History
Child of the Atom[]
Carmen María Cruz was born to schoolteacher Carlina Reyes. When Carmen was five, her mother got married to truck driver Alejandro Cruz, who went on to take her as his daughter.[3] She shared an apartment with her parents and her twin younger siblings in a lower-class household. Growing up as a respected and exemplar child, she was seen by her family, friends and neighbors as someone they could always count with. However, Cruz has struggled with a sense of abandonment, wishing to be loved. She focused on working on her passion for sewing, especially when it came to cosplaying superheroes, as well as streaming her activities on her online channel Feintly Frosted Stitches.[1]
At school, Cruz formed a strong friendship with other kid who shared interests with her. This included her best friend Buddy Bartholomew, who Cruz was secretly in love with. At some point, the group of friends found an alien spaceship with a variety of technological gadgets. They struggled to escape the flying saucer, but were able to survive the crash. In the Adirondack Mountains, they started experimenting with the alien weapons.[1] Cruz adopted excavation gear which allowed her to absorb and redirect kinetic energy by charging objects using a pair of gauntlets to cause them to explode.[4] Moreover, Cruz was able to adapt properties of scraps of Magneto's Helmet into their costumes to protect them against psychic attacks.[5] Since the group of kids were vigorous groupies of mutants, they rebranded themselves after the X-Men. As Gimmick, Carmen Cruz took inspiration after the charming X-Man Gambit in her visuals.[6]
As teenage superheroes, the group of kids tackled the Hell's Belles, depowered mutants who used technology to empower themselves and perform crimes. Mistaken for mutants, the young vigilantes caught the attention of mutants from Krakoa, a mutant-exclusive island-nation. They chose to maintain the charade, impersonating mutants, although unable to access Krakoa.[7] Ironically, Cruz experienced the activation of her mutant genome.[1] Initially, she kept her condition a secret. However, she and her friends clashed with the U-Men, since they were targeted for apparently being mutants.[5] The Krakoans intervened, saving them from harm, but their ruse was ultimately exposed. They were ordered to abandon vigilantism in sake of their safety.[4]
Carmen Cruz's secret was revealed when the mutant tracker Cerebro identified her condition. She was greeted by Storm, being personally invited to the Hellfire Gala, a celebration of mutant culture.[4] The revelation caused conflict with her human friends, especially Buddy Bartholomew, who was envious of her status. At the Hellfire Gala, she had the opportunity to discuss her shapeshifting powers with Mystique, mutant couture with Jumbo Carnation, and meet the pop icon Dazzler. Back home, she came out to her parents as a mutant, gaining their support.[3] Her group of friends kept operating as vigilantes. When battling the Hordeculture, Cruz rejoined them. After a reconciliation, both sides asked for forgiveness. Moreover, Buddy opened her heart to engaging in a romance with Cruz. They started dating as Cruz, at the same time, explored the possibilities of the Krakoan society.[3] As Gimmick, she was enrolled by Bishop in his War College program, aimed at training young mutants into the tactical use of their abilities.[8]
Dark X-Men[]
Following the fall of Krakoa at the hands of the anti-mutant organization Orchis, the X-Men went underground and mutantkind was hunted on Earth extensively.[9] Cruz was able to stay hidden using power inhibitors. However, when meeting up with Buddy in her house, she was recognized by Buddy's father, who reported her to Orchis. Taken captive, Cruz was transported to an Orchis concentration camp. The van she was kept imprisoned was intercepted by Gambit, with the help of Archangel and Maggott. The group of renegade mutants were met by Madelyne Pryor and her new team of deviant Limbo. Being able to resist Orchis, the mutants retreated to Pryor's sanctuary, the Limbo Embassy.[10] There, Cruz was invited to join the team under a new name: Feint. She also learned about Pryor's sorrowful life through Havok.[11]
As one of Pryor's X-Men, Feint joined her mission of rescuing mutants who hid from Orchis all over the world.[11] Their first target was Creep, who erected a fungal fortress in Mexico to protect herself and others from anti-mutant attacks. Using her shapeshifting, Feint was able to filter Creep's hallucinogenic spores and reach out to her. Feint attempted to convince Creep and the other mutants to move to the Limbo Embassy with no success, as they rejected the offer.[12] Upon return, Feint and the other X-Men were ambushed by Orchis. An alternate version of Madelyne Pryor who worked for Orchis subdued Feint.[13] When the real Pryor attempted to fight her doppelgänger, she was seduced into succumbing to her maleficent plans. Knowing about her leader's tragic life, Feint impersonated Pryor from before her demonic corruptions, being able to inspire Pryor into finishing her twisted copy. As Pryor chose to disband her ill-adjusted band of X-Men, Feint and Gambit departed only to join the original X-Men resisting Orchis in the Morlock Tunnels.[14]Attributes
Powers
- Metamorphism: Carmen is a mutant metamorph and can alter her appearance in a manner similar to Mystique.[3] She can simulate different kinds of clothing[12] or look like another person entirely.[10]
- Healing Factor: Carmen possesses the ability to recover from injuries faster than a normal human.[4]
- Organic Equipment Generation: Carmen displayed the ability to generate a gas mask on her face to defend herself from a spore attack.[12]
- Transformation: When enraged Carmen can assume a larger form with animal-like traits and glowing eyes.[12]
- Superhuman Strength: While in this form Carmen displayes greatly enhanced strength.[12]
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Alien technology that causes molecular acceleration.[4]
- Pieces of Magneto's helmet that block telepathy.[1]
Transportation
Notes
See Also
- 20 appearance(s) of Carmen Cruz (Earth-616)
- 39 image(s) of Carmen Cruz (Earth-616)
- 1 quotation(s) by or about Carmen Cruz (Earth-616)
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Children of the Atom #3
- ↑ Children of the Atom #2
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Children of the Atom #6
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Children of the Atom #5
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Children of the Atom #4
- ↑ Children of the Atom #1
- ↑ Children of the Atom #1–2
- ↑ Bishop: War College #5
- ↑ X-Men: Hellfire Gala 2023 #1
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Dark X-Men (Vol. 2) #1
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Dark X-Men (Vol. 2) #2
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 Dark X-Men (Vol. 2) #3
- ↑ Dark X-Men (Vol. 2) #4
- ↑ Dark X-Men (Vol. 2) #5
- ↑ Ayala, Vita (30 June 2021) CARMEN MARIA CRUZ aka GIMMICK Carmen is 16, Puerto Rican, a lesbian, and a mutant. She is shy, unsure of herself, but fiercely loyal to her friends. She's the heart of her team, and the mom friend of her friends. Twitter. Retrieved on 30 June 2021.