Alternate versions of Colossus

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This is a list of alternate versions of Colossus.

Contents

[edit] Age of Apocalypse

In the Age of Apocalypse timeline, Colossus was a very haunted man, wearing a red mask to cover acid scars on his face. His sister, Illyana, was thought to have died years prior, and his brother, Mikhail joined Apocalypse as one of his Horsemen. Colossus was one of Magneto's original recruits for his X-Men. Magneto eventually placed Rasputin and his wife, Shadowcat, in charge of training Generation Next. It was later discovered that Illyana was indeed still alive and being held prisoner in a slave camp. On a mission, Colossus abandons his students to ensure Illyana's escape from the camp, but when he returned to try and save his students, he arrived too late. In the final battle with Apocalypse's forces, he barrels his way through many of the X-Men in a futile attempt to save Illyana, injuring Iceman and trampling Shadowcat to death in the process. Crazed, he was finally killed by Gambit after he attempted to stop them restoring the true timeline after learning that Illyana was dead in the other reality.

[edit] Days of Future Past

In the Days of Future Past, Colossus was again married to Shadowcat. They had children, who had apparently been killed by Sentinels. He dies during a suicide run on the main Sentinel base while his wife was searching for what caused the cataclysmic future.

[edit] Earth X

In Earth X, Colossus has become Tsar Piotr of Russia. His country provides one of the greatest food sources for the world because of the intelligence of all animals. Occasionally, he is attacked by Life Model Decoys of Nick Fury, who seem to think that Piotr is a stereotypical Communist.

Only mentioned in passing, it seems that this version of Colossus is actually Mister Sinister, had developed a strange love for Jean Grey, and traveled back in time to preserve her as a clone.

[edit] Exiles

Several versions of Colossus have been seen in the Exiles series. One dies protecting an alternate version of Shadowcat, and another was killed after betraying his Heroes for Hire teammates in favor of a murderous alternate version of his sister, Magik.

[edit] Marvel Zombies

A version of Colossus is seen in Dead Days when the zombifed Alpha Flight attack the mansion. Later, he is seen among the survivors and fighting the other zombie heroes. At the end of the issue, he is one of the few with fellow X-Men Nightcrawler and Storm, left protecting the teleporter. He is turned into a zombie by the Fantastic Four.

[edit] Ronin

Colossus is a murderous ninja, part of the 'Shadowcat Clan', under the control of the Hellfire Club. He works with Pyro and Iceman. His form in this reality is more wooden and he can extend his arms to form battering rams.

[edit] Ultimate Colossus

Ultimate Colossus, art by Ben & Ray Lai.
Ultimate Colossus, art by Ben & Ray Lai.

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Peter Rasputin reluctantly works as an arms smuggler for the Russian mob. Peter was saved from a firing squad as a young child by a boss in the Russian Mafia called Big Boris, who smuggles Peter from Siberia to the United States. Ultimate Colossus' powers are similar to those of his Earth-616 counterpart except he does not have super strength, he only has the ability to turn to steel. With the use of a deadly drug called Banshee he has gained super strength to rival other powerhouses such as Thor. He is not immune to Rogue's touch as shown in the "Return to Weapon X" storyline. He is also highly resistant to physical injury. He has withstood being slashed by Ultimate Wolverine's adamantium claws. He has also survived a localized nuclear explosion. A few deviations from the Earth-616 version include the fact that Ultimate Colossus's height remains the same when he changes. Unlike the mainstream version, his eyes remain vulnerable to pressure even in steel form, as shown when fighting Sam Wilson during Ultimate Nightmare. However, this contradicts previous eye-durability feats performed by Colossus, such as diving to the very bottom of the ocean to retrieve the nuclear sub as seen in the "World Tour" storyline, as well as easily withstanding the previously-mentioned localized nuclear explosion. Were his eyes truly vulnerable to the pressure of a normal-strength human like Sam Wilson, then they could not have withstood the punishment from these two feats.

Colossus is revealed as a mutant during an illegal arms transaction gone wrong. Everyone is killed by gunfire except for Peter, whose mutant ability saves him. Jean Grey finds him soon after and offers him a place among the X-Men.

When the X-Men embark on a world tour to promote Xavier's book, Colossus inexplicably disappears to Russia. Cyclops and Jean Grey track him and find Peter working in a factory. Colossus tells them he left due to unhappiness with his place on the team and with life as a mutant, but Jean suggests that his true reason is because of unrequited feelings he has for a fellow male team member. Peter later comes to term with his "gift," and becomes a Russian national hero when he rescues the crew of an incapacitated submarine. He leaves Russia to rejoin the X-Men.

Later, Colossus and the X-Men are forced out of the mansion with the U.S. Government on their tails. In a climactic battle between the X-Men and The Ultimates, Colossus is able to defeat Iron Man and Thor, but is finally temporarily incapacitated by Hawkeye who fires a compact nuclear warhead arrow (with a blast radius of about 20 feet) near him. With the surprise assistance from Iceman, the X-Men (sans Professor Xavier) manage to regroup and escape.

The X-Men locate Magneto's flying citadel using a signal sent by a captured Cyclops. Upon their arrival, Magneto subdues them. Despite being composed of metal, Colossus' great strength and willpower allow him to overcome Magneto's control and beat Magneto mercilessly for the harm inflicted on Wolverine.

In a significant change from his mainstream counterpart, Ultimate Colossus is gay.[1] This is implied during the Mark Millar's run on the title, through his interactions with fellow X-Man Wolverine (this is implied during the "Return of the King" story arc, in which Colossus almost beats Magneto to a pulp when he threatens Wolverine). It is implied (through stereotype) when Jean Grey reveals to the readers that Peter's favorite TV-show is Will & Grace, but stated more directly in that the main reason Colossus left the X-Men might have been that he was unable to make the X-Man he'd fallen in love with love him, even in the slightest. Storm also suggests Peter is gay when Angel arrives at the school and Storm explains to him that the reason that all the girls "and maybe Colossus" stare at him is because he is beautiful. It is more openly addressed later during a series of mutant murders by Sinister, Colossus tends to the wounds of Northstar, the only survivor. He is shocked when the openly gay Northstar asks if Colossus is single, which triggers a defensive transformation into his metal state. Colossus and Northstar amicably part ways and keep in touch even after Northstar's team, the Academy of Tomorrow, come to blows with the X-Men. Colossus later agrees to accompany Northstar to his homecoming dance. This disturbs Nightcrawler, Peter's friend, who begins to avoid and resent him.

Following Xavier's death, Northstar asks Colossus to come stay with him at the Academy of Tomorrow. Colossus finds a job as a construction worker and refuses to join Bishop's X-Men team.

Recently it has been revealed that Colossus is dependent on the mutant enhancement drug Banshee for his super-human strength; without it, he cannot so much as lift his arms in his organic steel mode.

[edit] What if?

An issue of What if shows what would have happened if Colossus had never joined the X-Men. After Charles Xavier unwittingly prevented Colossus from saving his sister from a runaway tractor, Colossus turned down Xavier's offer to join the X-Men. Instead, he joined the Soviet Super-Soldiers and became romantically involved with teammate Darkstar. Professor X approached Colossus again to not only tell him that what happened to Illyana wasn't his fault, but also to assist in the battle against the reality warping Proteus. Proteus severed Rasputin's left arm, which the Russian then used to impale the Proteus-possessed Professor Xavier. He eventually settles down with Darkstar and has a daughter, named Illyana.