But danger... even death... is the price of Freedom Force's vigilance. And Freedom Force will pay it gladly. Because we are America's heroes... and we serve you all! 
Appearing in "Bang! You're Dead!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
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- Volstagg's children
- Unidentified child
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Antagonists:
- Unnamed prison guards
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- Mutant Liberation Front (First appearance)
- Wildside (Richard Gill) (First appearance)
- Tempo (Heather Tucker) (First appearance)
- Zero (First appearance)
- Reaper (Pantu Hurageb) (First appearance)(Shadow only)
- Thumbelina (Kristina Anderson) (First appearance)(Shadow only)
- Strobe (Juliana Worthing) (First appearance)(Shadow only)
- Forearm (Michael McCain) (First appearance)(Shadow only)
- Stryfe (First appearance)(Shadow only)
Other Characters:
- Speedball (Robbie Baldwin) (Mentioned)
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker) (Mentioned)
- Albany judge, lawyers, reporters and citizens
- Unnamed guards
- Odin (Mentioned)
- Hela (Mentioned)
- Thor (Mentioned)
- Mother Teresa (Mentioned)
- Mr. Phillips and other federal agents
- Cable (Cameo)(First appearance as Cable)
Races and Species:
- Cyborgs (Cameo)
Locations:
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- Tinkerer's workshop
- Unnamed federal prison
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- New York State Court of Appeals (First appearance)
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- Dark Hole
- Federal Research Facility (Destruction)
- Federal Research Facility
- Dark Hole
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- Negative Zone (Mentioned)
Items:
- Tinkerer's electronic bolas
- Death Sword (Mentioned)
- Rainbow Bridge (Mentioned)(Destroyed)
- Techno-Organic Virus (First appearance)(Unnamed)(Cameo)
Synopsis for "Bang! You're Dead!"
Continued from the previous issue...
Vulture confronts Tinkerer about him stealing the design for his wings, but Tinkerer claims that someone sent him the designs to free Vulture so Vulture would free Nitro and Nitro would explode, killing a bunch of people. Vulture agrees as long as Tinkerer comes along, and Tinkerer agrees. Rusty and Skids get attacked by police as they break out of prison and steal a truck, lamenting that humans don't appreciate what mutants do for them. The two confront Vulture and try to stop him from freeing Nitro, but fail. Nitro goes to self destruct, so Skids uses her deflect shield to contain the blast. The resulting explosion nearly kills Skids and prevents Nitro from reforming with his powers, killing him.
In Asgard, the New Mutants recover from their ordeal, but learn that they can't go home because the connection between Earth and Asgard is severed. On Earth, Rusty and Skids are kidnapped by Freedom Force for breaking out of prison. Meanwhile, a shadowy group called the Mutant Liberation Font attacks a government facility while being watched by a cyborg.
Notes
- This is the first issue of New Mutants drawn by Rob Liefeld. Under Liefeld, the New Mutants will evolve into the original X-Force.
- This is only the first brief appearance of the adult Cable, as it was later revealed that he was Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor's son returned from the future as an adult. He is formally introduced next issue.
- Stryfe and the Mutant Liberation Front debut. They are kept in the shadows for the most part until the next issue's full reveal.
- This cover is inspired by the first page of Amazing Spider-Man #2 by Steve Ditko. This issue's cover artists credit him in their signature box on the cover. That issue was the first appearance of the Vulture and the Tinkerer, both of whom appear in this issue.