Template:Featured Articles/30-2007

Collateral Damage: July 24, 2004. Mistra's quest to recapture its former operative Cable took a frightening new turn when a retrieval team attacked him at Columbia University. In an effort to force him to surrender himself, the team targeted innocent civilians, the very people Mistra had been created to protect. Thirty-six people - mostly students, plus a camera crew who had been filming on campus - were killed. Six Mistra agents also died. Many more were injured, despite the efforts of Nathan, Amanda Sefton and Dr. Stephen Strange to try and save them. Mistra left empty-handed, but only due to a desperate powers intervention by Manuel de la Rocha. The event dominated the media for months, and sparked a resurgence in the mutant debate. Various individuals pored over the footage, trying to identify the participants. Fortunately for those involved, what footage there was tended to be blurry and damaged. Conspiracy theories abounded. A memorial was built on the site of the parking lot where the incident took place, and the Columbia Massacre is marked by a yearly commemorative service.