The Damocles Foundation was formed by various members of the rivaling Deviants and Eternals, who had split off their respective people, along with some some human scientists in order to create and control a new super-human species that would dominate Earth.
Membership: Odysseus Indigo, Ulysses Dragonblood, Electryon, Astarte, “Randy Lee Watson”, Finn, Weller, Dr. Chandra, Dr. Segismund Joshua, Dr. Ogada, Marcelus, Veeg
Sword of Damocles: Argos the Hunter, Pyre, Stranglehold, Zona
Undercover Operatives: Agent Briggs, Jordan Holiday
Former Assets: Ekaterina Gryaznova, Arcadia DeVille
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #79 [mentioned as an organization for the first time, although several operatives had made prior appearances]
Before
- Millions of years ago, a highly advanced race of beings known as the Celestials arrived on Earth. Like they had done on untold number of other planets before, they deployed their Gatherers, robotic drones that collected and categorized samples of the Earth’s various lifeforms. The Celestials then conducted genetic tests and experiments on Earth’s highest life-form, the primitive Homo sapiens, and planted the potential for the x-factor gene and mutant powers deep within mankind’s genetic make-up. [X-Force (1st series) #97]
- The Celestials’ tampering also resulted in the creation of two offshoots of the human race, the Eternals and the Deviants. Whereas the nearly immortal Eternals possess godlike powers and are generally considered to be physically beautiful, the Deviants are mostly hideous in appearance, with each member of their race having a random, visibly obvious mutation that is never repeated throughout the species. Some of the Deviants display superhuman powers too, but for the most part they are less powerful than the Eternals. For centuries, the Eternals and Deviants went to war with each other, but mostly stayed out of human affairs. Some select few, though, chose to interact with humans, thus inspiring some of the myths and legends of Earth’s various cultures. [Eternals (1st series) #1-4]
- As the Celestials departed from Earth, a few of their inert Gatherers were left behind. Over the course of time, most of these Gatherers were damaged beyond repair by the forces of nature. [X-Force (1st series) #97]
Chronology
| X-Force (1st series) #97: | After being at war over control of the Earth for centuries, the Eternals and Deviants had reached a temporary truce and agreed to await the judgment of the Celestials when they would next visit the planet. However, upon humanity inventing nuclear technology, several members of both races feared that Earth’s delicate power balance was shifting. Under the leadership of Deviant Odysseus Indigo, these individuals banded together with a few human scientists in order to shape the next super-human species that would out-power them all. At the forefront of this new alliance were Indigo’s brother, Ulysses Dragonblood, and two Eternals named Electryon and Astarte. |
| off-panel, mentioned in X-Force (1st series) #79: | Calling themselves the Damocles Foundation, Odysseus Indigo and his comrades acquired several bases around the world, like in Portland, Oregon, the Amazon area and Cumberland, Kentucky. To the general public, it seemed as if the Damocles Foundation consisted of a coalition of scientists, businessmen and environmentalists dedicated to avoiding environmental disaster. For their more questionable operations, the Foundation made use of cover companies such as the Aguilar Institute. |
| X-Force (1st series) #86: | After learning of Almost Reno, a small town whose inhabitants had been rendered sterile due to some atomic weapon testing during the Cold War, Odysseus Indigo reached out to the town fathers and offerd to use the Foundation’s advanced technology to undo the damages to the citizen’s reproductive systems. Yet, as they considered the small town a perfect test ground for their own needs, the Damocles Foundation genetically engineered the resulting offspring, grafting both the human x-factor chromosome and its Deviant equivalent into the children’s DNA, so that they would all develop mutant powers. |
| X-Force (1st series) #96: | In their secret base in Cumberland, Kentucky, the Damocles Foundation were performing experiments on several runaway children they had captured, when they learned of one of the Celestials’ Gatherers being discovered. One Deviant member of the Foundation, who was operating under the alias of “Randy Lee Watson,” was charged with the task to claim the Gatherer and take it to the base in Cumberland, where the Foundation wanted to use its gene-manipulating capabilities to jumpstart the next evolutionary step in the captive children. However, Watson ended up being shot by some other party who was after the Gatherer. Shortly before, he had hired local low-level criminal Lucas Guthrie to help him with the job. After nearly freaking out when the deceased Watson reverted to his true form, Lucas in turn asked his brother, Ty Guthrie, to help him deliver the crate containing the Gatherer to Watson’s contacts, two Foundation members by the names of Finn and Weller. Little did they know that Ty’s eleven year old son, Sam Guthrie (who would grow up to become Cannonball of the New Mutants) stowed away on their ride and snooped around the Damocles base. As Sam exposed the Foundation’s sinister experiments, Finn and Weller threatened to kill all three Guthries, when suddenly the reactivated Gatherer ran amok, killing the two Deviants. After the Gatherer was destroyed by Sledge, a rogue Deviant who opposed the Foundation’s goals, the Guthries secretly buried the deceased Deviants’ bodies to avoid being questioned by the local authorities. |
In between
- Over the following years, the Damocles Foundation placed spies and double agents in every company and organization that they believed might hold valuable information on mutants. One such asset was former CIA agents Ekatarina Gryaznova, whom the Foundation arranged for to be drafted by Bastion’s Operation: Zero Tolerance, long before most intel groups had even learned of its existence. Gryaznova had been left comatose after being neurologically linked to a malfunctioning combat drone and, in exchange for her new lease at life (as a cyborg), she provided the Foundation with the information they desired. [X-Force (1st series) #68]
- Another special operative was Dr. Segismund A. Joshua, who was working at Gideon’s Ophrah Industries. In this capacity, Joshua was told to run experiments on Gideon’s prisoner, Sunspot. Unknown to his employer, though, Dr. Joshua took a cell sample of Sunspot and injected it into a mutant embryo with a malleable genetic make-up, thus creating the mutant terrorist Reignfire. [X-Force (1st series) #13-15, 79-80] Following the death of Gideon, Dr. Joshua returned to the Damocles Foundation.
- Eventually the Damocles Foundation happened upon Arcadia DeVille, a young mutant whom they were able to bio-engineer with the energies of a Celestial Golem to wield reality warping powers. As such, they would have no longer needed to make use of a Gatherer. However, Ulysses Dragonblood was suspicious of his brother’s true motives and quit the Foundation, taking Arcadia with him to protect her from being exploited. [X-Force (1st series) #97]
Chronology continued
| X-Force (1st series) #68-69: | Operation: Zero Tolerance was fully in motion and, all over the nation, mutants were being attacked by Prime Sentinels. A battalion led by Ekatarina Gryaznova subdued Domino, Rictor, Shatterstar and Meltdown of X-Force. To Bastion, the leader of Operation: Zero Tolerance, however, she reported only the later three captives. Blaming Domino for the incident that left her comatose in the first place, Gryaznova turned her over to the Foundation’s scientists, who surgically implanted a power inhibitor at the base of her skull. Gryaznova also arranged for the prisoner transport to make an unscheduled stop, allowing Drs. Chandra, Joshua and Ogada to run some quick tests on the three unconscious X-Force members. However, the rest of X-Force took advantage of the unexpected stop as well and freed their teammates. |
| X-Force (1st series) #77: | In Almost Reno, various children began manifesting their mutant powers, some with deadly results. Secretly working for the Damocles Foundation, SHIELD agent Briggs did his best to keep the deaths under wraps, but some information leaked out. Curious, X-Force investigated and befriended a young telepathic girl called Mary, who feared that she would be “taken away.” Briggs told X-Force about the nuclear tests in the 60ies and claimed that SHIELD had been watching the town and its people ever since, especially the increasing number of mutant children. Briggs then ordered X-Force to leave and they reluctantly did after making sure that Mary could use her immense telepathic powers to scare away anyone who might want to harm her. |
| X-Force (1st series) #79-80, 96: | When Reignfire resurfaced in Las Vegas, battling X-Force and Sunspot, of all people, Dr. Joshua decided that he needed to destroy his rampant creation and took some time off. He arrived in Las Vegas with a molecular disruptor, but the weapon only destroyed Reignfire’s body, allowing his energy form to possess Sunspot’s body. In the end, it was X-Force who defeated the villain, and both he and Dr. Joshua were turned over to a local SHIELD agent, Jordan Holiday. Unknown to X-Force, Holiday was another double agent for the Damocles Foundation and he handed Dr. Joshua and Reignfire back to them. |
| X-Force (1st series) #82: | As a result of X-Force’s earlier escape, Gryaznova’s status as a double agent was exposed. Bastion exacted a cruel revenge on her, and used her Sentinel nano-technology to horribly disfigure her. At the Aguilar Institute, the Damocles Foundation’s scientists stabilized her condition, but she was now more machine than a human person and called herself Gryphon like the mythological beast. When Domino came looking for Gryaznova, Gryphon set the entire base to self-destruct. Due to X-Force’s timely interference, Domino made it out alive, though Gryphon apparently perished in the base’s explosion. |
| X-Force (1st series) #83-84: | Considering Arcadia DeVille too valuable an asset to lose, the Damocles Foundation dispatched its own team of super-powered operatives, the Sword of Damocles (Argos, Zona, Pyre and Stranglehold) to reclaim her. In Kentucky they caught up with her and Ulysses Dragonblood, but their battle was interrupted by Cannonball. In his wallet, Arcadia found a photo of X-Force and teleported them to the battleground, to even out the odds. With the Sword defeated, Dragonblood and DeVille took off again, though not before Arcadia accidentally altered Moonstar’s cellular structure. Upon learning of X-Force thwarting his plans once again, Odysseus Indigo decided that he would either have to recruit them to his cause or kill them. |
| X-Force (1st series) #86: | In Almost Reno, more and more children began to degenerate and die, proving the Damocles Foundation’s genetic tampering to be unstable. Agent Briggs and his colleagues captured most of the town folk and quarantined the city, right as X-Force returned there. The mutant heroes had uncovered information linking the Aguilar Institute to some genetic experiments in Almost Reno, and wanted to investigate. They arrived right in time to defend little Mary and another kid from being taken into “protective custody” by Briggs’ men. Unsure what to do, Briggs alerted Odysseus Indigo, who came to Almost Reno in order to introduce himself to X-Force and explain the goals of the Damocles Foundation. Next he offered the team to join him, which they refused. As they parted ways, with X-Force swearing to find a new home for Mary and the other child, Indigo threatened that he would get to the two children eventually. |
| X-Force (1st series) #93: | As Moonstar’s altered powers had similar capabilities as those of Arcadia DeVille, Odysseus Indigo came up with a plan to harness her energies. He sent two Foundation members that X-Force hadn’t yet made contact with, Astarte and Electryon, to plead for the team’s help in investigating the mutated fauna of a mysterious island. The cause of this phenomenon was a crash-landed alien ship that was emitting radiation. While X-Force was busy battling the monstrous creatures, Astarte and Electryon leeched off Moonstar’s energies and left the mutant heroes to die. However, the sole passenger of the alien craft taught Moonstar how to reclaim her energies and rescue her friends. X-Force then surprise-attacked the two Eternals and returned home. |
| X-Force (1st series) #94, 96: | Two Deviants working for the Damocles Foundation tried to kidnap Selene from a hotel in Sao Paulo, but she was saved by Sunspot, who was coincidentally staying at the same hotel. Selene then explained that she had been following the Damocles Foundations for her own reasons. By torturing agent Holiday she had learned of their activities in the Amazon aera. |
| X-Force (1st series) #96: | In their Amazon base, Odysseus Indigo met with Dr. Chandra and Dr. Joshua. As the Damocles Foundation had managed to locate another Gatherer in the Marianas’ trench, they planned to bond Reignfire’s energy form to the Gatherer to re-animate and control the Celestial drone. |
| X-Force (1st series) #97: | Selene and Sunspot secretly observed as Odysseus Indigo and the scientists united Reignfire’s energy with the Gatherer. Before they could take action, the pair were being discovered and captured by the Sword. Indigo saw to it that neither one could use their powers against him. Meanwhile, Ulysses Dragonblood and Arcadia DeVille alerted X-Force to the Damocles Foundation’s imminent success in controlling a Gatherer. With the help of Veeg, a Deviant who was still working for the Foundation but was loyal to Dragonblood instead, the heroes secretly entered the Amazon base. Right after they freed Selene and Sunspot, they found themselves facing Odysseus Indigo, who deactivated most of the heroes’ powers. As Ulysses and Odysseus kept fighting each other, Selene claimed the Celestial Gatherer for herself, just as she had intended all along. She used its transformative capabilities to devolve the four Sword members into lizards. Before she could attack the others, though, Arcadia and Moonstar used their quantum-based powers in tandem to tear the Gatherer apart. Furious about her prize being destroyed, Selene knocked out X-Force and teleported away with them, leaving the Damocles Foundation to their own devices. |
Afterwards
- It was eventually discovered that Arcadia DeVille had done more than just alter Moonstar’s powers. Their brief encounter had created some sort of link between the two women, and they soon started accessing each other’s memories and nightmares, which then were given physical form due to their quantum-based powers. The effect threatened to tear apart the fabric of reality itself, but channeling all of her newfound powers into a single blast, Moonstar managed to seal the rift and both women returned to normal. [X-Force (1st series) #99-100] After that incident, Ulysses Dragonblood and Arcadia DeVille went into hiding again. Supposedly, they are still on the run, trying to avoid detection by Odysseus Indigo and the Foundation.
- Neither the Damocles Foundation nor any of its remaining members have appeared since X-Force (1st series) #97, which was released in December 1999.
Members
Odysseus Indigo
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #84
All Damocles Foundation appearances: X-Force (1st series) #97, 86, 84, 86, 93, 96-97
Powers: Deviant possessing superhuman strength, durability, a hypnotic gaze that immobilizes his prey, and the ability to neutralize active super-powers, immunizing him against superhuman assaults, preventing opponents from accessing their abilities and rendering them unconscious if they attempt to do so
Ulysses Dragonblood
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #84
All Damocles Foundation related appearances: X-Force (1st series) #97, 83-84, 97
Powers: Deviant possessing superhuman strength, durability, and regenerative powers
Electryon
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #93
All Damocles Foundation appearances: X-Force (1st series) #97, 93
Powers: Eternal whose cosmically-augmented physiology grants him immortality, superhuman strength, endurance, near-indestructibility, and a focus on energy manipulation, allowing hm to levitate and focus cosmic energy through his ionically-charged mace
Astarte
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #93
All Damocles Foundation appearances: X-Force (1st series) #97, 93
Powers: Eternal whose cosmically-augmented physiology grants her immortality, superhuman strength, endurance, near-indestructibility, and a focus on bio-manipulation, allowing her to augment the powers of superhumans, influence the desires of men and bring them under her mental control
”Randy Lee Watson”
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #96
Last appearance: X-Force (1st series) #96 [shot]
All Damocles Foundation appearances: X-Force (1st series) #96
Powers: Deviant, it is unknown if he possessed any superhuman abilities besides his mutated appearance
Finn
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #96
Last appearance: X-Force (1st series) #96 [killed by a rampaging Gatherer]
All Damocles Foundation appearances: X-Force (1st series) #96
Powers: Deviant, it is unknown if he possessed any superhuman abilities besides his mutated appearance
Weller
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #96
Last appearance: X-Force (1st series) #96 [killed by a rampaging Gatherer]
All Damocles Foundation appearances: X-Force (1st series) #96
Powers: Deviant, it is unknown if he possessed any superhuman abilities besides his mutated appearance
Dr. Segismund A. Joshua
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #13
All Damocles Foundation appearances: X-Force (1st series) #79-80, 69, 79-80, 96-97
Powers: baseline human, geneticist
Note: The drastic change in appearance from Caucasian to Afro-American was never explained and is most likely an art error.
Dr. Ogada
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #69
All Damocles Foundation appearances: X-Force (1st series) #69
Powers: baseline human
Dr. Chandra
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #69
All Damocles Foundation appearances: X-Force (1st series) #69, 79, 84, 96-97
Powers: baseline human, bio-cyberneticist
Agent Briggs
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #77
All Damocles Foundation appearances: X-Force (1st series) #77, 86
Powers: baseline human, SHIELD agent
Agent Jordan Holiday
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #80
All Damocles Foundation appearances: X-Force (1st series) #80, 96
Powers: baseline human, SHIELD agent
Argos, the Hunter
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #83
Last appearance: X-Force (1st series) #97 [genetically devolved to a lizard]
All Damocles Foundation appearances: X-Force (1st series) #83-84, 97
Powers: Deviant equipped to scan the genetic profile of his targets and carries a cosmic lance that focuses energy into destructive bolts
Zona
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #84
Last appearance: X-Force (1st series) #97 [genetically devolved to a lizard]
All Damocles Foundation appearances: X-Force (1st series) #84, 97
Powers: Deviant able to produce a shock pulse to incapacitate others, become invisible and blend in with her surroundings
Stranglehold
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #84
Last appearance: X-Force (1st series) #97 [genetically devolved to a lizard]
All Damocles Foundation appearances: X-Force (1st series) #84, 97
Powers: Deviant possessing superhuman strength, a heavily-armored frame that renders him impervious to physical harm, and jet-assisted locomotion in his boots to launch him over the ground
Pyre
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #84
Last appearance: X-Force (1st series) #97 [genetically devolved to a lizard]
All Damocles Foundation appearances: X-Force (1st series) #84, 87
Powers: Deviant able to control the atmosphere around him in order to fly, ionize particles in order to create lightning bolts, and induce combustion for fiery blasts of energy
Marcelus
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #94
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #94 [petrified by Selene]
All Damocles Foundation appearances: X-Force (1st series) #94
Powers: Deviant, it is unknown if he possessed any superhuman abilities besides his mutated appearance
Veeg
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #97
All Damocles Foundation appearances: X-Force (1st series) #97
Powers: Deviant, it is unknown if he possesses any superhuman abilities besides his mutated appearance
(Former) Allies
Gryphon (Ekaterina Gryaznova)
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #67
Last appearance: X-Force (1st series) #82 [killed in an explosion]
All Damocles Foundation related appearances: X-Force (1st series) #68-69, 82
Powers: genetically engineered with cell samples from predatory animals, giving her augmented strength, speed, reflexes, razor sharp claws, and a biological armored skin
Arcadia DeVille
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #83
All Damocles Foundation related appearances: X-Force (1st series) #83-84, 97
Powers: bio-engineered with energy from a Celestial Golem, giving her the power to alter reality by accessing different quantum states for matter, achieving a wide variety of feats including teleportation, transmutation, concussive and deconstructive force discharges, etc.