Could Freedom Force make a return?

[Tmacaoni]

You know I was thinking that I like having that one Government sponsored mutant team similar to the old X-factor. Of course X-factor I think is better served as a detective type book now (hopefully getting Bishop and Sage at some point) even though its middle ground was government sponsored. I kinda like the idea of a thunderbolts "light" type of team that gets those type of mutant characters that aren't usually shown to have their own book that could pit them against the X-Men or foil the Brotherhood's plans.

Obviously Mystique should be a big factor in this as the face of freedom Force and maybe put Frenzy, Avalanche, skinny Blob, Banshee and maybe two others.

What do you guys think? Could it be possible for a return.....would you want a return? Who would you put on the team?

[Sutekh]

It could be interesting to see a government sponsored mutant team that isn't sketchy as all heck. There have got to be dozens, if not hundreds, of mutants who discovered their powers while serving in the military (or various other government agencies/departments) who could be recruited as both government workers *and* mutants.

Mutants are a resource, and it's foolish to the extreme for someone somewhere in the government not to be trying to find a way to make use of them (and thereby having a huge advantage over governments worldwide that *aren't* making any sort of effective use of this resource, and can't compete, because they are oppressing or killing off their mutant citizens).

That said, it would be a real wake-up call for some *other* country to do this (and not some comic-book fantasy country like Genosha that's going to get blown up anyway). If, say, Canada, opened it's doors to mutants both native born and emigrating from other countries, and began making effective government use of mutants (not just militarily, but for public works, diplomacy, scientific advancement, firefighting, etc.), I could see some people in America kicking themselves in the butt for not driving their own mutant citizens underground (or just flat-out killing them).

Ditto with some (probably Scandinavian...) European country, economy booming because they've got mutants who can *individually* power their entire power grid, or give them great weather, or make their crops bloom year round, or heal the sick and injured, or revolutionalize their industry base, is going to find some rival European countries coming after their mutants to eliminate the 'unfair' advantage they've got, while others begin seeking out their own mutant citizens and offering them jobs to try and catch up.

Countries that kill off their golden geese would find themselves at the bottom of the barrel, as what mutants already survived their earlier purges just up and leave to go countries where they are more welcome (ditto countries that attempt to draft or press-gang their mutants are likely to find that the most powerful mutants, their Magnetos and Storms, are going to just bust out and wreak havoc, while even their rank and file mutants are going to serve begrudgingly, at best, and not work with them to revolutionize their economy).

[Gambit, King of Thieves]

yeah, take one of the electricity mutants and give them a million a year to zap the grid.

[MyriVerse]

I don't think any of the originals should be part of any new Freedom Force, but sure, reuse the name. That's just more of the living the past mindset that Marvel has. Let Pyro stay dead. Same with Avalanche. Why would Mystique want to retread this horrible time period for her?

I could see Banshee, maybe... but Freedom Force should be an American thing, imo.

[Mutant God]

I say the team could be: Justice, Firestar, Iceman, Forge, Skids, Outlaw, and Portal

[Vegan Daddy]

‘Freedom Force’ hasn’t aged well as a team name.

I don’t see why mutants would willingly join a government sanctioned team. Like what’s the point? You’d have to use a group of Uncle Tom mutants like Forge or Havok, or you’d have to do the whole ‘blackmailed into service’ thing.

[Sutekh]

‘Freedom Force’ hasn’t aged well as a team name.

I don’t see why mutants would willingly join a government sanctioned team. Like what’s the point? You’d have to use a group of Uncle Tom mutants like Forge or Havok, or you’d have to do the whole ‘blackmailed into service’ thing.

As I suggested, it doesn't have to be 'mutants joining a government sanctioned team' so much as 'mutants who already work for the government finding a way to leverage that into creating a government sponsored entity that embraces their special gifts, and, as a side-benefit, shows the world that a country that welcomes and uses this resource has an advantage over one that marginalizes or persecutes them.'

I would absolutely prefer if it wasn't a human like Valerie Cooper serving as their liaison, but an actual mutant who works in the defense department or even active military. Just based on raw numbers, there have to be hundreds of them, mostly living 'undercover' in a mutant version of 'don't ask, don't tell.'

Terms like 'Uncle Tom' just marginalizes and demonizes mutants who want to be American, accepted as mutants and Americans, and don't hate the entire country (or all humans) for the acts of some bad people. (Just as not every mutant hates *all mutants* for the use of Sentinels by fellow mutants like Sebastian Shaw or Trevor Fitzroy. There's bad apples in every bunch. That's no excuse to blame every member of a group and paint them all with the same brush.)

[Tmacaoni]

As I suggested, it doesn't have to be 'mutants joining a government sanctioned team' so much as 'mutants who already work for the government finding a way to leverage that into creating a government sponsored entity that embraces their special gifts, and, as a side-benefit, shows the world that a country that welcomes and uses this resource has an advantage over one that marginalizes or persecutes them.'

I would absolutely prefer if it wasn't a human like Valerie Cooper serving as their liaison, but an actual mutant who works in the defense department or even active military. Just based on raw numbers, there have to be hundreds of them, mostly living 'undercover' in a mutant version of 'don't ask, don't tell.'

Terms like 'Uncle Tom' just marginalizes and demonizes mutants who want to be American, accepted as mutants and Americans, and don't hate the entire country (or all humans) for the acts of some bad people. (Just as not every mutant hates *all mutants* for the use of Sentinels by fellow mutants like Sebastian Shaw or Trevor Fitzroy. There's bad apples in every bunch. That's no excuse to blame every member of a group and paint them all with the same brush.)

Though true, this is the government so it'll probably have some sort of sinister twist to it. I do agree that there are probably a lot of mutants in service that would love to protect the country and they should use that of course. What you are suggesting is something of the Initiative (Civil War) like where every country had their own team, only they'd all be mutants. As great of an idea as that was, it still went Sinister. I do like where you're going though.

[Tmacaoni]

‘Freedom Force’ hasn’t aged well as a team name.

I don’t see why mutants would willingly join a government sanctioned team. Like what’s the point? You’d have to use a group of Uncle Tom mutants like Forge or Havok, or you’d have to do the whole ‘blackmailed into service’ thing.

Why would you need a group of Uncle Tom mutants or use Black mail. A mutant can use this as an opportunity to watch the government and protect their kind at the same time. Not everyone gives a crap about the X-dream, but they're not stupid to the fact that humans could pose as viable threats. There could be a lot of good interaction here. I thought I'd want Mystique as it was her team, but maybe it could be a new team led by none other than Emma Frost. This way she can shut down any flatscan activity and still be a threat to the X-Men team using her own brand of justice. This of course would be an offshoot of Shield as they aren't always trusted. Kinda like Hammer.

[Sutekh]

Though true, this is the government so it'll probably have some sort of sinister twist to it. I do agree that there are probably a lot of mutants in service that would love to protect the country and they should use that of course. What you are suggesting is something of the Initiative (Civil War) like where every country had their own team, only they'd all be mutants. As great of an idea as that was, it still went Sinister. I do like where you're going though.

It is true that this being comics, it will all end in tears, as everything always does. New mutant homeland? Destroyed! Mutant-friendly people? Killed! Non-mutant arranging for mutants to secretly gather up other mutants for their own protection (the premise of the original X-Factor run)? It's a trap! Cameron Hodge was a mutant-hater the whole time!

A government-associated mutant team is as doomed as any other mutant-related thing, because the X-Men universe has been misery porn for a couple of decades now.