Cypher (comics)

Cypher (Douglas Aaron "Doug" Ramsey) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character appears usually in the X-Men family of books, in particular those featuring the New Mutants, of which Cypher has been a member. Cypher belongs to the subspecies of humans called mutants, who are born with superhuman abilities. He is able to easily understand any language, whether spoken or written.

The character is not related to the cyborg of the same name who appeared in ''Sabretooth and Mystique'' (1996–1997).

Publication history

Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Sal Buscema, the character first appeared in ''The New Mutants'' #13 (March 1984). Initially used as a supporting cast member, he was assimilated into the titular superteam in ''The New Mutants'' #21 (November 1984). During his run as a member of the team, Cypher was the least popular of the New Mutants, as series writer Louise Simonson recounted: "He wasn't fun to draw. He just stood around and hid behind a tree during a fight... Every artist who ever did him said 'Can't we kill this guy?' We would get letters from fans about how much they hated him. We never got any letters from people saying they liked him until he was dead."

Cypher was killed in ''The New Mutants'' #60 (February 1988). The story was acclaimed as one of the most touching moments in the series, and sparked a surge in popularity for the character. Following his death, Cypher was frequently referenced and even had a solo story in ''The New Mutants Annual'' #6 (July 1990), appearing as a ghost. His tombstone appears as one of Magneto's most traumatic memories when psychically assaulted by Professor X and Jean Grey. After the events of the "Phalanx Covenant" storyline, a techno-organic being known as "Douglock" takes Cypher's form in ''Excalibur'' #78 (June 1994), but this being turns out to be Warlock infused with Cypher's memories.

The character was resurrected during the 2009–2010 "Necrosha" storyline and appeared regularly in subsequent issues of ''New Mutants'' (vol. 3) (2009–2012), '' All-New X-Factor'' (2014–2015), and ''New Mutants'' (vol. 4) (2020–2023). In the 2024 limited series ''X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse'', Cypher is selected as the heir to Apocalypse, transformed to resemble his predecessor, and renamed Revelation.

Fictional character biography

New Mutants

Douglas Aaron "Doug" Ramsey is born to Philip and Sheila Ramsey in Westchester County, New York. He becomes friends with Kitty Pryde after she moves there to join Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. The two share an interest in computers, Kitty's talent for building hardware complementing Doug's skill at writing software.

A talented hacker, Doug serves as a supporting character for his first few appearances, unaware of Kitty's mutant powers or the true nature of Xavier's School. When Emma Frost offers Doug a scholarship to her Massachusetts Academy, hoping to recruit him to serve the villainous Hellfire Club as a member of the Hellions, Kitty accompanies him on a trip there and is captured, but she is later rescued by the New Mutants. Though Doug's memory of the mutant-related events is wiped by Frost, he does not accept the scholarship.

The New Mutants later call upon Doug to help them communicate with the newly-arrived techno-organic alien Warlock, revealing that they are mutants and superheroes and that Doug himself is a mutant. Doug subsequently becomes a member of the New Mutants, taking the alias Cypher. With Cypher's affinity for technology and being more readily able to understand Warlock than most others, the two of them become fast friends. Whereas Warlock refers to his teammates with the prefix "selfriend," after Cypher saves his life by offering to share some of his life energy with Warlock, Warlock gives Cypher the unique identifier of "selfsoulfriend".

Cypher becomes the team's computer expert and researcher, writing programs for the X-Men's Danger Room. He is the only one of the New Mutants who never tells his parents that he is a mutant, as he fears rejection. Despite being instrumental in many of his team's successful missions, Cypher suffers from occasional feelings of inadequacy. These feelings are driven by his lack of combat-oriented powers and the way Warlock often encapsulates him to provide defense in times of danger.

Cypher helps rescue Psylocke from Mojo, venturing deep into her mind and saving her psyche from being torn apart by Spiral. The shared experience creates a deep emotional bond between the two, though neither pursue those feelings any further due to their inappropriate age difference. Cypher is initially interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with Kitty, but they eventually decide to remain friends, and he later enters into a relationship with his teammate Wolfsbane.

When Warlock's father, the Magus, attacks the team, Cypher defeats him by reprogramming him into an infantile state. After the New Mutants rescue a humanoid bird creature named Bird-Brain, Cypher is initially jealous of Wolfsbane's affection for him, but after he manages to understand and translate the creature's language, he and Wolfsbane bond with Bird-Brain. During the subsequent battle against the Ani-Mator, a geneticist working for Cameron Hodge, Cypher takes a bullet intended for Wolfsbane and dies.

Magneto, leader of the New Mutants at the time, explains Cypher's death to his parents as a hunting accident. A grief-stricken Warlock tries to steal Cypher's body in a confused attempt to reanimate it, but his teammates convince him to return the body. Cypher's ghost later appears to Wolfsbane when she visits his grave in the cemetery. He later appears in a fantasy staged by Captain Britain's patron Merlyn to aid Excalibur in exposing and battling the vengeful spirit of the late X-Men member Changeling.

Douglock

Warlock is killed by Cameron Hodge during the 1990–1991 "X-Tinction Agenda" event, and his ashes are scattered on Cypher's grave at Wolfsbane's request. Later, the techno-organic Phalanx resurrect Warlock with Cypher's memories and appearance, intending to use him as a "Trojan horse" to infiltrate the X-Men. This gestalt entity, called Douglock, breaks free of the Phalanx's programming and joins Excalibur. Unaware of his real identity as Warlock, Douglock believes himself to be a new entity based on the "genetic and mental engrams" of Cypher and Warlock. He enters into a relationship with Wolfsbane and becomes a valued part of Excalibur, appearing regularly in the ''Excalibur'' title until its conclusion. After the team disbands, Warlock's personality resurfaces, but exhibits more human speech patterns and appearance. Warlock manifests Cypher's translation powers and maintains a copy of Cypher's memory, but Cypher's personality is not active.

Resurrection and New Mutants Reunion

During the 2009–2010 "Necrosha" event, Cypher is resurrected with the transmode virus as a thrall of Selene and Eli Bard and tasked with killing former teammate Magma. He is confronted by his old teammates, during which he displays a greatly enhanced ability to read body language and anticipate actions, and is subdued. After Warlock fails to restore his true personality, Cypher is kidnapped by the Hellions, who wish to reprogram him, but he is rescued by his former teammates, who sever his connection to Selene and restore his original personality and free will. Cypher joins the X-Men's New Mutants squad and makes regular appearances throughout subsequent issues of ''New Mutants'' (vol. 3). The transmode virus which rebuilt his body is still present, but Cypher reprograms it into permanent remission.

Cypher appears in the 2010 "Second Coming" event, during which he helps defeat Cameron Hodge with his enhanced abilities, accompanies X-Force on a time-travelling mission to stop an invasion of Sentinels from the future, and assists Cable in defeating Master Mold.

Following the 2011 "Schism" and the 2011–2012 " Regensis" events, Cypher, along with most of the New Mutants, moves to the X-Men's island base of Utopia off the coast of San Francisco. He plays a key role in defeating an alternate future version of himself called Truefriend, which had taken over the world by splicing Warlock's tech into people under the guise of helping them. With the help of Doctor Strange, Truefriend is prevented from coming into existence.

All-New X-Factor

Cypher joins the corporate-sponsored X-Factor and regularly appears in '' All-New X-Factor'' (2014–2015),Danger