Philippa Sontag (Earth-616)

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Arclight
Name	Philippa Sontag
Current Alias	Arclight
Aliases	None
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Marauders formerly, 198, Femizons
Relatives	None
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Female
Height	5′8″ (1.73 m)
Weight	126 lbs (57.15 kg) (57.2 kg)
Eyes	Irises: Brown
Hair	Purple (Dyed), Black (natural)
Unusual Features	None
Origin and Living Status
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-616
Place of Birth	Mexico
Personal Information
Identity	Secret
Occupation	None
Base of Operations	Mobile
Creators and Appearances
First	(In shadow) Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #210 (1986), (fully seen) X-Factor Vol. 1 #10
First	(In shadow) Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #210 (1986), (fully seen) X-Factor Vol. 1 #10

History

Arclight was once a soldier serving in American peacekeeping forces during a conflict in Southeast Asia. The experiences there severely traumatized her, and she retains bitter memories of that place. She used her rage to fuel her body building, which she further uses to augment her mutant abilities.

At some point, she became a member of the Marauders, a team of superhuman assassins brought together by the mutant thief Gambit when he was in the employ of the enigmatic Mister Sinister. On Sinister's orders, the Marauders massacred the underground community of mutants known as the Morlocks. Arclight is possibly the cruelest of the Marauders, taking great delight in murder and mayhem and always eager to prove herself up against an opponent with a reputation. In the course of the massacre, the Marauders, including Arclight, clashed with various superhuman champions, including the superhuman mutant adventurers known as the X-Men. Her physical strength is half due to her mutation and half to her obsessive body-building, her defense against the wartime nightmares which still plague her in secret.

Arclight and the Marauders originally died during the demonic invasion of Manhattan that came to be known as the " Inferno", but Sinister had the technology to clone the Marauders thanks to him retaining samples of their DNA. Thus, Arclight continued to appear among the Marauders in all subsequent activities, including their battles with Cable and X-Man, each time on behalf of Mister Sinister.

File:Arclight 001.jpg

For a brief time, Arclight served as a member of the Femizons, an all-female superhuman army of the extra-dimensional warrior women, under the alias of Superia. During this time, Arclight clashed with the super-soldier known as Captain America and the mercenary named Paladin.

After the House of M events, Arclight joined the mutant refugee camp on the grounds of the Xavier Institute, the inhabitants of which have come to call themselves the 198. She seems to have a romantic relationship with fellow Marauder Scalphunter and has not hesitated to use this relationship to cement her tenuous position as second-in-command.

For unknown reasons, Arclight left the 198 team and rejoined her former longtime team the Marauders. Arclight, along with the help of the Marauders and new members Mystique and Lady Mastermind attacked the X-Men unexpectedly.

Attributes

Power Grid

Powers

• Shockwave Generation: She can direct a wave of seismic energy by striking a victim with her hands or feet. This typically creates a massive shockwave damaging and/or disorientating all within line-of-fire, shatter objects, create shockwaves, or cause earth tremors.
• Superhuman Strength: allowing her to lift approximately 50 tons
• Superhuman Endurance
• Resistance to Physical Injury

Known Abilities: Covert ops and above average hand-to-hand combat.

Trivia

• Dyes her hair Purple. Had dyed it blue and pink as well.
• Arclight's codename comes from the B-52 bombings during the Vietnam War, also called Operation Arc Light.
• Arclight was at one point depicted as unusually tall, and with the physique of a body-builder, but in recent appearances she has gained a more conventional comic-book female appearance.

Apperances in Media

File:Cap086.jpg

Arclight in X-Men: The Last Stand

• Arclight appeared in the motion picture X-Men 3: The Last Stand, played by Latina supermodel Omahyra Mota. In the movie, her shockwave-based superpowers are more refined than in the comic book: her shockwaves project in an outward fashion and she can target specific materials. She joined Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants and was killed as she tried to escape in the film's finale from the wrath of Phoenix (Jean Grey).

• Arclight appeared numerous times in the X-Men Animated Series, most notably in the episode "Sanctuary," where she joins Magneto's mutant haven.

See Also

• 49 appearance(s) of Philippa Sontag (Earth-616)
• 6 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Philippa Sontag (Earth-616)
• 11 minor appearance(s) of Philippa Sontag (Earth-616)
• 2 mention(s) of Philippa Sontag (Earth-616)
• 2 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Philippa Sontag (Earth-616)
• 29 image(s) of Philippa Sontag (Earth-616)
• 1 quotation(s) by or about Philippa Sontag (Earth-616)
• 2 victim(s) killed by Philippa Sontag (Earth-616)

References

• Danny Wall's Unofficial Handbook to the Marvel Universe
• Arclight, Marvel Universe profile

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