Zachary Jenkins

Zachary Jenkins co-hosts the podcast Battle of the Atom and is the former editor-in-chief of ComicsXF. Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside all this.

Entry 028 – Mercury

Art by Mark Brooks (Cover of New X-Men #24) Name: Cessily Kincaid Code Names: Mercury First Appearance: New Mutants #2 (August 2003) Powers: Liquid Metal Form Teams Affiliation: Hellions, New X-Men About One of the biggest challenges of being a teenager is trying to balance the person you are with the person others want you to be. Some of…

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Entry 027 – Sage

Art by FeydRautha81 Name: Unknown Code Names: Tessa, Sage First Appearance: X-Men #132 (April 1980) Powers: Telepathy, Compter-like Brain, Ability to Jump Start Mutant Powers Teams Affiliation: Hellfire Club, X-Men, Excalibur, Exiles About X-Men fans love continuity. It isn’t shocking that one of the most recommended comics podcasts is a couple just trying to X-Plain it (Jay and Miles…

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Entry 026 – Frenzy

Art by Rafa Sandoval, and Matthew Wilson Name: Joanna Cargill Code Names: Frenzy First Appearance: X-Factor #4 (1986) Powers: Strength, Stamina, and Durability Teams Affiliation: Alliance of Evil, Femizons, Acolytes, X-Men About One of the most constant trope of the X-Men, and really comics in general, is a villain turning over a new leaf and joining the heroes. From…

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Entry 025 – Dr. Nemesis

Name: James Nicola Bradley Code Names: Dr. Nemesis, Dr. Death First Appearance: Lightning Comics #6 (1941) Powers: Hyperevolved Intellect Teams Affiliation: Battle-Axis, X-Club, X-Force About There is something about science that appeals to me and I think it is the sense of discovery. Finding something new is an experience I have always yearned for. That sense of discovery was half…

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Entry 024 – Callisto

Name: Callisto Code Names: Callisto First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #169 (May ‘83) Powers: Heightened senses and reflexes Teams Affiliation: Morlocks, Excalibur About There is a certain strength in deciding to abandon the modern world. Shed the trappings of everyday life and form a new society free of the glares of the ”normal people” who mock you. It wouldn’t matter what you…

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Entry 023 – Marrow

Art by Jorge Molina Name: Sarah Code Names: Marrow First Appearance: X-Men: Prime (July ‘95) Powers: Can grow and project bones from her body Teams Affiliation: Morlocks, Gene Nation, X-Men, Weapon X, X-Force About The X-Men are built on second chances. When the original run was canceled with issue #66 it looked like the X-Men would be an…

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Entry 022 – Pete Wisdom

Art by Brian Hitch Name: Pete Wisdom Code Names: He jokingly had X-Force call him Professor W once First Appearance: Excalibur #86 (Feb â€˜95) Powers: Shoots “Hot Knives” from his Fingers Teams Affiliation: Excalibur, X-Force, MI-13 About One of the most common experiences in fandom is placing yourself in the stories. You would battle along with your favorite heroes,…

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Entry 021 – X-Man

Art by Simone Bianchi and Simone Peruzzi Name: Nathaniel Grey Code Names: X-Man First Appearance: X-Man #1 (Mar ‘95) Powers: Omega Level Psi-Abilities Teams Affiliation: New Mutants About When writing any story there is an old adage “Show Don’t Tell”. What it comes down to is that audiences should be able to form their own opinion of…

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Entry 020 – Colossus

Art by Lee Bermejo and Marte Gracia Name: Piotr Rasputin Code Names: Colossus First Appearance:Giant Sized X-Men #1 (Oct ‘75) Powers: Massive metal form Teams Affiliation: X-Men, Acolytes, Excalibur, Defenders, X-Force About Piotr Rasputin never wanted to be an X-Man. He was going to be happy using his steel form and enhanced strength to help out on…

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Entry 019 – Elixir

Name: Josh Foley Code Names: Elixir First Appearance: New Mutants #5 (Nov ’03) Powers: Able to control the bodily health in others Teams Affiliation: New Mutants, X-Men, X-Force, Reavers, Utopians About With great power, comes great responsibility. The most classic line in comics works because that sense of responsibility can be used to explore so many…

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Entry 018 – Omega Sentinel

Art by Chris Bachalo, Victor Olazaba, and Edgar Delgado Name: Karima Shapanadar Code Names: Omega Sentinel First Appearance: X-Men Unlimited #27 (June ’00) Powers: All the destruction of a Sentinel in a compact human form Teams Affiliation: Excalibur, X-Men, Acolytes, Marauders About There is a story told by philosophy professors called the Ship of Theseus….

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Entry 017 – Darwin

Art by Neil Edwards, Jay Leisten, and Matt Milla Name: Armando Muñoz Code Names: Darwin First Appearance: X-Men: Deadly Genesis #2 (Feb ’06) Powers: Reactive evolution Teams Affiliation: X-Men, X-Factor Investigations About “Mutation: it is the key to our evolution. It has enabled us to evolve from a single-celled organism into the dominant species on…

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Entry 016 – Cannonball

Art by Humberto Ramos and Edgar Delgado Name: Samuel Zachery Guthrie Code Names: Cannonball First Appearance: Marvel Graphic Novel #4: New Mutants (Nov ’82) Powers: Propels himself through air with explosive force, nigh invulnerable when blastin’ Teams Affiliation: New Mutants, X-Force, X-Men, Avengers About Responsibility is a tough concept for most kids to comprehend. They want…

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