EARTHMOVER

Real Name: Charles "Chuck" Moss

Identity/Class: Human (Canada) magic user

Occupation: Adventurer 

Group Membership: Alpha Flight (Aurora/Jeanne-Marie Beaubier, Guardian/Heather McNeill-Hudson, Puck/Eugene Judd, Sasquatch/Walter Langkowski, Shaman/Michael Twoyoungmen, Snowbird/Narya, Vindicator/James MacDonald Hudson)

Affiliations: Alpha Flight (Centennial/Rutherford Princeton III, Major Mapleleaf/Louis Sadler Jr. Nemesis/Amelia Weatherly, Puck/Zuzha Yu, Sasquatch/Walter Langkowski, Yukon Jack/Yukotujakzurjimozoata) Attorney General Ishikawa, Edmonton Oilers, Mar, Thunder, Wolverine (James "Logan" Howlett)

Enemies: Plodex;
                formerly the X-Men (Angel/Warren Worthington III, Chamber/Jonothon Starsmore, Husk/Paige Guthrie, Iceman/Bobby Drake, Juggernaut/Cain Marko, Northstar/Jean Paul Beaubier, Professor X/Charles Xavier)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
                                   formerly Plodex homeworld;
                                   formerly Alpha Flight headquarters, Vancouver, Canada

First Appearance: Wolverine II#179 (September, 2002)

Powers/Abilities: Charles Moss has the potential to wield vast magical power by controlling that which originates from the Earth. Though he has yet to reach the peak of his power, he can ultimately control anything of terrestrial origin, including people, animals and even technology. For a brief time, Earthmover carried Shaman's medicine pouch, he was skilled enough in its use to create giant rockmonsters. He is trained in bushido, hunting, swordsmanship and ice hockey. Earthmover is an avid sportsfan who has a fear of heights.

Height: 6'7"
Weight: 252 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown

History:

(Wolverine II#180 (fb) - BTS) - Shaman knew of Charles Moss' potential when he was but a small child. He regularly visited the boy to teach him about the world's supernatural elements. Moss' father, honoring tribal obligations, nominated Chuck for training in the ways of magic, even though he seemed more interested in the modern world. A talented hockey player, he was about to start a career in pro hockey with the Edmonton Oilers when Shaman chose him to be his successor.

(Wolverine II#179 - BTS) - Sensing a powerful demon was out to possess his pupil, Shaman sent a message to Eartmover telling him to wait a few days before reporting for duty. In the meantime, Shaman contacted Wolverine who helped him deal with the demon. Wolverine was then asked to help Shaman in training Moss, who he felt was the natural equivalent of an omega mutant.

(Wolverine II#179) - Chuck arrived at Maison Alpha, where Shaman and Wolverine were waiting for him.

(Wolverine II#180) - Wolverine and Shaman took Chuck to Prince George, British Columbia to help him find his totem. Before handing him over to Wolverine, Shaman made sure Moss knew he himself had to choose to walk the path he was about to embark on. Moss grudgingly said he accepted, prompting Shaman to reply it shouldn't be a burden, but a gift. He added that as soon as Moss was no longer at odds with the supernatural, there would be no more occasion for fear, doubt or regret.  The next day, Wolverine took Moss out to the woods where he tried to teach him the ways of the natural world, approaching a deer without startling it. Moss' unsubtle approach caused the animal to panic, hitting Wolverine in the groin with its powerful hindlegs. None the worse for wear, Logan moved on to training him in sword fighting and the samurai mindset. He also got Moss to overcome his fear of heights and the elements by making him walk over a tree trunk across a chasm, even making him do it blindfolded. In the end, Logan led Moss to the cave where he was supposed to meet his spirit animal. Moss was forced to spend the night alone in the cave. Besieged by unknown mystical forces, he managed to survive the ordeal and was found the next morning by Wolverine. When he opened his hands, Moss discovered an earthworm in his hand. Disappointed that his animal totem was a common worm, he was comforted by Wolverine who assured him this was actually a good sign: worms were earthmovers after all. Minutes later, Wolverine's hunch proved correct when he spotted Moss out in the woods petting the agressive deer that had eluded them earlier.

(X-Men Unlimited I#45) - Earthmover continued his studies with Shaman at his offices. Twoyoungmen was about to hand his protégé his medicine pouch when he was overcome by a vision of a dying James Hudson. With no time to explain, Shaman rushed out, leaving his perplexed student behind, wondering if this meant he was free to go to the Canadiens game.

(Uncanny X-Men I#421 (fb) - BTS) - Earthmover received Shaman's medicine pouch and officially replaced him as a member of Alpha Flight. One of his first missions with the team took him to the United States. Alpha Flight had been charged to take custody of all the students at the Xavier Institute, working together with the state of New York.

(Uncanny X-Men I#421) - Accompanied by New York's attorney general Ishikawa, Earthmover and his fellow Alphans went to the Xavier Institute where they announced their intentions to the stunned headmaster.

(Uncanny X-Men I#422) - While Xavier tried to sort out the situation through legal ways, Alpha Flight started the process of removing all minors from the school grounds. When they tried to take away Juggernaut's friend Samuel "Sammy" Pare, a Canadian that Alpha had come to collect, Cain Marko attacked the team. This led to a fight between the X-Men and Alpha Flight, with Heather Hudson ordering Earthmover to take out Juggernaut. Reaching in his medicine pouch, Moss grabbed a handful of dust and threw it at the incredulous Cain, who mockingly wondered if he was trying to make him sneeze. However, where the dust landed giant stone golems rose out of the ground. Juggernaut eagerly tore into his new opponents, but Iceman ended the fight with an explosion of ice shards that destroyed most of them. One piece also hit Earthmover, who was knocked out for the duration of the battle. The unpleasantness was eventually resolved when Sammy agreed to go back to his parents in Canada.

(Alpha Flight III#6 (fb) - BTS) - Earthmover joined Alpha Flight as they tried to deal with the threat of a Plodex mothership filled with thousands of eggs ready to colonize the planet. Alpha Flight was captured by the vessel's advanced defense systems. Only Sasquatch managed to escape. While he assembled a wide variety of unlikely heroes to help free his teammates, Earthmover and the others were linked to the Plodex's systems which exposed them to the race's ancient history. They all came to realize the Plodex weren't evil in nature, even as the ship started to analyze their genetic structures as templates for the unfertilized eggs.

(Alpha Flight III#6) - Sasquatch's ersatz Alpha Flight eventually rescued Earthmover and the others. Much to everyone's surprise, Alpha Flight announced that they would be taking the thousands of eggs to the Plodex homeworld so the race could make a new start. Earthmover and the other original Alphans left Earth, leaving the safety of Canada in the hands of Sasquatch and his new team.

Comments: Created by Matt Nixon (writer), Ethan van Sciver (pencils), Lary Stucker (inks).

"I feel the earth move under my feet...", comparisons to the classic Carole King song aside, Earthmover didn't exactly set the world on fire. He only used his powers once during all his appearances and that's debatable as well since he was relying on Shaman's bag of tricks. Matt Nixon took two whole issues of Wolverine to introduce the character, but apart from Chuck Austen no one bothered to think of poor ol' Earthmover until Scott Lobdell shipped him off world. The other members of Alpha Flight have been seen since, but the final fate of Earthmover remains unrevealed. Maybe he was with Alpha Flight when the team got butchered by Michael Pointer in New Avengers I#. 16. Also, naming someone who can throw around earth "Chuck Moss"? Oh Marvel, your penchant for appropriately silly names never fails to amaze.

Earthmover received profiles in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z#4, Mystic Arcana#1 and Marvel Encyclopedia X-Men.