SPIKE
Real Name: Gary Walsh
Identity/Class: Human mutant
Occupation: None, former student
Group Membership: None;
formerly Xavier Institute student body
Affiliations: Brutha Nature (Jacob Williams), Glob Herman (Robert Herman), Healer, Legionnaires (Fabian Cortez, Doctor Nemesis/James Bradley, Lost/Marinette, Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner, Pixie/Megan Gwynn), Cam Long, Rockslide (Santo Vaccaro), Xavier Institute student body (Choir/Irina Clayton, Contact/Frida Rivera, Glob Herman/Robert Herman, Imp/Anders Nobel, Keratin/Dave Finn, Kid Omega/Quentin Quire, Mentat/Robert Zepheniah, Polymer/Dana Holmes, Redneck/Vincent Stewart, Stalwart/Adewale Ekoku, Stepford Cuckoos (Celeste, Esme, Mindee, Phoebe, Sophie Cuckoo), other unidentified students), Special Class (Angel/Angel Salvadore, Beak/Barnell Bohusk), X-Men (Beast/Henry McCoy, Cyclops/Scott Summers, Emma Frost, Phoenix/Jean Grey, Wolverine/James "Logan" Howlett, Xorn/Kuan-Yin Xorn)
Enemies: Cassandra Nova, Switch (Devon Alimar)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Krakoa, most likely the Sextant, Akademos Habitat;
formerly Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Salem Center, New York
First Appearance: New X-Men I#126 (July, 2002)
Powers/Abilities: Spike possessed bright red skin and had extended spikes from his body. As an inhabitant of Krakoa he's able to speak Krakoan and has access to the many Krakoan portals granting him access to the corners of the world and beyond.
Height: 5'8" (by approximation)
Weight: 129 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
History:
(New X-Men I#116 - BTS) - After Professor Charles Xavier (secretly Cassandra Nova who had switched minds with her twin brother) came out as a mutant on live TV, the Xavier Institute was opened to the public. Gary was one of the many young teenagers that enrolled at the Xavier Institute. Because of his mutation, he took the codename Spike.
(New X-Men I#126) - Refusing to hide like a common human, Spike and most of the students decided they wanted to join the fight against Cassandra Nova who at that point had fully manifested herself as a Mummudrai. Nova effortlessly used her psionic abilities to mind control Spike and the other students, sending them to fight Beast and Wolverine. Spike and the others were eventually freed from Cassandra's control by the Stepford Cuckoos.
(New X-Men I#134) - When news broke of mutant fashion designer Jumbo Carnation's murder Spike met up with his classmates Glob Herman and Quentin Quire who had brought a page from the Daily Bugle from the day he was born. The page was from around the time the first mutant started showing in public and they had an image of a mutant in striped outfit with a whip, Spike found the image pretty wack.
(Legion of X#1 - BTS) - Spike was one of the many mutants who accepted Xavier's invitation to join mutantkind on the sovereign mutant island-nation of Krakoa, ruled by the Quiet Council.
(Legion of X#1 (fb) - BTS) - Spike befriended Brutha Nature, Glob Herman and Cam Long with whom he would meet once a week at the High Dive to have fun with Rockslide. The rock-like mutant had previously died on Otherworld causing his resurrection to backfire creating an amalgam of several multiversal Rockslides. As this Rockslide would stare out to the sea all day the boys would paint different colors on his back to make him happy.
(Legion of X#1 (fb)) - During another one of Spike's trips to the High Dive he started to paint Rockslide's back when Spike suddenly blacked out.
(Legion of X#1 (fb) - BTS) - Spike had been attacked by Switch (Devon Alomar) who took possession of the boy and made him take painkillers before cutting off his own arm. But since Spike had a healing factor, it metabolized the wound too fast causing severe agony. When Spike regained his senses he found he was no longer at the beach and noticed the crowd that had gathered around him, screaming. Spike was brought into the Healing Gardens where Healer successfully rescued the boys life by placing a protective green bubble over his wound.
(Legion of X#1) - Believing a skinjacker was taking possession of different Krakoan's, Legionnaires; Lost and Pixie arrived in the Healing Gardens to question Spike. Still fearing the skinjacker would return to murder him, Spike was hesitant to cooperate but revealed what had lead up to his blackout and showed the girls his wound. Overhearing the conversation, Healer explained what he thought would've happened to the boy. Still fearful for his live Spike refused to help the Legionnaires until Lost shared she'd been controlled for three full years by Onslaught. Hearing of her pain, Spike agreed to help and joined the Legionnaires to the Station, their base of operations in the Altar a bubble reality created by Legion. In the Station, Spike was examined by Doctor Nemesis while Fabian Cortez, Lost and Pixie looked in, Nemesis quickly learned the identity of the possessor was Switch after which the newly arrived Nightcrawler set his team into action.
(Legion of X#2 - BTS) - Nightcrawler met with Sage and the Arakkii Weaponless Zsen in the Green Lagoon to discuss Switch's whereabouts when Wagner showed them an image of Spike. Both Wagner and Sage were unaware Switch had taken possession of Banshee whom he used to learn the location of X-Factor's base which he then tried to open with Spike's mummified arm as a charm. Not long after, the Legionnaires managed to capture Switch for a brief moment and learned he'd gone on a rampage just for the fun of it.
Comments: Created by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Tim Townsend.
Spike's reappearance in Legion of X#1 surely was a surprise, what a deep cut from Simon Spurrier. Surprises aside, his appearance doesn't make any mention of what happened to Spike in the last 19 years, so we're left to speculate. Although officially unrevealed it's safe to assume Spike lost his mutant powers when a reality altering spell cast by the Scarlet Witch reduced the number of gene active mutants worldwide. Two weeks after the global depowering, Xavier Institute headmasters Cyclops and Emma Frost decided all depowered students would be safer returning to their homes. The students left on two buses, one of them got blown up by the Reverend Stryker's Purifiers, which killed all the passengers. So Spike has either been killed and resurrected by the Five with his powers intact or made his way to Krakoa as a depowered mutant and participated in the Crucible to earn the chance to be killed and resurrected with his powers intact. Obviously Spike could've left Xavier's before M-Day but that seems very unlikely.
Since all Xavier Institute students were selected to join special training squads mentored by members of the X-Men, Spike could have been a part of the Excelsiors (Iceman's squad), the Exemplars (Beast's squad) or the Paladins (Shadowcat's squad) whose rosters have never been revealed.
Spike's real name has been revealed in the Xavier Institute entry of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z HC#13 (2010).
Profile by MarvellousLuke
CLARIFICATIONS:
Spike has no known connections to
images: (without ads)
Legion of X#1, p17, pan4 (main image)
Legion of X#1, p16, pan4 (playing with Rockslide)
New X-Men I#126, p9, pan4 (under the control of Cassandra Nova)
New X-Men I#134, p6, pan4 (with Quire and Herman)
Appearances:
New X-Men I#126 (July, 2002) - Grant Morrison (writer), Frank Quitely (pencils), Tim Townsend (inks), Mike Powers, Mike Marts, Pete Franco, Mike Raicht (editors)
New X-Men I#134 (January, 2003) - Grant Morrison (writer), Keron Grant (pencils), Norm Rapmund (inks), Mike Marts, Mike Raicht (editors)
Legion of X#1 (May, 2022) - Simon Spurrier (writer), Jan Bazaldua (pencils, inks), Anita Okoye, Sarah Brunstad, Jordan D. White (editors)
Legion of X#2 (June, 2022) - Simon Spurrier (writer), Jan Bazaldua (pencils, inks), Anita Okoye, Sarah Brunstad, Jordan D. White (editors)
First Posted: 04/28/2016
Last updated: 07/01/2022
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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