Mutant Xis acomic bookpublished byMarvel Comicsbetween 1998 and 2001, featuringHavok,amutantand former member of theX-Men,who is transported into a parallel dimension. It was written byHoward Mackieand inked byAndrew Pepoy,with a series of different pencilers.

The Six (Mutant X)
The Six, clockwise from back: Fallen, Brute, Marvel Woman, Havok, Bloodstorm, and Ice-Man
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
No.of issues32, 3 Annuals
Main character(s)Havok
Scotty Summers
Marvel Woman/Goblyn Queen
Elektra
Bloodstorm
Creative team
Created byHoward Mackie
Tom Raney
Andrew Pepoy

The "Mutant X" universe (Earth-1298) is a reimagination of theEarth-616universe. In this continuum,Scott Summerswas captured along with his parents by theShi'arand only Alex (Havok) escaped, allowing him to be the eventual leader of the X-Men. Originally, the highlighted difference between the Mutant X universe and Earth-616 was that mutants have come to be accepted by the overwhelming majority of humanity, and anti-mutant sentiments are regarded as outdated. However, it is later revealed inMutant X#15 that hatred against mutants is even stronger than in Earth-616 following the actions of the Goblin Queen.[1]

Publication history

edit

Mutant Xwas originally intended to be a 12-issue limited series, but due to unexpectedly high sales it was extended to an ongoing series.[2]The series lasted for 32 issues and three annuals before it ended.

Plot

edit

AfterGreystone,a member of Havok'sX-Factorteam, develops temporal insanity, he attempts to build a time machine to return to his timeline and be reunited with his mother who, in all probability, does not exist anymore. Havok attempts to stop him, but the machine explodes, supposedly killing both men.[3]However, at the instant of Havok's death, a Havok from an alternate reality also dies after being shot in the chest by aSentinel.Havok's spirit finds its way into his counterpart's body and he wakes up in the Mutant X Universe. Here, he is the leader of a mutant team of heroes dubbedThe Six(who are altered versions of his friends from Earth-616), the husband ofMadelyne Pryor,and the father of Scotty Summers.[4]

At first he tries to convince the others of the Six to help him return to his universe, but they all still believe him to be the Havok of their universe and insist that he is lying about coming from another dimension as a way of getting back at Madelyne for some unspecified injury. Havok ultimately gives up and decides to take on his counterpart's place in this universe.[5]Only Scotty, who has precognitive powers, realizes that Havok is telling the truth, and addresses him as "Alex" instead of "Dad". The two quickly form a bond.[6]

A demon-possessed Madelyne sets plans to take over the world into play. She takes control of all the members of the Six except Havok. Scotty is warned of her doings by his precognitive power, and Havok takes him and his nanny,Elektra,into hiding.[7]For months Madelyne wages war against the rest of the world while trying to open a gateway to allow a full demonic invasion. Scotty finally stops her by exorcising the Goblin Entity from her mind.[8]

The destruction caused by Madelyne serves as a spark to ignite the seething anti-mutant sentiment in the United States, and new president Graydon Creed tasks terrorist leaderNick Furywith rounding up mutants into prison camps; though the public explanation is that this is for their protection, mutants taken into the camps are immediately killed. Havok has Elektra take Scotty into hiding, while the remaining members of the Six, supplemented by new membersGambitandCaptain America,set about rescuing mutants from Nick Fury's troops.[9]

At the end of the series, the Goblin Entity, Dracula and theBeyonderall converge their efforts to destroy Earth. Almost all of the heroes die in the epic battle. Havok, discovering that he is the home for the Nexus of Realities, a force of nature that binds all realities (Omniverse), uses it to wield an omniversal level of power to stop the Goblin Entity, which had merged with the Beyonder. He then fights with the possessed Maydelyne and harnesses the power of the Nexus of All realities and with a thought eliminates the Goblin Entity throughout the Omniverse. He then teleports Maydelyne to her alternate universe with her son, Scotty. Fearing that somebody would attempt to use the power of the Nexus of All Realities to reshape, destroy, or alter the very Omniverse; he then becomes one with the Nexus of All Realities to prevent anyone from getting this power, except himself.

Revisitation

edit

TheMutant XHavok did not die during the fight with the Sentinels. He was instead thrown into unconsciousness while the Earth-616 Havok took over his body. The evil Havok went with the original Havok back to Earth-616 during the final battle with the Goblin Queen. He lay dormant whenCharles Xavierfreed Alex's consciousness, biding his time, and re-emerged after Xavier Institute Student Nicholas Gleason (Wolf Cub) wounded Havok.[volume & issue needed]Luckily, theExiles(Mimic,Magik,Heather Hudson,Nocturne,MorphandSunfire) were sent by theTimebrokerto fight off the evil Alex until the Earth-616 version came back. The Timebroker then personally eliminated the evil Alex's consciousness.[10]

Characters

edit
  • Alex Summers/Havok:Transplanted from Earth-616 to the Mutant X universe, Alex finds himself thrust into the role of his other-dimensional counterpart. His sole confident in the Mutant X universe is his counterpart's son, Scotty, and he dedicates himself to protecting him.
  • Scotty Summers:The son of Havok and Marvel Woman. He has immensely powerful sensory and precognitive abilities, and is the only person to realize that Alex is not lying when he says he is from an alternate universe. Despite knowing this, he instinctively trusts Alex and even comes to regard him as a surrogate father. His powers are such that he singlehandedly puts an end to the Goblin Queen's conquest of Earth.
  • Elektra:A highly trained ninja, Elektra Stavros serves as a nanny for Scotty.
  • Dracula:Dracula's coffin is held in a special cell in theVaultuntil it is broken out by the Marauders. He proceeds to go on a killing rampage before being killed by Storm.
  • Magneto:Magneto became friends with Professor X and they formed the X-Men. Following Professor X becoming possessed by the Shadow King, Magneto became the leader of the X-Men.
  • Nick Fury:Leader ofS.H.I.E.L.D.(Saviors ofHumanity byIntervention in theEvolution ofLife-formDeviants), an outlaw terrorist group dedicated to exterminating all superpowered humans. S.H.I.E.L.D. is reinstated by President Graydon Creed to hunt down mutants.

The Six

edit

At the beginning of the series, Havok is the leader ofThe Six,a superhero group which is roughly equivalent to the Earth-616 originalX-Men.The roster includes:

Character Real Name Joined in Notes
Bloodstorm Ororo Munroe Founding member In a branch fromUncanny X-Men#159, Storm was not saved from the bite ofDraculaand was transformed into avampire.Aside from her control over the weather, she has standard vampire powers such as the ability to transform into mist and controlvermin.As she still retains her oath not to kill (in the Earth-616 continuity she broke that oath inUncanny X-Men#170), Bloodstorm employsForgeandKitty Prydeas food sources, draining from them enough to sustain herself but not to kill them.
Brute Henry "Hank" McCoy Founding member As a result of experimenting on himself, Hank McCoy was transformed into a green furred and scaled amphibious creature with the intellect of a small child. He also made a faulty deal with demons, which resulted in his legs being replaced withgoathooves.
The Fallen Warren Worthington III Founding member Apocalypsetransformed Warren into one of his four horseman, Death, giving himbatwings, deathly pale skin and the ability to breathe fire. Since betraying Apocalypse, he has insisted on being called The Fallen. To his chagrin, however, his friends all still call him Warren.
Havok Alex Summers Founding member Since his older brotherCyclopsdisappeared from Earth when they were children, Havok essentially took on the Earth-616 Cyclops's roles as leader of his universe's premiere mutant team and husband of Madelyne Pryor. He trades places with the Earth-616 Havok inMutant X#1, and so is absent from most of the series.
Ice-Man Bob Drake Founding member Left without a device to suppress his powers after the tampering of theAsgardiandeityLoki,Bob Drake was left trapped in his ice form without the ability to touch another living thing. Despite this, he remains incurably optimistic, with a relentless sense of humor. He sees himself as partially responsible for the Brute's mental regression and tries his best to look out for his friend.
Marvel Woman/Goblin Queen Madelyne Pryor-Summers Founding member The clone of the deceasedJean Grey,Madelyne married Havok and had a son with him, Scotty. Madelyne made a deal with the demons of Inferno to unlock her telekinetic potential so as to save her son. She became corrupted as a result, and later tries to take over the world for demonkind.
Captain America Mutant X#15 Captain America joins the team afterS.H.I.E.L.D.launches a search-and-destroy policy on mutants. Though his motives are ostensibly altruistic, the team later discovers that he is secretly a mutant.
Gambit Remy LeBeau Mutant X#16 Gambit was critically wounded on a mission with Bloodstorm where he begged her to turn him into a vampire, and Bloodstorm reluctantly agreed. Gambit has the ability to charge objects with explosive kinetic energy and also has standard vampiric powers. He adopted a mysterious girl named Raven.

Collected editions

edit
Title Material collected Publication date ISBN
Mutant X: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 Mutant X #1-17, Annual 1999 November 13, 2018 ISBN1302920626
Mutant X: The Complete Collection Vol. 2 Mutant X #18-32, Annual 2000-2001 November 5, 2019 ISBN978-1302920623

References

edit
  1. ^Mutant X#1–12
  2. ^"Parallel Lines" letters page,Mutant X#12
  3. ^X-Factor#149 (September 1998).
  4. ^Mutant X#1 (October 1998)
  5. ^Mutant X#3 (December 1998)
  6. ^Mutant X#2 (November 1998)
  7. ^Mutant X#5-9,Mutant X '99
  8. ^Mutant X#12 (September 1999)
  9. ^Mutant X#15-18
  10. ^Exiles#28-30
edit