Artie Maddicks

Arthur "Artie" Maddicks is a fictional comic book character in Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe. He first appeared in X-Factor #2 (March 1986) and was created by Bob Layton and Jackson Guice.

Publication history

Created by Bob Layton and Jackson Guice and appearing in X-Factor #2, as the mutant son of Dr. Carl Maddicks, Artie's characterisation was as a mute mutant whose father was trying to cure him. Upon his father's death, Artie became a ward of X-Factor appearing sporadically in the X-Titles in the mid to late 1980s. These included the first series of X-Factor and the New Mutants and appearing in a supporting role in the limited series, X-Terminators. He also was seen in titles that were affected by the Mutant Massacre such as Thor and Power Pack before his character fell into comicbook limbo with his appearances being limited and occasional.

In the mid-1990s, Artie resurfaced, alongside Leech, as a ward of Gene Nation in the pages of Generation X. How he came about being with Gene Nation has yet to be addressed. Later, he and Leech become wards and supporting cast members of Generation X, alongside Franklin Richards, who had become an "orphan" after the "death" of his parents. This led the three boys to star in their own limited comicbook series, Daydreamers, alongside Man-Thing and Tana Nile. After the Generation X title ended with issue #75, Artie fell into limbo again with his fate unclear.

Since the end of Generation X, Leech reappeared having been captured by Weapon X and later as part of The 198. Artie was briefly mentioned as being one of the many mutants who was depowered and whose powers were being "used" by the Collective in New Avengers #18, and although the full circumstances about his being powerless and where he has been have yet to be revealed; he (along with Leech) appeared as guests of Franklin's birthday party within Fantastic Four #574.

Artie Maddicks received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89 #4.

Fictional character biography

Artie was raised by his father, Dr. Carl Maddicks, until his eleventh birthday, when he gained his powers. Artie mutated into a lumpy pink form with no nose and large round eyes. Furthermore, the speech center of his brain was altered, rendering him mute. Desperate, Dr. Maddicks forced Dr. Hank McCoy to help him make a cure. McCoy was used as Dr. Maddicks' guinea pig, while Artie watched. X-Factor came to save McCoy and ended up saving Artie as well. Brand Corporation security guards (whom Dr. Maddicks worried would kill his son) arrived as he fired a gun at them. The guards fire back, killing him.

Afterwards, Artie became the ward of X-Factor. As a part of X-Factor's group of youthful pupils, the "X-Terminators", he first met his friend Leech, a Morlock boy with green skin who possesses the ability to negate other mutants' superhuman abilities. He also befriends several other young mutants, such as Boom-Boom, Rictor, Rusty and Skids.

For a time, Artie and the personnel of X-Factor live aboard Ship, a massive artificial intelligence with a spacecraft body that dwarfs all skyscrapers. When Ship is overtaken by a booby trap implanted by its old master Apocalypse, it manages to bring Artie deep inside itself, to its own computer brain. Artie manages to translate that there is a bomb attached to the brain. X-Factor, working with the kids, manages to defuse the bomb and it explodes harmlessly far above the island of Manhattan.

St. Simons

Some time later, X-Factor splits their wards between two boarding schools that were about a mile apart. Artie's school, St. Simons recognizes that he, Leech and the tech-manipulating child Taki are mutants, and more importantly, best friends and were fully willing to work around this. When the events of Inferno began, N'Astirh's demon hordes first went after Artie and Leech, as they were powerful children. It was determined the two were too old but the demon kept them on hand anyway. The other members of the X-Terminators, joined by Taki, leave their new living situations to help rescue him. Artie is forced to witness at least two murders of innocent humans guards before he is rescued.^[1]

Artie, Leech and Taki move back to St. Simons for a while, where they foil a mutant kidnapping plot by a group of murderous humans.^[2] Artie gains an unofficial grandmother in Ida Fassbender, a nervous but kindly woman who lives near St. Simons.^[3]

Generation X

Gene Nation disrupts the school with another kidnapping scheme, this time successful. After a battle with Hemingway, Generation X finds Artie hiding in the shadows. Artie quickly bonds with Jubilee (who is the first to approach and reassure him), Synch (who would become one of his preferred playmates), and inexplicably Skin (who states more than once in Artie's presence that he dislikes kids). Artie uses a hologram to guide them to his kidnapped friend Leech, who is similarly rescued.^[4] Leech and Artie then came to live at the Massachusetts Academy, the home of the teenage mutant team, as wards. They spent much of their time in a treehouse (built for them by Synch and Skin) within the Bio-Sphere.^[5] There they soon met Franklin Richards (recently "orphaned" after the Onslaught incident) who rounded out the trio of "The Daydreamers." They also met Howard the Duck and his two female companions, Beverly Switzler and Tana Nile. When Black Tom Cassidy attacks the school, an extension of his plant form personally attacks the children in the area called the Danger Grotto. Howard, at great personal risk, managed to distract Tom while Artie and the others make a break for it. Tom is seemingly destroyed in an explosion that sets fire to the entire grotto. Man-Thing arrives and took the entire group away,^[6] into several adventures.^[7] When Franklin's family return from an alternate universe (of his own creation—see Onslaught saga and the Heroes Reborn storylines for more details), Artie and Leech return to the Academy, where they start to take more active roles. They are given image inducers to hide their appearances, and frequently used them to wreak playful havoc.

After Generation X suffers the death of Synch due to terrorist activity, it was decided that the younger members of the team, including the M Twins, Leech, Artie, and the vacant but functional form of Penance, would go to live in Monaco with M's father.

Future Foundation

During a mission, the New Avengers viewed a screen of de-powered mutants. Artie was on that screen with other mutants de-powered after the House of M event.^[8] Artie and Leech were invited to Franklin's birthday party and received from both him and Reed Richards special keys to their own room at the Baxter Building; should they wish to move from Utopia. Artie also received a special helmet made by Valeria Richards which allows him to communicate by creating images in the air - he remains mute due to the deformity caused by his mutations.^[9] Artie and Leech do end up moving to the Baxter Building; they are now part of a special class taught by Reed Richards.^[10]

Powers and abilities

Artie is a young mutant with bright pink skin and a lumpy, misshapen skull. He possesses the ability to project telepathic holograms of his thoughts. Usually he uses his power to communicate, because he is mute. However, he can make large-scale holograms as a means of defense. Artie can also tap into and project images of the thoughts of other people, at times on the scale of a city's population. He can also use this limited form of telepathy to mind-lock people and prevent them from acting.

Artie was stripped of his mutant abilities by the Scarlet Witch at the conclusion of the "House of M" incident, but now wields these same powers artificially through the use of a helmet created by Valeria Richards.

Other versions

• What The--?! #25 (Summer 1993) - 'All Mutant Parody Issue'
• Gen13/Generation X #1
• Wolverine/Power Pack #2 — at Professor Xavier's mansion

In other media

Film

• A boy named Artie appears in a nonspeaking role in the second X-Men film, X2, played by Bryce Hodgson; however, he has a single line of dialogue in a deleted scene from X2. This character is never clearly identified as Artie Maddicks. His appearance is normal aside from a blue, forked tongue, and he does not demonstrate any powers in the film.

• The name "Maddicks, Artie" also appears in X2 on a list of names Mystique scrolls through on William Stryker's computer while looking for Magneto's file.

References

External links

• Marvel Directory Character Bio-Artie Maddicks
• Uncannyxmen.net character bio on Artie
• X-Men at Marvel.com
• Artie Maddicks bio on marvel.com