BELASCO

 

BELASCO

Real Name: Belasco (full name unrevealed)

First Appearance: Ka-Zar The Savage (Vol. 1) #11, February 1982

Powers: A powerful Florentine alchemist and sorcerer, Belasco has various demonic features including red horns upon his forehead, a long, pointer tall, reddish skin, fangs, claws, and pointed ears. Belasco lost his right arm when it was servered, under circumstances yet to be revealed, by his own sword, which was forged by the Elder Gods.

Belasco was granted most of his power by the Elder God he serves. Among other feats, he can hurl bolts of mystical force, mesmerize victims, transform people into animals, and raise the dead under certain circumstances. His long studies of the black arts have given him an encyclopedic knowledge of spells that he can use. The Elder Gods also granted Belasco immortality and apparently invulnerability as well. Possibly the only means of killing him is his own sword, which was forged by the Elder Gods and was used to sever his right arm.

Belasco's powers are somehow linked to those of Magik (Illyana Rasputin). When they fought their climactic battle in Limbo, Magik took on a demonic form while simultaneously Belasco reverted to human form, losing most of his power and his invulnerability in the process. It is not known whether Belasco would lose his demonic form and powers whenever Magik takes on her demonic form. Belasco carries a sword forged by the Elder Gods which is capable of harming Belasco himself.

Belasco has considerable knowledge of much of the technology that the pre-cataclysmic Atlanteans found in Pangea.

Belasco was formerly master of the demonic dimension called Limbo. Time does not pass in a physical sense in Belasco's Limbo, and Magik aged seven years while she was there. However, one might spend years in Belasco's Limbo while no more than moments pass on Earth, due to the unknown temporal laws of the former place. The matter within Belasco's Limbo can be shaped and transformed by the thoughts and emotions of the sorcerer who is its master. Belasco's Limbo is populated by demons who serve its master.

N'ASTIRH

 

N'ASTIRH

Real Name: N'astirh

First Appearance: X-Factor (Vol. 1) #32, September 1988

Powers: N'astirh is a demon spawned in the pits of Limbo, an eternal dimension where stepping disks connect different points in space and time. It is distinct and separate from Immortus' Limbo.

He possesses extensive knowledge of black magic gained through his study of Belasco's principal book of sorcery. As such, he can skillfully manipulate mystical energy for a variety of effects. He could cast scrying pools to view distant events, animate and rearrange molecules structures, fire bolts of eldritch energy and cast containment fields, override the willpower of sentient beings, increase his size and strength, regenerate his injuries, summon forth evil within humans to transmogrify living beings into demonic or unnatural states, and fly with his own wings.

After being infected with the Transmode Virus, he became a being composed of malleable living circuitry. However, his magical prowess allowed him to harness it for his own purposes, changing into a powerful techno-organic being with bio-mechanical regenerative powers and the ability to infect others with the Transmode virus. He could shape-shift into any form he could imagine: He could disguise himself, grow to immense size, or mimic the function of any machine.

SOULSWORD

 

SOULSWORD

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #171, July 1983

Description: The Soulsword is a magical weapon created by Illyana Rasputin with her own life force while she was trapped in the dimension of Limbo. Though its appearance is that of an old-fashioned sword, the Soulsword is not really a weapon in the physical sense and the extent of its powers seem to depend on the user. When Illyana (and occasionally Shadowcat) wielded the sword, its chief ability was to disrupt magical spells and beings, quite often permanently. In the case of Illyana it was usually accompanied by an Eldritch armor of unknown origin covering Magik's left shoulder, chest, arm and eventually it would grow to cover more and more of her body with each use. The Soulsword can also release a non-supernatural being from a magical spell that it is under, though not necessarily every spell. Moreover, it is capable of physically injuring and even killing a supernatural being such as a demon or a magic-user.

Under normal circumstance the Soulsword doesn’t injure non-magical beings. Although shortly before and during Inferno Illyana – and in turn the sword – had grown so corrupted, that this changed. The one non-magical being the Soulsword could physically injure was Shadowcat, even when she was using her phasing power to become intangible. This is most likely connected to the fact that Kitty and Illyana shared an undefined bond that seemed to make Kitty the receptacle of her best friend’s magical powers whenever she was incapacitated or had renounced her magic. While Illyana feared accessing the sword’s full power, knowing that the use of even more magic would further corrupt her, the Soulsword remained so potent that to wield it seems to more or less guaranteed mastery over Limbo.

When Amanda Sefton took control of the blade as Magik II, she also used it to store souls, conjure teleportation discs - something Illyana never had to do, since teleportation was her mutant power - and conjure and channel spells. It is unknown, if the capabilities of the sword actually change with the user or whether Illyana also had access to these sides of the sword but didn’t want them or didn’t know how to access them. Since Illyana's resurrection, she's reclaimed the Soulsword and thus her title as Sorceress Supreme of Limbo. Since her possession by the Phoenix, Illyana's Soulsword took the appearance of the Blade of the Phoenix and additionally now has the ability to be used as a powerful weapon that can harm and kill as well as deflect attacks.

S'YM

 

S'YM

Real Name: S'ym

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #160, August 1982

Powers: Spawned in the pits of Limbo (an eternal dimension where stepping disks connect different points in space and time. It is distinct and separate from Immortus' Limbo), the demon known as S'ym was one of its most feared inhabitants and chief enforcer for Limbo's ruler, Belasco.

S'ym is an immensely powerful physical demon, possessing great strength (lifting up to 90 tons), endurance, and durability (He can resist molten magma and penetration from even Adamantium blades). His strength, combined with the nature of magic to defy science, allowing him to snap off Wolverine's Adamanium claws with ease. He is also resistant to psionic attacks and has sharp claws and fangs.

S'ym was infected with the Transmode virus by the Magus, developing into malleable living circuitry. He managed to exert a dominant influence over it in his system. This allowed him to become an independent techno-organic being similar to the Phalanx, immune to many kinds of magic due to his mixed nature of science and magic.

He was hyper-regenerative, able to restore himself to full size even after being reduced to atoms. S'ym could also infect other beings with the Transmode virus via physical contact to drain their life energy or take control of them as his slaves. He could drain the life energy from other Transmode infectees so long as his will was stronger than theirs. His Transmode infection allowed him to shape-shift into any form he could imagine: He could disguise himself, grow to immense size, or mimic the function of any machine. Some magic could prevent him from spreading the Transmode virus and Colossus' armored form proved immune. He was vulnerable to those able to psionically manipulate metal or machinery, as well as to Cable's unique touch.

SHADOWCAT

 

SHADOWCAT

Real Name: Katherine Pryde

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #129, January 1980

Powers: Shadowcat’s mutant ability is to become intangible at will, but not through altering the amount of mass in her body, like Vision and other density-shifters do.

Instead, her mutant power operates by producing a form of magnetic repulsion from within her body that causes her molecules to move away from and around other molecules, avoiding actual physical contact with other forms of matter. This allows her to move through solid objects and become untouchable for any kind of physical attack. Shadowcat is still capable of breathing normally in her phased state, but has to hold her breath when moving through a solid mass. She doesn't simply fall through the ground beneath her because she is actually supporting herself on the air molecules underneath her feet. By making use of this fact, Shadowcat can walk on air, running across open space or ascending into the sky as if she were climbing a staircase. Her phasing power can be conducted through anything she touches, allowing her to perform simple tasks like carry a bag or weapon while intangible or phase an entire group of people as a human chain holding hands. Finally, Shadowcat's power has a disruptive effect on the operation of electronic devices, interrupting the proper flow of energy. This causes her to scramble anything of an electronic nature, including computers, by phasing through them.

At times, Shadowcat has used a wide variety of weapons, especially after receiving a lifetime's worth of martial arts knowledge imprinted on her brain by Ogun. She has carried throwing stars, a katana, even a set of nunchaku which detached from the shoulder-pieces on her costume. During the Revolution, Kitty carried two fragmented pieces of Wolverine's claws from when Cyber broke them off during Logan's period without Adamantium. One was fashioned to a hilt as a handheld dagger, and the other was strapped on the backside of her glove.

Katherine “Kitty” (now “Kate”) Pryde is a genius intellect highly talented in computer science and the design and use of computer hardware. She is also a skilled pilot of various aircraft and certain advanced interstellar vehicles. She has training in ballet and modern dance, speaks fluent Russian, Japanese, English, as well as the royal and standard languages of the alien Shi'ar. She has moderate expertise in Hebrew, Gaelic, and German. Lastly, she possesses proficiency in the martial arts of Japanese ninja and samurai, and is advanced with edged weapons and nunchaku.

AMANDA SEFTON

AMANDA SEFTON

Real Name: Jimaine Szardos

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #98, April 1976

Powers: Formerly known as Daytripper, Amanda Sefton is a sorceress who followed the path of the Winding Way like her mother Margali Szardos. This meant that her sorcery waxed and waned over time, with periods of great power followed by periods of virtual powerlessness. A follower of the Way who intended to increase their powers would become stronger over time through a series of cycles, but their periods of being powerless would be longer and make them weaker, as the Way sought to make them retain their humility and respect for power as they progressed on the Way. Margali Szardos sought power, and so she went through periods where she outmatched the Sorcerer Supreme, to periods where she was reduced to a powerless beggar living on the streets. Amanda, who did not seek to increase her power as much as her mother, maintained a relatively consistent level of moderate power as a result.

Among the spells Amanda was known for are teleportation, flight, casting shields to defend against elemental or other attacks, the summoning of demons, and transmutation. She could change one set of clothing into another, or mystically change humans into demons and back again. She could sense and manipulate various esoteric forces, such as detecting changes in the timestream or registering psychic phenomena. As Magik, she wielded the Soulsword as Sorceress Supreme of Limbo, channeling her teleportation power through Limbo's stepping discs.

 

MAGIK

 

MAGIK

Real Name: Illyana Nikolaevna Rasputina

First Appearance: Giant-Size X-Men (Vol. 1) #1, May 1975 (As Illyana); The New Mutants (Vol. 1) #14, April 1984 (As Magik)

Powers: Magik’s mutant power enables her to manipulate the stepping discs of the demonic extra-dimensional realm of Limbo. The stepping discs are portals that allow transportation through time, space, and dimensions. They are a natural phenomenon in Limbo and crop up all over the landscape to connect distant points. Magik can summon a stepping disc regardless of her location. When Magik uses her teleportation portals, she passes through Limbo for a fraction of a second between jumps. Because Limbo is non-linear, Magik sometimes risks disrupting her sense of time when teleporting. She has control over short distances, but with longer distances (teleporting across continents, for example) she could end up displaced backwards in time from a few minutes to a week.

As part of the Phoenix Five, Illyana had the standard powers of cosmic fire enriching extreme telepathy and telekinesis which all Phoenix wielders have had since Jean Grey. She demonstrated a greater ability to manipulate the connection between Earth and Limbo created by her stepping discs, the biggest example being the prison she created inside of a volcano, a stable pocket of Limbo permanently tied to a single location on Earth, with transition seamlessly back and forth between the two.

Magik is also the Sorceress Supreme of Limbo's dimension and can manipulate mystical energy for a variety of effects. Her primary attribute is the Soulsword and the mystical armor that manifests on her body whenever she uses it. The sword can affect magical creatures or those possessed or enchanted by magic. It can disable spells with a touch of its blade and is lethal to all kinds of magical creatures. In the aftermath of the Phoenix Five, her powers reportedly enhanced, but whether this was due to the nano-Sentinels Dark Beast unleashed on the others or because of Dormammu's influence on Limbo is unclear. She demonstrated greater control over her stepping discs, summoning multiple discs simultaneously to connect to multiple different locations in Limbo, allowing specific beasts or phenomena from Limbo to tactically emerge as she intended. Her training with Dr. Strange gave her a greater control over magic in the Earthly plane. As a New Mutant, at least, Illyana's powers as Sorceress Supreme of Limbo were typically bound to Limbo, leaving her only the inherent capabilities of her Soulsword on Earth. So now she is capable of accessing the same sort of spells and magical power she had before, only now she's accessing it elsewhere from Limbo.

Additionally, she previously experienced an ongoing mystical corruption, causing her to become the Darkchilde. The transformation is a symbol of her corruption, as more dark magic settles into her body in place of her soul. This makes her progressively more powerful and less human. In her Darkchilde form, she manifested mystical armor whenever she summoned her powers, then slowly but progressively turning into a demonic form.

COLOSSUS

 

COLOSSUS

Real Name: Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin

First Appearance: Giant Size X-Men (Vol. 1) #1, May 1975

Powers: Colossus’ mutant ability is to transmute himself into steel at will. His body is naturally comprised of an exotic configuration of carbon molecules, giving him enhanced strength and durability even in his regular human form. Through an act of will, he can send a burst of bio-energy surging through his entire body, reconstructing his unique molecular structure into an organic steel-like substance, granting him superhuman strength and a high degree of resistance to physical harm. In his armored form, his height and mass are increased greatly and he has no need to eat, drink or breathe largely due to the bio-energy in his system running on a self-perpetuating loop to keep him constantly energized.

Initially, Colossus possessed only about Superhuman Class 70 strength. But after being seriously injured by the Marauders, he was paralyzed in his armored state for months. By the time he regained his mobility, his strength level had increased significantly to Superhuman Class 100, but he could not revert back to his human state without intense concentration. Eventually, passing through the Siege Perilous restored his transformation ability while retaining his new strength level. He can’t partially or selectively convert parts of his body into steel, he is either entirely converted or not. When Colossus transforms, his skin, bones, muscles, hair, and even his eyes turn to organic steel, making them capable of deflecting .45 caliber bullets. He can withstand temperatures from -390° to 12,000° Fahrenheit. It is theorized that somewhere above the latter temperature, his armored body would begin to melt. Under regular Earth conditions, his armored form can’t rust. Colossus’s speed and endurance are also heightened in his armored form.

At one point, Colossus was selected as the new avatar of Cyttorak and gained the power of the Juggernaut as a result. He remained in his armored state throughout the period of his possession by Cyttorak. His strength exceeded Class 100 levels, and he possessed substantially increased invulnerability and tolerance for pain. Piotr also had superhuman speed, able to run at over 600 miles per hour. When active, the power of Cyttorak crackled around him and could magically manifest the armor of Juggernaut or instantly reverse any injuries he suffered. When unleashing the power of the Juggernaut to a greater degree, Colossus began physically growing and transforming into a demonic state. His possession was eventually undone by his sister, Magik, in Limbo.

He was once empowered by the Phoenix Force as one of its hosts, giving him significant telepathic and telekinetic abilities, powers of molecular manipulation and control over life and evolution, and access to cosmic energies in the form of a fiery bird of prey. After operating as one of the Phoenix Five, Piotr's powers were left in a disrupted state in the aftermath. In his case, this he couldn't always control his transfiguration into organic steel. He tended to shift uncontrollably from flesh to metal, and sometimes portions of his body change while others do not. As part of X-Force, Forge and Doctor Nemesis created a chest-mounted regulator on his costume that stabilized his condition and allowed him to trigger his conversion manually. Apparently, the real source of the power disruption was a power instability due to nano-Sentinels and has been cured since.

Eventually, Colossus was transformed into War, the Horseman of Apocalypse, increasing his metallic strength and durability, and allowing him to manipulate the liquid metal of his body to extend his reach or morph coils or other shapes.

Colossus is a talented artist adept in sketching, painting, and drawing.

MIKHAIL RASPUTIN

 

MIKHAIL RASPUTIN

Real Name: Mikhail Nikolievitch Rasputin

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #285, February 1992

Powers: Mikhail Rasputin was born with the mutant power to manipulate all manner of energy. He can access existing sources of energy and wield them as if they were his own.

Examples of this include when Charles Xavier created a telepathic psi-link with Callisto, Mikhail forcibly imposed himself on the link to perceive the same memories Xavier did from Callisto's mind. He overrode Jean Grey's telekinetic abilities to gather the X-Men and psionically cast them out of the Morlock Tunnels. He also harnessed the energy-based abilities of other Morlocks to produce a teleportation beam, incinerating discharges, etc. He could also manipulate the void portal that connected Earth to the other-dimensional realm he was banished to for a decade, opening or closing the rift, manipulating its energies to allow safe passage, and so on. He similarly gained control over the transfer effect between Earth and the dimension called The Hill. Mikhail can direct various energy effects through his body, indicating that his power allowed him to biologically replicate the energy signatures he was exposed to, generating them from within through his own mutant power. He is capable of retaining new energy signatures and effects for extended periods of time, potentially permanently after his first exposure.

Mikhail's most frequent use of his energy manipulation power is matter control, the ability to directly influence matter on a molecular level, transmuting it into different states and shapes. He once manipulated Iceman's body extensively, changing him from a human covered in an icy shell into water, solid ice, shattering him into pieces, and then reassembling them back into human form. He also forcibly fused a young cyclist into a tree, mingling their molecules and effectively killing the boy in the process. He can presumably alter the state of any matter from solid, liquid, gas and back again. He also appears capable of separating matter into smaller components and then reassembling them, but Mikhail's power seems to require an existing massive structure to work with.

Mikhail Rasputin was a colonel in the Soviet space program and a cosmonaut trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft.