BIOGRAPHY - Page 11
After attending Charles Xavier’s funeral, Alex visited his brother is prison, the first time he had seen him since he had killed the Professor. He criticized his brother’s decisions and told him that he had rejected everything Charles had taught them. Cyclops, however, didn’t want to listen. Upon leaving the prison, Havok was approached by Captain America and Thor of the Avengers. The Captain had an interesting proposition. He intended to form a joint squad of Avengers and X-Men, to be known as the Unity Squad, and he wanted Havok to lead it.
Havok had his doubts but, while deciding the mutant, Avalanche launched a vicious attack on the street outside. Alex worked with the Avengers to take him down and help with the recovery.
Things escalated quickly from there. The Red Skull had stolen Charles Xavier’s brain and taken his vast psychic abilities for himself. With his own super powered S-Men, the mind controlled Rogue and Scarlet Witch, and his new abilities, the Skull drove New York into a murderous anti-mutant rampage, with Havok in the middle. Alex quickly adopted his new leadership role, directing Captain America, Thor and Wolverine to save civilians and take down the S-Men. In the heat of the battle, all his self-doubts evaporated. He even managed to talk down Captain America when he was succumbing to the mind control.
Havok’s first outing as leader of the Unity Squad was a crucible; Logan was taken down, Cap was lost in a hallucination and Thor succumbed to the Red Skull’s abilities. Together with the Scarlet Witch, Alex had to face down Thor, then the Red Skull himself. Unfortunately for Alex, while he thought he had been beating the Skull, he was actually beating Rogue. In the end, Captain America managed to drive the Red Skull off but the damage was done; the people of New York had been left scared by the horrors they had unleashed on each other. Alex made a rousing speech to the people of New York, guiding them to support each other and not blame themselves. [Uncanny Avengers (1st series) #1-4]
One of Alex’s first tests as leader came when he had to confront his nephew Cable and his new X-Force after they had apparently carried out a terrorist attack. Despite Captain America’s protests, Alex gave his family the benefit of the doubt, trying to talk instead of attacking. Unfortunately, Cable used that time to instead escape. Later, Havok brought Cable’s daughter, Hope, to try and learn Cable’s whereabouts, to no avail. [Cable and X-Force #1, 3]
Life as an Avenger took some adjustments for Alex. He had to keep the peace amongst his team, which was nothing new for him, but now he had to deal with media attention and public perception. Former Avengers Janet Van Dyne and Simon Williams, a.k.a. the Wasp and Wonder Man, were brought on board as the new P.R. team to help Alex with improving human mutant relations. Alex’s confidence had grown quickly and he expressed very strong views about how the team would be run. When Captain America suggested not including Rogue and Wanda in their upcoming press conference, due to their checkered pasts, Havok was adamant they would stand together.
The next day, the Unity Squad was finally unveiled to the public in a press conference. In his inaugural address, Alex made a heartfelt speech promoting inclusion and understanding. He encourage everyone to not look at each other as mutants and humans but as people. Unfortunately, his speech was interrupted by the Grim Reaper, who Rogue fought and then accidently killed in front of the gathered media. Thrown into a media storm, Alex had to deal with the difficult situation of placating S.H.I.E.L.D. and the press. Ultimately, he had to bench Rogue in order to clear her name, something she was not happy with. Despite all the tensions and drama, there was one bright spot; a romantic spark had started to blossom between he and Janet. [Uncanny Avengers (1st series) #5, 7]
Havok’s complex family came to haunt him in a number of ways. Firstly, his brother Scott had escaped from prison and founded a self-declared “mutant revolution.” More surprisingly, the original five X-Men, including a younger version of Scott, was brought into the present by the 
Beast. When Mystique and her gang started framing these original five, Alex’s Unity Squad were forced to investigate. His team intercepted the X-Men and Alex shared a surprisingly tender reunion with his time-displaced brother. When the groups went their separate ways, Alex felt happier for seeing his brother from a time when he was at his best. [All-New X-Men (1st series) #11-12, 14]
Continuing the family theme, Alex was given a tip off about Cable’s activities. He took Rogue and Captain America to intercept Hope Summers in the hopes of determining his nephew’s whereabouts. Hope, however, was prepared for their coming and mimicked the abilities of the Purple Girl and Martinique Wyngarde, Mastermind before their encounter. She used her abilities to force Havok and Captain America to voice their issues with each other and fight, escaping behind an illusion. Regardless, Havok’s team managed to determine X-Force’s location and launched an attack. While the rest of the team escaped, he managed to capture Cable.
Alex soon learned that Cable had been receiving visions of the future and that was why his team had been apparently carrying out terrorist attacks – they were actually trying to prevent it. The visions were also killing him and affecting his powers. Alex was torn as to whether he should release Cable when X-Force suddenly attacked, just as the man’s powers flared out of control. Thanks to Hope’s actions, Cable reined his powers in and Alex saw his opportunity to release Cable under the pretense that he fought his way out. [Cable and X-Force #8-14]
When Alex’s former girlfriend Polaris was recruited to lead Serval Industries’ corporate X-Factor team, he grew concerned. As Lorna had recently exhibited some unstable behavior, Alex doubted her ability to take care of herself and feared Serval was taking advantage of her. To learn the truth, he recruited Polaris’ half-brother, the Avenger Quicksilver, to infiltrate Serval’s team and keep an eye on Lorna. The two routinely met at a bar, where Quicksilver would relay his reports over games of pool. However, Quicksilver eventually grew tired of this arrangement and quit being Alex’s spy, leading to a heated argument between the two. [All-New X-Factor #3, 5, 7, 12]
Alex’s greatest test as leader yet came with the arrival of the Apocalypse Twins, Uriel and Eimin. The twins implemented a devious and intricate plan that resulted in the Unity Squad dividing over conflicting philosophical views. Havok desperately tried to keep the team together, trying to make them see that the twins were behind their problems, but to no avail. He remained with the Avengers, while the rest of the X-Men and Thor left. [Uncanny Avengers (1st series) #8-9]