The Press Gang are a group of fictional characters in the Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

 universe, who first appeared in Uncanny X-Men

Uncanny X-Men

Uncanny X-Men, first published as The X-Men, is the flagship Marvel Comics comic book series for the X-Men franchise. It is the mainstream continuity featuring the adventures of the eponymous group of mutant superheroes...

#235 (October 1988), and were created by Chris Claremont

Chris Claremont

Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...

.

The Press Gang are a group of mutant

Mutant (Marvel Comics)

In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...

 enforcers for the regime of Genosha

Genosha

Genosha is a fictional country that has appeared in numerous comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is an island nation that exists in Marvel's main shared universe, known as "Earth 616" in the Marvel Universe. The fictional nation served as an allegory for slavery and later for South...

, a fictional country in the Marvel Universe

Marvel Universe

The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...

 where mutants are enslaved

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

 by law, and many are genetically altered by the Genegineer

David Moreau

David Moreau, also known as the Genegineer, is a fictional character, a villain in the Marvel Universe. Working for the island nation of Genosha, he developed a mind control device which made mutant slavery possible.-Fictional character biography:...

 into Genoshan Mutates devoid of free will

Free will

"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...

 in order to serve Genosha's economic needs. The Press Gang are sent out to retrieve mutants who attempt to defect

Defection

In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...

 to other nations, as this action is not recognized by Genoshan law.

The Press Gang, apparently a branch of the Genoshan police force called the Magistrates

Magistrates (comics)

The Magistrates are the police force of the fictional nation of Genosha in the Marvel Comics Universe. They were created by Chris Claremont and debuted in Uncanny X-Men #235 .- Major members :* Chief Magistrate Tam Anderson* Havok...

, consists of three field operatives and one support operative. In Uncanny X-Men #270, Havok describes them as mutants working voluntarily for the government, rather than Mutates.

Members

• Hawkshaw
  Hawkshaw (comics)
  Hawkshaw is a fictional character, a mutant in the Marvel Comics Universe. His first appearance was in Uncanny X-Men #235.-Fictional character biography:...
  
  : The field leader of the Press Gang, he is able to track and locate not only mutants, but any living thing at great range http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/characters/showquestion.asp?fldAuto=545. Named after an old slang term for a detective
  Detective
  A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
  
  , Hawkshaw
  Hawkshaw the Detective
  Hawkshaw the Detective was a comic strip character featured in an eponymous cartoon serial by Gus Mager between 1913 and 1922 and again from 1931 to 1952...
  
  .

• Punchout
  Punchout (comics)
  Punchout is a fictional character, a mutant in the Marvel Comics Universe. Her first appearance was in Uncanny X-Men #235.-Fictional character biography:...
  
  : Punchout is the team's muscle. She has superhuman strength and durability on a par with Colossus
  Colossus (comics)
  Colossus is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Len Wein and illustrator Dave Cockrum, he first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1...
  
   in his armored state.

• Pipeline
  Pipeline (comics)
  Pipeline is a fictional character, a mutant in the Marvel Comics Universe. His first appearance was in Uncanny X-Men #235 .-Fictional character biography:...
  
  : The Press Gang's transport. Pipeline's power is a unique form of teleportation
  Teleportation
  Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
  
  , in which he can transform matter into information, transmit it through telephone or computer lines, and then reconstitute it once more. In most of his appearances, he has been shown to transport both people and equipment while travelling from Genosha, while only retrieving living persons when returning to Genosha, leaving weapons and vehicles, and even clothing, behind. According to Magneto
  Magneto (comics)
  Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
  
  : Dark Seduction #1, his real name is Cormick Grimshaw http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/characters/showquestion.asp?fldAuto=802.

• Wipeout
  Wipeout (comics)
  Wipeout is a fictional character, a mutant in the Marvel Comics Universe. His first appearance was in Uncanny X-Men #236.-Fictional character biography:...
  
  : Wipeout is able to selectively neutralize and restore the powers of other superhumans. In X-Factor
  X-Factor (comics)
  X-Factor is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is a spin-off of the popular X-Men franchise, featuring characters from X-Men stories. The series has been relaunched several times with different team rosters, most recently as X-Factor Investigations.X-Factor launched in...
  
  # 60, Wipeout describes his ability as not being limited to mutants, and he is able (albeit temporarily) to disrupt the functions of the quasi-living alien Ship
  Ship (comics)
  The fictional A.I. entity originally known as Ship has appeared in several incarnations in the Marvel Universe. At times controlled by both the X-Men and their enemies, the sentient Ship A.I. has been at the core of a Celestial starship, two space stations, and a techno-organic being.-Ancient...
  
  which X-Factor was using as their headquarters at the time. An elderly man, Wipeout usually remains on Genosha and waits for Pipeline to send mutants to him, although he is seen in the field on occasion (such as the aforementioned X-Factor #60).

External links

• The Press Gang's first appearance Uncanny X-Men #235 issue summary at UncannyXmen.net.