LOCOMOTIVE BREATH

Real Name: Laslo Magzel

Identity/Class: Human, Mutant; Slorenian

Occupation: Thrill seeker, inventor

Affiliations: Rush Club (Gunship, Sanction)

Enemies: War Machine, Quarry, Black Brigade, Volkhvy

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Rush Club Headquarters, unknown location, possibly Baltimore

First Appearance: War Machine#12 (March, 1995)

Powers/Abilities: Magzel appeared to have a mutant ability for invention, similar to that of Forge. He built his own powered Locomotive Breath armor, which gave him a very high degree of superhuman strength, and was nigh-invulnerable.

 

 

 

History: An "all-but immortal" Slorenian mutant, Magzel’s abilities to build machines and devices made him an invaluable ally to many governments over the years, including Volkhvy’s Slorenian regime. Bored with the curse of immortality, Magzel fell in with the Rush Club, seeking release from his misery in their thrill-seeking. In return, he built their armor.

(War Machine#12)- The Rush Club met to determine their next opponent, as Locomotive Breath showed off video footage of the Quarry armor’s capabilities, claiming it would be their best opponent yet. He expressed concern that the fight would take place so close to a city, and when Gunship pursued Quarry into Philadelphia, he ordered the ‘game’ to be aborted. Gunship refused, and was defeated by War Machine. Along with Sanction, Locomotive Breath arrived to help, and the three of them struck War Machine down from behind.

(War Machine#13)- Locomotive Breath slammed War Machine into a building, and ordered Sanction to finish him, and for Gunship to terminate Quarry to leave no loose ends. War Machine defeated Sanction, and Locomotive Breath attacked again, shrugging off War Machine’s punches and pulse cannon blast. War Machine unleashed his repulsors, unibeam and pulse cannon at once, blasting him away, but he was back on his feet within seconds, while Gunship destroyed the Quarry armor. Locomotive Breath struck the ground, causing a seismic shockwave that buried War Machine. The Rush Club then left, believing Segar dead.

Gunship justified his decision to the other members of the Rush Club, believing that an opponent like War Machine was a far better class of opponent for them, and that there was no better way to get him off their backs then to take him on and kill him, but Locomotive Breath insisted that the Club could only operate under secrecy, and should not get involved with superheroes, only recruiting opponents no-one would miss, with nothing to lose. But with getting out of the fight, Locomotive Breath sent Gunship to face War Machine alone.

He then informed Sanction that running or hiding from War Machine would do no good, as heroes like him were so persistent, but that they could make use of him instead. He showed Sanction an e-mail he had received from the Slorenian government, informing him that he would be denied access to The Program, due to the civil war. He then instructed Sanction on what to do if Gunship lost.

After War Machine defeated Gunship, Locomotive Breath ordered Sanction to shoot him down with an electro-magnetic pulse arrow, and then emerged to take him prisoner.

(War Machine#14)- Locomotive Breath brought the captive War Machine to Tblunka, capital of Slorenia, and claimed to want his help. He told War Machine he had shut down the Rush Club, and turned Gunship and Sanction over to the Baltimore police, and that War Machine’s heroism had inspired him to make amends for his actions, and stop the atrocities committed by the Slorenian government that he had turned his back on for so long. He took War Machine to the city’s northern quarter, to witness the Targoth, Slorenian ‘genetic monsters’, rounding up the Dudak minority for slave camps and worse. He then aided War Machine in his attack on the Slorene troops by leaping onto a tank, crushing it.

War Machine wanted to inform WorldWatch of the atrocities in Slorenia, but atmospherics prevented Magzel from using his satellite uplink (or so he claimed, anyway). He took War Machine to where he claimed the Targoth were manufactured, but took him to the Slorenian Winter Palace, former lair of Ember. Scaring off the guards, they were ambushed by Black Brigade and his robot drones. Locomotive Breath fled into the palace, leaving War Machine to fight Black Brigade, who informed War Machine that he had been played for a fool, although War Machine claimed to know Magzel was lying, and was just playing along to learn his true agenda.

In the cellars beneath the palace, Locomotive Breath managed to locate the Ember Triptych, planning to use it as a source of power to replenish his own strength, now that he had been denied access to The Program, the power source he had built for the Slorenian government. War Machine caught up with him and attacked, but Locomotive Breath struck him away, and opened the Triptych, only to be overwhelmed and seemingly destroyed by it’s power.

Shortly afterwards, Ember was reborn. It was never confirmed if Magzel was Ember’s new host body or not.

Comments:created by by Dan Abnett and Dave Chlystek.

It is possible that Magzel was one of the Externals.

No comment on Jethro Tull's song "Locomotive Breath," released in 1971 as part of the album Aqualung? With lead singer Ian Anderson, they chose the name for their band after an 18th Century farmer/inventor--Snood.

by Gauntlet: Dark Rider

CLARIFICATIONS:
Locomotive Breath should not be confused with:

Last updated: 11/27/02

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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