BILL ROSS
Real Name: Bill Ross
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: FBI special agent Department for Mutant Affairs
Group Membership: FBI
Affiliations: Fred Duncan, X-Men (Angel/Warren Worthington III, Beast/Hank McCoy, Cyclops/Scott Summers, Iceman/Robert Drake, Marvel Girl/Jean Grey)
Enemies: Vanisher ("Telford Porter")
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: FBI headquarters, Washington D.C.
First Appearance: X-Men I#2 (November, 1963)
Powers/Abilities: Bill Ross was an experienced, skilled FBI agent who rose up to the ranks to become Fred Duncan's second-in-command at the Department of Mutant Affairs. In his capacity as an FBI agent, Bill had access to and carried the agency's standard small-arms weapons.
Height: 6"
Weight:190 lbs
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Varied between brown, white and a grey comb-over
History:
(X-Men I#38/2) <At the beginning
of the modern era (i.e. around Fantastic Four I#1)> - The growing number of mutants among the human population was
starting to become a national, if not global concern. The FBI was
tasked by the US government to investigate the so-called mutant menace.
This assignment fell in the lap of agent Fred Duncan (who had had
dealings with mutants in the past) and his fellow FBI agent Bill Ross.
Duncan was appointed head of Department of Mutant Affairs and hired
Ross as his aide. Together, they decided the time was right to involve
the national print media in their investigation. Reading about the
FBI's plans in the paper, the powerful telepathic mutant Charles Xavier
decided to visit Duncan and Ross in their Washington offices
Bill and Duncan rewatched a movie reel for
the tenth time of the first time an alleged mutant was caught on tape
using his powers. The movie showed a young teenager called Scott
Summers lifting up his glasses to unleash a powerful eye beam that
destroyed a crate about to fall on a group of civilians. Instead of
thanking him, the people became scared and angry. Watching the footage,
Duncan was convinced the boy's motivations were genuine and he decided
to search for him.
At this time, Charles Xavier decided to make his
presence known. Shocked by his unscheduled arrival, Bill tried to wheel
the invalid Professor out their office. However, despite his best
efforts, he couldn't get Xavier's wheelchair to move an inch. After
proving the point he wasn't going anywhere, Charles explained he had
mentally incapacitated Ross. When Fred Duncan pulled a gun on him, the
Professor was forced to do the same to him. Finally getting the agents
to listen to reason, Charles Xavier revealed his identity and his
mutant powers. He proposed an alliance between himself and the FBI:
Xavier would help them find young mutants who he could help train in
the use of their power at his school, at the same time, Xavier promised
Duncan and Ross to keep them updated on their progress. Duncan took the
Professor up on his offer, as both men decided to join forces for the
survival of all humanity.
(Uncanny Origins#1 (fb) - BTS ) - After Xavier found Scott Summers they visited Duncan and Ross at their FBI offices in Washington to discuss the events that led to the boy's recruitment. Duncan made special arrangement to place Scott Summers in Xavier's custody.
(X-Men I#2) - Smoking a pipe, Bill Ross watched as his boss Fred Duncan donned a special headband Charles Xavier had given him. With it, Duncan could instantly contact his telepathic cohort. When the connection was established, Duncan informed the Professor about the threat posed by the mutant teleporter Vanisher who had declared he was going to steal the nation's continental defense plans. Xavier offered to send his X-Men to capture the teleporter.
Comments: Created by Stan Lee(writer), Jack Kirby(pencils) & Paul Reinman(inks).
Bill's last name Ross was revealed in Uncanny Origins#1 which retold the events seen in X-Men I#38/2.
Scenes from that issue also appeared, as flashbacks, in X-Men: Odd Men Out. It's very well possible Bill Ross filed all the reports on the original X-Men and the international class that the X-Men came to delete in Uncanny X-Men I#158. Moira MacTaggert's statement on the existence of the data doesn't include any names, but given the fact Bill Ross was Duncan's aide, and filing paperwork is what most aides do, it's not unlikely. The different creators who worked on Ross had a hard time keeping his appearance straight. Varying with each issue, Bill started out with white hair, that got colored blonde in reprints. In the Uncanny Origins story he appeared to be balding, with only an ever so slight comb over.
Profile by MarvellousLuke
CLARIFICATIONS:
Bill Ross has no known connections to
images: (without ads)
X-Men: The Odd Men Out, p6, pan4 (main image, left side)
Uncanny Origins#1, p13, pan2 (watching mutant tapes, left side)
X-Men I#2, p13, pan2 (smoking the pipe, left side)
Appearances:
X-Men I#2 (November, 1963) - Stan Lee (writer), Jack Kirby (pencils), Paul Reinman (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
X-Men I#38/2 (November, 1967) - Roy Thomas (writer), Werner Roth (pencils), John Verpoorten (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Uncanny Origins#1 (September, 1996) - Ben Raab (writer), Dave Hoover (pencils), Bill Anderson (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
X-Men: The Odd Men Out (September, 2008) - Roger Stern (writer), Dave
Cockrum (pencils), Josef Rubinstein (inks), Bob Harras, Suzanne Gaffney
(editors)
First Posted: 12/08/2013
Last updated: 01/25/2014
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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