WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Strikeforce #5 by Tini Howard, Jacopo Camagni, Guru-EFX, and VC's Joe Sabino, on sale now
Strikeforce may still be making a name for themselves in the Marvel Universe, but they've already had to deal with some very complex problems. Blade, Winter Soldier, Spider-Woman and the team's other heroes are facing down a threat that's even more horrific than the Asgardian shape-shifters they've been dealing with.
While the villains Moonstone and Ghost might've shown a kinder side to themselves in the Thunderbolts, the two B-list villains have been hard at work trying to figure out how to bring people back to life. While the X-Men have their own ways of bringing back the dead, Moonstone and Ghost think the key to reviving the dead may be Strikeforce's Spectrum, Monica Rambeau, and their plans could have dire consequences if they work.
THUNDERBOLT REUNION
Moonstone and Ghost were both last seen working together as members of Baron Zemo's new group of Thunderbolts after Secret Empire. But things quickly fell apart for the Thunderbolts when Punisher teamed up with another group of street-level heroes. The pair only barely survived their encounter with the Punisher however, with both of them only surviving thanks to the intervention of other heroes before they can be shot down by the Punisher.
Despite the sour note that story ended on, the two villains are working together once again in Strikeforce #5 on the Aaru Project, where they've attacked Spectrum. Their experiments involve amplifying specific energy near Spectrum that allows her to see the electromagnetic life-force of people as they die. Spectrum is revealed to be able to see the light, which takes the apparent form of a ghostly specter. Moonstone's plan is to make it so that Spectrum can use her energy manipulation powers to sustain the E.M.F. forces of the recently deceased so that she can potentially restore them to life.
Moonstone even tries to get Spectrum to team up with her on the plan. Even though Angela and Blade both immediately thinking they're dealing with ghosts of some kind, Spectrum argues that it's just an aspect of light energy that she can try to manipulate. Spectrum may even have enough of a level of control to try and keep the energies from fading away, technically allowing her to work with the villains to start bringing people back to life. It's exactly what Moonstone and Ghost were hoping for, as they use the power to try and restore a room full of corpses through the activation of this aspect of Spectrum's powers.
A Ghost of a Chance
Considering their recent run-in with the Punisher, Moonstone and Ghost's sudden interest in reviving the dead makes a lot of sense. By working together, they even seem to have made progress with their audacious plan. Using Spectrum's powers, they could theoretically continue to work on the process until they figure out how to reverse any negative effects and simplify the process. Spectrum may even be willing to work with them if they can continue to save people. Before Moonstone's role in the experiment is revealed, Spectrum spends some time arguing with her allies Strikeforce over how this may not be an unnatural act but rather just a chance for Monica to be a hero and save more lives.
While it remains to be seen what the exact side-effects of Spectrum's powers on the resurrected are, two minor villains of the Marvel Universe may have just unlocked the ultimate trump card. While the X-Men have to rely on multiple mutants and impossibly comprehensive back-ups of minds to bring back the dead, these two villains may just need one hero to bring the dead back to the land of the living.