INK

 

INK

Real Name: Eric Gitter

First Appearance: Young X-Men (Vol. 1) #1, June 2008

Powers: Ink is a baseline human with no superhuman powers of his own. The effects he generates are actually created by Leon Nunez.

Nunez was a tattoo artist and a mutant with an iconographic power which he focused through tattooing others. Nunez used his own will to grant Gitter superhuman powers by drawing iconic tattoos on his body with the properties or principles of the image they're based on. That principle is then controlled by the individual with the tattoo (Ink).

On the palms of Ink’s hands, he has a biohazard symbol that induces radiation-based sickness and vomiting on contact, and a caduceus which allows him to heal people from significant amounts of injury with a touch. One hand has a metallic design visible when he makes a fist, giving him a vise-like grip and the ability to throw superhumanly strong punches. The other arm has a nitro symbol on his forearm, giving him equally impressive explosive punches with that fist. Wings tattooed on his back give him the power of flight, while jagged bolts on his temples simulate telepathy, enabling him to send and receive thoughts from others.

Finally, he had a Phoenix design tattooed over his eye. This simulated the power of the Phoenix Force to an unknown degree. Leon Nunez's power imprinted concepts based on how he understands them, and he only heard about the Phoenix through Ink. Furthermore, the sheer amount of power the Phoenix tattoo needed to operate with appeared to be too much for Nunez, knocking him into a coma after it was finished. His Phoenix tattoo has since vanished, but through Nunez, he has gained a fast-healing factor and the ability to project energy blasts from his eyes.

PANDEMIC

 

PANDEMIC

Real Name: Richard Palance

First Appearance: X-Men (Vol. 2) #194, February 2007

Powers: Dr. Richard Palance is a baseline human who gained his superhuman ability through an infectious agent.

Pandemic obtained a DNA sample from Rogue, synthesized her power into a virus called Strain 87 and then injected himself with it, hoping to replicate her absorption ability for himself. Instead, it gave him the ability to duplicate and permanently retain the powers of any mutant he came into contact with. Unlike Rogue, he wasn't absorbing powers, only copying. Moreover, he couldn't absorb life energy, memories, and personalities. Also, his power didn't require solely skin-to-skin contact, he could activate it through contact with a mere DNA sample.

Although he claimed to possess 300 superhuman mutant powers (including 17 different forms of invulnerability), the powers he did demonstrate were readily identifiable as those of (in order of usage): Nightcrawler, Lady Mastermind, Chamber, Cyclops, Havok, Storm, Bishop, Iceman, Husk, Alchemy, Sunfire, Jean Grey, Shadowcat, Cannonball, and finally Sabretooth.

Dr. Richard Palance holds a Ph.D. in genetics and is a recognized geneticist. He also holds an M.D. and specializes in infectious diseases.

DAKEN

 

DAKEN

Real Name: Akihiro

First Appearance: Wolverine: Origins (Vol. 1) #10, March 2007

Powers: Daken is a second-generation mutant whose x-gene resulted in him possessing similar powers to his father, the mutant known as Wolverine.

He has accelerated cellular regeneration which gives him two abilities: His senses are superhumanly acute, boosting his vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. His sight is greater than 20/20, is specially adapted to function at night, and may even extend partially into the infrared spectrum. His sense of smell allows him to detect, organize, and differentiate between thousands of different scents, recognize people by their individual odors, and track them over miles of distance. Daken can act as a human lie detector, reading subtle changes in scent, heartbeat, and pupil dilation in other people. His sense of touch can detect minute changes in temperature and wind direction in his immediate vicinity, allowing him to feel the body heat of other people and the motion of nearby objects in his environment.

The second ability is a fast-healing factor that regenerates damaged or destroyed areas of his cellular structure almost instantaneously. The speed of his healing ability varies in direct proportion to the severity of the damage that he has sustained. Unlike ordinary human adults, Daken can actually regenerate cells of his nervous system and even entire organs. It is not known whether he can regenerate a limb, though. His healing ability makes him immune to poisons and most drugs. For example, it is nearly impossible for him to become intoxicated from drinking alcohol. He also has limited immunity to the fatigue poisons generated by his own body and hence, has greater stamina then an ordinary human being. This also affects his other abilities, heightening his strength, speed, agility, and reaction time. His healing factor also suppressed his aging process, keeping him vital and youthful-looking even past his half-centennial.

Daken’s claws are foot-long blades. Stored in his forearms and wrists, the claws pop out through his wrists and the backs of his hands. Each claw is triggered on an independent mental circuit, meaning he can pop anywhere from one to all six claws at once. The Normally, the claws had to break through the skin and knuckles to extend, leaving an open wound for his healing factor to close instantly. He formerly had one claw on each hand bonded to the Muramasa psycho-metal, making them strong enough to cut through Adamantium and inhibit healing factors when they strike. The bonding process came with metal channels on the backs of his hands that kept the skin open to prevent him from tearing open his flesh each time.

Daken also has the ability to emit pheromones which influence the moods of other people. Initially, his power caused other to experience whatever mood he was experiencing, but with practice he learned how to create specific reactions at will, like calm, panic, anger, lust, etc. Daken can manipulate people into trusting him against their best interests, push opponents into acting rashly out of anger while in combat, etc. This power also allows him to distort sensory perceptions to mask his scent and prevent opponents from accurately perceiving his location and movements, making him difficult to strike or avoid.

He formerly used a tech-based glove invented by Reed Richards that generated an energy claw able to cut through virtually anything and produced a stunning effect to harmlessly incapacitate opponents.

MISTER NEGATIVE

 

MISTER NEGATIVE

Real Name: Unrevealed

First Appearance: Free Comic Book Day: The Amazing Spider-Man, May 2007 (cameo); The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #546, January 2008 (full)

Powers: Mister Negative received superhuman abilities from the same experimental drug that gave Cloak and Dagger their powers. While the teen runaways gained individual powers over light and darkness, this former smuggler and human trafficker became an embodiment of both concepts. He is capable of assuming a Darkforce-based form, charging his body with energy so that he appears like a photographic negative. His normal and charged appearances each represent a different side of his character. As Mr. Negative, he continues on his former path as a crimelord and force of darkness, but he also operates as "Martin Li", a humanitarian whose personality is based on the history of one of his former "passengers" from smuggling illegal immigrants in from China. While Mr. Negative is fully aware of his history and status, Martin Li is not. Li ignores or blocks out knowledge of his activities as Mr. Negative most of the time. The crimelord has occasionally demonstrated the ability to influence Li's actions or even dominate his form, exerting his powers through Li. There is still a balance being served, however, as Negative has occasionally involuntarily reverted to Li before he's ready.

As Mr. Negative, he channels a power related to the Darkforce, but it operates very differently than any previous use of that extra-dimensional force. Presumably he, like the Spot, draws his abilities not from the Darkforce Dimension itself, but from a similar neighboring dimension. His negative charge provides Mr. Negative with superhuman strength, reaction time, and resistance to all forms of physical injury. In addition to pure strength, he can also charge his blows or weapons with an energy field of reversing polarities. This "negative charge" has an electro-repulsive effect that makes objects more resilient as they strike while generating a disruptive energy pulse and repeling on impact, which all combines to make the weapon substantially more effective. Mr. Negative also has his corrupting touch, using a "negative charge" to manipulate the personalities of other people. The more inherently good a person is, the greater the reversal of their true nature. That true nature cannot be completely overcome, however, as individuals like Spider-Man, Shang-Chi, and even Aunt May have shaken off the corruption when their capacity for good vs. evil is tested. The effect of the corruption varies: May suffered no obvious physical changes, but merely a negative reflection of her character for several weeks. Other characters are overtly covered with a "negative charge" and become violent servants in the name of Mr. Negative. Shang-Chi uniquely became "evil", but had a strong enough will or sense of balance to reject Mr. Negative's control and nearly overthrow the crimelord. Mr. Negative can also use his corruption to create his Inner Demons, henchmen whom he has enhanced with his powers to be virtually unkillable. The Inner Demons can survive multiple forms of lethal injury, including bullet wounds, dismemberment or disemboweling. Their power and will are bound to Mr. Negative (or at least to HIS power, as they remained frozen and unable to choose between Negative and Shang-Chi when the latter nearly usurpted his power). The corrupted White Dragon was shot and killed by the Hood, though, so all of Mr. Negative's corrupted victims do not gain the same regenerative powers as the Inner Demons.

Finally, Martin Li seems to have powers of his own. He possesses a healing touch that has miraculously cured broken bones, permanent paralysis, even purging Eddie Brock of cancer. In fact, his healing effect merged with the traces of the Venom symbiote in Brock to create the Anti-Venom pseudo-symbiote. Martin seems unaware of his healing powers for the most part, and its possible this side of Mr. Negative has other abilities he is unaware of as well.

ALEXANDER LEXINGTON

 

ALEXANDER LEXINGTON

Real Name: Alexander Lexington

First Appearance: X-Men (Vol. 2) #178, January 2006

Powers: Alexander Lexington is a mutant with the ability to produce electrostatic energy. His high-voltage blasts could stun and electrocute living opponents, and the heat and electrical output they produced could damage inanimate targets as well. By producing controlled levels of electricity, he could override and operate mechanical systems by remote control, or force them to overload and explode due to a power surge.

Like all members of the Office of National Emergency’s Sentinel Squad O*N*E, Lexington was granted a Sentinel robot which he piloted. The Sentinel Squad mechs came in various configurations, but seemed to be equipped with some basic functions in all models. Naturally, each mech possessed tremendous size and physical strength, as well as highly reinforced armor plating to protect them from damage. Their primary offensive weapons were pulsar beams in the palms and optical lasers for surgical strikes. They were capable of flight thanks to the boot jets, and were equipped with a variety of non-lethal ordinance including tangle nets, smoke bombs, and anti-personal sonic emitters.

He became rather adept at focusing electrical power through the exostructure of his Sentinel mech as a weapon, as well.

MELD

 

MELD

Real Name: Jeremiah Muldoon

First Appearance: Sentinel Squad O*N*E (Vol. 1) #1, August 2006

Powers: Meld’s mutation consists of large bulging eyes with no pupils, green skin, and the mutant power to alter metallic structures on contact. A non-magnetic ability, Meld's power is in fact a highly selective form of molecular manipulation. He is able to affect not only the metal he touches directly, but all metal uniformly connected to what he's in contact with. Thus, he could make things happen further down a corridor by touching a metal wall or floor in a facility, and focus his power through the structure of his Sentinel mech while piloting it.

Like all members of the Office of National Emergency’s Sentinel Squad O*N*E, Meld was granted a Sentinel robot which he piloted. The Sentinel Squad mechs came in various configurations, but seemed to be equipped with some basic functions in all models. Naturally, each mech possessed tremendous size and physical strength, as well as highly reinforced armor plating to protect them from damage. Their primary offensive weapons were pulsar beams in the palms and optical lasers for surgical strikes. They were capable of flight thanks to the boot jets, and were equipped with a variety of non-lethal ordinance including tangle nets, smoke bombs, and anti-personal sonic emitters.

Meld could liquefy metals, reducing them to a fluid state as a means of disabling weapons, dissolving bonds, or gaining entrance through locked doors or reinforced armored walls. He could then fully restore said walls or structures to their original condition after passing through them. Meld could reshape metal structures into new forms on command, creating anything he could visualize. His power could be used for technoforming effects, psionically merging and reconfiguring circuitry to create newly operational forms of technology, especially if he had a scientific mind like Professor Winston guiding his hand in the matter. When piloting a Sentinel mech, he could conduct his power through the armor in order to alter metals that touched his suit, or make them adhere to him and assimilate that new metal into his mech for additional armor plating or armaments.

JOHNNY DEE

 

JOHNNY DEE

Real Name: John Dee

First Appearance: Son of M (Vol. 1) #1, February 2006

Powers: Johnny Dee is a mutant with the ability to control the behavior of others through dolls he creates from DNA samples that he feeds to an entity growing in his abdomen. This entity is a monstrous creature with a separate animalistic brain, a large toothed mouth, glowing eyes, and several tendril-like appendages.

The entity creates eggs from the DNA, which Johnny then retrieves from inside its mouth. Though Johnny can control the entity with effort, it has a will of its own. By holding the dolls, Johnny can read their progenitors thoughts, feel their emotions, see through their eyes, control their actions and powers, and even willing the person to die. The affected being is resistant to telepathic attacks.