PESTILENCE
Real Name: Captain F.R. Crozier
Group Affiliation: None
First Appearance: (Cameo): Alpha Flight #35 (Real): Alpha Flight #36
Creators: Bill Mantlo & David Ross

        Captain F.R. Crozier was doctor and chief science officer on the expedition of one Sir John Franklin to the high arctic. Franklin's two ships ended up frozen in the arctic ice. Taking half the crew, Franklin went for help. He did not return.

        With supplies runing out, Crozier mounted an expedition south with the rest of the crew, but privately he despaired of making it. Due to that despair, he used the ship's medical supplies to create an ace in the hole: a potion that, when combined with the artic cold, would place him in suspended animation. Late one night, he downed it. What he didn't count upon was the respect of his crew. The crew buried their captain deep in the permafrost. Without the warmth of spring sunshine, he would never come out of his coma-like state.

        Pestilence remained in suspended animation for many years until spirits were ordered by Talisman to con Shaman into going to his island. Shaman needed a "place of power" to serve as a birthing place for Snowbird's child, and Talisman wanted to humiliate her dad. [Talisman was at the time suffering from extremely bad characterization. - C] Once the birth took place, Pestilence was able to possess the child and gained superhuman control over the forces of decay. Alpha Flight fought him until he ran away.

        After tracking Pestilence down, Alpha fought him again. The battle continued until Pestilence realized that the child's "innate purity" was corrupting HIM. He then took control of the Sasquatch-shaped Snowbird. Realizing his plan, Vindicator killed Snowbird a split-second too late to stop her from gutting Pestilence. Free of the child's body, Pestilence's spirit vanished.

        It then grabbed control of Snowbird's dead body. He attacked Alpha just after Snowbird's funeral, and was met by Walter Langkowski, who was once again animating Box. Langkowski forced Pestilence out of Snowbird's corpse with a jolt of electricity from the robot's power supply. Vindicator then managed to toss Shaman's medical pouch in front of Pestilence's "ghost." Being pure spirit, Pestilience was sucked into the pouch, never to return. [I hope. :) -C]

        Pestilence was able to control the forces of decay. As examples, he was able to make Box rust, aged Aurora, and sped up a disease in Northstar.

        [COMPILER'S NOTES: Interestingly enough, Pestilence is based upon a real person. Captain FRM Crozier was actually second-in-command of Sir John Franklin's ill-fated last expedition to the Arctic. In command of the ship Terror, Crozier tried to lead his men south when Franklin's delegation did not return. All of the men perished trying to reach the Hudson Bay country. Scientists now blame lead poisoning from food tins for the deaths; the poisoning meant that no-one had the strength necessary to reach safety.]