Santo Vaccarro (Earth-616)

Rockslide
Name	Santo Vaccarro
Current Alias	Rockslide
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	X-Men (Jean Grey School member), Jean Grey School student body Formerly Young X-Men, New X-Men, Hellions Squad, Xavier Institute student body
Relatives	unnamed parents; unnamed younger sister
Marital Status	Single
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Height	6′2″ (1.88 m)
Weight	482 lbs (218.63 kg)
Eyes	Irises: White
Hair	No Hair At All
Unusual Features	No visible pupils, rock body, no genitals
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Mutant, later revealed to be also a Psionic Entity doesn't requiring a body at all times
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-616
Place of Birth	Boston, Massachusetts
Personal Information
Identity	Secret
Citizenship	American
Occupation	Adventurer, Student
Education	Some high School
Base of Operations	Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, Salem Center, Westchester County, New York; formerly Utopia, San Francisco Bay, California; Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, California; Graymalkin Industries, Marin Highlands, San Francisco, California; Danger Cave, Salem Center, Westchester County, New York; Xavier Institute, Salem Center, Westchester County, New York; Boston, Massachusetts
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, Carlo Barberi
First	New Mutants (Vol. 2) #3 (July, 2003)
First	New Mutants (Vol. 2) #3 (July, 2003)

 I'm Rockslide, and I can't be scared or killed. If you go crazy evil or something, I'm the one that's going to take you out. 

—Rockslide

History

File:Santo Vaccarro (Earth-616) 007.jpg

Rockslide

New X-Men: Academy X

Santo Vaccarro was sent to the Xavier Institute where he befriended Hellion and the would-be Hellions Training Squad. He was originally advised by Iceman, but was selected by Emma Frost to be part of her prized Hellions squad. Santo and the rest of the Hellions went on to win the Field Day Tournament and were declared the best squad at the end of the school year.

Hellions

During the summer vacation, Julian, from a well-to-do background, invited his friends to his home. The Hellions ran into trouble quickly, as his and Mercury's appearances along with Dust's dress disturbed people at the airport. After a brief struggle, the group was allowed to board, and made their way to California, where Julian originates. Soon, the team encountered the Kingmaker, from whom they each received a trial wish. Santo's wish was to become a World-class Champion in superhuman wrestling. However, when the Hellions eventually refused a permanent deal with the Kingmaker, the Kingmaker shattered Santo with a laser blast. Julian used his telekinesis to piece Rockslide back together, and together the Hellions defeated the Kingmaker.

Decimation & Childhood's End

Soon after returning to the school after the vacation, the Scarlet Witch created the reality known asthe House of M. In this reality, Santo was once again a champion superhuman wrestler. After the effects of M-Day, he was one of the few students who didn't lose their powers. The depowered students and staff were sent to their homes. One bus was bombed by anti-mutant religious zealot Reverend William Stryker, and Santo's former teammate and friend Tag was among those killed. The X-Men held a funeral for those students whose parents would not accept them, and Santo reflected upon how he had "failed" by not being able to save those killed.

File:Santo Vaccarro (Earth-616) 002.jpg

Rockslide's new form

With the mutant population drastically decreased, the government sent the Sentinel O*N*E* Squad to watch over the school, which began housing as many remaining mutants as would take refuge. All of the remaining students were placed by Emma Frost into an all-out brawl, and the ones deemed to be the best were to be assigned to become a group of in-training X-Men. Santo made the team and began training to become an X-Man.

William Stryker continued his terrorist attacks against the school. Santo's teammate Elixir ended Stryker's plans by killing him. The New X-Men, with the help of Prodigy, then made the connection between Stryker and Nimrod. The team leader, Surge, then decided that the team would find and destroy the robot. When the team confronted Nimrod, Rockslide was obliterated in the battle. Hellion and Mercury tried desperately to awaken and to piece him back together, but Rockslide's remains were initially unresponsive. Thankfully, even in his shattered form, he was able to survive, and was finally put back together, only to become larger and more rugged than his previous form. Rockslide is later seen talking to Match and Anole about their abilities and how useful or unuseful they would be if they joined the New X-Men team, indicating Match and Anole may be possible candidates for admission onto the team. He was at the memorial service for all the students lost at Strykers attack on the institute.

File:Rockslide mutation 01.jpg

Rockslide while in Limbo

Recently, Rockslide saw the Young Avengers on television, learning about them for the first time, to his fellow students' surprise. He decided that the New X-Men should beat them up, with himself fighting Hulkling. Fellow students Loa and Anole told him that Hulkling would win.

Mercury Falling & Quest For Magik

Rockslide accompanied the X-Men when they jumped from the Blackbird to save Mercury from the Facility. He helped with great enthusiasm during the fight, and in the aftermath, made fun of Shadowcat and her powers, saying that being an X-Man must be "really hard". Kitty then jokingly threatened to kill him.

Santo and the other students were captured by Belasco, and taken to Limbo. While hiding from Belasco, along with Blindfold, Match, Loa, Anole, Wolf Cub, Pixie, and Gentle, Santo was unsure what to do. As demons approached the group, Santo fought them off, but then seemingly exploded when he tried to shoot his fists at them. Santo then seems to reconstitute himself in a magma rock form that is also impervious to magic and beats the badness out of Illyana who then helps them to rescue their fellow students and kill Belasco. Back home Rockslide threatens to quit if Pixie and Anole aren't made part of the New X-Men.

World War Hulk

Rockslide is one of the New X-Men that went up against the Hulk. He knocks over the Hulk so the other students can hold him down, but is knocked away when Hulk regains his strength. When Rocklide attacks him alone, it appears that Hulk knows who he is and what he can do. He rips off both his arms, steps on him, then tears off his legs. He then rids Rockslide of his limbs by throwing them a great distance, preventing Rockslide from using his powers and the ability of ambulatory function. Ironically, Santo has stated that as a kid he pretended he was the Hulk.

Young X-Men

After the X-Men were disbanded, Rockslide was in Florida when Blindfold found him and explained her vision of their Young X-Men team. When Donald Pierce (impersonating Cyclops) offered Santo a spot on the team, but agreed to join only if Blindfold was also accepted. The other young mutants recruited were Santo's former classmates Dust, and Wolf Cub and newcomer Ink.

During their first adventure, the Young X-Men battled the New Mutants and revealed Donald Pierce's charade. Unfortunately, Wolf Cub was killed, an event that hit Santo especially hard. Santo took out much of his anger on Cyclops, but still agreed to join the X-Men in San Francisco.

Rockslide was one of the only Young X-Men to remain a full-time member. He participated in defeating the Y-Men, the revelation of Cipher, and the battle with the Neo on the Golden Gate Bridge.

When Dust seemingly died, Rockslide went into a berserker rage and almost killed Donald Pierce again. Santo seemed to be moved the most by the death of his friend and was filled with enjoy when she was revived.

Secret Invasion, Utopia & X-Infernus

During the Skrull invasion of Earth, Rockslide was teamed with Angel in battle.

Later, along with Hellion, Rockslide was one of the mutants inciting the riots in San Francisco during Simon Trask's Humanity Now! and Proposition X rallies.

Schism & Regenesis

After the Schism, Santo went to Westchester along with many other mutant students.

Attributes

Power Grid

Powers

File:Santo Beast.jpg

Rockslide reforming his body in front of Beast

Geokinetic Psychic Entity: Santo's body is composed completely of inorganic granite. When Santo was first shattered by the Kingmaker and put back together by Hellion, it was much like how Emma Frost in her diamond form was reanimated by Jean Grey. Santo's body was next obliterated by Nimrod, only to eventually put itself partially back together (Santo needed Julian's help again to fully reform). This time his appearance is larger and more rugged. The third insistence where Rockslide's body was destroyed, was in Limbo. However, this time returning as a large lava/magma elemental type creature. It is unknown whether this is able to be controlled or if it is a passive regenerative ability that occurs when Rockslide's body is destroyed. After this episode, it is hypothesized by Beast that given Santo's three experiences reforming his body after being destroyed, Santo is actually a non-physical psychic entity that can form and control a stone "golem".

• Rock Explosion: Santo once was able to fire "granite projectiles", but now has the power explode on command and reform himself from any surrounding rocks.
  

• Superhuman Strength: Rockslide has continuously been shown performing great feats of strength. Rockslide possesses superhuman strength. He is capable of lifting 75 tons.
  

• Superhuman Stamina: Rockslide's musculature generates less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human. He can exert himself at peak capacity for at least several hours before fatigue begins to impair him.
  

• Superhuman Durability: Rockslide's extremely dense bodily tissue is considerably harder and more resistant to injury than the body of an ordinary human. He can withstand great impact forces, high caliber bullets, temperature and pressure extremes, and falls from great heights without sustaining any injury.
  

Template:New Power Grid

Abilities

• Combatant: Rockslide is a good hand to hand combatant.

Weaknesses

• Energy Blasts: He can be split into pieces by powerful energy blasts from enemies such as Nimrod.
• Geokinesis: Because Rockslide's body is composed of rock or earth, he is susceptible to others who control rock materials like Magma.
• Rock Seperation: If parts of his body are ripped off and thrown very far away they will not come back, as demonstrated by Hulk.

Paraphernalia

Transportation

X-Men's Blackbird or X-Jets.

Trivia

• Santo is fiercely loyal to and protective of his friends.
• Santo is Italian-American from New York City.
• He is a fan of Dance Dance Revolution.

Indeed...

• Santo was once considered a school bully.
• Santo has formed very close friendships with Victor, Cess, Julian, Ruth and Nicky. However, he is friendly with most (if not all) of the young mutants.
• The idea of Santo desiring to be a world-class wrestler has reoccurred twice: once in the Hellions limited series and again in the House of M reality.
• Santo is a fan of the television program Medium starring Patricia Arquette. In the same issue, he also mentions Murder She Wrote. Later he has mentioned watching Law & Order.
• Santo once highly respected the Hulk and even pretended to be him. That changed when the Hulk attacked the X-Men.
• Rockslide has said he'd like to take on Hulkling.
• Rockslide lacks genitals. He proved it by showing naked at the battle between the Young Avengers and the Thin Spandex Line (a gathering of teens and young adult heroes), and the numerous alternate Young Avengers of Mother.

See Also

• 309 appearance(s) of Santo Vaccarro (Earth-616)
• 4 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Santo Vaccarro (Earth-616)
• 12 minor appearance(s) of Santo Vaccarro (Earth-616)
• 11 mention(s) of Santo Vaccarro (Earth-616)
• 4 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Santo Vaccarro (Earth-616)
• 220 image(s) of Santo Vaccarro (Earth-616)
• 13 quotation(s) by or about Santo Vaccarro (Earth-616)

Links and References

• Santo Vaccarro on Wikipedia.org