Universe
Marvel Universe

Real Name
Francis (surname name unrevealed)

Aliases
"Frankie," the A-Man, the Attending

Identity
Secret

Citizenship
Canada

Place of Birth
Unrevealed

First Appearance
Deadpool # 14 (1998)

The man known only as Francis was a longtime government operative that underwent cybernetic enhancement by Doctor Killebrew in Canada's Weapon X program. Dubbed the Workshop, the facility was the place where Weapon X rejects would be sent so Doctor Killebrew could perform his sadistic experiments on them. Wade Wilson, who would later became known as Deadpool, was one of these people that Killebrew took great pleasure in experimenting on. Francis was feared by many of the inmates due to his poor treatment of them. However Wilson eventually got enough courage to undermine his authority by calling him insulting names in front of everybody. While he would be horribly punished by Francis later on, the inmates adored Wilson as his remarks to Francis gave them a voice. More importantly however it also gave them hope. Francis did not like how his authority had been undermined in front of the inmates and reported to Doctor Killebrew about the situation. Killebrew told Francis that Wilson was untouchable unless he said otherwise. Francis would have to find some other way to put the fear back in the inmates. He took Worm, one of the few friends Wilson made in the compound, and strapped him to a torture device. He then told Wilson, in front of all of the inmates, that unless he started showing him some respect his friends would be the ones to pay the price for Wilson’s insubordination. Unsure of what to do, Worm reminded Wilson of the benefits his intolerance brought to the inmates. Wilson once again insulted Francis and Worm was tortured to near death as a result. To ease his suffering, Wilson snapped Worm’s neck. Francis then took Wilson to Doctor Killebrew’s laboratory where Killebrew told Francis that he had permission to kill Wilson.

Francis used one of Killebrew’s devices to rip Wilson’s heart out. However as Francis and Killebrew left the laboratory, Wilson’s healing factor began to kick in, much to his surprise, and restored him to life. Taking the name Deadpool, Wilson knocked some guards unconscious, took their guns and went to find Francis. He found him once again ordering the inmates by telling them the new rules in the facility. When Francis saw that Wilson was alive once again, he immediately attacked him. Wilson merely shot him a few times and apparently killed him. The inmate then escaped from the facility.

Years later, Francis was found to have somehow survived and assumed the identity of Ajax. He began to hunt down and kill many of the surviving members of the Weapon X project. He located Doctor Killebrew in the Swiss Alps and told him to lure Deadpool to him. At first refusing, Killebrew was tortured by Ajax before Killebrew told him that his computer had the frequency of Deadpool’s teleportation belt. Ajax activated the teleported and brought Deadpool to the Alps where Ajax quickly sucker-punched him off a cliff, killing him once again. Deadpool was greeted by Death and several of the former inmates of the workshop. They told him that since Deadpool came back once from the dead to kill Francis he was now obligated by the oath he made those many years ago until he came through on his end of the bargain. Death restored him back to life and he went back to rescue Doctor Killebrew, who told him that he knew a way to defeat Ajax. They sought shelter in the home of a young German lady named Ilaney Brükner. In the meantime Ajax returned to Killebrew’s cabin to discover that he was missing. Realizing that Deadpool was still alive he went out in search of him. He found him at Ilaney’s home and used his super speed to get there. Deadpool used Ilaney’s shotgun to create an avalanche behind Ajax while Ilaney and Killebrew escaped. Ilaney was reluctantly dragged into the confrontation as her home and belongings were destroyed by the avalanche.

While taking a rest from escaping Doctor Killebrew revealed to Deadpool that he lied about the fact that he knew how to defeat Ajax. Deadpool attacked him but was stopped by Ilaney, who hit Deadpool with a log. At that moment Ajax reappeared and the battle commenced once again. Deadpool was badly beaten but Doctor Killebrew sneaked up behind Ajax and doused his face with gasoline before setting it on fire. He did this as a way to break the cycle of violence that he started so many years ago. Ajax took his revenge by spinning Killebrew around so fast that he was shredded to pieces. Deadpool and Ilaney took the opportunity to escape but it was only a brief respite. Ajax caught up to Deadpool once again but fell victim to a trap laid by the mercenary by slipping on a sheet of ice and hitting his head on a rock. This managed to expose his armors circuitry as Deadpool plunged both of them into the lake. Despite his best efforts to break free, Ajax was killed when Deadpool snapped his neck.