The X-Men are arguably the most important superhero team in not just the Marvel Universe but in all of comics. Throughout it’s inception many mutants have come and gone. With Hickman’s X-men burning up the sales chart it’s time we look back at some forgotten black mutants who have yet to resurface.
Marvel take notes [I see you lurking]
- Windshear
Created by: Fabian Nicieza and Michael Bair
1st appearance: Alpha Flight #87, 1990
Biography
Colin was a Canadian-born mutant who had a diplomat father. At puberty, he manifested his mutant power of Hard Air (HA). He later got a job with Roxxon Oil’s UK branch. With his suit, he was a major asset to their business. When their computers malfunctioned he was sent in to deal with the situation but failed. He contacted Alpha Flight and Diamond Lil and Madison Jeffries tried to help but also failed. It was only when Forge of the X-men stepped in that they successfully exercised the spirit of James Hudson from the system and he returned to Canada and joined Alpha Flight. He was de-powered on M-Day and is now a normal human.
He would be perfect on the front lines of any war and can we get his resurrection and epic crucible death please?
- Lightbright
Created by: Gregory Wright and Steven Butler
1st appearance: Silver Sable and the Wild Pack #16, 1993
Biography
Born in poverty-stricken Somalia, Africa she had a very hard life, made even harder once her mutant abilities of photokinesis manifested. Directionless in life she became involved with the “Bio-Genes” a group of Somalia mutants who planned to rid the region of the United States influence and seize control of their government. They were confronted by the Wild Pack after they attacked a U.S marine base outside Mogadishu. When Baron Strucker and Hydra emerged to conquer the region she and her team joined forces with Wild Pack. During the battle, her life was saved by Battlestar. She returned to the United States with the team and started a relationship with Battlestar.
With everything related to Captain America hot right now it would be the perfect time for her to resurface.
~DIG DEEPER INTO LIGHTBRIGHT HERE~
- Askari
Created by: Chris Claremont and Aaron Lopresti
1st appearance: Excalibur (3rd series) #11,
Biography
Jono Baraka was born on the island nation of Zanzibar, in the United Republic of Tanzania. He developed the superhuman powers of enhanced strength, and the ability to generate bio-energy blasts at the onset of puberty. He became a superhero and became famous in his land. After his retirement as a superhero, he was elected President of Zanzibar. He also became a member of the “Mutantes Sans Frontiéres”, mutants without Borders, which was a global mutant outreach organization established by Warren Worthington III/Angel/Archangel. He battled supervillain Viper while she was a member of the Hellfire Club alongside Husk/Paige Guthrie and Angel.
His appearance in X-Corp would be sublime as would his nation’s friendly relationship with Krakoa.
- Pathway
Created by: Bill Mantlo and Jim Lee
1st appearance: Alpha Flight #53 (Dec 1987)
Biography
Born into the Dean family who suffered from terrible mutant-Phobia, Laura and her twin sister who would later be known as Goblyn had a harsh life even before birth. Goblyn had an obvious mutation and as a result, their parents tried to kill her. Laura subconsciously sent her sister to another dimension with her powers. Years later she saved her sister from another dimension and joined the Beta Flight team the junior Canadian super team. The team at first thought the sisters were the same person until venturing into “Live world” the dimension in which Goblyn lived. When Alpha flight disbanded they lived with teammate Persuasion and later sought out North Star for Talisman. They were later mortally wounded in battle when Wildchild lost control. When Alpha Flight and Beta Flight were disbanded Laura and her sister disappeared.
With SWORD the place for teleporters, she would fit in nicely or even in the Nighcrawler lead Way of X.
- Astrid Bloom
Created by: Karl Bollers and Carlo Pagulayan
1st appearance: Emma Frost #14, 2004
Biography
Astrid was born in England and had a happy life with both parents. Her life changed when her father died and her mother remarried and gave birth to her little sister. Immediately she became the outcast, her room was converted to a baby nursery and her parents pampered and spoiled her sister while she was always in the wrong. When her powers manifested she had enough and using her powers she cruelly took control of her sister and had her kill her parents. Using her powers she made a life for herself and eventually arrived in New York for college. Here she met Emma Frost a fellow telepath, Astrid saw Emma as a student, someone to mold and manipulate to her anti-human way of thinking. When Emma realized she was being manipulated the two fought and Emma the more powerful telepath prevailed. The strain left Astrid Catatonic. She is still in the hospital to this day.
With Emma taking charge of the Hellfire club, how epic would it be for Astrid to show up, clad in white and being totally naughty!
~DIG DEEPER INTO ASTRID BLOOM HERE~
- Martin Henry Strong
Created by: Fabian Nicieza and Tony Daniel
1st appearance: X-Force Annual #2 (October, 1993)
Biography
Martin Henry Strong, the owner of Strong Industries, is a deformed mutant. He has fins for hands and feet. To hide his form he constructed a bio-body with extreme strength. He was bent on finding a cure for his mutant curse and applied his vast wealth for any shred of hope that he could have a regular form. As part of his operations, Strong hires Neurotap and Adam X (X-Treme) to hunt down mutants so as to do experiments on them. His power over Neurotap is centered on his promise to help her family out financially. For Adam X, he simply promises to tell the boy where he is from and what he is doing on earth. In the meantime, they were to continue hunting mutants. X-Force gets wind of Strong’s operations and joins with Adam X to take him down. They destroy Strong’s bio-body to find the finned man inside.
X-corp would be a good place for him to show up or perhaps getting a few enhancements via resurrection.
- Venus Dee milo
Created by: Mike Allred and Peter Milligan
1st appearance: X-Statix #1, 2002
Biography
Born Dee Milo in a normal human family of African American descent, her world changed at age eleven while visiting her grandparents. When her powers manifested she was converted into a being of pure energy and destroyed her grandparent’s home killing her grandparents, two older brothers and her parents. Deeply traumatized by these events she was found by Professor Xavier founder of the X-men who made a containment suit which allowed her to maintain a humanoid appearance. Due to the traumatic manifestation of her powers she suffered bipolar disorders, suicidal tendencies and had trouble sleeping.
- Threnody
Created by: Fabian Nicieza
1st appearance: X-Men #27, 1993
Biography
Driven almost crazy by her manifested mutant abilities she took to living on the streets during the height of the legacy virus. There she came into contact with a small band of X-men who tried to recruit her to their team. When sinister offered her a more sure way of controlling her powers she left with him. Over the next few years with her power under control she worked for sinister monitoring mutants for him. When Nate grey arrived on earth she escaped from sinister and joined the boy to ensure her freedom. In time they fell in love and adventured together. When she came face to face with Madelyn Pryor however she was seemingly killed after her power inhibitors were removed. She did not die however and for months followed Nate and Maddie while she advanced through pregnancy and finally gave birth. She then confronted Nate who had lost control of his power and said a tearful goodbye before returning for her child.
Her ties to Nate Grey and Sinister mean writers are wasting her in comic limbo.
~DIG DEEPER INTO THRENODY HERE~
- Double Trouble
Created by: Fabian Nicieza, Greg Capullo
1st appearance: X-Force #22 (May, 1993)
Biography
Double Trouble are mutant, twin sisters that share a symbiotic link that allows them to produce plasma charges when in close contact with one another. The twins can fire these plasma blasts for range attacks or use the plasma link between them to strike enemies. They are also able to use their psionic link to fly and communicate with one another. If they are separated, their powers are nullified. Nothing is known about the unnamed twin mutant sisters called Double Trouble prior to them joining Department K, and its covert Canadian super-human group known as Weapon P.R.I.M.E. Despite not seeing action the twins were part of the team during Grizzly’s brief time with Weapon P.R.I.M.E.
Virtual blank slates in personality, any writer bold enough to use them with have contributed so much more than even their creator.
- Goblyn
Created by: Bill Mantlo and Jim Lee
1st appearance: Alpha Flight #48 (Dec 1987)
Biography
Goblyn was almost born into the mutant-hating Dean Family, unfortunately for her while still in the womb her parents discovered that she had an obvious mutation. Afraid of having a mutant child they subjected her mother’s womb to experimental radiation to kill Gobyln but hopefully leave her sister alive. In the middle of the procedure, Goblyn disappeared from the womb and her parents thought the procedure had been successful. Unknown to all Laura had used her powers to subconsciously send her sister to “live world” an alternate dimension in which she grew up feral and free from prejudice. When Laura was sent to battle Alpha Flight she switched places with Goblyn causing everyone to think they were the same person who could simply change form. Over the course of her adventures, the team came to realize she was the unborn twin sister of Laura who her parents had tried to kill in the womb. When Beta Flight was reformed they joined and stayed with the team until the very end. Goblyn and her sister have not been seen or referenced in years.