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Fabio Medina is a fictional superhero appearing in
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
s published by
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
. He previously went by the codename Goldballs, but has changed to Egg following changes in the X-Men during the "
Dawn of X "Dawn of X" is a 2019 relaunch of the ''X-Men'' line of comic books published by Marvel Comics in the wake of the twin miniseries ''House of X'' and ''Powers of X'' and is the first phase of the Krakoan Age. This initiative culminated in the cro ...
" relaunch. The character is depicted usually as a member of the
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...
or as a supporting character in stories featuring the
Miles Morales Spider-Man (Miles Gonzalo MoralesAhmed, Saladin (w), Garrón, Javier (a). ''Miles Morales: Spider-Man'' #1 (2018) Marvel Comics (New York). ) is a superhero and the third predominant Spider-Man to appear in American comic books published by M ...
version of
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
.


Fictional character biography

Fabio Medina is a teenaged
mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It i ...
whose powers first appear when he was the victim of an attempted robbery on the streets of San Diego. After manifesting his abilities, the
bouncing ball The physics of a bouncing ball concerns the physical behaviour of bouncing balls, particularly its motion before, during, and after impact against the surface of another body. Several aspects of a bouncing ball's behaviour serve as an introd ...
s emanating from his body frighten onlookers, and he is taken into custody by the San Diego Police Department. However,
Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; , ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's ''Th ...
and his group of
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...
arrive just in time to rescue him. A squad of different-sized Sentinels attack the new mutant and Cyclops's team, who manage to destroy the Sentinels. Fabio is then invited to join the X-Men when they depart San Diego. Although Fabio is reluctant, he decides to follow them. Fabio then joins the X-Men during their visit to Eva Bell's home and the encounter with the Avengers, before being dragged into limbo during
Dormammu Dormammu () is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #126 (November 1964). He is the extra and inter-dimensional demonic e ...
's attempt to kill them. In the aftermath, Fabio demands to be taken home, where his family questions his disappearance and is befuddled at his claims of being a mutant. When S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Alison Blaire (Dazzler) arrives and questions him about Cyclops's location, Fabio loses control of his powers. He is taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody but is again rescued by Cyclops' team and rejoins them. He later assists in the battle against the Blockbuster Sentinel by concentrating the emission of his gold balls to topple them. He then assumes the mutant nickname "Goldballs". After many adventures under the guidance of Illyana Rasputin and Shadowcat, Goldballs and his teammates express uncertainty about continuing as students anymore. Goldballs next appears in ''Spider-Man'', where he is seen attending Brooklyn Visions Academy, where he becomes the classmate of Ganke Lee and
Miles Morales Spider-Man (Miles Gonzalo MoralesAhmed, Saladin (w), Garrón, Javier (a). ''Miles Morales: Spider-Man'' #1 (2018) Marvel Comics (New York). ) is a superhero and the third predominant Spider-Man to appear in American comic books published by M ...
, aka the second Spider-Man. During the "
House of X and Powers of X ''House of X'' and ''Powers of X'' (abbreviated as ''HOX'' and ''POX'') are two 2019 comic book miniseries published by Marvel Comics featuring the X-Men by writer Jonathan Hickman and artists Pepe Larraz, R. B. Silva, and Marte Gracia. Both bo ...
" storyline, Fabio would make his home on the new mutant homeland of
Krakoa Krakoa is a fictional living island appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It first appeared in '' Giant-Size X-Men'' #1 and was created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. While often depicted as an antagonist, Krakoa later fe ...
where the true nature of his seemingly mundane mutant powers would be revealed. Working in conjunction with
Proteus In Greek mythology, Proteus ( ; ) is an early prophetic sea god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" (''hálios gérôn''). Some who ascribe a specific domain to Prote ...
,
Elixir An elixir is a sweet liquid used for medical purposes, to be taken orally and intended to cure one's illness. When used as a dosage form, pharmaceutical preparation, an elixir contains at least one active ingredient designed to be taken orall ...
, Tempus, and Hope Summers, he uses them to resurrect Cyclops,
Jean Grey Jean Elaine Grey-Summers is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''Uncanny X-Men, The X-Men'' #1 ...
, M, Nightcrawler,
Warren Worthington III Warren Kenneth Worthington III is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Warren is a founding ...
,
Husk Husk (or hull) in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed. In the United States, the term husk often refers to the leafy outer covering of an Ear (botany), ear of maize (corn) as it grows on the plant. Literally, a husk or hull includes t ...
, Mystique and
Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...
under X's instruction.''House of X'' #5 (September 2019) After becoming a member of The Five, he changes his codename to "Egg".


Powers and abilities

Goldballs is a
mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It i ...
with the superhuman ability to project at high-speed gold-colored non-viable ball-shaped eggs made of a mysterious substance and of variable sizes from anywhere on his body, and which he can use as concussive weapons. Goldballs can create an infinite quantity of these balls, which can bounce, and emit a "poink" noise when they connect with something. When he concentrates, he is able project the balls in a straight line and he can also direct them to move to a specific area. Goldballs can reabsorb the balls into his own body, and when he is calm he can make them disappear.''Uncanny X-Men'' (vol. 3) #1 (April 2013) It is later revealed that his abilities, while relatively unimpressive, have the capacity for vast genetic application. Medina's eggs, when fertilized and combined with other mutant abilities, form the basis for the mutant resurrection protocols.


Reception

In a 2016 discussion on rating X-Men characters at ''
ComicsAlliance ComicsAlliance is an American website dedicated to covering the comic book industry as well as comic-related media, and is owned by Townsquare Media. The site has been nominated for multiple awards including a 2015 Eisner Award win in the categ ...
'', Goldballs received a total of 18 out of 50. Elle Collins rated the character highest (at 7 out of 10) and viewed him as "a fun character, who has really silly powers and got stuck with a nickname to match. There is absolutely a place for characters like this in the Marvel Universe, and Goldballs is a good addition as far as I'm concerned". However, the other four gave him much lower ratings with Steve Morris commenting, "I like that he opposed his own nickname, but he feels like a very panicky character, one who exists mainly so Bendis can go full-Mamet and fill up word balloon after word balloon with stammers and half-sentences. I think there's likely a fun character in there, like you say Elle, and another writer may well coax that out at some point in future. But right now he feels like a lot of potential that'll stand by in the background of crowdscenes forever more". In 2019, Alex Abad-Santos of '' Vox'' highlighted that Medina's abilities during ''Uncanny X-Men'' are "largely played for laughs, as he was unable to control the balls he was making in the heat of battle" and that he was part of a team organized by Cyclops which was "largely forgotten". However in ''House of X'',
Jonathan Hickman Jonathan Hickman is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for his creator-owned series '' The Nightly News'', '' The Manhattan Projects'' and '' East of West'', as well as his lengthy stints as a writer on Marvel's '' Fantastic Fo ...
's interpretation of these powers shift them to sustaining life which is "much more useful than plain gold spheres". Abad-Santos commented that "Hickman has turned Goldballs and his crew of forgotten X-Men into full-fledged characters with intriguing powers. He and his cohort, along with other forgotten mutants, have seemingly become more powerful, but not to the point where their existence breaks storytelling. To do what Hickman did with these esoteric characters offers fidelity to the larger X-Men canon". In 2020, Carter Burrowes of '' CBR'' similarly highlighted how the
Krakoan Age The Krakoan Age was a series of ''X-Men'' storylines published by Marvel Comics from 2019 to 2024. The Krakoan Age began with the Jonathan Hickman limited series ''House of X'' and ''Powers of X'' (July – October 2019) and it consists of fo ...
was giving "Marvel's last generation of junior X-Men, the former students of the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning, continued meaningful roles in Marvel's wider mutant world". Burrowes stated that "from the outset, Fabio has been a very likable character, but he's often served as the butt of jokes since his ability to emit golden balls from his chest isn't the most impressive. ..He is now one of – if not ''the'' most important member of – The Five, which makes him one of the most important mutants on Krakoa and in the Marvel Universe. It's safe to say that Fabio won't be disappearing anytime soon".


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Medina, Fabio Characters created by Brian Michael Bendis Characters created by Chris Bachalo Comics characters introduced in 2013 Marvel Comics male superheroes Marvel Comics mutants