Real Name: Katherine Ann Summers
Aliases: Ann, Kate
Identity: Public Identity
Occupation: Unknown
Citizenship: United States Citizen with no criminal record
Place of Birth: Unrevealed
Known Relatives: Philip Summers (father in law), Deborah Summers (mother in law), Christopher Summers (alias, Corsair, husband), Scott (alias Cyclops, son), Alexander (“Alex,” alias Havok, son), Jean Grey (daughter-in-law), Gabriel Summers (son), Adam Neramani (half-son), Rachel Summer (Phoenix, grand-daughter in alternate time line), Nathan Christopher Charles Summers (Cable, grand-son). Note: Due to alternate time lines and the like, the Summers family tree begins to get extremely complicated, so we’re just going to focus on the above.
Group Affiliation: None
First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #108
History: Major Christopher Summers was a pilot in the US Air Force; and while on vacation with his family (his wife Katherine, and his two young sons, Scott and Alex), their plane is attacked by an alien vessel commanded by the Shi’ar Empire. When their plane bursts into flame, Katherine is forced to make the difficult choice of giving the only parachute on the plane to their eldest son, Scott, whom she then tells to cling to Alex as tightly as possible, and shoves them out of the burning plane.
Scott and Alex witness the plane crashing and exploding, believing their parents to be dead. Unbeknownst to them that both their father and mother had been teleported aboard the Shi’ar vessel and taken to the Shi’ar homeworld of Chandilar. There, they were separated when Christopher Summers was imprisoned. Little did he know that his wife Katherine was apparently pregnant, and D’Ken had cut the embryo from her womb when Christopher broke free and found D’Ken attempting to rape her. The child, later named Gabriel, survived, and was aged (the same process that Erik the Red had used to age Magneto back from infant to his original age) and sent to Earth, with no memories.
Christopher in the meantime, was put in the Slave Pits of Alsibar, where he would go on to meet four other aliens that would change the course of his life – a Saurid named Ch’od, a Lupin named Cr+reee, and Mephitisoid whom Christopher named Hepzibah (since those not of her race were able to pronounce her name) and a half Shi’ar/Cyborg named Raza Longknife. Together, they escaped, and stole a ship that would later become known as the Starjammer. Christopher adopted the name Corsair from this point forward, and swore vengeance against D’Ken.
Little did he know that it would seem that Shi’ar technology had detected great genetic potential in Katherine, and D’Ken used her DNA mixed with his own to create a hybrid Shi’ar named Adam Neramni, who like Gabriel, eventually landed on Earth with little memory of his life (undoubtedly, similarly aged as Gabriel was).
Because of the Shi’ar interest (in noting that the Summers were “superior specimens of the human race” and Mr. Sinister’s interest in Scott and Alex Summers), it is believed that Katherine’s DNA make up had the potential for the creation of powerful mutants (which would explain the Shi’ar Empire’s interest in abducting them, and potentially wanting to introduce the mutant gene to the Shi’ar royal bloodline; which appears to have been D’Ken’s goal with the Adam Neramani).
Height: 5’7″
Weight: 115 lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blond
Powers: Katherine possessed no super human abilities.
Note: The introduction of Gabriel Summers was a retcon story to “resolve” the “Third Summers Brother” storyline that had been introduced by Fabian in the pages of X-Men. Fabian had intended Adam Neramani to be the third Summers brother, but had left the X-Books before completing his story. Twenty years later, Ed Brubaker rewrote Giant Size X-Men #1, and introduced Gabriel Summers and “borrowed” from Adam’s intended origin. It’s interesting to note, when Katherine is seen being stabbed in Uncanny X-Men #156, she is clearly not pregnant as Ed Brubaker’s story would require.
