MAVERICK
Real Name: Christoph Nord
First Appearance: X-Men (Vol. 2) #5, February 1992
Powers: Maverick was born with the mutant power to absorb and disperse kinetic energy. His body is capable of harmlessly displacing any physical impact up to a certain level which struck his body, protecting him from any potential injury. As one of the original members of the Weapon X Program, Maverick was given an age-suppression factor that has kept him young and vital decades past his prime. His mutant powers went into dormancy at some point prior to the modern day, but after he was infected with the Legacy Virus, it went into remission while reactivating his powers in a new and enhanced form. Maverick was now capable not only of absorbing impact, but of re-channeling that kinetic energy as molecular activity. Each time he was struck, Maverick began storing up that finite supply of energy to be redistributed in other ways. He could project thermo-concussive blasts from his hands or stimulate increased levels of atomic motion on contact, melting solid objects. He could also channel bursts of kinetic force along his fists, dramatically increasing the impact of his blows.
After being skewered through the chest by Sabretooth, Maverick was repaired and once again altered by the Weapon X Program. It is unclear how much (if any) of his previous powers he still possesses, as none of his kinetic abilities have been referenced directly since he became Agent Zero. In any case, he gained powers and weapons designed for covert activities and especially for hunting his former teammates, Wolverine and Sabretooth. The program genetically altered his metabolism so that he no longer produces any discernable scent. He can also fire corrosive force blasts from his hands, concussion bolts that cause physical damage and also carry biological acid to his target, causing further damage to whatever the bolts strike by dissolving the material structure. This corrosive is specially-designed to counteract the effect of healing factors, accelerating its effects to compensate for regeneration.
His original battle armor supplied increased resistance to damage, self-sealing components to protect against gas, toxins, and a greater level of harm, infrared sights, wire-guided tasers, a kinetic amplifier to boost the energy supplied by impacts to his mutant powers, and storage for various explosives and tech.
As Agent Zero, he wore a special costume that refracts light waves to coat him in darkness and make him appear to vanish when in shadows, and is made of Vibranium weave that absorbs and disperses force directed against him (evidence that his own mutant powers are no longer active as of M-Day). Among the weapons he carries are an Adamantium hunting knife, grenades, plasma blasters, and projectile handguns with optional Adamantium rounds.
Maverick is a deadly hand-to-hand combatant, a precision marksman skilled in the use of almost any firearm, and an expert in both covert operations and demolitions. He also has vast experience with computers and communications equipment.
1 comment:
Him, Logan, Creed, John Wraith, and Silver Fox were all teammates in their Team X/Weapon X days.
Later it came down to just the first three. Their encounter against Arkady Russovich proved to be final nail in the group’s coffin.
Also, to clarify, precognition is NOT part of his power set. It’s been mentioned a lot in the ‘90s X-Men Cards, but never within the comics.
The Skybox/Fleer card companies asked Marvel for a write-up of information on the characters at the time, and Marvel provided it. I don't know what the lead time is for producing trading cards, but if they were planned to release at the same time as the comics, Marvel had to be giving them "future information" so that they seemed current instead of out-of-date when they reached the stores.
So a new character like Maverick was probably still being developed at the point Marvel told Skybox what he would be like. At some point after communicating with Skybox but before Maverick's comic debut, plans changed and he went from a precog to an energy absorber. Similarly, plans may have existed at some point for Warren Ellis to codename Meggan "Tapestry". Those plans ultimately didn't happen in the comics, but they were part of the plans Fleer was made aware of. The trading card companies basically got the "Beta testing" versions of the final products.
It's like how "official movie adaptation" novels or comics may differ from the actual movie. An early draft of the script was sent over to the publisher to work from, then the director tweaked the movie more before release, but after the novel was already in production.
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