Most parents probably have reasonable expectations of their children. Sure, there are those borderline crazy overachievers, who want to get their kids into Our Lady of Pretentiousness Daycare so that they’ll be on the fast track to Harvard and the US Senate before they’re out of diapers, but for most of us, I’d venture we’re cool with them just graduating and not being arrested for defecating on a cop car.
It’s the little things in life.
Now, I’m not sure what Moira MacTaggart had planned for her son Kevin, especially after her bag of dicks husband Joseph bounced on them both, but I’m fairly certain she wasn’t hoping for him to develop a highly unstable mutation that would drive him insane and lead him to nearly crush reality.
Unfortunately, that’s what she wound up with. Kids these days, am I right?
The story of Kevin MacTaggart—aka Mutant X, aka Proteus, aka the guy who tossed around the X-Men like ragdolls—is one of the prime examples of Chris Claremont’s legendary long-term plot seeding. The first time we even get any sort of mention of the character, it’s as Mutant X on Muir Island in X-Men #104 (they hadn’t yet added the “Uncanny” modifier). Nothing else is given to us, just a sign on a door that’s been damaged after one of Magneto’s temper tantrums, which was actually fitting since he’d recently been turned into a baby and was just getting back to normal courtesy of Erik the Red.
Don’t ask questions. Seriously, it’s just better not to go there.
Anyway, Mutant X disappeared from the book for some time and then we got another glimpse in Uncanny X-Men #119, where he was seen inhabiting the body of Angus MacWirther, who I’m pretty sure every creepy groundskeeper/amusement park owner on Scooby Doo has to thank for their depictions.
Finally, in Uncanny X-Men #125, we got to see him in action and, man, was it epic. In a story straight out of a sci-fi/horror movie, Mutant X picked off personnel on Muir Island, the true terror happening once Moira realized that his cell had been compromised and he was free. A call for help to the X-Mansion by Polaris was received by Cyclops…just as she screamed and the line went dead. Classic horror movie tropes.
By the time Cyclops rallied the troops to head to Muir Island in Uncanny X-Men #126, Mutant X was gaining more control over his abilities, jumping from body to body, but instead of doing it to leap from life to life and right wrongs, he was doing it because he had no physical form of his own and drained their life essences to survive.
It wasn’t until after Cyclops really pressed Moira that we got the big reveal that Mutant X was her son, Kevin, and they soon figured out he was heading straight for his deadbeat dad.
Luckily, Moira divulged that he had one major weakness, metal, but other than that, he was virtually unstoppable, not only comprised of living psychic energy, but also able to literally warp reality.
As far as mutant powers go on the Danger Scale, his were an eleven.
As far as insanity goes on the Crazypants Scale, he was also an eleven.
So, yeah, the X-Men were screwed.
To this point, Wolverine had been shown as the quintessential alpha male, never afraid, never backing down, and never rattled. And then Mutant X, now calling himself Proteus, came along and tore him apart molecularly and put him back together just because he could.
With Wolverine still spooked in Uncanny X-Men #127, Cyclops took it upon himself to goad him into an attack while testing all of the X-Men who encountered Proteus that was such a badass move as a leader, even Wolverine was forced to admit he approved—after revealing he’d never thought much of him as a leader, or even as a man, before it.
In the end, it all came down to Proteus versus…Colossus. Yeah. Metal was to Proteus what objectivity is to the news media, so naturally he picked a fight with the one guy made of frikkin’ metal.
Normally, if anyone was going to kill someone, it was going to be Wolverine, but here we got to see Colossus faced with a life or death decision and when push came to shove, he did what he had to, seemingly killing Proteus to save the day.
It’s the little things in life.
Now, I’m not sure what Moira MacTaggart had planned for her son Kevin, especially after her bag of dicks husband Joseph bounced on them both, but I’m fairly certain she wasn’t hoping for him to develop a highly unstable mutation that would drive him insane and lead him to nearly crush reality.
Unfortunately, that’s what she wound up with. Kids these days, am I right?
 |
Really. I ask so little… |
The story of Kevin MacTaggart—aka Mutant X, aka Proteus, aka the guy who tossed around the X-Men like ragdolls—is one of the prime examples of Chris Claremont’s legendary long-term plot seeding. The first time we even get any sort of mention of the character, it’s as Mutant X on Muir Island in X-Men #104 (they hadn’t yet added the “Uncanny” modifier). Nothing else is given to us, just a sign on a door that’s been damaged after one of Magneto’s temper tantrums, which was actually fitting since he’d recently been turned into a baby and was just getting back to normal courtesy of Erik the Red.
Don’t ask questions. Seriously, it’s just better not to go there.
Anyway, Mutant X disappeared from the book for some time and then we got another glimpse in Uncanny X-Men #119, where he was seen inhabiting the body of Angus MacWirther, who I’m pretty sure every creepy groundskeeper/amusement park owner on Scooby Doo has to thank for their depictions.
 |
And he totally would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for those pesky kids. And their Wolverine. |
Finally, in Uncanny X-Men #125, we got to see him in action and, man, was it epic. In a story straight out of a sci-fi/horror movie, Mutant X picked off personnel on Muir Island, the true terror happening once Moira realized that his cell had been compromised and he was free. A call for help to the X-Mansion by Polaris was received by Cyclops…just as she screamed and the line went dead. Classic horror movie tropes.
By the time Cyclops rallied the troops to head to Muir Island in Uncanny X-Men #126, Mutant X was gaining more control over his abilities, jumping from body to body, but instead of doing it to leap from life to life and right wrongs, he was doing it because he had no physical form of his own and drained their life essences to survive.
It wasn’t until after Cyclops really pressed Moira that we got the big reveal that Mutant X was her son, Kevin, and they soon figured out he was heading straight for his deadbeat dad.
 |
Wow. This just got really awkward, didn’t it? |
Luckily, Moira divulged that he had one major weakness, metal, but other than that, he was virtually unstoppable, not only comprised of living psychic energy, but also able to literally warp reality.
As far as mutant powers go on the Danger Scale, his were an eleven.
As far as insanity goes on the Crazypants Scale, he was also an eleven.
So, yeah, the X-Men were screwed.
To this point, Wolverine had been shown as the quintessential alpha male, never afraid, never backing down, and never rattled. And then Mutant X, now calling himself Proteus, came along and tore him apart molecularly and put him back together just because he could.
 |
This was not a good day for our furry mutants. |
With Wolverine still spooked in Uncanny X-Men #127, Cyclops took it upon himself to goad him into an attack while testing all of the X-Men who encountered Proteus that was such a badass move as a leader, even Wolverine was forced to admit he approved—after revealing he’d never thought much of him as a leader, or even as a man, before it.
In the end, it all came down to Proteus versus…Colossus. Yeah. Metal was to Proteus what objectivity is to the news media, so naturally he picked a fight with the one guy made of frikkin’ metal.
Normally, if anyone was going to kill someone, it was going to be Wolverine, but here we got to see Colossus faced with a life or death decision and when push came to shove, he did what he had to, seemingly killing Proteus to save the day.
 | |
| We’ll give this one to the Ruskie; in the years to follow, he’d have to deal with t he Miracle on Ice, Rocky IV, and the fall of the USSR. |
Proteus came back in various forms a few times throughout the years, but never really matched the level of prominence he was in this original arc (except during World Tour in Exiles), and it really was a testament to Claremont’s storytelling that he was able to subtly seed this one for so many months.
And it was even more impressive that while this was going on, he was seeding the upcoming story that would become one of the defining moments in comic history, the Dark Phoenix Saga.
So, if you can, give Uncanny X-Men #125-127 a look. It’s definitely worth a read.
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Easily one of the classics in Claremont’s historic run. |