| Proteus | |
|---|---|
.png) Artwork for the cover ofX-Men Legacy #233 (February, 2010 Marvel Comics). Art byAdi Granov | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Uncanny X-Men #125 (September 1979) |
| Created by | Chris Claremont John Byrne |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Kevin MacTaggert[1] |
| Species | Human mutant |
| Notable aliases | Mutant X |
| Abilities |
|
Kevin MacTaggert, best known asProteus and also calledMutant X, is acharacter appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics and is commonly associated with theX-Men as an antagonist.
Kevin was themutant son of Scottish genetic researcherMoira MacTaggert and politician Joseph MacTaggert. Kevin had reality-warping andpossession powers and lived most of his life in forced seclusion at his mother'sMuir Island research facility.
Kevin's attempt to escape Muir Island and find his father made up a 1979–80Uncanny X-Men storyline that was adapted inX-Men: The Animated Series. In 2009, Proteus was ranked asIGN's 77th-greatest villain of all time.[2]
Created by writerChris Claremont and artist/co-writerJohn Byrne, Proteus first appeared inThe Uncanny X-Men #125 (September 1979),[3] though hints to his character appeared in earlier issues. He was referenced off-panel inThe Uncanny X-Men #104, and appeared already possessing a host inThe Uncanny X-Men #119.
Kevin MacTaggart was the son of Moira and Joseph MacTaggert[4] and was conceived after Joseph severely beat and raped his wife.[1] Moira left Joseph without telling him she was pregnant and raised Kevin at her mutant research centre onMuir Island, off the coast ofScotland. Kevin eventually began manifesting his mutant abilities, becoming a danger to everyone around him. To protect herself and others, Moira was forced to confine Kevin in a specialized cell and referred to him only as Mutant X.[5][6]
Kevin remained confined for several years until his cell was damaged in a fight betweenMagneto and the X-Men, at which point Kevin escaped by possessing the body of multiple locals,[7] includingPhoenix, but was unable to overcome her psychic powers. Without the esoteric energy fields of his cell to sustain him, Kevin began to burn his body out, and so began to possess human host bodies, one after another. He went afterPolaris next.[5]
The X-Men arrived to confront Kevin, so he fled to the Scottish mainland, but was caught byWolverine andNightcrawler. In the ensuing fight, Kevin rejected the Mutant X label and named himselfProteus after the Greek god of myth and the cell in which he had been confined.[6] He attempted to possessStorm.[8]
Proteus fled toEdinburgh, where he possessed his father, Joseph, and made a last stand against the X-Men. His host body was destroyed in the battle, but before Proteus could take another host, he was punched byColossus, disrupting his energy form and apparently killing him.[9]
Several years later,A.I.M. attempted to recreate Proteus using a woman named Harness and her mutant son, Piecemeal, to absorb Proteus' dispersed energy form. As the boy went about absorbing the energy, his body grew too large for his system to handle.[10] Eventually, what was left of Proteus'sconsciousness and Piecemeal merged as one being.[11]
The combined efforts of theNew Warriors, the New Mutants, theMuir Islanders, and the originalX-Factor team were not enough to defeat the resulting creature, but when the amalgamated being decided that it would not find happiness, it decided to disperse itself, effectively committing suicide.[12]
Some time later,Mister Sinister and theGamesmaster also attempted to recreate Proteus by stealing a disc containing his DNA matrix, but were prevented by Nightcrawler,Shadowcat, andRachel Summers.[13]
Kevin encountered theExiles and managed to escape the House of M reality by stealing data from the Panoptichron and possessing the bodies of various Exile members, though other reality manipulators such asLongshot seemed immune to his powers.[14] Proteus finally possessed the body of Morph, which did not seem to deteriorate due to his possession.[15]
Perhaps due to lingering memories from his time possessing Mimic, Proteus became obsessed withBlink,[16] who tricked him into wearing a portable Behavior Modification System and brainwashed him into believing himself to actually be Morph. Unaware of his true identity, he joined the Exiles, much to the discomfort of the other Exiles.[17] He required regular manipulation by the Behavior Modification System to maintain the brainwashing, but the device was destroyed by chance during a fight between Psylocke andSabretooth.[18]
Morph's consciousness eventually reawakened and confronted Proteus, offering him chance to work together and share his body and powers in order to do good. Proteus accepted, and the two began to work in harmony, better than either could alone.[19] Some time later, Proteus and Morph were forcibly separated when the Exiles were absorbed into the Panoptichron; Proteus was absorbed into the walls, but Morph was left behind.[20]
Proteus was eventually restored as dispersed energy onEarth-616 and began to try to recreate his physical form via the same process used by Harness and Piecemeal. WhenSelene began using the Technarch transmode virus to resurrect dead mutants, Proteus took advantage of her work by affixing a small portion of his energy signature, and therefore his consciousness, toDestiny as she was resurrected. Although the amount of Proteus energy involved was not enough to truly possess Destiny as he had done in the past, Proteus was able to influence Destiny's perceptions and cause her to foresee a great threat on Muir Island.[21]
When Destiny tried telepathically contacting her foster-daughterRogue, she instead foundBlindfold and passed on her vision (and unwittingly a portion of Proteus' energy). Proteus manipulated Blindfold into confirming Destiny's vision andCyclops dispatched Blindfold to investigate. Once they arrived, Proteus was able to use Blindfold like a "psychic magnet", soaking up Proteus' energy until enough energy was consolidated in one place to resurrect Kevin MacTaggert and allow him to fully possess Blindfold.[22]
Proteus turned on the X-Men, particularly his murderer, Colossus. He demonstrated the ability to possess several X-Men simultaneously, but was ultimately defeated when Magneto disrupted his energy signature, killing him once more.[23]
Some of Proteus's energy was found drifting in theastral plane by theShadow King, who used it to as a source of power in the battle between him and Xavier. In the battle's final moments, Shadow King spread Proteus as a psychic infection in London. Xavier, now inhabitingFantomex's body and calling himself X, defeated the Shadow King, but accidentally reconstituted Proteus in the process.[24] Proteus allowed X and Psylocke to enter his mind, where they were welcomed by a young Kevin McTaggert. Kevin expressed a wish to atonement and change, as he believed he was only ten years old at the time Colossus killed him. Following that, he had only a few brief times to see the world before he was dispersed, but he had spent ten thousand years on the astral plane reflecting on the harm he had caused others and now wished only to be left alone. X did not trust him and attacked instead.
In retaliation, Proteus temporarily merged the physical bodies of X and Psylocke and sent them back to London. He then attempted to bring the astral plane into the real world and traveled to the Scottish village of Fetters Hill, granting its citizens the ability to make whatever they wished real. As the X-Men confronted Proteus again, the village had already fallen into chaos, becoming a gestalt of the villagers' mindscapes, but the X-Men were eventually able to disperse Proteus and reverse the damage he had caused to reality.[25]
Proteus was shown to be an inhabitant ofKrakoa, apparently inhabiting a Professor X husk. He joined forces withElixir,Hope Summers,Egg, andTempus asThe Five and together they used their talents to resurrect dead mutants.[26]
Proteus is anOmega-level mutant who possesses a vast psionic ability to manipulate and alter reality. He exists in a state of pure psionic energy and can takepossession of human bodies; however, the bodies of most beings burn out within hours or a few days. Proteus can leave a body before it is destroyed, but he usually does not. No possessed person has been shown able to resist or break free of Proteus's domination. Proteus has access to all the memories of his host while he possesses them and after he has left the body. Proteus has occasionally exhibited some telepathy, perfect recall, and the ability to mentally download computer information.[volume & issue needed]
Proteus' energy form is disrupted by metal, making living beings with metal in their bodies immune to the possession. If his form is disrupted enough, it can be dispersed, essentially killing him until it is reconstituted.
His reality manipulation powers allow him to transmute matter and bend the laws of physics according to his imagination within a certain range. Using this power he can transform objects into other objects or living creatures, transform energy into matter, manipulate weather, affect people's bodies, or strip a person of their powers. Proteus's reality warping ability is temporary and contingent upon line of sight: once out of his sight, any of his changes will be undone.
Because Proteus is a being made of energy, he is virtually immortal, as his consciousness can reform after being disrupted. Proteus has at times exhibited the ability to transport himself inter-dimensionally, though it is unknown if this is an innate power or if he needed to use a connection to thePanoptichron to accomplish this.[volume & issue needed] After his revival through Destiny during the events of Necrosha, Proteus is shown to be able to possess multiple individuals simultaneously.[22]
Proteus' spirit appears inStar Trek/X-Men. Due to a rift created byGary Mitchell, Proteus ends up in theStar Trek universe, where he reanimated and inhabits Mitchell's corpse, which does not deteriorate. While chasingDeathbird, the X-Men team up with the crew of theUSSEnterprise to stop Proteus and Deathbird.[27]
An alternate universe variant of Proteus from Earth-1610 namedDavid Xavier appears inUltimate X-Men. After escaping his mother Moira MacTaggert's keep on Muir Island, he seeks out his father Charles Xavier to kill him and kill thousands around the world to discredit the X-Men before David and Charles are eventually killed byColossus.[28]
Proteus appears in a self-titled two-part episode ofX-Men: The Animated Series, voiced byStuart Stone.[citation needed] This version is able to assume human form at will and his possession abilities are not lethal.