Skin-Based Phalanx

The "Phalanx" on Earth were a group of human mutant-haters who voluntarily infected themselves with versions of the Transmode Virus stolen from the deceased Warlock II, transforming them into members of the Phalanx. Their evolution progressed in stages, the first of which was an animated body of living skin alone. These proto-Phalanx attacked Rogue and Iceman at Opal Tanaka's house, and Rogue nearly lost control over her body when she touched one and absorbed its cellular structure. These Phalanx proved unstable, so the mutant-haters progressed to the next level, infecting themselves directly with the Transmode Virus.

Now enhanced with the ability to change form, absorb energy and matter into their bodies, and with various offensive and defensive systems, these Phalanx hoped to eradicate mutantkind. First Hodge faced Phoenix IV and Archangel, trying to reclaim Candy Southern, who had been converted to a Phalanx as well. They then attacked Storm, Gambit and Yukio in New York and were defeated, only to launch their most aggressive offensive and capture the X-Men, replacing them with duplicates. The Phalanx discovered Professor X's list of neo-mutants and captured the kids who would become Generation X, planting a spy, "Gregor" among them. Thanks to Banshee, Emma Frost, Sabretooth and Jubilee, though, the kids were saved.

However, the Phalanx's directives were hard-wired into them, and soon the collective's goal became the assimilation of all life, not just mutants, and they began to build a giant array to signal their forbears, the original Technarchy. Apparently, this sort of "Phalanx Event" is a programmed response of any organic community that gets infected with the Transmode Virus. The purpose is to convert enough of the community and then signal the Technarch, who will come and drain the energy of the Phalanx Event. In addition, the Phalanx "leader" Shinar captured Forge and tried to force him to maintain the incubation of more Phalanx "eggs," while other Phalanx co-opted Muir Island temporarily, defeated by Cyclops, Phoenix, Cable and Wolverine shortly afterwards. Fortunately, the Phalanx was utterly defeated by the combined efforts of all the X-Teams, its members apparently dissociated and its strongholds destroyed. The X-Men were also rescued, none of them assimilated, as the Phalanx (unlike the Technarchy) could not Transmode mutants, due to the force of mutants' wills.

However, a few months later, a group of the X-Men were transported to the Shi'ar Empire, where they faced the true Phalanx, and only narrowly prevented them from destroying the entire Shi'ar race. These Phalanx were more purely technological than the Earth-based collective, and had the ability to Transmode mutants, as well as a more colony-like structure. The Phalanx defeated, put to sleep by a virus, but had been on their way to Earth, so their return is still possible.

Months later, the villainous Mainspring used techno-organic artifacts to rebuild the Prime Sentinel Bastion into "../template.html">Template. However, the Phalanx directive overcame Template and it began building a new Babel Spire, which attracted the attention of the Magus, leader of the Technarchy. The Phalanx are apparently considered an abomination by the Technarch, which despises their organic components. Magus came to Earth to eradicate the Phalanx infestation, but fortunately was stopped by Warlock III, though all traces of the Phalanx were destroyed as well.