Cell (comics)

Cell is a fictional mutant character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. His first appearance was in Morlocks #1, created by Geoff Johns and Shawn Martinbrough.

Fictional character biography

Shot in the stomach by the cops, Cell sat in the back seat of a car bleeding, while his fellow gang members tried to drive away. The cops shot the driver, and the car swerved out of control. Cell made his way out of the wreck, but his physiology was changed. The cops opened fire on him, but he survived, and drained into the sewers. The Postman's Morlocks stood in front of him, then defeated the cops, offering him a chance to join the group, which he accepts.

While down in the sewers, he has to break up a fight between Angel Dust and Electric Eve along with Shatter. However, the two aren't very effective and Cell is splattered against a wall, but is undamaged.

The group then started fulfilling wishes and first on the list was Shatter, who wanted to liberate his best friend. Cell accompanied the Morlocks as they rescued Shatter's dog, Hank, from the pound, then followed as they went to make Electric Eve's "wish" come true, unaware that wish was murder. They arrived to find Electric Eve having fried her ex-pimp. Postman and Eve argued about what she had done—making the rest of the Morlocks an accessory to murder. Eve retorted that Postman had put no limitations on what the wishes should be, Trader confessing that he wished to murder his co-worker who had "outed" him as a mutant and got him fired. However the argument was short-lived as the Sentinels arrived, blasting Shatter's arm off.

The Morlocks fled back to their subway station home, and the Morlocks care for the wounded Shatter. As Postman and Eve began to argue again, the police arrived, killing Trader as he tried to protect Electric Eve. As the others fought, Angel Dust tried to shield Shatter, trying to protect him, and begged the police not to hurt him (but they apparently had worse plans for her). Thankfully, Electric Eve leapt to her defense and fried the cops, while Cell wraps himself around several cops, beginning to digest them. Enraged at the destruction around him and the injury of his loved ones, Postman erased everything in the surviving police officer's minds, leaving them complete vegetables.

They then left to make Postman's wish come true. Angel and Litterbug tore down a steel hospital door so that he could see his comatose wife one last time. Postman then led them to the sewer junction beneath Washington and Chestnut, where Angel's parents lived, remarking that it was on his route. Angel was afraid to face them, fearing rejection, but Shatter explained that they all deserved closure. Angel went to her home and found her worried parents surrounded by missing posters. She explained that she was a mutant, and ran away to protect them. She didn't get to enjoy her reunion, as once more she had to flee as the Sentinels homed in on her position. Eve comforted her as she cried, wishing there was some way that they could live free of the Sentinels. Litterbug explained that there was a way, to disable the Sentinel Central Control. He then admitted he'd helped design them.

Enraged, Angel Dust attacked Litterbug, pounding him down until Shatter convinced her to stop, that they all needed to work together. The Morlocks lured out and captured a Sentinel. Angel ripped it open, and then reprogrammed it following instructions from Litterbug. They sent a false message to Sentinel HQ stating that they'd been killed, and then used the giant robot as a Trojan Horse to get inside the control center. After the Morlocks ripped their way out, Angel tried to reprogram the computers, but had to save Cell from a guided missile. Feeling his powers were inadequate against the machines, Cell ran away from the battle while Electric Eve and Litterbug destroyed the main computer, sending the Sentinels out of control. The Morlocks fled for their lives, but Cell ran back in, determined not to let the Project Director, Dr. Metellus, have another chance to harm his friends. Wrapping himself around the doctor, he tricked the Sentinel scanners into perceiving Dr. Metellus as a mutant. Following its prime objectives, the giant robot fired upon the target, apparently killing the two men in one of its blasts.

Powers and abilities

Given that his body mutated into a giant unicellular organism he could receive massive amounts of physical damage without being hurt, reshape himself to be able to slip through doors and sewer grates, stretch or expand his shape, and digest substances by absorbing them into his body and deal damage equal to the attack points.

Bibliography

• Morlocks #1-4

External links

• Uncannyxmen.net issue summaries of the Morlocks limited series
• Uncannyxmen.net character bio on Cell
• Cell at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe