Alchemy (comics)
Encyclopedia
Alchemy is a fictional British
mutant
in the Marvel Comics
universe
. Alchemy, created by British comic book fan Paul Betsow, was the winning entry of a contest held by Marvel Comics for the best fan-created character. Marvel agreed to publish the winning character in an issue of New Mutants
. However, Alchemy eventually first appeared in X-Factor
(1st series) #41 instead.
s. Centuries ago, trolls had been driven underground by humanity, but the Troll Associates wanted to reclaim the British Isles for their kind. The Troll Associates kidnapped Thomas and told him to create an abundance of gold to collapse the British economy, but Thomas refused to comply.
Meanwhile Thomas' mother had witnessed her son's abduction by the trolls and thought that the trolls were mutants
. She called X-Factor
for help. X-Factor tracked down the trolls, following a trail of gold that Thomas had left behind, but the trolls defeated and imprisoned X-Factor. The trolls then tried to force Thomas to obey by threatening his mother. To protect his mother, Thomas turned the leaders of the Troll Associates, Phy and Phee, into gold. The Troll Associates retreated and Thomas then turned the golden trolls into lead (to avoid the aforementioned economic problems). X-Factor placed the leaden trolls in Hyde Park as statues. Thomas decided to study biochemistry so that he could restore the leaden trolls back to normal.
A few years later, the Troll Associates kidnapped Alchemy's mother. Alchemy was forced to obey them, but he secretly called X-Factor for help (His call was forwarded to the X-Men
). On their way to restore the leaden trolls back to normal, the Troll Associates and Alchemy ran into Excalibur
. The two groups fought and Alchemy turned Captain Britain
and Meggan
into gold. The X-Men met up with Excalibur and together they tracked down the trolls, but both groups were captured. Excalibur-leader Nightcrawler
managed to convince the majority of the trolls that the Troll Associates' methods were wrong. He challenged the new leader of the Troll Associates, Phough, to single combat, while Excalibur and the X-Men freed themselves. Phough then tried to kill Alchemy's mother, but Nightcrawler saved her and Alchemy turned Phough into a golden statue. Alchemy then revealed to Excalibur and the X-Men that, due to his biochemistry studies, he could now restore humans back to normal and restored Captain Britain and Meggan.
Alchemy is one of a handful of mutants to retain their powers after the events of the House of M
.
s, usually gold. Due to his study of biochemistry, he can now also change objects into more complex molecules, allowing him to change transmuted living beings back to normal.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
mutant
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...
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...
. Alchemy, created by British comic book fan Paul Betsow, was the winning entry of a contest held by Marvel Comics for the best fan-created character. Marvel agreed to publish the winning character in an issue of 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....
. However, Alchemy eventually first appeared in 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...
(1st series) #41 instead.
Fictional character biography
Thomas Jones was still a teenager when his mutant powers first manifested. With little control over his powers, Thomas could turn objects he touched into gold. This drew the attention of the Troll Associateshttp://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/trollass.htm, a group of trollTroll
A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...
s. Centuries ago, trolls had been driven underground by humanity, but the Troll Associates wanted to reclaim the British Isles for their kind. The Troll Associates kidnapped Thomas and told him to create an abundance of gold to collapse the British economy, but Thomas refused to comply.
Meanwhile Thomas' mother had witnessed her son's abduction by the trolls and thought that the trolls were 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...
. She called 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...
for help. X-Factor tracked down the trolls, following a trail of gold that Thomas had left behind, but the trolls defeated and imprisoned X-Factor. The trolls then tried to force Thomas to obey by threatening his mother. To protect his mother, Thomas turned the leaders of the Troll Associates, Phy and Phee, into gold. The Troll Associates retreated and Thomas then turned the golden trolls into lead (to avoid the aforementioned economic problems). X-Factor placed the leaden trolls in Hyde Park as statues. Thomas decided to study biochemistry so that he could restore the leaden trolls back to normal.
A few years later, the Troll Associates kidnapped Alchemy's mother. Alchemy was forced to obey them, but he secretly called X-Factor for help (His call was forwarded to 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...
). On their way to restore the leaden trolls back to normal, the Troll Associates and Alchemy ran into 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...
. The two groups fought and Alchemy turned Captain Britain
Captain Britain
Captain Britain , briefly known as Britannic, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe, he first appeared in Captain Britain Weekly, #1...
and Meggan
Meggan
Meggan Puceanu is a fictional character, a mutant superhero in the . She first appeared in Mighty World of Marvel #7, , and was created by Alan Moore and Alan Davis....
into gold. The X-Men met up with Excalibur and together they tracked down the trolls, but both groups were captured. Excalibur-leader Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler (comics)
Nightcrawler is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Universe. He has been associated with both the X-Men and Excalibur, originally appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, he debuted in Giant-Size X-Men #1...
managed to convince the majority of the trolls that the Troll Associates' methods were wrong. He challenged the new leader of the Troll Associates, Phough, to single combat, while Excalibur and the X-Men freed themselves. Phough then tried to kill Alchemy's mother, but Nightcrawler saved her and Alchemy turned Phough into a golden statue. Alchemy then revealed to Excalibur and the X-Men that, due to his biochemistry studies, he could now restore humans back to normal and restored Captain Britain and Meggan.
Alchemy is one of a handful of mutants to retain their powers after the events of the House of M
House of M
House of M is an eight-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics in 2005. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Olivier Coipel, its first issue debuted in June 2005 as a follow-up to the events of the Planet X and Avengers Disassembled...
.
Powers and abilities
Alchemy has the ability to alter the chemical composition of anything he touches into its elemental components. He can also change matter into other forms so long as he fully understands the physical composition of the desired result. In his first appearance he could only change objects into simple chemical elementChemical element
A chemical element is a pure chemical substance consisting of one type of atom distinguished by its atomic number, which is the number of protons in its nucleus. Familiar examples of elements include carbon, oxygen, aluminum, iron, copper, gold, mercury, and lead.As of November 2011, 118 elements...
s, usually gold. Due to his study of biochemistry, he can now also change objects into more complex molecules, allowing him to change transmuted living beings back to normal.