Magnum Force (Earth-616)

Magnum Force
Name	Magnum Force
Aliases	Magnum Shells
Members
Leader(s)	Moses Magnum
Current Member(s)	possibly Matuscek
Affiliation and Identity
Allies	Silverclaw
Enemies	Avengers, Triathlon
Origin and Status
Reality	Earth-616
Base of Operations	Evangeline, near Martinique, Caribbean Sea
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Kurt Busiek, George Pérez
First	Avengers (Vol. 3) #8 (July, 1998)
First	Avengers (Vol. 3) #8 (July, 1998)

History

The Magnum Force was the name given by superhuman criminal and weapons manufacturer Moses Magnum to the personal army of mercenaries he used after being defeated when trying to invade Wakanda. Moses Magnum also used the words Magnum Force to name his own superpower and as his personal alias at several points, including while leading this army.

Being a renowned developer of advanced weaponry and technology, Moses Magnum outfitted his troops with advanced weapons including high-powered fans, chokc-blasts, radiation-proof wrappings and ultrasonic weapons. Some of the technology provided, such as the fast-deploying energy cage Powerprison 170 and the Power-Podium 310 to control other technologies and communicate via holograms, was also available for sale, possibly through Moses Magnum's company Magnum Munitions. A number of troops in Magnum Force were outfitted with a thick combat armor that gave them unspecified capabilities beyond extra protection; those troops were called Magnum Shells, thou this term was also used to talk about all of Moses Magnum's army.

At that point, Moses Magnum's earthquake-causing superpowers had been altered by his disappointed benefactor Apocalypse, so that Moses Magnum immediately and uncontrolably caused earthquakes whenever he was standing on solid ground. Thus, Magnum moved his base of operation to a boat - the floating resort Evangeline in the Caribbean Sea, near Martinique, known because there was no need to take her to any harbor, where he prepared a plan to recover control over his superpowers, then cause a massacre that would satisfy Apocalypse. He heard of a Rand-Meachum-designed experimental seismic cannon he expected could be used on him to alter his biology again, and prepared a plan so that Magnum Force could steal it while it was being transshipped in the John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City. The plan included causing a ruckus in the airport to attract attention while a smaller team stole the plane with the cannon. Due to his state, Moses Magnum himself could not join the attack personally, as he would cause an earthquake in the airport that may damage the loot. Foreseeing that the superhero team Avengers would appear, Moses Magnum outfitted his men with weapons that would nullify each Avengers' advantage. They did not know that independent superhero Triathlon had been tracking the Magnum Force for a time and discovered about their plan to steal the cannon, hoping to stop them in the Airport.

Armed Magnum Force men smuggled into a passenger airplane destined for New York in South American country Costa Verde, where security was less strict, then hijacked the flight online One of the passengers was Costa Verdean superhuman Silverclaw (Maria de Guadalupe Santiago), who confronted the Magnum Force, but the Magnum Force threatened to kill the passengers lest she cooperated with them; she agreed as long as they do not harm any innocent, which they did because the attack on the airport was merely a distraction for the other team to steal the cannon.

Magnum Shell armors.

In the airport, the Magnum Force bursted out of the airplane and shot the buildings with energy rifles, while superpowered Silverclaw prevented them from targetting civilians. This attracted the attention of the Avengers (Captain America, Firestar, Hawkeye, Justice and the Scarlet Witch), as their butler Jarvis was in the terminal waiting to receive an acquaintance. The Avengers were immediately captured by the Powerprison and Moses Magnum appeared as a hologram to sign his work and to claim that he will use this success against the Avengers as marketing for his weapons sale. The cage, and Moses Magnum's speech, were both stopped by Triathlon, who joined the fight at that point. The battle continued without a clear winner, then Triathlon had a chance to tell the Avengers that this was a mere distraction while the Magnum Force was stealing the cannon. At that point, one of Magnum's men was already in control of the cannon and threatened to use it against the Avengers - but then two other Avengers, Iron Man and Thor, arrived. The Magnum Force's strategy in that case was to demolish the buildings with the cannon so as to keep the Avengers busy while the Magnum Force retreated, and they did, hijacking the plane with the cannon. They failed to notice, thou, that Triathlon was stowawaying in it. They retreated to the Evangeline, where they delivered the cannon to Moses Magnum and remained onboard, in case they were needed as security.

After Magnum Force escaped, Silverclaw had a chance to explain herself to the Avengers, and joined them in the search of the cannon. Then, Triathlon managed to contact the Avengers to reveal where was Magnum and ask them for help. The Avengers infiltrated the Evangeline and found Magnum, being treated with the cannon by a woman named Matuscek. Magnum confronted the Avengers, first calling the Magnum Shells; but this time, in closer quarters, without innocents to protect, and with Triathlon and Silverclaw in their side, the Avengers overpowered the Shells. Moses Magnum, his powers restored and increased, fought the Avengers himself. The Avengers took the fight to Martinique, where Moses Magnum's powers created a crevice that swallowed him.

Moses Magnum survived working in criminal activities with common minions that were no longer referred to as Magnum Force. He came to lead a criminal organization called Kigali Clan; its relationship to the Magnum Force, if any, is unrevealed.

Paraphernalia

Weapons

By using Moses Magnum-provided technology, the Magnum Force claim to have the best equipment and training.

Transportation

Hijacked commercial planes, Evangeline

Notes

• Marvel Atlas #2, Costa Verde's entry, says that the Magnum Force used the passengers in the plane as hostages against the Avengers; but Avengers (Vol. 3) #8 explicitly states that the Magnum Force did not use the hostages because they didn't really want to stop the Avengers.

See Also

• 1 appearance(s) of Magnum Force (Earth-616)
• 1 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Magnum Force (Earth-616)
• 3 image(s) of Magnum Force (Earth-616)
• 1 member(s) of Magnum Force (Earth-616)