The new Hellions were made up of personal enemies of X-Force, survivors of the Hellions I and some new additions. Despite the name, they had no ties to the Hellfire Club.
Leader: King Bedlam
Membership: Tarot, King Bedlam, Magma, Paradigm, Switch, Feral
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #87
Before
- In X-Force (1st series) #82, X-Force gained another member with Jesse Aaronson. He claimed to have a long lost brother named Chris.
- Feral, a former MLF member, was broken out of prison (where she was diagnosed with Legacy) by Random; among other mutants they worked as a special task force for Exodus in Quicksilver #9-11, until he and the Acolytes betrayed them.
- Magma, who already was a member of the New Mutants and the Hellions I, was last seen in X-Force (1st series) #34, where she went to England to reunite with her relatives. Shortly before, her Nova Roman heritage had been found out to be faked history and memories, created by Selene.
- Tarot died along with her teammates, the first team of Hellions I in Uncanny X-Men #281-282.
Flashbacks
- When Emma Frost recruited her original team of Hellions she also invited Christopher Aaronson to join the Massachusetts Academy. He refused her offer, but upon leaving he talked to Tarot, with whom he now seems to have a relationship. Tarot already knew due to her prescient powers that one day she would become inextricably bound to him. [X-Force (1st series) #87]
- Through a mindlink Moonstar becomes aware of Paradigm's origin in X-Force (1st series) #89. He was a child in Hong Kong with the ability of technokinesis (manipulation of electronic devices). In an experiment scientist purposely infected him with the techno-organic virus. The virus nearly killed him, and changed his whole body and powers.
Chronology
| X-Force (1st series) #87: | Wandering the streets of San Francisco, James Proudstar can't believe his eyes when he is approached by Tarot. He knew that his former teammate died, he had seen photos of her dead body back then. Tarot gives him a strange warning that one of X-Force will soon betray them, then she vanishes without trace. Later Domino and Jesse Aaronson try to track down Jesse's long lost brother. Following a tip they finally find him, but not like they expected. He calls himself King Bedlam now, and has formed the New Hellions (Magma, Paradigm, Tarot, Switch). |
| X-Force (1st series) #88: | Secretly Switch exchanges his mind with that of Domino. Bedlam asks Jesse and "Domino" to invite X-Force into the Hellions HQ. As they arrive they are surprised to see another former ally with Bedlam's team - Feral. Bedlam pretends to work for mutant rights and peaceful coexistence of mutants and humans. He gives X-Force a night to think about joining his cause. In various scenes between X-Force and Hellions members the individual reasons for joining become clear. Magma is in for the money, Paradigm because of curiosity and Tarot is in love with Bedlam. Stuck in Switch's body, Domino breaks out of her holding cell and alerts X-Force of Bedlam's true intentions. In a fight between the two teams Jesse has to choose between friends and family and sides with his brother. X-Force looses. Bedlam fills his brother in on the true plan; he got ahold of one of the most powerful mutants ever - the Armageddon Man. |
| X-Force (1st series) #89: | Switch and Feral kidnap US senator Owen Danville. They want him to witness that they really are in control of the Armageddon Man, when they announce their demands (1 billion $) of the US government. Meanwhile Bedlam has taken his team and X-Force to an abandoned nuclear plant. X-Force, under Paradigm's control, work on the awakening of the Armageddon Man, who has been in a cryogenic sleep for 40 years. Tarot and Jesse both have doubts about the Hellions' actions. Tarot distracts Paradigm, which gives Moonstar the chance to break out of the mind control and defeat him. |
| X-Force (1st series) #90: | During the second fight between Hellions and X-Force, the Armageddon Man finally breaks loose. Feral rips up Siryn's throat. Jesse turns against his brother. As the Armageddon Man becomes unstable the Hellions run away, and only Magma stays behind to help X-Force to contain him again. Paradigm gives hints about leaving the Hellions. |
| Generation X #60: | Somebody places a file about the New Hellions on Emma Frost's desk. Emma is not happy about someone taking the name of her dead students. |
Afterwards
- The Hellions II have not appeared since 1999 as a team, and King Bedlam, Switch, Tarot and Paradigm have not been seen since.
- Feral was eventually recruited by the X-Men to serve in their X-Corporation branch office in Mumbai. She was next seen operating there in New X-Men (1st series) #133, alongside Sunfire, Warpath, and her sister, Thornn.
- Magma resurfaced months later in Uncanny X-Men #423 as one of several mutants crucified on the front lawn of the X-Mansion by the Church of Humanity. Unlike most others, she could be saved from death with Archangel's healing blood.
Members
Tarot (Marie-Ange Colbert)
First appearance: New Mutants (1st series) #16
Died in: Uncanny X-Men #281-282 [shot by Sentinels and drained by Fitzroy]
Revealed resurrected: X-Force (1st series) #87
First Hellions II appearance: X-Force (1st series) #87
All Hellions II appearance: X-Force (1st series) #87-90
Powers: Use the two-dimensional images found on her tarot cards as templates to shape astral energy into giant-sized, solid representations of those pictures, or materialize around herself clothing, armor, and weapons based on the tarot. She can also utilize her cards as a medium to predict future events.
Theory: Tarot's rebirth is linked to King Bedlam. After all his powers allow him control over others' bio functions. Bedlam might have retrieved Tarot's dead body and constantly controlled her body functions since then. This goes along with the prescient vision in the flashback (see above) and these quotes of X-Force (1st series) #90: "I owe him my life" and "Attendez, Christopher. You know I cannot live without you."
King Bedlam (Christopher Aaronson)
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #87
All Hellions II appearance: X-Force (1st series) #87-90
Powers: Radiate telepathic static from his mind that shields his thoughts from scanning and manipulation, and can direct the static outwards to disrupt the thought processes of others, causing them to spout random gibberish and lose fine motor control and mental cohesiveness.
Fact: Christopher and his brother Jesse were first introduced through their counterparts in Factor X issues set in the Age of Apocalypse. Chris is called Terry Aaronson there.
Magma (Amara Juliana Olivia Aquilla / Allison Crestmere)
First appearance: New Mutants (1st series) #8
First Hellions II appearance: X-Force (1st series) #87
All Hellions appearances: X-Force (1st series) #87-90
Powers: Geothermal power allows her to create small earth tremors and assume an energized state that gives off intense heat and light while enabling her to manipulate the planet’s tectonic plates, causing seismic upheavals, summoning volcanoes to the surface, and telekinetically propelling bedrock, either in its normal state or superheated by her power into a molten stage.
Paradigm
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #87
All Hellions II appearance: X-Force (1st series) #87-90
Powers: Technokinesis allows him to manipulate the shape and function of any mechanical device. He was forced to interact with a fragment of Phalanx material that converted him into a techno-organic being, enabling him to levitate himself, morph into different shapes and configurations, extend T-O filaments that assume control of others, and assimilate sensory impressions or tangible samples of biological or mechanical matter to evolve himself to new levels.
Switch (Devon Alomar)
First appearance: X-Force (1st series) #87
All Hellions II appearance: X-Force (1st series) #87-90
Powers: Temporarily displace the brain waves patterns of others, enabling him to switch bodies with another person.
Feral (Maria Callasantos)
First appearance: New Mutants (1st series) #99
First Hellions II appearance: X-Force (1st series) #88
Last appearance: Wolverine (3rd series) #53 [killed by Sabretooth]
All Hellions appearances: X-Force (1st series) #88-90
Powers: Animal mutation gives her heightened strength, speed, agility, endurance, and reflexes, hyper-keen feline senses, thick orange fur, a prehensile tail and razor sharp fangs and claws on her fingers and toes.