: (X-Factor II#1 (fb) - BTS) - The FBI founded the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force in response to increases in the number of mutants within the USA and increases in the number of hate-driven crimes against mutants. Unfortunately, the MCRTF was touted by some as a politically-driven empty gesture.

(X-Factor II#4 (fb) - BTS) - From the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force's creation, it had a secret mandate to maintain stability and deter potential instability during a five-generational timespan in which mutants were predicted to overtake the Earth, leaving normal humanity extinct. As part of this mandate, the MCRTF would be tasked with neutralizing militant radicals, both human and mutant, and various moles would be recruited to infiltrate various extremist organizations. One of the recruited moles was a young boy named William Sumner, though his status as a mole was kept secret from most members of the MCRTF. The FBI backers of the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force also set up mobster Jimmy Fingers to run a mutant labor sweatshop that was intended to be publicly shut down for a public relations boost for the MCRTF.

(Heroic Age: X-Men#1 (fb) - BTS) - During a time period in which Professor Charles Xavier had publicly announced the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning as a school for mutants and mutants like X-Statix had become television celebrities, the FBI assigned agents Catherine Gray and Aaron Kearse to the MCRTF, feeling that both agents had strong feelings on mutant issues since Gray had lost her daughter to the daughter's own uncontrollable powers and Kearse had lost the use of his right arm to mutant terrorist Ashton Wither.

(X-Factor II#1) - Unaware of any hidden mandates, Mutant Civil Rights Task Force member Catherine Gray, who had previously lost her mutant daughter Moira to Moira's own powers, was contacted at home by her teammate Aaron Kearse, who informed her that Kendall Green wanted them in Los Angeles as soon as possible to investigate a mutant boy named William Sumner, who had been crucified on the Hollywood Sign. While they both got ready for their jobs, Catherine and Aaron discussed the preliminary examination of the boy. Upon their arrival in Los Angeles, Agents Kearse and Gray met with LAPD Chief Murray and held a press conference urging anyone with information on William Sumner's murder to come forth. Promising William's mother that they would pursue the murderers, Agent Kearse announced his intentions to prove skeptics of the MCRTF's importance. As Agent Kearse continued, announcing that society could not abide a culture of violence, Catherine Gray was mentally contacted by Jean Grey, who was in the press conference crowd. Admitting that she didn't trust Kearse or the FBI, Jean Grey informed Catherine Gray that she didn't wish any harm to befall her and chose to warn Catherine in advance that Jean and her friends were watching. Some time later, a break in the Sumner case led Agent Kearse and his LAPD allies to storm the apartment of Alex Clowes, a bigot whose car was seen at the scene of Sumner's murder. After Agent Kearse found six crates of weapons in the apartment, Catherine Gray questioned Alex Clowes about possible intent to use the weapons at an upcoming Mutant Rights Parade in Glendale, California. When she mentioned the Sumner murder, Alex Clowes insisted he had nothing to do with the murder and that William Sumner had asked to meet him at the Hollywood Sign but didn't show. When Alex mentioned that William was one of them, the MCRTF decided to go back to the lab to check on Sumner's autopsy. Learning from their lab guy Mike that William Sumner was not a true mutant but rather, had replaced his liver with one from a mutant, Agents Kearse and Gray returned to their hotel rooms as the FBI had the Task Force remain on the case so as to not give the impression that those with mutant organs did not have the same rights as everyone else. The following morning, Agent Gray phoned Agent Kearse to inform him that civil rights activist Sterling Whitman wished to see them both as soon as possible. Traveling to Sterling's City on the Hills home, the MCRTF was informed that Sterling's son Malcolm had been previously associated with William Sumner and Sterling turned over a dossier containing everything they knew on Sumner, who had befriended them using the alias of Nathan Plummer. Sterling also expressed hope that the dossier would take care of any questions, as he hoped to spare himself and his son negative publicity surrounding Sumner's murder. Returning to the Plaza police headquarters, the MCRTF learned that one of Malcolm and Sumner's associates, Dean Crawford, had been taken into custody due to an anonymous tip and while being interrogated, Crawford burst into flame. Ranting that he had not snitched on Malcolm before dying, Crawford was put out using a fire extinguisher and his rantings prompted Agents Kearse and Gray to re-visit the City on the Hill to investigate Malcolm's connections to the Sumner murder. While there, the two agents were attacked by the pyrokinetic Malcolm Whitman, who suggested that his father had tipped them off in hopes that the agents would kill him to spare Sterling the publicity of turning his own son in to the police. Grabbing a gun, Malcolm nearly killed the two agents before the X-Men Cyclops and Jean Grey intervened. When Jean Gray forced Agent Kearse to sleep, he began spouting anti-mutant slurs before waking up hours later to find himself in the FBI's Washington, DC headquarters with parts of his memories missing. After insisting that Malcolm had weapons, Agent Kearse was told by Director Kendall Green to take his medical leave early, as he felt Kearse deserved a fresh start.

(X-Factor II#4 (fb) - BTS) - Following William Sumner's murder, the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force secretly came under fire and its secret mandate was nearly exposed. When the MCRTF's investigation into Sumner's murder was thwarted when the X-Men defeated Malcolm Whitman, Director Kendall Green's leadership of the MCRTF was called into question for being too cautious and the FBI began putting more faith in MCRTF Agent Paul Duncan. Duncan then began weeding anyone he didn't trust out of the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force.

(X-Factor II#2) - After Agent Kearse received surgery to repair his paralyzed arm using cybernetics, the recovering agent was visited by Director Kendall Green, who discussed his own earlier cybernetic arm repair and suggested exercise the arm with a punching bag. Admitting he had waited on the surgery due to his faith and his family, Agent Kearse was assured by Green that Kearse was a bigger hero to his son than baseball player Tony Robb. Green then gave Kearse a report on Tony Robb by Agent Paul Duncan explaining Tony Robb's secret mutant abilities and the death threats he had been receiving after someone seemingly discovered his secret. Agents Kearse and Gray then visited Levinson Field to meet Tony Robb and speak with his handler/lawyer, Handlesman. Learning from Handlesman that Robb planned to publicly come out as a mutant and retire after he broke the home run record, Agent Kearse asked Handlesman to provide a list of all who were in the loop about Robb's mutant nature and plans to retire. The two agents then returned home and later, accompanied Tony Robb to a ball game following a death threat that warned of Robb's death when he rounded third base. While at the game, Agents Kearse and Gray watched from the security room as the game progressed and when Tony hit the ball towards left field, he ran the bases but panicked when he neared third. Using his powers to alter perceptions, Tony managed to throw off his attacker's aim, causing him to be shot in the leg and lower spine instead of the chest and head. As Tony fell to the ground, paralyzed, the MCRTF agents rushed to find the sniper. Finding schizophrenic Earl Whitacker on aisle 320 of the stands, the agents witnessed the X-Man Nightcrawler standing over Earl before he teleported away and the agents took Whitacker into custody. The agents later accompanied Tony Robb as he left the hospital following his recovery time and witnessed the public turning against Robb. The two agents then returned home.

(X-Factor II#4 (fb) - BTS) - As part of his secret plot to weed out associates he didn't trust, Agent Paul Duncan arranged for a MCRTF bust on secret FBI associate/mobster Jimmy Fingers' mutant labor sweatshop, bringing along with him Agent Aaron Kearse, who was still completely unaware of the FBI's secret mandates for the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force.

(X-Factor II#3) - As Agent Gray was summoned to San Francisco following a bombing of a mutant church by Kyle Nakamura, Agents Kearse and Duncan, among others, were in Chesterton, Oklahoma about to storm a mutant labor sweatshop disguised as a farm. Kicking in the barn door, Kearse ordered the gangsters inside to freeze but boss Jimmy Fingers shot Duncan in the arm to buy himself time to get to a gun. Rather than fighting back, Jimmy committed suicide, remarking that Kearse could tell his boss that he would see him in Hell before shooting himself. Puzzled by Jimmy Fingers' remarks as they rescued the mutants, Kearse discussed the matter with Duncan, who admitted he didn't care what Jimmy meant before informing Kearse that they had been summoned to San Francisco. Seven hours later, Agents Kearse, Duncan and Gray flew over the bombed-out church via helicopter, where Duncan informed Kearse that the church was a "sanctuary" church meant as a safe place for mutant runaways. As they landed, Kearse admitted that mutants were a bit of an issue for devout Christians such as himself, since they could not be explained, but Gray reminded him that they were still human citizens that had the same unalienable rights as anyone else. Deciding to investigate the area, the MCRTF began checking with the locals to see about uncovering any clues. Not finding much, the agents stopped by the home of Kyle Nakamura, whose significant other answered the door and admitted that they had visited the mutant church before. Unaware Kyle was pointing a gun at his significant other's head, the agents were told that Kyle and his wife preferred the old hymns and had stopped going to the church before Kyle's wife said she had to go. After visiting eighty-seven houses, the three agents decided to call it a day and discussed Kearse's religious beliefs as they drove off, mostly unaware that their conversation was being recorded. When they all returned to their motel rooms at Linda's Hotel Motel, Duncan reported that Gray was en route while Kearse returned home, where he was accosted by the X-Man Wolverine, who explained that the MCRTF knew who the bomber yet still had no leads. Admitting that he didn't care if Kearse was dirty or not, Wolverine gave Kearse and the MCRTF twelve hours to turn their knowledge into a lead or the X-Men would handle the situation for them. Before departing, Wolverine warned that if the X-Men had to get involved, he would be coming for Kearse and his "dirty little friends" afterwards. Wolverine then communicated with Agent Gray's mother Moira, who was visiting Catherine at that moment to try to dissuade her from continuing to work for the MCRTF. The next morning, Agent Kearse phoned Agent Gray at Linda's Hotel Motel and had her turn on the television, where Catherine saw a report that MCRTF Director Kendall Green had sealed off three roads as they tried to bring in a suspect for the church bombing. Not understanding why they had been left out of the loop again, Agents Kearse and Gray visited the sealed off area twenty-five minutes later, where they demanded to know why they had been left out. Green informed Kearse that the situation was too personal for Kearse and that the area was not safe for the secretly pregnant Gray. When Green suggested they talk about it later, Kearse demanded to discuss the matter at that moment, but Green merely told Kearse that he should have brought Kearse in earlier, shook Kearse's hand and said that if something should go wrong, the password was "MOUNTAINTOP" and Green then slipped Kearse a key. Green and his men then went in, leaving Kearse and Gray to wonder what he was talking about. When the two agents heard loud gunshots, Kearse decided to go in anyway and Gray followed. The two soon found many MCRTF agents dead on the floor alongside Kyle Nakamura. Investigating further, Kearse and Gray found a group of telekinetic children, who quietly asked why the MCRTF wanted them dead. A not-quite-dead Nakamura soon emerged from behind the children and opened fire at Kearse, damaging his cybernetic arm before being shot in the dead by Kearse. With Nakamura dead, a rumbling soon shook the house as the X-Men's jet arrived and the X-Men appeared to take the mutant children with them. A shocked Kearse exclaimed that the X-Men would not touch him again.

(X-Factor II#4 (fb)) - Accepting Kearse despite his wariness of mutants, Jean Grey agreed to not touch Kearse, instead asking him to prove himself to the mutants.

(X-Factor II#4 (fb) - BTS) - Following Green's death, Agent Duncan knew Agent Kearse would be too soft and would ultimately ruin Duncan's plans so Duncan arranged for terrorist Ari Hussan to plant a bomb on the grounds of the X-Men's Xavier Institute in an effort to start a war between humans and mutants that would ultimately kill the mutants while humans still had enough power and armies.

(X-Factor II#4) - Flying back to Washington, DC, Agents Kearse and Gray did not speak for some time until Kearse finally broke the silence by asking why Gray had not told him she was pregnant. Gray explained that she wasn't sure she was going to keep the baby and reminded Kearse that it was none of his business and she wasn't sure she could trust him yet. Kearse then expressed his wish that he was the kind of person that would inspire that kind of trust in her but admitted that he wasn't, causing silence between the two agents once more. Upon their arrival in Washington, the two agents learned that the FBI director wanted to see them immediately with answers for everything up to that point. Realizing they had no answers, Kearse revealed the key that Green had slipped him prior to his death and explained his suspicions that the key was to Green's home, where he thought they might find the answers they were searching for. Gray agreed to accompany him to the Reston, Virginia of former field director Kendall Green, where Kearse's theory proved true when the key opened the door. Investigating the house, Kearse found a computer and deduced that the password Green had given him would work on the computer. True to Kearse's theory, when Kearse entered MOUNTAINTOP as the password, a video of Kendall Green appeared on the screen and revealed to the two agents the secret mandates of the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force. Admitting that the MCRTF had gone too far, himself included, Green's video continued, stating that he had wanted to bring in Agent Kearse into the secret dealings but the rest of the higher ups felt Kearse was too weak. Ultimately glad that he hadn't brought in Kearse, Green remarked that Kearse was one of the few MCRTF agents who had remained clean of corruption and the video ended with Green stating that whatever Kearse did with the information provided, Green was sure it would be the right thing. Agent Gray soon discovered a hidden entrance into Green's basement and the two agents made their way into the basement, where they found evidence that Green had held an unstable grudge against Ashton Wither for using his powers on both Green and Kearse in their earlier FBI days. After seeing photos and letters showing Green's desire to torture Wither, Agents Kearse and Gray soon discovered Ashton Wither himself chained to the wall with mutant power-inhibiting bonds. Wither admitted that Green had tortured him but had never been able to kill him then tried to taunt Agent Kearse into killing him. Kearse nearly did so but ultimately ended up using his bionic arm to destroy Wither's bonds as Agent Duncan arrived. Duncan admitted his suspicions that Kearse would have ruined his plans to start a war between humans and mutants by bombing the Xavier Institute. When Kearse accused Duncan of being insane, Duncan exclaimed that it was insane to give mutants special rights when mutant groups such as the X-Men imposed their will on humans. Ranting that the war should start at that moment, when humans still had their militias to fight, Duncan was quickly felled by Ashton Wither, who used his mutant powers to erode enough of Duncan's muscle tissue to kill him while accusing Duncan of being a monster. Knowing they still had Duncan's bomb to defuse, Agents Kearse and Gray rushed to the Xavier Institute in New York, where they discussed their pasts along the way. Arriving just outside the Xavier Institute, the agents located the bomb and while Kearse attempted to defuse the bomb, Agent Gray battled the bomber, Ari Hussan. After Agent Gray was knocked unconscious by Hussan, the X-Men intervened and Jean Grey telekinetically disarmed the bomb. Awaking the next day in a hospital, Agent Kearse learned the outcome from his wife Amy, who informed him of the X-Men's intervention. Amy also informed Kearse that his bionic arm had been replaced by a high-tech prosthesis designed by the Beast while Agent Gray was visited by her mother Moira. Two days later, Agent Kearse met with FBI Director Stone who, upon hearing Kearse's report of the corruption within the MCRTF and the events that transpired as a result, made Kearse the new director of the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force. Kearse's first act as director was to dismantle and clean up Green and Duncan's black ops. Visiting Green's old home, Kearse found Green's event map and torched it while Agent Gray decided to keep her unborn baby. Upon returning home, Agent Kearse decided to take his son's drawing of Kearse being a good samaritan to a mutant and frame it for display in his new office.

(Heroic Age: X-Men#1 - BTS) - Following the events of M-Day, in which a large majority of the mutant population lost their powers, the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force found themselves with less work. Despite that, the MCRTF attempted to defuse the mutant/human tensions when the X-Men publicly fought against the corrupt Norman Osborn. Unfortunately for the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force, they were shut out of the operation by Osborn's H.A.M.M.E.R. organization.

Comments: Created by Jeff Jensen and Arthur Ranson.

The FBI Mutant Civil Rights Task Force had a "Files"-type entry in Heroic Age: X-Men#1 (February, 2011).

While many might consider Catherine Gray's mother to be named Moira Gray, it was mentioned in the X-Factor II series that Catherine was married to Ramon so she presumably took Ramon's last name, meaning that her mother likely had a different last name than "Gray." We are never explicitly told what Catherine's mother's last name is (or really, Ramon or Catherine's daughter's either, so I guess it could go either way). For the sake of this profile, I'm treating Ramon's last name as Gray and that of Catherine's daughter as well.

Thanks to Michael Hoskin for tipping me off to the BTS appearance of the MCRTF in Heroic Age: X-Men#1!

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Mutant Civil Rights Task Force has no known connections to

Agent Paul Duncan has no known connections to
 Jimmy Fingers has no known connections to
 Agent Catherine Gray or her family members have no known connections to
 Director Kendall Green has no known connections to
 Ari Hussan has no known connections to
 Agent Aaron Kearse or any of his family members have no known connections to
 Linda's Hotel Motel has no known connections to
 Mike has no known connections to
 Moira has no known connections to
 Chief Murray has no known connections to
 Kyle Nakamura has no known connections to
Agent Paul Duncan

Paul Duncan was a former FBI agent who recorded Agents Green and Kearse's attempted sting of mutant Ashton Wither. He was later recruited into the FBI's Mutant Civil Rights Task Force, where he was secretly part of the corrupt mandate to take down any extremists, mutant or human. After the MCRTF failed to solve the murder case of their own secret mole, William Sumner, MCRTF Director Kendall Green's leadership came into question and Duncan became favored as a possible new director. After filing a report of mutant baseball player Tony Robb, Paul began trying to root out anyone he didn't trust within the MCRTF, starting with another of the group's hidden moles, gangster Jimmy Fingers, who ran a mutant labor sweatshop that was posed to be publicly shut down by the MCRTF as a public relations victory. As part of this mission, Duncan also captured mutant arms dealer Ashton Wither and turned him over to Director Green, who tortured Wither in his home. Later accompanying Agent Kearse on a sting to shut down Jimmy Fingers, Duncan joked at Kearse's religious views before later joining Director Green and many other agents in storming the home belonging to church bomber Kyle Nakamura. During the attack on Nakamura, Duncan was seemingly killed along with the other agents but later turned up at Green's former home to stop Agent Kearse from discovering too much of the MCRTF's corrupt regime. Announcing that Kearse was never brought into their black ops because his soft nature would ruin their plans, Duncan announced that he had arranged for terrorist Ari Hussan to bomb the X-Men's Xavier Institute in an effort to start a war between humans and mutants that would decimate the mutants. Unfortunately for Duncan, Kearse had already freed Wither, who accused Duncan of being a monster before using his mutant abilities to dissolve the muscle tissue in Duncan's body, killing him.

Duncan had no superhuman powers but he was a skilled manipulator and communications agent. He was also skilled at information gathering and carried a firearm.

--X-Factor II#2 (fb) - BTS (#3, #4d,
Jimmy Fingers

Jimmy Genovese was a higher-up in the Genovese crime family, earning the nickname "Jimmy Fingers." When the FBI established the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force, a secret, corrupt black ops portion of the Task Force began manipulating the organization to stop all extremists, both human and mutant. As part of this hidden mandate, the MCRTF hired moles within various organizations and Jimmy Fingers was hired at that point to run a mutant labor sweatshop that was intended to provide an easy target for a public sting that would earn a public relations victory for the MCRTF at a time of their choosing. When Agent Paul Duncan began being favored over Director Kendall Green, Duncan began rooting out those he didn't trust within the organization, including Jimmy Fingers. Arranging a sting on Jimmy Fingers' sweatshop, Duncan accompanied Agent Aaron Kearse and others in confronting Jimmy Fingers, who fled to his office to retrieve his gun. When Kearse followed, Jimmy grabbed a gun and told Kearse that he would see Kearse's boss in Hell before committing suicide.

Jimmy Fingers had no superhuman powers but he had access to firearms and ran a sweatshop filled with superpowered mutants.

--X-Factor II#3 (#4 (fb) - BTS, #3d,

Agent Catherine Gray

Catherine Gray was a member of the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force and was unaware of their black ops program to exterminate extremists. Months prior to joining the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force, Catherine and her husband Ramon had a daughter Moira, named after Catherine's mother, who began manifesting pyrokinetic mutant powers shortly after her birth. Taking the baby Moira to a doctor, Catherine felt safe that doctors had subdued Moira's powers and Catherine insisted on Ramon going on a book tour. While Ramon was out, Moira's powers flared up again and Catherine had no option but to traumatically watched as her daughter was incinerated by her own mutant powers. Troubled by nightmares of the event, Catherine soon found that she was pregnant again and debated having an abortion rather than risk reliving events with Moira. Keeping her pregnancy secret, Catherine accompanied Agent Aaron Kearse in the MCRTF's investigation of the murder of William Sumner, whom both agents were unaware was a MCRTF mole within Malcolm Whitman's mutant revolutionary group. During the investigation, Catherine was telepathically contacted by Jean Grey at a press conference, who warned Catherine about Kearse's possible hatred of mutants. After Malcolm Whitman attacked Agents Gray and Kearse when they discovered his connection to the murder and was taken into custody, Catherine accompanied Agent Kearse as they investigated the death threats being sent to secret mutant baseball player Tony Robb. Following their first meeting with Tony Robb, Catherine found herself confronted by her civil rights activist mother, who warned Catherine that her allies in the X-Men suspected the MCRTF was a sham. Refusing to believe her mothers' claims, Catherine ordered her to leave before later joining Agent Kearse to protect Tony Robb at a ballgame where a death threat warned of his death. When Robb was shot twice, Gray and Kearse found the shooter being stopped by the X-Men's Nightcrawler, who teleported away. Gray later helped act as additional security when the surviving Tony Robb left the hospital and when she returned home, her husband Ramon expressed his wishes to talk about their unborn baby. She later found Ramon going through baby Moira's belongings but when Ramon attempted to talk about Catherine's worries with their unborn baby, Catherine avoided the discussion, instead announcing that she had to go to San Francisco, where a mutant church had been bombed. While investigating the bombing, Catherine and Agent Kearse visited eighty-seven homes in an attempt to learn as much information as they could about the bombing, only to find her mother waiting in her hotel room when she returned. Catherine's mother gave her documents that supposedly proved the corruption within the MCRTF but Catherine threw them in the garbage and ordered her mother to leave when she questioned Catherine's unborn baby. Following a sleepless night in which she looked over the documents her mother had given her, Catherine was contacted by Kearse and the two watched as Director Green attempted to apprehend the bomber, Kyle Nakamura, with his own MCRTF squad. Angrily confronting Green with Kearse, Catherine learned that Green had left her out of the sting operation due to her pregnancy but when Green and his men were killed by their own gunfire thanks to mutant children hiding in Nakamura's home, Gray and Kearse investigated, only to see the children taken into X-Men custody. Returning to Washington, DC, Catherine and Kearse learned that FBI Director Stone wished to talk to them about the events with Nakamura and, realizing they had no answers, Catherine brought up the documents her mother had given her and Kearse mentioned a key that Green had given him. Traveling to Virginia, Gray and Kearse used the key to get into Green's home, where they found a video in which Green revealed the MCRTF's hidden mandate to stop any and all extremists. When Gray found a secret door to the basement, the duo investigated the basement and found the captive mutant Ashton Wither, who had earlier paralyzed the arms of both Green and Kearse. Fellow agent Paul Duncan confronted Gray and Kearse, explaining his plans to start a war between humans and mutants by bombing the X-Men's Xavier Institute, but he was killed when Ashton Wither eroded the muscle tissue in his body. Rushing to New York to stop the bomb, Gray battled the bomber Ari Hussan while Kearse attempted to disarm the bomb. After shooting Hussan in the leg, Catherine was knocked unconscious by the butt of Hussan's gun, waking up later in the hospital after the X-Men had stopped the bomb. Realizing her mother had been right about the MCRTF being corrupt, Catherine learned her mother was in the waiting room and told the nurses to let her in, where Catherine hugged her mother. Later, Catherine and Ramon visited the abortion clinic but Catherine ultimately decided to keep their baby.

--X-Factor II#1 (X-Factor II#4 (fb), X-Factor II#1-4,

Moira Gray

Moira Gray was the infant daughter of Ramon and Catherine Gray, named after Catherine's mother. Manifesting pyrokinetic mutant powers shortly after birth, Moira was taken to a doctor who thought he had managed her powers. While Ramon was away on a book tour, Moira burst into flames as her horrified mother Catherine watched. Moira's death plagued Catherine for many years in nightmares.

Moira Gray possessed the mutant ability to burst into flames.

--X-Factor II#1 (seen in a dream);
   X-Factor II#2 (mentioned by name);
   X-Factor II#3 (seen in a photo);
   X-Factor II#4 (fully seen in flashback to death)
Ramon Gray

Ramon Gray was the poet husband of Catherine Gray. When his daughter Moira began manifesting pyrokinetic mutant powers, Ramon and Catherine took her to doctors who seemingly controlled Moira's outbursts. Having reservations despite doctors' assurance that Moira would be fine, Ramon was convinced by Catherine to go on a book tour to promote his first poetry book. While Ramon was gone, Moira's powers manifested again and Moira died via fiery combustion. Years later, Ramon learned Catherine was pregnant again and did his best to be supportive even though Catherine had considered aborting the child. When Catherine's mother visited, Ramon refused to allow her inside the Gray home due to respect of Catherine's wishes but did bring Catherine's mother a blanket and cookies to be hospitable. Following that visit, Ramon continued trying to get Catherine to talk about their baby but Catherine avoided the discussions, throwing herself into her Mutant Civil Rights Task Force missions. After Catherine was injured battling bomber Ari Hussan, Ramon accompanied Catherine to the medical clinic where Catherine ultimately decided to keep their child.



--X-Factor II#1 (#2-4,

Director Kendall Green

FBI agent Kendall Green went on a sting mission alongside Agent Aaron Kearse to take down mutant arms dealer Ashton Wither, who ultimately used his mutant powers to erode the muscle tissue in the arms of both Green and Kearse. Afterwards, the vengeance-obsessed Kendall Green, who replaced his damaged arm with a bionic one, was made director of the FBI's Mutant Civil Rights Task Force, where he constantly search for Wither and maintained the MCRTF's secret mandate to take down extremists, human or mutant. While maintaining the same respect he always had for Aaron Kearse, Kendall's wife left him due to his obsession with Wither, which only strengthened his desire for revenge. When the MCRTF proved unable to solve the murder case of one of their own secret moles, William Sumner, Director Green's leadership was called into question in favor of another long-time FBI agent Paul Duncan, who began rooting out anyone he didn't trust within the MCRTF. During Duncan's searches, he captured Ashton Wither and turned him over to Kendall Green, who chained Wither to his basement wall with power-inhibiting bonds and tortured him. Feeling guilty for not including Aaron Kearse in the MCRTF's secret operations, Kendall recorded a video explaining the MCRTF's secrets to Kearse should Green die. Not long after, Green led a field mission against church bomber Kyle Nakamura, giving a key to Kearse when Kearse angrily confronted Green about being left out of the mission. Leading a squad into Nakamura's home, Kendall was killed when the MCRTF's own gunfire was turned against them by young mutants inside. Using the key Kendall had given him, Agent Kearse visited Green's former home and found the video Green had earlier recorded as well as the captive Ashton Wither.

Kendall Green possessed a bionic arm, which could theoretically be modified to enhance his strength in that arm.

--X-Factor II#1 (X-Factor II#2 (fb), X-Factor II#4 (fb) - BTS, #1, #2, #3d,

Ari Hussan

Seventeen year old uneducated and poor Ari Hussan became convinced that a battle against mutants had to be joined after witnessing Kyle Nakamura's bombing of a mutant church on television. Working with his father, Ari was trained and forcibly implanted with a cyanide tooth in case of capture. He was later hired by Mutant Civil Rights Task Force Agent Paul Duncan to plant a bomb at the X-Men's Xavier Institute in an effort to start a war between humans and mutants. Unfortunately, moments after planting the bomb, Ari was met by MCRTF agents Kearse and Gray, who sought to stop him. While Gray went after Ari, Kearse attempted to disarm the bomb. Gray eventually shot Ari in the leg and he feigned unconsciousness until he managed to knock Gray out using the butt of his gun. Alerted to the bomb, the X-Men's Jean Grey telekinetically disarmed the bomb for Kearse then telepathically knocked Ari unconscious.


--X-Factor II#4
Agent Aaron Kearse

The devoutly religious Aaron Kearse was an FBI agent who accompanied Agent Kendall Green on a sting operation against mutant arms dealer Ashton Wither, who ultimately used his mutant powers to erode the muscle tissue in Agent Kearse's arm, leaving it withered and barely movable. Afterwards internalizing his anger, Agent Kearse suffered a crisis in faith, unable to understand where mutants fit in God's plan and he developed a mistrust and misunderstanding of mutants despite being placed on the FBI's Mutant Civil Rights Task Force. Dividing his time between his family and the MCRTF, Agent Kearse put off getting surgery to replace his damaged arm with a cybernetic one, feeling that it seemed unnatural. Deliberately left out of the MCRTF's secret mandate to take down extremists both human and mutant, Agent Kearse teamed with Agent Catherine Gray to investigate the murder of secret MCRTF mole William Sumner, resulting in a battle with the murderer, pyrokinetic mutant revolutionary Malcolm Whitman. Taking some time off following his encounter with the X-Men during the murder investigation, Agent Kearse took his son Matthew to a baseball game featuring his son's favorite player, Tony Robb. Soon after deciding to go ahead with the procedure to replace his arm, a recovering Agent Kearse was tasked with investigating death threats sent to Tony Robb, who was a secret mutant himself. When Robb was shot twice during a game, Agents Kearse and Gray witnessed the shooter, schizophrenic Earl Whitacker, being captured by the X-Man Nightcrawler, who left Whitacker in the MCRTF's custody. A short time later, Kearse accompanied Agent Paul Duncan on a sting operation to shut down mobster Jimmy Fingers, actually another secret MCRTF mole, who was operating a mutant labor sweatshop. While fighting Jimmy, Kearse was told by Jimmy to tell his boss Jimmy would see him in Hell, arousing Kearse's suspicions before Jimmy committed suicide. Kearse was then immediately sent to San Francisco to investigate a church bombing by Kyle Nakamura, whom Green, Duncan and a squad of MCRTF agents tried to apprehend without Kearse's help. Seeing the sting on television, Agent Kearse angrily confronted Green for leaving him out of the operation and was given a key and a password by Green before Green was killed in the operation. Learning that FBI Director Stone wished to speak with him regarding the events, Agent Kearse realized he had no answers and decided to investigate Green's home with Agent Gray using the key Green had given him. Using the password on Green's computer, Kearse activated a video from Green that explained the MCRTF's black ops mandate against extremists and how Green had felt guilty for leaving Kearse out of the loop. The video also revealed that Green had ultimately been glad that Kearse being left out had kept Kearse from being corrupted. When Gray discovered a secret door to the basement, Kearse found a captured and tortured Ashton Wither chained to the wall. Despite Wither's attempts to taunt Kearse into killing him, Kearse instead used his bionic arm to destroy the power-inhibiting bonds holding Wither just as Agent Duncan appeared, revealing his plans to set off a bomb at the X-Men's Xavier Institute to start a war between humans and mutants. Before Duncan could do more, Ashton used his muscle-eroding abilities on Duncan, killing him despite Kearse's pleas for Ashton to stop. Kearse and Gray then rushed to New York, where Kearse attempted to disarm the bomb laid by Ari Hussan. After time seemingly ran out, Kearse found himself waking up in a hospital, where his wife explained that the X-Men had disabled the bomb, replaced Kearse's bionic arm that had been damaged during recent events and left a note stating that Kearse had proved himself to them. Weeks later, Kearse gave a report to FBI Director Stone and was made the new director of the MCRTF, his first mission disassembling the corrupt parts of the organization. Returning home after destroying event maps at Green's former home, Kearse decided to frame his son drawing of Kearse being a good samaritan to a fallen mutant and put it on display in his office.

Agent Aaron Kearse possessed a cybernetic arm that he could adjust to grant himself enhanced strength, sufficient enough to destroy metallic shackles with a punch, albeit the exertion would damage the arm's circuitry.

--X-Factor II#1 (#2 (fb), #4 (fb), #1-4,

Amy Kearse

Amy Kearse was Agent Aaron Kearse's wife and mother to their son, Matthew. Having grown up in a family that mostly avoided discussing the growing mutant population, Amy had an anti-mutant uncle that her family thought was crazy. After her husband Aaron joined the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force, Amy remained by his side for support and gave Aaron a drawing their son had done of Aaron helping a fallen mutant. When Aaron took a mission involving their son's baseball player hero Tony Robb, who was secretly a mutant, Amy helped ease Aaron's worries about what to teach their son about mutants and how the Bible had no explanation for mutants. Later, after Aaron was injured trying to disarm a bomb that threatened to blow up the Xavier Institute and start a war between humans and mutants, Amy remained by Aaron's side at the hospital, explaining how the X-Men had disarmed the bomb and gave Aaron a new cybernetic arm as thanks for Aaron's services.


--X-Factor II#1 (#2, #4,

Matthew Kearse

Matthew Kearse was the young son of Mutant Civil Rights Task Force agent Aaron Kearse. After drawing a picture of his father being a good samaritan to a mutant, Matthew was taken to a Baltimore Eagles baseball game to see his hero, player Tony Robb, in action. When it became public that Tony Robb was a mutant and the public turned against Robb, Matthew crumbled up a poster of Robb and threw it away, later asking his father how he should feel about mutants. Aaron and Matthew discussed the lack of explanation for the existence of mutants and Aaron reminded Matthew that their role was to treat mutants like any other person and let God handle explaining them. Aaron then framed Matthew's drawing to put in his office.




--X-Factor II#1 (mentioned); (#2, #4,

Linda's Hotel Motel

Linda's Hotel Motel was a small motel in San Francisco that Agents Aaron Kearse and Catherine Gray stayed at while investigating a mutant church bombing.






--X-Factor II#3
Mike

Mike worked for the Los Angeles coroner and performed the autopsy on secret Mutant Civil Rights Activist mole, William Sumner. While doing the autopsy, Mike learned that Sumner was not a true mutant, only a member of the Third Species, who believed that they could gain superhuman powers by transplanting their organs with those of mutants. When MCRTF agents Kearse and Gray visited Mike to see what he had learned, Mike informed them of his discovery.





--X-Factor II#1

Moira

Moira was the civil rights activist mother of Mutant Civil Rights Task Force member Catherine Gray. During her younger years, Moira befriended fellow civil rights activist Sterling Whitman and later allied with the X-Men for mutant rights. Following the death of Catherine's mutant daughter, named Moira after Catherine's mother, Catherine refused to speak to her mother Moira for five years but when Moira learned that Catherine had begun working for the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force, Moira sent her ally Jean Grey to telepathically warn Catherine of the hate in her teammate Aaron Kearse's mind. When Catherine continued in her MCRTF missions, Moira visited Catherine outside of Baltimore's Levinson Field to warn her about the corruption within the MCRTF and later visited her home personally but was ignored by Catherine. Later, when Catherine was in San Francisco investigating a bombing, Moira visited Catherine's motel room and gave her documents proving the corruption, which Catherine threw away upon hearing that Moira knew about Catherine's hidden pregnancy due to Jean Grey's telepathy. After Catherine realized her mother was right and helped stop corrupt MCRTF agent Paul Duncan from starting a war between humans and mutants, Moira visited Catherine at the hospital, where they reunited.

--X-Factor II#1 (mentioned) (#2-4,

Chief Murray

Chief Murray was the police chief of the LAPD and assisted the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force in the murder case of William Sumner. He appeared at a press conference where MCRTF agent Aaron Kearse assured Sumner's mother Helen that they would pursue the murder suspects. Murray continued assisting the MCRTF where needed.



--X-Factor II#1

Kyle Nakamura

Kyle Nakamura originally attended a church that opened their doors as a sanctuary for mutants but when a group of young mutants proved out of control, Kyle took it upon himself to bomb the church. Unfortunately for him, the young children survived and took up residence in Nakamura's home, causing him to hide his involvement to the point of even forcing his wife to cover for him at gunpoint. After thinking he had gotten the MCRTF off his track by having his wife cover for him, Nakamura soon found his home surrounded by MCRTF agents in a public sting operation. When the agents attacked, the young mutants turned their gunfire against them before Agents Kearse and Gray investigated their teammates' deaths. Upon seeing the two agents, Nakamura attempted to use the young mutant children as shields but Kearse managed to fire a single shot that hit Nakamura in the head, killing him.



--X-Factor II#3

images: (without ads)
X-Factor II#3, p17, pan9 (Mutant Civil Rights Task Force, main image)
X-Factor II#1, p6, pan9 (Mutant Civil Rights Task Force field agents)
X-Factor II#3, p18, pan1 (Mutant Civil Rights Task Force, with Agents Kearse & Gray)
X-Factor II#3, p8, pan5 (Jimmy Fingers)
X-Factor II#4, p17, pan4 (Catherine Gray)
X-Factor II#4, p15, pan4 (Moira Gray)
X-Factor II#2, p22, pan1 (Ramon Gray)
X-Factor II#1, p22, pan9 (Director Kendall Green)
X-Factor II#4, p17, pan2 (Ari Hussan)
X-Factor II#3, p6, pan5 (Paul Duncan & Aaron Kearse images)
X-Factor II#1, p3, pan6 (Amy Kearse)
X-Factor II#4, p23, pan1 (Matthew Kearse)
X-Factor II#3, p16, pan8 (Linda's Hotel Motel, bed & room)
X-Factor II#1, p8, pan2 (Mike)
X-Factor II#3, p16, pan1 (Moira)
X-Factor II#1, p4, pan2 (Chief Murray)
X-Factor II#3, p1, pan1 (Kyle Nakamura)

Appearances:
X-Factor II#1 (June, 2002) - Jeff Jensen (writer), Arthur Ranson (art), Mark Powers (editor)
X-Factor II#2 (July, 2002) - Jeff Jensen (writer), Arthur Ranson (art), Mark Powers, Andrew Lis (editors)
X-Factor II#3 (September, 2002) - Jeff Jensen (writer), Arthur Ranson (art), Andrew Lis, Mark Powers (editors)
X-Factor II#4 (October, 2002) - Jeff Jensen (writer), Arthur Ranson (art), Andrew Lis (editor)
Heroic Age: X-Men#1 (February, 2011) - Michael Hoskin (head writer, coordinator), Chad Anderson, Mike O'Sullivan, Peter Sanderson, Markus Raymond, Anthony Flamini, Kevin Garcia, Stuart Vandal, Jacob Rougemont, Madison Carter (writers), Arthur Ranson (FBI Mutant Civil Rights Task Force entry art), Jeff Youngquist (editor)

Last updated: 01/21/17.

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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