BIOGRAPHY - Page 5
After tussling with Hela, the Asgardian goddess of death, the team took a seemingly normal case trying to find a man’s killer. Their investigations led them to believe that J. Jonah Jameson, the mayor of New York, was the next target, so Strong Guy was assigned to guard him. During a 
public speech, a woman known as Ballistique took aim at Jameson and Strong Guy stepped in the way, believing his powers would protect him from harm. The bullet fired wasn’t normal, though, and it pierced Strong Guy’s chest, much to the shock of everyone around him. To make matters worse, his old heart condition started playing up again and he could feel another heart attack coming on.
With no option left, Monet picked him up and flew him to the nearest hospital. On the way, he confessed his love for her but she was too emotional to address the situation. Unfortunately, they 
didn’t make it in time and Guido died before the doctors could save him. His salvation would come from the unlikely source of Layla Miller. As the rest of the team dealt with the news, Layla slipped away and used her resurrection powers on Guido, healing his wounds and restarting his heart. The doctors were amazed at his recovery, but the rest of the team didn’t care for the hows and whys… they had Guido back. Guido seemed unaware as to how he came back and Layla made sure not to tell anyone what she did, or the fact that the resurrection came at a cost: Guido no longer had a soul. [X-Factor (1st series) #216-218]
Guido stayed in the hospital for a while for observations and, when Layla visited him, he noted how he felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. When Monet came to pick him up and take her home, he seemed abnormally carefree, and even kissed her to her surprise. [X-Factor (1st series) #221-222]
Guido’s teammates started to note his new attitude but most put it down to the recent trauma he had been through. However, on a mission against a demon named Bloodbath, his soulless status was revealed to all. When Bloodbath cast a spell to drain the souls of the team, Strong Guy wasn’t affected. During the fight, Madrox was stabbed and killed and Layla was forced to reveal she had resurrected Guido but at a cost of his soul. Guido tried to convince the others to bring Jamie back but they were unsure. In the end, it was too late, as too much time had passed and 
the window for Layla to use her powers was closed. Jamie was gone. [X-Factor (1st series) #227-228]
Whilst the team dealt with Jamie’s death, they were also split over what to do about Guido. Monet especially was against having him on the team if he had no soul, whereas Siryn could see the benefits. [X-Factor (1st series) #230]
Guido decided to act on his feelings for Monet and, one day, he hired a party bus just for the two of them. Monet seemed against the idea at the start, as she still had a lot of misgivings about him not having a soul. Nevertheless, she eventually relented and went on a date with him. Things started well but went downhill fast when Guido abandoned Monet to go fight a supervillain. Monet was furious and the two got into a huge fight that resulted in Guido storming off. [X-Factor (1st series) #238-240]
Guido was beginning to get annoyed with how his other teammates were treating him because of his lack of soul. It all came to a head when X-Factor was involved in a super-villain fight in Central 
Park. When one of the villains held a woman hostage, Strong Guy goaded the man and attempted to call his bluff. Fortunately, Monet managed to save the woman but the damage was done. Monet yelled at Strong Guy for being so cavalier with another person’s life but he didn’t seem to care. Having had enough of everyone berating him, he quit X-Factor and stormed off. He didn’t make it far, however, as a mysterious man appeared before him and offered him a new job at his side. With nowhere else to go, Guido accepted the offer and the two men disappeared in a cloud of red smoke. [X-Factor (1st series) #241]
Guido’s mysterious boss turned out to be Mephisto, lord of the Underworld, and he had need of Guido’s connection to X-Factor. Tier, the son of Wolfsbane, had been the seven billionth soul to be born on Earth, and the various Hell-lords had placed a bet that whomever killed him would be the supreme ruler of them all. With no soul or moral conscience to speak of anymore, Guido had no issues working for Mephisto or trying to kill Tier on his behalf. His initial assault didn’t work too well, as he came up against the united front of X-Factor. Guido’s former teammates proved quite resourceful and they managed to out-maneuver the Hell-Lords for a while, though they couldn’t run for long.
Whilst the Hell-Lords took the fight directly to X-Factor, Guido was made to watch over Jezebel, Mephisto’s daughter, who had betrayed her father by helping Tier. Guido surprised Jezebel, though, by releasing her from her chains, claiming he wasn’t really working for Mephisto as he was on his own side. When he met up with X-Factor, they didn’t know whether to trust him or not, though Monet put an end to the deliberation by attacking him. Guido and Monet fought hard but, during the fight, he noticed that she wasn’t as fast as she used to be. Unbeknownst to him, Monet had suffered some serious 
internal bleeding during a fight with one of the Hell-Lords. So, when Guido cut loose and punched Monet with all his might, he exasperated the bleeding, killing her instantly.
Despite his lack of soul, Guido was devastated by Monet’s death but he quickly formed a plan to bring her back. Taking her body and slipping away from the main fight between X-Factor and the Hell-Lords, he waited for the perfect opportunity to strike. When it seemed his former team had won the fight, Guido took Mephisto’s trident and stabbed Tier through the chest. The boy was killed instantly, much to the horror of everyone else around him. Guido’s plan worked though and, by killing the boy, he had won the competition and become the undisputed King of Hell. After undoing all the damage the Hell-Lords 
had done, he banished X-Factor from his new realm and then resurrected Monet. [X-Factor (1st series) #250-256]
When he ejected X-Factor from Hell, he scattered them across the world. He owed Wolfsbane an explanation and so he tracked her down to the Arctic, where she had ended up. He told the grief-stricken woman that he had to do what he did to bring Monet back. He remained unapologetic though, making it clear that he was only helping her because he killed her son. He teleported Wolfsbane to a place where she could recuperate and then he went back to Hell to rule over his domain. [X-Factor (1st series) #258]
Guido’s reign as King of Hell was to be short, however, as Mephisto was not too pleased to being dethroned. Enlisting the help of the Thunderbolts, the former ruler took on Guido and attempted to win back his domain. Guido eventually relinquished control of Hell back to Mephisto when the 
Red Hulk made him see that he wasn’t happy as its ruler. The Thunderbolts offered Guido a spot on their team but he turned it down, preferring to go off on his own to claim his soul back. [Thunderbolts (2nd series) #21-22]