Wikipedia

Phalanx (comics)

ThePhalanxare a fictionalcybernetic speciesappearing inAmerican comic bookspublished byMarvel Comics.They have come into conflict with theX-Menas well as other groups on several occasions. They form ahive mind,linking each member by a telepathic system.

Phalanx
The Phalanx.
Art byMike Perkins.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceUncanny X-Men#305 (April1994)
Created byScott Lobdell
Joe Madureira
Chris Claremont
Bill Sienkiewicz
Characteristics
Notable membersStephen Lang
Cameron Hodge
Candy Southern
Warlock/Douglock
Harvest
Ultron
Inherent abilitiesTransforms sentient beings into techno-organic lifeforms and assimilates them into its collective. Superhuman strength, stamina, and durability, teleportation, shapeshifting

Publication history

edit

The Phalanx were co-created by writerScott Lobdelland artistJoe Madureirabut owe much in concept and appearance to the originalTechnarchyby writerChris Claremontand artistBill Sienkiewicz.Appearing inprototypevariations in earlier issues, the Phalanx are featured inUncanny X-Men#312 (May 1994).[citation needed]

Fictional history

edit

Origins

edit

The Phalanx are a mechanical species of unknown origin. However, they are believed to have been created by the Titans, a group of advanced disembodied consciousnesses.[1][2][3]

The Phalanx wield various advanced ships and usetechno-organic virusesto create drones and infect civilizations.[4][5][6][7][8]The virus compels its victims to build a "Babel Spire"to attract the Technarchy, who consume the planet. If the Phalanx find the society worthy or of great interest to them, they instead assimilate its members into their hive mind.

Phalanx on Earth

edit
Main article:Phalanx Covenant

The Phalanx on Earth were initially formed by a group of human mutant haters who voluntarily infected themselves with theTransmode virus,taken from the remains of the renegade TechnarchWarlock.Steven Lang,who had used theSentinelsagainst theX-Menmany years before, was recruited from amental hospitalto become an "interface". Uninfected by the Transmode virus, Lang was meant to be a buffer, keeping the Phalanx "on track" for its intended purpose.[9]Lang was assisted byCameron Hodge,a fellow anti-mutant with immortality obtained from the demonN'astirh.Years ago, in a failed effort to contract the Transmode virus, Hodge had killed Warlock. In an attempt to destroyArchangel,Hodge used a Phalanx construct ofCandy Southern.[10]

Phalanx' initial attempt to assimilate mutants into its collective was thwarted by the natural resistance of mutants to the Transmode virus. In a scheme to subvert the X-Men's mutant genomeknowledge base,Phalanx attacked the X-Mansion, kidnapped most of theX-Menand replaced them with disguised Phalanx members.Bansheereturned to the school after the attack and kidnappings. The imposters' ignorance ofProfessor X's inability to walk alerted Banshee to their deception.Sabretooth,recruited from a cell in the complex, joined with Banshee to saveEmma FrostandJubilee.When Banshee discovered the Phalanx had accessed the location of several young mutants for use in further study, he alertedWolverineandCable.In turn, they recruitedCyclopsandJean Grey.Professor X,Excalibur,X-FactorandX-Forcesought the location of a third, unknown, group of Phalanx. To prevent the Phalanx from accessing any further information, Banshee destroyed the knowledge base.[11]

While Banshee's group scramble to save the young mutants, the Phalanx secretly follow them and impersonate various people.[12][13]Eventually, the group save all the targeted mutants except forBlink,who sacrifices herself to save the rest and kill Harvest.[14][15]

The rest of these young mutants went on to become the core ofGeneration X,tutored by Banshee andEmma Frost.Meanwhile, the other mutant teams found a group of Phalanx attempting to follow their genetic instruction to construct a Babel Spire to contact the Technarchy. Douglock led a small team consisting ofForge,WolfsbaneandCannonballin destroying the spire. Cyclops' group, covertly assisted by Lang, assault the core Phalanx base onMount Everestto rescue the X-Men.[16]

Much later, it is revealed thatMister Sinistercaptured a Phalanx and experimented on it to replicate its abilities. Eventually, it is disconnected from the Phalanx hive mind and loses most of its body, but manages to regrow by assimilating humans before the X-Men defeat it.[17]

Clones of the Phalanx (and others) remain captive in Mister Sinister's prize collection.[18]However, despite Sinister's best efforts, they were wiped from existence by the Phoenix Force.[19]

The Shi'ar Massacre

edit

Another group of Phalanx later almost decimated theShi'arEmpire in the absence of theImperial Guard.With their bodies now pitch-black, except for a few red and blue glowing sensor slits, this new breed only displayed the basic Phalanx and Technarchy features while shapeshifting or when individuals were damaged. These Phalanx also considered themselves as "pure" Phalanx compared to such sects like the one on Earth and hadn't any reservations about infecting mutants with the transmode virus as they almost transformedRogue.[20]The Phalanx made their way to Chandilar, the throneworld of the Shi'ar Empire where they tried to assimilate the "Nest", actually the hatching chamber where all Shi'ar eggs were being nurtured. Had they succeeded, the entire next generation of Shi'ar would have become part of the Phalanx collective. However, Beast developed a device that would emit a certain frequency to separate the organic from the technological part, causing all Phalanx within its range to dissolve but not before thousands or more Shi'ar were massacred.[21]The rest of this group later conquered another planet,[22]but were destroyed by the Magus after the construction of a Babel Spire.[23]

Annihilation: Conquest

edit
Main article:Annihilation: Conquest

A new breed of Phalanx is the primary villain with theSuper-Adaptoidas an enforcer. They tried to begin whereAnnihilusleft off. When the Kree began the test of the new defensive network, the Phalanx managed to corrupt the system directly through the Kree homeworld of Hala, surrounding the entire Kree Empire in an inescapable energy barrier. They also spread their Transmode Virus, turning all organic life forms into Phalanx, fully under their control and members of their single-minded matrix. High-powered beings such asRonan the Accuserwere made into their group Select, used to cut off any attempts to stop the spread and control of the Phalanx. The Kree who didn't fall under control fought back against their oppressors as well asQuasar (Phyla Vell),Moondragon,Adam Warlock,Star-Lordand the Dirty Half Dozen only to discover that they were underUltron's control.[8][24]

It was later revealed that the Kree had in the past, captured several hive-mind species, to weaponize them and use them against rival empires, among them the Phalanx. They were however deemed a failure by the Black Judges due to their advanced adaptivity.

Moira's 6th Life

edit
See also:Krakoan Age

In the timeline created by the sixth life ofMoira MacTaggert,the war between humans, mutants, and machines ended with the emergence of post-humans, the genetically engineered next step of human evolution that quickly took over Earth and reigned as its dominant species for a millennium. Like the Children of the Vault, these genetically engineered superhumans were known as the Homo novissima.

In hopes of preserving their civilization, these post-humans turned the planet Nibiru into a planet-size artificial intelligence, Nimbus, to draw the attention of a stronger civilization that could help them ascend to the next galactic level. Subsequently, the Phalanx found and absorbed Nibiru and followed the implicit invitation to Earth.

After reaching Earth, the Phalanx announced they would absorb and assimilate the post-humans’ intelligence and preserve it as part of their collective as well as the larger Dominion they served therefore initiating the "Ascencion". While this would allow post-human culture, history, and collective consciousness to exist outside of the bounds of space-time, the Phalanx would have to destroy every living thing on Earth to harvest enough energy for the expansion process.[25]

Although one post-human Elder was assimilated and killed through this process, the death of Moira MacTaggert ended this timeline before the Phalanx could consume the post-humans and make their machine intelligence part of a Dominion.[26]

Experimentation

edit

Given the powerful nature of the Phalanx, different individuals and governments attempted to experiment with the alien race.

  • British intelligence groupBlack Airacquired several Phalanx specimens, and determined how to control them. They used at least one Phalanx (which had aBroodas its template) as a guardian "warliquid" at their London headquarters, the Blackwall. They kidnapped and manipulatedDouglockas part of a plot to gain outright dominion over the earth by the channeling of demonic energy.
  • After a battle with theSilver Surfer,Cablewas partiallylobotomizedto save him fromGalactus.Now trying to save him,Deadpooltracked down theFixerto save Cable. Deadpool comes into possession of a Phalanxfetuswhich Cable later subdues.
  • Before the Phalanx Covenant event started, it was revealed that Mister Sinister was able to capture a Phalanx which he kept experimenting until he was capable to replicate their hive mind form which he then used to link himself with every clone of him by a telepathic system.

Attributes

edit

In contrast to the fiercely independent Technarchy, the Phalanx exhibit ahive mindreminiscent of insects. Although individual members retain memories and some aspects of their personalities from before assimilation, they are typically unable to act against the collective will without first being disconnected from the group consciousness, as was the case with Douglock.

Phalanx, like the Technarchy, can infect other organisms with the transmode virus with any physical contact - the only known exception being Earthmutantswho possess a degree of immunity to the transmode virus. This seems to be a limitation of the Phalanx which their Technarchy progenitors do not have, as Warlock had no problems infecting his future teammate Magik (accidentally) when they first met and repeatedly infecting Cypher to form the Douglock entity on multiple occasions. In Cypher's case the effect was reversed without apparent incident, though Warlock was constantly worried that a time would come when the reversal would not take.

Any organism infected by the Phalanx is automatically inducted into the group mind. Certain individuals with exceptional powers and/or abilities retain their identity.

Phalanx possess the Technarchs' abilities to shapeshift and teleport, but cannot grow in size and mass without absorbing external matter. Over time, they can adapt to attacks used against them.

Other versions

edit

Marvel 2099

edit

In the possible future known as 2099, the Phalanx tried to invade the planet Earth a second time. To prevent Earth from being converted by the Transmode Virus, Spider-Man (Miguel O'Hara) forms an uneasy alliance withDr. Doom,who had encountered the Phalanx in their first attempt to invade Earth in the 20th century. Doom knew that the Phalanx would have a "scout program" so he added his own subroutine to the coding called subroutine Cynthia which would erase the scout program. When Doom jumped to the future he lost track of the scout program and therefore created the Mutant Messiah myth to track the carrier down again.

When, during a mission, the mutantNostromobecomes sheathed in a strange cocoon, he reveals himself to be the carrier when he "hatches" as a Phalanx. Doom sends some operatives to bring the boy to him, however, some of the operatives turn out to be Phalanx themselves and begin attacking the group.

Nostromo is eventually delivered to Doom, who then activates the subroutine within Nostromo and, bidding Spider-Man to take him to safety, blows up his castle, while Twilight brings reinforcements of aboriginal Martians to destroy the Phalanx in orbit.

Exiles

edit

In theExilesseries, the dimension-hopping team visited a world infested by a mutated version of the Phalanx. On this world,Cypherfell ill with theLegacy Virusand in an act of desperation Warlock infected him with thetransmode virusto try and save his life. Unfortunately the two diseases combined and mutated into something far worse. Within the year, almost all of the world's population were transformed into Phalanx drones, calling themselves theVi-Locks.The group was led byForgewhose innate understanding of machinery made him a prime candidate for leadership. In the course of the team's mission,Blinkwas infected and slowly started succumbing to the virus. On a hunch,Morphwas able to contact theAsgardianswhose divine blood was able to heal the victims after they received atransfusion.

Cable

edit

In yet another alternate reality, the Phalanx has overrun Earth, assimilating every lifeform. The mutantCableserves as its central consciousness.

In other media

edit

Television

edit

Video games

edit

The Phalanx appear inX-Men 2: Clone Wars.

References

edit
  1. ^Marvel Fact Files#19
  2. ^Powers of X#2
  3. ^Webber, Tim (March 22, 2023)."X-Men: What Is Dominion?".Marvel.RetrievedJune 7,2024.
  4. ^Powers of X#2
  5. ^X-Men (Vol. 5)#9
  6. ^Uncanny X-Men#343
  7. ^Annihilation: Conquest - Wraith#1
  8. ^abBailey, Caleb (September 1, 2019)."10 Reasons Why The Phalanx Are One Of The Biggest Threats To The X-Men".CBR.RetrievedOctober 1,2024.
  9. ^Uncanny X-Men (1st series)#291
  10. ^Uncanny X-Men (1st series)#306
  11. ^Uncanny X-Men (1st series)#316
  12. ^X-Men (2nd series)#36
  13. ^Uncanny X-Men (1st series)#317
  14. ^Allan, Scoot (April 28, 2022)."10 New X-Men Characters Who Debuted During ThePhalanx CovenantEvent ".CBR.RetrievedOctober 1,2024.
  15. ^X-Men#37
  16. ^Cable (2nd series)#16
  17. ^Uncanny X-Men (2011)#4
  18. ^Extraordinary X-Men#4
  19. ^Uncanny X-Men(Vol. 2) #17
  20. ^Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #343
  21. ^Uncanny X-Men (1st series)#344
  22. ^Warlock#7
  23. ^Warlock#8
  24. ^Annihilation Conquest: Quasar#1-4 (Jul.-Oct. 2007)
  25. ^Powers of X#5
  26. ^Powers of X#6
  27. ^Sims, Chris (August 18, 2014)."X-MenEpisode Guide 5x01: The Phalanx Covenant, Part 1 ".ComicsAlliance.RetrievedOctober 1,2024.
  28. ^"Home Sick Hulk".Ultimate Spider-Man.Season 1. Episode 19. September 9, 2012. Disney XD.
  29. ^"The Ultron Outbreak".Avengers Assemble.Season 2. Episode 18. May 17, 2015. Disney XD.

Primary sources

edit
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phalanx_(comics)&oldid=1248855438"