Cerebra's Files

El Guapo


Real Name: Roberto ("Robbie") Rodriguez
Affiliation: X-Statix
Status: Deceased (Henrietta Hunter)
Alternate-X Versions: None
Codename Etymology: Pronounced ĕl gwäpō [Spanish, masculine form of the word beautiful]; Lit., "The Handsome One."
Powers & History: El Guapo had the ability to "do weird things" with his skateboard, the most obvious of which is levitation. He can use the board to fly around and attack enemies. While it is his primary weapon, the board is also El Guapo's weakness, as he has a symbiotic relationship with the vehicle and cannot be out of its presence for long without falling ill. Moreover, the board itself seems to have its own personality and will, and it is not clear exactly who is the user and who is the tool in this relationship.

El Guapo came to the attention of X-Statix through their feature film; he was an actor cast as a team member, intended to bring in the teeny-bopper audience. When Orphan visited the set and the insane Sharon Ginsberg attacked the actors portraying the mutants, El Guapo swooped in and saved Guy from Ginsberg's talons. Spike Freeman soon recruited Robbie into the team, publicly billing it as a way to gain market share from teens, but secretly hoping that his good looks would cause a stir among his teammates. On his first mission, El Guapo was half-drunk and scared to death, but he managed to execute one attack run before he slammed into a tree.

Handsome and athletic, Robbie attracted women like moths to a light, and he used the idea of a new mutant cultural mentality to convince his girlfriend Consuela to agree to constant threesomes. After joining X-Statix, however, Robbie was pushed away from Consuela by the team, though he continued to see her until Doop caught him on tape in bed with two of Zeitgeist's old galpals. Consuela dumped him and Robbie learned what it was like to be in X-Statix for real - alone. Except that Vivisector was smitten with him...

El Guapo's career as a superhero didn't last long: first he was crippled by an explosion during one mission and lost both legs from the knees down. He was still able to fight as he flew on his skateboard. Soon after, he was killed by his own skateboard when he started humming dead pop-star Henrietta's tune "Back From the Dead" which Henrietta was upset by since its publishers were withholding her royalties. Henrietta caused Robbie to smash into the wall and his board impaled him through his heart.
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