In 1993, the editors of Marvel Comics, decided it was time to try something different with their annuals. Previous years had tie ins with other annuals, such as Atlantis Attacks, The Terminus Factor, Return of the Defenders – this time, they wanted to do something that 
was a common theme, but not all tied together. Executive Editor, Bob Budiansky came up with the idea of 24 annuals, 24 new characters. Mark Gruenwald had opposed the idea, thinking that they’d just be creating 24 new characters who would be a “one and done” type thing and not be used again. He cited Squirrel Girl as an example, as a fun character, but that would never see the light of day besides her single usage because people would laugh at the idea and never appeal to her. (If Mark only knew, that later, in 2005 when Dan Slott put her in Great Lake Avengers that it’d create a ripple affect that would eventually lead to her being in the Avengers, video games, the whole bit!)
Will Murray who created Squirrel Girl in Marvel Super Heroes V2 #8 said:
Actually I created Squirrel Girl in script form without any artist input. Tom Morgan was originally going to draw it, but when he dropped out, I requested Ditko and got him. Ditko did a great job in bringing my baby to life. He invented that knuckle spike. It wasn’t in the script. I based Squirrel Girl ironically enough on a long–ago girlfriend who read comics and was into “critters”—wild animals of all types. Coincidentally, she was a big Ditko fan. I think I got the idea because I had a bunch of squirrels running around my roof and sometimes coming in through my open bedroom window and inspiration struck.
Back to the annuals, the editors devised a plan that would be similar to the introduction of then Captain Marvel (who has since changed her name from Captain Marvel to: Photon, then Pulsar, then Spectrum). At the time, Monica Rambeau had done well for herself, becoming an Avenger in Avengers #227. In her first appearance, in the 1982 The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16, the story featured her origin and her first adventure. This is what the editors had wanted to do with these new characters. Give them an origin and have their first adventure take place. This way, any other book can build off of what’s already established and have plot points to work with, rather than just blank slates with cool powers and cool looks being introduced, simply for the sake of introducing them.
All of these annuals would be poly-bagged and have a “collectable” card in them (because back then, collectable cards were still a thing). For the sake of my sanity, I am just going to go down this list alphabetically:
Annex (Amazing Spider-Man Annual #27)
Annex was a soldier during Desert Storm, who was shot through the leg, and was forced to have his leg amputated. He agreed to being a part of a test to allow him to use armor to give him mobility. During the process, his memory was scrambled, and he essentially became a villain, but was redeemed at the end, restoring himself.
In many ways, he’s a lot like Deathlok (or Robocop), and I could see still being used. I could, for example, see him teaming up with Punisher.
The Assassin (Namor, the Sub-Mariner Annual #3)
This is a weird one. I’m not kidding. So, essentially Apocalypse had created The Assassin because he wanted to do some kind of testing on Namor. So he has the Assassin kill a Japanese man of some importance, who Apocalypse then assumes the form of. In this form, he invites Namor over and has The Assassin ambush him; and it’s a pretty equal fight, but the Assassin eventually wins. (This might be difficult to believe when Namor’s gone toe to toe with the Hulk, but it’s comics!) So Apocalypse, in all of eons of wisdom, takes Namor prisoner in a sub, where he breaks free and tears the sub apart. Namor escapes and there’s an explosion, but the Assassin is seen having survived the explosion as well, as she is seen walking on the ocean floor. She’s not, to my knowledge, been seen since.
Bantam (Captain America Annual #12)
This is an unusual story as well. In Captain America, Roberto Velasquez was a boxer who was approached by a man named Armando Aviles who convinced him to visit the Powerbroker. The Powerbroker enhanced his strength and made him bullet proof. In Roberto’s next boxing match, his super strength results in killing his opponent which horrifies him and he swears off boxing. He’s eventually shot and left for dead in a coffin that’s tossed in the swamp by Aviles. He takes this opportunity to break into one of Aviles’ facilities, steal some equipment, and become Bantam, to try and take down Aviles, which he eventually successfully does. He appears in Civil War: Damage Report once, after registering. I am not sure I could see any use left of Bantam, other than the occasional team up with someone like Spider-Man, or someone very street level. If he was redesigned he could be another Luke Cage, since he has super strength and is bullet proof, so there’s hope for him, in the hands of the right creative team.
Bloodwraith (Avengers Annual #22)
Bloodwraith is one of the few character who became a new character, but was actually an existing character. You see, Bloodwraith, whose real name was Sean Dolan, first appeared as Sean Dolan in Black Knight V2 #2, but it was in Avengers Annual #22 where Sean Dolan comes in contact with the Ebony Blade (formerly used by Dane Whitman, the Black Knight, until wanting to be free of the blade’s curse made an energy sword for himself). When Sean touched the Ebony Blade, he became the super villain Blood Wraith and went on to do some pretty vile things. Not only did he once kill Namor (who was restored a short while later after battling evil souls in the blade), but he went to Slorenia, where Ultron had killed hundreds (if not thousands!) of people and absorbed all of their souls. The Avengers would go on to try and fight him, but he proved too powerful, so they just built a wall around him after Scarlet Witch cast a spell that bound him there.
I believe that’s where he still is (you figure with all that’s happened in the Marvel Universe, that spell might be broke by now, especially after Wanda’s “No More Mutants” that changed the world before being restored). I feel like Bloodwraith would make a good Doctor Strange villain; all mystical and stuff.
The Cadre (Web of Spider-Man Annual #9)
This is another one that sort of goes against the normal rules of these annuals. While this event seemed to be about introducing a single new character, who would have their origin and first adventure in the annual, The Cadre were three new characters. It was two brothers and their sister, which were the byproduct of a Hellbent (essentially like a demon) and a human woman. They were left at a Monastery when they were infants. They went on to appear in a few issues of Marc Spector: Moon Knight, who like the trio, apparently had his own set of “Hellbent” powers that were revealed during this run of his series. I do not believe they’ve been seen since. Without a revamp of their costumes, I am not sure these characters would appear anywhere else other than a Doctor Strange book.
Charon (X-Factor Annual #8)
Charon was a human by the name of Charles Ronalds, who after seeing a Batman and Robin movie with his parents, came out, only to witness his parents being murdered in front of him (by a mutant that looked similar to Random). At school, Guido (later to become Strong Guy) had his mutant power kick in, and Charlie thought how he looked like the mutant that murdered his parents. Charlie dipped into darkness and studied the occult and eventually summoned a demon, much later in life, to deal with Guido. In the end, because of Charon’s anger (and breaking the deal made with the demon), the demon pulled Charon into the depths of Hell. He’s not been seen since. Which I think is a missed opportunity, because during one of Peter David’s runs of X-Factor, he had made Guido the ruler of Hell. Seemed like the perfect chance for a Charon / Guido meeting.
Darkling (New Warriors Annual #3)
Writer Fabian Nicieza was never one to just “make a character for nothing.” Fabian tied in the creation of Darkling, a human by the name of Henrique Manuel Gallante, to the Forces of Darkness, Forces of Light cross over event he had going through the New Warriors title. It turns out that Henrique Manuel Gallante is a mutant who was born with the ability to tap into the Darkforce Dimension. It turns out that he unleashes all of this Darkforce on the city to see why darkness is drawn to him; but not the light. He eventually absorbs it all and disappears into the Darkforce dimension; but would turn up again in New Warriors, this time under the name of Asylum and leading Psionex. He would turn up yet again, as one of the mutants who retained his power after M-Day. And one more time when the Thunderbolts found him in an insane asylum and used him to open the Darkforce Dimension to retrieve Blackout (Marcus Daniels). His current whereabouts are unknown, but he could certainly appear again.
Devourer (Daredevil Annual #9)
When Daredevil attempts to stop some thugs who are robbing a museum, some blood is spilled on an ancient artifact, awakening the Devourer. The Devourer is a Mayan based monster that’s bent on eating flesh to grow stronger. The Devourer is seemingly defeated by Daredevil who used a blade to stab it in the chest, and restoring the man who had been changed into the Devourer. The Devourer appeared again in two issues of Daredevil (#335 and #336) when someone summons up the Devourer. This time Deathlok comes along and uses a futuristic weapon that consumes the Devourer in fire, seemingly destroying it. Again. Granted the mystical nature of the Devourer, I could see it appearing in a Doctor Strange or Defenders kind of title, and could be used as a “one of villain” to rise and be defeated.
Dreamkiller (Darkhawk Annual #2)
Alex Tennyson was a man obsessed with the occult, and wanted the power equal to something like Doctor Strange or Baron Mordo. When a mystical object of power that turned a man into a monster is lost after a fight with Darkhawk and Ghost Rider, Alex finds the man who found it and kills him for it (when the man refuses what Alex is willing to pay). It took awhile but Alex was able to unlock the power of the artifact and turned him into the Dreamkiller. He goes to kill his ex-wife’s husband but is forced to hesitate when his son comes out. Darkhawk arrives but Dreamkiller manages to escape. To my knowledge he’s not appeared again. I could see him and Sleepwalker crossing paths; and maybe enhance his power to allow him to walk in dreams. He has potential to be a villain to be used again.
Empyrean (X-Men Annual #2)
Now here’s a character with an unusual power set. Empyrean absorbs the energy of the pain and suffering emitted around the world and is able to discharge it in the form of an electrical blast, and those struck feel the pain and suffering that had been absorbed. This is a mutant, considering the condition of the world, would constantly be charged with energy. Using his money he bought a small island off of Florida, and the X-Men, being suspicious went to visit and discovered some of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants were there, but before too much happens, Pyro shows up and explains that the island is a haven for mutants, like him, dying of the Legacy Virus. He would appear again in X-Men: Time Gliders, which was a mini comic sold at Hardees, along with X-Men related action figures. In that story, he wants to steal a device Beast created that allows people to travel through time; he seeks to steal it to release the Legacy Virus sooner, so more people and he can absorb their suffering and increase his power. Unfortunately when he finally does steal it and travel back in time, he goes back to the prehistoric age of dinosaurs, when Beast summons the time glider back, without Empyrean on the disc, leaving his fate to be shared with the dinosaurs. It would seem like he’s perished; but this is easily remedied with any time traveler; but even easier, what if he didn’t actually travel back in time, but rather teleported to the Savage Land?
Eradikator 6 (Punisher Annual #6)
I didn’t pick this up, so I am not too familiar with Eradikator 6. All I remember is that it’s a robot, with the typical super strength, super resistant. I believe there’s something in there about an old war buddy of Punisher’s that’s killed or something along those lines; but I might be blurring the lines between one of the other Punisher stories. Over all, seems like a very generic, very un-unique type villain (being a robot is the easiest cop out). So I couldn’t really see it appearing again, unless they were to go the route of Ultron (which maybe is why it’s called Eradikator 6, maybe there were previous versions of it, in the comic, that I am simply not remembering? If that’s the case, at least it has some foundation in previous versions, rather than a one off).
Facethief (Iron Man Annual #14)
The Face Thief is a branch of ancient demons, known as Shinma demons. They take murder the rich and assume their place, using their wealth and power to spread ruin and despair. The Face Thief is unleashed on accident, and the demon assumes the form of a human by the name of Creighton McCall. The Face Thief, in Creighton’s form, then murders Richard Stevenson, his son-in-law. At the funeral, Tony Stark, feeling that the Richard’s death seemed suspicious, used an LMD (Life Model Decoy), because he was suffering from nerve damage from a previous fight. Meredith, the daughter of Creighton tells “Tony Stark” (the LMD) that she feels like her father is a different person and scans from the LMD confirm that the energy signature emanating from Creighton is not normal. Later Meredith gets in a fight with her father and scratches his face, revealing the Face Thief beneath. Kaze, from an order called the Masters of Silence jumps in to help Meredith but dies in the process. Tony Stark unleashes Iron Man and kills Face Thief. But Kaze needs a replacement in the Order of Silence, which Meredith accepts. But that the Face Thieves are demons, this is another potential Doctor Strange/Defenders story just waiting to be told. We basically have a mystical version of the Skrulls.
The Flame (Thor Annual #18)
This is a tragic tale of a Light Elf from Asgard named Hrinmeer, who was born of his mother, a Light Elf named Aeltri, when a Fire Demon named Skulveig had raped her. The fire demon hated Hrinmeer’s face, and forced him to wear a helmet. He grew up lonely and in verbally abused relationship with his “father.” He eventually grew tired of it and killed his demonic father and took his sword, and adopted the name “The Flame.” He rode through villages killing and murdering which caught the attention and ire of Odin, who dispatched Thor to take care of it. When Thor knocked off the Flame’s helmet, he was astonished to see an attractive young elf beneath the mask. Thor tried to talk to the Flame, but the Flame would not have any of it, and Thor eventually knocked him into a volcano and believed him to be dead; however, being part fire demon made him immune to fire, and he eventually clawed his way out of the volcano. Loki was there to greet him when he came out. The story continues in Thor Annual #19, a year later, where Loki and Pluto use The Flame to try and destroy Thor, but he’s defeated. He appears one more time in Thor #82, but is defeated and his own sword plunged through his chest, seemingly killing him.
It’s comics, it’s mystical, and with Pluto having used him as an ally, who knows if The Flame is truly dead. Seems like the type of villain that could easily pop up again from time to time.
Hitmaker (Wonder Man Annual #2)
That’s right, Wonder Man had his own series in the 90’s. Hitmaker is Orlando Sinclair, who grew up in the ghetto, but distanced himself from that life. His brother, Mariano however, was knee deep in it. Orlando tried to make it big using his natural talents and hoped to make it in Hollywood one day. While he suffered rejection over his natural talents, his brother was using the gang life to enhance his own life, and living quite nicely. An opposing gang recognized Orlando, and to get back at Mariano, shot Orlando in the back, paralyzing him. Mariano told Orlando that he and his gang had an exo-skeleton suit that would allow him to walk again; and give him enhanced powers, but if he used it, he would also be the gang’s hitman. Orlando agreed, and as soon as he was in the exo-skeleton suit, he left his life behind and went for Hollywood where he was hired on for a movie; but then told to confront Wonder Man. A fight breaks out, a bazooka fires and Wonder Man is forced to take Hitmaker to the hospital where he discovers that outside of the suit, Orlando is paralyzed. They eventually team up to go after the gangsters, but Hitmaker stops Wonder Man from arresting his brother, allowing him to escape. He is mentioned in the Civil War: Battle Damage Report where he’s considered for an Initiative recruit. He seems like a character that could appear in a Marvel Team Up kind of book with someone like Spider-Man.
Irish Wolf Hound (Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #3)
This isn’t the Guardians of the Galaxy everyone is currently familiar with. There was a Guardians of the Galaxy for many, many, many, many years in comics that composed of a different team entirely, and were from the future (31st Century). In this Guardians of the Galaxy, the Celtic god, Cuchulain surfaces when – in the world the Guardians came from – Earth was seized by aliens, where many heroes perished. Shamrock fled to Ireland, and Doctor Strange sensed Cuchulain and released him to protect her. He would appear again in that run of Guardians of the Galaxy in issues #51, 52, and 53, where he is recruited by the Guardians to assist them in helping free their companion Charlie-27. Since he comes from an alternate reality, and that version of the Guardians of the Galaxy doesn’t appear really anymore in the regular Marvel Universe, I can’t see him appearing again (unless they unleash him in modern 616 Marvel for some reason).
Khaos (Excalibur Annual #1)
Khaos is a Dark Elf from a plane known as Irth (yes, pronounced Earth). In this plane he was born a Dark Elf, but adopted by Fair Elves. He was a strong and skilled warrior, a great tactician and used techno-mancy (technology and magic) and had two swords that had magical energies, and carried a talisman, that looks like a money with its arms folded across its chest, and has metallic wings similar to Archangel. On his world he was fighting an opposing force, a man named Ghath, who was defeated and banished. Ghath landed on Earth and was still able to send waves of energy to disrupt Irth. Khaos decided to track him down and put an end to it. He teams up with Excalibur who chases Ghath back to Irth, where Khaos beheads him. Khaos ends up stuck on Earth, and is offered a position on Excalibur by Cerise, but he declines, explaining he would like to find his way back to Irth, and find a way to undo Ghath’s spell that prevents his return. As someone who loved Walt Simonson’s Malekith, his dark elf appearance appeals to me. Since he was stuck on Earth, stands to reason who could still be there. He could team up with Doctor Strange (or Defenders) in hopes of using Strange’s magical abilities to break the barrier and return him to Irth.
Kyllian (Doctor Strange Annual #3)
Kyllian works for a local drug lord, and doesn’t have much to do with his life. His sister is a prostitute and when he tries to get her out, she’s shot. He lashes out when he gains magical tattoos that grant him a connection with a Celtic god; it’s revealed to be three people (a female, a male, and a humanoid deer). They explains that he is their instrument of Justice, and that he must strike out at the people – like those that killed his sister. He decides to go after the crime boss, but Strange tracks him down and learns of his connection to the gods, and offers to train him. Kyllian learns the origin of his powers, of how some druids, being abused by Romans called upon the gods to extract revenge. I think the character could easily be used again, in either the pages of Doctor Strange (or Defenders) – that keeps happening, or possibly The Punisher (or even Avengers), who see this mystical being killing (less than favorable people and extracting said justice), and come head to head, until it’s all sorted out (and Kyllian can keep teleporting away to kill another day).
Lazarus (The Incredible Hulk Annual #19)
Todd Hunter was the owner of a technology company and was betrayed by his wife, Rosalind and her lover, Cameron and left for dead. Todd developed telekentic abilities and used his own technology to create a uniform and adopted the name Lazarus. As Lazarus he did extract his revenge on Cameron, by killing him. After Cameron’s death, Rosalind Hunter turned herself over to the police. Lazarus would then see his son being harassed by criminals about owing money, and would come up against the Hulk again. He was later considered as a potential recruit for the Initiative, despite his handling of Cameron. Considering he’s just a guy in armor, and still out free, I could see him popping up again from time to time, extracting revenge against criminal warlords. Something about his costume does, however, sort of remind me of Deadshot from Suicide Squad.
Legacy (Silver Surfer Annual #6)
This one makes me mad. Not that he was created, but that he was eventually killed. Granted, it’s Marvel Comics, so it’s probably a matter of time until his death is undone. But essentially, Elysius, the former love of Mar-Vell, who was missing him, sampled his DNA after his death and used it to artificially impregnate her, eventually giving birth to Genis-Vell. Genis adopted the name Legacy and took on the Nega-Bands, formerly worn by his “father” Mar-Vell. He would go on to appear frequently, even having his own series, appearing in Avengers Forever, and appearing in Thunderbolts. His look was updated from his long haired pony tail to a “celestial” like body after merging with Rick Jones, which also awakened his latent Cosmic Awareness. Marvel had done what they intended to do; created an interesting character with so much potential. However, things went south as they turned him insane, and he created a new reality, where his mother did the same thing with Mar-Vell’s genetic sample, this time giving birth to a female named Phyla. This is where the story turns so messy I can’t even begin to explain it. He eventually ends up with the Thunderbolts where Zemo says that he’s too dangerous to the universe, and uses the Moonstones to rip his body apart and send them to different corners of the universe. Granted, this could easily be undone with the energy finding itself and reconstructing Genis’ body. But they did so much damage to the character when they turned him insane, that’s simply beyond devastating. It’s like killing Wolverine and bringing him back with like fiery claws or something…
Night Terror (Ghost Rider V3 Annual #1)
Night Terror was a human named Carl Blake. One day he awoke with loss of his memories and his vamparic nature. He discovered that he could absorb the memories of those whose blood he drank, giving him a unique spin on vampires. Later, while serving Varne (one of the members of the Cult of Darkholders), Night Terror is seemingly slain by Blade, and Varne assumes Night Terror’s body, leaving his fate seemingly open. This is definitely a character that could appear in Ghost Rider, Doctor Stranger, Defenders, or any other mystically themed title over at Marvel. Instead of throwing out there, a random Vampire, make one of them Night Terror. (I actually also like the code name, seems very fitting; and the memory absorption is a cool touch).
Nocturne (Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #13)
She’s another one that technically made an appearance (as her normal self), previously in The Spectacular Spider-Man #190. She was a police officer named Angela Cairn, who had been the only survivor of an attack by the villain Vermin. She was later drawn to several mutilation killings which reminded her of the Vermin attack, and was captured and brought to Baron Zemo, who experimented her and left her for dead. However, she did not die; she became a mute, and gained bat-like wings as a result of the experiment (her hair also turned white as a result of the experiments). Spider-Man found and fought her, believing she was the Mutilation Killer; but they found the actual killer and she refrained from killing him, allowing him to be taken by the authorities. She would later befriend Puma and stay with him, until the duo encountered Spider-Man, and a fight broke out. Nocturne got between them and stopped them, sharing their pain which shocked Puma to his human form. She departed for parts unknown. Unfortunately, there’s several characters in the Marvel Universe named Nocturne, so while I enjoy this character, I’d have her return with a different name, and perhaps the ability to speak telepathically to remove the limitation of never exchanging dialogue; maybe a name like Melody or Euphony.
Phalanx (Punisher: War Zone Annual #1)
Phalanx was actually Cord Mather who made a living designing armor. The one he would take for himself was one that was capable of withstanding bullets of various calibers. Unfortunately for Cord Mather his life as a hero would not be one that lasted too long. He appeared again in Punisher #103 then in #104, sacrificed his life by diving on a live grenade while in his armor. Unfortunately the armor was not able to withstand the explosion of the grenade and his life as a hero came to a quick and tragic end. Because he was a human using a suit of armor and didn’t do too much, and didn’t offer much in his scant few appearances, there would definitely be no reason to resurrect this character.
Raptor (Avengers West Coast Annual #8)
Raptor is a timid human named Gary Wilton, Jr. In times of fear or excitement, Gary’s form changes into a humanoid eagle covered in tan feathers. His wings sprout from his back, are pure white (similar to Angel). His hands turn into clawed talons, as do his feet. He possesses super strength, durability and the keen senses of avian birds of prey. As it turns out before being born, there was indication that Gary Wilton, Jr. would be born with defects, so his father injected his wife with chemicals that should correct the defect. Unfortunately, Gary, Sr. was killed in a major automobile accident, which left his mother giving birth to Gary, Jr. alone; and she became extremely protective of him. His mother remarried another man (Roger Morely, owner of Daedalus Airlines) who was verbally abusive to the timid Gary, Jr. in hopes of “toughening him up.” At the age of 20, Gary was walking through the city and witness a gang hit, and fled from them, and during his fear, turned into Raptor, a result of the chemicals that he had injected him while still in his mother’s uterus. He would eventually encounter Ultron and Alkhema and assist the Avengers West Coast in defeating them. Years later when the Super Hero Registration was enacted, Raptor tried to flee to France but was stopped by Peregrine and the French Military.
Raptor is someone that’s just begging to be used again. I see so much potential in his use. Definitely someone I see appearing frequently in the pages of Spider-Man, as someone who is finally accepting they’re a hero, and just learning the ropes. Treat him the same way Cloak & Dagger were.
Tracer (Deathlok V2 Annual #2)
Tracer is Richard Bloom, the son of David Bloom, owner of Bloom Industries, a tech company. Richard’s father, David was killed when he was caught in the crossfire between two superheroes (though the heroes are not named). Richard saved a portion of the telephone that was used during the fight, in hopes of identifying the hand prints on it, to see who he could extract his revenge on. Richard hired scientists who felt the same way about superheroes, who then worked to give him implants, that would allow him to adjust his body depending on who he was planning on facing. He faced off against Spider-Man and failed and created the Tracer armor and faced off against Deathlok, until learning that Deathlok was a human trapped inside the machinery. Richard provided Deathlok with the technology to repair himself and return to his family. Chameleon would then manipulate Tracer later to attack Spider-Man; but once the ruse was discovered, he stopped and provided Spider-Man with the information he had on Chameleon.
It would be nice for someone to conclude the story behind the death of Richard Bloom’s father somehow. Would be a one shot possibly, as a guest appearance, when he finally discovers who it is and goes to kill them; and Spider-Man stops him, talks reason into him, Richard forgives whoever it is, and then gets rid of the Tracer armor, now at peace with himself.
Wildstreak (Fantastic Four Annual #26)
Apparently people being paralyzed and using exo-skeleton armor was a theme for these 1993 annuals. Wildstreak is Tamika Bowden, daughter of Dennis Bowden who had been a Hydra weapons maker, who retired to focus on his family. When Tamika was in high school, she had the opportunity to become a gymnast of great caliber. However, a gang lord attempted to recruit Dennis to make weapons for them; but he declined, so the gang leader arranged for an accident to happen to Tamika which would leave her paralyzed from the waist down, thus destroying her dreams of becoming a gymnast. With her father’s help, she was able to walk again using the armor he designed, and she adopted the name Wildstreak. Together they decide to go after Big John Buscelli, the drug lord who arranged for Tamika’s accident. He is, however not at the meeting (but she meets up with Thing and Psi-Lord) and fight the villain Dreadface. She later teams up with with Thunderstrike in an attempt to save a boy she once had a crush on, but the boy is executed by Sangre. Later, when the Super Human Registration Act is enforced, she refuses to sign in and is arrested by Spider-Man and Iron Man.
X-Cutioner (Uncanny X-Men Annual #17)
Carl Denti was an FBI agent whose partner, Fred Duncan, had worked closely with Charles Xavier in handling alien equipment and weapons the X-Men gathered. Carl took over after Fred’s apparent demise, but Carl decided that mutants were getting away with doing things and not being held responsible. He decided to take the law into his hands, using alien equipment to track down mutants and villains in general, who were not being held accountable. His first victim would be the mutant Tower, formerly from the Alliance of Evil. He then next attempted to kill the comatosed Emma Frost in X-Mansion, but was stopped by Cyclops and Cable. He would escape and continue his attacks on such mutants as Skin, Rogue, Nate Grey, Gambit, among others. During a fight with Gambit and Rogue, X-Cutioner’s mask was melted, blinding and deafening him; at which point he saw two figures approaching and assumed it was Gambit and Rogue and fired full blast. He realized moments later, he had killed his own agents. He later gave up the X-Cutioner guise and returned to the FBI, and was assigned to protect Gambit’s life. He did so, and now has been a firm part of the FBI. Someone else appeared to use his X-Cutioner armor to attack later; and even later, Jack Monroe, better known as Nomad, used the X-Cutioner armor and weapons to attack Baron Zemo. Jack Monroe would later be murdered by the Winter Soldier, who shot him in the back. I could see someone using his armor from time to time to extract vengeance (for whatever their reason) on Mutant Kind.
X-Treme (X-Force Annual #2)
Adam was someone who didn’t know much about his past. He worked for Martin Strong, tracking down mutants, discovering that Martin Strong was trying to “cure” the Mutant Gene. He would come in contact with Cable and X-Force and fight them, before teaming up. He would go on to be kidnapped by Arcade, who was hired by Milbury to test Adam. Defeating Arcade, Adam chases down the Milbury connection (which is Mr. Sinister). He then comes in contact with Captain Marvel (Legacy, yes the same one on this list), and during a fight with Eric the Red, learns that Adam is the son of D’Ken and meant to rule on the Shi’ar throne. He goes on to save Phillip Summers (the grandfather of Scott Summers) and has a great story with him, with more hints of a connection between him and the Summers. Adam was intended to be the “3rd Summers Brother” (which Fabian wrote in X-Men, and also wrote the X-Force Annual and the Captain Marvel books). He was going to be a “Summers” in name only; as he was intended to be the product of D’Ken and Katherine Summers. This was sadly retconned, and they created a fiasco with Vulcan.
I believe, with Lilandra’s death, and Gladiator sitting on the Shi’ar throne, right now is the perfect time to bring Adam back; would he even want to sit on the throne? Would someone like Gladiator of the Imperial Guard, who has sworn to serve the throne, actually serve a “half breed”? There’s so much potential to be unlocked.
So why all of this? Because so many people disregard a bunch of these characters as forgettable. Remember when Rocket Raccoon was forgettable? Groot? Starlord? These characters were introduced many years ago; then Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning took these unusual characters and made a comic book series called The Guardians of the Galaxy (of the current timeline). James Gunn and Disney decided it was a fun comic and made a movie based off of these odd ball characters that shot them into fame.
It just takes a writer and the right things, for even the most unusual, forgettable and laughable characters to suddenly be in the spotlight.
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Everyone’s familiar with what Adam-X looks like (or if you’re on this site, you do – otherwise, you have some pretty horrible google results!)
Essentially, I’d remove his shoulder blades, his arm blades, his leg blades, the spikes on his leg, and his waist blades. I’d leave the blades on the top of his gloves (as he could use those to backhand someone during a melee fight to cut them), and leave a knife on his boot, and his two traditional axe like weapons that strap to his back.
Speaking of Fabian, he’s technically the reason all of this started, so many years ago. You see, way back in the day – on a warm, summer day in 1993, X-Men #23 came out. What could possibly be significant about X-Men #23 – it’s not a #1, or even a land mark 25th, 50th, or 75th issue! Well, in this issue, Cyclops runs into Mister Sinister in Alaska, and Sinister says:
he means by that, and he brushes it off as a mistake, and that he had only meant Scott’s brother, Alex Summers (Havok). Now, in 1993, Marvel was doing a thing where they were introducing new characters in the Annuals (in the event you’re interested, the list is provided at the very end of this article). Now, Fabian was also writing the X-Force books, including X-Force Annual #2, where Adam-X was introduced. Now, Fabian has gone on record as saying, his intended plan was to make Adam the “3rd Summers Brother”…
While Fabian was indeed laying down the groundwork for this to come true (X-Force #29 and #30, Captain Marvel #2 and 3, and X-Men #39). Through those issues, we do get confirmation that Adam is not from Earth, and that he is the son of D’Ken and the rightful heir to the Shi’ar Throne; as well as Cyclop’s grandfather noting that Adam seems unusually familiar (and reminds him of his grandsons).
Fast forward to 13 years later, in 2006 – Ed Brubaker took it upon himself to – once and for all – resolve the whole “3rd Summers Brother” mystery in a way – that he, and Marvel, promised would shake the X-Men to their foundation.
Let me take a step back. Let’s talk about how Vulcan even came to be. So back in Uncanny X-Men #156 (1982), Christopher Summers & Katherine Summers (Scott/Cyclops & Alex/Havok’s parents) while they were flying. They’re abducted by the alien race, the Shi’ar. Katherine is kept as a concubine, while Christopher is thrown into the slave mines. When Christopher tries to escape, D’Ken brings Katherine and guts her with a blade, killing her in front of Corsair (Christopher Summers).
However, X-Men: Deadly Genesis also retcons that, and explains that Katherine was pregnant at the time of the abduction, and the infant was cut out and thrown into an incubator and aged to adulthood, to be used as a slave. That adult turns out to be Gabriel Summers, who manages to break free of Erik the Red, a Shi’ar agent on Earth, and is found by Moira MacTaggert. Moira takes him to Charles Xavier, who makes him the leader of a branch of the X-Men, which composes of Gabriel (under the name of Vulcan), Petra, Sway and Darwin.
Originally, in Giant Size X-Men #1, the original X-Men are capturing by the living island of Krakoa; and that’s when Charles Xavier gets Nightcrawler, Storm, Colossus, Thunderbird, Wolverine, Banshee, and Sunfire to assist Cyclops in returning to Krakoa and saving the original X-Men. X-Men: Deadly Genesis’ retcon makes it so – before Professor Xavier gets this new team, he actually sends Vulcan, Sway, Petra, and Darwin to save the original X-Men. All four apparently perish in the mission; so that’s where Professor Xavier decides to get the new team (Nightcrawler, Storm, Colossus, etc.)
It’s explained in X-Men: Genesis that Professor Xavier feels so guilty about the death of Vulcan, Sway, Petra, and Darwin – that he finds and erases any memory of those who had contact with the four. (This is because, it’s the only way to even hope to explain why no one had heard of these mutants before; making the retcon larger and larger). Not only that, it puts Charles Xavier in a bad light, that he’s so willing to alter people’s memories because of his own, selfish shame.
alive). But, what’s odd is – if X-Men: Deadly Genesis is to be believed; why wouldn’t Professor Xavier have also wiped the minds of those who knew John Proudstar, the later 
Thunderbird? Because, as luck would have it, James Proudstar (John’s younger brother) would not only take up the Thunderbird mantle, join the Hellions; he would also eventually go after, and try to initially kill Professor Xavier (blaming him for his brother’s death); he eventually backs down. So, there’s more inconsistency, if you try to accept X-Men: Deadly Genesis as cannon.
Adam was intended to be the son of D’Ken and Katherine Summers. While I’ve talked to Fabian about it, he’s never fully confirmed his intended plan to me other than “It would have shaken up the space aspect of the X-Men universe.” I suspect, especially after Captain Marvel #3 where we learn he is the son of D’Ken (and with the long blond hair; a trait not found in Shi’ar, but clearly meant to be inherited from Katherine Summers), that Adam would have taken the seat at the throne. To believe Adam’s origin is much, much easier than the train wreck that Vulcan required.
Most comic book people don’t even really know Adam-X, other than “he’s so X-TREME” and “optimizes the 90s.” The later, I can see; he is pretty over the top with the blades. I would have cut down on the blades on the shoulder and the side of the legs. But most people probably have not read a single appearance to know anything more about him, then to use him as a joke. (Yes, believe it or not, Adam-X still comes up). He did appear not too long ago in Uncanny X-Men #513 and Dark Avengers #7, but he was written so poorly, that the writers were intentionally using him to parody himself (his dialogue is way, way, way over the top and written like a “typical surfer” – which, of course, is supposed to be a reference to the 90s). On the flip side, I will give it to Yost, who took over the X-Men books after Brubaker left and wrote Emperor Vulcan, Kingbreaker and War of Kings, all of which featured Vulcan, and was, at least an interesting story (though the death of Corsair was completely uncalled for).