Fabian Cortez
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Fabian Cortez is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an adversary of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and writer/illustrator Jim Lee, He first appeared in X-Men #1 (October 1991).
A mutant, Cortez possesses the ability to bolster another mutant’s power. This has an addictive effect, which the manipulative Cortez uses to his advantage, particularly against Magneto.
[edit] Character biography
Thought to be royalty from an unrevealed nation, Fabian Cortez organized the original Acolytes, who pledged themselves to Magneto and his cause, with Cortez goading and manipulating Magneto into combat with humanity and the X-Men at every turn, leading to the destruction of Magneto's space-station, Asteroid M, and the deaths of the other Acolytes, including Cortez's own sister Anne Marie.
Believing Magneto to be dead, and martyred for his cause, Cortez recruited a new group of Acolytes to follow him in Magneto's name, now worshipping him as their god. They launched several strikes on humanity, ranging from attacks on a military base where new Sentinels were being built, to slaughtering helpless humans in a hospital, but Magneto eventually resurfaced, sending his chosen heir Exodus, to inform the Acolytes of Cortez's betrayal. The Acolytes welcomed Exodus as their new leader, and Cortez was left behind.
Fearing Magneto's wrath, Cortez fled to Genosha. Still claiming to speak in Magneto's name, he incited the nation's mutate population into starting a civil war against the humans, the world's first instance of the long-threatened genetic war between man and mutant. With the aid of the mutates, Cortez kidnapped Magneto's granddaughter Luna, intending to use her as a shield to protect himself from Magneto, the X-Men and the Avengers. Cortez was unaware that Magneto had recently been mindwiped by Charles Xavier, and Exodus came to Genosha in his place, seemingly killing Cortez.
Cortez reappeared months later, claiming to have been badly injured, yet not actually killed, despite all appearances. He manipulated Joseph into posing as Magneto, pitting him against Exodus in an attempt to regain control of the Acolytes. Despite his scheme's failure, he was allowed to return to the team. Months later, at a time when Exodus had briefly been imprisoned, the Acolytes split into two groups, each searching for Magneto. Cortez led one group, but they abandoned him during a battle with the X-Men, upon realising how he had been using them for his own purposes.
Alone again, Cortez was surprised to be recruited by Magneto himself, who was given control of Genosha, by the United Nations. Seeing as how Fabian Cortez had betrayed him earlier, Magneto had only let Fabian Cortez serve him on Genosha because his powers had been reduced and Cortez's mutant power was to heighten the abilities of other mutants. After Magneto was restored to full power by one of the Genegineer's machines he no longer needed Cortez and pulled him from a prison in Hammer Bay fifty miles to Carrion Cove in less than 20 seconds. The impact seemingly killed Cortez instantly, although this is not the first time he has been believed dead, and a connection between Cortez and Mr. Sinister had just been revealed.
[edit] Powers and abilities
His principal ability was to enhance other mutants powers to extreme, and occasionally dangerous, limits, often beyond their control (temporarily powering them up at the expense of burning out their bodies and killing them). He was highly intelligent and an able military strategist. Cortez was also a skilled martial artist, and often carried a gun.
[edit] In other media
In the X-Men Animated Series Cortez appeared in the two-parts episode Sanctuary. Like in the comics storyline, Cortez was the leader of the Acolytes and used his powers to bolster Magneto's own abilities. However, Cortez's extreme anti-human sentiments led him to betray Magneto and try to kill him, framing Professor X, Beast and Gambit, capturing and torturing the latter. Cortez threatened to destroy Earth but was stopped by the X-Men and Amelia Voght, who revealed Cortez's betrayal to the other Acolytes and the entire mutant population of Asteroid M. He was trapped in Asteroid M by a vengeful Magneto, but was rescued from its destruction by Apocalypse and Deathbird. Apocalypse granted him the ability of altering the mutations of other mutants.
Cortez then appeared on the final season episode The Fifth Horseman, now turned into a servant and worshipper of his saviour. Cortez assembled a cult worshipping Apocalypse as well as the Hounds, a foursome of altered mutants, in an attempt to find a new body for Apocalypse - who was defeated and left bodyless in Beyond Good and Evil. Cortez captured Jubilee and turned Beast into a feral monster but was stopped by Caliban, one of the Hounds. After being defeated, Cortez begged Apocalypse to be forgiven for his failure, though Apocalypse was not angry at Cortez, for he still had a host body to reincarnate in, Cortez's own.
