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Quote1 I see now that the Purifiers were wrong. It was never just the mutants. It was all of them. The super folk. Ungodly idols. They kept meddling with unearthly forces. They brought this upon us. The devil is here. What can an ordinary man do to save humanity at a time like this? Quote2
Jonathan Standish

Appearing in "Before the Devil Knows We're Dead (Chapter One)"

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Synopsis for "Before the Devil Knows We're Dead (Chapter One)"

A man strapped with explosives takes his own life and the lives of many others in an airport. Later on, while the world goes crazy as a result of the Worthy's destruction, Archangel shows Wolverine the airport footage and suspects that the man was with the Purifiers since he yelled out "Purify!" before killing himself, but there were no mutants present. Then he shows him a video of a young superhero being held hostage and thinks it may be a public execution.

Fantomex and Psylocke crash a party for New York's wealthiest and approach Benedict Ryan, a well-known TV personality with secret ties to the Purifiers. But before they can question him on the superhero boy's whereabouts, Ryan jumps off the building, preferring to die rather than be touched by mutants. Regardless, Fantomex sends E.V.A. to catch his fall.

While questioning him, he claims that the devil has come to Earth because of the superhumans and refuses to tell them anything. However, he decides to talk when Psylocke threatens to probe his mind with a psychic blade and the idea of having his mind contaminated frightens him. He starts by telling them that the person coordinating things is a man named Jonathan Standish.

Watching the Worthy's destruction unfold on TV, Standish thinks that the devil has come because of the superheroes, not just mutants, and wants to take his own life. But he believes God still has work for him and his group of Purifiers and wants to send a message by killing the superhero boy.

At an abandoned military base in Baltimore, E.V.A. emerges from the water, distracting the Purifiers and giving X-Force the chance to get the drop on them. After breaking in, the team kills the Purifiers until only one remains. Fantomex tells Wolverine that the boy is nowhere to be found. So, Wolverine orders the last Purifier to talk. He tells them that Standish's people are a part of a splinter group so he has no idea where the boy is.

Meanwhile, Standish records a live video imploring people to take their lives and the lives of their loved ones to save themselves from the devil and his minions, the superhumans. When he finishes his speech, he kills the boy.

Solicit Synopsis

FEAR ITSELF TIE-IN

As armageddon hits the Marvel world in the events of FEAR ITSELF terror grips the planet. An extreme faction of the mutant hate group The Purifiers believes that the end of the world has come, that the devil is here for humanity and it is up to them to “save” as many human souls as they can before he strikes. Can X-Force stop their drive for worldwide suicide? And what, exactly, is a mutant kill crew afraid of?

Notes

This series takes place between Uncanny X-Force #4 and Uncanny X-Force #5

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