Cerebra's Files

Phat


Real Name: William Robert (Billy Bob) Reilly
Affiliation: X-Force (II)
Relatives: Father (unnamed), Mother (unnamed)
Status: Deceased (Mister Code)
Alternate-X Versions: None
Codename Etymology: Pronounced făt [Slang term (1992) originally: "sexiness in a woman", derived from fat teen slang meaning "attractive, up to date" (attested from 1951) with purposeful misspelling, reason unknown]; Excellent.
Powers & History: Phat had the ability to voluntarily increase the mass of different parts of his body. He can become hard or fluffy, and so has one of the more versatile powers of the X-forced team. Growing up he looked like he had a hormone disorder and was the butt of many fat jokes, but when he learned to control his abilities he turned to crimefightng. While Phat was introduced to the public as a white-trash trailer park kid from a dysfunctional home, he is in truth from a very normal middle-class Floridian family. His agent simply thought it would be better to present him as disadvantaged. In keeping with his image, Phat usually speaks in heavy street slang, yet somehow we all understand him, don't we? While Phat consequently comes off as a low-brow Eminem-wannabe, in truth he is one of the more compassionate and sensitive members of X-Force.

After that mission, Phat and his teammate Vivisector were approached by X-Force's backer and told that they were viewed as the "other guys" by the public, and were not sharing in the fame accorded to the Anarchist, U-Go Girl and the Orphan. The two started trying to get more of the spotlight, showing up drunk to Edie's TV debut and acting loud and rowdy. Then they started hanging more and more together, until they announced to the team that they have "special feelings" for each other.

Phat's relationship with Vivisector lasted until Phat realized that he was gay, but liked "bruthas" more. Though it's unknown if Phat had any other relationships, he was visibly upset by Vivisector's mooning over the handsome El Guapo. Phat was killed saving the rest of his team from the explosion following Mister Code's death; he wrapped himself around the explosion so quickly and so many times that his bones cracked, and then he absorbed the full brunt of the blast. His foot was knocked off and sent into orbit. It later came down and smashed into Dead Girl. Following his death, Phat was claimed as a hero/icon by both fat people and gays, leading to some blows between individuals in the two groups outside the X-Statix HQ.
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