DARK BEAST

 

DARK BEAST

Real Name: Henry Philip McCoy

First Appearance: X-Men: Alpha (Vol. 1) #1, February 1995

Powers: The Dark Beast is a mutant born with abnormally large hands and feet and exceptional physical prowess. He possessed superhuman strength (roughly Class 2), agility, reflexes, dexterity, and natural acrobatic skills. He was omni-dexterous, capable of writing legibly with either hand or either foot. Upon furthering his mutation, he came to possess a significantly altered physiology. His body was covered with thick, intense blue-black/spiky gray fur, he had fangs, claws on his fingers and toes, a sloping posture, and arms slightly longer than a normal man's. His strength and agility were increased, as were his senses to a small degree, and he developed a powerful healing factor that enabled him to survive an accurate hail of gunfire. The Dark Beast also began producing a mildly intoxicating pheromone at all times, not enough to actually manipulate women against their will, but sufficient to qualify as a mild aphrodisiac.

*The Dark Beast is the Earth-295 (Age of Apocalypse) counterpart of the Earth-616's Beast. Unlike the latter, the former insisted on self-experimentation to accelerate his own mutation, knowingly subjecting himself to his bestial transformation. As such, he possesses the same enhanced powers as the Beast before his secondary mutation.

PLASMA

 

PLASMA

Real Name: Leila O’Toole

First Appearance: Marvel Comics Presents (Vol. 1) #24, Late July 1989

Powers: Plasma is a mutant who absorbs ambient cosmic energy from her environment (x-rays, gamma rays, star light, background radiation, etc), and stores it in special enclaves of her body cells. She then converts and projects it as active discharges of energy, and also gains an increase in her size and mass.

As the niece of the mutant archaeologist Ahmet Abdol (aka the Living Monolith), she somehow genetically reproduced a form of the power link that exists between him and Alex Summers (aka Havok). Leila siphoned cosmic energy from Havok whenever he used his powers near her. Naturally, she was immune to his plasma bolt if he attacked her with it, processing it for even more power.

The cosmic energy she absorbed increased her mass proportionately. Her strength and durability increased proportionately to her height. Thus, if she were ten feet tall, she would be able to lift 800 lbs. The full extent of her strength is as yet unknown. The absorption enabled her to release energy blasts from her hands like Havok himself. Plasma was able to emit destructive energy with a thus far maximum force of 30 pounds of TNT.

Initially, she could only absorb cosmic energy from Havok to retain her powers as Plasma. Years later, she somehow demonstrated the ability to maintain her powers independently of Havok.

CORSAIR

 

CORSAIR

Real Name: Christopher Summers

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #104, April 1977

Powers: Corsair is a baseline human from Earth who possesses no superhuman powers. Prior to his capture and enslavement by the Shi’ar, Christopher Summers was already a superb pilot, and thanks to his military training, skilled at the use of various weapons and at hand-to-hand combat.

A member of the United States Air Force, he earned the rank of Major. As Corsair, he developed himself into a brilliant starship pilot. He also greatly improved his skills at hand-to-hand combat and mastered the use of various Shi'ar weapons. Corsair also become a highly accomplished swordsman. He also carried exo-gems on his uniform to store objects within pocket dimensional space for easy retrieval, including a pair of pulse blasters, grappling projector, and an alien metal fencing sword.

LIVING MONOLITH

 

LIVING MONOLITH

Real Name: Ahmet Abdol

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #54, March 1969

Powers: Dr. Ahmet Abdol was born with the mutant ability to absorb cosmic energy and convert it into force blasts which he could discharge at will. However, the moderate level of his natural powers were given dramatically higher potential after Apocalypse and Mr. Sinister altered his genetic code in order to link the output of his mutation to that of Alex Summers (Havok). Though active long before Alex's powers first developed, Abdol lost his abilities completely once Alex's mutant abilities manifested. By placing Havok in a special chamber designed to block him from accessing the cosmic energy that fueled his power, though, Abdol could access the full range of his powers and mutate into his second form, the Living Monolith. He would revert back to being powerless if Alex was somehow freed from the chamber, and the cosmic energy thus diverted from the Abdol's body. He would later discover that force-feeding massive amounts of cosmic energy from another source could transform him even without involving Alex Summers in the process.

It was discovered that after Abdol absorbed a certain level of energy, even disabling the source of his transformation would not stop him anymore. It was after this he left Earth for a time to become a Living Planet, only to eventually be brought back by Apocalypse and returned to normal proportions. Since Havok was in the Mutant X reality during that time, he remained powered, but it remains unclear as to exactly what will happen to him since Havok's return.

As the Living Pharoah, Abdol is capable of absorbing ambient cosmic energy from his environment (x-rays, gamma rays, star light, background radiation, etc), and converting it into active discharges of energy. He can produce blistering levels of heat, high-impact concussive force blasts, and even solid walls of sonic vibrations which can deflect physical attacks. Absorbing cosmic energy uninterrupted allowed him to access the full range of his powers and mutate into his second form, the Living Monolith. Once triggered, the Pharoah's body would begin growing in size, take on a gray stony visage, and his eyes and mouth would glow with internal energy. The longer he remained as the Monolith, he would continue soaking up cosmic energy at a geometrically increasing rate, growing to over 100' tall, possessing Class 150 strength, becoming virtually impervious to all manner of attack, and possessing cosmic energy blasts capable of leveling an entire city block.

Ahmet Abdol is a gifted intellect who holds a Ph.D. in archaeology. He is an expert archaeologist and Egyptologist, and also an advanced student of genealogy, human mutation, and the effects of cosmic radiation.

HAVOK

 

HAVOK

Real Name: Alexander Summers

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #54, March 1969

Powers: Havok’s mutant power is that his body constantly absorbs ambient cosmic energy (ambient stellar radiation, x-rays, and even gamma rays) into his body and stores it within special enclaves in his body cells. He can then release that energy as waves of force that heat the air in its path, turning it into plasma, the super-heated state of matter. This energy radiates out from his chest as concentric rings that expand larger and larger as he powers up. In discharging a plasma blast, he normally focuses it along his arms and out from his fists, but can in fact cause the rings to angle and discharge out in any direction from his body.

His plasma blasts instantly raise the temperature of whatever they strike thousands of degrees, and this sudden shift in thermal energy causes most objects to violently explode or simply disintegrate. Havok has learned how to divert the impact of his plasma blasts so that they only displace the air in his path, causing concussive shockwaves which are still effective in battle but far less lethal than turning a direct plasma blast on a living being.

Originally, Havok could not control his power and wore a suit that monitored and regulated his energy output. Eventually, he overcame this difficulty though training. Havok is also immune to the optic blasts of his brother, Cyclops, the biochemical energy blasts of his younger maternal half-brother, X-Treme, and vice-versa.

Alex Summers holds a masters degree in geophysics with some doctoral work completed. He is also an instinctive tactician and strategist.

POLARIS

 

POLARIS

Real Name: Lorna Sally Dane

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #49, October 1968

Powers: Polaris' mutant ability gives her a significant electrolyte count in her bloodstream which increases her personal bio-magnetic field. Furthermore, that field resonates on the same wavelength as the Earth's own electromagnetic field, placing her in attune with the energy patterns of the entire planet. This allows her to manipulate magnetism and other electromagnetic forces for a variety of effects. Her ability is the same as that of her father (Magneto), though considerably less powerful than his.

She is able to levitate, attract and repel anything that possesses even trace levels of ferrous material in it, and can direct clusters of magnetized molecules to cling to nonferrous materials, giving her a medium to hold onto and manipulate them as well. She is capable of warping metal by shifting it into a liquid state and reforming in into new solid constructions. By forming intense magnetic force between trace metallic atoms in the atmosphere, she can form solid-seeming force fields that deflect all manner of assault, or concussive blasts of magnetic energy. Polaris is also capable of shifting her perceptions so that she sees her environment in terms of electromagnetic energy, enabling her to detect various sources of electronic power and recognize the different between humans and androids. Polaris can fly by means of magnetic repulsion and also absorb and metabolize electricity in order to boost her power levels.

Polaris has a latent secondary mutation that allows her to manifest superhuman physical power in the presence of danger. Her body absorbed negative emotional energy from her environment (the empathic residue created by thoughts like anger, fear, hatred, aggressive lust, etc), processing it in order to physically transform herself into a 7-foot tall powerhouse with superhuman strength and resistance to all manner of physical injury. A side effect of her power was an enhanced residual echo of that negative energy she absorbed, radiating from her position to enhance the negative emotional reactions of others around her, making them act more wild, violent, amoral, etc. At first, her physical enhancements would wear off when the threat passed, but after she took up residence on Muir Island where the Shadow King was already heightening the darker natures of the residents, her physical changes stabilized as permanent until being struck by Psylocke's psychic blade reversed her powers and restored her magnetic abilities.

Briefly, Polaris lost her powers on M-Day and was taken in by Apocalypse who remade her into his new Horseman of Pestilence. As Pestilence, Lorna's body was artificially re-engineered to recreate her mutant genes so as to possess magnetic powers once more, and she was additionally given the power to assimilate and maintain pathogens and viral agents into her metabolism, mutating them into more-advanced stages, and then releasing these bio-hazards into the atmosphere as a "meta-plague". The X-Men cleansed her of all these pathogens once they rescued her, but it is unclear whether or not she still has the capacity to act as Pestilence.

Lorna Dane holds a masters degree in geophysics and has expertise in the use of physics, chemistry, geology and advanced mathematics to study the Earth and its composition, including its atmosphere, internal make-up, oceans and electrical and other fields.