XAVIER INSTITUTE YEARBOOK (2024 UPDATE): Page 11 of 21

Last Updated: 
12th February 2024

Introduction
Squads:
Advocates - Alpha Squadron - Chevaliers -
Corsairs - Excelsiors - Exemplars - Hellions -

New Mutants - Paladins - Paragons - Storm's Squad -
Lower (Junior) School

Miscellaneous Students:
A-C, D-H, I-R, S-Z
Non-Mutant Students
Unknown Students
Cla
sses, Faculty

Paragons Squad

The Paragons were one of the many six-member squads formed to facilitate the training and development of the older students at the Xavier Institute. The Paragons were originally advised by Rahne Sinclair, aka Wolfsbane. When it was revealed that Rahne had been romantically involved with a student, she opted to leave the Institute. Since her departure, the squad was overseen by Karma. The squad’s colors were green and black with red accents.

During M-Day, DJ and Preview were depowered. DJ was killed by William Stryker's forces when he bombed the school bus evacuating depowered students. Preview's fate was never disclosed, though her sister did die in the aforementioned bombing and was later resurrected on Krakoa like DJ. The remaining four mutants did end up having varying degrees of prominence over the coming years, with Pixie in particular being the breakout star of the team.

First appearance: New X-Men: Academy X #12

Instructors:

Wolfsbane (Rahne Sinclair)

First Appearance: Marvel Graphic Novel #4

Powers: lycanthrope able to transform into a wolf or various transitional phases between human and animal, Mothervine secondary mutation allows her to split into a pack of wolves

Notes:

  • Wolfsbane had been part of the 1980s New Mutants squad, so her becoming a teacher was somewhat of a full-circle moment.
  • She had been depowered when she had returned to the Institute and her powers were restored by Omega-level healer and student, Elixir. The two began an inappropriate relationship, though it was confirmed it did not progress to sexual level and the two had a very small age difference. Ultimately, Rahne resigned when this became public knowledge.
  • Given her lycanthropic powers, it is possible Wolf-Cub was placed with her specifically as she might have had additional insight to train him.

Karma (Xuan Cao Manh)

First appearance: Marvel Team-Up (1st series) #100

Powers: Possession, able to impose her thoughts and will over another person to control their bodies by remote, can also probe their thoughts, modify their perceptions or memories while leaving them in control, and use her psionic energy as a shield against other psychic attacks

Notes:

  • Karma also served in the school's library, was in charge of the lower school (younger students) and Alpha Squadron following Northstar's death.

Magma (Amara Juliana Olivia Aquilla)

First appearance: New Mutants (1st series) #8

Powers: convert into living magma, draw upon geothermal power to ignite flames, project magma blasts, fly on thermal updrafts, and induce earthquakes and seismic activity

Notes:

  • While Magma was assigned as instructor of this team, she was never actually seen on panel instructing them.

Members:

Former Members: Specter (see Corsairs)

DJ (Mark Sheppard)

First appearance: New X-Men: Academy X #2

Powers: acoustikinesis uses different forms of music to conduct energy-manipulation powers

Notes:

  • DJ was originally drawn in as a member of the Corsairs when the squads were first announced in New X-Men: Academy X #2. He evidently later transferred to the Paragons.
  • DJ gained some prominence on Krakoa given his musical talents and he was the MC for the first Hellfire Gala's afterparty.
  • DJ was one of several mutant “children” who took on a cavalier attitude to death after his resurrection, much to the discomfort to Nightcrawler.
  • He took part in an attack on Mojoworld orchestrated by X-Factor and was excited at the prospect of this making him an X-Man.
  • In his yearbook entry, he was voted most flirtacious, his likes as girls and music and dislikes as girls who get serious too soon and math.

Match (Ben Hamill)

First appearance: possibly New X-Men (1st series) #123 (page 15), otherwise New Mutants (2nd series) #7

Powers: pyrokinetic capable of projecting flames from his body, controlling existing flames, and constantly lit with a glow of pyroplasmic energy

Notes:

  • Ben’s first name was revealed in New X-Men: Academy X #5.
  • Ben was intended to be the squad leader of the Paragons. When Ben’s powers first manifested, he burned down his town’s park.
  • Ben is constantly aflame.
  • In his yearbook entry, he was voted shortest temper, that he dislikes indecison and his likes were being in charge and winning. He may have been a poor choice to place in a leadership position!

Pixie III (Megan Gwynn)

First appearance: New X-Men: Academy X #5

Powers: fairie-like mutation gives her the ability to excrete "pixie dust" that causes hallucinations in other people and rainbow-colored wings enabling her to fly, black magic replaces a portion of her soul, letting her summon a soul dagger, teleport herself and others, and manipulate rudementary magicks

Notes:

  • Megan wears a cycling helmet when training.
  • Megan’s first name was used in New X-Men: Academy X #12.
  • Megan is Welsh.
  • It was later revealed that Pixie was part fairy when her mother debuted in the miniseries Pixie Strikes Back. The same mini also stated that classic X-Men villain Mastermind was her real father, though this has not been definitively confirmed.
  • Pixie took on a marginally darker personality after a newly resurrected Magik stole part of her soul to create a soul dagger weapon. This was the start of Pixie developing her own mystical abilities, notably her ability to teleport.
  • Of her peers, Pixie is easily the most prominent of the group, receiving a particular push during the Matt Fraction/2010s X-Men comics.
  • Pixie was voted by her peers the “friendliest student” and in her yearbook she said she dislikes bullies, liked her squad, flying, and alluded to a crush on a to-this-day-unknown member of the faculty.

Preview (Jessie Vale)

First appearance: New X-Men: Academy X #12

Powers: short-range precognitive visions

Notes:

  • Jessie was a difficult team member to work with because she sometimes chose not to participate when she knew the outcome of a given action.
  • Jessie was depowered during M-Day and seemed quite upset having lost her powers, despite her earlier antipathy towards them.
  • Interestingly, unlike her sister, Network she was not confirmed as being on the School Bus that was bombed by William Stryker.
  • Preview was voted “biggest drama queen” by her peers and interestingly listed her likes as “suprises” and dislikes as “ the fact there are no surprises.”

Trance (Hope Abbott)

First appearance: New X-Men: Academy X #12

Powers: psi-caster able to project her consciousness into an energy state that can travel distances outside her body, avoid physical injury, and produce a disruptive surge of energy on contact, exotic senses allow her to detect emotions, energy signatures, and dimensional displacement

Notes:

  • Trance's homelife was not ideal. Her parents were not happy with her being a mutant. When her powers developed, she triggered a heart attack in her father.
  • Rogue developed a mentor-like relationship with Trance in Mike Carey's X-Men Legacy title.
  • In her yearbook entry, she listed her likes as playing the violin and classical music, dislikes as music videos and junk food and she was voted “most stylish” by her peers.

Wolf Cub (Nicolas Gleason)

First appearance: Chamber #1

Powers: heightened strength, speed, agility, and reflexes, hyper-keen senses, razor sharp claws

Notes:

  • Nicholas Gleason’s parents were killed and he was hunted by former Department of Defense employees with a beef against mutants and some stolen tech-armor. He was rescued by Chamber and Cyclops. [Chamber #1]
  • Nicholas was once pursued by members of the Dominant Species, a group of mutants who shared a wolf-like mutation. [Exiles (1st series) #28-30]
  • Nicholas was killed in Young X-Men #5 by Donald Pierce while serving with a spin-off junior X-Men team. He was resurrected during the Krakoan age and was mentored by Magik in her Dark Riders team. [X-Men: Curse of the Man-Thing #1]
  • In his yearbook entry, he listed his likes as moonlit walks and dogs and dislikes as people who make fun of him. He was voted by his classmates “most likely to cry at a movie.”