SUBLIME

 

SUBLIME

Real Name: Sublime

First Appearance: New X-Men Annual 2001 (Vol. 1) #1, September 2001

Powers: Sublime is a microscopic sentient bacterium which arose during the first manifestation of life on Earth. With the rise of multi-cellular life forms, Sublime was able to infect and house itself in the bodies of larger host organisms. Sublime can propagate itself and separate into distinct quantities which can be disseminated over a wide area. Like all bacteria, Sublime replicates via binary fission, with a single cell dividing into two duplicate cells. It can control this geometric progression, as when it transformed one group of cells into an aerosol form. Sublime typically maintains a specific host body through which it directly interacts with other macro-organisms. Sublime can influence host organisms he inhabits in small quantities, nudging their behavior. It's unclear what the requirements are for Sublime to fully take over a host -- whether it's merely a matter of concentration, or if a certain quantity of Sublime bacteria must be inside the host for a certain period of time. Even when a human host is killed, Sublime can assume control over a new host, re-writing their DNA to match that of any previous host. By replicating and containing itself in the aerosol drug Hypercortisone-D (aka "Kick"), Sublime could be administered to mutants to boost their powers for a time, creating an addictive relationship where the mutant repeatedly exposed themselves to Sublime, increasing his influence over them.

It took a human host in Dr. John Sublime, a scientist employed in the Weapon X project and eventually heading the parent Weapon Plus Project. Sublime also used a fortune from his host’s successful pharmaceutical company to create the TransSpecies Movement. Disguised as New Age pop psychology, the TransSpecies Movement advocated the idea that mutantkind was the next step in human evolution, but normal humans need not be left behind. Although John Sublime openly denounced "extremist" followers, he also secretly used the TransSpecies Movement to promote the kidnapping of mutants and harvesting their organs and genes for genetic transplants to humans who wished to be mutants.

The U-Men are the militant branch of the TransSpecies Movement, which also serves as the public face of both them and John Sublime. The U-Men have symbolically encased themselves in environmental suits, claiming they will not return to the regular world until their desire to become mutants is fulfilled. The U-Men engage in extreme measures to achieve their dream, including black market organ harvesting and tissue grafts from captured mutants. As John Sublime, it penned a best-selling book entitled “The 3rd Species” outlining the U-Men’s philosophy.