Entry 108 – Oya

Name: Idie Okonkwo Code Names: Oya First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #528 (Nov ’10) Powers: Temperature Control Teams Affiliation: X-Men About When I was a wee lad, my parents were a bit overprotective about the intersection of religion and magic. I wasn’t allowed to see Pocahontas because of the spiritual themes. My mother had a sit down with…

Read More

Entry 107 – Gladiator

Name: Kallark Code Names: Gladiator First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #107 (Oct’77) Powers: All of the ones Superman has but powered by his confidence and will Teams Affiliation: Shi’ar Imperial Guard, Annihilators About Beyond anything else, Superheroes are unified by willpower. It is the most important weapon in any hero’s arsenal. It is what gives Spider-Man to lift…

Read More

Entry 105 – Wolverine

Name: Logan, James Howlett Code Names: Wolverine, Weapon X First Appearance: Incredible Hulk #181 (Nov ’74) Powers: Enhanced senses, healing factor, claws Teams Affiliation: X-Men, Avengers, Alpha Flight, X-Force, Defenders, Fantastic Four, Weapon X About It’s almost a parody how much little boys want to be a cowboy. It isn’t founded in any sort of reality, it…

Read More

Entry 104 – Fantomelle & Culpepper

Name: N/A Code Names: Fantomelle & Culpepper First Appearance: Wolverines #2 (Jan ’15) Powers: Misdirection, External Nervous System/Fox Friend, Total Control Over Her Body’s Position In 6 Dimensions Teams Affiliation: N/A About One of the most omnipresent things to come out of superhero culture is merchandise. Whether it is the three-foot-tall stuffed Batman my dad had as a…

Read More

Entry 103 – Karma

Name: Xi’an Coy Mahn Code Names: Karma First Appearance: Marvel Team-Up #100 (Dec ’80) Powers: Mind Control Teams Affiliation: New Mutants, X-Men About My grandfather served in Vietnam. Like many people, he didn’t talk about it when he came back. Something about the horrific conflict stayed impressed on his soul throughout his entire life. It wasn’t until the…

Read More

Entry 102 – Quicksilver

Name: Pietro Maximoff Code Names: Quicksilver First Appearance: X-Men #4 (Mar ’64) Powers: Super Speed Teams Affiliation: The Brotherhood, The Avengers, X-Factor, Knights of Wundagore About There is an old tradition in superhero comics for villains to be redeemed and heroes to turn wicked. In the last few years, the Avengers membership has included Sabretooth and Doctor Doom while…

Read More

Entry 101 – Danger

Name: Danger Room Code Names: Danger First Appearance: Astonishing X-Men #7 (Jan ’05) Powers: Hard light projection Teams Affiliation: X-Men, X-Club, X-Factor About In the video game series Marathon, a precursor to Halo, the self-awareness of artificial intelligence is a common theme. The AI pushing for greater awareness first becomes melancholy, then angry, and finally jealous. In theory,…

Read More

Entry 100 – Professor X

Name: Charles Francis Xavier Code Names: Professor X First Appearance: X-Men #1 (September ‘63) Powers: Telepathy Team Affiliation: X-Men About When the X-Men were initially conceived all those years ago, it was about students at a school. For whatever reason, it only took seven issues for the original five X-Men to graduate. This left the series in…

Read More

Entry 098 – Archangel

Name: Warren Kenneth Worthington III Code Names: Angel, Archangel, Death First Appearance: X-Men #1 (Sept ‘63) Powers: Flight, razor-sharp flechettes, healing blood Team Affiliation: X-Men, Champions, Defenders, X-Factor, X-Force, Horsemen of Apocalypse About The original five X-Men are often criticized for telling a story of persecution and bigotry through the eyes of a group of WASP-y kids…

Read More

Entry 097 – Mister Sinister

Name: Nathanial Essex Code Names: Mister Sinister First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #221 (Sept ‘87) Powers: Telepathy, shapeshifting Team Affiliation: Marauders, Nasty Boys About There is a famous line in Jurassic Park, one that has lost some of its’ impact thanks to the internet, but one that still resonates. Dr. Ian Malcolm, looking at the horror that this…

Read More

Entry 096 – Synch

Name: Everett Thomas Code Names: Synch First Appearance: X-Men #36 (Sept ‘94) Powers: Synchronistic Aura Team Affiliation: Generation X About Here is a weird trick about superheroes, you always run into someone who’s special gift involves copying other’s powers. When viewed in a vacuum, this makes absolutely no sense. You have an ability that makes you dependent…

Read More