BIOGRAPHY - Page 2
Things basically got back to normal after that, and as the team moved onwards, Val Cooper tried to introduce the concept of an X-Factor Danger Room to the team. No one was particularly enthused by the idea, especially after realizing the construction was probably overseen by the government's lowest bidder and cheapest materials. So, Guido secretly rigged the knob on the unbreakable outer door to fall off when Cooper attempted to open it... and the whole idea was dropped. [X-Factor (1st series) #78]
A few weeks later, X-Factor picked up an assignment protecting Marilyn Maycroft aka Shrew, a witness turning in state's evidence against her former cronies in the Hell's Belles. When the Belles tracked Shrew down to the hotel where she was being sequestered, Strong Guy and X-Factor had to fend them off. During the conflict, Guido was exposed to a deadly poison by the Belles' coordinator, Cyber, who used the antidote as a bargaining chip - if X-Factor didn't turn Shrew over to him within eight hours, Strong Guy would die. This was one of the first times Guido was put in a position where his strength couldn't save him, and that he could actually die.
Honestly scared for his life, Guido even began suggesting that they turn Marilyn over to Cyber in order to get a reliable cure, even after a government toxicologist produced an antidote that "should" cleanse his system of the poison. In order to get cooperation, Havok swallowed a vial full of the isolated poison, showing Guido that as team leader he was willing to put his own life in the same danger as Guido's. It was actually a trick, and Havok really only drank tap water, but the gesture was enough to marshal Strong Guy's courage and his trust in the team as a unit. X-Factor sprung back and managed to defeat and capture the Hell's Belles at the rendezvous for the proposed switch. [X-Factor (1st series) #80-81]
Next, X-Factor became involved in an immigration dispute between the U.S. government and a group of "X-Patriots" who had left Genosha before the recent uprising and were seeking asylum in America. Officially, Genosha was no longer acknowledged as a political flashpoint, and so 
immigration would not recognize the former Mutates petition for refugee status. While the higher-ups were working out the legal logistics of the situation, Strong Guy got acquainted with one of the X-Patriots, named Jo Beth aka Pirouette, and the two of them had a grand ol' time in the New York dance clubs. [X-Factor (1st series) #82-83]
Unfortunately, the X-Patriots situation had to be put on hold when Professor Xavier was shot by an assassin at a rally in Central Park. With the Mutates left, almost forgotten in the dramatic series of events that followed, their leader Prodigal staged a scene at a city hospital in order to reinforce their need for assistance. After dealing with a bounty hunter named Random, who was called in to deal with the X-Patriots, Havok and X-Factor secured clearance to escort the Genoshans back to the country they had fled, and demonstrate just how much better the situation there had become. Guido was even introduced to Jo Beth' s grandmother. [X-Factor (1st series) #88-89]
Shortly after returning to the States, X-Factor was called out in a battle against the demonic Charon, and his trio of tormented souls. While fighting the deranged ferryman one-on-one, Strong Guy realized that "Charon" was actually his long missing friend, Charlie Ronalds, whose hatred of mutants in general and Carosella in particular had so consumed him that he literally sold his soul to the devil. Guido tried to get through to Charlie, but he was so far gone that reasoning with him was impossible. In the end, Charon was condemned to the pits of Hell by his own benefactor, never to arise again. [X-Factor Annual #8]
While several other members of X-Factor were mourning the loss of their friend, Illyana Rasputin, Guido was suddenly contacted by Lila Cheney again for apparently the first time since before he had gone to Muir Island. Lila was pulling for Guido to come back with her on tour, acting as her personal bodyguard once again and seeing all the sights the universe had to offer. However, Strong Guy ended up declining her offer, demonstrating just how much he had grown as an individual ever since he joined X-Factor; he knew he had responsibilities to the team, and didn't want to leave while the group was under pressure. [X-Factor (1st series) #93]
A few days later, he personally escorted Wolfsbane to Muir Island, where she would be undergoing a risky set of procedures to undo the mutate bonding process that had been performed on her so many months ago. Rahne had asked him along because she, out of all of X-Factor, had recognized that Guido was in constant physical agony every day thanks to his powers, and saw him as a kindred spirit in the situation she was in. Guido still cracked wise and didn't confirm her suspicions out loud, but he was touched by her sensitivity to his condition. [X-Factor (1st series) #94]
Around this time Jamie Madrox, Guido's best friend and partner in practical jokes in X-Factor, discovered that he had contracted the Legacy Virus. For reasons of his own, Jamie kept his condition to himself until it was ultimately too late, and he died of the virus's effects. Jamie's evasiveness did nothing to assuage Carosella's guilt over not having done something to help his friend. Guido felt horrible for having missed the signs that something was seriously wrong with Jamie, and blamed himself for not being a better friend when it really counted. Unable to properly deal with his grief, Guido cracked one joke after the other, even during the memorial service, until Rahne snapped him out of it. [X-Factor (1st series) #100-102]
After he broke down in a fit of rage and tears when cleaning out Madrox's empty quarters, Guido decided it was time for a vacation. Bringing Wolfsbane along with him, Strong Guy took a short 
leave of absence to spend some time at his aunt and uncle's place in Rhinebeck, in order to brighten his own mood. And it worked, at least for a little while - Guido was the hometown hero in Rhinebeck, a local boy who had made it big, and his fan club lobbied constantly for his attention. Even better, the candy-striper he fell for back in the hospital, Mary Bradley, was back in town and agreed to have lunch with him. Unfortunately for Guido, though, it seemed that he looked back on their time together far more fondly than Mary did - she had grown up and found love with "normal" boys, and basically said she couldn't be bothered with him anymore. Guido was emotionally crushed by this, and Rahne did the best she could to help him deal with the hurt. [X-Factor Annual #9, X-Factor (1st series) #103-104]
On top of all this, Strong Guy began having health problems. It started with a tightness in his chest after he absorbed too much kinetic energy in a heavy demolition brawl with the Blob at Dulles International airport. During the battle, he not only had to absorb the impact of a fall from a great height, but also he took the brunt of a plane heading towards him at full speed.
The problem was only made worse when X-Factor were transported to Madripoor to help Guido’s former employer, Lila Cheney, against some dangerous aliens she had upset. In order to save Lila and his teammates, he absorbed the full force of an exploding bomb with devastating results: Strong Guy suffered a heart attack and could not be revived. [X-Factor (1st series) #107, 111]