Mister X (Marvel Comics)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mister X is a
supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...
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 ...
. The character was introduced in ''
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 ...
'' vol. 2 #159 (Feb. 2001). His henchmen include T & A (
nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...
d " Betty and Veronica" by Wolverine), and Blok.


Fictional character biography

Mister X is an extremely wealthy businessman who has demonstrated a
psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...
to killing that, by his own account, started in his adolescence. His latent
telepath Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
ic power was awakened by seeing a woman who had been hit by a car, which fascinated him; he felt her die. He soon became obsessed with death. As a youth, X committed several
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
s to recreate the high of telepathically connecting with another person at the moment of their death. He murdered his pet dog by locking it in an oven, followed soon after by his entire family, including his mother and father. Over the years X would commit hundreds of murders and had his identity erased. Using his family's considerable fortune, X traveled throughout the world and studied under some of the finest
martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...
s in the world. After X learned all he could from each of his teachers, he would kill them. The thrill of killing an opponent in
hand-to-hand combat Hand-to-hand combat is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of ranged weapons.Hunsicker, A., ''Advanced Skills in ...
provided him with a rush that he had never dreamed of. X kept a public image of a handsome, single, wealthy
socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...
, while he secretly coveted the honor of being the greatest hand to hand combat fighter on earth, which, of course, meant killing all of the other greatest fighters. For every murder, X would cut a
scar A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrosis, fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other Organ (anatomy), organs, and biological tissue, t ...
somewhere on his body. By the time he met
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 ...
, his torso was covered in hundreds of them arranged in an ornate pattern. X defeated Wolverine in their first battle, but was amazed at his opponent's skills, bravery, and tenacity. X told Wolverine the story of his life up to that point, and then offered to spare Wolverine's life if he would agree to sign over the rights to the title of 'The Best There Is' and join his new murder avant-garde, much as T and A and Blok had done. Wolverine refused and engaged X in battle once again. This time, hearing of X's crimes and the lives he had destroyed over the years, pushed Wolverine over the edge, and he slipped into a
berserker In the Old Norse written corpus, berserkers () were Scandinavian warriors who were said to have fought in a trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the modern English adjective ''wikt:berserk#Adjective, berserk'' . Berserkers ...
rage. While in this state, Wolverine's conscious mind essentially shut down and the primal, savage instincts brought on by his mutation took over. Even though X stabbed and slashed him with swords and knives, impaled him with a spear, shot him with a machine gun, and set him on fire with a flamethrower, Wolverine continued to fight. In the end, Wolverine's determination and healing powers proved too much for X to overcome. X himself received several severe injuries, including deep lacerations down the length of his chest and stomach. He would have been killed had his bodyguard, Blok, not interfered. Their third and final battle, at the Bloodsport tournament, went similarly. X had just defeated Taskmaster in a
steel cage match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...
, with Taskmaster surviving only due to a referee declaring the bout over upon X leaving the cage and preventing X from re-entering to finish his opponent off (X murders the referee for robbing him of his kill). At first, the battle appeared to be going in a similar direction as their first. No matter what Wolverine did, X was immediately prepared with a counter to Wolverine's offense. Wolverine noted to himself that X's movements, his technique, and form were absolutely flawless.''Wolverine'' vol. 2 #168 During this time, the Taskmaster (frustrated by the humiliating defeat he had suffered) attempted to kill X by firing an incendiary arrow at him from underneath the ring in which he and Wolverine were fighting. Wolverine's enhanced senses alerted him to Taskmaster's presence and allowed him to anticipate the attack, which would have harmed him as well, and allowed him to get out of the way before it hit. To Wolverine's surprise, X also moved out of harm's way, as though he had also sensed the danger. As the fire from the arrow spread across the ring, temporarily separating the two combatants, Wolverine recalled X telling him that he had been able to feel a girl die when he was younger. Reminded of how
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 ...
had learned of her powers (by reading the mind of her childhood friend Annie when Annie was killed in a car accident in front of her), Wolverine surmised that X must have telepathic abilities enabling him to predict his opponent's moves. The natural solution to such a talent is not to think while fighting; to slip into a berserker fury as he had done during their second fight. He allowed himself to slip into a berserker rage and the tide immediately changed. Despite his skill, X was unable to predict Wolverine's moves. Wolverine, who is a highly skilled martial artist himself, soon had the advantage. The ring eventually collapsed but not before Wolverine had knocked X into one of the corners containing the championship belt. X picked up the belt and declared that he had won the match, which was technically true according to the rules of the tournament. Despite this, Wolverine was poised to deliver the death blow but Blok, once again, saved X's life. Frustrated at his first real loss- aware that he only won his last fight against Wolverine via a technicality, Mister X spent several months training against other martial artists to re-learn how to fight without relying on his opponents' conscious thoughts to guide him, culminating in him killing a kindergarten teacher and challenging Wolverine to face him in the Museum of Natural History or he would kill the teacher's students. However, during the fight, Wolverine determined that Mister X's desire for the thrill of the fight could be used against him; he stopped fighting and took everything Mister X threw at him since his healing factor easily repaired the damage. After his opponent tired out, Wolverine simply led the students to safety, knowing that Mister X would be forced to live with the humiliation of his greatest foe defeating him on his own terms.


Thunderbolts

The Thunderbolts are sent after Mister X by
Norman Osborn Norman Virgil Osborn is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July 1964) as the first and best-known incarnation of th ...
. The Black Widow briefs them about Mister X, who informs them that he will be attending Madripoor's opera house with Tyger Tiger, and that the Black Widow and
Paladin The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers (), are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, wh ...
will pretend to be ballet dancers. Stun guns are teleported into the disguised Thunderbolts, and Mister X moves in to intercept them. As the witnesses flee, the Thunderbolts reveal that their assassination attempt was a sham, and that Mister X had arranged to meet them there. A body double is teleported in, and incinerated to cover Mister X's disappearance, and he is welcomed as the newest member of the Thunderbolts. He reveals that he does not need Osborn's money, and is looking for a challenge,''Thunderbolts'' #132 but the downtime between missions becomes frustrating for him, prompting him to hijack a teleporter and jump into a South American warzone to kill the guerilla fighters in the area. With great pleasure, Mr. X later participated in the "Siege" crossover, fighting and even killing Asgardians. After Osborn was proven defeated, Mr. X briefly possessed the Spear of Odin, but was savagely beaten and disarmed by Quicksilver, who openly mocked Mister X's inability to hurt him despite Quicksilver's limited hand-to-hand combat experience. Mr. X disappeared before being arrested.


Powers and abilities

Mister X possesses low-level psychic abilities; his nervous system automatically maps onto the neural motor-function precursors of anyone in close proximity, allowing him to reflexively predict their moves and counter them effortlessly.''Thunderbolts'' #136 The combination of his skills and these psychic powers was sufficient for X to defeat the Taskmaster, who is one of the finest combatants on Earth, and made it look easy. However his psychic ability has its limits as he was unable to match the speed of Quicksilver's attacks. His lack of superhuman physical powers contributes greatly to his unwillingness to confront genuine superhuman opponents such as Spider-Man, Luke Cage, or the Hulk, as their vastly superior physical abilities would render his ability to predict their actions useless; Quicksilver mocked him for this by referring to him as "the least dangerous man on the planet." Wolverine has also managed to defeat X in combat by provoking himself into a berserker rage while they fight, thus preventing X from predicting what Wolverine will do next as Wolverine himself is unaware what he shall attempt in that state; Iron Fist has also managed to defeat him in a confrontation by relying on the unpredictable Drunken Fist style of kung-fu. X possesses the physical capabilities of a man that is in the peak of physical condition. His physical abilities of strength, speed, stamina, agility, dexterity, reflexes and reactions, coordination, balance, and endurance are on par with those of Captain America. Mr. X claims to be a master of every earthly form of martial arts and some alien fighting styles including Kree and Shi'ar. Mr. X is also highly proficient with a variety of weaponry including swords, knives, staffs, and firearms. He also has an uncanny tolerance for physical pain and may be a masochist.


In other media

Mister X is listed as an opponent who will be facing Ken Masters in a martial arts tournament depicted in Ryu's ending for '' Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds''.


References


External links


UncannyXmen.net Character Profile on Mister X
{{Thunderbolts Comics characters introduced in 2001 Fictional serial killers Marvel Comics martial artists Marvel Comics mutants Marvel Comics supervillains Marvel Comics telepaths