Colossus (Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin) is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero in the X-Men. Created by writer Len Wein and illustrator Dave Cockrum, he first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975).
| Colossus | |
|---|---|
| File:AstonColossus.png Colossus Art by John Cassaday | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975) |
| Created by | Len Wein Dave Cockrum |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Piotr "Peter" Nikolaievitch Rasputin |
| Species | Human Mutant |
| Team affiliations | X-Men, Excalibur; Acolytes |
| Notable aliases | Rasputin, Peter Nicholas, The Proletarian |
| Abilities | Ability to transform entire body into organic steel granting superhuman strength, stamina, and durability |
A Russian mutant, Colossus possesses the ability to transform his entire body into “organic steel,” a state that grants him vast superhuman strength, stamina, and durability. He is by far physically the strongest X-man. Despite his intimidating appearance and great physical strength, Colossus is actually one of the gentlest and least-aggressive X-Men and would much prefer to pursue his long-time interest in painting rather than fight. He reluctantly agrees to use his powers in combat, feeling it is his responsibility to utilize his abilities for the betterment of human and mutant kind.
Colossus has had a fairly consistent presence in X-Men-related comic books since he debuted. He plays a small role in the X-Men film franchise, where he is portrayed by Daniel Cudmore.
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 has become a regular in the third series of Astonishing X-Men, written by Joss Whedon. He also has a limited series, Colossus: Bloodlines which had him journey back to Russia.
Fictional character biography
Joining the X-Men
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, father and sister, Illyana. His older brother, Mikhail, had been a Russian 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 emerged in adolescence while saving his sister from a runaway tractor. At first, Peter was content simply to use these powers to aid the other people of the collective; however he was soon contacted by Professor Charles Xavier, the founder of the X-Men. Xavier was recruiting a new team of X-Men to rescue the original team, most of whom had been captured by the sentient mutant island Krakoa.
Peter agreed to leave the farm community in which he was born and raised to go to America with Xavier. Xavier gave him the code name "Colossus" and together with the other new X-Men rescued the original team. After the battle was won, Colossus remained in the United States with the new X-Men.
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. 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.
During this time, Peter started what was arguably his most significant relationship with fellow X-Man Shadowcat. Although they were only together as a couple for a short while, the relationship provided the foundation of a deep and lasting friendship.
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. Sadly, 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.
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.
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 would eventually recover from the brain damage, but decided to remain with the Acolytes of his own volition, hoping he could temper the Acolyte's 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. 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-lived, they both sustained serious injuries. Colossus was cured by Moira MacTaggert.
Colossus accepted Shadowcat's new life and chose to become a member of Excalibur. There 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 also 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" and return
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 in the meantime, 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 strewn on his native soil.
Nearly 2 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, the 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 down 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 as Colossus, and he and Kitty have been able resume their romantic relationship.
During the Colossus: Bloodline mini-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 re-born within that individual. Mister Sinister, an old ally of Rasputin, is revealed as the man behind the murders. Larisa is also 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 re-born 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.
During a recent attack on the institute Colossus engages Sebastian Shaw. As it turned out it was a mental attack put on by Cassandra Nova and Shaw was never actually there. Also, it has been revealed that Colossus is the mutant destined to destroy Breakworld.
Powers and abilities
Colossus possesses the ability to transform his entire body into a form of 'organic steel', with properties analogous to osmium but of still unknown composition. In his armored form Colossus possesses extremely high levels of superhuman strength and stamina, the upper limits of which have never been revealed. Also, while in his armored form, Colossus is highly resistant to physical injury. He is capable of withstanding great impacts, high caliber bullets, falls from great heights, temperature extremes of hot and cold, electricity, and magical attacks without sustaining injury. Also, while in his armored form, he requires no food, water or even oxygen to sustain himself.
Colossus cannot transform only a single portion of his body into this armored state; he must either transform completely or remain within his normal state. When he transforms, he gains around a foot in height and his weight is at least doubled. His armored form is highly resistant to certain magical beings and magical attacks as displayed when he faced The Adversary and a manifestation of Baba Yaga.
Colossus is also an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, having received training from Wolverine and Cyclops. He also has had training in acrobatics and sword fighting from Nightcrawler. In his human form, he is exceptionally strong and fit, though not superhumanly so.
Relationships
Not long after Piotr joined the X-Men, he witnessed a girl being kidnapped. After saving her, he learned that she was also from Russia. Her name was Anya Makarova, a ballerina who had defected to the U.S. After spending some time together, they started to like one another. After she saw Piotr transform into Colossus, she was shocked and no longer trusted Piotr, running away from him.
While celebrating their first Christmas with the X-Men, Piotr met an attractive flight-attendant named Betsy Wilford, with whom he often double-dated with Nightcrawler and Betsy’s friend, Amanda Sefton. However, while Kurt and Amanda started a full relationship, Betsy and Piotr were nothing more than close friends.
While in the Savage Land, Piotr had an encounter with two native women, Nereel and Shakani, who wished to make love with him after Colossus saved them from a thunder lizard. Nereel wished to bring new blood into their tribe. Piotr made love for the first time. The fruits of their union being a son, Peter, born long after Piotr, the elder, left the Savage Land. Colossus is unaware that Peter is his son, despite having met him.
When Shadowcat first met the X-Men she had a crush on Colossus from the start. Peter and Kitty became close, though at the time, both were too shy to fully admit their feelings for each other. However, after surviving a threat by the alien Brood, Kitty and Piotr grew closer and started to date. After Piotr's life was in danger, Kitty promised Caliban of the Morlocks her hand in marriage in exchange for aid in saving Peter's life, although later Caliban released her from that vow. Soon after this, even though Kitty had acted out of love to save him, Piotr started to question the time she was spending with Douglas Ramsey.
Soon after, all the X-Men but Kitty were summoned, with other heroes, to another world by the Beyonder to fight in the Secret Wars. Colossus was injured there, but healed by an alien girl named Zsaji whom he fell in love with. Zsaji died exhausting her healing powers to save fallen heroes, leaving Piotr heartbroken. After returning to Earth, Piotr confessed to Kitty and ended their relationship. Kitty left the team for a short time.
Colossus has had other relationships, or potential relationships, develop over the years (Callisto, Rogue, Meggan, Marrow). In fact, Meggan had developed feelings for him.
Following his return from the dead, Colossus and Kitty resumed a romantic relationship, finally consummating it in Astonishing X-Men #14 (2006).
Trivia
- The famous statue the Colossus of Rhodes inspired his codename. Grigori Rasputin inspired his surname. The 2005 mini-series Colossus: Bloodlines revealed that Colossus is Rasputin's great-grandson.
- The main reason for Colossus and Kitty breaking up was due to Jim Shooter disapproving of their age differences.[1]
- It was incorrectly believed that Co-creator Dave Cockrum drew inspiration for Colossus' powers from Ferro Lad of DC Comics' Legion of Super-Heroes.[2]
- To note, #2 of Russian Mafia Unlimited Access has The Legionaires ending up in The Days Of Future Past era. During a team up between them and the X-Men, Colossus and Ferro double team against a Sentinel.
- Colossus was raised as an atheist [1].
Alternate versions
Ultimate Colossus
In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Peter Rasputin reluctantly works as an arms smuggler for the Russian mob. Peter was saved from a firing squad as a young child by a boss in the Russian Mafia called Big Boris, who smuggles Peter from Siberia to the United States.
Colossus is revealed as a mutant during an illegal arms transaction gone wrong. Everyone is killed by gunfire except for Peter, whose mutant ability saves him. Jean Grey finds him soon after and offers him a place among the X-Men.
When the X-Men embark on a world tour to promote Xavier's book, Colossus inexplicably disappears to Russia. Cyclops and Jean Grey track him and find Peter working in a factory. Colossus tells them he left due to unhappiness with his place on the team and with life as a mutant, but Jean suggests that his true reason is because of unrequited feelings he has for a fellow team member. Peter later comes to term with his "gift," and becomes a Russian national hero when he rescues the crew of an incapacitated submarine. He leaves Russia to rejoin the X-Men.
Later, Colossus and the X-Men are forced out of the mansion with the U.S. Government on their tails. In a climactic battle between the X-Men and The Ultimates, Colossus is able to defeat Iron Man and Thor, but is finally incapacitated by a compact nuclear warhead (with a blast radius of about 20 feet) Hawkeye shoots near him.
The X-Men locate Magneto's flying citadel using a signal sent by a captured Cyclops. Upon their arrival, Magneto subdues them. Despite being composed of metal, Colossus' great strength and willpower allow him to overcome Magneto's control and beat Magneto mercilessly for the harm inflicted on Wolverine.
In a significant change from his mainstream counterpart, Ultimate Colossus is gay[2].This is implied during the original writer's run on the title, through his interactions with fellow X-Man Wolverine. It is more openly addressed later during a series of mutant murders by Sinister, Colossus tends to Northstar, the only survivor. He is shocked when the openly gay Northstar asks if Colossus is single, which causes him to go into metal state. Colossus and Northstar amicably part ways and keep in touch even after Northstar's team, the Academy of Tomorrow, comes to blows with the X-Men. Colossus later agrees to accompany Northstar to his homecoming dance. This utterly shocks Nightcrawler, Peter's friend who begins to avoid and resent him.
Following Xavier's death, Northstar has asked Colossus to move in with him at the Academy of Tommorrow.
Powers and abilities
Ultimate Colossus' powers are much like those of his Earth-616 counterpart, except he appears to be significantly stronger, shown by his ability to lift up a nuclear submarine. He is also highly resistant to physical injury. He has withstood being slashed by Ultimate Wolverine's adamantium claws.
A few deviations from the Earth-616 version include the fact that Ultimate Colossus's height remains the same when he changes, and when he is knocked unconscious he remains in whatever form (i.e. steel or flesh) he was in. Unlike the mainstream version, his eyes remain vulnerable even in steel form, as shown when fighting Sam Wilson during Ultimate Nightmare.
Age of Apocalypse
In the Age of Apocalypse timeline, Colossus was a very haunted man, wearing a red mask to cover acid scars on his face. His sister, Illyana, had died years prior, and his brother, Mikhail joined Apocalypse as one of his Horsemen. Colossus was one of Magneto's original recruits for his X-Men. Magneto eventually placed Rasputin and his wife, Shadowcat, in charge of training Generation Next. On a mission, Colossus abandoned his students when the prize of being reunited with his sister was shown to him. He later barreled his way through many of the X-Men in a futile attempt to save Illyana, injuring or killing many of them, including Shadowcat. Crazed, he was finally killed by Gambit.
Other versions
- In the Days of Future Past, Colossus was again married to Shadowcat. They had children, who had apparently been killed by Sentinels. He was killed while his wife was searching for what caused the cataclysmic future during a suicide run on the main Sentinel base.
- In Earth X, Colossus has become Tsar Piotr of Russia. His country provides one of the greatest food sources for the world because of the sentience of all animals. Only mentioned in passing, it seems that this version of Colossus is actually Mister Sinister, had developed a strange love for Jean Grey, and traveled back in time to preserve her as a clone.
- What if Colossus had never joined the X-Men? After Charles Xavier unwittingly prevented Colossus from saving his sister from a runaway tractor, Colossus turned down Xavier's offer to join the X-Men. Instead, he joined the Soviet Super-Soldiers and became romantically involved with teammate Darkstar and was called in to assist with the reality warping Proteus. Proteus severed Rasputin's left arm, which the Russian then used to impale the Proteus-possessed Professor Xavier. He eventually settled down with Darkstar and had a daughter, named Illyana.
Appearances in other media
Television
- Colossus made his television debut in 1984 in an episode of the animated series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. He appeared in two episodes; 3.3, The Education of a Superhero and 3.7, The X-Men Adventure. He was voiced by John Stephenson.
- Colossus's next appearance was in 1989 in the 30 minute animated one-shot Pryde of the X-Men, where he was voiced by Earl Boen.
- In the 1992 animated television series X-Men, the voice of Colossus was provided by Rick Bennett in episode 1.8, "The Unstoppable Juggernaut" and by Robert Cait in episode 2.4, "Red Dawn".
- In the 2000 animated television series X-Men: Evolution, the voice of the 19 year old Colossus was provided by Michael Adamthwaite. This Colossus is one of Magneto's Acolytes, but is an unwilling accomplice; Magneto is heard at least once to threaten him with the possibility that his family will be killed if Colossus does not obey him. He saved Shadowcat from Apocalypse's attack robots, and it seemed that Colossus had feelings for her. When Professor X entered the mind of Apocalypse and saw the future, he saw Colossus as one of the X-Men. He appeared in only seven episodes. This Colossus was, interestingly, not immune to Rogue's touch.
Films
- In X-Men, Colossus has a brief cameo as the well-built student sketching in the Xavier Institute's courtyard.
- In the 2003 film X2, Colossus is played by Daniel Cudmore. After the school is attacked, he rescues Siryn and leads the younger students to safety. He does not have his russian accent in this film.
- Cudmore reprises the role in the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand. In the Danger Room, he throws Wolverine up in the air (a Fastball Special), who then takes down a Sentinel. He also joins the battle with the other X-Men against Magneto on Alcatraz Island. Like in the Danger Room, he throws Wolverine at Magneto, which is a distraction so that Beast can inject Magneto with the cure. Despite being in promotional art for the film, Colossus only has one line in the entire film, which is not even equal in length to his lines in X2, albeit not spoken in a Russian accent. This version of Colossus can also be affected by Rogue's power, as seen in the Danger Room scene.
Video games
- Colossus has appeared in the video games Marvel's X-Men, X-Men: Madness in the Murderworld, X-Men II: The Fall of the Mutants, X-Men: The Arcade Game, X-Men: Children of the Atom, Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (NPC), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse (NPC), X-Men Legends, X2: Wolverine's Revenge (NPC), X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, X-Men: The Official Game (Exclusive to GBA, NPC otherwise) and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance(Exclusive to next-gen, NPC otherwise).
See also
References
- ^ Uncanny X-men King Size Annual 1980
- ^ http://www.gayleague.com/gay/characters/display.php?id=204 1
Links
- MarvelDatabase:Colossus (Piotr Rasputin)
- MarvelDatabase:Character Gallery Colossus (Piotr Rasputin)
- MarvelDatabase:Colossus (Ultimate)
- UncannyXmen.Net's Spotlight on Colossus
- UncannyXmen.Net's Spotlight on Ultimate Colossus
- Article about Colossus sexuality
- Colossus on the Marvel Universe Character Bio Wiki
- Ultimate Colossus on the Marvel Universe Character Bio Wiki