| Lila Cheney | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The New Mutants Annual #1 (November 1984) |
| Created by | Chris Claremont (writer) Bob McLeod (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Human mutant |
| Team affiliations | Dazzler and the Resurrections S.W.O.R.D X-Terminators Ally toX-Men,New Mutants,X-Force |
| Abilities |
|
Lila Cheney is a fictional interstellar Britishrockstar andmutant who makes appearances as a guest character inX-Men titles. Created byChris Claremont andBob McLeod, she made her debut inThe New Mutants Annual #1 (November 1984).
Cheney possesses the power of teleportation, but only at interstellar distances. During one of her tryouts, she discovers an abandonedDyson sphere, which she uses as a home base for her teleports. She is well known for her romantic connection to X-ManCannonball, as well as her friendship withStrong Guy.
Lila Cheney was created byChris Claremont andBob McLeod, and introduced inThe New Mutants Annual #1 (November 1984).[1]
In the 1980s and 1990s, Lila made frequent appearances inThe New Mutants,X-Factor,X-Force, andX-Men titles, with an alternate version of the character appearing inGambit and the X-Ternals.
She appeared in 8 issues ofX-Treme X-Men, and inX-Men: Legacy (vol. 2) as an ally ofLegion. She additionally appeared inCaptain Marvel (vol. 8),Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace, the 2025Dazzler limited series, and theConcert of Champions one-shot.[2]
Born inEngland, Lila used her mutant ability of teleportation to adventure across the universe at a young age.[3] During an adventure, she arrives on the alien planet Aladna, where she becomes engaged to Prince Yan.[4][5] At some point in Lila's life, she was, allegedly, sold by "Earth" to aliens as a slave, before escaping to tour the galaxy as a rockstar and thief, during which she found an abandoned Dyson sphere, which she would make her base.
Lila made a deal to, in turn, sell Earth to an alien race called the Vrakanin. Just before she could execute her plan, she met the New Mutants at her New York concert.Cannonball (Sam Guthrie) saves Lila from a falling speaker, and Lila is instantly attracted to him. When the Vrakanin double-cross her and are defeated, she gives up her thieving career and enters into a romantic relationship with Cannonball.[1][6][7][8]
She later moved toMalibu, and hiredDazzler (Alison Blair) as a backup singer andGuido Carosella (Strong Guy) as a bodyguard. When Cannonball andMagik approached Lila for help, she used her connections to help rescueSunspot andMagma. She also aidedMagneto in battling theBeyonder.[9][7]
Sam and Lila's relationship faced some trouble, but after Sam saved her from her crashed plane, they got back together and Lila met Sam's mother.[6]
Lila is captured by an alien slaver known as Spyder during one of her concerts. The New Mutants attempt to rescue her, but Lila appears to sacrifice herself when she teleported large monsters released by Spyder into a nearby sun.[10]
Lila survived and was recruited byDeathbird to help her recruit the X-Men in savingCharles Xavier.[11][12]
Returning to Malibu she would find an amnesiac Dazzler being cared for by Guido. The appearance ofLongshot andSpiral dragged Lila into theMojoverse rebellion, in which she was later captured and pitted against Longshot before being freed.[13] Later, she givesBoom-Boom her blessing to date her former lover Cannonball.[14]
She assists X-Force with missions before running into trouble with aliens known as the K'Lanti. When she corrects her mistake, the race gives her an active explosive, which Strong Guy jumps on to save her. He survives, but the kinetic energy gives him a heart attack and puts him in a coma, to Lila's dismay.[15] After he recovers, he joins Lila in her touring once again.[16]
Cannonball and Lila briefly rekindle their relationship, during which he saves her from an anti-mutant attack at her concert.[17][18] Shortly after they stop dating again.
She retained her powers afterM-Day.[19] She joined Legion in spreading positive mutant campaigns in the UK.[20]
Eventually, she returned to Aladna to fulfill her marriage pledge, although Prince Yan ultimately chooses another woman as his wife.[5]
Cheney later becomes a citizen of the mutant nation ofKrakoa, and a member ofS.W.O.R.D as a teleporter.[21] She also assisted Cable as a member of the X-Terminators. She was believed dead after the fall of Krakoa, but was revealed to have been blackmailed byMojo, who held her fans hostage. She recruitedKamala Khan to help her save them.[22][23]
Lila next appeared as a main act inConcert of Champions, alongside other musicians such as Dazzler andLuna Snow. She helped defeat the threat of Deep Void by teleporting their supporters to her Dyson sphere.[24][25]
As a musician, she has a loyal fanbase known as the Li-natics, and has often performed with fellow mutant singerDazzler. She performed at the wedding ofJean Grey andScott Summers, as well as on Krakoa.[26][27]
Lila Cheney is a powerful teleporter, capable of transporting herself and others across vast distances of space in short periods of time. She is also able to teleport objects, making her an adept thief. However, she is unable to travel short distances due to the speed of her teleportation, instead using a Dyson sphere as a midpoint to travel shorter distances. She has also been shown to teleport to places where her voice is being played.[5] She is a capable fighter, and has been shown using alien weaponry.
She is also a talented musician, with a vast intergalactic following. She performs electric guitar as well as vocals.
InDays of Future Past, Cheney fightsWarlock's fatherMagus, during whichMagik accidentally ends up teleporting her whole team into two alternative future timelines. In one of them, where theSentinels have destroyed most of Earth's mutants, Cannonball,Mirage, and Lila establish a guerilla operation to take mutants to temporary safety in Lila's Dyson sphere.[5]
In theAge of Apocalypse, Lila joined theX-Ternals in their mission for the M'Kraan crystal.
Alternative versions appear inX-Men: The End,Spider-Gwen's reality, theHouse of M,X-Men '92, and in theX-Babies.
ScreenRant ranked Lila Cheney 4th in "Gambit's 10 Greatest Love Interests That Marvel Fans Still Swoon Over", 13th in "The 15 Most Powerful Teleporting Superheroes", and 5th in "10 X-Men Couples Who Were Always Going to End in Disaster" alongside Cannonball.[32][33][34] She was also included in their list of best singers in the Marvel Universe.[35]