{{Villain|
image=[[Image:Pestilence.jpg]]
|character_name=Pestilence
|real_name=Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier
|debut=Alpha Flight #36 vol 1
|affiliations=Non Known
|past_affiliations=British Royal Navy, Sir John Franklin
|status=Banished
|aliases=F.R. Crozier
|relatives=None Known
|height=5'8"
|weight=131 lbs.
|hair=White
|}}

==History==

In the year 1848, F.R.Crozier signed on with the famed explorer Sir John Franklin who was attempting to find the fabled Northwest Passage. They were six months into the voyage, when their ships ''Terror'' and ''Erebus'' became trapped in ice. Franklin and his crew set out to search for aid but Crozier never saw them again. With men dying around him and the ship rapidly running out of stores, Crozier and his crew decided to set out themselves to try and find civilization. After many days of travelling with their food running out, Crozier came to the conclusion that the only way to save himself was to place himself in a death-like sleep and wait for the summer sun to awaken him. To this end, he prepared himself an elixir. Drinking it, he fell into a sleep, but his men, instead of leaving him, decided to bury him out of respect. They interred him beneath the arctic waste, the elixir's effects leaving him fully conscious of his surroundings for over one hundred and fifty years. During this time, he became familiar with the workings of death. His mind developed to the point where he had control over the forces of decay and death.

Years later, when [[Alpha Flight]] member [[Snowbird]] was reaching the end of her pregnancy, [[Shaman]] enlisted the help of [[Dr. Strange|Dr. Stephen Strange]] to search out a special place of power to enable the birth of Snowbird's child. Unknown to them, [[Talisman]] had guided them to Pestilence's resting place in an attempt to belittle her father and show the rest of Alpha Flight that Shaman was no longer of use to them. She believed that as the Binder of Spirits, she could control the malevolent spirit she had sensed beneath the ground. When Alpha Flight arrived, and the birthing process began, Pestilence sent strange [[leeches]] to feed on the [[Thompson Baby|baby's]] life force. When Alpha attempted to interfere, they were attacked by manifestations of the forces of decay. The child's life force re-animated Pestilence's undead form, but the child lived on within him. While Alpha were fighting for their lives, Talsiman attempted to take control of Pestilence, part of her plan, but she found that because Pestilence had never really died, she had no control over him. Pestilence attacked Talisman and pulled the [[Talismans Coronet|coronet of enchantment]] from her head. The coronet had been corrupting her, but was then rendered inoperative. [[Vindicator II|Heather Hudson]] managed to extricate herself from a swarm of flies and attacked Pestilence as the rest of Alpha Flight managed to extricate themselves from their own traps. [[Puck I|Puck]], who had fallen through the ice, swam beneath Pestilence and with Heather's help, forced him into the freezing water. Alpha used this time to take stock and treat the injured. Before they had a chance to solve too many problems, Pestilence returned with a manifestation of the [[Great Beasts]]. A long protracted battle took place and eventually, Shaman donned the coronet of enchantment and became the new [[Talisman II|Talisman]]. As the Beasts were only manifestations, he banished them and turned Snowbird, (in her white Sasquatch form) against Pestilence. Pestilence escaped by decaying the ice beneath his feet and rebuilding it above himself. Snowbird swore to find him to rescue her child.[footnote=1]%2$s[/footnote]

Some time later, Alpha Flight returned to their [[Tamarind Island]] base from the [[New Life Clinic]], where [[Box I|Roger Bochs]] had been undergoing treatment for the bends. They found a message from Shaman and Snowbird presented in the form of spirits who told Alpha that Pestilence had been traced to the town of [[Burial Butte]]. When Alpha arrived, they found the population dead from some kind of plague and Snowbird's husband [[Thompson Doug|Doug Thompson]] on the point of death. He told them that Shaman and Snowbird had gone to confront Pestilence. Alpha traced Pestilence to a mine and made their way towards him, but Pestilence placed obstacles in their way. Alpha managed to reach Shaman and Snowbird. A battle began and Snowbird, in her Sasquatch form, attacked Pestilence. He took control of her and commanded her to destroy his body. Heather Hudson realised that the spirit of Snowbird's child was corrupting Pestilence and if Snowbird destroyed his body, his spirit would be set loose on the world. To prevent this, Heather killed Snowbird, but not in time to prevent her from destroying Pestilence's body and releasing his spirit.

Alpha Flight returned home with the bodies of Snowbird, Doug Thompson and their child. After the funerals and after deep discussion with the [[Northern Gods]], all three of their spirits were welcomed into the God's realm. That night, Snowbird's white Sasquatch form broke free from its grave, animated by the spirit of Pestilence. He attempted to attack Alpha in their headquarters, but was confronted by the Box robot, controlled by the spirit of the newly returned [[Sasquatch I|Walter Langkowski]]. While Alpha watched, a titanic struggle took place. Heather Hudson asked Langkowski to contain Pestilence while she ran upstairs to get Shaman's [[Shaman's Pouch|medicine pouch]]. When she returned, Langkowski channeled a large electrical current through the Sasquatch form. This forced Pestilence's spirit from the Sasquatch form. While it was searching for a new host, Heather threw the pouch, dragging the spirit into the void contained within.[footnote=2]%2$s[/footnote]

==Powers/Abilities==
Pestilence commands the absolute control over death and decay and can emplore them as a means to attack. He also possesses all the power that would have gone to a child conceived of mortal and immortal. Where the innocent babe would have embodied the life of the land, his hate corrupted his power so that he embody it?s death

'''Absorption:''' Feeding on death and decay can make him stronger; as he sucked the death out of Northstar as at the time he was dying of a disease and reduced Northstar?s life.

'''Age Acceleration:''' With a touch Pestilence can age a person to an elderly person soon to die of old age. He nearly killed [[Shaman]] with this ability

'''Coal Creatures:''' Coal is composed of deceased organic material, and with this Pestilence can create and control an army of coal monsters.

'''Decay:''' With a thought, Pestilence can instantly decay an object. Such as he turned permafrost into a ooze that was capable of holding [[Northstar]] as well as a rock [[Box I|Roger Bochs]] picked up immediately immobilizing him as his metal became covered in rust.

'''Great Beasts:''' As the [[Great Beasts]] implore death and decay upon mankind, Pestilence can summon the Great Beasts from the [[Realm of the Beasts]] and can command them to do his bidding.

'''Illusions:''' Pestilence can cast illusions that he dreads from the doubts of a persons mind

'''Life-Devouring Leeches:''' Agents summoned by Pestilence upon touching them the person immediately becomes completely covered in millions of maggots or they can send forth billions of flies. They are also intangible allowing them to be immune from physical attacks.

'''Plague:''' Pestilence can command dieses at his disposal and even sent forth an army of rats carrying a conjured disease killing all the inhabitants of [[Burial Butte]]. The plaque was said to be incurable

'''Possession:''' If his body is destroyed his soul can take control of another body traveling across the land with his unslayable soul. He can even possess deceased bodies and reanimate them.
==The Historical Francis Crozier==
The actual [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Crozier Francis Crozier] was born in Ireland in 1796 and served in the Royal Navy for 38 years. He had served on several previous Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, and was made a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society for his studies of astronomy and magnetism in Antarctica.

==Footnotes==

1. Alpha Flight #36-38 vol 1
2. Alpha Flight #44-45 vol 1