Colossus

Colossus Vs Juggernaut Uncanny X-Men 543

Colossus is now the avatar of destruction. Featured in Uncanny X-men 543 as part of Fear Itself Tie In X-men is owned by Marvel,no copyright infringement intended.

Art by John Cassaday.

Colossus (Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin) is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Len Wein and illustrator Dave Cockrum, he first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975). A Russianmutant, the character is a member of the X-Men, and is by far the physically strongest member of the team, being able to transform into a strong metallic form. Even without his powers he holds a physically imposing figure standing at 6′ 7″ (200 cm). Throughout the series he has been portrayed as a quiet, shy character, honest and innocent. He has had a fairly consistent presence in X-Men-related comic books since his debut. A talented artist, he only reluctantly agrees to use his powers in combat, feeling it is his responsibility to use his abilities for the betterment of human and mutant-kind.

Canadian actor Daniel Cudmore has portrayed Colossus in X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand, and will return for X-Men: Days of Future Past in July 2014. Wizard Magazine ranked Colossus 184 on the Top 200 Comic Book Characters of All Time.

Publication history

A mainstay of the X-Men comic book series until the 1990s, Colossus then went on to appear regularly in the first series of Excalibur. While a member of the team, he had his own self-titled one-shot which depicted him and his teammate Meggan battling Arcade at his new Murderworld facility.

After returning to the X-Men alongside Excalibur teammates, Shadowcat and Nightcrawler, he stayed with the title until his death. He was later resurrected and was a regular in the third series of Astonishing X-Men, written by Joss Whedon. He was the feature of a limited series, Colossus: Bloodlines which had him journey back to Russia. Colossus has since returned to his status as an established fixture of the X-Men series, appearing in various X-Men related titles such as X-Men: Manifest Destiny, X-Men: Secret Invasion, X-Men, and Astonishing X-Men.

Colossus is currently appearing in Cable and X-Force, a new series by writer Dennis Hopeless and artist Salvador Larroca which debuted in December 2012.

Fictional character biography – Background

Piotr “Peter” Rasputin was born on a Soviet collective farm called the Ust-Ordynski Collective near Lake Baikal in Siberia. He lived there with his mother Alexandra, father Nikolai, and sister Illyana. His older brother, Mikhail, had been a Soviet cosmonaut and had apparently died in a rocket accident. the 2006 comic mini-series Colossus: Bloodline established that the family was descended from a real-life historical figure, Grigori Rasputin.

Peter’s superhuman powers manifested during his adolescence while saving his sister from a runaway tractor. Immediately after, Peter was contacted by Professor Charles Xavier, the founder of the X-Men.

X-Men

Peter was part of the second generation of X-Men, formed by Charles Xavier to save the original X-Men from the living island Krakoa. He agreed to leave the farm community in which he was born to go to the United States with Xavier. Xavier gave him the name “Colossus.” After the battle was won, Colossus remained in the United States with the new X-Men.

Colossus is typically portrayed as being peaceful, selfless, reluctant to hurt or kill anyone, and always putting himself in danger to protect others. In some of his earliest missions, he battled the Shi’ar Imperial Guard, and visited the Savage Land, where he met Nereel.

Peter’s family always remained in his thoughts and he frequently wrote letters home. Shortly after joining the X-Men, a woman known as Miss Locke kidnapped many of the team’s loved ones to use as hostages in order to force the X-Men to aid her in freeing her employer, Arcade, from captivity by one of Doctor Doom‘s robots. Among her captives was Colossus’ younger sister Illyana, whom Locke had kidnapped from the Siberian collective farm and transported to the United States. Arcade brainwashed Colossus into becoming “The Proletarian,” and he battled the other X-Men until they countered the brainwashing.   The X-Men freed Illyana from captivity, and she went to live with her brother Peter at Xavier’s mansion. Due to her later captivity in a dimension known as Limbo where she spent years while only mere moments elapsed on Earth, Illyana became the adolescent sorceress known as Magik. As a side effect, an alternate timeline version of Colossus dies in Limbo.

When the X-Men fought the evil mutant Proteus, Colossus attempted to kill Proteus by punching him with his metal skin, an act he found morally questionable even though he did it to save Moira MacTaggart‘s life.   During his early career with the X-Men, Peter started what was arguably his most significant relationship with fellow X-Man Kitty Pryde.   Although they were only together as a couple for a short while, the relationship provided the foundation of a deep and lasting friendship.

Colossus was later almost killed in a battle with Mystique‘s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, but was saved by Rogue and the MorlockHealer.   During the Secret Wars, he became infatuated with the alien healer Zsaji, and realized his feelings for his teammate were not wholly genuine, ending his relationship with Kitty Pryde.   Emotionally distraught, he afterwards engaged in a bar fight with Juggernaut.

During the Mutant Massacre, Colossus became heavily involved in the X-Men’s efforts to save the Morlocks from the Marauders. When Kitty was severely injured by Harpoon, Peter gave in to his rage and snapped Riptide‘s neck.   He eventually passed out from previous wounds inflicted by Riptide. Magneto, with the aid of Shadowcat, used his powers to heal Peter’s armored form, but the process left him paralyzed. He was sent to Muir Island along with Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and the surviving Morlocks to recuperate.

Over time, Colossus’ wounds healed, but he could only retain his human form with the utmost concentration. When he saw the X-Men in Dallas during the Fall of the Mutants, he had his sister teleport him to the battle, where he became a wild card, as Destiny had not seen him in her vision of the X-Men’s demise. When the team decided to sacrifice themselves to stop the Adversary, Colossus went along, dying to save the world. Like the rest of the X-Men, he was revived by Roma and decided to let the world believe him dead while he and the X-Men worked out of an Australian base.

Following the Inferno event, Illyana was returned to her original Earth age.   Colossus decided it would be better for Illyana if she went back to live with their parents in Russia.

In time, Colossus was reunited with Nereel in the Savage Land, and met her son.

After the X-Men began falling apart with Rogue vanishing, Wolverine taking off, Longshot quitting, and Storm apparently killed, Psylocke telepathically prodded the remaining three to disband and travel through the Siege Perilous to gain new lives.  Peter emerged in New York with no memory of his past life, inventing a new persona for himself as ‘Peter Nicholas’, where he quickly became a successful artist. He battled the Genoshan Magistrates.   He began having visions of a beautiful model, who turned out to be Callisto transformed by Masque. The two were kidnapped by the Morlocks, though Peter had no memory of his time with the X-Men.   He resumed his armored form and defeated Masque.   He was saved by Forge, Banshee, and Jean Grey, who decided it better that he live his new life rather than be dragged back into theirs.

Peter was psychically dominated by the Shadow King and sent to hunt down Stevie Hunter and Charles Xavier.   Xavier had no choice but to destroy the Peter Nicholas persona to break the Shadow King’s hold.   Colossus joined in the battle of Muir Island, and rejoined the X-Men as a member of Storm’s Gold Strike Force.   Peter is shown to be traveling to the Savage Land, where he locates Nereel. He is astonished to learn that the child she bore was not his, but that of another lover. Disheartened, he departs the Savage Land.

The X-Men later found themselves in another dimension where they discovered Colossus’ brother, Mikhail, was alive and acting as a messiah to the population of that world.   Mikhail returned to Earth with the X-Men, but was distraught with having been responsible for the deaths of the original crew from his first trek into the other dimension. Mikhail established himself as leader of the Morlocks and transported them to another world. Peter was disappointed by his brother’s abrupt departure and blamed himself.

Not long after, Peter’s parents were slain and Illyana kidnapped by the Russian government, who hoped to genetically evolve Illyana to the point where she would have the use of her powers again, to defeat the mutant known as the Soul Skinner. Colossus, with the help of the X-Men, saved Illyana and brought her back to the Mansion.

Later, Illyana became an early victim of the Legacy Virus and died from it.   The loss of his immediate family, as well as brain damage that forced him to remain in armored form, caused Colossus to rethink his position with the X-Men and join Magneto and his Acolytes, who had offered him an alternative to the X-Men’s pacifist philosophy of peaceful mutant/human coexistence.   Colossus recovered from the brain damage soon after, but decided to remain with the Acolytes of his own volition, hoping he could temper their extremist methods with what he had learned from Professor Xavier.

Excalibur

His stay with Magneto was not long once he realized that Avalon was not the place for him, either, particularly after Magneto was left brain-dead and the space station was destroyed by Holocaust.   He left in search of the only person he felt truly cared for him, his former love and teammate Shadowcat, now a member of Excalibur. Colossus traveled to England, where he found Kitty in the arms of her new love, Pete Wisdom. Colossus, exhausted, mentally ill, and enraged, attacked Wisdom, and although the battle was short, Peter nearly killed him. Colossus was subdued by Captain Britain and Meggan, later cured of his illness by Moira MacTaggert.

Colossus accepted Shadowcat’s new life and chose to become a member of Excalibur.   Although Colossus, along with the rest of the team, soon accepted Kitty’s relationship with Wisdom, Kitty’s pet dragon, Lockheed, did not, and was often seen trying to reunite Kitty with Peter who he much preferred. One such example being snatching away the garter during Meggan and Captain Britain’s wedding and dropping it into Colossus’ hand, who was then required to place it on Kitty’s leg, who had previously caught the bride’s flowers.   With Excalibur, he participated in many adventures, including helping to save London from an ancient demon.   Excalibur eventually disbanded, and Colossus returned with Nightcrawler and Shadowcat to the X-Men. But as soon as they returned, they faced a group of imposters following Cerebro, in the guise of Professor X.   During this time, he repaired his friendships with Wolverine and Storm, that were broken when he had joined the Acolytes.   He created a deep friendship with Marrow.   Peter again found his long thought-dead brother Mikhail, but unfortunately lost him again when Apocalypse collected The Twelve in his quest for power.

“Death”

Using thoughts and notes from the recently murdered Moira MacTaggert, the X-Men’s resident scientist, Beast, claimed to have found the cure for the Legacy Virus. Unfortunately, it could only be made airborne with the death of its first user. Rather than wait for a safer version and allow others to die as Illyana had, Colossus injected himself with the cure. By using his powers and sacrificing himself, Colossus enabled the release of an airborne cure, effectively eradicating the disease. His body was cremated, and Shadowcat took his ashes back to Russia to be scattered on his native soil.

Return

Nearly two years later, it was brought to the attention of the X-Men that a medical company, entitled Benetech, had developed a mutant cure. After gaining a sample of the cure, Dr. McCoy discovered a string of DNA hidden deep within the recesses of the formula. After matching the DNA, Beast and the other X-Men set out to investigate the truth behind Benetech. During their infiltration, they discovered that Ord, an alien from the Breakworld, was responsible for the means with which the company was able to develop the cure. While the team was separated, Kitty descended into a hidden complex beneath the Benetech building and was able to unlock the true secret behind the cure: shortly after Peter’s self-sacrificing death, Ord had captured his body and left a duplicate that the X-Men had cremated.

After reviving him, Ord had used the Legacy Virus cure in Peter’s blood stream to develop his mutant cure. After unknowingly releasing Peter from his cell, Kitty rejoined him with the X-Men and together they subdued Ord as he tried to escape Earth. Since reuniting with his friends, Peter has returned to fight with the X-Men, and he and Kitty were able to resume their romantic relationship.

Colossus: Bloodline

During the Colossus: Bloodline limited series, Colossus made a trip to Russia in response to a call for help from his cousin, journalist Larisa Mishchenko. Her research had established that their family descended from Grigori Rasputin, and that their relatives were being systematically murdered. Rasputin is established as having been a powerful mutant, whose power and life essence had been passed down to his descendants. As his descendants are murdered, his great power is invested in greater measure in the remaining descendants. When there is only one descendant left, Rasputin will be reborn within that individual. Mister Sinister, an old ally of Rasputin, is revealed as the man behind the murders. Larisa is murdered by Sinister, but Colossus and his brother Mikhail foil Sinister’s plot, and Mikhail banishes himself to a dimension where he can never die, but from which he can never return. If Sinister were to murder Colossus, Rasputin would be reborn in Mikhail, but locked in a dimension on his own. However, all those involved remained unaware of Colossus’ son, Peter, in the Savage Land, whose presence could severely alter the situation. Colossus returned to the X-Men, a man without family. It is rumored that the boy Michael Termani escaped the extermination and made his way to the United States of America in search of Colossus, whom he may be related to.

Breakworld and beyond

During an attack on the institute, Colossus engages Sebastian Shaw, although “Shaw” turned out to be an illusory attack by Cassandra Nova. It was revealed that Colossus is the mutant destined to destroy Breakworld according to the Breakworld’s precogs. However, on a mission to the Breakworld, the X-Men discover that this was not an actual prophecy but an elaborate scheme created by Aghanne, the insane leader of a Breakworld reform cult, intended to bring about that world’s destruction. Colossus is chosen for the prophecy as his unique organic steel form would allow him to destroy the planet’s power source, initiating a chain reaction that would destroy the entire world. Realizing this, Colossus refuses to kill the planet although he does threaten to seize power and rule it if the Breakworld destroys the Earth as planned.

Colossus is one of the X-Men members that tries to defend Professor Xavier against the Hulk, who has come looking for Charles as he is one of the members of the secret Illuminati that exiled him from Earth. During their battle, the Hulk reflects on Colossus’ bravery, mentioning that Colossus might have made a “decent opponent” to the Hulk’s previous incarnations. Locked in a test of strength, Hulk demonstrates his superior power by bending Colossus’s arms backwards at the forearms, breaking them.   Beast later uses a laser in the lab to heat his arms up near their melting point, while Strong Guy bends them back into place; his arms needed to be re-set in their metal form before he transformed back to his human form to avoid serious injury to them.

Colossus returns to Russia with Wolverine and Nightcrawler along for the ride. The trio are captured by the Russian government, who wish to find out why all their mutant agents succumbed to M-Day, and Colossus did not. This led to a battle against the Russians and Omega Red, who was being examined by their captors. After defeating Omega Red, the heroes receive a call from Cyclops informing them of their new home in San Francisco. They soon arrive back in the States, where they aid in rebuilding the X-Men.

Colossus was briefly a member of the Fifty State Initiative team called The Last Defenders alongside Nighthawk, She-Hulk, and Blazing Skull.

Joining the rest of the X-Men, Colossus relocates to San Francisco.   Still mourning Kitty, the other X-Men try to cheer him up using various different methods from picking fights with him to throwing a party. In the end he tells them to leave him be, he just needs time. Later while walking through Golden Gate Park, he come across a little girl who needs help rescuing her Kitty from a tree to which he replies that nothing would make him happier.