Cerebra's Files
Lang, Steven
Affiliation: Phalanx
Status: Presumed deceased
Powers: None (human). However, when Lang was co-opted by the Phalanx he
became the control center of the entire Earth-based collective, and was able not
only to take techno-organic forms, but also to project himself through any member
of the collective. Lang was the builder of the third wave of Sentinels,
a project he undertook not quite within the bounds of the law. He was a true mutant-hater,
and hoped to destroy them all with his giant robots. Actually, the true weapon
of his "Project: Armageddon" was a set of androids with the bodies and powers
of the original X-Men. Lang had his Sentinels capture
the X-Men and bring them to an abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D.
orbital platform, where he tried to have his robots kill them. The X-Men defeated
the Sentinels, as well as their robot doppelgangers, and Lang was seemingly killed.
It should be noted that returning from the platform during a solar flare caused
the creation of the Phoenix, as Jean Grey died piloting
the ship, and was cloned by the Phoenix Force. Lang
survived, however, and returned with more Sentinels. This time, his Master
Mold circumvented its programming and used Lang's brain as its own control
center. When the Master Mold was finally defeated by the Avengers, Lang was left in a vegetative
state. Yet, it was his intimate mental connection with cybernetic control systems
that prompted the Phalanx to use him as their control center, a dispatcher of
sorts. Lang cooperated with the Phalanx until he realized that they were not going
to stop when mutants were eradicated, but were instead going to assimilate the
entire world. Lang secretly plotted with Psylocke
to free the X-Men from their captivity in the Phalanx's citadel. A battle ensued,
and the collective was destroyed, presumably taking Lang with it.
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