History
William Evans Jr.'s father Willie Evans, Sr. was involved in military experiments that involved Cosmic Rays which mutated his DNA, but left no outward indication of a change. As a result, Willie Evans, Jr. was born a mutant. Willie was nine years old, he slipped into a coma and begin emitting high levels of cosmic rays. This was brought to the attention of Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four. They visited him and began to work out the cause, in the process Willie's subconscious mind created grotesque doppelgängers of the team in the real world which resulted in a fight with the real Fantastic Four. Reed Richards determined they were made of Cosmic energy and was able to use the Radiabsorber to defeat them. Reed then met with Willie's father and suggested that he should consult with the world's foremost authority on mutants, Professor Charles Xavier.[1]
The idea did not sit well with Willie Evans, Sr., however, and his family lived in constant fear that either secret government agencies or anti-mutant activists would hunt them down and take Willie away. As a result, the Evans family was constantly uprooting their home and traveling from one transitory locale to another. The confusion, the constant relocating, and the growing lack of control caused adverse reactions in young Willie's psyche. He began to grow bitter and resentful. These dark feelings manifested in the form of an imaginary friend that Willie called Grunt. Unlike other children's imaginary friends however, Grunt was very much a real entity, created from the mindscape of Willie's mutant powers. In appearance, Grunt took the form of a small, green talking lizard, forever perched on Willie's shoulder. Grunt's form was inspired by a character in one of Willie's comic books. With each passing day, Willie's frustration intensified, and as such, Grunt's influence over the boy grew even stronger. Grunt forced Willie to use his powers to cause a traffic collision that tragically ended the life of his mother Doris. Willie's father never suspected that his son was inadvertently responsible for her death.[2]
In time, the energy research center known as Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. felt that Willie's powers were too dangerous to leave unchecked. Without any true government authority, members of the Project raided the Evans home and abducted Willie. When Evans, Sr. learned of the abduction, he went to the mutant hunting organization known as X-Factor (who, at the time, were mutants posing as mutant hunters). X-Factor agreed to look into the matter and return his son to him as safely as possible. X-Factor raided the Project Pegasus facility and came into conflict with both the Guardsman and Iron Man. Willie, urged by Grunt, fought against both factions and the conflict spilled over into the nearby community of Pottersville. Willie used his powers to create giant stone simulacra of X-Factor. Iron Man tried to keep Willie's power contained, but Grunt wanted Willie to kill Iron Man - just like he killed his own mother. Willie now knew the truth about his own murderous dark side. Turning away from Iron Man and X-Factor, Willie rebelled against Grunt, taking full control of his powers for the first time in his life. Willie's reality war with his own evil caused a massive explosion that destroyed the town of Pottersville, and tragically, destroying Willie as well. Though Willie Evans was dead, some lingering element of his power lived on - a hidden Grunt was crying on Willie's tomb, hopelessly promising to return with Willie.[2]Attributes
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Powers
Trivia
- Willie Evans, Jr. was intended to be a member of an X-Men "in-training" secondary team, alongside a newly created Kitty Pryde and a not yet created and different version of Caliban.[3] Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter nixed the idea, however, saying it sounded too much like "the Legion of Substitute X-Men." Sadly, Willie later appeared years later, only to die.
The fact that Grunt still exists may suggest that Willie may not be dead, but only in a state of apparent death, so far nothing has been proven.[4]
Williams is referenced in the footnote.
See Also
- 2 appearance(s) of William Evans, Jr. (Earth-616)
- 2 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of William Evans, Jr. (Earth-616)
- 2 image(s) of William Evans, Jr. (Earth-616)
- 1 victim(s) killed by William Evans, Jr. (Earth-616)