DELUGE
Real Name: Mzungu
Identity/Class: Human mutant
Occupation: Hater of humanity
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Protege of an unidentified African doctor
Enemies: Ororo Munroe, X-Men (Beast/Henry McCoy, Cyclops/Scott Summers, Marvel Girl/Jean Grey)
Known Relatives: Unidentified parents
Aliases: None
Place of Birth: Unidentified African village
Base of Operations: Mobile in Africa; formerly United States
Education: No formal education
First Appearance: X-Men: Hidden Years I#6 (May, 2000)
Powers/Abilities: Deluge possessed the mutant ability to harness and manipulate most, if not all forces of nature (see comments). He had been seen manipulating wind and water currents, as well as regulating tectonic movement. Deluge could release electricity from his hands, and absorb energy beams, including those of Cyclops. Deluge was powerful enough to take over weather phenomena created by others, like the mutant Storm. Through advanced wind manipulation, he could fly. Due to his nature as an albino, he was shunned by his tribesmen, which left him somewhat bitter, socially awkward and confused about his place in society.
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 145 lbs.
Eyes: Black
Hair: Bold
History:
(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#7 (fb)) - The albino who would become known as Deluge was born in an unidentified African village. His irregular skin pigmentation made him a shunned outcast early on. Feeling unwanted, the boy started to wander away from his village. At one time, he happened to come across an American scientific expedition. Intrigued by the albino African, the scientist took him into custody after he was caught in the camp examining their files. Unwilling to set him free for fear of what he might have learned, the Americans took care of him and even taught the lad English.
(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#7 (fb) - BTS) - After several months as an American prisoner, the preteen boy was suddenly overcome by an acute case of appendicitis. It was decided he was to be sent to the United States so he could receive proper medical treatment.
(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#7 (fb)) - In the United States, he was treated by an African-American physician who befriended the boy. Even though he liked the doctor, the lad who would become Deluge despised he way he had been treated by his own people and his American "saviors." One day, this seething, festering resentment flared out of control, causing his mutant elemental powers to manifest. Calling himself Deluge, he was eager to use these newfound abilities to exact vengeance on those who had wronged him. Deluge returned to his native African lands.
(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#7 (fb) - BTS) - His quest for vengeance brought Deluge into conflict with the "weather goddess" Ororo Munroe, though she apparently was ill prepared for his powers. He easily took control over a dangerously powerful storm she had summoned to take him out.
(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#6) - As he enjoyed the effects of the furious elemental tempest he'd help unleash, Deluge discovered the unconscious body of the X-Man Cyclops lying nearby, Cyclops and the other X-Men having been en route when the weather event surprised and scattered them. Deluge was most impressed when he learned of Cyclops' mutant powers, incorrectly believing the eye beams were solar power based. He began testing them by opening the visor. Surprised by the stream of energy that shot out into the sky, which had inadvertently alerted his fellow X-Men Marvel Girl and Beast, Deluge was attacked by Marvel Girl and Beast, as well as the self-styled weather goddess Ororo. The three mutants attempted to defeat Deluge but found even their combined powers were not up to the task. Deluge tied his defeated foes to wooden stakes as he prepared to drown them in a flood he planned to summon.
(X-Men: Hidden Years I#7) - Hoping to save their lives and defeat Deluge, Beast used his massive strength to break free from the stake. After Beast quickly released Marvel Girl and Ororo, the weather witch took to the sky to battle Deluge who had used aerial manipulation to fly. As she kept him busy, Marvel Girl worked with the still unconscious Cyclops, carefully manipulating both his visor and the delicate tissue of his eyelids with her telekinesis until his optical blasts were released. The continuous flow of optic power soon taxed Deluge's natural capacity for energy absorption. As a result, he overloaded and apparently exploded.
Comments: Created by John Byrne.
Deluge's real name was revealed in Storm's entry in
OHOTMU A-Z HC#11. He had his own entry in the Official Handbook of the
Marvel Universe A-Z HC Vol. 3.
For a character with a complicated backstory, Deluge was a pretty average villain and was defeated by one of the oldest tricks in the book. By the way, Cyclops remained unconscious for the entire Deluge story so as to keep him from meeting Ororo, and thus creating a continuity glitch.-- Prime Eternal
It's very well possible Deluge didn't understand the very nature of his own powers. His comments about Cyclops' force blasts being solar powered disprove his own theory he was able to only absorb or regulate natural elemental energies. It might be that Deluge can either manipulate all forms of energy (making him the idealized unified field theory on legs) or that he can use elemental or kinetic energy to a limited degree in whatever way he saw fit. That having been said, if his control over elemental energies is so great, its not entirely unthinkable he has (subconscious) control over his energy saturated bodily make up as well. It seems the return of Deluge is merely a reconstitution away. -- Norvo
As the original profile stemmed from 2002 the profile has been updated for 2014 with new images by MarvellousLuke and re-written text by Norvo.
Profile by Prime Eternal, Updated by Norvo and MarvellousLuke.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Deluge has no known connections to
images: (without ads)
X-Men: Hidden Years I#6, p9, pan1 (main image)
X-Men: Hidden Years I#7, p10, pan7 (closeup)
X-Men: Hidden Years I#7, p9, pan1 (outcast of his village)
X-Men: Hidden Years I#7, p16, pan1,2,3,4 (death)
Appearances:
X-Men: Hidden Years I#6 (May, 2000) - John Byrne (writer, pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Jason Liebig (editor)
X-Men: Hidden Years I#7 (June, 2000) - John Byrne (writer, pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Jason Liebig (editor)
Last updated: 10/27/14
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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