(Shen)
143-547: Xorn is the alias of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . He first appeared in New X-Men Annual 2001 (September 2001), he was created by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely . He is a mutant who has a miniature star residing in his head, that gives him the abilities of gravitational electromagnetism, self-sustenance, and healing. He is most commonly associated with
286-487: A naturalistic style of superheroes with human failings, fears, and inner demons - heroes who squabbled and worried about the likes of paying the rent. In contrast to the super-heroic do-gooder archetypes of established superheroes at the time, this ushered in a revolution. With dynamic artwork by Kirby, Steve Ditko , Don Heck , and others, complementing Lee's colorful, catchy prose, the new style became very popular among teenagers and college students who could identify with
429-518: A diamond form . Now referring to themselves as the Thousand-in-One and under Sublime's control, the cosmically empowered psychics proceed to enact their programmed destiny of mutant destruction. Celeste, at Emma's behest, accepts her role as a Phoenix host and wrestles control of the Phoenix, freeing the clones from Sublime's control for the first time. However, the Phoenix goes on to destroy
572-498: A tabloid -sized, 10-by-15-inch (250 mm × 380 mm), 36-page magazine with a card-stock, non-glossy cover. An anthology , it mixed humor features such as the funny animal comic "Pelion and Ossa" and the college-set "Jigger and Ginger" with such dramatic fare as the Western strip "Jack Woods" and the " yellow-peril " adventure "Barry O'Neill", featuring a Fu Manchu -styled villain, Fang Gow. Issue #6 (Oct. 1935) brought
715-619: A "star for a brain," he is eventually revealed to be the X-Men's nemesis Magneto in disguise at the climax of Morrison's run. After Magneto is apparently killed during the " Planet X " story arc, he appears alive in 2004's Excalibur (vol. 3) #1, which established that Xorn never was Magneto. Marvel has presented several partial explanations, both in the comics pages and in the press as to the true nature, identity, and motives of Xorn. Xorn debuts in New X-Men Annual 2001 imprisoned by
858-498: A Siegel/Shuster creation from the slush pile and used it as the cover feature (but only as a backup story) in Action Comics #1 (June 1938). The duo's alien hero, Superman , was dressed in a cape and colorful tights. The costume, influenced by Flash Gordon 's attire from 1934, evoked circus aerial performers and circus strongmen, and Superman became the archetype of the " superheroes " that would follow. In early 1939,
1001-579: A Wolverine-lite body. In 2022, Grant Morrison addressed widespread rumors that they had intended for the first letter of the five Cuckoos' names ( S ophie, P hoebe, I rma, C eleste and E sme) to be an acrostic for "SPICE", as a reference to the British pop group, the Spice Girls . Morrison specified that, two decades after the fact, they no longer remembered whether this had been deliberate. Regardless of Morrison's intentions, they never mentioned
1144-588: A brain from his head (in direct contrast to his twin brother) in the course of helping the X-Men defeat an attack by a Brotherhood of Mutants led by Exodus . Xorn and Magneto are among the mutants who lost their powers to the Scarlet Witch during the Decimation event. The true identity of Xorn, and his relationship to the character Magneto, became a subject of confusion for fans. Marvel refrained from giving any complete explanation, eventually hinting
1287-735: A collection of English-language newspaper inserts originally published in Europe as the 1837 book Histoire de Mr. Vieux Bois by Rodolphe Töpffer . The G. W. Dillingham Company published the first known proto-comic-book magazine in the US, The Yellow Kid in McFadden's Flats , in 1897. A hardcover book, it reprinted material—primarily the October 18, 1896, to January 10, 1897, sequence titled "McFadden's Row of Flats"—from cartoonist Richard F. Outcault 's newspaper comic strip Hogan's Alley , starring
1430-411: A counterfeit person. Phoebe Cuckoo demonstrated a power-hungry personality during the events of Warsong . In contrast to Celeste, who feared the consuming power of the Phoenix, Phoebe desired power out of the sheer affinity for wielding it. She readily embraced the Phoenix and enjoyed the destructive power it gave her. Mindee Cuckoo was the next Cuckoo to be written with a distinct personality. She had
1573-467: A crush on Sophie. Sophie and the other Cuckoos considered him to be disgusting and rejected him completely. Partly as an expression of adolescent rebellion, partly under the influence of a mutant drug called Kick, and partly out of a desire to impress Sophie, Quire incited a student riot at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. Sophie died stopping Quire, overexerting herself after using
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#17327795325861716-621: A flaw, the Cuckoo's hearts are flawless diamond. As such, the Phoenix fragment is literally sealed within their hearts. The price the sisters must pay for this is that they can never again feel emotion, leaving them more detached from others than they were before. The Stepford Cuckoos were considered as "potential recruits" for the Initiative program. The girls were next seen helping Elixir master medical and anatomical knowledge via Beast 's brain. They are soon after teleported to Limbo with
1859-498: A funeral for the deceased mutant leader. However, in the last page of Excalibur (vol. 3) #1, Xavier meets Magneto alive and well on Genosha. In subsequent issues of Excalibur , Xavier and Magneto debate the true identity and motives of Xorn, the individual whose bandage-wrapped body they brought to Genosha. In the same month Magneto returned in Chris Claremont 's new Excalibur book, Austen's X-Men (vol. 2) #157 introduced
2002-499: A group of U-Men. In the storyline " Planet X ", Xorn removes his mask, revealing himself to be the X-Men's nemesis Magneto, who has been believed dead since the destruction of Genosha . Magneto explains the Xorn identity was an elaborate ruse crafted with the help of Chinese supporters. Having returned Xavier to a crippled state (Xavier had not been healed; Magneto merely used the nano-Sentinels to "glue" his spine together), Magneto levels
2145-521: A mental transference device crafted by Dr. Marks to extrapolate and imprint psi-signatures onto healthy bodies with vast recuperative abilities to siphon Esme's mind from her faulty body over to Gabby's healthier vessel. But the process would be interrupted by Laura, who was alerted to their location via GPS tracker activated by her foster sister right as the experiment commenced. In the aftermath of which Esme's persona would successfully carry over onto Gabby's being while Laura herself had been blasted out of
2288-610: A militant band composed of Inhumans and Mutants known as the Dark Riders , who long believed in "survival of the fittest", began gunning down all mutant healers, one such mutant is Shen Xorn, who's revealed to have been repowered somehow (it can be assumed that he was repowered by his own twin brother off-panel during the Collective arc) and has now secluded himself somewhere in Tibet. He is able to kill Barrage and make quick work of
2431-603: A million copies a month each; comics provided very popular cheap entertainment during World War II especially among soldiers, but with erratic quality in stories, art, and printing. In the early 1940s, over 90 percent of girls and boys from seven to seventeen read comic books. In 1941, H. G. Peter and William Moulton Marston , created the female superhero character Wonder Woman , who debuted in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941) and Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman in 1942. MLJ 's Pep Comics debuted as
2574-400: A nano- Sentinel infection, restoring Professor Xavier's ability to walk in the process. Despite the ordeals through which he had passed, Xorn is optimistic, open, and even somewhat naïve. Xorn keeps a diary to share his thoughts with Professor Xavier, since Xavier is "blinded by the sun beneath [his] mask" and cannot read his mind. Here he details his interactions with Chinese immigrants and
2717-450: A new Xorn named Shen Xorn. Shen Xorn claims to be the twin brother of the original Xorn (now referred to as Kuan-Yin Xorn) who, under the influence of the entity known as Sublime , had pretended to be Magneto. This claim is supported when Emma Frost conducts a thorough mind scan of Shen. Not too long after, Shen Xorn disappears after he unleashes the gravitational forces of his "black hole" for
2860-563: A place with the X-Men. During her time with the team, Xorn never removed her helmet causing some to believe it contained her energy powers while others in the X-Men whispered that the helmet truly concealed hideous scars from her time in the Core. However the truth was that Xorn was actually the thought deceased Husk who had been manipulated by Mister Sinister and assumed the identity of Xorn and used her husking abilities to enable herself to demonstrate many different powers, in order to infiltrate
3003-510: A profound impact upon the American comic-book industry. Their popularity, along with mainstream media attention and critical acclaim, combined with changing social tastes, led to a considerably darker tone in comic books during the 1990s nicknamed by fans as the "grim-and-gritty" era. The growing popularity of antiheroes such as Wolverine and the Punisher exemplified this change, as did
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#17327795325863146-442: A promotional item to consumers who mailed in coupons clipped from Procter & Gamble soap and toiletries products. The company printed 10,000 copies. The promotion proved a success, and Eastern Color that year produced similar periodicals for Canada Dry soft drinks , Kinney Shoes , Wheatena cereal and others, with print runs of from 100,000 to 250,000. Also in 1933, Gaines and Wildenberg collaborated with Dell to publish
3289-459: A relationship with another student, Germaine, who was killed by an anti-mutant mob when the students were trapped in a building in the aftermath of Xorn's destruction of Manhattan. She then had a combative relationship with Jay Guthrie who was always interrupting her while she played the piano. She later helped Gambit during Exodus 's Brotherhood's attack on the school. Her real first name is "Irma". Irma has now dyed her hair and cut it short; she
3432-554: A separate character. Morrison has expressed criticism of this subsequent retcon in interviews. Marvel also wanted to continue using Magneto; Austen stated that "Marvel saw value in Magneto not being a mass-murderer of New Yorkers." Marvel retconned the Xorn/Magneto revelation and brought back Xorn and Magneto after Morrison's departure. In Uncanny X-Men #442 and 443, Xavier takes the body of Magneto to Genosha where they hold
3575-459: A set of fictional mutants , psychically linked quintuplets ( Celeste Cuckoo , Esme Cuckoo , Irma " Mindee " Cuckoo , Phoebe Cuckoo , and Sophie Cuckoo ) appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The alphabetical order of the Cuckoos' first names corresponds with their ages, with Celeste being the firstborn and Sophie being the youngest. Originally calling themselves
3718-520: A superhero, science-fiction and adventure anthology, but after the title introduced the teen-humor feature "Archie" in 1942, the feature's popularity would soon eclipse all other MLJ properties, leading the publisher to rename itself Archie Comics . Following the end of World War II, the popularity of superheroes greatly diminished, while the comic-book industry itself expanded. A few well-established characters such as Superman , Batman and Wonder Woman continued to sell, but DC canceled series starring
3861-494: A ten-cent pricetag [ sic ] on the comic books". When Delacorte declined to continue with Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , Eastern Color on its own published Famous Funnies #1 (cover-dated July 1934), a 68-page giant selling for 10¢. Distributed to newsstands by the mammoth American News Company , it proved a hit with readers during the cash-strapped Great Depression , selling 90 percent of its 200,000 print, although putting Eastern Color more than $ 4,000 in
4004-402: A third of all North American sales in the early 1950s. Its 90 titles averaged a circulation of 800,000 copies per title for every issue, with Walt Disney's Comics and Stories peaking at a circulation of three million a month in 1953. Eleven of the top 25 bestselling comic books at the time were Dell titles. Out of 40 publishers active in 1954, Dell, Atlas (i.e. Marvel), DC, and Archie were
4147-562: A thousand eggs were stolen from Emma's ovaries during her coma, and the remaining hundreds (if not thousands) of clones reside within incubation chambers inside a hidden underground laboratory at The World , a complex housing the Weapon Plus (living beings designed to serve as weapons) program. They were created by Dr. John Sublime to be powerful weapons able to kill every mutant by combining their telepathic abilities. The Cuckoos were designated Weapon XIV. They were first introduced as
4290-508: A true comic book. But it did offer all original material and was sold on newsstands ". The Funnies ran for 36 issues, published Saturdays through October 16, 1930. In 1933, salesperson Maxwell Gaines , sales manager Harry I. Wildenberg , and owner George Janosik of the Waterbury, Connecticut , company Eastern Color Printing —which printed, among other things, Sunday-paper comic-strip sections – produced Funnies on Parade as
4433-777: A way to keep their presses running. Like The Funnies , but only eight pages, this appeared as a newsprint magazine. Rather than using original material, however, it reprinted in color several comic strips licensed from the McNaught Syndicate , the Ledger Syndicate , and the Bell-McClure Syndicate . These included such popular strips as cartoonist Al Smith 's Mutt and Jeff , Ham Fisher 's Joe Palooka , and Percy Crosby 's Skippy . Eastern Color neither sold this periodical nor made it available on newsstands , but rather sent it out free as
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4576-461: A year. In 1929, Dell Publishing (founded by George T. Delacorte, Jr. ) published The Funnies , described by the Library of Congress as "a short-lived newspaper tabloid insert" and not to be confused with Dell's 1936 comic-book series of the same name. Historian Ron Goulart describes the 16-page, four-color periodical as "more a Sunday comic section without the rest of the newspaper than
4719-462: Is dismayed to discover the adversary before them was merely an illusion conjured up by Sophie waiting at the school of gifted youngsters. Sophie went onto reveal the depth and extent of Esme's betrayal to her other siblings, when the both of them questioned why she would do such a thing after all they went through just to bring them back. Esme coldly rebuts such claims while admitting she compelled their actions thus far from start to finish. Retorting that
4862-763: Is enrolled at Empire State University (ESU) and is taking the "Examinations of Post-Krakoan Diaspora " class with Kamala Khan . The other Cuckoos have joined a new iteration of the Quiet Council which is now located in New York City. The Cuckoos share a telepathic hive mind . Powerful telepaths individually, their combined power is even greater than its sum. These powers allow them the psychic standards of broadcasting/receiving thoughts, mind control, planting illusions, force blasts of pure psionic energy, astral projection, etc. Their gestalt mind allows them to communicate with one another instantaneously, though
5005-414: Is horrified at the thought of losing her connection to her sister. Much to her despair, Emma welcomes the sisters' growing individuality. Celeste also finds that her sisters both have little problem with Jean, furthering their divide. Esme Cuckoo was the first to split from her sisters, falling in love with Shi'ar -soldier Stuff who disguised itself as a student. She soon attempts to murder Frost, and
5148-566: Is now a brunette. Triage is attracted to her and the feeling might be mutual. During the events of Warsong , Celeste Cuckoo expressed fears of losing touch with her sisters, changing personalities, and wielding the Phoenix Force. According to Emma, she is the tattletale of the group. She eventually accepted her powers, killing the Thousand-in-One clones and her resurrected sisters per the cosmic judgment of Phoenix. Disgusted by
5291-585: Is possible for another one of the Cuckoos to wrest control of the gestalt and perhaps even use the powers of all sisters without the consent and knowledge of the others. With the loss of Sophie and Esme, The Cuckoos are not as strong as they were with five. Like their mother, Emma Frost, each Cuckoo sister also possesses the ability to transform into an organic diamond body, and as such gains invulnerability, durability, and super strength. Unlike Frost, however, their diamond forms are flawless; such that nothing can enter or escape. They demonstrate this ability by sealing
5434-464: Is taken symbolically as the beginning of a new era, although his success was not immediate. It took two years for the Flash to receive his own title, and Showcase itself was only a bimonthly book, though one which was to introduce a large number of enduring characters. By 1959, the slowly building superhero revival had become clear to DC's competitors. Archie jumped on board that year, and Charlton joined
5577-600: The Planet X storyline, in which it was revealed that Esme had been working for Xorn the entire time, and that she had developed a crush on him. However, Esme turned on him and tried to destroy his mind after he rejected her affections. Xorn, hopped up on the Sublime contrived drug Hypercortisone D at the time, angrily killed her by smashing her metal earrings through her skull. She dies in Emma's arms, who tells Esme that out of all
5720-680: The 10th anniversary of the Age of Apocalypse which takes place right after the nuclear attack by the Human High Council, Xorn is found by the X-Men in the Breeding Pens following the fall of Apocalypse. In this reality Xorn is female and claimed that her mutant abilities manifested while she and her family were workers in the Seattle Core during the riots that killed the members of Generation Next. Magneto immediately offered her
5863-510: The Chinese government , where a corrupt mutant official offers to sell him to John Sublime . While in the prison of Feng Tu, Xorn is forced to wear a skull-like mask designed to restrain his energy output as he has a "sun" for a brain in his head. The X-Men and Sublime's U-Men find Xorn just as he is attempting to commit suicide by removing his mask, which would destroy the Earth. Cyclops (with
Xorn - Misplaced Pages Continue
6006-679: The Five-in-One , after the deaths of Esme and Sophie the remaining sisters were known as the Three-in-One . They are commonly associated with the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning and successor mutant schools. Their name "Stepford Cuckoos" is a reference to the books The Stepford Wives and The Midwich Cuckoos . The Stepford Cuckoos made their live action debut as the Frost Sisters ; Esme, Sophie, and Phoebe in
6149-667: The Flash and Green Lantern and converted All-American Comics and All Star Comics to Western titles, and Star Spangled Comics to a war title. The publisher also launched such science-fiction titles as Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space . Martin Goodman 's Timely Comics , also known as Atlas, canceled its three formerly high-selling superhero titles starring Captain America (created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby ),
6292-613: The Human Torch , and the Sub-Mariner , briefly reviving the characters in 1954 only to cancel them again shortly thereafter to focus on horror, science fiction, teen humor, romance and Western genres. Romance comics became strongly established, with Prize Comics ' Young Romance and with Young Love , the latter written and drawn by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; those two titles' popularity led to an explosion of romance comics from many publishers. Dell 's comic books accounted for
6435-509: The New Avengers arrive. Xorn explains he took the image of Magneto because he knew mutants would follow him, and they needed the real Magneto again. Reference is made to Xorn's confusing history as Vision comments his files on Xorn are incomplete and Wolverine comments, "Xorn's files on Xorn are incomplete", demonstrating of how not even Xorn seems to know who he is. Quake , Iron Man, Ms. Marvel , and Sentry combine their powers to separate
6578-590: The Purifiers attacked the school. The Cuckoos use Cerebro to track down Cable , who has the missing mutant baby for whom the X-Men are looking. When the X-Men arrive at the location indicated by the Cuckoos, the baby had already been stolen by the Marauders . The Cuckoos are unable to relocate the baby telepathically, so Emma Frost orders them to focus on finding the Marauders who kidnapped it. Following
6721-757: The Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency held hearings on comic book indecency from April to June 1954. In the wake of these troubles, a group of comics publishers, led by National and Archie, founded the Comics Code Authority in 1954 and drafted the Comics Code, intended as "the most stringent code in existence for any communications media". A Comic Code Seal of Approval soon appeared on virtually every comic book carried on newsstands. EC, after experimenting with less controversial comic books, dropped its comics line to focus on
6864-465: The X-Men and Brotherhood of Mutants . Initially in the pages of New X-Men , he was revealed to be Magneto in disguise. However, Excalibur established him as a separate character named Kuan-Yin Xorn and his brother Shen Zorn . Xorn first appeared in New X-Men Annual 2001 (September 2001), Xorn was created by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely . Originally depicted as a Chinese mutant with
7007-569: The X-Men . Frost and Summers divided the older students into several six-person training squads, each taught by a staff member. The remaining three Cuckoos, now calling themselves the " Three-in-One ," were assigned to the Corsairs squad, advised by Cyclops. The three girls were the co-leaders of the squad. In X-Men: Phoenix Endsong (March–June 2005), the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force came back to Earth seeking to inhabit
7150-663: The Yellow Kid . The 196-page, square-bound, black-and-white publication, which also includes introductory text by E. W. Townsend , measured 5 by 7 inches (130 mm × 180 mm) and sold for 50 cents. The neologism "comic book" appears on the back cover. Despite the publication of a series of related Hearst comics soon afterward, the first monthly proto-comic book, Embee Distributing Company's Comic Monthly , did not appear until 1922. Produced in an 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 -by-9-inch (220 mm × 230 mm) format, it reprinted black-and-white newspaper comic strips and lasted
7293-596: The singularity at the centre of his brain. This final act is done at Xorn's urging: " this is the ending I have always wanted ." Xorn appears as a DLC skin for Magneto in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance . American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States , on average 32 pages, containing comics . While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after
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#17327795325867436-540: The "Xorn" persona begins to manifest itself as a voice within Magneto's head, claiming to be the embodiment of Magneto's wisdom, idealism, and nobility. After his defeat at the hands of the X-Men, but before his capture, he fatally wounds Jean Grey ; Wolverine , in a berserk fury over Grey's death, kills him. Grant Morrison intended Xorn to be Magneto from his first appearance. As Morrison stated in an interview after they left New X-Men , "In my opinion, there really should not have been an actual Xorn - he had to be fake, that
7579-426: The 1938 publication of Action Comics , which included the debut of the superhero Superman . This was followed by a superhero boom that lasted until the end of World War II . After the war, while superheroes were marginalized, the comic book industry rapidly expanded and genres such as horror, crime, science fiction and romance became popular. The 1950s saw a gradual decline, due to a shift away from print media in
7722-535: The 1960s, DC, and then Marvel, began to include writer and artist credits on the comics that they published. Other notable companies publishing comics during the Silver Age included the American Comics Group (ACG), Charlton , Dell , Gold Key , Harvey Comics , and Tower . Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll were featured, as the anti-authoritarian underground comix made waves in 1968, following
7865-457: The 1970s coincided with the appearance of comic-book specialty stores across North America. These specialty stores were a haven for more distinct voices and stories, but they also marginalized comics in the public eye. Serialized comic stories became longer and more complex, requiring readers to buy more issues to finish a story. In the mid-to-late 1980s, two series published by DC Comics , Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen , had
8008-542: The 1990s changing the format and distribution of their comic books to more closely resemble non-comics publishing. The " minicomics " form, an extremely informal version of self-publishing , arose in the 1980s and became increasingly popular among artists in the 1990s, despite reaching an even more limited audience than the small presses. The development of the modern American comic book happened in stages. Publishers had collected comic strips in hardcover book form as early as 1842, with The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck ,
8151-520: The 36-page Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , which historians consider the first true American comic book; Goulart, for example, calls it "the cornerstone for one of the most lucrative branches of magazine publishing". Distribution took place through the Woolworth's department-store chain, though it remains unclear whether it was sold or given away; the cover displays no price, but Goulart refers, either metaphorically or literally, to "sticking
8294-598: The American comic book has been adapted periodically outside the United States, especially in Canada and the United Kingdom . While comics can be the work of a single creator, the labor of creating them is frequently divided between a number of specialists. There may be a separate writer and artist , or there may be separate artists for the characters and backgrounds. Particularly in superhero comic books,
8437-483: The Brotherhood of Mutants from the future, the nemesis of the true X-Men, and she died when her powers went out of control in a battle between the X-Men and the future Brotherhood at Cape Citadel. Xorn later returns alive, and once again battles the X-Men with the rest of the future Brotherhood. However, it is subsequently revealed that this Xorn was just a puppet figure created by Charles Xavier II's mind powers after
8580-678: The CCA) stopped publishing crime and horror titles, which was their entire business, and were forced out of the market altogether, turning to magazine publishing instead. By 1960, output had stabilized at about 1,500 releases per year (representing a greater than fifty percent decline since 1952). The dominant comic book genres of the post-CCA 1950s were funny animals, humor, romance , television properties, and Westerns . Detective, fantasy , teen, and war comics were also popular, but adventure, superheroes, and comic strip reprints were in decline, with Famous Funnies seeing its last issue in 1955. In
8723-542: The Collective/Xorn from Magneto and send it into the sun; despite being separated from the Collective, Pointer still has some of its powers, and joins Omega Flight using a suit designed to harness his powers. In a 2006 interview, Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada reiterated the Shen Xorn/Kuan-Yin Xorn explanation, but added that "because Xorn's powers were psychokinetic, and his personality
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#17327795325868866-505: The Cuckoos appear as supporting characters in Uncanny X-Men . During a pitched battle between the X-Men and a pack of genetically altered versions of Predator X , the Phoenix fragments that were contained in the Cuckoos' diamond hearts leave them and depart into space for reasons unknown. During their time on Utopia, the Cuckoos begin to experience boredom and start sneaking off the island to buy DVDs of horror films. Influenced by
9009-519: The Cuckoos have demonstrated telekinesis. The power level of the Cuckoos, in all of their incarnations, have been reported by many of the staff at Xavier's School to be extremely impressive and strong. Sophie Cuckoo's personality is explored just before her death. She was stated as always being the dominant mind amongst her sisters. When Quentin Quire started a riot on the Xavier Campus, Sophie
9152-663: The Cuckoos keeping their prior hairstyle. The Cuckoos help oppose Skrull invaders in San Francisco. When the Skrulls place a blockade on all telepathic communication, they channel their telepathy through Cerebra into Emma as she attempts to find the psychic blockade and destroy it. Emma's psyche is briefly disconnected from her body and as she fights the Skrull psychics, the Cuckoos, on orders from Cyclops, use their telepathy to keep Emma's autonomic functions going. Afterward,
9295-422: The Cuckoos were little more than mindless drones without her to think their thoughts for them, Esme then stabbed Phoebe with Gabby's bone claw. While Laura got into a brutal fight with Esme with Sophie keeping their shared mind free of her psychotic sister's mental influence, Irma managed to make her way to Cerebro to galvanize the other Cuckoo's psychic powers through herself and Laura. All these efforts were towards
9438-425: The Cuckoos, she was most proud of her. In later publishing Esme shows just how cruel, deceitful, power hungry and megalomaniac she can be; the fourth volume of X-23 would reveal the true magnitude of her truly murderous nature; manipulating her living siblings from beyond the grave, murdering and injuring them in order to achieve a desirable outcome for herself and reveling in the newfound invincibility that came with
9581-579: The Five to bring both Sophie and Esme back to life. The once bitter enemies acted as tour guides to a group of government officials while showing off the new Jerusalem Habitat created by Krakoa . During the " Empyre " storyline, the Stepford Cuckoos are among the psychic mutants that are summoned to Genosha . They are among those who witness Magik 's fight with the Cotatinaught. Sophie
9724-609: The Modern Horror age. But as of 2009 historians and fans use " Bronze Age " to describe the period of American mainstream comics history that began with the period of concentrated changes to comic books in 1970. Unlike the Golden/Silver Age transition, the Silver/Bronze transition involves many continuing books, making the transition less sharp. The development of the " direct market " distribution system in
9867-568: The X-Mansion and conquers New York City , where he enslaves the human population and destroys much of the city. He attempts to recreate the Brotherhood with Toad , the rebellious Stepford Cuckoo Esme , and the members of Xorn's Special Class . Magneto finds, however, that many of his recruits are unresponsive to his ideas and approach, with some asking for the return of the more humane Xorn, and others doubtful that Magneto has truly returned, much to his chagrin. Indecisive and relying heavily on
10010-509: The X-Men and kill Magneto and Rogue 's son, Charles. A new, female version called Lady Xorn later appears as part of a future team of X-Men that travels back to the present during the Battle of the Atom event. This Xorn is later revealed to be an adult version of the "young" time-displaced Jean Grey , who needed the Xorn mask to control her powers. The team of X-Men she was with was actually
10153-407: The angsty and irreverent nature of characters like Spider-Man , Hulk , X-Men and Fantastic Four . This was a time of social upheaval, giving birth to a new generation of hip and more counter-cultural youngsters, who found a voice in these books. Because Marvel's books were distributed by its rival, National, from 1957 until 1968 Marvel were restricted to publishing only eight titles a month. This
10296-408: The art may be divided between: The process begins with the writer (often in collaboration with one or more others, who may include the editor and/or the penciller) coming up with a story idea or concept, then working it up into a plot and storyline , finalizing it with a script . After the art is prepared, the dialogue and captions are lettered onto the page from the script, and an editor may have
10439-454: The attack. Esme then abandoned her sisters to join Magneto's new Brotherhood of Mutants . Later, losing faith in Xorn, the Brotherhood turned on him and Esme, who attacked him, angry that Xorn did not return her affections. Xorn then killed Esme, and she died in Emma's arms, stating with her dying breath that she never wanted to end up like Emma. Soon afterwards, the institute is rebuilt, with Emma Frost and Cyclops as headmasters and leaders of
10582-478: The bandwagon in 1960. In 1961, at the demand of publisher Martin Goodman (who was reacting to a surge in sales of National's newest superhero title The Justice League of America ), writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four for Atlas, which now re-named itself Marvel Comics . With an innovation that changed the comic-book industry, Fantastic Four #1 initiated
10725-414: The barn area where the procedure was underway. As a consequence of trying to intercept the occurrence, X-23 ended up with the consciousness of Sophie Cuckoo set within her mind. As Mindee was sent out to find whether or not Laura had perished in the blast. The newly rejuvenated Gabby/Esme began discussing her plan of ascendance to her two remaining sisters Phoebe and Celeste. Meanwhile, the former leader of
10868-419: The best option, S.H.I.E.L.D. has Iron Man let Michael go, and as he learned to fly during the fight, he is able to travel without endangering any more civilians to what is revealed to be his destination, Genosha . Once there, the collective of energy, now revealed to be sentient and responsible for Michael's actions, transfers into and repowers Magneto , who recognizes the intelligence controlling it as Xorn as
11011-475: The body of Jean Grey. Quentin Quire, still in love with Sophie, sensed the Phoenix and exhumed Sophie's body. He sought the Phoenix, which resurrected Sophie, but she promptly chooses to die again rather than be with him. The X-Men defeat the Phoenix, though a shard of it in firefly form locates Celeste. In New X-Men #154 (May 2004), the Stepford Cuckoos are identified as Weapon XIV (each girl being units 1 to 5, ordered alphabetically by their first names),
11154-501: The comic books. An American comic book is also known as a floppy comic . It is typically thin and stapled, unlike traditional books . American comic books are one of the three major comic book industries globally, along with Japanese manga and the Franco-Belgian comic books . The typical size and page count of comics have varied over the decades, generally tending toward smaller formats and fewer pages. Historically,
11297-534: The comic-book debut of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster , the future creators of Superman . The two began their careers with the musketeer swashbuckler "Henri Duval", doing the first two installments before turning it over to others and, under the pseudonyms "Leger and Reuths", they created the supernatural -crimefighter adventure Doctor Occult . In 1938, after Wheeler-Nicholson's partner Harry Donenfeld had ousted him, National Allied editor Vin Sullivan pulled
11440-496: The consolidation of Mutant peoples on Krakoa during the House of X storyline, Kuan-Yin Xorn is resurrected through Krakoa's Resurrection Protocols. The Xorn brothers (now calling themselves Xorn and Zorn) remain on Krakoa and occasionally lend their powers to other mutants' causes - such as David Haller 's work as a community healer. In 2014, Entertainment Weekly ranked Xorn 55th in their "Let's rank every X-Man ever" list. In
11583-432: The countercultural era. Legal issues and paper shortages led to a decline in underground comix output from its 1972 peak. In 1974 the passage of anti-paraphernalia laws in the US led to the closing of most head shops, which throttled underground comix distribution. Its readership also dried up as the hippie movement itself petered out in the mid-1970s. Wizard originally used the phrase "Bronze Age", in 1995, to denote
11726-464: The country. Some cities passed laws banning comic books entirely. In 1954, psychiatrist Fredric Wertham published his book Seduction of the Innocent , where he discussed what he perceived as sadistic and homosexual undertones in horror comics and superhero comics respectively, and singled out EC Comics due to its success as a publisher of these genres. In response to growing public anxiety,
11869-575: The darker tone of some independent publishers such as First Comics , Dark Horse Comics , and (founded in the 1990s) Image Comics . This tendency towards darkness and nihilism was manifested in DC's production of heavily promoted comic book stories such as " A Death in the Family " in the Batman series (in which The Joker brutally murdered Batman's sidekick Robin ), while at Marvel the continuing popularity of
12012-617: The deciding vote to Celeste, who chose Utopia after learning that Quentin Quire was going to be at Westchester. Following the death of Charles Xavier and the appearance in the present day of the original five X-Men, the Cuckoos decide to join Cyclops's new iteration of the Xavier School. During AvX the Stepford Cuckoos came to stay at the Jean Grey School. When Cyclops and his team came to confront Beast about bringing
12155-410: The deranged Cuckoo's machinations. Sophie is also revealed to be incredibly insightful to the underlying character ticks of her sisters, having guessed Esme hated being a clone; but failed to see her growing to hate her other siblings for which over time as well. Accurately surmising that Esme's psychotic tendencies come from extreme self hatred, in part of feeling like she's less of a person due to being
12298-483: The destruction the Phoenix caused, she tried to expel the Phoenix fragment from her body, but was instead forced to seal it inside Mindee's, Phoebe's, and her own diamond hearts. She is portrayed as the most compassionate of all the Cuckoos. Upon meeting a teenage Jean Grey who was brought to the present by Beast, Celeste takes an instant dislike towards her and they are constantly bickering. When Irma decides to change her hair style and act more like an individual, Celeste
12441-441: The drug Kick to augment his power, he struggles to maintain the loyalty and respect of his followers. He announces a plan to invert the planet by reversing its magnetic poles, and employs increasingly fascistic methods (including the construction of a Nazi -esque crematorium in which he plans to eradicate the remaining human population of the city). He also appears to be experiencing a form of dissociative identity disorder , as
12584-471: The early days of comic books, this practice had all but vanished during the 1940s and 1950s. Comic books were produced by comic book companies rather than by individual creators (EC being a notable exception, a company that not only credited its creative teams but also featured creators' biographies). Even comic books by revered and collectible artists like Carl Barks were not known by their creator's name— Disney comics by Barks were signed " Walt Disney ". In
12727-640: The events of the Messiah Complex, the Cuckoos rejoin the X-Men in their new home of San Francisco , along with many of their former classmates. The girls later agree to help erase Josh Foley's memory of his work with the newly reformed X-Force team, so as to help the team maintain a sense of a secrecy from the main X-Men team. They agree to keep the team a secret, primarily out of loyalty to Cyclops. The girls have recently begun to dress more individually than before, no longer wearing matching outfits. Each of them also have different hairstyles, with only one of
12870-402: The final Horsemen of Apocalypse , representing Death . In this timeline he has become a dour nihilist whose powers have been reversed, sucking away life from creatures rather than restoring it, and his helmet is now a mostly-open mask from which blue flame spouts. This version of Kuan-Yin Xorn is responsible for ending his home timeline when the hybrid mutant Rasputin removes his mask, exposing
13013-444: The final say (but, once ready for printing, it is difficult and expensive to make any major changes), before the comic is sent to the printer. The creative team, the writer and artist(s), may work for a comic book publisher who handles the marketing, advertising, and other logistics. A wholesale distributor, such as Diamond Comic Distributors , the largest in the US, distributes the printed product to retailers. Another aspect of
13156-565: The former X-Men were attacked by Carrion Crow: Eater of the Dead. Esme later sacrificed herself to save her sister from Carrion Crow. In the aftermath of the defeat of the Chaos King, Sophie is returned to the afterlife after reality is restored by Hercules . Thunderbird even commented that the next time that he is resurrected, it would be with Sophie. After "Schism" Phoebe wanted to go to Westchester while Irma wanted to stay at Utopia, leaving
13299-417: The former head of the 5-in-one died over night. A chase would ensue after the three-in-one managed to send out a false text to call Gabby to their location at an abandoned church, wherein they put Laura under psychic hallucination as the three made off with their prize. X-23 would soon follow in hot pursuit but was bamboozled again into chasing the wrong mini van by the Cuckoos. The three of them would utilize
13442-495: The grave. Reluctantly offering her assistance to the Laura/Sophie amalgam in their efforts to stop the current three-in-one from reaching Cerebro before Esme can gain control of it. As Esme and the other Cuckoo's make their way to the Xavier Institute, they are intercepted by a bazooka packing Beast riding a helicopter while their leader rants about how the X-Men wasted their time and their lives protecting worthless humans. Esme
13585-506: The healthy body of an X-23 program subject, Gabby. In reality however, Esme had been manipulating both her sisters and their engineering assistants from behind closed doors the entire time. Subtly pushing her three living relatives into mind controlling several biophysical manipulation experts to giving herself a new lease on life, as well as having Helen create a cellular degeneration compound with which she used to murder her sister Sophie behind everyone's backs again. All while pleading that
13728-568: The help of Emma Frost ) is able to establish contact with Xorn, convincing him not to kill himself, and offers him a position among the X-Men. Xorn is next seen in New X-Men #122, where Cyclops tracks him down to a monastery, where he is told by the monks that Xorn has demonstrated healing powers. The pair are captured by the Shi'ar but arrive at the X-Mansion in time for Xorn to heal the X-Men of
13871-483: The introduction of the Comics Code Authority in the wake of Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency , which, ignoring the social problems caused by the wars of 1939–45 and 1950–52, sought to blame those problems solely on comics. While there was only a 9% drop in the number of releases between 1952 and 1953, circulation plummeted by an estimated 30–40%. The cause of the decrease is not entirely clear. Television had begun to provide competition with comic books, but there
14014-411: The island's school, thus giving them something to do with their time. During the " Chaos War " storyline, Esme and Sophie are among the fallen X-Men members who return from the dead after what happened to the death realms. Sophie confronted Esme about her death with little resolution. During this time, Sophie befriended Thunderbird . While searching for answers among the remains of the Xavier Institute,
14157-628: The late 1940s and early 1950s horror and true-crime comics flourished, many containing graphic violence and gore. Due to such content, moral crusaders became concerned with the impact of comics on the youth, and were blaming comic books for everything from poor grades to juvenile delinquency to drug abuse. This perceived indecency resulted in the collection and public burning of comic books in Spencer, West Virginia and Binghamton, New York in 1948, which received national attention and triggered other public burnings by schools and parent groups across
14300-668: The leaders of "The People", a genetically altered species of superhumans that were produced by the Southeast Asian Republic/SEAR as super-soldiers, but later rebelled. The People are in possession of a Super-Soldier Serum that Hawkeye is tasked by SHIELD with retrieving. This led to Shen forming the Eternals , while Kuan formed the Celestials . Hawkeye later leads Nick Fury , the Falcon , and Black Widow to
14443-516: The living weapon code between Weapon XIII ( Fantomex ) and Weapon XV ( Ultimaton ). Manipulated by both the shard of the Phoenix and Dr. John Sublime, the Cuckoos reanimate Esme and Sophie as corpses and return to the World . At the World, they are greeted by a computer image of Sublime and learn of their thousands of cloned siblings. Their true purpose was to collect data on the X-Men and transmit it to
14586-433: The major players in volume of sales. By this point, former big-time players Fawcett and Fiction House had ceased publishing. Circulation peaked in 1952 when 3,161 issues of various comics were published with a total circulation of about one billion copies. After 1952, the number of individual releases dropped every year for the rest of the decade, with the biggest falls occurring in 1955–56. The rapid decline followed
14729-629: The mental manipulation of one Dr. Helen Marks by Phoebe, Irma and Celeste, the professor was able to fabricate clone bodies from D.N.A templates identical to the trio's fallen siblings, whilst the Cuckoo's beckoned the wayward consciousnesses of Sophie and Esme from the afterlife to inhabit them. The process was flawed however, as the xeroxed bodies rejected the psychic imprint of their mortal hosts; causing their bodies to deteriorate at an accelerated pace. In order to properly preserve their dying matriarchs, Esme — carrying an ailing Sophie by her side — demanded they go through with an alternative plan: securing
14872-452: The movies, the girls start mentally torturing their classmates using scenarios from The Twilight Zone and Ring among others. After Emma discovers this, she reveals that as a child she was a fan of the film Clash of the Titans , and that she occasionally daydreams of being in the movie herself. Realizing that she always loved teaching, Emma decides to make the Cuckoos into teachers for
15015-586: The name of the fifth Cuckoo during their run on New X-Men , and it was only later on that this fifth Cuckoo was named "Mindee" by Chuck Austen . However, writer Matt Fraction later rectified this, stating that Mindee's real first name was "Irma". They were first called the Stepford Cuckoos in New X-Men #123 (April 2002), which was also the first issue in which Esme was named. Sophie, Phoebe, Celeste, and Mindee were named in New X-Men #134 (January 2003), New X-Men #149 (January 2004), New X-Men #153 (April 2004), and New X-Men #156 (June 2004), respectively. In
15158-411: The original X-Men forward in time the Cuckoos left with them. When Teen Angel tried to leave Wolverine's school Teen Jean tried to force him to stay against his will. As punishment the Cuckoos forced Teen Jean into submission and only relented after Teen Jean had learned her "lesson." Angel then left to join Cyclops's team much to Teen Jean's grief since they were supposed to stay together. After joining
15301-511: The other clones through shared nanotechnology in their bodies. It is revealed that the Phoenix fragment has manifested in order to destroy the Cuckoos and all of their clones to prevent them from being activated as a weapon and killing all mutants. The Phoenix manifests most strongly through Celeste, using her as its avatar, but is then diffused according to Sublime's plans among each of the cloned telepaths, boosting their powers. The Cuckoos then learn that they also shared Emma's ability to turn into
15444-783: The other students and captured by Belasco , who has helmets placed on them to keep them asleep to prevent them from using their powers. They were freed by a newly revived X-23 and turn the tide of the battle against Belasco. When the Hulk attacks Xavier, the Astonishing X-Men , and the New X-Men , the Stepford Cuckoos contact several other X-teams such as Excalibur , the Uncanny X-team, and X-Factor to get their help. They then help Prodigy access all his forgotten knowledge and abilities to compensate for his power loss as thanks for saving them when anti-mutant terrorists known as
15587-404: The post- Krakoan Age when mutants are hated and feared even more due to the actions of Orchis. As revealed in the first issue of X-Men: Phoenix – Warsong , the sisters are grown from ova cells harvested from telepath Emma Frost while she lay comatose after a Sentinel attack that killed her students, the original Hellions , and are only five of many cloned daughters. They state that over
15730-560: The powers of the depowered mutants, in part due to being a mutant himself. Disoriented and wielding the power of at least fifty mutants, he rampages across rural Canada , encounters Alpha Flight , and destroys downtown Cleveland . While Iron Man assists the Sentry in a battle with him that ranges between the orbits of Earth and Mars, Spider-Man and the Vision discover the nature of Michael's powers. At that point, having determined it to be
15873-559: The process involved in successful comics is the interaction between the readers/fans and the creator(s). Fan art and letters to the editor were commonly printed in the back of the book, until, in the early 21st century, various Internet forums started to replace this tradition. The growth of comic specialty stores helped permit several waves of independently-produced comics, beginning in the mid-1970s. Some early examples of these – generally referred to as "independent" or "alternative" comics – such as Big Apple Comix , continued somewhat in
16016-440: The protégés and favorites of Emma Frost, and were unaware of their true purpose. A telepathic block was used to mask their placement in the school, causing anyone who questioned their origins to lose their train of thought. They, along with student Quentin Quire , were noted as the strongest telepaths among the new students at the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning . Although Quire and the Stepford Cuckoos were rivals, Quire had
16159-505: The publication of Robert Crumb 's irregularly published Zap Comix . Frank Stack had published The Adventures of Jesus as far back as 1962, and there had been a trickle of such publications until Crumb's success. What had started as a self-publishing scene soon grew into a minor industry, with Print Mint , Kitchen Sink , Last Gasp and Apex Novelties among the more well-known publishers. These comix were often extremely graphic, and largely distributed in head shops that flourished in
16302-479: The purpose of excising their deranged number from Gabby's body, where afterwards the equally disembodied Sophie would bury her twisted psyche so deep she would never resurface again. In the aftermath, the remaining Cuckoo clones would disappear for a time. Laura would hear that they're squatting in Paris, something she knows that they know that Sophie would've enjoyed. Professor Xavier, now simply called X , calls upon
16445-421: The quintumvirate, Sophie, would communicate with Laura in the mental plane, explaining to her and Cuckoo family's life story just as Irma would run into Laura thinking it was Sophie in the physical world. After some harsh coercion by the former and more nuanced explanations by her deceased sibling, Mindee is appalled at the discovery Esme had schemed, lied and killed her only kin once more after returning from beyond
16588-459: The real Xorn died during her final confrontation with her younger self. The former Brotherhood are freed from Charles Xavier II's influence and are returned to their timeline. The Ultimate Marvel version of Xorn ( Kuan-Yi ) and his twin brother Zorn ( Shen-Yi ) first appeared in the miniseries Ultimate Comics: Hawkeye and spread out to be included in other titles like Ultimate Comics: Ultimates and Ultimate Comics: X-Men . The Twins become
16731-650: The red. That quickly changed, with the book turning a $ 30,000 profit each issue starting with #12. Famous Funnies would eventually run 218 issues, inspire imitators, and largely launch a new mass medium . When the supply of available existing comic strips began to dwindle, early comic books began to include a small amount of new, original material in comic-strip format. Inevitably, a comic book of all-original material, with no comic-strip reprints, debuted. Fledgling publisher Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications, which would evolve into DC Comics , to release New Fun #1 (Feb. 1935). This came out as
16874-456: The residents of Mutant Town in New York City, in particular an incident where he failed to save a young mutant from being killed by frightened policemen. Xorn is soon put in charge of the "Special Class", a group of physical and social misfits attending the Xavier Institute . Though he hopes to befriend these students, he becomes disillusioned as they mock and insult him. He remains determined to help his Special Class, even saving their lives from
17017-591: The rest of the Riders after they chose to battle instead of have tea. During HYDRA 's overthrow of the United States government as seen in the Secret Empire storyline, Shen Xorn is chosen to lead New Tian , a sovereign nation created for mutants in California. It is later revealed that Emma Frost is the true leader of New Tian and Xorn is the puppet ruler that she controls with her telepathy. Following
17160-577: The same drug to boost her powers. The Stepford Cuckoos held Frost to be partially responsible for Sophie's death - with Frost having "inspired her to heroism" - and disassociated themselves from her at that time. With the death of Sophie, the Five-in-One became the Four-in-One. Wary of having a part of themselves missing, they tested to see if their powers still functioned well by contacting Jean Grey telepathically and informing her that Emma Frost
17303-629: The satirical Mad —a former comic book which was now converted to a magazine format in order to circumvent the Code. DC started a revival in superhero comics in 1956 with the October 1956 revival of its former golden age top-seller The Flash in Showcase #4. Many comics historians peg this as the beginning of the Silver Age of American comic books, although Marvel (at this point still known variously as both Timely and Atlas ) had started reviving some of its old superheroes as early as 1954. The new Flash
17446-408: The size was derived from folding one sheet of Quarter Imperial paper (15 in × 11 in or 380 mm × 280 mm), to print 4 pages which were each 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 by 11 inches (190 mm × 280 mm). This also meant that the page count had to be some multiple of 4. In recent decades, standard comics have been trimmed at about 6.625 x 10.25 inches. The format of
17589-501: The splintered fragment of the Phoenix Force inside their hearts by permanently changing their hearts to diamond, in the process sacrificing their ability to ever feel genuine emotions again. The Phoenix Force eventually manages to escape, potentially allowing the sisters to regain their emotions. During the Warsong series, the Cuckoos gained the power of flight and pyrokinesis , presumably from Phoenix-induced telekinesis. Additionally,
17732-417: The strength of their gestalt depends on their proximity to one another; the further they are from one another, the weaker their ability to connect. Though they most often function and act as one unit, they are indeed capable of thinking and operating individually. When all five sisters were alive, Sophie was the dominant consciousness and often commanded the Cuckoos. However, as implied by Esme's actions, it
17875-754: The success of Superman in Action Comics prompted editors at National Comics Publications (the future DC Comics) to request more superheroes for its titles. In response, Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Batman , who debuted in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). The period from the late 1930s through roughly the end of the 1940s is referred to by comic book experts as the Golden Age of comic books . It featured extremely large print-runs, with Action Comics and Captain Marvel selling over half
18018-784: The summer 2005 crossover House of M would clear up the situation. The Xorn entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: X-Men 2005 stated that "Kuan-Yin eventually revealed himself to be a duplicate of the X-Men's nemesis Magneto, a transformation believed to have been caused by Magneto's daughter, the Scarlet Witch ." This explanation was based on a suggestion in House of M #7 wherein Doctor Strange speculates Wanda has been 'playing with
18161-504: The team and getting settled in, Irma changes her hair style, much to Celeste's horror, though Emma approves and encourages Irma and her sisters to be their own people. Irma spots Triage and both seem to have an attraction to each other, but neither acts on it. They later participate as members of Cyclops's team during the Battle of the Atom. When the time-displaced team of the original X-Men join Cyclops's team, Celeste becomes hostile towards
18304-571: The television series The Gifted (2017 - 2019), portrayed by Skyler Samuels . First appearing in New X-Men #118 (November 2001), they were jointly created by Grant Morrison and Ethan Van Sciver . Their origin, as the artificially created "daughters" of Emma Frost , is revealed in X-Men: Phoenix – Warsong . Esme and Sophie were among the feature characters in the 2011 two-issue limited series Chaos War: X-Men . In April 2024, it
18447-430: The thousand clones, despite their newfound freedom and desire to experience life, by shattering their newly manifested diamond forms as well as Esme and Sophie. Disgusted by the destruction, Celeste casts the entity out of her body. However, it refuses to depart causing Celeste to reabsorb it into her own and Mindee and Phoebe's diamond hearts to end the Phoenix's destruction. Unlike Emma's diamond composition, which contains
18590-517: The time-displaced teenage Jean Grey. During an excursion to a mall, Jean reveals to Celeste that Irma and Phoebe do not have a problem with her like Celeste does. The group encounters a member of the Inhumans , and the Cuckoos as well as Jean Grey are knocked out. The remaining Cuckoos, feeling empty without their sisters, opted to seek out and employ a genetic regeneration specialist who did work at The Facility behind Laura Kinney 's genesis. Through
18733-417: The tradition of the earlier underground comics , while others, such as Star Reach , resembled the output of mainstream publishers in format and genre but were published by smaller artist-owned ventures or by a single artist. This so-called " small press " scene (a term derived from the limited quantity of comics printed in each press-run) continued to grow and diversify, with a number of small publishers in
18876-569: The twin capital cities of SEAR in order to meet with Xorn and Zorn. The two brothers agree to help Fury fight off the Maker 's invasion. On an alternate Earth, Xorn and his brother Zorn were members of the X-Men. They were killed by Terrax during the Cabal 's attack on Earth-71202. In one of the timelines experienced by Moira MacTaggert during the Powers of X storyline, Kuan-Yin Xorn becomes one of
19019-487: The various X-Men books led to storylines involving the genocide of superpowered "mutants" in allegorical stories about religious and ethnic persecution. In addition, published formats like the graphic novel and the related trade paperback enabled the comic book to gain some respectability as literature. As a result, these formats are now common in book retail and the collections of US public libraries . Stepford Cuckoos#Personalities The Stepford Cuckoos are
19162-468: The wake of television and the impact of the Comics Code Authority . The late 1950s and the 1960s saw a superhero revival and superheroes remained the dominant character archetype throughout the late 20th century into the 21st century. Some fans collect comic books, helping drive up their value. Some have sold for more than US$ 1 million. Comic shops cater to fans, selling comic books, plastic sleeves ("bags") and cardboard backing ("boards") to protect
19305-443: The world' for far longer than even she knows, and may have been responsible for her father's puzzling rebirth. An alternative explanation has since been given in the pages of New Avengers since, according to Marvel editor Tom Brevoort , "nobody was satisfied with that offhanded non-explanation, and it didn't make a heck of a lot of sense by itself even as a throwaway". Later, an Alaskan postal worker named Michael Pointer gains
19448-578: Was "inspired to heroism" and used Kick to strengthen her powers and fight him. The strain killed Sophie, though it was secretly Esme's psychic influence that ultimately pushed her toward death. She has since been portrayed in other realities as the most free-thinking of the Cuckoos. Down the line of publishing, Sophie shows a more maternal and chivalrous expression of character towards her siblings. Even towards Esme whom had betrayed and killed her twice. Showing she felt extreme amounts of guilt over her siblings actions which nearly cost Laura her own sister due to
19591-408: Was a cloud with a silver lining, and proved the making of Marvel, allowing the company to concentrate its brightest and best talent on a small number of titles, at a time when its rivals were spreading their creative talents very thin across a huge number of monthly titles. The quality of Marvel's product soared in consequence, and sales soared with it. While the creators of comics were given credit in
19734-464: Was also a rise in conservative values with the election in 1952 of Dwight Eisenhower . The Comics Code Authority, a self-censoring body founded to curb the juvenile delinquency alleged to be due to the crime and horror comics, has often been targeted as the culprit, but sales had begun to drop the year before it was founded. The major publishers were not seriously harmed by the drop in sales, but smaller publishers were killed off: EC (the prime target of
19877-600: Was announced that Sophie would have a starring role in the second volume of NYX , set for a July 2024 release as part of the " X-Men: From the Ashes " relaunch. It is written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing with art by Francesco Mortarino. The new ongoing series centers on Sophie and several other mutant young adults – Kamala Khan , Laura Kinney , Anole , and Prodigy – attempting to adapt to life in New York City in
20020-456: Was attempting to conduct an affair with her husband, Scott Summers . Secretly, Esme Cuckoo had been collaborating with X-Man Xorn , then disguised as Magneto . Taking control of the Cuckoos' group mind, she telepathically forced Angel Salvadore to attack Emma Frost, completely shattering her diamond body into fragments. Jean Grey managed to telekinetically reassemble Frost and return her to life, whereupon Emma revealed Esme's involvement in
20163-432: Was later revealed to be the one responsible for the events that killed Sophie. Wanting to seize control of the Cuckoos but encountering resistance from Sophie, Esme used the drug Kick on herself to augment her own psychic powers and take control of the Stepford Cuckoos' group mind. Esme manipulated her sister Sophie into also using the drug Kick in order to overexert her telepathic powers to the point of death. Esme returned in
20306-493: Was so strong, it basically remained an almost disembodied sentient thing among the big ball of mutant energy. When that energy got sucked down to Earth by Michael and all absorbed by him, Xorn was the dominant personality in the mix, and that's what drove him towards Genosha and Magneto." When the Terrigen Mists were released around the globe, whittling down mutantkind's number and suppressing any new mutant manifestation,
20449-435: Was the cruel point of him". In fact, soon after the revelation of Xorn's identity in New X-Men #146, readers pointed out that clues that Xorn was actually Magneto had been hidden throughout Morrison's run. According to then- X-Men writer Chuck Austen , the X-Men editors liked the Xorn character and hoped Morrison would change their mind about the revelation; when Morrison did not, the editors asked Austen to bring Xorn back as
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