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| Phalanx | |
|---|---|
 The Phalanx. Art byMike Perkins. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Uncanny X-Men #305 (April1994) |
| Created by | Scott Lobdell Joe Madureira Chris Claremont Bill Sienkiewicz |
| Characteristics | |
| Notable members | Steven Lang Cameron Hodge Candy Southern Warlock/Douglock Harvest Ultron |
| Inherent abilities | Transforms sentient beings into techno-organic lifeforms and assimilates them into its collective. Superhuman strength, stamina, and durability, teleportation, shapeshifting |
ThePhalanx are a fictionalcybernetic species appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. They have come into conflict with theX-Men as well as other groups on several occasions. They form ahive mind, linking each member by a telepathic system.
The Phalanx were co-created by writerScott Lobdell and artistJoe Madureira but owe much in concept and appearance to the originalTechnarchy by writerChris Claremont and artistBill Sienkiewicz. Appearing inprototype variations in earlier issues, the Phalanx are featured inUncanny X-Men #312 (May 1994).[citation needed]
The Phalanx are a mechanical species of unknown origin. However, they are believed to have been created by the Titans, a group of advanced disembodied consciousnesses.[1][2][3]
The Phalanx wield various advanced ships and usetechno-organic viruses to create drones and infect civilizations.[2][4][5][6] The virus compels its victims to build a "Babel Spire" to attract the Technarchy, who consume the planet. If the Phalanx find the society worthy or of great interest to them, they instead assimilate its members into their hive mind.
The Phalanx on Earth were initially formed by a group of human mutant haters who voluntarily infected themselves with theTransmode virus, taken from the remains of the renegade TechnarchWarlock.Steven Lang, who had used theSentinels against theX-Men many years before, was recruited from amental hospital to become an "interface". Uninfected by the Transmode virus, Lang was meant to be a buffer, keeping the Phalanx "on track" for its intended purpose.[7] Lang was assisted byCameron Hodge, a fellow anti-mutant with immortality obtained from the demonN'astirh. Years ago, in a failed effort to contract the Transmode virus, Hodge had killed Warlock. In an attempt to destroyArchangel, Hodge used a Phalanx construct ofCandy Southern.[8]
Phalanx' initial attempt to assimilate mutants into its collective was thwarted by the natural resistance of mutants to the Transmode virus. In a scheme to subvert the X-Men's mutant genomeknowledge base, Phalanx attacked the X-Mansion, kidnapped most of theX-Men and replaced them with disguised Phalanx members.Banshee returned to the school after the attack and kidnappings. The imposters' ignorance ofProfessor X's inability to walk alerted Banshee to their deception.Sabretooth, recruited from a cell in the complex, joined with Banshee to saveEmma Frost andJubilee. When Banshee discovered the Phalanx had accessed the location of several young mutants for use in further study, he alertedWolverine andCable. In turn, they recruitedCyclops andJean Grey.Professor X,Excalibur,X-Factor andX-Force sought the location of a third, unknown, group of Phalanx. To prevent the Phalanx from accessing any further information, Banshee destroyed the knowledge base.[9]
While Banshee's group scramble to save the young mutants, the Phalanx secretly follow them and impersonate various people.[10][11] Eventually, the group save all the targeted mutants except forBlink, who sacrifices herself to save the rest and kill Harvest.[12]
The rest of these young mutants went on to become the core ofGeneration X, tutored by Banshee andEmma Frost. Meanwhile, the other mutant teams found a group of Phalanx attempting to follow their genetic instruction to construct a Babel Spire to contact the Technarchy. Douglock led a small team consisting ofForge,Wolfsbane andCannonball in destroying the spire. Cyclops' group, covertly assisted by Lang, assault the core Phalanx base onMount Everest to rescue the X-Men.[13]
Clones of the Phalanx (and others) remain captive in Mister Sinister's prize collection.[14] Despite Sinister's best efforts, they were wiped from existence by the Phoenix Force.[15]
Another group of Phalanx later almost decimated theShi'ar empire in the absence of theImperial Guard. These versions have dark coloration and consider themselves "pure" Phalanx compared to such sects like the one on Earth.[5] The Phalanx made their way to Chandilar, the throneworld of the Shi'ar empire where they tried to assimilate the chamber where all Shi'ar eggs were being nurtured. Had they succeeded, the entire next generation of Shi'ar would have become part of the Phalanx collective. However,Beast developed a device that would emit a certain frequency to separate the organic from the technological part, killing all Phalanx within its range.[16]
A new breed of Phalanx is the primary villain with theSuper-Adaptoid as an enforcer. They tried to begin whereAnnihilus left off. When theKree began the test of the new defensive network, the Phalanx managed to corrupt the system directly through the Kree homeworld of Hala, surrounding the entire Kree Empire in an inescapable energy barrier. They also spread their Transmode Virus, turning all organic life forms into Phalanx under their control. High-powered beings such asRonan the Accuser were made into their group Select, used to cut off any attempts to stop the spread and control of the Phalanx. The Kree who did not fall under the Phalanx's control fought back against their oppressors, only to discover that they were controlled byUltron.[17]
In contrast to the fiercely independent Technarchy, the Phalanx exhibit ahive mind reminiscent of insects. Although individual members retain memories and some aspects of their personalities from before assimilation, they are typically unable to act against the collective will without first being disconnected from the group consciousness, as was the case with Douglock.
Phalanx, like the Technarchy, can infect other organisms with the transmode virus with any physical contact - the only known exception being Earthmutants who possess a degree of immunity to the transmode virus. This seems to be a limitation of the Phalanx which their Technarchy progenitors do not have, as Warlock had no problems infecting his future teammateMagik (accidentally) when they first met and repeatedly infecting Cypher to form the Douglock entity on multiple occasions. In Cypher's case the effect was reversed without apparent incident, though Warlock was constantly worried that a time would come when the reversal would not take.
Phalanx possess the Technarchs' abilities to shapeshift and teleport, but cannot grow in size and mass without absorbing external matter. Over time, they can adapt to attacks used against them.
In yet another alternate reality, the Phalanx has overrun Earth, assimilating every lifeform. The mutantCable serves as its central consciousness.
In theExiles series, the dimension-hopping team visited a world infested by a mutated version of the Phalanx. On this world,Cypher fell ill with theLegacy Virus and in an act of desperation Warlock infected him with thetransmode virus to try and save his life. Unfortunately the two diseases combined and mutated into something far worse. Within the year, almost all of the world's population were transformed into Phalanx drones, calling themselves the Vi-Locks. The group was led byForge, whose innate understanding of machinery made him a prime candidate for leadership. In the course of the team's mission,Blink was infected and slowly started succumbing to the virus.Morph contacted theAsgardians, whose divine blood was able to heal the victims after they received atransfusion.
In the possible future of 2099, the Phalanx tried to invade Earth a second time. To prevent Earth from being converted by the Transmode Virus,Spider-Man 2099 forms an uneasy alliance withDoom 2099, who had encountered the Phalanx during their first attempt to invade Earth.
The Phalanx appear inX-Men 2: Clone Wars.
