FLASHER
Real Name: Kristin Koenig
Identity/Class: Human mutant
Occupation: Student
Group Membership: Xavier Institute student body
Affiliations: Beanpole (Mike Galbraith), Chlorites, Diascar race, Harry Mills, Papillon (Sarah Allaire), Seden Karm (aka "John Chang"), Visionary (Meena Banerjee), Todd Watkins, Charles Xavier, X-Men (most notably Beast/Hank McCoy, Cyclops/Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner, Kitty Pryde, Rogue/Anna Marie, Wolverine/James Howlett/Logan)
Enemies: Henry Peter Gyrich, Lash (James Wheaton), Sentinels;
formerly Valerie Cooper, Diascar race (esp. Poratine & Taforne), Imperial Guard (Astra, Blackthorn, Flashfire, Magique, Manta, Nightside, N'rill'iree, Smasher/Vril Rokk), "Crush" Russell, Todd Watkins
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: The "Entirely Visible Girl" (joking nickname for herself)
Base of Operations: Last seen at the Xavier Institute, West Chester, New York
First Appearance: X-Men: Watchers on the Walls (May, 2006)
Powers/Abilities: Originally, Kristin involuntarily turned invisible anything that touched her skin. She wore two sets of clothing, as the clothes that touched her skin turned invisible. Makeup and jewelry turned invisible as well, and it was difficult to groom herself, as she couldn't see her hairbrush, toothbrush, etc.
She could extend her field beyond her skin several feet, but this also
affected her outer layers of clothing, leaving her seemingly nude
(althought still physically contrained by whatever she was wearing) as
well as appearing to be standing over a hole in the ground, as the
ground within her field would also be invisible. As she became more
comfortable with her powers, she on occasion removed her clothing that
was already invisible, finding this somewhat liberating.
With training, she prevent spontaneously turning other objects invisible on contact.
Her powers affected an object or being from its most superficial layers to its deepest; as her power faded a minute or so later, the object or being would reappear from superficial to most deep.
Height: Unrevealed
Weight: Unrevealed (she was described as "slim")
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Honey blonde (neck length hair)
Note: Seeing Kristin seemingly naked, Rogue considered that she had "nothin' to be ashamed of"
History:
(X-Men:
Watchers on the Walls:
Chapter One: Exordium (fb) - BTS) - When Kristin's mutant power of
turning anything invisible on contact surfaced, she was embarassed as
well as frustrated by her inability to visibily wear makeup or jewelry
and the difficulty in performing normal hygiene.
(X-Men: Watchers on the Walls: Chapter One: Exordium (fb) - BTS) - Kristin, along with the rest of a group of newly recruited mutants, entered the Xavier Institute. She gathered with those who mutations largely made them look strange or served as handicaps.
(X-Men:
Watchers on the Walls:
Chapter One: Exordium) - Kristin met Harry Mills and "John Chang"
(secretly the Chlorite Seden Karm) and explained her powers, as
did Meena Banerjee and Todd Watkins. Harry eased her embarrassment in
discussing her abilities by sharing embarrassing aspects of his powers,
but his interest in her risks of making her clothes
invisible that annoyed her.
Xavier then addressed the assembled students, gently
chiding the larger group for excluding those with less impressive
abilities. At the subsequent brunch, Kristin and her newest acquaintances
found the other mutants more interested in and inclusive of them.
(X-Men:
Watchers on the Walls:
Chapter Seven: Ex Cathedra (fb) - BTS) - James Wheaton used one of his
energy tendrils to pull off one of her gloves and force her to touch
her hand with her outer shirt, leaving her upper body exposed in front of the classroom.
Xavier deleted the male students' sense memory of what they'd glimpsed
and scheduled detention/therapy sessions for Wheaton, but Kris remained
wary of the possibility of a recurrence.
(X-Men:
Watchers on the Walls:
Chapter Seven: Ex Cathedra (fb) - BTS) - Kris listened alongside her fellow students to a press conference -- led by National Security Council member Val
Cooper, the US secretary of defense, the UN secretary-general, and
Poratine of the alien Diascar -- discussing the Chlorite threat and their plans
to test all non-human mutates in hopes of exposing the aliens as
quickly as possible.
(X-Men:
Watchers on the Walls:
Chapter Seven: Ex Cathedra) - After Beanpole argued that the Chlorites may not be as
dangerous as the Diascar said they were, Kris asked if they could afford to take the chance. Todd
reminded her that she -- unlike himself and others
-- could pass for human and that nobody would be hunting her down, and
Kris sarcastically offered to hide him, pulled off one of her gloves,
and
touched him, making his bony-plated skin invisible, leaving his
internal organs visible. As the other students groaned in disgust, Kris
noted that now anyone could see he was human on the inside. Todd told
her to turn him back, but she could only explain to him that the effect would wear off in a minute.
Kristin was silent as some of the others discussed how the Diascar might be manipulating humanity to turn them against each other and get them off guard.
(X-Men:
Watchers on the Walls:
Chapter 11: Exile) - Kris was surprised to learn John was a Chlorite, noting
that he had always been so quiet. She further argued that John had enjoyed
spending time with Harry by choice, and she continued that the
Chlorites had been so persecuted and lonely in space, that it must have
been nice for him to get to live a normal life -- to get lost in a
crowd -- for a while.
When Kris argued that John deserved a fair trial,
Todd reminded her that John wasn't human; Harry then asked if
they (the group of mutants) were human.
(X-Men: Watchers on the Walls: Chapter 19: Extracurricular) - When Meena had frightening visions of Sentinels attacking the Xavier Institute, the other students appreciated that this was likely due to the presence of "John Chang." James "Lash" Wheaton argued that they should call the government to inform them of the hidden Chlorite in hopes of ensuring the government would spare him from Sentinel assault, but Kris countered that they would close the school and would not have anyone to teach them how to use their powers; Wheaton teased her that no one wanted her to control her powers. Harry tried to stop Wheaton from making the call, and Wheaton assaulted him with electrical tendrils, from which Meena and Kris helped him break free.
As Wheaton threatened them further, Harry pulled Meena and Kris with him behind Todd Watkins' durable form, but ultimately Sarah convinced Wheaton to call off the attack and talk it out with her over dinner. Meena then convinced Harry and Kris to plot to help get "John" off of grounds and into another hiding place; Harry convinced Sarah to assist, and Rogue, who overheard the discussion, agreed to help them.
(X-Men: Watchers on the Walls: Chapter 19: Extracurricular - BTS) - However, this plan frightened Todd sufficiently that he instead contacted the government and revealed the existence of "John" as a Chlorite hidden on Xavier Institute grounds. Henry Gyrich informed Poratine, leading her to coordinate a Diascar-Sentinel-Imperial Guard assault on the Xavier Institute, which Gyrich hoped would eliminate Xavier's organization for good.
(X-Men: Watchers on the Walls: Chapter 20: Extraction (fb)) - Rogue convinced Kristin to use her powers to make John invisible, although her field would also make her clothes invisible, too. The guys had agreed to not look, and Sarah would use her wings to shield her from prying eyes. She worried that John would still see her, and took little comfort when Harry had tried to explain that John wasn't human and that it would be no different for him than seeing a dog naked.
(X-Men:
Watchers on the Walls:
Chapter 20: Extraction) - Kristin -- along with Sarah, Meena, Mike,
and
Harry -- followed Rogue to the Danger Room, during which they
encountered a suspicious but sympathetic Nightcrawler who let them proceed.
After the group had practiced sufficiently to allow Harry to program
the room to show them practicing in dynamic simulations
they -- minus Harry, who occupied Hank McCoy with science questions --
continued to John's cell.
After they had freed John and Rogue had
warned John to keep his eyes closed, Kristin extended an invisibility
field to hide John. When Mike tried to peek over Sarah's wings to see
Kristin with her clothes invisible, Rogue caught him and cowed him with
a glare. Later, when they entered an elevator, Mike apologetically gave
Kristin his jacket.
As they departed the mansion, John thanked her for making him invisible, and she thanked him for keeping his eyes closed, although he revealed that it was ineffective, as his eyelids had been invisible, too. When Kitty approached Rogue, wondering why her com was off, Kristin rushed by with her clothes invisible, pretending to have lost control; this successfully distracted Kitty to help her. However, as they prepared to take John to a secret location, they were confronted by the senior X-Men, as Wolverine had sensed Kristin's invisibility field having been off somewhat.
Ultimately, however, all of X-Men ultimately agreed to protect John and seek a peaceful resolution with the Chlorites. Almost immediately thereafter, Sentinel, Diascar, and the Imperial Guard arrived to collect "John."
(X-Men: Watchers on the Walls: Chapter 21: Extermination (fb) - BTS) - Frustrated with the Sentinels' repeated questions about reclassifying specific beings as threats, Gyrich told them to reassess all status assignments as the situation warrants, unwittingly neutralizing much of the controls the Diascar had programmed into the Sentinels.
When Lash attacked Jean Grey, Kristin summoned Jean into the
bushes in which she was hiding, turning her invisible
for a few minutes to make her less of a target to their attackers
(although they acknowledged the Sentinels might sense them via
infra-red); she then instructed them to send the other X-Men her way.
When Jean promised to only send the women, Kristin admitted that she
was getting used to this and was no longer so shy. Kristin further removed
her clothes, figuring since she looked naked, she might as well get to
feel naked, too; she felt it liberating.
Regardless, due to various
circumstances (such as concerns that turning Cyclops invisible might
prevent his ruby quartz visor from blocking/controlling his optic
blasts), Jean only sent the women to Kristin.
As expected, the Sentinels swiftly adapted by swifting to all-band spectral imaging.
(X-Men: Watchers on the Walls: Chapter 21: Extermination - BTS) - The Sentinels progressively reclassified the Imperial Guard and the US troops as threats when they tried to prevent the Sentinels from slaying mutants who had previously been trying to aid the Sentinels (as they wanted to be rid of the Chlorite). As a result, all forces temporarily united to take out the Sentinels.
(X-Men: Watchers on the Walls: Chapter 22: Deus ex Meena (fb) - BTS) - Diascar defense leader Taforne's forces captured "John Chang" and Meena in the woods behind the Xavier mansion. They transported them both to Poratine's command ship for quarantine.
(X-Men: Watchers on the Walls: Chapter 22: Deus ex Meena) - After Poratine revealed John and Meena's capture, Kristin, Papillon, Beanpole, and Harry, at least, stepped forward and announced they had also helped John and should be arrested, too. Beast then explained how Meena could locate a reality where Chlorites were the dominant lifeform, after which they could access that reality and send the Chlorites there to live in peace.
(X-Men: Watchers on the Walls: Chapter 23: Exeunt Omnes (fb) - BTS) - As planned, Meena located Reality-62342, which fit their goals. Rogue absorbed Meena and Nightcrawler's powers and transported to Earth-62342 while being scanned by the Shi'ar stargate generator. A portal to that world was then opened.
(X-Men:
Watchers on the Walls:
Chapter 23: Exeunt Omnes (fb) - BTS) - Seden Karm (the real name of the the friend they had known as John
Chang) said his goodbyes to Harry, Kris, Mike, and Sarah, at least.
Those students were the toast of the Xavier Institute for their roles
in saving the day from the Sentinels and their courage in daring to
look for a peaceful solution. As a mark of their newfound status, they
had finally been endowed with codenames of their own:
Kris was
dubbed Flasher, but she was little phased by this and joked that she
might have been called the Entirely Visible Girl. She also found that
as she no longer feared using her powers, she got more practice turning
them up and down, and she could briefly turn her power off. She
demonstrated this to Seden, telling him eventually she might be able to
wear jewelry or makeup...which Sarah assured her she did not need.
Further, Dr. McCoy was working with Reed Richards to develop some sort
of anti-invisibility costume that would remain visible when she used
her powers...although, she said with a devlish grin, she was not really
in any hurry.
Kris and the others had a good laugh Seden noted that he thought they would have called him
Bigfoot-in-Mouth...and they all had a good laugh at the first joke they
recalled "John" telling.
(X-Men: Watchers on the Walls: Chapter 23: Exeunt Omnes - BTS) - Seden Karm, Dr. McCoy, and the Diascar confirmed Earth-62342 as the world they had sought, and John adopted the mission to locate the rest of the Chlorites in the galaxy and convince them relocate to Earth-62342.
Comments: Created by Christopher L. Bennett
The status of Harry and the rest of the mutants introduced in this series post M-Day is unrevealed
No images of Kris exist. There is not a single picture in the whole story.
Each of the chapters in Watchers on the Walls had an "X" or "Ex" title. An exordium is an introduction; ex silentio means not only "from silence," but also "for lack of contrary evidence"; exigency means "emergency"; ex cathedra means "by virtue of office or authority"; an exclosure is an area fenced off to prevent intrusion; exequies are funeral rites; exitus acta probat means "the outcome justifies the deed"; an excursus is a digression or sidebar; and exeunt omnes is a stage direction that means "they all exit."
"Deus ex Meena" is obviously a play on "Deus ex Machina," originally
used to describe mechanical devices used to simulate godly powers in
Greek tragedies and later used to mean simply a plot device whereby a
seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly abruptly resolved by the
intervention of some event, character, etc.
Great story. You can buy it on Amazon, etc. for a few dollars. I would love to see it adapted to the comics and get some visuals on all of the cool characters introduced in this book.
A few unidentified mutants in the same class as Kris' included one who could levitate, another who could weave electricity between his or her fingers, and another who could chameleon-blend with the wallpaper.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Kris Koenig has no connection to:
images: (without ads)
None
Appearances:
X-Men: Watchers on the Walls (May, 2006) - Christopher L. Bennett (writer)
Last updated: 08/10/17
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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