9. Banshee: coerced operative, then ally

9. Banshee: coerced operative, then ally Banshee needs a separate label in any account of Factor Three. He attacks the X-Men while working with Ogre in X-Men #28, but the issue reveals that he is being forced into service by an explosive headband. The distinction changes the meaning of that opening battle. Banshee has dangerous sonic abilities, yet he does not have the freedom to decide how the organization uses him. Defeating Ogre and disabling the headband gives him that freedom back. His actions afterward establish where he stands. In #35, Banshee investigates Factor Three’s European base on his own. His sonic probing reveals that a mountain is hollow, but the defenses overwhelm him. He nevertheless manages to send the X-Men a warning before he is taken prisoner again. That investigation makes him part of the effort to uncover the organization, rather than a willing member awaiting orders. In #39, the freed Banshee joins the final battle. His sonic attack breaks the disguise concealing Mutant Master’s alien form, exposing the deception behind the leader’s promises. Across these appearances, his relationship to Factor Three moves through coercion, resistance and direct assistance against it. Listing him beside the willing conspirators without that explanation would miss the most important fact about his place in the story. His powers help launch the threat in #28 because someone else controls his choices. By the finale, he is using them against the people who took those choices away.