BIOGRAPHY - Page 2
The Blob was incarcerated again for a time before receiving an offer to join the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, led by Mystique. The shape-changer posed as Blob’s lawyer and gave him new ideas on how to use his powers for mass-shifting. She told Blob that Brotherhood membership was his for the taking, but escaping from prison would be the final test. Over a period of several days, Blob expanded his gravity field like never before. Through concentration, he eventually created a gravity well so strong that his prison cell imploded inwards. Blob was unharmed, but the structure surrounding him was destroyed and he easily escaped from prison to meet up with his new confederates. [X-Men (1st series) #140]
Blob was the only member of the old guard in this new Brotherhood as he joined Mystique, her lover Destiny and two more mutant criminals named Pyro and Avalanche. Through her secret identity working at the Pentagon, Mystique had much to provide the Brotherhood in terms of planning, intelligence and advanced technology. Still, Blob was abrasive and cocky thanks to his experience and new mass-shifting abilities, and the precognitive Destiny warned Mystique that Blob was questioning her leadership. Raven managed to keep him in line by force of personality, but the petulant Blob was clearly only following orders when it suited him. 
The new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants were set to make their introduction to the world by attacking the U.S. Senate and assassinating Senator Robert Kelly, an outspoken advocate of the government forming new policies to deal with “the mutant problem.” The Brotherhood busted into a hearing where Drs. Charles Xavier and Moira MacTaggert were set to give testimony, and the X-Men were also among the audience. Blob wasn’t impressed by these new X-Men, although he 
was more willing to tough out Colossus’ punches than risk Wolverine’s claws tearing his blubbery hide. Once the X-Men reasoned out that Blob was more vulnerable off the ground, they turned him into a useful projectile against Avalanche, and soon all of the Brotherhood was captured except for Mystique, their plans foiled. [X-Men (1st series) #141-142]
Mystique was loyal to her teammates and planned an escape from Riker’s Island with her foster daughter Rogue, the Brotherhood’s last member. Their planning got the attention of the Avengers, however, and so Earth’s Mightiest Heroes were on-site waiting for the Brotherhood when they broke free of their cells. Blob’s old foe the Beast was among the Avengers, as was the synthezoid Vision, who even managed to hurt Dukes by phasing into his chest and partially solidifying. The Brotherhood simply weren’t ready for a prolonged fight, and all the members were recaptured except Mystique and Rogue. Blob was knocked into a pit filled with water and Avalanche’s pulverized matter, making a quicksand that even he couldn’t gain purchase on. [Avengers Annual #10]
A similar escape attempt also failed weeks later, in part due to Blob’s bad attitude and failure to work with a team under Mystique’s orders. Destiny was freed this time, but the other three members of the Brotherhood were returned to custody by Rom, Spaceknight. [Rom #31]
In time, Mystique arranged to free Blob, Pyro and Avalanche. Rogue’s power to absorb the powers and memories of others on contact was out of control, and she left the Brotherhood to seek aid from Professor X and the X-Men. Mystique was furious and wanted her daughter back, so the Brotherhood set an ambush for the X-Men in Manhattan while Raven infiltrated the mansion back in Westchester. Blob proved to be a treacherous and dishonorable opponent when he caught Nightcrawler’s girlfriend Amanda and threatened to kill her if the elf didn’t show himself. Even when Nightcrawler appeared, Blob refused to let her go as he promised. Still, the X-Men got 
the upper hand and Blob was accidentally buried again by a burst of Avalanche’s power. Back at the mansion, Mystique did not kill Charles Xavier (at Rogue’s request), but she used him as leverage to holographically blackmail the X-Men into letting her Brotherhood go. The Brotherhood walked, and Xavier lived. Ironically, Mystique reinforced Blob’s loyalty towards her by being more honorable than he was in the same situation. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #177-178]
Due to his stints in prison and recruitment into the Brotherhood, Blob lost track of his old friend Unus. Tragically, Gunther’s force field problems had returned, and it was nearly too late before Fred learned of his predicament. Unus’ field was so strong it was now repelling food, the ground beneath his feet, even the air from his lungs. It finally gave out as Unus collapsed into Blob’s 
arms, apparently dead. Fred Dukes went on an emotional rampage through New York, lashing out over the loss of his one real friend. Spider-Man and the Black Cat fought with him, but the battle only distracted Blob from his grief for so long. Eventually, he just gave up and crumbled at the Times Square intersection, overwhelmed by his loss. [Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man (1st series) #91]
Blob soon returned to the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in time for Mystique’s surprising new vision for the team. Seeing the growth of anti-mutant sentiment in the country, Mystique chose to offer the Brotherhood’s services to Valerie Cooper of the U.S. government. As “Freedom Force,” the Brotherhood would become officially-licensed federal officers, with pardons contingent on success. To prove their worth, Blob and Freedom Force’s first mission was to capture his old boss, Magneto, for trial before the world court. Magneto had surprisingly allied himself with the X-Men in recent weeks, making it business and pleasure to arrest him at the Holocaust Memorial. Blob had a poor showing against Nightcrawler, once the elf teleported him to the top of the Washington Monument, but the mission was ultimately a success. Freedom Force was here to stay. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #199]
The trial of Magneto in Paris was interrupted by a terrorist attack, and Magneto fled with the help of the X-Men. As a result, the X-Men were wanted for questioning, and were an inch away from being international fugitives. Gleeful over the change in circumstances, Blob, Pyro and Avalanche took their new members Spiral and Spider-Woman to go arrest the X-Men without clearance from Mystique. The X-Men were local heroes visiting in San Francisco, though, which prompted 
showdown with the local authorities. Blob tried to exercise his federal authority, but he could produce no warrant to satisfy the LAPD. And, with the Brotherhood still technically wanted felons whose charges were under federal review, Freedom Force found they had little ground to stand on and were forced to leave empty-handed. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #206]
Freedom Force was next assigned to locate the Navy fugitive mutant Rusty Collins, whom Destiny pinpointed as having a connection to the mutant hunters X-Factor. Blob wanted to just stomp the dirty humans, but Mystique insisted they play it by the book. If they proved Collins was tied to X-Factor, then they could take down the mutant hunters for harboring a known fugitive. The truth was X-Factor were actually the original X-Men posing as mutant hunters to rescue mutants in need. A confrontation in Central Park got violent when anti-mutant crowds attacked the mutant 
federal officers to defend the “human” bounty hunters who operated outside the law. The fighting led them into the Morlock Tunnels on the onset of the Mutant Massacre, and Destiny urgently pressed her team to abandon the mission before they got caught up in the Marauders’ slaughter. Afterwards, Freedom Force examined X-Factor’s books and realized Warren Worthington III, the public mutant Angel, was secretly backing the mutant hunters. They put two-and-two together and leaked the story to the press to undermine their old foes. [X-Factor (1st series) #8-10]
Freedom Force’s next mission proved very satisfying. A disgruntled former Avenger gave testimony of the team performing illegal acts, convincing enough for the Commission on Superhuman Activities to issue a warrant for the arrest of both the East and West Coast branches. Blob and Freedom Force interrupted a baseball game between the two rosters, and their gloating attitude pushed the Avengers into fighting back. Blob had a rare moment of vulnerability when the Wasp set off her bio-sting in his ear, throwing off his balance. Still, he served his role as the team’s damage sponge well, weathering attacks by Iron Man, Hercules and finally Wonder Man before he eventually went down. The Avengers were captured and, while they eventually escaped and proved their innocence, it still counted as a victory for Freedom Force, which boosted their egos and their standing with their federal liaisons. [Avengers Annual #15]
Being at the beck and call of the Commission had its draw backs. Val Cooper ordered three new members onto Freedom Force, mutant veterans who turned vigilante and now had their own sentences to work off. Blob was critical of the old man Stonewall, who “couldn’t be knocked down,” a power like his own. Blob found his limits the hard way when he gave Stonewall a shove and fell backwards himself instead. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #223] The Commission also instructed Freedom Force 
to put the new officially-sanctioned Captain America through his paces. Blob, Pyro and Avalanche enjoyed knocking around the relatively green John Walker for his resemblance to their old foe. It was NOT all in good fun, and the new Cap gave Freedom Force a wide berth in the mess hall after that. [Captain America (1st series) #333-334]