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Ahab (comics)
Encyclopedia
Ahab a fictional character
(named after Stan Lee
's childhood friend Rory Campbell from Portland, Oregon) who is a cyborg
supervillain
from the future in the Marvel Comics
universe
. He is a native of the "Days of Future Past
" timeline that first appeared in Uncanny X-Men
#141. Ahab's first appearance was a cameo
in Fantastic Four
Annual #23.
, mind control
led mutants
who hunted down other mutants for Ahab and his masters, the Sentinels. One of the Hounds, Rachel Summers
, escaped from him and eventually time travel
led to the present. Ahab followed her to the past and was defeated by the X-Men
, X-Factor
, the New Mutants
and the Fantastic Four
during the "Days of Future Present
" crossover
.
Later issues of Excalibur
revealed that scientist Rory Campbell was the man who would become Ahab in the future. Campbell learned of this in the present and tried to prevent this fate, but he was eventually merged with his future self. The merged Ahab joined the Four Horsemen of the immortal supervillain Apocalypse
, taking up the position of "Famine" within that group. He aided in the capture of several of The Twelve before being sent into an alternate dimension by Mikhail Rasputin
. His fate remains to be seen as the rest of the Horsemen have since returned to the Main Reality.
In the not too distant future, he captured then killed Cannonball
(who is immortal). And worked beside an armored figure, with light coming from his left eye (likely Cable
or Stryfe
. Due to time travel, it is not known at what point in Ahab's life this was.
Ahab is a cyborg. His limbs are mostly of artificial construction and presumably this makes him superhumanly strong. So far he has found no need to engage in hand-to-hand combat due to his ability to use ranged attacks, his Hounds, and giant androids. He is largely immune to telepathic intrusion and attack, even from telepaths as powerful as Rachel Summers
. Ahab's technology allows him to track, clothe and control Hounds
.
As Famine, Ahab drains his victims' lifeforce resulting in emaciation and worse.
Universe, but William Stryker, Jr. resembles Ahab, thanks to some cybernetic augmentation to fight the X-Men.
, and the same streak of silver hair as Nate Grey
. It was hinted early on in "Days of the Future Present" that Cable and Ahab may be the same person, but with the introduction of Stryfe
and X-Man
(both versions of Cable), Marvel dropped that idea.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
(named after Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
's childhood friend Rory Campbell from Portland, Oregon) who is a cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
from the future in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
. He is a native of the "Days of Future Past
Days of Future Past
"Days of Future Past" is a popular storyline in the Marvel Comics comic book The Uncanny X-Men issues #141 and #142, published in 1981. It deals with a dystopian alternate future in which mutants are incarcerated in internment camps...
" timeline that first appeared in Uncanny X-Men
Uncanny X-Men
Uncanny X-Men, first published as The X-Men, is the flagship Marvel Comics comic book series for the X-Men franchise. It is the mainstream continuity featuring the adventures of the eponymous group of mutant superheroes...
#141. Ahab's first appearance was a cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
Annual #23.
Fictional character biography
In his future timeline, Ahab was the master of the HoundsHounds (comics)
Hounds are the name given to several groups of mutant characters from Marvel Comics. This term usually refers to those who track or hunt down mutants while serving a higher authority.-Days of Future Past:...
, mind control
Mind control
Mind control refers to a process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator, often to the detriment of the person being manipulated"...
led mutants
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
who hunted down other mutants for Ahab and his masters, the Sentinels. One of the Hounds, Rachel Summers
Rachel Summers
Rachel Anne Summers is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne for Marvel Comics....
, escaped from him and eventually time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
led to the present. Ahab followed her to the past and was defeated by the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
, X-Factor
X-Factor (comics)
X-Factor is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is a spin-off of the popular X-Men franchise, featuring characters from X-Men stories. The series has been relaunched several times with different team rosters, most recently as X-Factor Investigations.X-Factor launched in...
, the New Mutants
New Mutants
The New Mutants are a group of teenaged mutant superheroes-in-training published by Marvel Comics. They have been the main characters of three successive comic book series, which were spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise....
and the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
during the "Days of Future Present
Days of Future Present
"Days of Future Present" is a storyline published by Marvel Comics, appearing in the 1990 issues of Fantastic Four Annual, X-Factor Annual, New Mutants Annual and X-Men Annual...
" crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
.
Later issues of Excalibur
Excalibur (comics)
Excalibur is a Marvel Comics superhero group, an off-shoot of the X-Men, usually based in the United Kingdom. Conceived by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer Alan Davis, the original Excalibur first appeared in Excalibur Special Edition , also known as Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn.The...
revealed that scientist Rory Campbell was the man who would become Ahab in the future. Campbell learned of this in the present and tried to prevent this fate, but he was eventually merged with his future self. The merged Ahab joined the Four Horsemen of the immortal supervillain Apocalypse
Apocalypse (comics)
Apocalypse is a fictional character who is an ancient mutant that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in X-Factor #5 , created by writer Louise Simonson and designed by artist Walter Simonson...
, taking up the position of "Famine" within that group. He aided in the capture of several of The Twelve before being sent into an alternate dimension by Mikhail Rasputin
Mikhail Rasputin
Mikhail Nikolaievitch Rasputin is a Marvel Comics supervillain, older brother of Colossus of the X-Men and Magik of the New Mutants. Created by Jim Lee and John Byrne, he first appeared in Uncanny X-Men ....
. His fate remains to be seen as the rest of the Horsemen have since returned to the Main Reality.
In the not too distant future, he captured then killed Cannonball
Cannonball (comics)
Cannonball is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero, associated with the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod, Cannonball first appeared in Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants ....
(who is immortal). And worked beside an armored figure, with light coming from his left eye (likely Cable
Cable (comics)
Cable is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared as an infant in Uncanny X-Men #201...
or Stryfe
Stryfe
Stryfe is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . The character was created by Louise Simonson and Rob Liefeld, and first appears in The New Mutants #87...
. Due to time travel, it is not known at what point in Ahab's life this was.
Powers and abilities
Ahab can generate powerful energy harpoons that are formed from, and attached to, his own life force. Anyone who attempts to grab a harpoon gets burned. Each harpoon is keyed to its target's genetic structure, and cannot be moved or deflected by energy; it only stops when it strikes its target, or a close blood relative thereof. A hit from one of these harpoons can kill or seriously injure the target. A person who survives finds their neural pathways burned out and unable to move.Ahab is a cyborg. His limbs are mostly of artificial construction and presumably this makes him superhumanly strong. So far he has found no need to engage in hand-to-hand combat due to his ability to use ranged attacks, his Hounds, and giant androids. He is largely immune to telepathic intrusion and attack, even from telepaths as powerful as Rachel Summers
Rachel Summers
Rachel Anne Summers is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne for Marvel Comics....
. Ahab's technology allows him to track, clothe and control Hounds
Hounds (comics)
Hounds are the name given to several groups of mutant characters from Marvel Comics. This term usually refers to those who track or hunt down mutants while serving a higher authority.-Days of Future Past:...
.
As Famine, Ahab drains his victims' lifeforce resulting in emaciation and worse.
Other versions
Ahab (as of 2011) hasn't been introduced in the Ultimate MarvelUltimate Marvel
Ultimate Marvel is an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and updated versions of the company's superhero characters, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four. The imprint was launched in 2000 with the publication of the series...
Universe, but William Stryker, Jr. resembles Ahab, thanks to some cybernetic augmentation to fight the X-Men.
Intended origin
Ahab has the same cybernetic eye and marks over his other eye as CableCable (comics)
Cable is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared as an infant in Uncanny X-Men #201...
, and the same streak of silver hair as Nate Grey
Nate Grey
Nathaniel "Nate" Grey is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular those related to the X-Men franchise...
. It was hinted early on in "Days of the Future Present" that Cable and Ahab may be the same person, but with the introduction of Stryfe
Stryfe
Stryfe is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . The character was created by Louise Simonson and Rob Liefeld, and first appears in The New Mutants #87...
and X-Man
Nate Grey
Nathaniel "Nate" Grey is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular those related to the X-Men franchise...
(both versions of Cable), Marvel dropped that idea.
In other media
- Ahab appears as a boss in the Sega Genesis's first X-Men game.
- Rory Campbell appears in the novels 'The Legacy Quest' trilogy written by Steve Lyons.