Alpha the Ultimate Mutant
| Alpha the Ultimate Mutant | |
|---|---|
| File:Alphatum2.jpg Alpha the Ultimate Mutant Art by Sal Buscema | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Defenders #15 (1974) |
| Created by | Len Wein Sal Buscema |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Alpha |
| Species | Human Mutant |
| Team affiliations | Brotherhood of Evil Mutants |
| Abilities | Force field generation, Teleportation, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Continuously increasing intellect |
Alpha the Ultimate Mutant is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe.
Fictional character biography
Alpha was artificially created by Magneto, a prominent mutant in the Marvel Universe.
Template:SpoilerFollowing a battle with the Avengers[1]1, Magneto was imprisoned in the center of Earth. Magneto managed to escape and propelled himself towards the surface[2], finding the underground ruins of a long-lost technologically advanced civilization. Using the machinery and books he found among the ruins, he began engineering "the ultimate mutant".
Professor X, telepathically detected that Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants were active in the area of the Carlsbad Caverns, and he summoned the Defenders to launch an attack against them. Magneto and the Brotherhood managed to repel the Defenders for enough time to allow the engineering of Alpha to be completed.
Alpha emerged as an oversized humanoid of subhuman intelligence (he was characterized as "neolithic"[3]). Initially he was only capable of creating force fields as a reflex, and of blindly following Magneto's orders. However, each time he used his powers, Alpha's cranium widened, causing an increase to his intellect.
Magneto had Alpha teleport him and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to the United Nations headquarters. When his demands for world rulership were turned down, Magneto ordered Alpha to telekinetically lift the Secretariat Building and suspend it in mid-air. After the Defenders attacked the Brotherhood, Alpha was coerced by Magneto to retaliate in various means, including:
- Transforming the concrete pavement into autonomous "rock-men"
- Tranforming the Hulk into a stone statue
- Telekinetically spinning the airborne Nighthawk in the air until he lost consciousness
- Fusing the feet of Valkyrie to the ground
The rampant usage of his powers eventually elevated Alpha's awareness to a superhuman level. Persuaded by Professor X, he telepathically probed both the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and the Defenders in order to discover which team was evil. Understanding that Magneto had fooled him into committing malicious acts, Alpha punished his up-to-then allies by regressing them to infancy. He also restored the United Nations building complex and erased the event from the minds of all other onlookers.
Finally, declaring himself too alien to remain on Earth, Alpha transformed himself to a streak of light and left to explore the universe.Template:Endspoiler
Trivia
- In Quasar #14 and #15, Quasar briefly glimpses Alpha, first on the Stranger's world, and then during his journeys in the cosmos. In both appearances, he seems to be paired with another highly evolved humanoid, named Futurist.
Bibliography
- Defenders #15-16
- Quasar #14-15