Warning! Spoilers ahead for X-Force #37!One of the deadliest enemies of mutantkind has created a brand-new threat to the safety of Krakoa: a successful fusion of X-Force's strongest mutant powers into a singular, monstrous being. Since the establishment of X-Force as Krakoa's intelligence agency, the team's greatest threats have often come in the form of genetic engineering. Their founding coincided with the creation of their greatest foes: the XENO cult led by the mysterious Man With the Peacock Tattoo, who harvested Domino's body to graft her power onto others. Now, the Man With the Peacock Tattoo reveals his magnum opus, the pinnacle of the genetically engineered threats X-Force has faced.
XENO's very first move against Krakoa, a deadly attack on the island that left Charles Xavier (briefly) dead, hinged on exploiting pillaged mutant DNA. Captured while trying to infiltrate the organization, Domino's very flesh was turned against mutantkind in order to bioengineer soldiers with her luck-based powers. XENO's experiments with mutant DNA have only grown more brazen, with countless mutants (including most of X-Force's ranks) being harvested for the anti-mutant organization's nefarious gains. At long last, in X-Force #37 by Benjamin Percy and Robert Gill it's revealed that the Man With the Peacock Tattoo's experiments have yielded his "perfect" specimen.
The Man With the Peacock Tattoo Reveals His Ultimate Creation
X-Force #37 places an emphasis on revealing the mysterious Man With the Peacock Tattoo and his motivations. Not only do readers learn of his own origins, but they get a glimpse into the belly of his active genetics laboratory. XENO's previous experiments with mutant DNA have led to mixed results: while the Man with the Peacock Tattoo could grant his soldier's Wolverine's legendary healing factor, its efficacy waned over time and his "Dominos" were "only so lucky." A tour of his lab reveals that some of his creations are even less successful. The genetic engineer, however, recently scored two victories: first was the abduction of the mutant infant Maximilian. Baby Max's mutant abilities manifested extremely early, granting the newborn incredible telepathic abilities. Thanks to genetic engineering, Max is now a young child capable of aiding XENO in their efforts. The second was a mutant "resurrection egg," the same organic pod employed by the Five on Krakoa to resurrect dead mutants. This has allowed the Man with the Peacock Tattoo to replicate the Krakoan Resurrection Protocols, and in doing so he's achieved perfection in his efforts to splice together mutant DNA. He shows Max the fruit of his ambitions, a chimeric fusion boasting the mutant powers of X-Force's members:
The Man With the Peacock Tattoo's creation appears to be a blend of Wolverine, Colossus, Domino, Beast, Kid Omega, and Omega Red, likely with other mutant powers not readily apparent. Alone and half-successful, the soldiers grafted with these mutant powers by XENO have proven to be a potent enough threat to repeatedly overwhelm some of X-Force's best and brightest. An imperfect clone of Kid Omega was powerful enough to launch a series of devastating psionic attacks on Krakoa, while the less-fortunate Dominos still had enough luck to temporarily deprive the mutant nation of its Founding Father, Charles Xavier. With the process now perfected, XENO's latest creation would seemingly be free of the flaws that previously allowed X-Force to ultimately overcome them. While only one of these creations is shown among the Man With the Peacock Tattoo's experiments, there's also the startling possibility he's creating an army of these soldiers; with his own reverse-engineered resurrection process, there's nothing stopping him from doing so.
According to his logbook, the Man with the Peacock Tattoo's lifelong work has been dedicated to creating an "Omega Man." Rather than the unpredictable powers granted to each mutant, an Omega Man would be a perfect specimen capable of utilizing all mutant abilities. He wishes to direct human evolution, rather than leave it to the "chaotic" whims of nature. With the reveal of his most recent creation, it appears his dream of an Omega Man may have finally come to fruition, resulting in an enemy that pits all of X-Force's own abilities against them.
X-Force #37 is on sale now from Marvel Comics