SHADOWFORCE

Membership: Airborne, Ambush, Firefight, Hardtime, Mirrorshade (deceased), Oversize

Purpose: Formerly government agents

Affiliations: Formerly General Sharpe and Project: Homegrown

Enemies: Spider-Man, X-Factor (Havok, Polaris, Multiple Man, Strong Guy, Wolfsbane)

Base of Operations: Shadowbase, in the Project: Homegrown Complex, Washington D.C.

First Appearance: Spider-Man/X-Factor: Shadowgames#1 (May 1994)

Powers: Each member of Shadowforce wears a harness that temporarily alters their body chemistry granting induced super powers. While each one member is affected in different ways and gain different powers, it is assumed they all have increased physical abilities (athlete to peak human agility, strength and durability).

Limitations: Without their harnesses they were powerless. Major damage to the harness could result in the death of the wearer. Formerly they needed to continually be re-energized by broadcasts from the power core at the Project: Homegrown Complex. Later they developed battery packs as power sources. Disabling the battery packs would render them powerless.

History: (Spider-Man/X-Factor: Shadowgames#1 (fb)) - The Shadowforce process was developed by Project: Homegrown using fragmentary data and incomplete records from the super soldier serum, the Fantastic Fours space flight, the gamma bomb explosion that created the Hulk, the Nuke protocols, data on the Abomination and more. Secretly six convicted criminals were taken from different prisons, and it was made sure the national crime database still registered them as incarcerated. They were experimented on using the shadowforce process, but it was unstable. General Sharpe had the Shadowforce team doped and brainwashed into kidnapping super beings (except known mutants who are born with the x-factor and those with mechanical powers) to scan and study the to help stabilize the Shadowforce process. They started by looking for Spider-Man. Peter Parker was with a boys' club that his friend Flash worked with when they spotted Shadowforce outside. Peter made his excuse and slipped out as Spider-Man.

(Spider-Man/X-Factor: Shadowgames#1) - Shadowforce attacked Spider-Man. During the confrontation Flash Thompson and the boys came outside to watch Spider-Man in action and Flash started taking photos. Hardtime reported this to Sharpe who said he would deal with it. Mirrorshade duplicated Spider-Man's abilities and distracted him long enough for Airborne to shoot him with tranquillizers. Shadowforce took him back to Shadowbase where they underwent sleep suggestion programming. Meanwhile, Sharpe's men attempted to get Flash's photos of Shadowforce from J. Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle. Back at Shadowbase, the team's sleep suggestion programming was interrupted when X-Factor (called in by Flash Thompson) arrived to help Spider-Man, who had escaped from his bonds and downloaded information on Shadowforce and Project: Homegrown. During the confusion Mirrorshade escaped.

(Spider-Man/X-Factor: Shadowgames#2) - Spider-Man followed Mirrorshade while X-Factor battled the rest of Shadowforce. However, Shadowforce were sent after Spider-Man to retrieve the disc. Shadowforce outmaneuvered X-Factor and left. Mirrorshade used the trains to get to New York, and Spider-Man followed. The rest of Shadowforce searched the train and drew Spider-Man out. Spider-Man disconnected the passenger section of the train to get the passengers out of harm's way, and he threw the crew to safety before stopping the engine section of the train. As Spider-Man confronted Shadowforce, X-Factor arrived to help. Unfortunately, Shadowforce realized they were out of the command range of Project: Homegrown and escaped on the train. Meanwhile, Mirrorshade had located Flash Thompson and was preparing to kill him.

(Spider-Man/X-Factor: Shadowgames#3) - Spider-Man and X-Factor arrived just in time to save Flash, but Airborne escaped with Mirrorshade. Shadowforce returned to the Project: Homegrown complex and took it over. They demanded their sentences be commuted to time served, on prosecution and a free pass out of the country. While they claimed that they were coerced into capturing Spider-Man, Sharpe started to blame everything on them. They developed battery packs as an alternate source of power so they could overload the complex's power core. Spider-Man and X-Factor infiltrated the complex in an attempt to stop them, and they fought. Mirrorshade died when his harness was damaged. Polaris disabled the remaining packs, except for Hardtime's. Spider-Man convinced Hardtime to surrender rather than let Sharpe blame everything on Shadowforce, and Hardtime helped them all escape the explosion of the complex.

COMMENTS: Created by Kurt Busiek, Pat Broderick and Bruce Patterson

As Spider-Man was downloading the information on Shadowforce and how they were looking for superhumans to study we saw pictures of the Fantastic Four, Darkhawk, Speedball, Sleepwalker and Captain America. While I know data on the FF and Cap were used in the Shadowforce process, I'm not sure why Darkhawk, Speedball and Sleepwalker were pictured; were they intended future victims of Shadowforce, or had data on them been used in the process? Sleepwalker wouldn't seem to fit the bill anyway as he's an alien and was presumably born with his powers as are mutants. It's possible Project: Homegrown got data on him from the Office of Insufficient Evidence but they knew he was an alien. However, aliens were not specifically ruled out and mindscape energy has been known to mutate humans in the Sleepwalker comics. Data on Speedball could have been taken from Genetech (who created Psionex using information on the New Warriors that had been gained by the Mad Thinker).

As for Darkhawk, Flank McLargehuge tells us this:

Early in his series, lots of villains thought Darkhawk's amulet was the key to getting superpowers for themselves; primarily Bazin (who commissioned several tests on him in various circumstances), but also Hobgoblin/Phillip Macendale (who was employing Bazin initially) and Tombstone.  The government could've definitely gotten the data from Bazin.  Darkhawk is an android, so data on him probably wouldn't have helped out Project Homegrown, but there's no reason *they'd* know that.

As for the human scientist in the Darkhawk project:  He was abducted to earth and convinced to join the project through shock treatment. As far as we know, he didn't have any human assistants.  He and one other Darkhawk scientist survived the destruction of the Project by beaming their minds back towards earth, where they inhabited the bodies of two scientists at a government SETI installation.  They then recreated an amulet to give them access to a Darkhawk body, to protect themselves from a former boss.  At no point in their story can I see them giving information to the government.

Thanks Flank!

While their power packs were disabled at the end of the story line, there is no reason why they couldn't be repaired. Despite their background as criminals, at least Hardtime showed he could be reasoned with. If they were to return who is to say they would still be the bad guys? Of course a Spider-Man/X-Factor reunion isn't exactly on the cards at the moment!

A note on Airborne's speed. She was supposedly faster than Polaris but didn't appear to travelling at supersonic speeds (there was no sonic boom). The Marvel Encyclopedia Vol2: X-Men claims Polaris has a speed of Mach-2 through to Orbital Velocity. Perhaps she does these days, but I'm pretty sure she was no where near that fast then. Heck if she can fly that fast why would she need to get in the jet with the rest of the team? However, the Marvel Encyclopedia Vol2: X-Men also claims that Beast can lift/press in the 25-75 ton range and quite a few other things I'd more than happily disagree with! I'm sticking with subsonic speed for Airborne on account of not 'hearing' her break the sound barrier.
--In defense of the 'Pedias and Handbooks, since I write them, I can tell you that the writers have nothing to do with the Power Charts. We frequently don't agree with them, either, and we'd prefer they were not included. I'll let you know when I meet someone who likes them...--Snood.

Danny Fingeroth made a point of stating in each issue of Spider-Man/X-Factor that the events took place before X-Factor#100, the issue in which Madrox supposedly 'died' (it has since been revealed that it was one of his 'dupes' that died).

The individual members' real names were revealed in Nuke's profile in OHOTMU A-Z Hardcover#8.

Profile by Changeling

CLARIFICATIONS:

Airborne has no known connection to:

• Airborne, member of the Death Squad, @Iron Man III#1
• Air Cavalry 2099, salvaged from Timequake in 2081 by John Herod @Doom2099#33
• Aireo, aka Skybreaker, formerly of the evil Inhumans, @Fantastic 4 I#47
• Air Force, New Warriors foes, @NewWarriors I#35
• Airhead, Power Pack character @PowerPack#31
• Air Shuttle, small Deviant craft which docks upon larger raiding crafts,used by Kro @Eternals I#5
• Airstrike, Dmitri Bukharin, Soviet agent,former agent of KGB, People’s Protectorate @Soviet Super Soldiers#1
• Air-Walker, Gabriel Lan, herald of Galactus @Thor I#306
• Air-Walker, the android duplicate of Gabriel Lan, @Fantastic 4 I##120
• Air-Walker, a prototype-robot built by Dr.Jonothon Cyre, developed ability to adapt powers of others,destroyed by Shadowcat, @Excalibur:Air Apparent
• any other Air something characters

Ambush has no known connection to:

• Ambush the Lunatik of Earth-Amalgam, @Lobo the Duck#1

Firefight has no known connection to:

• Firefight, leader of the Death Squad, @Iron Man III#1
• or any other Fire something characters

Hardtime has no known connection to:

• Hardball, Shi'ar Elite Guardsman @(illusion) [Quasar#32], (real) Thor I#446
• Hardbody, Riot of the Skrull Kill Krew, @ Skrull Kill Krew#1
• Hardnose, Alexander Patel, of the Metahumes, @ Spider-Man: Friends and Enemies #1
• Hardshell, Leila Davis, wife of the Ringer, @ Lethal Foes of Spider-Man#1
• any other Hard something characters

Mirrorshade has no known connection to:

• Mirror of Beauty, cornerstones of creation @Conan the Barbarian I#128
• Mirror of Ptah Mesu, used by Thulandra Thuu, able to carry messages across a distance @Conan the Liberator, Savage Sword of Conan#49
• Mirrors of Tuzun Thune, @Conan the Barbarian I#25
• any other mirrors or mirror characters

Oversize has no known connection to:

• Overseer, computer created by latin dictator to control island country, guarded by Myrmidon, destroyed by Iron Man @Iron Man I#29
• Overseer 2099, sentinel, manipulated town into killing mutants @X-Men 2099 Special#1
• Overseers of Shiar, guarded work prison of the krilliwa, wore insect-like armor @X-Man#61
• Overshadow of Earth-New Universe, @D.P.7#1
• Oversword, from Asgard, forged from ring of the Nibelung by Odin as final weapon against the Celestials, melted by Celestials when used against them @Journey into Mystery I#117
• any other Over something characters

Shadowforce have no known connection to:

• Shadowforce Alpha, (Bombadier,Clash,Cordite,Flare,Shell,Shot,Stampede) terrorists,attempted to kidnap Col.Broga @Amazing Spider-Man SSS#1/3
• Shadow Demons, of oblivion @Midnight Sons Unlimited#1/2
• Shadow Guild of Earth-Amalgam @JLX Unleashed!#1
• Shadowmen/Soldiers/Warriors, of the Shadow Realm, agents of Warlord Kaa @Strange Tales I#74
• Shadow Riders, (Boot, Che, Goodfellow, Grunt, Roadie, Stranger, Vorin) @Shadow Riders#1
• Shadow Hound of the Huntsman, agent of the Huntsman, summoned to attack Hercules @Ka-Zar Quarterly#1/2
• Shadow Lord, last survivor of Earth Lords,remained on earth to await the return of the Berserker,died in mistaken battle with the Avengers. manipulate earth and weather @Avengers I#207
• Shadow Slasher, attempted to establish reputation by defeating Shang-Chi @Master of Kung Fu I#98
• Shadow Thief, sought Golden Dragon, twin brother of Cho Lee @Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#12
• any other Shadow something groups or characters

Airborne

(Jeannette Voleroux)

As her name suggests Airborne can fly, doing so at subsonic speeds (250-500mph) see comments. She is propelled by means of an energy field surrounding her body that presumably protects her from the elements, and can also be used to latch onto others (in particular she could latch onto Hardtime's solid air platforms to drag the entire team). Even with the team in tow she could still reach optimum speed, but the limit to the pure weight she could carry in flight is unknown. She is able to shoot tranquilizer darts (and presumably standard ammunition too) from her wrists/hands. Airborne also has the standard abilities granted by the Shadowforce process.

-- Spider-Man/X-Factor: Shadowgames#1 (2,3)