Name

Aliases

Forever vying for political and monetary control over the destiny of this planet. Each of us aware that to truly gain such complete control requires mastery over time itself. For what sense is there in gaining power over your own destiny?

Origins and Early Years[]

Externals are a rare loose-knit group of possibly ten of a subspecies of powerful immortalmutants,^[4][5] with the tenth originally believed to beCannonball.^[6][7][8] But him being one of them was brought into question by one of their own, leaving the tenth External's status unknown.^[9][10] Unlike other immortal mutants and non mutants alike, Externals share not only immortality but a connection to each other and can only truly be killed by one another. By doing so it's assumed that they not only gain the powers of all the others, but will become a god.^[11][12][13] Each External claimed to embody an intangible concept and philosophy in Wisdom, Patience, Corruption, Ferocity, Evolution, Guile, Fortitude, Opportunity, Despair, and their long-lost Hope.^{[14][15][16][17][18]}

Because the Externals' origins are scattered throughout history, as far back asSaul being hundreds of thousands of years old,^[14][19]Selene^[20] being born 17,000 years ago,Apocalypse^[21] who was born 5,000 years ago, along withCrule^[22][8] possibly being older than him andNicodemus's^[23] possibly being far older than them, it is unknown prior to their first known gathering^[24] when they first banded together.

2700 to 2300 B.C.E.[]

The Externals toasted the Abacus.^[25]

Apocalypse Rules Egypt[]

At some point after the fall ofOkkara, and the loss of his family, Apocalypse returned toEgypt. He defeated the Pharaoh and his army, Egypt entered a new age, one in which his children walked among them.^[26][27][28]

High Lords[]

It is unknown when same of the earliest Externals banded together, likely Saul, Nicodemus, and possibly but to a lesser extent Crule formed the self-fashioned “High Lords”. Though other Externals would also come to use the name. But together they manipulated events behind the scenes on a global scale, with the goal of political and monetary control over the destiny of Earth.^[1][29]

The earliest known activities of the High Lords was during the mid-to-late 12th century C.E., when they came to fellow ExternalCandra and tried to get her to join them. But Candra would decline their offer, preferring not to share her power and play the "power broker" alone. Fearing the wrath of the others, she formed a plan to extract the life energy of her own immortal heart into a stone. She summoned Selene, Saul, Crule, Nicodemus, and En Sabah Nur, her fellow Externals to aid her. While the ritual took place, it was En Sabah Nur who was chosen to lead the ritual and sunk a blade of unknown energy into her heart as the others watched. When the blade disappeared, and when En Sabah Nur place the now glowing stone on her chest, a serge of energy sparked around it and the ritual was done.^[30][24]

Despite this, they would come to invite Candra as well as Selene to join them a number of times throughout the centuries.^[14]

Columbus[]

In 1492,Gideon was on the first expedition led byChristopher Columbus aboard thePinta, but succumbed to scurvy. However, Gideon would raise from his death as his powers emerged and as the newsiest External.^[14] Columbus's voyage was revealed to have been part of the Externals machinations plan.^[31]

American Revolutionary War[]

Gideon stoked the flames of war causing theAmerican Revolutionary War and independence in 1776 as part of the Externals machinations plan.^[31]

19th Century[]

The Externals bet onThomas Edison.^[25]

Nearing the end of the 19th Century their numbers now consisted of Saul, Nicodemus, Crule,Burke, Gideon, andAbsalom, and had become a form of authority overseeing the other Externals. They kept the peace and opposed anyone who interfered with their plans, but especially those Externals who would dare kill another External, taking their power and potentially godhood.^[2][32][33]

Tomorrow Starts Today[]

In 1897 when they learned that Candra planned to stop En Sabah Nur's rise to power and take his ability to fold space for herself. Unwilling to physically act against her, they instead sentDr. Nathan Milbury, who worked for En Sabah Nur, to deal with Candra.^[34]

After Candra made it to En Sabah Nur’s sanctum beneath the pyramids outside ofBanī-Mazā inEgypt, with the help of herThieves Guild she began to translate the text. Dr. Nathan Milbury, with a time travelingGambit andCourier, arrived to stop her via Milbury’s transport ship. Choosing to bring down En Sabah Nur's sanctum instead of fighting and stealing his powers, delaying his gratification to a later day, Milbury quickly overpowered Candra with his new-found metamorphic abilities. Defeated, she begged for him to stop, and as he did he revealed the five High Lords who appeared as the reason behind her loss. Candra tried to explain herself but her actions against a fellow External, even one as radical as En Sabah Nur, they would not allow. For their greater glory awaited the Millennial Dawn,^[22][35][36] and Candra put that at risk so they punished her.^[37]

20th century[]

In 1963, Gideon was involved in theAssassination of John F. Kennedy as part of the Externals machinations plan.^[31]

Modern days[]

In more recent years, the High Lords were searching for the tenth and final Externals. Gideon long believed that External was the heroSunspot, and had positioned himself in Sunspot's life even before his heroic career. Later, when the time-travelling mutantCable had taken leadership of theNew Mutants, and when the team was at a point of collapse. Gideon orchestrated the death of Sunspot'sfather in order to allow Sunspot to leave the team and join him. Unaware of Gideon's true purpose and actions, Sunspot agreed.^[38][1]

Mystery Of The Externals[]

Later, when the New Mutants, now renamedX-Force, were battling theBrotherhood of Evil Mutants andMorlocks. Cannonball was killed by the villainSauron, but would revive shortly after and Cable revealed that he believed Samuel might by an External.^[6] The Externals sensed the newest and last External to rise, and the High Lords came together. Gideon, who often seen the other High Lords once in a blue moon, was met with anger by Absalom and Burke for wasting his time with the wrong person. But Gideon, already familiar with who the newest External was, but had a plan to send Crule to kill the Cable in order to retrieve Cannonball, and maintain anonymity.^[1]

After getting into a fight with Crule, do to a half century of hate between the two, Gideon successfully recruiting Crule help. Once they returned to Gideon's penthouse inDenver, he took out his anger with Sunspot and savagely beat him as watched Crule.^[22] When Crule arrived at X-Force's base inAdirondack Mountains, he found it had been destroyed during the teams battle withWeapon Prime and now they were surrounded byS.H.I.E.L.D.. He would over hear from a SHIELD agent that they believe Cable could be dead. Crule now ignoring Gideon's plan and not caring for his fellow Externals needs, decided the High Lords would be best served with Samuel's death. He boarded the S.H.I.E.L.D. assault carrier that X-Force hijacked, after beating the agents that had them surrounded, and confront the team only to be defeated.^[39]

When Gideon discovered that Crule didn't kill Cable, but instead veered off course and went after the newest External, failing, he reached out to Cannonball. Knowing Cannonball wanted both himself and Sunspot, Gideon made it clear that he couldn't have both. If Cannonball went after Gideon than Sunspot will die. But he made Cannonball a deal, if he promise to never again interfere in Externals affairs, than he will tell them were to find Sunspot. Cannonball agreed, and X-Force saved Sunspot and destroyed Gideon's Ophrah Research Facility.^[40]

A New Threat[]

WhenStryfe trickedSinister into unleashing hisLegacy Virus the Externals found that they were not even safe when Nicodemus succumb to the virus.^[41][23] Feeling Cannonball held the answers, Gideon and Saul came up with a plan to trick him into breaking his promise by coming to them. Saul kidnapped X-Force membersWarpath,Boom-Boom, andSiryn and brought them to his home on theNorth Oregon coastline. Via a hologram message, they let Cannonball know the situation, and if he wanted to save them, he better give himself to them. But Cannonball, knowing what the Externals were up to, sent the rest of X-Force to save their teammates without him. The team went after Crule first, finding him still recovering from their last battle inSt. Anthony's Hospital. Once on board theIPAC, they made a deal with Crule that if he tells them what they need on the Externals, they'll do what he can't and take them down player by player. Crule wanting to humble his fellow High Lords was more than happy to give them up. They caught Saul and Gideon off guard by crashing through the side of Saul's house, sending them flying. They managed to kept them at bay, they saved their friends without fighting. While leaving, they dumped Crule in thePacific Ocean out of fear that once he recovered, he will attack them again.^[42]

Revelations[]

WhenHydra learned about Gideon, they offered him a place in Hydra, or he would die. However, Crule, who had recuperated from his encounter with X-Force and being stranded in the Pacific, found the proposal of a High Lord to be a subordinate position within a inferior organization, bolstered by insincere threats, an insult and attacked. As they battled, S.H.I.E.L.D., who had spies infiltrating Gideon's business interests and learned of Hydra's plans for him, joined the fight to stop Hydra. Gideon, not wanting to be in debt to S.H.I.E.L.D. and aware of their spying, deemed them as enemies as well. He called on Crule to attack both intruders. As the three sides foughtFury asked Gideon to call off Crule, that he was only there for Hydra. Not sure at first, but Gideon agreed and the two sides defeated Hydra.

After, Fury now knowing Gideon was not a friend of Hydra, suggested they call it a day. Crule refused because he wanted more, causing Gideon to stop him while telling Crule that he wouldn't allow him to give any more reason for further engagement.^[43][44]

The Tithing[]

During one of Candra's annul Tithing, where herAssassins and Thieves Guild of New Orleans, would compete for herElixir of Life. She enjoyed a romantic interlude with Gideon at herParis.^[45]

Legacy Virus[]

Months later, Nicodemus and Burke had succumbed to the Legacy Virus. Saul, Gideon, and Absalom, guided by Burke's vision prior to his demise that Cannonball was the architect of their salvation, peacefully sought him out.

After a long talk where they revealed some important moments in their long lives. A fight briefly broke out when Absalom revealed to Cannonball andBoomer that he was now infected by the same virus that already took two of his kind. Even though Gideon was able to calm him down the first time, he erupted again, but this time the Legacy Virus overwhelmed him. Cannonball's blast field saved the others from the explosion, and he was surprised to find Absalom survived. So with Cannonball's word that as long as they try to do better, be it an hour, a day or a century, and if the time comes, if he is able to he will save their lives. And with that Saul and Gideon carrying an unconscious Absalom, left.^[46]

Murdered by Selene[]

Selene had been waiting for centuries for this moment, never before could she overtake all the other Externals. But with Nicodemus^[23] and Burke^[14] still not risen from their deaths, and Apocalypse^[47] soon to rise from his. She saw her chance to drain the life force of the remaining Externals and achieve godhood. And with the coming terror of Onslaught,^[48] she made her move.^[49]

She caught Gideon and Saul off guard and quickly attacked them, leading Gideon to reach out to Sunspot. Sunspot andCaliban arrived to find Gideon's corpse being thrown out the window and crashing into the streets in front of them. Having sensed the sudden death of two of their own, Crule and Absalom appeared and, believing they were involved, attacked. Despite their best efforts, the two Externals proved to be too much. Fortunately, the rest of X-Force appeared, but it was still difficult to handle the two. When X-Force finally brought down the two, Selene used it to sneak in and quickly drain the life force of Absalom. Everyone was shocked, but Crule became angry because of this betrayal and attacked her. She trapped him in a bubble, X-Force tried to save him but couldn't, and she also drained Crule's life force. With a telekinetic bolt to Selene, Cable suddenly appeared. But she wasn't down for good, and after failing to drain Cable too, they all attacked her. Only to be met with a powerful blast that knocked everyone out, say for Boomer, now calledMeltdown. She warned Selene that she would never get Cannonball, that theX-Men would stop her. Selene cut her off and told Meltdown that Cannonball was not an actual External. As Selene disappeared, she told Meltdown to ask her mentor Cable about it.^[50]

Surprisingly, Selene did not hunt down the remaining Externals. But instead, she set about recruiting others to join herHellfire Club, in preparation forBastion and the coming Onslaught.^[51][52][53]

The Newer Mutants[]

The Externals were later revealed to be alive and well once again, only now they are at the mercy of a mysterious new killer who was somehow connected to thetimestream. To investigate this odd occurrence, Cable assembled a new team of mutants in hopes of discovering the killer's identity. Initial suspicions were directed towards Selene, given her complex history with both her own kind and the X-Men. While aware of the killer's presence, having sensed the death of fellow External Candra, she laughed aloud at Cable's assumption that Selene herself was the last of her kind. Nicodemus, Absalom, and Crule then revealed themselves to be alive.^[54]

External Gateway[]

Apocalypse summoned through their shared psychic-link fellow Externals Saul, Candra, Selene, Nicodemus, Absalom, Crule and Gideon to the Eternal Caldera ofKrakoa. There he revealed his plans sacrifice them, but they were unwilling to go along with his belief of what their purpose should be nor willing to sacrifice themselves for his goals. Apocalypse would force them to be sacrificed by playing his trump card in a newly enhancedRictor. After Gideon and Selene choose to stand with Apocalypse, Rictor unintentionally killing Saul, Candra and Nicodemus in an explosive wave of lava. A weakened Absalom was allowed to live for Apocalypse needed four for the ritual to transform their ancient bones into a gateway toOtherworld and toArakko.^[13]

Apocalypse's plans were temporarily halted by Candra, who used a similar ritual he was attempting and one they used long ago to place her energy into her Heart-Gem and hide it inAvalon'sStarlight Citadel.Gambit who had been sent to Avalon with the rest ofExcalibur by Apocalypse happened to find the Gem. Apocalypse opened the gateway so Rictor could telepathically warnCaptain Britain, she asked Gambit to throw the Gem through the gate. Despite Candra's protests he did and with the Gem finding its mark, the ritual was done.^[13]

With Saul, Crule, Nicodemus, and Candra's ancient bones, containing their life energy, turned into the stones that power theExternal Gate,^[55] trapping them and allowing the whole of Krakoa to enter Otherworld as Apocalypse planned.^[13]

Fall of X[]

Following the Mutant Massacre at theHellfire Gala, the mutant population ofEarth was scattered. Although she had been working withSebastian Shaw andOrchis for a time, Selene eventually returned to her base inNova Roma, where she began using Absalom, Burke, Gideon and the newly resurrected and enslaved Externals to gather in mutants (and depowered mutants) from across the global.^[56] This garnered the attention of and later confrontation by theX-Corps in which a battle ensued that left most (Selene, Saul, Absalom, Crule, and Nicodemus) of the Externals in a stasis chamber living either a constant dream of winning for Selene and a constant nightmare for the others by the powers ofTempo andSomnus.^[57]

Powers[]

True^{[citation needed]}Immortality: The Externals' immortality does not become active when their mutant powers do, but rather when they meet their first death^[1] (this would explain why Nicodemus and Saul, though in incredible shape,^[23] are physically older then the rest of their fellow Externals).^[1]

• Self-Resurrection: As immortals, they have shown to be able to resurrected themselves from death in a number of ways. Such as when Nicodemus was killed by the Legacy Virus, which say him be consumed by his own powers, he was also found 10 years later alive and well.^[10] After Burke was killed by having his heart eaten, and body destroyed, he was seen as a newly born baby and a few years later back to a full grown adult.^[10][33][58] When Candra failed to fully revive herself, she was seen some time later in the form of her 13 year old self.^[59] Absalom was killed instantly when he had a hole blown through his chest, but quickly revived himself moments later.^[33] The time it takes for an External to return appears to depend on what has been done to them, ranging from mere seconds to hours, days or longer.^{[9][60][23][14][61][62][63]}Like Apocalypse, who has revived himself by his Techno-Organic Virus.^[64] Gideon, who had his body placed in stasis to keep himself from reviving for years.^[60] Selene, who has used magic and deals to return.^[65] Candra has been seen using blood ritual sacrifices and her Psionic Vampirism.^[66]
• Rapid Healing: Ability to endure injuries (within unknown limits) without lasting harm or even feeling pain, they could apparently regenerate injured or missing cells from even near-fatal injuries.^{[67][68][69][43][32][33][70]}
• Mind Link: External shares a telepathic-link with their fellow Externals that allows them to not only sense each other and where, but can call on each other at will from great distances.^[71] They can also able to sense when one rises from their first death and when one is killed by another External.^{[1][29][32][5]}
• External Life-Force: Externals can drain the essence of their fellow Externals and temporarily gain their powers. This can be done by either eating the heart or draining the life force of their brethren. Once she or he has succeeded, he or she will gain the powers of the ones killed in addition to his or her own powers. The length of time she or he will be able retain the stolen power is unknown. But it seems to last until the slain External returns, which could take hours or days, and also depend on the individual. It's believed that once the External has successfully taken the essence of all the others, that one will gain a unknown type of godhood.^[11][12]

Weakness[]

• Whether or notCannonball is an External remains a point of contention.^[3] Sam Guthrie's future versions, including a conversation with Graymalkin where we learn that Cannonball lived well into the 24th century,^[1] were shown to survive into the future. Besides this, the other Externals also sensed that Cannonball was one of them.^[1]
• When answeringDoop, Cable stated that Cannonball wasn't an External and that it was only a rumor.^[10] The ambiguity of Cannonball's status as an External was used as a source of humor years later. After he rapidly recovered from a Purifier attack, one of the X-Men's students,David, asked Beast about it, and McCoy said Sam was immortal. David admitted after witnessing Cannonball's resurrection that he wasn't sure if McCoy was joking or not.^[72]
• White Sword, a mutant ofOkkara, has been described as "External inX-Men (Vol. 5) #12, and as "external" inX-Men (Vol. 5) #14. The exact use of the term in this context, and whether the White Sword is somehow connected to the Externals, though it remains unclear, further events have shown it unlikely. Please consultWhite Sword's page notes for more information.

• At one point, it was revealed that each External was claimed to represent an intangible concept:Burke was fortitude,Absalom despair,Nicodemus wisdom,Saul patience,Gideon opportunity,Crule ferocity,Candra guile,Selene corruption, andCannonball hope.^[14] AlthoughApocalypse's concept has yet to be revealed, speculation by fans is it's either destruction or evolution.
• Cable believed the group had gone by both "Externals" and "High Lords", preferring the former over the latter.^[1]. Other than Cable calling Cannonball and his future Apocalypse "High Lord",^[73][36] only the six that had banded together called themselves the "High Lords".^{[6][22][29][74][36][14]}
  • Though the six did come to work together, and act as a type of authority among the other Externals, and they possibly used the title High Lords to represent that. The High Lords are not a separate group but a moniker they began using most likely when the six started to band together.
  • Other than calling Cannonball "High Lord", most likely in hopes he would join them, and Apocalypse has called them Externals and High Lords. The six so far haven referred to Selene, Candra, or Apocalypse as such nor as Selene and Candra referred to themselves by the High Lord moniker.

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