| Willow | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | 2099 A.D. Genesis |
| Created by | Tom Payer Humberto Ramos |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Human Mutant |
| Team affiliations | X-Nation 2099 |
| Notable aliases | Peregrine, Avian |
| Abilities | shapeshifting. |
Willow is a fictional mutant character created by Marvel Comics for their Marvel 2099 run X-Nation 2099. This short-lived series only lasted six issues before ending.
Contents |
In the year 2099, a young girl named Winter Frost, like many teenagers, got a job at a local amusement park. But Million Palms Amusement Park wasn't like others, it actually had a king and a queen who presided over it. One day Queen Perigrine disappeared, and they found her body at the bottom of the Tunnel of Love. After that day, King Avian began to be suspicious of everyone and required genetic scans of all incoming tourist before they could enter. Anyone with genetic anomalies was imprisoned in an underground labyrinth and subjected to many tests and acts of torture.
Winter was discovered to be a mutant and was imprisoned like many others. Among the inmates was a tormented girl named Willow who seemed about to die. The two girls became friends, but then Willow was taken away again by Avian. Winter tried to escape to save her friend, but didn't get far before she was discovered. For her actions she was sentenced to public execution. When she was taken to be executed, she saw that the king and queen were presiding over it. However, the queen looked different, having the same marks on her face that Willow had. In fact it was Willow—a mutant shapeshifter—and the young girl orchestrated their escape from the facility.
The pair arrived at Halo City, the home of X-Nation and joins the group. They moved into a home for indigent children which is maintained by the 'Sisterhood of the Howling Commandos'. Cerebra, one of the members of the current X-Men assists the Commandos in teaching the children. The group spends downtime at 'milk' bars, as a new process had been invented to give dairy products narcotic qualities.
It was some time later that Avian decides to mount a mission to recapture Willow in a bid to be the first to find the fabled Mutant Messiah. He attacks the children and captured Willow again. Wanting to rescue their friend, X-Nation decides to infiltrate the Million Palms facility and save her. However, their fledgling efforts ended in their capture and subsequent torture. Willow was able to escape and, impersonating Avian, she was able to help liberate her friends. They couldn't celebrate for long because upon their return home they found that Halo City was devastated.
Their own home had been blown up by the Atlantean army and the city was being flooded due to the Phalanx melting the polar ice caps. The entire Sisterhood had been killed in a battle that took many Atlantean lives. Exodus had awoken from another century-long slumber and tried to make X-Nation his Acolytes. They refused and were subsequently beaten, and even still some of them believed that Exodus wasn't that bad. The entire group realize Exodus is not to be trusted when he refuses to help save the human population of Halo City. Those who survived were teleported away by Mademoiselle Strange and began to face their future.
They travel to the Savage Land, along with many other humans and mutants, as it is now the last inhabitable place on earth. They do what they can to begin to form a society there. Willow, along with Nostromo, Bloodhawk, La Lunatica, communications expert Jade Ryuteki, Mr. Hodge and a scientist named Mr. Winn form part of an exploration team into the jungles. Along the way they stumble upon an alien space craft and become trapped inside of it. Willow shapeshifts into one of the previous alien owners of the ship to allow them to escape, but she becomes trapped in that form. With the alien mind taking over, La Lunatica slams her into the water to protect the rest of the group. Nostromo dives in after her and succeeds in subdueing her feral persona and returning her to normal but he does not resurface. Luna dives after him, but only finds a strange cocoon at the bottom. Nostromo "hatches" as a fully Phalanx form and some of President Doom's operatives arrive to bring the boy to Doom. Mr. Winn turns out to be Phalanx and slays all of Doom's men. The heroes end up the last people standing as Winn teleports away with Nostromo.
They escape back to the 'Last Refuge'. Willow, transformed into a green flying creature, tries to smooth relations with the mutant hating Hodge, as both had lost a friend with the betrayal of Mr. Winn. On the outskirts of the city, the expedition is confronted with another Phalanx warrior, threatening to assimilate them all.
Later, Willow is among the human/mutant coalition shown trying to rebuild the Savage Land settlement. She is the one who realizes that Uproar, who had become lost when kidnapped along with Wulff, has been missing for some time. Presumably, she is the one who launches the rescue mission to retrieve him.
Willow can perfectly mimic the shape of other beings although her facial markings remain prevalent.