History
Simon Locke, also known as Bulletproof, was a member of Genosha's Press Gang who under the order's of their leader Havok were called in to help suppress a rebellion by the mutant residents of the island. After Bulletproof and the others subdued the ones they can, Havok used Mystique to shape-shift into Professor X so that she could calm the people down to get things under control.
Later Bulletproof was part of the strike team that invaded X-Topia in order to capture the mutant Triage so he could attempt to help fight the plague affecting the citizens of Genosha. The Press Gang made it to the province as members of the X-Men were engaged in a game of baseball. They all jumped out of the jet with Bulletproof automatically targeting the heavy hitters like Thunderbird and Rockslide to provide a distraction long enough for the others to get to Triage.[1]
During the battle and the loss of Magistrate Anderson, Bulletproof took out Rogue in midair, while his teammate Karma began to possess the minds of some of the X-Men to help them escape, including Rogue. Finally getting the upper-hand the Press Gang got ahold of Triage and Tempus making her use her temporal abilities to get away back to Genosha.[2]
Bulletproof teamed up with Wicked after the X-Men sent their own group to Genosha to retrieve their captive teammates. He yet again faced Rockslide and Thunderbird but outpaced them in order to catch Wolfsbane after she was hit by a lightning bolt from Storm. Using his body to break their fall, they were intercepted by Ink. Bulletproof fought him off when he and Wolfsbane saw that the genegineer Aldus Kluge resurrected Cameron Hodge. Ink used his bio-hazard tattoo on Bulletproof and caused an explosion which threw Locke into Hodge causing him to also be infected by the Transmode Virus. Bulletproof was transformed, which allowed him to extend his hand out to drill in Kluge killing him.[3]
Locke pulled himself together and took Hodge, but not having a full understanding of the virus Hodge gained the advantaged and took him out. After the death of many mutants, Mystique turned into Archangel in order to distract Hodge so Bombshell and Wolfsbane could get into the Blackbird and fly it straight into Hodge as Bombshell and Havok used their abilities to create a huge explosion killing Hodge once more. Bulletproof became part of the X-Men after Baron Rachel Grey united both Genosha and X-City.[4]Attributes
Powers
- Superhuman Strength: Bulletproof possesses the ability to lift heavy objects greater than his own body weight as he was seen holding his own against other super strong mutants like Rockslide and Thunderbird. The upper limits of Bulletproof strength is unknown.[1]
- Superhuman Durability: His bodily tissues are much tougher and more resistant to physical injury than those of a normal human. Locke's skin could be described as "steel hard", rendering him impervious to high caliber bullets, bladed weapons composed of most conventional materials, and possible temperature extremes of both heat and cold. He is also capable of withstanding great impact forces, such as being repeatedly struck with superhuman force or falling from great heights, without being injured.[1]
- Superhuman Speed: He can run and move at speeds that are beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. He showed this during the fight against the X-Men and his battle versus Cameron Hodge.[3]
- Transmode Virus
- Shapeshifting: Due to his exposure to the virus, Bulletproof was able to morph his body parts into different shapes as he elongated his arm to stab the genegineer.[3]
- Flight: Another side effect of the virus is that he can propel himself through the air by rockets located on his feet.[3]
- His mutant abilities could have been enhanced after being exposed to the Transmode Virus.