COLOSSUS: Page 12 of 12

Publication Date: 12th Jul 2017
Written By: Peter Luzifer, Monolith and Gremlin.
Image Work: Gremlin and Peter Luzifer.
Biography


BIOGRAPHY - Page 12

The X-Men’s world turned upside down yet again when they discovered that the Terrigen Mists, the chemicals that give Inhumans their powers, were deadly to mutants. Months before, the Mists were released into the Earth’s atmosphere where they condensed into two clouds that were slowly drifting around the globe. As tensions grew between the X-Men and Inhumans, Colossus stood alongside Magneto as he opposed the Inhumans. Cyclops and Emma Frost also took on the Inhumans and even managed to destroy one of the Terrigen clouds, though soon afterward he seemingly died in battle with the Inhuman king Black Bolt. [Death of X #1-4]

Life for mutants became very tough once more and Storm was forced to relocate the X-Mansion to Limbo, with the help of Magik. The school was dubbed X-Haven, as it quickly became a refugee camp for mutants who were fleeing the deadly mists. Colossus felt out of place in X-Haven and left the team to take his chances back on Earth. He moved back to his old farm in Russia and worked the land in peace and quiet. Naturally, it wasn’t to last, as he was visited by Illyana, who wasn’t happy that he had seemingly given up and run away. In the end, it didn’t take much to convince him to return to the X-Men and he was soon put to work locating another former X-Man, Nightcrawler.

The two discovered blood at Nightcrawler’s apartment and followed a trail that led them into the sewers. Unfortunately, this trail led them into the clutches of Mister Sinister, who was experimenting on mutants in a bid to find out why they died from the Terrigen clouds. The geneticist was delighted to have the company of the Rasputins, whom Sinister’s Marauders overpowered and captured. Fortunately, their absence did not go unnoticed and the X-Men tracked them down. As the X-Men fought the Marauders, Colossus’ first thoughts were to protect his sister, so he took on Sinister. Despite the X-Man’s superior strength, Sinister managed to overpower Piotr and was about to kill him when he was saved by Magik, who sliced the villain’s head off. As Colossus lay on the floor, his sister reminded him that she was no longer a child and she could take care of herself.  [Extraordinary X-Men #1-5]

Whilst Piotr settled into X-Haven well, he was more concerned with some of his teammates. He had to get used to working alongside Old Man Logan, an aged version of Wolverine from an alternate dimension, as well as a time-displaced teenage version of Jean Grey. Whilst they looked like his old friends, both were markedly different and Piotr had to get used to the changes. More worryingly was Nightcrawler’s mental state, as he had obviously suffered a horrendous trauma sometime in the recent past. Since being freed from Sinister’s clutches, Kurt remained in the med-bay, as he barely recognized anyone around him and just muttered Bible quotes to himself. Piotr tried to get through to Kurt but this only added to his insecurities that he wasn’t needed by his friends and family anymore. When he brought it up with Storm, she pointed him in the direction of the youngest generation on X-Men, who were struggling to cope with all the chaos going on around them. When he walked in on Anole, Glob, Ernst and No-Girl moaning about the current state of their lives, he decided to take them under his wing and train them himself. [Extraordinary X-Men #6-7]

Colossus took his mentorship over the kids seriously and set them up a training schedule he personally oversaw. When Cerebra picked up 600 new mutant signatures in Japan, Piotr convinced Storm to send him and his new team to investigate. Once there, they discovered that the Sugar Man had created 600 new mutant embryos and locked them in a device he dubbed “the arc.” The Sugar Man was in the process of sending himself and the embryos into the future so that he could raise the mutants without the threat of the X-Men or the Terrigen Mists. Colossus and his team fought the Sugar Man but were accidentally caught in the time travel machine and sent 1000 years into the future.

The group landed in a desert, where they found a pyramid with a statue of Apocalypse built into it. As they were confronted by the Horsemen, No-Girl used her telepathy to discover mutants had been wiped out in this timeline. Protecting the arc with the mutant embryos was the highest priority to Colossus, so he gave the arc to Anole and told everyone to run whilst he fought the Horsemen. Anole and the others were forced to leave Colossus to the mercy of the Horsemen as they fled across the strange world they had landed in. Whilst the details of the events are unknown, one of the Horsemen seemingly fell in battle and Colossus was primed to take his place. Brainwashed and enhanced by Apocalypse’s technology, Colossus became the new Horsemen of War and hunted his former team across the planet.

After a year had passed, Anole and the group were running out of places to hide from Colossus and the Horsemen when the timely arrival of the X-Men saved them. As the brainwashed Colossus fought the X-Men, he revealed that Apocalypse had decided to let the mutant embyros live in this new world. The X-Men, however, were not allowed, as natural selection had dealt with them many years before. Now, after a year trying, Colossus finally got his hands on the arc and teleported away before he could be stopped. The X-Men were not ones to give up and journeyed across the world to Apocalypse’s temple, where they confronted the Horsemen again. Colossus was prepared for them this time and threw one of the other Horsemen, the Venom symbiote, at Old Man Logan. Taking out one of the strongest X-Men, Colossus and the other Horsemen were free to take on the others. He proved to be a strong adversary, thanks to the augmentations that Apocalypse had bestowed upon him, allowing him to manipulate his metallic form like it was liquid. It was only when Magik arrived in the timeline that Colossus met his match, being struck down by his sister’s soulsword.

Meanwhile, another battle was waging on inside the pyramid, as Storm and Nightcrawler had found Apocalypse. The ancient mutant revealed he had destroyed the arc and all the embryos inside, causing Nightcrawler to lash out and knock Apocalypse unconscious. It turned out that Apocalypse was holding the world together with his powers and, without his influence, the world began to crumble around them. Reluctantly, Storm realized the only way to rid Colossus of Apocalypse’s influence was to save the ancient mutant and return him to X-Haven. Once they arrived back home, though, Apocalypse used the last of his strength to teleport Colossus away from the X-Men. [Extraordinary X-Men #8-12]

Whilst Apocalypse was imprisoned in the X-brig, Colossus ended up in Egypt and was found by Clan Akkaba. His freedom wasn’t to last long, though, as Nightcrawler and Iceman were soon on his trail and they located Akkaba’s base with ease. Colossus took the two on directly and defeated them, ignoring Nightcrawler’s pleas to break free of his brainwashing. He was eventually captured thanks to the students he had been training, as well as the friendly Sentinel Cerebra. He was taken back to X-Haven and placed in a containment cell whilst Forge worked on a way to use Apocalypse’s powers to cleanse Colossus of his influence. In the end Colossus was saved when Nightcrawler made a deal with Apocalypse, with the ancient mutant purging his influence from Piotr.  [Extraordinary X-Men #13-16]

The X-Men and Inhuman's eventually ended up in a heated battle over the fate of the Terrigen in the Earth's atmosphere. The mists were finally purged from the air, allowing the X-Men to relocate the school back to New York again. Whilst many of the other X-Men had chosen to leave the group, Piotr was one of the few who decided to stay and teach at the school. During the transition Storm stepped down as leader of the X-Men and Kitty took up the mantle, having recently returned from space. The tension between the two former lovers was obvious to all, especially now that Kitty had broken off her engagement to Star-Lord. Any thought of romance Piotr may have had was immediately squashed by Kitty, who told him that it wasn't the right time to go reigniting old feelings between them. [X-Men Prime #1, X-Men Gold #1] 

Whether Piotr and Kitty re-ignite the relationship remains to be seen, but regardless of what happens Colossus will always be there for her and the X-Men...unless he manages to get possessed and/or brainwashed by yet another ancient being.

Pages