Fantomex
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Fantomex is the name of a fictional character associated with the X-Men. Fantomex first appeared in New X-Men #128 (August, 2002) and was created by Grant Morrison and Igor Kordey. Fantomex resembles the titular character of the Italian comic book Diabolik, whose film adaptation was released as Danger: Diabolik. The character of Diabolik is loosely based on the character Fantômas, the subject of a series of early-20th century French detective thrillers, whose name is more directly reflected in Fantomex's own name.
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[edit] Character biography
Fantomex is a thief, a result of the Weapon Plus Program's experimentation with technological-human hybrids (Weapon XIII). He was born and was artificially "evolved" in The World, a man-made environment designed to create super-soldiers using Sentinel technology. Though his true identity is unknown, he has on at least one occasion gone by the name "Jean-Phillipe," and his experiment designation at The World facility was "Charlie Cluster-7." In terms of nationality, it was first assumed that Fantomex was French. In an appearance in the Weapon X series, however, Fantomex explains that he is not in fact French (further adding to his mysterious origin), but rather speaks with a French accent because he finds that it annoys and distracts others.
[edit] Chunnel disaster
During his first appearance, Fantomex seeks a safe haven at the X-Corporation in Paris while fleeing from authorities. He claims to be a mutant thief with the ill-defined power of misdirection. Bleeding profusely from bullet wounds, he asks for asylum, which Professor X grants him. Fantomex explains to Professor X and Jean Grey that he is being hunted because he is one of the most wanted thieves in Europe. Neither Professor X nor Jean Grey are able to verify his claims due to his ceramic mask, a device that blocks their mental probes. However, they agree to aid him, and after escaping the soldiers who surround the building, Fantomex uses his ship E.V.A. to take Professor X and Jean Grey to his "home" in France. While there, he introduces them to his "mother" and continues to describe his success as a thief. In fact, he tells the two that he has stolen sensitive information about the Weapon Plus project while in the Chunnel, and offers to sell it to Professor Xavier for one billion dollars. After submitting his proposal, he puts himself in a light hypnotic trance and removes the bullets that riddle his body. Finished, he asks Professor X and Jean Grey to accompany him back to the Chunnel in an effort to destroy Weapon XII. The three speed away in E.V.A., leaving the house and elderly woman behind. However, both the house and the woman turn out to be a highly elaborate ruse designed by Fantomex to hide his true origin.
Fantomex then leads Professor Xavier and Jean Grey to the Chunnel disaster. Packed full of people and animals that Weapon XII has turned into mindless slaves, confusion runs rampant. Knowing that those who have fallen prey to Weapon XII's influence are lost, Fantomex kills Darkstar and all others who are mentally connected to the creature. After Fantomex destroys Weapon XII by using a remote detonator, it is noticed that there are two empty Weapon Plus transport tubes in the Chunnel: one that held the violent Weapon XII and another that held something called Weapon XIII. After the battle, Fantomex's ceramic mask slipps a bit and Jean Grey uses her telepathy to deduce his true identity: Fantomex is actually Weapon XIII and had also been in transit in the Chunnel. It was during the accident in the Chunnel that he escaped and was subsequently chased to the X-Corporation building. He confesses to Jean Grey that he is not the master thief that he had claimed, but is now set out to earn that reputation. He assures Jean Grey that he refuses to be anyone's soldier, and as a result Jean Grey allows Fantomex to disappear into the Chunnel before the authorities arrive.
Fantomex later travels to Afghanistan in an attempt to steal a list of the world's richest mutant slaver traders, the names on which he intends to blackmail. There he encounters an unconscious mutant known as Dust, a former captive who unwittingly killed her captors by turning into a deadly sandstorm. Upon his exit, he encounters Wolverine, leaving Dust in his care.
[edit] Assault on Weapon Plus
Soon after, Fantomex contacts Wolverine and offers him information about his mysterious past if he helps Fantomex destroy Ultimaton, also known as Weapon XV, the last creation of the Weapon Plus Program. Fantomex, Wolverine, and the X-men's Cyclops travel to The World, an arificial, time-altering environment designed by Weapon Plus to quickly develop and evolve new generations of super-soldiers.
The three are defeated by Weapon XV (Ultimaton), who escapes by breaking through the barriers of The World and flying to the Weapon Plus space station. The team pursues their target in E.V.A., Fantomex's biological spacecraft. Upon arriving at the space station Fantomex keeps his word by showing Wolverine the complete Weapon Plus database. Shocked at learning the terrible details of his past (including his role in the slaughter of the entire population of Roanoke while under the influence of Weapon X), Wolverine initiates the self-destruct sequence for the space station before catching and ultimately killing Ultimaton. Fantomex and Cyclops escape the explosion in one of the station's shuttles.
Back on Earth, Fantomex joins Cyclops and a group of X-Men students in their fight against Xorn, who had gathered a new Brotherhood of Mutants and had launched a terrorist attack on New York City.
Later on, Fantomex tries to track down John Sublime, the director of the Weapon Plus program (actually a super-intelligent bacteria capable of taking control of its human hosts). However, upon examining his empty grave, Fantomex finds a note reading, "Roanoke". Toward the end of the Weapon X series, Fantomex travels with Wolverine and Agent Zero to the lost city of Roanoke in search of answers regarding the Weapon Plus program. However, the three are ambushed by Sublime's U-Men. In an attempt to escape in E.V.A., Fantomex is shot down and left for dead.
However, Fantomex survives. He joins forces with Mystique and helps her against the Quiet Man.
[edit] Alternate futures
Art by Mark Silvestri.
Fantomex also appears in an alternate future ruled by a Sublime-controlled Beast in Grant Morrison's Here Comes Tomorrow story arc. In this future, E.V.A. becomes separated from Fantomex (who is thought to be dead) and takes the shape of a metallic woman. She joins the remaining X-Men, including Wolverine and Cassandra Nova. Some readers believe that Fantomex becomes Appolyon the Destroyer, champion of Sublime and the last of its U-Men, a tortured soul bent on being "complete" once again. Sublime uses Appolyon's obssession to control him, falsely promising to graft him the powers of the Phoenix. After Sublime is purged from Beast, Appolyon, ignoring that his master has been destroyed and suffering a breakdown, decapitates Beast in a final act of revenge. Yet this interpretation of the character is contradicted by the editor's response to a fan letter in Issue 155, in which a reader asks whether Appolyon "is actually Fantomex" and the editor replies, "Nope, Fantomex is dead" at that point in the alternate future.
In one variant of the Days of Future Past timeline (entitled Days of Future Now and depicted in Frank Tieri's Weapon X series), Weapon X and the Sentinels are at war with Wolverine's X-Men and many other mutant groups, including Excelsior and Gene Nation. In this timeline, Fantomex becomes the host of Sublime and, possessed by the sentient bacteria, sabotages Wolverine's efforts to overthrow Weapon X.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Fantomex has an external nervous system referred to as E.V.A. He has mentioned that E.V.A. emerged from his mouth during his time in The World and developed into a techno-organic flying saucer-like vessel. The relationship between E.V.A and Fantomex is symbiotic, so if E.V.A. experiences pain when she is not within Fantomex, he will feel it as well. Along with this symbiotic relationship, Fantomex is linked to E.V.A. via telepathy. He can see through E.V.A.'s point of view and can take control of her movement. However, this requires concentration on the part of Fantomex. Fantomex can create extremely realistic illusions, he calls this ability "misdirection". Moreover, E.V.A, as a bio-mechanical being, can reshape her body into a variety of forms, fly "herself" and can generate energy discharges to be used as weapons.
Fantomex contains multiple brains for parallel and independent thinking as well as nano-active blood. He also maintains an internal back-up nervous system which can be engaged if E.V.A. is damaged. However, this system is less complex than E.V.A. and prevents Fantomex from seeing colors. He can expertly read the body language of others and is a master at misdirection. This also allows him to create telepathic illusions that can fool some of the most powerful telepaths. Fantomex can also enter a trance state and perform crucial tasks such as performing surgery on himself. His mask incorporates telepathy-blocking ceramics.
During his appearance in Marvel Comics' Mystique series, it was revealed that Fantomex is also capable of registering frequencies beyond the hearing range of normal humans.
Fantomex is a superb marksman, and has been seen using special "mutant-killing" bullets. They were designed by Sir James Braddock (the father of the current Captain Britain) and are unique because the bullets themselves appear to have distorted faces.
He also maintains enhanced strength, speed, agility, reflexes, endurance, durability, and healing abilities. Aside from his superb accuracy, he is a very skilled fighter and a master of stealth techniques. His title in his birth-place, The World, was "stealth-fighter".
