| Black Tom Cassidy | |
|---|---|
 Black Tom Cassidy Art by Michael Ryan | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Cameo appearance:X-Men #99 (June 1976) Full appearance:X-Men #101 (Oct. 1976)[1] |
| Created by | Chris Claremont Dave Cockrum |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Thomas Samuel Eamon Cassidy |
| Species | Human mutant |
| Team affiliations | Brotherhood of Mutants |
| Partnerships | Juggernaut Siryn[2] |
| Abilities | (Currently):
(Formerly):
|
Black Tom Cassidy (Thomas Samuel Eamon Cassidy) is asupervillain appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of theX-Men, and of his cousin,Banshee. In addition to fighting the X-Men, he has clashed withDeadpool a number of times.
Black Tom is amutant who can manipulate, bond with, and project energy throughplant life. He is also capable of issuing concussive blasts with a wooden object, usually ashillelagh. Tom was theblack sheep of a prominentIrish family.[3] He secretly raised Banshee's daughterSiryn, of whose existence Banshee was unaware, and conscripted her into his criminal gang. Black Tom was also a longtime criminal partner of the super-strong villainJuggernaut, until Juggernaut's reformation.
Black Tom Cassidy made his film debut inDeadpool 2, portrayed byJack Kesy.
Created by writerChris Claremont and artistDave Cockrum, Black Tom Cassidy first appeared as a shadowy figure inUncanny X-Men #99 (June 1976).[4] He later made his first full appearance inUncanny X-Men #101 (Sept. 1976), followed by editions #102 (Oct. 1976), and #103 (Nov. 1976). He subsequently appeared in editions #122 (March 1979), #218 (March 1987), #361 (Sept. 1998), #369 (April 1999), #411 (Aug. 2002), #412 (Sept. 2002), #464 (Sept. 2005). Black Tom Cassidy also made an appearance in the Uncanny X-Men vol. 4 series, showing up in editions #11 through #14 (Aug. 2016-Oct. 2016).
Black Tom Cassidy also appeared in other core comics like Spider-Woman editions #37 and #38 (Feb. 1981 and April 1981); The Amazing Spider-Man #229 and #230 (April 1982 and May 1982); Marvel Team-Up #150 (Nov. 1984); Venom: The Madness #1 and #2 (Sept. 1993 and Oct. 1993); Generation X #18, #23, #24, #25, #60, and #61 (June 1996, Nov. 1996, Dec. 1996, Jan. 1996, Dec. 1999, Jan. 2000); and New Excalibur #6, #7, and #13 (April 2006, May 2006, Nov. 2006). He also appeared in two flashback comics: Classic X-Men #11 [A Story] (April 1987) and Classic X-Men #16 [B Story] (Sept. 1987). There were also appearances of him in X-Men Forever #3 (Jan. 2001), and Cyclops #1 (Aug. 2001)
Some other appearances were in several of the Deadpool series including: The Circle Chase #1 and #2 (June 1993 and July 1993), Deadpool #1, #2, #3, #4 (June 1994-Sept. 1994) and Deadpool (2008) #58, #59, #60 (July 2012-Sept. 2012).
Finally, Black Tom was in X-Force (1991) editions #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5 (June 1991-Oct. 1991), while also making appearances in Generation X (1994) #18 (June 1996), #23 (Nov. 1996) #24 (Dec. 1996) and #25 (Jan. 1997). He also appeared in X-Men (1991) #88 (March 1999), #158 (June 2004), #160-#164 (Aug. 2004-Nov. 2004).
Black Tom was born inDublin. He is the cousin of Sean Cassidy, theBanshee, a member of theX-Men. He was also once the only friend of theJuggernaut.
His original principal power was that he could generate blasts of heat through awooden medium, such as theshillelagh that he often carries. He has a rivalry with Sean, mainly because Sean won both Cassidy Keep, their estate, and the family fortune from Tom in a game of dice. They were also rivals for a woman named Maeve Rourke, whom Sean married.
Black Tom later became a criminal and befriended Juggernaut while in prison. The two became close friends and allies, and worked together on missions.[5] Alongside Juggernaut andSiryn, Tom travels toSan Francisco and steals the United States'vibranium supply. The X-Men andSpider-Woman secure the vibranium and capture Tom and Siryn. Convinced a life of crime is too dangerous for Siryn, Tomexonerates her of responsibility for the theft. Juggernaut breaks him out of prison the same day.[6][7]
After being shot byCable, Tom is taken toFrance, where doctors heal him by grafting a wood-like substance onto his wounds. However, the substance spreads over Tom's body, transforming him into a humanoid plant and driving him insane.[8] During this time, Tom joins theBrotherhood of Mutants.[9]Juggernaut infiltrates the X-Men on behalf of the Brotherhood, but gradually reforms, mostly due to the influence ofSammy Paré. Sammy stumbles upon the Brotherhood and is murdered by Tom.[10]
AfterM-Day, Black Tom loses his ability to transform into a plant, but retains the ability to manipulate plants. The organizationBlack Air hires Tom to attackExcalibur, of which Juggernaut is now a member. Though he easily defeats the others, Juggernaut confronts Tom and convinces him to turn himself in for killing Sammy. Tom shows remorse for killing Sammy and states that he was not acting rationally at the time.[11]
Tom is among many mutants who accept the invitation to the mutant nationKrakoa on the grounds that all who call it home forgo any petty rivalries or villainy.[12] These are terms that Tom gratefully accepts; eventually becoming the chief of security at Krakoa and creating a physiological union between himself and the island.[13] When Sammy Paré is set to be resurrected bythe Five, Juggernaut considers having Tom witness his resurrection, but cannot bring himself to do so and goes in his place.[14]
Originally, Black Tom Cassidy was amutant with the ability to generate concussive blasts of force and heat. He typically carried ashillelagh, a wooden fighting stick, which he used as a focus for his power. He is immune to Banshee's sonic powers, as their powers cancel each other out on contact.
Cassidy later becomes a humanoid plant capable of assimilating other plants, creating plant clones of himself and others, and controlling others via his tendrils.[8][9][15][16][17]
During theKrakoan Age, Cassidy becomes connected to Krakoa and gains the ability to manipulate its land and foliage.[13]
An alternate universe variant of "Black Tom" Cassidy called"Blackie" Cassidy appears inX-Men Noir #1. This version is a drug dealer with ties to the Brotherhood, a secret society of corrupt police officers and detectives.[18]
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