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Vessel (comics)
Encyclopedia
Vessel is a fictional villain
created by Marvel Comics
for their team called Gene Nation
. His first appearance was in Uncanny X-Men #324. He is one of the few members to remain in all three incarnations of the team.
flooded the Morlock tunnels, many were believed dead. However, at the last instant Mikhail used his powers to open a portal into a parallel dimension
dubbed The Hill. In this dimension, time moves at a faster rate, and even though it was a manner of months in the main Marvel Universe, it had been between 10-20 years on the Hill.
On the anniversary of the Mutant Massacre
, a horrific event in which Mr. Sinister's henchmen the Marauders
killed many Morlocks, the members of Gene Nation reappeared in the main universe (Earth-616
). Their mission was to destroy one hundred humans for every Morlock life that was lost. Vessel along with Sack
were the first members to show themselves, killing a few civilians. They battled with Wolverine
, Storm, Cannonball
, and later Beast
and were hardly fazed by their show of force. Wolverine was unable to harm Vessel, who boasted that his ability to heal was better than Wolverine's fabled healing factor
. He discovered that inside of Vessel were "shining lights" that must be released in order to defeat him. Once this was revealed the two Gene Nationals fled.
Afterwards, a team of X-Men and the Morlock Callisto
confront an attack group from Gene Nation including Vessel, threatening the lives of several civilians by attaching incendiary
devices to them that were regulated by Marrow's
heartbeat. Seeing it as the only way of stopping the terrorist, Storm rips out Marrow's heart. Defeated, Callisto takes Vessel, along with the remaining members of Gene Nation, back to The Hill.
A few months later, Storm is kidnapped by Mikhail and taken to The Hill. Once there she has to fight her way to the top of the hill where Mikhail lives, where she successfully overpowers him. Vessel is one of the team that had successfully reached the top, yet he had decided to take on the moniker of "Snow". Having won the victory, Storm forces Mikhail to take all of the people living on The Hill back to the real world. In an effort to give the mutants a new start, she settles them in a village outside of her home town in Africa
.
However, they wouldn't get much of a chance to start over because shortly after they were placed in Africa the Dark Beast
gathers some of the original members, along with some new recruits, to form a new team. The express purpose of this team is to capture test subjects for the evil genius
, namely the students of Generation X
. Now returning to his former name, Vessel, along with Hemingway
, were the only member of Gene Nation to be unsuccessful in their quarry, the newcomer Gaia. Along with the White Queen
and Nate Grey a.k.a. X-Man
, the three defeat the team.
Vessel's final appearance was in the pages of Weapon X
where he joins his old teammate Marrow, who is now leading Gene Nation, as her personal bodyguard
. After manipulating the perfect killing machine Agent Zero into unintentionally killing his former sidekick, the assassin
hunts down and kills every member of Gene Nation in an act of vengeance, Vessel being among the first. However, he spares the life of Marrow because he doesn't want others to see her as a martyr
.
proportions. In order to do him physical harm one must release the "shining lights", or psychic essences of the deceased, from his body through physical force.
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
created by 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...
for their team called Gene Nation
Gene Nation
Gene Nation is a Marvel Comics mutant terrorist organization and enemies of the X-Men. They originated from a group of Morlocks that survived the Mutant Massacre by escaping to another dimension.-First Incarnation:...
. His first appearance was in Uncanny X-Men #324. He is one of the few members to remain in all three incarnations of the team.
Fictional character biography
When the mentally unstable Mikhail RasputinMikhail 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 ....
flooded the Morlock tunnels, many were believed dead. However, at the last instant Mikhail used his powers to open a portal into a parallel dimension
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
dubbed The Hill. In this dimension, time moves at a faster rate, and even though it was a manner of months in the main Marvel Universe, it had been between 10-20 years on the Hill.
On the anniversary of 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...
, a horrific event in which Mr. Sinister's henchmen 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...
killed many Morlocks, the members of Gene Nation reappeared in the main universe (Earth-616
Earth-616
In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 or Earth 616 is the name used to identify the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place.-Origin of Earth-616:...
). Their mission was to destroy one hundred humans for every Morlock life that was lost. Vessel along with Sack
Sack (comics)
Sack is a fictional mutant supervillain created by Marvel Comics for their team called Gene Nation. His first appearance was in Uncanny X-Men #323.-Fictional character biography:...
were the first members to show themselves, killing a few civilians. They battled with Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
, Storm, 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 ....
, and later Beast
Beast (comics)
Beast , Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy, is a comic book character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the mutant team of superheroes known as the X-Men...
and were hardly fazed by their show of force. Wolverine was unable to harm Vessel, who boasted that his ability to heal was better than Wolverine's fabled healing factor
Healing factor
A healing factor is a term used to describe the ability of some characters in fiction to recover from bodily injuries or disease at a superhuman rate...
. He discovered that inside of Vessel were "shining lights" that must be released in order to defeat him. Once this was revealed the two Gene Nationals fled.
Afterwards, a team of X-Men and the Morlock Callisto
Callisto (comics)
Callisto is a Marvel Comics fictional character, associated with the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Paul Smith, she first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #169 ....
confront an attack group from Gene Nation including Vessel, threatening the lives of several civilians by attaching incendiary
Incendiary device
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices or incendiary bombs are bombs designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using materials such as napalm, thermite, chlorine trifluoride, or white phosphorus....
devices to them that were regulated by Marrow's
Marrow (comics)
Marrow , is a Marvel Comics character, associated with the X-Men. She is a mutant whose bones grow out of her skin and can be removed from her body, providing her with potential knives and clubs as well as body armor....
heartbeat. Seeing it as the only way of stopping the terrorist, Storm rips out Marrow's heart. Defeated, Callisto takes Vessel, along with the remaining members of Gene Nation, back to The Hill.
A few months later, Storm is kidnapped by Mikhail and taken to The Hill. Once there she has to fight her way to the top of the hill where Mikhail lives, where she successfully overpowers him. Vessel is one of the team that had successfully reached the top, yet he had decided to take on the moniker of "Snow". Having won the victory, Storm forces Mikhail to take all of the people living on The Hill back to the real world. In an effort to give the mutants a new start, she settles them in a village outside of her home town in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
However, they wouldn't get much of a chance to start over because shortly after they were placed in Africa the Dark Beast
Dark Beast
Dark Beast , sometimes known as the Black Beast, is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an alternate reality evil version of the X-Men’s Beast...
gathers some of the original members, along with some new recruits, to form a new team. The express purpose of this team is to capture test subjects for the evil genius
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
, namely the students of Generation X
Generation X (comics)
Generation X is a fictional comic book superhero team, a spin-off of the X-Men franchise published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Chris Bachalo, the team formed during the 1994 "Phalanx Covenant" storyline, and appeared in their own monthly series in September 1994...
. Now returning to his former name, Vessel, along with Hemingway
Hemingway (comics)
Hemingway is a fictional villain created by Marvel Comics for their team called Gene Nation. His first appearance was in Generation X #5. He is one of the few members to remain in all three incarnations of the team.-Fictional character biography:...
, were the only member of Gene Nation to be unsuccessful in their quarry, the newcomer Gaia. Along with the White Queen
White Queen
White Queen may refer to:*White Queen , a character in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass*The White Queen , a novel by Philippa Gregory*"White Queen ", a song by Queen from Queen II...
and Nate Grey a.k.a. X-Man
X-man
X-Man is a fictional character and superhero in the Marvel Universe.X-Man may also refer to:*X-Man , a South Korean game show*Xavier Carter, nicknamed X-Man, American track and field athlete...
, the three defeat the team.
Vessel's final appearance was in the pages of Weapon X
Weapon X
Weapon X is a fictional clandestine government genetic research facility project in the Marvel Universe conducted by the Canadian Government's Department K, which turns willing and unwilling beings into living weapons. The project often captures mutants and experiments on them to enhance their...
where he joins his old teammate Marrow, who is now leading Gene Nation, as her personal bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
. After manipulating the perfect killing machine Agent Zero into unintentionally killing his former sidekick, the assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
hunts down and kills every member of Gene Nation in an act of vengeance, Vessel being among the first. However, he spares the life of Marrow because he doesn't want others to see her as a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
.
Powers and abilities
Vessel is capable of absorbing the physical and psychic residue from the deceased to increase his size, strength, durability, resistance to injury, and healing ability to superhumanSuperhuman
Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the near or distant future...
proportions. In order to do him physical harm one must release the "shining lights", or psychic essences of the deceased, from his body through physical force.
External links
- Uncannyxmen.net character bio on Vessel
- Uncannyxmen.net feature on Gene Nation
- http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/vesselgnation.htm