UGLY JOHN
Real Name: Steve
Identity/Class: Human mutant, Australian citizen
Occupation: Unrevealed
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: X-Men (Cyclops/Scott Summers, Professor X/Charles Xavier, Wolverine/James "Logan" Howlett)
Enemies: Cassandra Nova, Sentinels (Manowar, Mark-1 Sentinel, Wild Sentinels), Donald Trask III
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: 'Piggy' called by Cassandra Nova
Base of Operations: Master Mold complex in the jungles of Ecuador (place of death)
formerly Sydney, Australia (place of birth)
First Appearance: New X-Men I#114 (July, 2001)
Powers/Abilities: Ugly John's mutation Ugly John had a physical facial mutation in that he had three faces (three mouths, chins and slightly upturned noses), although his eyes "overlapped" so he had only four eyes. He was tall and thin, possibly around 18, had brown hair and several ear piercings. He clearly had some evasive skills, but no real mutant talents when it came to fighting.
Height: 6'2" (by approximation)
Weight: 170 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
History:
(New X-Men I#114 (fb) - BTS) - Ugly John was chased by an old model Sentinel. Having telepathically sensed the young mutant was in mortal danger Professor X dispatched his X-Men Cyclops and Wolverine to rescue Ugly John.
(New X-Men I#114) - Near the Sydney Opera House, Cyclops and Wolverine stopped the Sentinel, while an astonished Ugly John hid under the fallen hand of the Sentinel that had already been blasted off.
(New X-Men I#114 - BTS) - Cyclops and Wolverine left with Ugly John for the Xavier Institute in the X-Wing.
(New X-Men I#114) - At the Xavier Institute, the Beast observed, via Professor X's Cerebra display, a mysterious genetic spike in Ecuador. Over the Pacific Ocean, Ugly John was introduced to his rescuers and was stunned to meet the famous X-Men. Ugly John, then passed out presumably by the smell of Wolverine's burning flesh. Via a mindlink, Professor X asked Cyclops and Wolverine to investigate the spike on their way home. As the two descended, Professor X was psychically attacked, but was too late to warn those in the X-Wing of the evil presence in Ecuador.
(New X-Men I#115) - Ugly John regained consciousness just as the X-Men were flying above Ecuador and came under attack by a breed of new small modified "Wild"-Sentinels. The little Sentinels easily disabled the X-Wing, causing it to crash-land near the entrance to the giant Master Mold Sentinel factory. With new Sentinels crawling over the X-Wing, Cyclops decided to set the craft to auto-destruct to prevent their advanced technology being absorbed by the Master Mold. All three mutants then auto-ejected into the air as the X-Wing detonated. Ugly John then passed out as he hit the river nearby, and was rescued by Cyclops. He recovered again just in time to see more Sentinels attack, and was rescued again by Wolverine, but failed to take cover properly and was shot in the knee by a Sentinel. With rising Sentinel numbers, Wolverine was soon overwhelmed while Cyclops was blasted unconscious. Wolverine and Ugly John were then gathered by a modified Sentinel.
(New X-Men I#115 - BTS) - Wolverine and Ugly John were taken captive by the Sentinels and chained to the Sentinel Manowar deep within the Master Mold factory.
(New X-Men I#115) - Cassandra Nova condescendingly called the trussed up Ugly John the X-mascot for Xavier's School for the Gifted. Ugly John pleaded for his life but the villainess nonetheless commanded the Sentinel Manowar to which he was attached to terminate him, dubbing him "piggy". He screamed as he fried, the smell of his seared flesh woke Wolverine up (who thought he was smelling bacon). Wolverine then disabled Cassandra Nova, as Cyclops blasted through into the room. However, Ugly John had (barely) survived the Manowar's blast and was in agony. Wolverine shouted at Cyclops for a mercy kill and Cyclops gently used his optic blast to put the Australian out of his misery.
(X-Men VI #8 - BTS) - Indirectly inspired by Ugly John's tragic fate, Forge created a prototype Krakoan battle suit meant for mutants without any offensive capabilities. In a letter to Scott Summers, who was to test the suit in his new role as Captain Krakoa, Forge explained it was intended for people like Artie Maddicks, Cypher or John, saying: "What is Ugly John going to do when Nimrod comes ashore? Scream three times louder than anyone?"
Comments: Created by Grant Morrison (writer), Frank Quitely (pencils), Tim Townsend (inks).
There's a good chance that the Mark-1 Sentinel that attacked Ugly John in Australia was dispatched by Cassandra Nova.
Ugly John lied somewhere between tragedy and comedy relief. Wolverine was drinking a can of "four-X" beer in the X-Wing as he recovered from his wounds, which is a popular Queensland-based beer. Sydney, where Ugly John was rescued, is close to the state border with Queensland.
Although unrevealed its possible Ugly John has been resurrected by the Five on Krakoa, how else would Forge know about Ugly John? --MarvellousLuke
Profile has been reworked and extended by MarvellousLuke.
Profile by Grendel Prime
CLARIFICATIONS:
Ugly John has no known connections to
images: (without ads)
New X-Men I#115, p4, pan4 (main image)
New X-Men I#115, p8, pan4 (closeup)
New X-Men I#115, p18, pan4&5 (death)
Appearances:
New X-Men I#114 (July, 2001) - Grant Morrison (writer), Frank Quitely (pencils), Tim Townsend (inks), Mark Powers (editor)
New X-Men I#115 (August, 2001) - Grant Morrison (writer), Frank Quitely (pencils), Tim Townsend, Mark Morales (inkers), Mark Powers (editor)
X-Men VI #8 (February, 2022) - Gerry Duggan (writer), Javier Pina (pencils, inks), Lauren Amaro, Jordan D. White (editors)
First Posted: 01/23/2006
Last Updated: 08/22/2022
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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