Wildside was one of the founding members of the terrorist organization known as the Mutant Liberation Front. One of their first missions under the leadership of Stryfe was to liberate the incarcerated New Mutants members Rusty and Skids. They broke them out of prison and the pair joined the MLF out of confusion (and, as later evidence showed, neural implants kept them there). Wildside continued to be a mainstay in the team’s ventures, including fighting Wolverine, Sunfire, X-Factor and other heroes. Under the leadership of Cable the New Mutants became the paramilitary organization known as X-Force, and began to be more aggressive in their campaigns. In one such mission X-Force discovers a hidden MLF base and, while fighting Wildside, Forearm, Reaper and other members of the team, nearly lose their lives when Stryfe orders the destruction of the base. Later, Garrison Kane stumbles upon Wildside, Forearm, and Sumo in the Canadian mountains and, after a brief scuffle, follows them through their teleportation portal, where he is tortured. After a series of supposedly unconnected art thefts (all of which are related to Apocalypse, the MLF approach Mister Sinister and propose a trade. In exchange for a genetic matrix (none other than the Legacy Virus which Stryfe owned, Sinister would hand over the captive Cyclops and Jean Grey. These events begin the X-Cutioner’s Song crossover. In the end, all of the MLF members are taken into custody.
Creation
Wildside was created by Louise Simonson and Rob Liefeld in 1990 and first appeared in New Mutants # 86.
Reignfire’s Leadership
Reignfire decides to restart the MLF and breaks Wildside, Reaper, Forearm, and Tempo out of prison and gives them their first mission: kill Henry Peter Gyrich. The MLF also picks up new members Locus and Moonstar. Their assassination attempt is foiled by X-Force. Locus and Sunspot become lost and Feral defects to the MLF after having a heated discussion with Gyrich. The team leaves and is taught teamwork by Moonstar, as, at the time, their ranks are once again down to four, Moonstar, Wildside, Forearm, and Feral. A few months later Reignfire begins to hunt down his followers, taking Wildside and Forearm out first. All would have been lost if not for X-Force and Locus teleporting in to stop the madman. Next the MLF, with more backup, travel to Muir Island where they mean to steal the Legacy Virus data from Moira MacTaggert. While there, they learn about the Xavier Protocols and decide to try and steal that. If not for the covert efforts of Moonstar, the mission would have been a success, but instead the team teleports away.
Wildside’s Leadership
In their last appearance, with Wildside as the leader, the MLF once again is trying to steal data on the Legacy Virus, this time from a government institution called the Wakeman Center, who is trying to manufacture their own strain of the disease. The team consists of Wildside, Dainelle Moonstar, Locus and Forearm. Rounding out the group is ‘Dragoness’, a woman with a bio-electric sting and romantic feelings towards Wildside. They infiltrate the building and take the scientists hostage. Wildside confronts Danielle over her use of and insistence upon non-lethal methods, kicking a motionless security guard Dani had stunned. He and Dragoness desire a little blood, Forearm sticks up for Danielle, something Wildside notices has happened before. Forces of Operation: Zero Tolerance surround the building. Locus urges the group to split, but she is struck by Wildside. Angered and convinced Wildside is slipping into madness, she leaves, stranding the rest of the MLF. Once again through the sabotaging efforts of Moonstar, X-Force is let in the building to try and stop them. X-Force enters undercover as reporters, with the seeming intent of agreeing to Wildside’s broadcast of the Wakeman Center’s operations. Their identity is uncovered and a fight breaks out. With Wildside’s powers, X-Force is temporarily subdued. He decides to start killing hostages. Dani stuns him with a psychic arrow to the head. Dragoness is restrained by Forearm and the remnants of the group look to Dani for leadership. She reveals to the group she had been an undercover agent for SHIELD meant to infiltrate the organization and feed the government information. However, three of the scientists reveal themselves to be Prime Sentinels and begin to attack. The two groups pool their resources to try and survive, but only X-Force, with Moonstar and Forearm in tow, manage to escape. The remaining members of the MLF are captured by operatives of Operation: Zero Tolerance.
Weapon X
When he surfaced next, Wildside had been one of the many mutants captured by the revamped Weapon X Project and placed in their mutant concentration camps. The administration came to several mutants, himself and his former teammate Reaper included, and offered them an opportunity to join the Program in exchange for their lives. The two terrorists gladly jumped at an opportunity to cause mayhem again and accepted, with their mission being to heighten anti-mutant sentiments. However, their tenure did not last long. Both men received upgrades from the Program and Wildside’s included techno-organic claws which could be extended from his fingertips, as well as mental conditioning. The two were dispatched to take care of Cable and his new organization called the Underground, and were easily defeated. In an attempt to discover more information on Weapon X, Cable attempted to do a telepathic probe. However, the Program had installed mental firewalls in the minds of their operatives and Cable’s effort caused the two to become brain dead. Yet he survived somehow, and in New Avengers #18 he was listed as depowered from the events of M-Day, where 90% of the world’s mutant population was stripped of their mutant genome by the Scarlet Witch.
Mothervine
Wildside and other mutants were repowered by the Mothervine. He later rejoined the reformed Mutant Liberation Front, now led by Hope Summers.
Powers
Wildside’s powers include the power to psychically disrupt an individuals sense of reality. However he was ‘ enhanced ‘ by Weapon X like all operatives and gained the abilites to extend claws from his fingernails, through psychic means.