Alex Power
Encyclopedia
Alexander "Alex" Power is a fictional character
in the Marvel Universe
. He first appeared in Power Pack
#1 and was created by Louise Simonson
and June Brigman
.
in issue 25, after which Alex took the name Destroyer until issue 52, when he obtained his brother Jack
's power to manipulate his own mass and took the name Mass Master from that point until Power Pack's cancellation with issue 62 (it is later established that Alex was replaced with a dopplegänger at some indeterminate point after becoming Mass Master). In the Power Pack Holiday Special, he regained his original gravity-manipulating powers and nickname, and presumably continued under this pseudonym until he resurfaced in New Warriors
issues 47-51, in a storyline written by former Power Pack editor Fabian Nicieza
which saw Alex steal his siblings' powers for himself and adopt the name Power Pax. Continuing as a periphery cast member of the New Warriors, he sporadically appeared in their adventures (see bibliography at bottom of page for relevant issues) and renamed himself Powerhouse before deciding - after blaming himself for the destruction of his family's sentient starship Friday
- to rejoin Power Pack and return their powers to them. Resurfacing with the rest of his family in a 4-issue miniseries published in 2000, Alex had taken the name Zero-G at some point during the team's 4-year publishing hiatus, and also created a new costume. With the end of that miniseries, Alex was not seen again until he appeared on the cover of Avengers: The Initiative
#1 (in his Zero-G costume) as one of 150 Marvel superheroes either involved with, or being considered as potential recruits by the Fifty State Initiative
. He appeared in Civil War: Battle Damage Report as a potential recruit (named as Powerhouse, not Zero-G - possibly having changed his name once again). It is stated by his sister Julie
that she was speaking to him on the phone during a scene in Loners #1, but he is not seen or heard. He appeared in Fantastic Four
#574, where he was a guest of Franklin Richards' birthday party. He next appears as a member of the Future Foundation
, which was created by Reed Richards
.
. Alex is a founding member of Power Pack
. The oldest of the four Power siblings, Alex is twelve years old when he receives his powers from Aelfyre Whitemane
, a dying Kymellian
noble. He is the unofficial leader of the team throughout their entire history and later strikes out on his own to become a member of the New Warriors
without his siblings. He eventually leaves the New Warriors and returns to Power Pack.
Alex aged from 12 to 13 during the original Power Pack series, and in the 2000 miniseries, he was 16. In Fantastic Four #574 Reed Richards makes a point of mentioning Alex' current age as being 19. In the Marvel Adventures miniseries (set in an alternate universe), he is 15.
Alex proved to be a strong and insightful leader for Power Pack, rallying them to win several important battles. However, he also occasionally exhibited an explosive temper; it was sometimes unleashed upon his siblings to disastrous results. Alex' outburst resulted in the entire team being located and kidnapped by the Snarks. When his youngest sister, Katie
, was Energizer, he bullied her to such an extent that she compared him to the team's archenemy, Queen Maraud, and voluntarily gave up her powers to the Snarks.
The oldest Power sibling by several years, Alex often expressed a desire to cultivate friendships outside of the Pack. He had an on-and-off relationship with a girl in his class, Alison (sometimes spelled 'Allison') McCourt; this friendship would last throughout most of the series. Like his sister Julie, Alex also occasionally clashed with bullies at school. One of these, Johnny Rival, would prove to be a serious threat: he suspected Alex' powers, believed he was a mutant, and brought a gun to school to attempt to kill him.
Following an encounter with Hobgoblin
and Spider-Man
, Alex and Johnny buried their differences and became friends. This relationship was short-lived however: Johnny's older brother was a drug-addict and dealer who was killed by the police during a robbery to fuel his addiction. Alex had tried to prevent it and Johnny blamed his interference for his brother's death. This rejection prompted Alex to destroy a drug-house. Johnny was himself opposed to drugs; in one scene he is shown angrily ordering some boys away from a drug dealer who was goading them into buying heroin.
in order to help stop the Sphinx
and rescued the time displaced Warriors. However, he initiated a power transference from his siblings in order to be a greater help to the Warriors without the need to involve the rest of the Power Pack.
Afterwards, he returned their abilities back to them and promised not to take them again, but was later forced to reclaim them again to aid in the Warriors' battle against the Soldiers of Misfortune. Eventually, Alex explained to Julie and Jack his reasons for taking the Pack's powers into himself, which angered his siblings, especially Jack.
Among Alex' tenure with the Warriors was the encounters against Spidercide
, a brief fight against Psionex
(with then Night Thrasher and Rage
on said team at the time), Protocol and the Soldiers of Misfortune, and both the Sphinx and Advent.
Alex' final mission with the Warriors was when they fought the Dire Wraith
Queen Mother Volx (who had already stolen the Torpedo suit from Mickey Musashi
, Power Pack's Smartship Friday, and Rom's Neo-neutralizer). The team succeeded in destroying her plans (along with the Dire Wraith as well), but at the cost of nearly destroying Friday.
was previously mentioned by Hindsight. Alex has been identified as one of the 142 registered superheroes who are a part of the Fifty State Initiative
and reportedly training at Camp Hammond (though not all characters seen on the cover of The Initiative 's premier issue have been used within the book itself). This is at odds not only with previous portrayals of the character as an admirer of anti-registration
figurehead Captain America
, but contradicts Alex' opinions aired during Power Pack 's original run, where he expressed disgust and alarm at the idea of mutant registration (which would have affected Power Pack member Franklin Richards
) eventually leading to the (then) unthinkable scenario of "(making) everybody with powers register".
In Fantastic Four #579, Alex has joined Reed Richards' project called the Future Foundation
; a group of gifted children that includes Valeria Richards
, Artie Maddicks
, Bentley Whitman (a younger clone of The Wizard
), Dragon Man
, and children from both the Moloids' Underground City and an older Atlantean City.
After having his gravity powers forcibly removed by Jakal, Alex received the energy powers previously held by Katie. He renamed himself Destroyer, but found himself struggling with the moral issues his new power's lethal potential raised. Alex also pushed the upper limits of the energy power's capacity for absorption; in a battle with the Sentinel
Master Mold
, he disintegrated almost the entire bulk of the multi-story robot
's body, causing his body to swell with stored energy. In the process, Alex found that exceeding his normal absorption limits generated intense pain, impaired his ability to think clearly, and made it difficult to release the stored energy. In a later adventure, he was also shown to be highly volatile in this state, prone to random releases of energy on physical impact.
After a third power switch, he received the density powers previously held by Jack and Julie and took on Jack's former identity as Mass Master. Alex was the first Power sibling to use the powers to turn himself into a liquid state and further developed the abilities so he could create a density blast of solidified air.
Alex underwent a transformation into an actual Kymellian, which started with mild hair loss. It was eventually revealed that Alex had learned of his parents' kidnapping and had been kidnapped himself by Queen Maraud and a Kymellian Technocrat and was replaced by a clone which reverted to its original Kymellian form. The real Alex eventually escaped from captivity in Maraud's ship and rejoined his siblings.
Along with his siblings, Alex possessed Kymellian healing powers. Usually, he was required to work with his siblings to generate and use this ability; however, he occasionally accessed it on his own.
With his siblings, Alex owned a Kymellian smartship, Friday. The ship acted as an unofficial team advisor and accompanied the Pack on several missions.
Alex wears a costume of unstable molecules
created by Friday. The costume exists in an extra-dimensional space known as "Elsewhere" until summoned by voice command (the wearer would say the words "costume on!"). The costume also houses a communicator which is used to communicate with Friday, and was later modified to include a mask. As with all the team's costumes, the pockets of the costume can be used as an access point to Elsewhere itself, where the cartoon-like creatures known simply as "The Tailors" reside in a colorful wonderland of talking dinosaurs, enchanted forests, mad monarchs, surreal architecture, and malleable physical laws.
During his first stint with his gravity powers, Alex also wore a set of wings which he designed himself after learning more about the effects of gravity and inertia in school. The wings, which were sewn by Julie and attached to his costume with straps, allowed him to propel himself and "fly" through clever manipulation of gravity and occasional use of air currents, instead of relying on Lightspeed to carry him. Alex passed the wings on when Jack acquired the gravity power, but they were destroyed during Power Pack's encounter with the Marauders
during the Mutant Massacre
.
shield.
, based in the Bronx.
#3. They are attacked by Nextwave
, whom the Pack murder off-panel in an allegedly graphic fashion.
Annual #1, not only utilizing the collective powers of Power Pack, but wearing the same costume Alex would be seen wearing when he took the collective powers of Power Pack for himself and operated as a superhero also called PowerPax. The X-Force Annual came several years before Alex' tenure as a featured cast member of the New Warriors, but both were written by Power Pack editor Fabian Nicieza
.
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...
in the Marvel 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 first appeared in Power Pack
Power Pack
Power Pack is a fictional team of comic book superheroes consisting of four young siblings who appear in books published by Marvel Comics. They were created by writer Louise Simonson and artist June Brigman and first appeared in their own series in 1984. The series lasted 62 issues...
#1 and was created by Louise Simonson
Louise Simonson
Louise Simonson, born Mary Louise Alexander , is an American comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work on comic book titles such as Power Pack, X-Factor, New Mutants, Superman: The Man of Steel, and Steel...
and June Brigman
June Brigman
June Brigman is an American comic book artist and illustrator. She is best known for creating the pre-teen superhero characters Power Pack with writer Louise Simonson in 1984...
.
Publication history
Alex was introduced in Power Pack Vol.1 issue 1, where he took the name Gee after attaining gravity-manipulating powers. He swapped powers with his sister KatieKatie Power
Energizer , is a fictional character in Marvel Comics' universe. She first appeared in Power Pack #1 and was created by Louise Simonson and June Brigman.-Publication history:...
in issue 25, after which Alex took the name Destroyer until issue 52, when he obtained his brother Jack
Jack Power
Jonathan "Jack" Power, currently known as Mass Master, formerly Counterweight and Destroyer, is a fictional character in Marvel Comics' universe. He first appeared in Power Pack #1 and was created by Louise Simonson and June Brigman.-Publication history:Jack was a founding member of the superhero...
's power to manipulate his own mass and took the name Mass Master from that point until Power Pack's cancellation with issue 62 (it is later established that Alex was replaced with a dopplegänger at some indeterminate point after becoming Mass Master). In the Power Pack Holiday Special, he regained his original gravity-manipulating powers and nickname, and presumably continued under this pseudonym until he resurfaced in New Warriors
New Warriors
The New Warriors is a Marvel Comics superhero team, traditionally consisting of young adult heroes. They first appeared in The Mighty Thor #411 .-General publication history:...
issues 47-51, in a storyline written by former Power Pack editor Fabian Nicieza
Fabian Nicieza
Fabian Nicieza is an American comic book writer and editor who is best known for his work on Marvel titles such as X-Men, X-Force, New Warriors, Cable and Deadpool, and Thunderbolts, for all of which he helped create numerous characters.-Early life:The son of Omar and Irma Riguetti Nicieza, Fabian...
which saw Alex steal his siblings' powers for himself and adopt the name Power Pax. Continuing as a periphery cast member of the New Warriors, he sporadically appeared in their adventures (see bibliography at bottom of page for relevant issues) and renamed himself Powerhouse before deciding - after blaming himself for the destruction of his family's sentient starship Friday
Smartship Friday
Smartship Friday is a fictional starship in the Marvel Universe. It first appeared in Power Pack #1 and was created by Louise Simonson and June Brigman.-Fictional history:...
- to rejoin Power Pack and return their powers to them. Resurfacing with the rest of his family in a 4-issue miniseries published in 2000, Alex had taken the name Zero-G at some point during the team's 4-year publishing hiatus, and also created a new costume. With the end of that miniseries, Alex was not seen again until he appeared on the cover of Avengers: The Initiative
Avengers: The Initiative
Avengers: The Initiative was a comic book series from Marvel Comics. Written by Dan Slott and Christos Gage with artwork initially by Stefano Caselli, Steve Uy and Harvey Tolibao, the series dealt with the aftermath of Marvel's Civil War crossover Avengers: The Initiative was a comic book series...
#1 (in his Zero-G costume) as one of 150 Marvel superheroes either involved with, or being considered as potential recruits by the Fifty State Initiative
Fifty State Initiative
The Fifty State Initiative, often referred to as simply The Initiative, is a fictional governmental plan that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics, in particular those related to The Avengers...
. He appeared in Civil War: Battle Damage Report as a potential recruit (named as Powerhouse, not Zero-G - possibly having changed his name once again). It is stated by his sister Julie
Julie Power
Julie Power is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in Power Pack #1 and was created by Louise Simonson and June Brigman.-Publication history:...
that she was speaking to him on the phone during a scene in Loners #1, but he is not seen or heard. He appeared 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...
#574, where he was a guest of Franklin Richards' birthday party. He next appears as a member of the Future Foundation
Future Foundation
Future Foundation is a fictional organization appearing in comics published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Jonathan Hickman, the team first appeared in Fantastic Four #579 and stars in the series FF, written by Hickman and illustrated by Steve Epting...
, which was created by Reed Richards
Mister Fantastic
Mr. Fantastic is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the Fantastic Four. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 ....
.
Origin
Alex Power was born in Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
. Alex is a founding member of Power Pack
Power Pack
Power Pack is a fictional team of comic book superheroes consisting of four young siblings who appear in books published by Marvel Comics. They were created by writer Louise Simonson and artist June Brigman and first appeared in their own series in 1984. The series lasted 62 issues...
. The oldest of the four Power siblings, Alex is twelve years old when he receives his powers from Aelfyre Whitemane
Aelfyre Whitemane
Aelfyre Whitemane was a fictional character in the Marvel Universe. His first and only appearance was in Power Pack #1 in 1984.Aelfyre Whitemane, commonly referred to as Whitey, was a Kymellian xenologist with a love of Earth culture and books...
, a dying Kymellian
Kymellian
The Kymellians are a fictional extraterrestrial race that have appeared in many Marvel Comics. They were introduced in Power Pack #1 .-Fictional biography:...
noble. He is the unofficial leader of the team throughout their entire history and later strikes out on his own to become a member of the New Warriors
New Warriors
The New Warriors is a Marvel Comics superhero team, traditionally consisting of young adult heroes. They first appeared in The Mighty Thor #411 .-General publication history:...
without his siblings. He eventually leaves the New Warriors and returns to Power Pack.
Alex aged from 12 to 13 during the original Power Pack series, and in the 2000 miniseries, he was 16. In Fantastic Four #574 Reed Richards makes a point of mentioning Alex' current age as being 19. In the Marvel Adventures miniseries (set in an alternate universe), he is 15.
Power Pack
As the eldest of the four Power children, Alex quickly became the de facto leader of the group. His bright and inquisitive nature was perhaps partially responsible for the creation of the team. The Powers first spotted the Smartship Friday when they were camped out on their back porch with Alex' telescope, stargazing.Alex proved to be a strong and insightful leader for Power Pack, rallying them to win several important battles. However, he also occasionally exhibited an explosive temper; it was sometimes unleashed upon his siblings to disastrous results. Alex' outburst resulted in the entire team being located and kidnapped by the Snarks. When his youngest sister, Katie
Katie Power
Energizer , is a fictional character in Marvel Comics' universe. She first appeared in Power Pack #1 and was created by Louise Simonson and June Brigman.-Publication history:...
, was Energizer, he bullied her to such an extent that she compared him to the team's archenemy, Queen Maraud, and voluntarily gave up her powers to the Snarks.
The oldest Power sibling by several years, Alex often expressed a desire to cultivate friendships outside of the Pack. He had an on-and-off relationship with a girl in his class, Alison (sometimes spelled 'Allison') McCourt; this friendship would last throughout most of the series. Like his sister Julie, Alex also occasionally clashed with bullies at school. One of these, Johnny Rival, would prove to be a serious threat: he suspected Alex' powers, believed he was a mutant, and brought a gun to school to attempt to kill him.
Following an encounter with Hobgoblin
Hobgoblin (comics)
The Hobgoblin is the alias of several fictional characters that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and best-known Hobgoblin is Roderick Kingsley. He first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #238, and was created by Roger Stern and John Romita, Sr...
and Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, Alex and Johnny buried their differences and became friends. This relationship was short-lived however: Johnny's older brother was a drug-addict and dealer who was killed by the police during a robbery to fuel his addiction. Alex had tried to prevent it and Johnny blamed his interference for his brother's death. This rejection prompted Alex to destroy a drug-house. Johnny was himself opposed to drugs; in one scene he is shown angrily ordering some boys away from a drug dealer who was goading them into buying heroin.
New Warriors
Alex' time with the New Warriors began when he was recruited by both Bandit and Hindsight (Lad)Hindsight Lad
Hindsight , formerly Hindsight Lad, is a fictional character from the Marvel Comics universe that appeared primarily in the New Warriors series...
in order to help stop the Sphinx
Sphinx (comics)
The Sphinx is the name of two fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first version of the Sphinx first appeared in Nova #6 and was created by Marv Wolfman and Sal Buscema...
and rescued the time displaced Warriors. However, he initiated a power transference from his siblings in order to be a greater help to the Warriors without the need to involve the rest of the Power Pack.
Afterwards, he returned their abilities back to them and promised not to take them again, but was later forced to reclaim them again to aid in the Warriors' battle against the Soldiers of Misfortune. Eventually, Alex explained to Julie and Jack his reasons for taking the Pack's powers into himself, which angered his siblings, especially Jack.
Among Alex' tenure with the Warriors was the encounters against Spidercide
Spidercide (comics)
Spidercide is a fictional character from the Marvel Universe, a clone of the super-hero Spider-Man.-Fictional character biography:During the Clone Saga, in addition to Ben Reilly, Kaine, Jack and Guardian another clone of Spider-Man was introduced, Spidercide...
, a brief fight against Psionex
Psionex
Psionex are a team of comic book supervillains and occasional anti-heroes in the Marvel Comics universe. They were created by Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley, first appearing in New Warriors vol. 1 #4.-Profiles:*Pretty Persuasions - Heidi P...
(with then Night Thrasher and Rage
Rage (comics)
Rage is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. He is African American. Rage was created by Larry Hama and Paul Ryan in The Avengers vol. 1 #326...
on said team at the time), Protocol and the Soldiers of Misfortune, and both the Sphinx and Advent.
Alex' final mission with the Warriors was when they fought the Dire Wraith
Dire Wraith
The Dire Wraiths are a fictional extraterrestrial species published by Marvel Comics. The Dire Wraiths first appeared in Rom #1 , and were created by Bill Mantlo and Al Milgrom. The Dire Wraiths are the main opponents of Rom the Spaceknight....
Queen Mother Volx (who had already stolen the Torpedo suit from Mickey Musashi
Turbo (comics)
Turbo is the name of two fictional characters in the Marvel Comics universe. One a comic book superheroine, the other a superhero. Michiko "Mickey" Musashi debuted in New Warriors #28 and her ally Michael "Mike" Jeffries in New Warriors #33.-Torpedo Armor:The Torpedo armor was a creation of the...
, Power Pack's Smartship Friday, and Rom's Neo-neutralizer). The team succeeded in destroying her plans (along with the Dire Wraith as well), but at the cost of nearly destroying Friday.
Civil War/The Initiative
Alex' codename PowerhousePowerhouse (comics)
Powerhouse is a name used by several different fictional characters, operating in the Marvel Comics Universe.- Powerhouse :-Publication history:...
was previously mentioned by Hindsight. Alex has been identified as one of the 142 registered superheroes who are a part of the Fifty State Initiative
Fifty State Initiative
The Fifty State Initiative, often referred to as simply The Initiative, is a fictional governmental plan that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics, in particular those related to The Avengers...
and reportedly training at Camp Hammond (though not all characters seen on the cover of The Initiative 's premier issue have been used within the book itself). This is at odds not only with previous portrayals of the character as an admirer of anti-registration
Registration Acts (comics)
The Registration Acts—the Mutant Registration Act and Superhuman Registration Act —are fictional legislative bills that have been plot points used in various comic books published by Marvel Comics which, when passed into law, enforce the mandatory registration of superpowered individuals with...
figurehead Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
, but contradicts Alex' opinions aired during Power Pack 's original run, where he expressed disgust and alarm at the idea of mutant registration (which would have affected Power Pack member Franklin Richards
Franklin Richards
Franklin Richards is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in Fantastic Four.Franklin is an Omega-Level mutant with vast psionic and reality-manipulating powers...
) eventually leading to the (then) unthinkable scenario of "(making) everybody with powers register".
Future Foundation
In Fantastic Four #574, Reed Richards asks Alex to work for him after a conversation that establishes - rather than training as a superhero as was supposed by his appearance on the cover of Marvel's The Initiative #1 - Alex was still in "school".In Fantastic Four #579, Alex has joined Reed Richards' project called the Future Foundation
Future Foundation
Future Foundation is a fictional organization appearing in comics published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Jonathan Hickman, the team first appeared in Fantastic Four #579 and stars in the series FF, written by Hickman and illustrated by Steve Epting...
; a group of gifted children that includes Valeria Richards
Valeria Richards
Valeria Meghan Richards is a fictional character of Marvel Comics, the daughter of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman , husband and wife and two original members of the superhero team the Fantastic Four. She is the younger sister of Franklin Richards...
, Artie Maddicks
Artie Maddicks
Arthur "Artie" Maddicks is a fictional comic book character in Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe. He first appeared in X-Factor #2 and was created by Bob Layton and Jackson Guice.-Publication history:...
, Bentley Whitman (a younger clone of The Wizard
Wizard (Marvel Comics)
The Wizard , also known as the Wingless Wizard, is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe...
), Dragon Man
Dragon Man
Dragon Man is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is an artificial dragon-like humanoid android who was animated via alchemy. He was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Fantastic Four #35 ....
, and children from both the Moloids' Underground City and an older Atlantean City.
Powers and paraphernalia
Alex' original power was control over gravity; his original codename was "Gee", as in G-Forces. He first used this power to make himself stick to Friday to avoid being pulled into the Snarks' starship and he quickly learned he could use it to cancel his own gravity and that of other objects. Alex' ability to cancel gravity was unlimited; however, he also had to deal with the inertia of the objects he lifted. Though Alex could float by negating gravity, he had no means of self-propulsion, and thus could not truly fly. He initially depended on his sister Julie to push him along before developing an alternate method (see below).After having his gravity powers forcibly removed by Jakal, Alex received the energy powers previously held by Katie. He renamed himself Destroyer, but found himself struggling with the moral issues his new power's lethal potential raised. Alex also pushed the upper limits of the energy power's capacity for absorption; in a battle with the Sentinel
Sentinel (comics)
Sentinels are a fictional variety of mutant-hunting robots, appearing in the Marvel Comics Universe. They are usually portrayed as antagonists to the X-Men. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, they first appeared in The X-Men #14 .According to Marvel canon, Sentinels are programmed to locate...
Master Mold
Master Mold
Master Mold is a fictional character, a robot supervillain in the Marvel Universe. Since his primary purpose was to act as a portable Sentinel-creating factory, and the Sentinel robots were primarily used to hunt mutants, Master Mold has almost exclusively appeared in the X-Men and related,...
, he disintegrated almost the entire bulk of the multi-story robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
's body, causing his body to swell with stored energy. In the process, Alex found that exceeding his normal absorption limits generated intense pain, impaired his ability to think clearly, and made it difficult to release the stored energy. In a later adventure, he was also shown to be highly volatile in this state, prone to random releases of energy on physical impact.
After a third power switch, he received the density powers previously held by Jack and Julie and took on Jack's former identity as Mass Master. Alex was the first Power sibling to use the powers to turn himself into a liquid state and further developed the abilities so he could create a density blast of solidified air.
Alex underwent a transformation into an actual Kymellian, which started with mild hair loss. It was eventually revealed that Alex had learned of his parents' kidnapping and had been kidnapped himself by Queen Maraud and a Kymellian Technocrat and was replaced by a clone which reverted to its original Kymellian form. The real Alex eventually escaped from captivity in Maraud's ship and rejoined his siblings.
Along with his siblings, Alex possessed Kymellian healing powers. Usually, he was required to work with his siblings to generate and use this ability; however, he occasionally accessed it on his own.
With his siblings, Alex owned a Kymellian smartship, Friday. The ship acted as an unofficial team advisor and accompanied the Pack on several missions.
Alex wears a costume of unstable molecules
Unstable molecules
Unstable molecules are a piece of fictional technology featured in Marvel Comics. They exist as a configuration of unknown atomic nuclei and electrons that are responsive to certain energized matter around them...
created by Friday. The costume exists in an extra-dimensional space known as "Elsewhere" until summoned by voice command (the wearer would say the words "costume on!"). The costume also houses a communicator which is used to communicate with Friday, and was later modified to include a mask. As with all the team's costumes, the pockets of the costume can be used as an access point to Elsewhere itself, where the cartoon-like creatures known simply as "The Tailors" reside in a colorful wonderland of talking dinosaurs, enchanted forests, mad monarchs, surreal architecture, and malleable physical laws.
During his first stint with his gravity powers, Alex also wore a set of wings which he designed himself after learning more about the effects of gravity and inertia in school. The wings, which were sewn by Julie and attached to his costume with straps, allowed him to propel himself and "fly" through clever manipulation of gravity and occasional use of air currents, instead of relying on Lightspeed to carry him. Alex passed the wings on when Jack acquired the gravity power, but they were destroyed during Power Pack's encounter with the Marauders
Marauders (comics)
The Marauders is a team of fictional supervillain characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Romita, Jr., the team first appear in Uncanny X-Men #210 The Marauders is a team of fictional supervillain characters in comic books published by...
during the Mutant Massacre
Mutant Massacre
"Mutant Massacre" was a major Marvel Comics crossover storyline, which took place during the fall of 1986. It primarily involved the superhero teams the X-Men, X-Factor and the New Mutants...
.
All ages miniseries
Alex appears in the Power Pack all ages miniseries line. He is similar in age and appearance to the version of the character as seen in Power Pack Vol. 1, though he is portrayed as not needing to make physical contact with something to negate its gravity, often doing so from a distance - in the original Power Pack series, he can only affect objects by physical contact. His sometimes antagonistic relationship with younger sister Katie is also absent, with Alex pointedly nurturing his younger sister through her difficulties in hiding the family's powers from their parents.Avengers and Power Pack Assemble!
Within the third and fourth issues of Avengers and Power Pack Assemble! miniseries, the Power Pack were thrown ten years into the future and met older versions of themselves, including a 25 year old Alex Power. In those issues he shows greater control over his powers, (such as being able to deconstruct an enemy powered-armor suit), and now wields Captain America'sCaptain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
shield.
House of M
Alex appears as a member of WolfpackWolfpack (Marvel Comics)
The Wolfpack are fictional characters in the Marvel Universe.-Fictional team history:They are a group of five teenagers that reside in the South Bronx, in New York City. They were originally selected for their extraordinary abilities and aptitude by a retired Naval officer known only as Mr. Mack...
, based in the Bronx.
Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness
Alex, alongside the rest of Power Pack, appear as zombies in the pages of Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of DarknessMarvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness
Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness is a five-issue 2007 comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics in association with Dynamite Entertainment, an intercompany crossover in which Ash Williams, hero of the popular Evil Dead film and comic book, finds himself in the Marvel Zombies...
#3. They are attacked by Nextwave
Nextwave
Nextwave is a comic book series by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen, published by Marvel Comics between 2006 and 2007.-Concept:The series was written exclusively in two-issue story arcs, a choice deliberately bucking the trend in modern American comics toward decompression...
, whom the Pack murder off-panel in an allegedly graphic fashion.
Millennial Visions
In the "Power Pack: Starting Over" story within Marvel's 2001 Millennial Visions alternate universe one-shot comic, Alex was depicted as a 32 year old construction foreman who had retired from superheroing to raise a family.X-Force
A young girl called Francine Power appeared under the name PowerPax in X-ForceX-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
Annual #1, not only utilizing the collective powers of Power Pack, but wearing the same costume Alex would be seen wearing when he took the collective powers of Power Pack for himself and operated as a superhero also called PowerPax. The X-Force Annual came several years before Alex' tenure as a featured cast member of the New Warriors, but both were written by Power Pack editor Fabian Nicieza
Fabian Nicieza
Fabian Nicieza is an American comic book writer and editor who is best known for his work on Marvel titles such as X-Men, X-Force, New Warriors, Cable and Deadpool, and Thunderbolts, for all of which he helped create numerous characters.-Early life:The son of Omar and Irma Riguetti Nicieza, Fabian...
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