Showing posts with label Madelyne Pryor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Madelyne Pryor. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

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.

Monday, April 26, 2021

BERZERKERS

 


BERZERKERS*

Roster (from left to right): Anodyne (Madelyne Pryor-Summers); Master Builder (Paul Domenic); Earthshaker (Jeanne Chretien); Lore Lord (Samuel Ross); Cornucopia (Carla Ballenger); Brawler (Jacques Moreau); Beastmaster (Boyd Wilson); Pathfinder (Nick Rodriguez); and Lord of the Plants (Philip Descard).

First Appearance: X-Men & Alpha Flight (Vol. 1) #1, December 1985

Powers: The "Berzerkers" received magically-inclined superhuman abilities after exposure to Loki's Fire Fountain. The Fire Fountain transformed the internal magic of a human being into an external expression, often causing personal aspects of someone's character to manifest as magical powers. The Berzerkers generally became larger and stronger than they were as normal humans as well, even if their gift did not relate to physical power. The side effect of the Fire Fountain was that it consumed the internal magic of people in order to create its effects, leaving those it transformed unable to imagine, dream, or create. The effects of the Fire Fountain were eventually reversed, turning those affected back into normal people.

As Anodyne, Madelyne Pryor became a healer. She generated a healing flame that, through contact, could repair any form of injury or illness in others (and likely herself). She could undo physical injuries, wipe away fever or disease, even eliminate fatigue to restore someone's stamina. In addition, Anodyne's power could erase mental or psychological problems, such as Aurora's personality disorder and Wolverine's berserker rage, leaving the latter unrestricted by his animal instincts. She could alter superhuman abilities from uncontrollable to controllable, as she did with Rogue's touch or Cyclops's optic blasts. She could even undo curses or purely mystical inflictions, such as Puck's "dwarfism" or the corrupting influence of Tanaraq on Sasquatch's psyche.
 
The Master Builder was an architect able to animate and reshape unliving materials. Prior to exposure to the Fire Fountain, he had a notebook filled with elaborately designed buildings and structures, and his power enabled him to form these structures seemingly out of nothing. The magical nature of his power means he may have literally conjured his structures from nothing, or perhaps he merely made use of nearby raw materials. Once created, he could also manipulate his structures in simple ways, such as barring a door or causing a walkway to move on its own. His lost internal magic meant that the Builder could only create things he had seen or remembered, though -- actual creation of new designs was beyond his abilities once he received his powers.
 
Earthmover was a geologist who developed power over rock and earth. She could animate large or small masses of geological material, forcibly pushing them in a given direction to create mudslides or speeding rocks. She could also manipulate tectonic activity to create earthquakes, cause cave-ins, and so on.

Lore Lord was a living library, able to access knowledge simply by focusing his mind on a given topic or chronicle. It was said that the "knowledge of the ages" flowed through him, meaning he could mentally recall "every book ever written, every story ever told". It was unconfirmed whether he merely meant every human book or story, but he could recollect vast amounts of information on any topic, translate languages, etc.
 
Cornucopia could conjure food and clothing at will. She could mend existing sets of clothes, or alter them in considerable detail to produce new garments. The mechanism by which she created food was never shown, but she could apparently summon an endless supply and variety of food out of thin air. Like Master Builder, though, Cornucopia could not create new recipes or clothing styles. She could only replicate what she saw or could otherwise remember.

Brawler demonstrated tremendous strength, endurance, and resistance to physical injury, even for the naturally powerful Berzerkers.

Beastmaster had a natural affinity for the animal kingdom. He could communicate with animal life and direct animals to carry out actions on his command. His abilities extended to Wolverine's animal side, allowing him to temporarily manipulate Logan's actions and blank out portions of his memory.

Pathfinder was noted to be a tracker, but his abilities were never fully shown. It's likely he had highly acute senses, the ability to detect spore and other traces of an animal or objects passing, and even a supernatural sense of direction or homing ability.

The Lord of the Plants was botanist by trade who gained the ability to manipulate plant life, causing it to grow at an accelerated rate and respond to his mental commands.

*The group was only referred to as "Berzerkers" in solicitation and promotional material, and never in the story itself.

Sunday, April 11, 2021

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.

Thursday, January 14, 2021

GOBLIN QUEEN


 

GOBLIN QUEEN

Real Name: Madelyne Jennifer Pryor-Summers
First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #168, April 1983

Powers: Madelyne Pryor was a clone of Jean Grey, but originally possessed no powers of her own. The Asgardian mystical Firefountain transformed her temporarily into a healer called Anodyne. She could not only heal any physical wound or disease in this form, but also more specialized problems like Cyclops and Rogue's uncontrollable powers, Aurora's mental problems, Sasquatch's bouts of bestiality, and Puck's mystically-induced shortness. She lost these powers in short order, though.

When Madelyne was shaped by the demons of Inferno into the Goblin Queen, the demonic influence awakened and shaped her latent powers by tapping into the small portion of the Phoenix Force that empowers her consciousness to manifest telepathy and telekinesis. She also gained the abilities to rearrange molecular structures and convert people physically into demons. She also demonstrated mind reading, force fields, telekinetic blasts, flight, and the ability to influence the minds of others, corrupting their desires and seducing them into her service. After her death, a version of Madelyne was brought back accidentally by Nate Grey, a psychoplasmic entity containing an echo of Maddie's memories and personality. This "new" Madelyne was not actually flesh, but psychic energy molded by Nate's tremendous power to look and act like an organic being. In this incarnation, she demonstrated telepathic, telekinetic, and teleportation powers.

Madelyne later had an encounter with Queen Jean Grey of a parallel earth, who "killed" her and replaced her at Nate Grey's side. Madelyne then reappeared as the Red Queen, a psychically-powerful spirit without physical substance.

Saturday, January 2, 2021

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.

Monday, December 28, 2020

MARVEL GIRL


 

MARVEL GIRL

Real Name: Jean Grey-Summers
First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #1, September 1963

Powers: Sometimes known as the Marvel Girl or Phoenix, Jean Grey is gifted with the mutant powers of telepathy and telekinesis. Through years of improving and refining her abilities, she has become one of the world’s most powerful psionic talents

Initially, she manifested telepathic abilities at an early age, and they almost destroyed her mind until Charles Xavier helped her control her mutation. Xavier placed psychic dampeners on Jean that blocked her from accessing her telepathy, encouraging her instead to develop the telekinetic powers she had also manifested. After joining the X-Men as Marvel Girl, Jean's telekinesis was rather limited, preventing her from affecting objects weighing more than herself. She could levitate small objects and move them around from a distance, and was skilled enough to manipulate things she couldn't see, like the mechanisms inside a lock or anything if she was blindfolded. Though she couldn't fly yet, Jean could "boost" to launch herself over a wall and slow her descent when coming down. She could not create force fields yet, and had to consciously "push" projectiles or other attacks away from her.

Her powers continued to grow, though, especially after Xavier unlocked her telepathic abilities (mind reading, thought projection, excellent memory recall, astral projection, illusion casting, mind control, manipulation of mental and bodily processes, and projection of mental force bolts) before going underground for a time. Marvel Girl developed her abilities to hover and move around through the air at low speeds, and project telekinetic blasts and shields. After suffering serious radiation poisoning, Jean was placed in a recuperative suspended animation by the Phoenix Force, until she was woken up years later by Reed Richards. Her awakening was ahead of schedule, and damaged her so that she could not access her telepathic powers. Her telekinesis, however, had developed much stronger in her recuperation period. Jean could now levitate tons of matter at a time, and could now full-out fly while carrying additional people with her. As time passed, glimpses of telepathy resurfaced for her until she was psychically attacked by Psynapse, reawakening her telepathy completely.

Dropping the codename "Marvel Girl", Jean Grey later would take the name "Phoenix". During the time that the Phoenix Force had copied her mind and body, it had formed a connection with Jean and she began manifesting the power of the Phoenix herself, creating the fiery Phoenix raptor as a signature of her mutant abilities. Her evolution as the Phoenix was stunted by the disruptive effects of the Psi-War, and later she lost her telekinetic powers in a still-undetailed conflict against the Shadow King with Psylocke. Betsy gained Jean's telekinesis, while Phoenix absorbed Psylocke's telepathy into herself, greatly magnifying her own telepathic abilities. Her telekinesis eventually returned on its own, and the Phoenix Force began manifesting itself directly through her physical form. Jean's powers developed to cosmic proportions, allowing her to rearrange matter at a molecular level, create intense heat and thermal energy by stimulating molecular activity, manipulate the voluntary and involuntary responses in the human body, and manifesting a "telekinetic sensitivity" that let her feel the texture of objects she had a telekinetic hold on, feel when other objects came into contact with them, and probe them at a molecular level to identify alien materials or feel when two things she "held" were similarly composed.

Her telepathy eventually became categorized as omega-level, giving her unlimited capacity for performing all telepathic feats.