Merge:Caliban

Caliban is a mutant character in the Marvel Comics universe. The character's first appearance was in Uncanny X-Men #148.

History
Caliban was born an albino mutant with a pale complexion and large yellow eyes. At some point in his life, Caliban was banished from his home by his own father. Caliban, a character from the play The Tempest by William Shakespeare, was the name given him by his father.

Sometime later, Caliban was found by Callisto, who took him under her wing. Learning of his mutant tracking ability, Callisto used Caliban to locate other disenfranchised mutants, whom she organized into the Morlocks. The founding Morlocks consisted of Caliban, Callisto, Masque, Plague and Sunder. The Morlocks lived in the sewers and abandoned subway tunnels running underneath New York City, and, like Caliban, most of them had unusual appearances.

Caliban had a misunderstood confrontation with Storm, Dazzler, Shadowcat, and the original Spider-Woman, when he sensed their presence in a nightclub. Though the battle ended peacefully, Caliban returned to his home underground.

Sometime after, Caliban watched over a sick Shadowcat while the Morlocks battled the X-Men. Callisto had desired a consort and had the Morlocks abduct Warren Worthington, the Angel and member of the X-Men. Shadowcat, suffering from fever, plead with Caliban to let her rejoin the fray to help her teammates. Caliban allowed her to do so, but only after she, herself, promised to return afterwards and stay with him forever. Weeks later, Callisto, vengeful from her battle with Storm and it's resulting outcome, ordered the Morlocks to kidnap Shadowcat in an attempt to force her to marry Caliban, knowing such an action would cause Storm to return, as well. Caliban, however, realized Shadowcat did not truly love him and he released her from her promise.

After the Morlock Massacre, Caliban joined the group X-Factor. Somewhat later their enemy Apocalypse approached Caliban to join him. Apocalypse promised to give Caliban enough power to gain revenge against the Marauders who killed his Morlock "family." Caliban accepted Apocalypse's proposal and, through genetic manipulation, became the Horseman of Apocalpyse known as Death.

Caliban managed to overcome Apocalypse's control at the cost of his mental faculties. Though mentally a child, he retained enormous physical power and was befriended by the mutant Cable and was invited to his X-Force. After some time Apocalypse returned and took Caliban with him, turning him this time into the Horseman Pestilence, further augmenting his physical power and giving him the ability to spread a telepathic disease as well.

After being released from his servitude to Apocalypse, Caliban began reverting to his previous child-like mental state although he retained the physique he attained through Apocalypse's machinations. Subsequently, Caliban was captured by an anti-mutant medical research facility called the Watchtower. The Watchtower sought to use Caliban for their own purposes but he was later freed by X-Force. By then, Caliban had entered into a mental state where he only grunted and snarled but he still managed to help X-Force against a menace called the Skornn.

Caliban is friendly to his fellow mutants, but he is an example of how hatred can turn a victim into a deadly force. He has been abused and manipulated by mutants, and loathed and feared by humans for his entire life. After M-Day Caliban has turned up at the Xavier institute as a member of the 198. He is seen carrying the 198 banner, created by Erg, during the confronation with O*N*E* over the "tracking chips" and again during Mr. M's exodus from the institute.

Powers and abilities

 * Ability to psionically sense other mutants and, thus, track their movements in similar fashion.


 * As Death, he attained superhuman strength, speed, endurance, reflexes, and durability, as well as clawed fingernails, through Apocalypse's genetic manipulation.


 * As Pestilence, he received the ability to generate a mental plague, a virus that attacks from within on the highest planes of the psyche and breaks down the mental functions of the target.


 * Formerly had the ability to psionically sense, absorb, and turn human's fears against them.

In television

 * Caliban made a number of cameo appereances in the X-Men Animated Series, including the episode Slave Island. He also appeared in the final season episode The Fifth Horseman, in which Caliban had been transformed by Fabian Cortez into one of the Hounds, until Jubilee made Caliban turn against Cortez and the rest of the Hounds, who seeked out a mutant to use as a new host body for Apocalypse's reincarnation. In this episode, Caliban was retconned into a member of the Morlocks, though he had never appeared in the episodes featuring the underground mutant community.


 * Caliban also appeared as a member of the Morlocks in X-Men: Evolution.