Mutant of the Moment – Cyclops

Mutant Name: Cyclops

Real Name: Scott Summers

Notable Aliases: Slim, Slym Dayspring, Eric the Red, Mutate #007, Phoenix, Dark Phoenix

First Appearance: X-Men #1

Background: Scott Summer’s grey up in Anchorage Alaska. His father Christopher was a member of USAF stationed in Alaska. The Summer’s family was flying on a trip, when a Shi’ar ship attacked them. Scott and his brother Alex were fastened  to a parachute. They would be split up within an orphanage. At sixteen Scott ran away from the orphanage and met Charles Xavier. He was one of the first members of the Xavier School for the gifted and more importantly founding member of the X-Men. Established as Cyclops leader of the X-Men.

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Mutant of the Moment – Storm

Mutant Name: Storm

Real Name: Ororo Monroe

Notable Aliases: Beautiful Windrider, The Weather Witch, Mistress of the Elements, Goddess, High Priestess, Princess of N’Dare, Mutate #20, Queen of Wakanda, Ororo Komos Wakandas

First Appearance: Giant Size X-Men #1

Mutant of the Moment – Wolverine

Mutant Name: Wolverine

Real Name: James “Logan” Howlett

Notable Aliases: Logan, Logan Howlett, Patch, Captain Canada, Weapon X (Ten), Death, Mutate #9601, Emilio Garra, Weapon Chi, Experiment X, Agent Ten, Peter Richards, Mai’ keth, Black Dragon, Captain Terror, John Logan, Jim Logan, Revolto the Clown

First Appearance: Incredible Hulk #180

Mutant of the Moment: Professor X

Mutant of the Moment: X-23

Mutant Name: X-23

Real Name: Laura Kinney

Notable Aliases: Laura X, Talon, Captain Universe

First Appearance: NYX #3 (X-Men Evolution: “X-23”)

Background:Created for the X-Men Evolution animated series, X-23 was first showcased in the comic NYX, which followed homeless mutants in New York City, and later in Craig Kyle and Chris Yost’s Innocence Lost and Target X as the creative team behind the character’s animated origins continued her comic book continuity, with the team continuing to use Laura throughout their New X-Men and X-Force runs. An experiment to recreate the Weapon X program that bonded adamantium to Wolverine’s skeleton, X-23 was cloned from a sample of Logan’s DNA, and forced to undergo rigorous training as a hired assassin. X-23 has 2 adamantium-bonded claws per hand, and a single metal claw on each foot.

Why She Matter Right Now: A fresh addition to Brian Michael Bendis’ All-New X-Men, in the latest issue #29 Laura Kinney, AKA X-23, was able to push past the Young Charles Xavier’s psychic onslaught, attack the unaware mutant from the future, and save the All-New X-Men from the Future Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. While Laura has been a recent love interest of young Scott Summers, with Cyclops’ sabbatical to the stars to reunite with his father Corsair leaving the couples’ future unknown, issue #29 of All-New X-Men saw romantic sparks fly between X-23 and a young Warren Worthington III. Will this new relationship with Angel be a match made in heaven? Pick up All-New X-Men from Marvel Comics to find out!

Mutant of the Moment: Warlock

Mutant Name: Warlock

Real Name: Warlock

Notable Aliases: Douglock, Phalanx

First Appearance: New Mutant #18 (August 1984)

Background: A member of an alien race techno-organic lifeforms that lack compassion, Warlock was deemed a mutant of his race due to his ability to feel compassion for others. This led to him helping free the X-Men and New Mutants from the clutches of Warlock’s father and ruler of Warlock’s Technarch people. Although this damaged Warlock’s relationship with his father, it allowed Warlock to become a permanent member of the X-Men, and he’s served on the New Mutants, Excalibur, and, most recently, X-Factor. Warlock’s techno-organic body gives him the power to change into just about anything he likes, making him the Transformer of the X-Men.

Why He Matters Right Now: A newly recruited member of the All-New X-Factor, Warlock has been an integral part of the teams very early success. By turning into a motorcycle, Warlock was able to rescue both his fellow mutant Doug “Cypher” Ramsey, and newly discovered mutant Georgia Dakei from the super villain know as Memento Mori. With writer Peter David scribing this uniquely different character, Warlock, and his fellow teammates in All-New X-Factor is must read comic book adventure.

Mutant of the Moment: Rogue

Mutant Name: Rogue

Real Name: Anna Marie

Notable Aliases: Anna Raven, Dr. Kellogg, Miss Smith

First Appearance: Avengers Annual #10 (1981)

Background: Born in Caldecott County, Mississippi, and raised by her Aunt Carrie after her parents were killed, Rogue’s power to absorb the psyche and life energy of anyone she touched first showed itself during a romantic experience with her boyfriend in her teenage years. The experience left him in a coma and Rogue seeing her powers as a curse. The mutant shape-shifter Mystique soon takes the young Rogue under her wing, and eventually recruits Rouge in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. During an interaction with Ms. Marvel, Rogue absorbs an extra dose of her powers, leading to Rogue’s power of flight and super-strength for an extended period of time. Rogue later joins the X-Men, becoming one of the team’s most popular characters. Recently Rogue has gained more control over her powers, allowing her physical contact with other people without absorbing their power or psyche.

Why She Matters Right Now: As seen in the pages of Rick Remender’s Uncanny Avengers, in order to stop a Celestial from destroying the Earth (again), a time-traveling team of Avengers changed history by giving Thor the extra moments he needed to slay the space giant. With no single superhero powerful enough to slow down the Celestial, Rogue travels the globe, absorbing the willingly offered powers of Avengers and X-Men alike. With the Power of a Hundred Heroes, Rogue fends off the insanity of so many psyches in her head, and holds the Celestial at bay. Look for more from Rogue in Uncanny Avengers and in X-Men, both from Marvel Comics.

Mutant of the Moment: Charles Xavier II

Mutant Name: Xavier

Real Name: Charles Xavier II

Notable Aliases: Baldy, Kid X

First Appearance: X-Men: Battle of the Atom #1

Background: The son of Professor Charles Xavier and Mystique, Charles Xavier II brought his team of Future Brotherhood of Mutants to the present to force the Original X-Men team back to their own time to avoid a dark future for mutants. He’s driven by future events that the X-Men of the present cannot possibly begin to understand, and with psychic powers that appear to be on par with his deceased father, Xavier continues to be a thorn in the side of the X-Men.

Why He Matters Right Now: Although his motives seemed somewhat genuine in the larger scope of time-traveling and the multiverse, Xavier’s true motivations have come into focus in the pages of All-New X-Men #28, where it was revealed that Xavier and his half-brother Raze are the true masterminds behind the Future Brotherhood’s mission to the past. Xavier’s jealousy is what truly drives him, and his team of Brotherhood mutant are nothing more than mind-controlled pawns forced to act to his whims, and now Jean Grey and the rest of the All-New X-Men are caught in his psychic web of power. Look for more from Xavier in Marvel’s All-New X-Men written by Brian Michael Bendis.

Mutant of the Moment: Magneto

Mutant Name: Magneto

Real Name: Max Eisenhardt

Notable Aliases: Magnus, Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, The Master of Magnetism

First Appearance: X-Men #1 (1963)

Background: Magneto has been everything from Mutant Activist, to terrorist, to Mutant Savior, and just about everything in-between. As leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants, Magneto led the fight for Mutant Rights the only way he knew how. Driven by his past experiences as a Nazi prisoner during WWII, Magneto knew that humans would never accept their kind, and that violent force was the only answer to violent force. This drive continues to push Magneto in the present, as The Master of Magnetism has become a one-man X-Force.

Why He Matter Right Now: As seen in the pages of Magneto by writer Cullen Bunn and artist Gabriel Hernandez Walta, Magneto has once again taken it upon himself to eliminate possible threats to the Mutant race before those threats take action. In just the last few months Magneto has been responsible for the destruction of a secret Sentinel factory, the freeing of a busload of kidnapped mutant teenagers, and the deaths of several dozen mutants-hating religious zealots known as the Purifiers. A loner at heart, reports that Magneto has recently found aid in his conquest only adds to the questions surrounding this long-time villain, turned hero, turned Mutant terrorist.