NEOPHYTE

Real Name: Simon Hall

Identity/Class: Human (Swiss) mutant

Occupation: Professional criminal

Group Membership: Acolytes (Kamal al Alaoui, Barnacle/Mortimer Everett, Fabian Cortez, Exodus/Bennett du Paris, Frenzy/Joanna Cargill, Gargouille/Lavinia LeBlanc, Katu Kath, Kleinstock Brothers/Harlan & Sven Kleinstock, Projector/Zachary Williams, Rem-Ram/Marcus Andrews, Scanner/Sarah Ryall, Seamus Mellencamp, Senyaka/Suvik Senyaka, Static/Gianna Carina Esperanza, Spoor/Andrew Hamish Graves, Unuscione/Carmella Unuscione, Amelia Voght, others)

Affiliations: Crystal (Crystalia Amaquelin), Gamesmaster, Moira MacTaggert, Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff)

Enemies: High Evolutionary (Herbert Edgar Wyndham), X-Men (Archangel/Warren Worthington III, Bishop, Colossus/Piotr Rasputin, Gambit/Remy LeBeau, Iceman/Bobby Drake, Marrow/Sarah, Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner, Professor X/Charles Xavier, Rogue/Anna Marie, Shadowcat/Kitty Pryde, Storm/Ororo Munroe, Wolverine/James "Logan" Howlett)

Known Relatives: None 

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
                                   formerly Utopia, San Francisco;
                                   formerly Genosha;
                                   formerly Wundagore Mountain;
                                   formerly Avalon;
                                   formerly Mont Saint Francis, France;
                                   formerly a church in Switzerland

First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men I#300 (May, 1993)

Powers/Abilities: Neophyte possessed the mutant ability to phase himself and at least two others through solid matter. He can also use this power to quickly transport him across vast distances, presumably by remaining stationary while the Earth revolves around its axis.

Height: 5'8
Weight: 150 lbs.
Eyes: White (while using powers)
Hair: Blonde

History:

(Uncanny X-Men I#315 (fb) ) - After his mutant powers manifested themselves, teenage Swiss boy Simon Hall was ostracized by his friends and family. He took refuge inside an old, abandoned church on top of a mountain ridge where the Acolytes eventually found him. Cargill, Unuscione and Katu were sent to recruit him, though for over two days all they could do was preach to closed doors before Hall finally showed himself. Desperate for a purpose in life, he begged the Acolytes to teach him all about Magneto and to give him something to believe in. The Acolytes took their neophyte member back to their base in the French monastery St. Francis where he studied the teachings of Magneto for months.

(Uncanny X-Men I#300) - The Neophyte was present when Fabian Cortez ordered the Acolytes to kidnap Moira MacTaggert. She was brought to Mont Saint Francis where the Acolyte Milan began the torturous process of sifting through her memories looking for information on Magneto. Neophyte was tasked with feeding MacTaggert who was clearly suffering. Seeing how Cortez was uncaring and even delighted by this, he began to question the Acolytes' leader's sincerity. These doubts grew to concerns when Moira MacTaggert spoke with him and told him Cortez was the one responsible for both Magneto and the first Acolytes' death. Hoping to have his faith reaffirmed, Neophyte quietly snuck up to Cortez's private quarters. Instead, he overheard Cortez's conversation with the Gamesmaster where Fabian confirmed that he had indeed killed Magneto. Shocked, Neophyte showed himself momentarily before trying to run. Realizing that Hall would ruin everything, Cortez quickly used his powers to hypercharge Hall's, which caused the young boy to launch himself straight out of the monastery and landing over a mile away in the muddy grounds. There, he was found by a young French girl who tried to help him, only to get killed by Senyaka, Spoor and Katu who had been sent by Cortez to finish him off (Cortez had told them he'd learned Neophyte was a traitor). Unable to defend himself or phase after getting hit by Senyaka's paralyzing coil whip, Neophyte was saved by the X-Men who had come to France to free Moira. After Senyaka, Katu and Spoor had been dealt with, Neophyte had a brief conversation with Charles Xavier. Seeing how his fellow Acolytes had just murdered an innocent girl just for not being a mutant, he was determined to assist the X-Men. Neophyte phased Bishop and Cyclops into the heart of the monastery as part of the X-Men's surprise attack on the Acolytes. He kept himself out of the fighting only briefly catching up with Xavier after the Acolytes had been defeated. Charles offered him a spot on the team, but Hall refused, saying it would be a while before he could trust anyone again. He then phased away, but not before remarking to Xavier that his dream might be more similar to Magneto's than either of them realized.

(Uncanny X-Men I#315 - BTS) - The Acolytes, still sore over Neophyte's betrayal, captured Hall and brought him to Avalon for trial.

(Uncanny X-Men I#315) - Neophyte had resigned himself to the fact his trial would end in his death, the only punishment for betraying the cause. However, the Acolytes' newest member Colossus decided to defend him. With Amelia Voght acting as prosecutor, the Neophyte's trial began in the presence of the comatose Magneto and his heir apparant Exodus. Even though it took quite a bit of doing and numerous impassioned speeches by Colossus, the former X-Man succeeded in preventing Exodus from executing Hall. Instead, his punishment was eternal banishment from Avalon, which the powerful mutant carried out immediately by teleporting Hall back to Earth.

(Avengers I#380 - BTS) - After being cast out from Avalon, Neophyte travelled to Wundagore Mountain where he stayed near the spot where Magneto's wife Magda was last seen alive. The place was considered holy ground by the Acolytes, who had erected a shrine of sorts in her honor. But since the High Evolutionary had returned to Wundagore the master of evolution had denied all mutants access to his mountain.

(Avengers I#380) - Neophyte mostly kept himself hidden to avoid being spotted by the New Men, but he showed himself when Quicksilver and his fellow Avenger Crystal happened upon the shrine during their visit with the cow-woman Bova. Neophyte explained to the stunned heroes who the shrine was for before telling them that even though he was still wearing an Acolytes uniform, he had been cast out. Quicksilver was intrigued by the notion that Exodus apparently feared the Evolutionary and then told the young mutant that Charles Xavier had told stories of him. Quicksilver and Crystal offered to take Neophyte to the X-Men, but he refused because he didn't feel ready yet. He gave one final warning, stressing that being on the mountain was dangerous for all those connected to Magneto before vanishing in order to avoid being seen by the arriving New Men.

(X-Men: Magneto War#1) - Neophyte was recruited back into the Acolytes by Amelia Voght who took him and several others to the Netherlands where they were met by Magneto (Max Eisenhardt). He thanked them for coming before talking with Voght in private. Magneto told her of a coming fire that would soon consume the entire planet.

(Uncanny X-Men I#366 - BTS) - In preparation for his latest world conquering scheme, Magneto ordered his Acolytes to keep the X-Men busy and distracted until his preparations for shifting the Earth's magnetic poles were completed.

(Uncanny X-Men I#366) - Neophyte and the Acolytes struck a series of genetic research facilities by order of Magneto, as they moved north towards their master's base. After the Acolytes hit a genetic research lab in central Minnesota, the X-Men were tailing them. Eventually, the two teams met and fought at a remote Canadian chemical processing lab. Neophyte used his phasing powers to prevent Gambit's charged playing cards from hitting Frenzy. His concentration was broken by the sudden appearance of Nightcrawler, allowing the X-Men to actually touch their opponents. The fight proved to be a trap however, when the X-Men were lured to the bottom of a holding tank, while the superstrong Acolyte Kamal al Aloui tossed a reservoir of liquid flame retardant into the bassin, hoping to drown their fellow mutants. Neophyte and the others made a clean escape inside their ship, yet moved at such a deliberately slow pace the X-Men could keep up with them. Figuring the Acolytes were luring them to somewhere, the X-Men's suspicions were confirmed when over the icy wastelands of the North Pole their Blackbird got hit by Magneto's global EM-pulse and crashed, while the Acolytes looked on from the safety of their shielded aircraft.

(X-Men II#86) - Neophyte seemed uncaring about the X-Men trying to survive both the freezing cold and the electromagnetic storm outside. The team was alarmed by the sudden appearance of Charles Xavier's astral form inside the ship. Scanner rebuffed the professor's plea to aid them, using her powers to force him back in his body.

(X-Men II#86 - BTS) - In the brief moment he had telepathically communicated with the Acolytes, Xavier had worked his way into most of their minds, subtly influencing from a distance. His first act was to have Cargill unknowingly extend the shields of the Acolytes' vessel to protect the X-Men.

(X-Men II#86) - Moments later, X-Man and Acolyte alike were surprised by the detonation of several nuclear missiles near Magneto's tower, fired by the UN in retaliation.

(Uncanny X-Men I#367) - Thanks to Xavier's mental influence, the Acolytes' shielding had protected the team from the nuclear fallout. Ordering the X-Men to play dead, he then stimulated the minds of their more agressive members so they would agree to leave the ship and make sure their enemies were really finished. Neophyte, Katu and Scanner were the only ones left inside while the others fought the X-Men. Scanner and Neophyte eventually went out as well. Hall figured out that Xavier was messing with their minds and tried to engage the professor. Before he could hurt Charles, he was quickly knocked out by Kitty Pryde who was able to hit him even while he was phased. The X-Men then entered the craft, tossed out Katu, and went on their way, leaving Neophyte and the others defeated and stranded.

(X-Force I#94) - While on a covert mission in Magneto-controlled Genosha, X-Force watched from a safe distance how Neophyte and a group of his fellow Acolytes fought against the Genoshan Magistrates who were still struggling to reclaim the island.

(Uncanny X-Men I#379) - Neophyte and the other Acolytes on Genosha listened to Fabian Cortez's plans to replace Magneto as leader of the country, because his powers were failing him. Before they could reply, Magneto arrived and put the treacherous Cortez in his place using his magnetic powers (which were secretly being strengthened by Polaris). A little while later, as a result of of the High Evolutionary activating his global mutation-neutralization program, Neophyte and the others lost their powers and fainted.

(Uncanny X-Men I#492 - BTS) - Following an undocumented falling out, Neophyte and several of his fellow Acolytes left the fold and struck out on their own. When Mr. Sinister and his Marauders, among them new member Exodus, kidnapped the first mutant baby born since M-Day, the X-Men decided their best bet to getting a lead on Sinister was by chasing down the other former followers of Magneto.

(Uncanny X-Men I#492) - The X-Men located Neophyte and the other former Acolytes when Angel spotted Gargouille leaving their safe house. Colossus stormed through the nearest wall and found a surprised Neophyte and Vindaloo. Ignoring Colossus' friendly request to stay where they were, Neophyte phased through the floor, emerging right outside the building where he spotted Wolverine and Nightcrawler waiting. Planning to attack them from behind, Wolverine's enhanced senses alerted him in time to warn Nightcrawler. The acrobatic X-Man grabbed Neophyte and began to teleport him through the air to prevent Hall from slipping away again. When they were several dozen feet above ground, Kurt let Simon fall. The terrified Acolyte was rescued by Angel. At the same time, Wolverine had gotten Simon's Acolyte teammate Projector to freely tell the X-Men all he knew.

(New Mutants II#14) - Through unrevealed circumstances, Neophyte had made his way to Utopia, the former Asteroid M turned into an artificial island sanctuary for mutants in San Francisco Bay. He was present when a great number of Nimrod Sentinels from the future arrived to exterminate every inhabitant of Utopia. Simon answered Cyclops' rallying call to help defend the island (see comments).