PHALANX

 

PHALANX

 

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #305, October 1993 (prototypes); The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #306, November 1993 (Earth Phalanx)

History & Traits: The Phalanx are techno-organic beings created by infecting organic life forms (whether humanoid, animal, or plant) with the extraterrestrial Technarchy’s Transmode Virus. When the Technarchy feed on organic life-glow, they expose living matter to their Transmode Virus (which is part of their physiology) before consuming it. If all of the techno-organic matter is not consumed, it may survive after the Technarch moves on. Because Transmode-infected matter is highly contagious, infestations of techno-organic matter and beings may grow unchecked, often forming a collective "hive" mind known as the Phalanx.

On Earth, the Phalanx were created deliberately through artificial means. Following Warlock's death at the hands of Cameron Hodge during the events of “The X-Tinction Agenda”, the Genoshan government (desperate for funds after the collapse of their economic infrastructure due to the liberation of their Mutate population) sold some of his remains to a group of American scientists. These scientists wanted to study Warlock’s remains as the basis for the creation of a new breed of sentient “living Sentinels”. Upon being able to duplicate the Transmode Virus, the scientists tracked anti-mutant scientist Dr. Steven Lang to a convalescent home to recruit him. Being partially infected with the Transmode Virus, Lang’s involvement was meant for him to monitor and control the actions of the hundreds of Phalanx, needing his mind to act as an interface with the techno-organic collective intelligence. The Phalanx assimilate the sentience of its victims in a manner that unifies everyone infected by their Transmode Virus into a collective intelligence (a vast hive mind where every memory, viewpoint, and sensory experience could be sampled and revisited by any parts of the whole, maintaining constant and direct telepathic communication between all parties).

Lang created the earliest Phalanx prototypes, but they were inherently unstable. He created further Phalanx based on the genetic and cerebral engrams of dead associates of the X-Men, however their decayed genetic structure also proved too unstable to ensure the viability of Lang’s operation. His real success came when he recruited human volunteers, recruits were found among the radical fringe of groups such as the Friends of Humanity.

Visually, the Phalanx are not dissimilar from the Technarchy. They have similarly black bodies with yellow outlined sensors, cables and machine-like surface structures. The Phalanx are also able to change their shape and appearance, allowing them to disguise themselves. Unlike the Technarchy, they don't seem to be able to change their size while shapeshifting, or at least not as much. However, the Phalanx can compensate for that as they are able to infect and assimilate inorganic matter to increase their size or replace mass that they have lost during a fight. The Phalanx are also able to merge with each other and to separate again, as needed. This is something the Technarchy have never been shown to do and, given their aggressive nature, they probably wouldn't want to merge, even if they were capable of it. While the Phalanx are apparently not capable of traveling through hyperspace, some of them have been shown to teleport. A range limit has never been stated, though it's safe to assume that they can't teleport across inter-planetary distances.

With their hive mind, each Phalanx is equipped with a specific device or component in their bodies providing the link to that collective. Through this group mind, the Phalanx can share and distribute information. Whereas each Phalanx keeps the memories of their prior existence as an organic life-form, and they also display their original personality traits to a certain degree, they are unable to resist the will of collective. Only after the link to the hive mind is severed are they able to regain full individuality. As with the Technarchy, the Phalanx infect other beings with the Transmode Virus, though it's not to feed on them but to add them into their collective. For some unknown reason, though, the Phalanx have found themselves unable to assimilate mutants.

If left unchecked, the Phalanx continue to grow and assimilate organic life-forms into their collective until they reach critical mass. At that point, a base-program (from the Technarchy) buried deep within their cells is activated and takes over the collective. Unable to resist their new imperative, the Phalanx twine themselves into the Babel Spire, a huge transmission tower that sends a beacon call deep into space, to the Technarchy. When the call is received, they follow the transmission to its source and drain the entire planet of its energies, for they consider the Phalanx to be abominations that can't be allowed to continue to exist.

This base-program seems to act as a failsafe. The Technarchy do not want to lose the advantages that come along with their techno-organic status, and they certainly do not wish for other species to gain access to their powers and abilities. Therefore, they are alerted to larger groupings of Phalanx creatures before they become sufficiently large that they could become a serious danger to the Technarchy. Additionally, it seems to be an efficient way to improve the Technarchy's feeding process. Instead of having to hunt down and transform organic life-forms one by one, they happen upon entire planets that have already been partially transformed and are awaiting to have their energies being drained by them.