Unable to control the influx of electronic signals following the manifestation of his mutant nature at age thirteen, Gareb Bashur’s parents isolated him, sending money and food so he could survive. However, as India’s telecommunications industry increased, so did the signals that Bashur received. He was saved from madness by Charles Xavier, who taught Bashur a measure of control. After learning of Bashur’s desire to control all information, Xavier broke contact. As Commcast, Bashur joined mercenaries Makeshift and Rive in forming the Executive Elite. Learning the secret of cloning, Bashur made copies of himself and his teammates, but a problem with the process ultimately prevented further duplication, leaving him one last ancillary body.
During the search for the will of the arms dealer Tolliver, the mercenary Nyko hired the Executive Elite to kill Deadpool. Bashur sent clones, but they failed and were killed. Later, Bashur declined an assignment to oppose Sabretooth, instead having him ambushed by the Silver Samurai. Bashur was considered by Xavier as a means of recovering lost computer files. Later still, Bashur was contacted by the V-Battalion’s Roger Aubrey to locate operative Dallas Riordan, who was lost in Latveria. Bashur ultimately reinvented himself as the Black Box, an armored font of knowledge for ne’er-do-wells seeking information. Employing a network of thousands of “Think Links” (paid information gatherers), Bashur operated under the corporate front of Infonet, Inc. When Deadpool sought to cure his deteriorating mental condition, he approached Bashur for help, not knowing Bashur was his old foe Commcast. Bashur brainwashed Deadpool and sent him to kill Cable, but Cable and the mutant technosmith Forge de-programmed Deadpool. Cable’s allies in X-Force went to confront Bashur, but discovered only an empty suit of armor.
Recently, Bashur sought the Dominus Objective, a computer hard-drive that, when linked to another system, processes all stored information and channels it to a recipient. Bashur hired the Cat (Shen Kuei) to steal it; however, the Cat was reluctant to accept until paid by Cable to take the assignment. Cable also secretly hired Deadpool and the mercenary B.A.D. Girls, Inc. to steal it in the unlikely event the Cat failed. Succeeding, the Cat delivered the drive to Bashur who interfaced with it, granting him control of all the information stored electronically in the world. Cable and Deadpool confronted Bashur, who attempted to “drown” them in a data stream; however, Cable’s telepathic powers allowed him to shrug off the assault. Tapping into Bashur’s powers, Cable revealed the future to him; Bashur then agreed to work for Cable, to help prepare mankind for what is to come.
