Taki Matsuya
| Taki Matsuya | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | X-Terminators #1 (October 1988) |
| Created by |
Louise Simonson Jon Bogdanove |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Takashi "Taki" Matsuya |
| Species | Human Mutant |
| Team affiliations |
X-Terminators Avengers Academy |
| Notable aliases | Wiz-Kid |
| Abilities | Technomorphic abilities |
Takashi "Taki" Matsuya or sometimes called the Wiz Kid is a fictional mutant character from Marvel Comics.
Publication history
Created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove, his first appearance was in X-Terminators #1 (October 1988).
Wiz Kid appeared as a supporting character in Avengers Academy beginning with issue #21 (Jan 2012), making occasional appearances throughout the series.
Fictional character biography
A very intelligent, dyslexic boy genius, Taki lost his parents and his ability to walk in a car accident. Shortly after, he is enrolled at St. Simons, a private elementary school for children with reading disabilities. Still angered and saddened by the loss of his parents, Taki antagonizes and secludes himself from the other students. Taki meets Artie and Leech, two mutants who were looked after by X-Factor. Artie and Leech join Taki at St. Simons, which is fully prepared to help young children with mutant powers.
Leech and Artie are kidnapped by the demon N'astirh. Taki finds out he's a mutant with technoforming powers,[1] and tries to save them with the help of other X-Factor wards, Rusty, Skids, Boom Boom and Rictor. Together, the five form the X-Terminators, but Taki is captured shortly after.[2] N'astirh coerces Taki into creating a super-computer that allows N'astirh to cast multiple spells and open the portal from Limbo to Earth faster than before.[3] Taki, feeling responsible, uses his power to destroy the computer, seriously injuring himself in the resulting explosion.[4]
Afterwards the X-Terminators soon disband and Taki, Artie and Leech go back to St. Simons.
Sometime after his battles against demons, Taki develops a childish crush on one of his teachers. Snooping through her office he discovers the teacher's boyfriend is really a mutant-hating terrorist bent on kidnapping the mutant kids of St. Simons. Teaming with Artie and Leech, knowing full well he is violating the rules, Taki rousts the criminals in their hideout, bringing them and damning evidence to the attention of the police.[5] Later, an older woman, Ida Fassbender, who lives near the school sees evidence of Taki, Artie and Leech utilizing flying craft. Her paranoia gets the best of her and she causes a public incident which puts the trio's lives in danger. Fassbender realizes the depths of the problem she has caused and calms the situation. She invites the trio over, declaring they can call her 'Grammie' and visit whenever they want. [6]
Taki's subsequent whereabouts are unknown, but he is shown depowered as seen in Decimation.[7]
Taki is part of the new class of students when the Avengers Academy moves to the former headquarters of the West Coast Avengers.[8] He has somehow become repowered again, as he has called himself a mutant and is shown to still have use of his mutant powers to create advanced technology, such as a flying wheelchair.
Powers and abilities
Taki has the ability to rearrange parts of machinery made of metal, glass or plastic into various items or weapons that he can create. This ability is known as "technoforming". Taki is also an inventive genius.
Other versions
Ultimate Marvel
In Ultimates Annual #1, the Defenders, a group of would-be superheroes, take in a wheelchair-using polio victim called Whiz-Kid, who claims to be able to alter the temperature of certain inorganic materials. The Defenders, however, keep referring to him as the "little wheel-fellow", and generally talk down to him; eventually it is revealed that they only allowed him to join so that they could get corporate sponsorship by having a disabled team member.[9]
In other media
Television
- In the X-Men animated series, Taki was featured along with Rusty, Skids and Boom-Boom in the episode "No Mutant is an Island". In this version, he is again in an orphanage, though the others are here as well. The episode mostly focused on X-Man Cyclops and Rusty as the latter, Taki, Skids and Boom-Boom were brainwashed by Zebediah Killgrave. Killgrave who adopts the four and uses them to storm the governor's mansion so he can make the governor his mind-controlled slave. Eventually, Cyclops saves Taki and the others.