Members: Crucible, Mist Mistress, Paralyzer, Quill, Think Tank
The Resistants were
originally a team of superpowered mutants who worked as mercenaries who were
originally organized by Magneto. The Mutant Force, as they were later known,
aided Magneto in kidnapping the mutant known as Mister One and in battling
Captain America. But the group failed to defeat Captain America, and Magneto
discarded them, considering them worthless.
The Force was discovered by another mutant, the Mandrill, who gave them the name “Mutant Force” and used them as agents in attacking a U.S. Army Force base and in raiding a gold supply. But the Mutant Force was captured by the Defenders. To avoid a prison term, the Mutant Force agreed to work for the U.S. government, who pitted them against the Hulk. Again, they were unsuccessful.
The Mutant Force later went to work for the subversive organization called the Secret Empire. Led by another Secret Empire operative, ex-Colonel Robert “Buzz” Baxter, now known as Mad-Dog, the Mutant Force attacked the Defenders at the wedding of one of their members, Baxter’s ex-wife Patsy Walker. Defeated by the Defenders, Mad-Dog and the Mutant Force were taken into custody by SHIELD. But the Secret Empire released Mad-Dog and the Mutant Force, who both then aided the Empire’s new leader, Professor Power, in his attempt to launch a satellite that would trigger a major nuclear war. The Defenders managed to thwart the scheme with the aid of SHIELD, and Mad-Dog and the Mutant Force were again captured.
The Mutant Force, perhaps as one of a series of intricate plans engineered by the Red Skull, or perhaps on their own, escaped yet again. With Professor Power dead at the hands of John Walker, they decided (perhaps with the help of an unrevealed mastermind such as the Red Skull or on their own) to oppose the Mutant Registration Act, an Act of Congress that forced mutants to register their abilities with the federal government, and organized themselves as the Resistants. Based in Mesmero’s old hideout in Death Valley, they rescued a number of mutants who were unwilling to register their powers, including Mentallo, who was renamed Think-Tank. They defeated Captain America (John Walker, now the USAgent) and Battlestar. A later attempt to rescue Quicksilver from the U.S. government turned into a disaster when they were ambushed by Walker and the Freedom Force, and several Resistants were badly injured or killed. The group was captured and their current situation is unknown.