marvel character - caliban

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real name: unrevealed

group affiliation: formerly x-force, morlocks, horsemen of apocalypse, x-factor

first appearance: uncanny x-men #148 (1981)

abilities: able to psionically sense the presence of other mutants within a 25 mile radius of himself. apocalypse’s genetic manipulation enhanced his strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes to superhuman levels




narrative profile

The albino mutant known only as Caliban was recruited by Callisto, who had learned of his mutant-tracking ability and used him to locate other mutants whom she organized into the community that came to be called the Morlocks. Caliban was named by Callisto after the grotesque being in William Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest.” Living in the sewers and abandoned subway tunnels beneath Manhattan’s streets, the naïve Caliban found a renewed sense of family, but still felt lonely even among his fellow outcasts. One evening, Caliban sensed the presence of mutants in a New York City nightclub and entered to find the Dazzler (Alison Blaire) performing. His presence created panic which X-Men members Storm and Kitty Pryde attempted to quell alongside Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), but during the chaos Caliban kidnapped Pryde and fled. Intercepted by the heroes, Caliban explained that he only wanted a friend like himself. Invited to join the X-Men, Caliban chose instead to return to the Morlocks.

Separated from the influence of Apocalypse, Caliban’s intelligence began diminishing. He kidnapped the young X-Man Jubilee, holding her hostage in exchange for Sabretooth, who was being rehabilitated by Xavier. Pryde, now Shadowcat, accompanied Sabretooth into the Morlock tunnels. There, she was left to die by the villain after they encountered a giant subterranean squid. After rescuing Pryde, Caliban faced Sabretooth in a brief yet ferocious fight, which resulted in his face being scarred and he fled. Later, Caliban was hunted by the Dark Riders, Apocalypse’s replacements for the Horsemen. Saved by Cable, Domino, and Storm, Caliban helped them to track the Riders back to their base in Egypt and confront their new leader, Genesis. As his intelligence continued to degrade and he began reverting to his original, non-violent personality, Caliban was recruited by Cable into X-Force. With that team, Caliban faced opponents such as the Mimic, Barrachus the Kalinator, Sabretooth, Holocaust, the Externals, S.H.I.E.L.D., Mr. Sinister, an other-worldly foursome, the alien android Pulse, Mojo, and even Asgardian rock trolls and goblins. For a brief time, Caliban and X-Force fell under the control of Sebastian Shaw, Black King of the Hellfire Club, and were mentally coerced into attacking Cable himself.

Caliban was subsequently captured by the anti-mutant research facility the Watchtower, which sought to train him as a means to ferret out the mutant-devouring Skornn. Caliban was liberated by the combined efforts of Cable, X-Force, Wolverine, Deadpool, and the Mutant Liberation Front, and he subsequently rejoined X-Force to help oppose the Skornn. After the advent of "M-Day", Caliban was one of the few mutants who regained his powers. Since then, he has joined the mutant refugee camp that have come to be known as the 198. During the Civil War, Caliban helped to organize the assault in the X-Mansion, with his teammates of the X-Force(Domino and Shatterstar), to free the 198 from the grounds.

source: marvel.com