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    Morlocks

    Team » Morlocks appears in 616 issues.

    Outcasts from society, the Morlocks were a community of mutants who lived in tunnels beneath New York City and its vicinity.

    Short summary describing this team.

    Morlocks last edited by Belmonte3 on 02/15/24 04:30AM View full history

    Origin

    First Group
    First Group

    This community was founded by the mutant Callisto who discovered the "Alley", a tunnel that runs the length of Manhattan, and is the center of a network of tunnels built in the 1950's by the U.S.government in case of a nuclear war. It is part of a tunnel system which extends into New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York state. Callisto first found the mutant Caliban who had the power to psionically locate other mutants. Using Caliban ability, Callisto located and gathered together many other mutants who had run away from human society. Many had been experiments of the evil geneticist, Dark Beast who arrived in this time-line from the Age of Apocalypse, where he had worked under his reality's Mr. Sinister. The other founding members of the Morlocks include Masque who can rearrange a persons looks, and Sunder the strongest of the initial group of Morlocks. Callisto herself not without a sense of humor named the loose knit group the Morlocks, after the H. G. Wells novel The Time Machine. Morlock's aren't always unified or even limited to New York, as their have been several splinter Morlock groups and groups of disaffected mutants from across the globe have adopted the name.

    Creation

    The Morlocks are a Marvel comics creation and name given to an underground group of mutants who are disaffected and feel shunned by society. The Morlocks were created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Paul Smith, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men #169. Their name is inspired by the H. G. Wells novel The Time Machine, which also features a similar group of underground beings.

    They are described in The New Mutants #99 - The Beginning of the End Part Two as disfigured mutants who have abandoned any hope of survival on the surface.

    Team Evolution

    There have been various Morlocks over time, often with multiple groups, coexisting alongside each other, with some groups membership swelling as others dwindle or vice versa. One of the first distinctions among the Morlocks, was with one group, the Tunnelers, who had grown dissatisfied with Callisto's main group of Morlocks, so splintered off. These Tunnelers consisting of Masque, Blow Hard, Scaleface, and Berserker. They lived in the underground tunnel section. The main group of Morlock's running linear at the time being known as the Drain Dwellers, Callisto, Sunder, Erg, Leech, Tar Baby, Ape, Annalee, Plague, Healer, Killron, Piper and Beautiful Dreamer.

    Other Morlock's to have joined at one time or another, include Bulk, Glow Worm, Tommy, Cybelle, Zeek, Marrow, Skids, Lightning Bug, Samson, Mole, Chicken Wings, Brute, Hump, Pixie, Alex, Bliss, Brain Cell, Carver, Delphi, Ent, Feral, Thornn, Fugue, Groonk, Irving, Jo, Joey, Marked Man, Meme, Missy, Monte, Mother Inferior, Qwerty, Revelation, and Soteira.

    There has also been a London branch of Morlocks. This group consisting of Burning Puddle, Carla, Compound, Croc, Cyclops, Double Helix, Harmony, Hope, Miss Saccharine, Scree, Simian, Vampyr and Warthog. As well as a Chicago branch, which consisted of Angel Dust, Cell, Electric Eve, Litterbug, Shatter and Trader. Then there was also a splinter Morlock group that came about when powerful but slightly mad mutant Mikhail Rasputin opened a portal from the Morlock tunnels and ferried Morlock members away to a place known as the Hill, where time passed at a different consistency, causing many of the Morlock's whisked away much older when they returned to their native reality. This group consisted of the Morlock's Hemingway, Vessel, Sack, Reverb, Loss, Charm, Fever Pitch, Iron Maiden, Integer, Wynter, Membrain, Opsidian and Maverick. This group was also known as Gene Nation.

    Major Story Arcs

    A Change in Leadership

    No Caption Provided

    At one point, Callisto and the Marauders had kidnapped Angel, intending to make him her mate. To save him, Storm fought Callisto and displacing her as leader and forming an alliance with the X-Men.

    Mutant Massacre

    The unthinkable happened when a group of mercenaries named the Marauders who had been hired by Sinister and lead by Gambit, to break into the tunnels and exterminate the Morlocks, because Sinister recognized that they were mutated using his work. When Gambit realized he had been misled about the mission, he managed to save a young mutant with protruding bones covering her body. Most had been killed but some escaped, a few with the help of the X-Men and original X-Factor.

    M-day

    After M-Day, Some former Morlocks who lost their powers were Angel Dust, Boost, Irving, Qwerty, Delphi, Callisto, Marrow, Postman, Shatter, Tether and the probability of Feral and Thornn. However, Feral and Thornn were later seen re-powered. Explanations as to how this happened have yet to be provided. Sally interviews Marrow about the Morlocks. Marrow reports that 80% of the remaining Morlocks are de-powered now and look like humans. She states that most of them are still afraid about going out of the tunnels.

    Currently, Marrow works as a watchmen of the Morlocks, as she is called by the remaining ones when problems occur. She explained this status in the aftermath of thirteen de-powered Morlocks murder by Ghoul.One character commented that, post-M-Day, the chance of meeting a Morlock in the Tunnels under New York is now harder than meeting an alligator in the Floridian sewers. Some former Morlocks who actually kept their powers sought refugee at Xavier's Institute and became known as 198. They are Beautiful Dreamer, Caliban, Erg, Leech, and Skids. Dark Beast and Mikhail Rasputin are also still powered, though Mikhail is in The Dark Zone

    Surviving Morlocks

    There are not many of the Morlocks alive today, only Masque, Callisto (de-powered), Erg, Leech, Bliss, Litterbug, Marrow (de-powered) and Skids.

    The Morlocks recently banded again and were saved by the New Warriors. Marrow, Skids, Erg and Bliss rejoined and there are new members.

    Alternate Realities

    Earth-295: Age of Apocalypse

    The Morlocks were experiments of Mr. Sinister and Dark Beast, adding to them mutations and abilities. After Apocalypse´s defeat and the prisoners of Breeding Pens were released by Cyclops and Jean Grey, the Morlocks returned to their tunnels. One year later, Magneto offered them the possibility to live on the surface and left the tunnels under Manhattan. But, their leader Marrow declined the offer and attacked Silver Samurai, thus the tunnels became a battlefield where Magneto, Xorn (Husk in disguise) and several Morlocks were injured. At the end, the Morlocks were incarcerated in the X-Men's facilities.

    Known members: Marrow (leader), Feral, Skids, Leech, Thorn.

    Earth-1610

    The Ultimate Morlocks are led by Sunder. Members include Callisto, Caliban and Leech.

    Other Media

    Film

    X2: X-Men United

    "Morlocke" is listed in William Stryker's files on Lady Deathstrike's computer. It's assumed to be a typo for Morlocks.

    Television

    X-Men: The Animated Series

    In this cartoon adaptation; the Morlocks are very much the same as their 616 counterpart. But it is unclear on all the members. They are first shown being lead by Callisto.

    X-Men: Evolution

    Here they are also are very much the same as their 616 counterpart. But it is unclear on all the members. They are lead by Callisto. Some of the members include; Caliban, (later joined by) Spyke.

    The Gifted

    Morlocks appear in the second season of series. Compared to most of the main characters, the Morlocks are the true "Mutant Underground". They are lead by Erg. Some of the members include; Blink who is also a member of the Mutant Underground.

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