| Pyro | |
|---|---|
.png) St. John Allerdyce (a.k.a. Pyro) | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Uncanny X-Men #141 (January 1981)[1] |
| Created by | Chris Claremont (writer) John Byrne (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | St. John Allerdyce |
| Species | Human mutant |
| Team affiliations | Brotherhood of Mutants Freedom Force Lethal Legion Marauders |
| Abilities | Pyrokinesis |
Pyro is the name of two fictionalcharacters appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics.
Known asSt. John Allerdyce, Pyro is depicted as a recurring enemy of theX-Men and later becomes an agent of the U.S. government. He was created byChris Claremont andJohn Byrne and introduced inThe Uncanny X-Men #141 (January 1981) as part of theBrotherhood of Evil Mutants.[2] Pyro has the mutant power to control fire. Pyro and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants are the antagonists in the X-Men storyDays of Future Past as they attempt to assassinateSenator Robert Kelly, which in an alternate timeline leads to a dystopic future where Mutants are hunted, killed or captured by theSentinel robots. The assassination is thwarted, and at a later date the Brotherhood become agents of the US government in exchange for a full pardon, and the team becomes known as theFreedom Force.
An Americanized version of Pyro namedJohn Allerdyce appeared in theX-Men film franchise produced by20th Century Fox. He was portrayed by Alexander Burton inX-Men (2000), and was subsequently replaced byAaron Stanford for its sequelsX2 (2003) andX-Men: The Last Stand (2006), and theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) filmDeadpool & Wolverine (2024).
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Created by writerChris Claremont and artist/co-writerJohn Byrne, the St. John Allerdyce version of Pyro first appeared inThe Uncanny X-Men #141 (January 1981).[3]
As part of theDawn of X initiative, Pyro subsequently starred in theMarauders series in October 2019 alongsideKitty Pryde,Iceman,Emma Frost,Storm andBishop.[citation needed]
Born and raised inSydney,Australia, St. John Allerdyce is amutant who possesses the elemental power to control fire and flame, though not generate it. As such, he wields a flamethrower to provide heat for him to control. After years of working inSoutheast Asia as a journalist and novelist, Pyro met the mutantMystique, who later recruited him to theBrotherhood of Evil Mutants as a professional criminal andsubversive. With the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, he attempted to assassinateSenatorRobert Kelly, and first battled theX-Men.[4] With the Brotherhood, he later battled theAvengers,[5] and then the X-Men again.[6] Though he never served under the team's original leader,Magneto, Pyro did work with the Brotherhood under the command of several of Magneto's subordinates who alternately supervised the group.
Mystique's Brotherhood later offered the team's services to the United States government in exchange for protection and an official pardon for its crimes, and was renamedFreedom Force. As part of their first mission, the team captured Magneto.[7] With Freedom Force, he next captured the Avengers on behalf of the federal government.[8] Later, he clashed with the originalX-Factor in seeking to arrestRusty Collins.[9] With Freedom Force, he fought the X-Men in Dallas, and was present at the X-Men'sapparent demise.[10] With Freedom Force, he battledCyclops andMarvel Girl,[11] sought to arrest Rusty Collins again, battled theNew Mutants, and finally arrested both Rusty andSkids.[12] He andBlob underSpiral's orders attempted to capture a young mutant girl named Amanda, but were defeated byDaredevil.[13]
Pyro later teamed with Blob andAvalanche against the Avengers during the "Acts of Vengeance" storyline.[14]
During Freedom Force's final mission, the team confronts a group of Iraqi operatives known asDesert Sword in Kuwait. There are fatalities on both sides.Super Sabre is decapitated and Pyro kills Desert Sword operative Veil. Ultimately, Freedom Force is defeated and Pyro and Blob are abandoned in Kuwait and captured.[15] Blob and Pyro are forced to serve as bodyguards to the country's military commanders. Later,Toad buys their release. Blob and Pyro join the Toad's new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and with them battledX-Force.[16]
Some years later, Pyro contracted theLegacy Virus, a fatal disease affecting mainly mutants.[17] He went to great lengths to find a cure (encounteringCecilia Reyes at one point[18]), several times at the expense of others, but was unsuccessful in his search and succumbed to the virus.[19] This was just after saving Senator Robert Kelly from a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. This act of heroism was also instrumental in changing Senator Kelly's opinion on mutants as a whole, and led to his decision to work toward peaceful co-existence between humans and mutants.[19]
During the "Necrosha" storyline, Pyro is resurrected by means of theTransmode Virus to serve as part ofSelene's army of deceased mutants. Under the control of Selene andEli Bard, he takes part in the assault on the mutant nation ofUtopia.[20]
Pyro was confirmed to have remained alive after the events of "Necrosha" as he battled both the original adult Iceman and the time-displaced teenage version in an attack in New York City, the older Bobby Drake confirming to his younger self that Pyro was indeed the original Australian version back from the dead.[21]
Pyro then joined a new Brotherhood of Mutants led by Magneto's cloneJoseph, though Joseph claimed to be Magneto. He briefly battled the X-Men, though when Joseph's identity had been revealed, Pyro attempted to defend him against his teammateJuggernaut. Pyro was swiftly knocked unconscious by a punch from Cyclops.[22]
Introduced inX-Men Gold byMarc Guggenheim andArdian Syaf,Simon Lasker is an American teenage mutant who manifested pyrokinesis by accidentally burning down his high school building and killing everyone inside it. Suddenly appearing before him in the form of Professor X, a somehow-repoweredMesmero brainwashed him into becoming the new Pyro and to join his Brotherhood of Mutants which was secretly funded by anti-mutant activist Lydia Nance.[23]
Pyro's first mission with the Brotherhood of Mutants was to kidnap MayorBill de Blasio and hold him hostage.[24] The X-Men arrived and defeated the Brotherhood of Mutants who are then arrested by the arriving S.H.I.E.L.D. agents[25]
As Lydia Nance still had a use for the Brotherhood of Mutants, she orchestrated Mesmero's escape from the Box.[26] Mesmero once again lured Pyro and the second Avalanche into helping him out. They were to attack a yacht that was owned by the Heritage Initiative at the time of its fundraiser. The group fought the X-Men alongside the NYPD.[23] The Brotherhood of Mutants got away and fell back to their base. When Mesmero stated that the Brotherhood of Mutants are still under Lydia Nance's paycheck, Pyro took his leave since he did not want to work for an anti-mutant activist. Avalanche then demanded from Mesmero to get Pyro's cut.[27] After finding the Xavier Institute for Mutant Education and Outreach, Pyro revealed his history to the X-Men and wanted to join up with them. While Iceman was wary of this, Rogue vouched for him.[28]
Pyro was revealed to be gay inX-Men Gold (vol. 2) #32, in a post-sex scene with Iceman,[29] and withdrawn from the X-Men to help his mother.[volume & issue needed]
St. John Allerdyce is amutant who has the Elemental power to manipulate flame by shaping it as he desires, increasing or decreasing its heat, intensity and size. However, as he cannot actually create fire himself, he consequently wears a specially insulated costume with a built-inflamethrower that can throw a stream of flame a maximum distance of 25 feet (7.6 m). He can Elementally manipulate the flame to do whatever he desires and sometimes induces it to take semi-solid form as an animate flame being. These creations, though capable of movement and of grasping or carrying solid objects, are not alive and do not think or act on their own. The degree of concentration necessary for Pyro to manipulate a flame construct is directly proportional to the construct's size, power and flame. Though he cannot be burned by a flame which he is manipulating, Pyro can be harmed by any fire that he does not mentally control. It is generally accepted that he must be able to see a flame to take control of it (hence limiting his mental influence to approximately 100 yards). Any of Pyro's fiery creations will immediately revert to ordinary flame if he turns his interest from it. After his return, Allerdyce's powers have increased in some ways, showing he can prevent the gunpowder in a loaded pistol from igniting as well as generate fires on his own accord, without need of a heat source or fuel generated ignition point to get malleable combustible substance.[30]
Simon Lasker has the mutant ability to elementally generate, control and manipulate fire; similar to the original Pyro. But unlike Allerdyce, he seems capable of igniting fire on his own and does not require outside sources of existing flame to manipulate.
In theAge of Apocalypse, Pyro is one of the many mutants imprisoned byMister Sinister after refusing to join his Elite Mutant Force and was apparently experimented on, gaining the ability to generate heat. He was later killed alongsideAvalanche,Artemis,Phantazia and Newt during an escape attempt.[31]
In theHouse of M, Pyro was a member of the mutant supremacist government inAustralia. He works alongside the powerfulExodus. He works closely withVanisher in the oppression of the human population. They gain the attention of theHulk when his friends, a community of Aboriginal Australians, are harassed. Here Pyro retains his background as a writer and a sentimental side; he briefly crafts a tiny pixie out of the flame from a match, commenting to the Vanisher, "I used to write Gothic romances. I've got more layers than a parfait".[32]
InMarvel Adventures Spider-Man, theHuman Torch shows up at Midtown High for a demonstration, but loses control of his powers.Spider-Man (then Peter Parker) spots a mysterious figure who turns out to be Pyro, who is manipulating Human Torch out of jealousy that he doesn't get credit for being a fire manipulator. Peter knocks him into the school swimming pool, where Human Torch knocks him out.[volume & issue needed]
Pyro is shown as a zombie twice in theMarvel Zombies reality. He is seen in the background along with a group of zombies trying to catchBlob.[33] He is also seen fighting the X-Men alongside zombie versions ofFreedom Force.[volume & issue needed]
Pyro works as a murderous mutant ninja for the Japanese-basedHellfire Club. He battles the X-Men alongside fellow ninjaIceman andAvalanche.[volume & issue needed]
InUltimate X-Men #80 Pyro is seen fighting theFriends of Humanity and meetingNightcrawler.[34] This Pyro is a member of the UltimateMorlocks, and a supporter ofXavier's cause who tells Nightcrawler that he would have liked to have been a member of the X-Men. In issue #82 he is rescued from aSentinel attack byBishop andStorm, who recruit him as a member of their new team of X-Men. It is hinted by Bishop that the recruits are "legends" of the future, meaning that Pyro may have much potential. He briefly works undercover in the Mutant Liberation Front, after pretending to defect to their side.Stryfe, the leader of the group, revealed his knowledge of Pyro's intentions but allows him to continue watching, but eventually Stryfe abandons most of the Front, including Pyro, at the mercy of some approaching Sentinels. Pyro is later rescued byBeast, and aids the team in defeating the Sentinels.[35]
Bishop dies inUltimate X-Men #90 and Xavier returns alive from the future. Pyro moves into the Xavier Institute and becomes one of Xavier's X-Men. Pyro begins wondering if he belongs at the Institute andWolverine assures him that he does.[volume & issue needed]
Pyro has apparently defected from the Xavier Institute toMagneto'sBrotherhood of Mutants, as he andMastermind are shown capturing the superheroValkyrie inThe Ultimates 3 #4. It is as yet unknown how or why Pyro joined Magneto's Brotherhood. His face is not scarred and he is now immune to flame, despite previous portrayals.[36]
During the confrontation, he and Mastermind find the unconscious Valkyrie. Pyro suggest they 'play' with her. The woman wakes up, slays Mastermind and despite Pyro's claims of innocence, cuts off his hands.[37]
Ultimate Pyro, like his Age of Apocalypse counterpart, can generate flames without the aid of machines. He also is not as resistant to fire, as his face is horribly burned and most of his body is bandaged. At one point, he cauterizes a bullet wound by pressing flames against it. Because he burnt off his nerves, he does not feel pain.[34]
