Tempo (comics)

Tempo, a fictional character, is an African-American mutant in the Marvel Comics universe. She was first introduced as a member of the Mutant Liberation Front in New Mutants.

Publication history

Tempo first appeared in New Mutants #86, though in this cameo appearance she is incorrectly referred to as "Strobe", the name of one of her teammates. Her first full appearance is in New Mutants #87.

Fictional character biography

Mutant Liberation Front

Stryfe's leadership

Tempo was a founding member of the terrorist organization known as the Mutant Liberation Front (MLF). One of their first missions under the leadership of Stryfe was to liberate the incarcerated mutants, Rusty and Skids. The MLF broke Rusty and Skids out of prison, after which the pair joined the MLF. Later, it was discovered that neural implants kept them from leaving that organization. Tempo was a mainstay in the team's adventures, including fighting Wolverine, Sunfire, X-Factor and others in the name of mutant rights.

In the battle with X-Factor, Tempo used her time-bending powers against the super-speedster known as Quicksilver, however, Tempo and her teammates were defeated and Stryfe was almost captured.^[1] Following that unsuccessful battle, the MLF decided to destroy the Tucker Clinic: an institute for pregnant mothers to undergo prenatal DNA testing to determine whether or not their babies would be mutants. X-Factor, acting on an anonymous tip, was able to arrive in time to thwart their attempted destruction, but failed to prevent the death of Dr. Tucker. The MLF retreated, not knowing it was Tempo who gave the tip to X-Factor. Tempo's last name is also Tucker, and the story hints that she might have been related to him, possibly his daughter.^[2]

Reignfire's leadership

Soon after, a tyrannical despot named Reignfire reformed the MLF. One of his first actions was to break Tempo, Forearm, Reaper, and Wildside out of prison, after which he gave them their first mission: kill Henry Peter Gyrich. The MLF also picked up new members Locus and Moonstar. The assassination attempt on Gyrich was foiled by X-Force. Locus and Sunspot are lost, but Feral defected to the MLF after a heated discussion with Gyrich. After Feral's defection, he attacks Gyrich, but Tempo intervenes and stops the attack, after which she was exiled from the MLF by Reignfire. With no other place to go, Tempo leaves with X-Force.

On her own

After leaving the MLF, Tempo was invited by Cable to join X-Force, which she declined, saying she wanted to go to college and put aside the super-powered lifestyle. She was again briefly affiliated with the MLF during Operation: Zero Tolerance. During this operation, Tempo, Dragoness, Wildside, Forearm and Danielle Moonstar investigated the Wakeman Center, which they suspected of constructing a new strain of the Legacy Virus. During the mission, a disagreement arose between Wildside and Locus, after which Locus left, stranding Tempo and the others. The stranded MLF members worked with X-Force to escape but only Forearm and Danielle were successful.^[3]

After M-Day

M-Day was when Scarlet Witch removed the mutant genome from over 90% of the world's mutant population. After that event, Tempo was one of the few to retain her powers. She became a member of the Acolytes, who joined Mr. Sinister's Marauders. During the Marauders' raid on the X-Mansion and in the final battle on Muir Isle, she is knocked out by Cable. However, even though they were defeated, Tempo's ability to slow time was used to allow the Marauders and Acolytes to escape.^[4] After the escape, Exodus reformed the Acolytes, and Tempo became a member.

X-Men: Legacy

Professor X was able to enter the Acolytes' secret compound and convinced Exodus to consider joining the X-Men to prepare the mutants for the return of the "messiah child" (Hope Summers) and to prevent events like M-Day from ever happening again. The Acolytes disbanded, with several joining the X-Men, but Tempo remained undecided. After Utopia forms, Tempo became part of it, and began to work with the X-Men, fighting against both Emplate and Selene's Army.

Age of X

X is a rogue personality of the mutant known as Legion. When reality was warped due to his machinations, Tempo, like all residents of Utopia, was transformed into a soldier of Fortress X.^[5] A squad leader, she is injured in battle when she attempted to use her powers to slow down the treads of an enemy tank, and she was hit by shrapnel. Though she was successful in stopping the tank, her injuries were fatal, but before she died, her memories were absorbed by Legacy.^[6]

Powers and abilities

Tempo can manipulate time. She is able to slow or stop her opponents, or conversely, speeds up either herself or her teammates. She has prevented a number of grenades from exploding by keeping them in suspended motion, and was also able to successfully attack Rogue by amplifying Rogue's speed, causing her to crash into a wall while flying.

Strain limits how long Tempo can maintain a major time manipulation. While it was never established how long that limit is, she was able to completely freeze the X-Men for several minutes while she and the Acolytes conducted a thorough search of the X-Men mansion.^[7] Tempo can also levitate herself and fly at subsonic speeds.

Besides physical protection, Tempo's helmet contains electronics equipment providing her with resistance to Cable's telepathic probes. ^[8]

References

External links

• UncannyXmen.net Character Profile on Tempo