Cerebra's Files

Proteus


Real Name: Kevin MacTaggert (later joined with Gilbert Benson, Piecemeal I)
Affiliation: None
Aliases: Mutant X
Relatives: Joseph MacTaggert (father, deceased), Moira (mother), Lord Kinross (grandfather, deceased)
Status: Deceased?
Alternate-X Versions: (Ultimate)
Codename Etymology: Pronounced prō'tē-əs [From Latin Prōteus, from Greek ]; Greek god who could change his form.
Powers & History: Reality-manipulation. When Kevin MacTaggert's powers first manifested, his mother, famed geneticist Moira MacTaggert, realized that her son's body could not handle the awesome energies it was channeling. To preserve his life, she kept Kevin in a sealed cell surrounded by energy fields which kept his powers from burning his body up. Years before, Moira had separated from her abusive husband Joe, and fled to Muir Island, where she established her Mutant Research Center. On Muir, Moira gave birth to Kevin, but referred to him only as "Mutant X" in order to keep his existence a secret from his father, who refused to grant Moira a divorce because he felt that being married to a Nobel Prize winner would help his political career. Kevin remained in the cell for ten years, learning about the outside world he could not visit, and resenting his parents more and more with each passing day, even though Moira was doing all she could to find him a cure. However, during the X-Men's battle with Magneto on Muir, Kevin's cell was damaged and he escaped. Unfortunately, without the energy fields to sustain his powers, Kevin quickly burned out his body. He took possession of a grumpy neighbor who had broken into the Center and rewired the sensors to make it seem as if he was still in the cell. After failing to possess Polaris and Phoenix, Kevin managed to take control of one of Multiple Man's dupes, and proceeded to the mainland to find his father. As Kevin's power grew, he burned out his host body, and kept jumping from person to person, destroying the bodies faster each time. When the X-Men caught up with him, Kevin fought them, and named himself Proteus, after the Greek shapeshifter god. Finally, Proteus made it to his father's office in Edinburgh and possessed him, whereupon he immediately fought the X-Men and used his powers to distort reality all over the city. Joe MacTaggert's body was destroyed by the intense energies wielded in the battle, and Proteus was left as pure energy. Colossus, seeing that Proteus was vulnerable to metal, attacked and plunged his organic steel fists into Proteus before he could find a new host. The resultant explosion dispersed Proteus' energy all over the world. Years later, the terrorist-scientists at Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) wanted to capture Proteus' energy and contain it in human shaped vessels, which they could use as an army. To that end they employed the Alliance of Evil to run cover for their operative Harness, whose son Piecemeal was able to use his mutant power to absorb the far-flung pieces of Proteus. However, the tremendous energies that had been Proteus turned out to be too much for Piecemeal to handle, and he exploded, merging in the process with the reconstituted Proteus into a unified energy-based lifeform. After his dispersion, Proteus had found peace in mathematical orders, polygons, and regular shapes. He tried to make that peaceful environment into reality, and began transforming Edinburgh (again). The original X-Factor, the New Mutants, the New Warriors, and a group of former X-Men based on Muir failed to stop Proteus, because his only known weakness, metal, no longer affected him. Finally, convinced by Cyclops that he could never find happiness in this world, no matter how much he transformed, Proteus disappeared, and the city returned to normal. However, contrary to what the heroes believed, Proteus did not commit suicide. Instead, he left Earth and found a dimensional rift which took him into the 23rd century of the Star Trek universe. There he sensed a kindred spirit in deceased Enterprise crewmember Gary Mitchell, who like Kevin MacTaggert, had wielded vast energies that he could not contain. Joining forces with Deathbird, Proteus possessed Mitchell's corpse, and attacked the crew of the Enterprise. The X-Men and the Enterprise crew were able to defeat Proteus-Mitchell by appealing to his humanity, and he dispersed once more.

Kevin MacTaggert was still alive as his mother worked on a cure for his mutation when the House of M heard of Moira's potentially damaging research and sent Sentinels to attack Muir Island. Kevin escaped in the confusion, and became the serial murderer Mutant X. Moira tracked Kevin for years, finally arriving in New York, just as the Exiles (reality-hopping heroes) came to Earth 616. Meanwhile, Kevin shed his current host for the giant bouncer Blunderbuss, but the immense frame burned out faster that he expected, so he came to supermodel Angel IV's penthouse apartment and possessed her as well. It was then that he noticed the Exiles and realized there was something different about them. As Moira helped the Exiles track down Mutant X, he in turn tracked them, leading to a melee. During the fight, Kevin was able to tap into the Tallus and use it to backtrack to the Crystal Palace (Chronopticon), where he downloaded information about various alternate realities. Moira then shot Mutant X, forcing him to leave Angel's body. When Mutant X tried to possess Moira, however, she shot herself in the head to prevent her assimilation. Continuing to fight, Mutant X nearly succumbed to Mimic's metal body, but used his new reality-warping powers to distract Mimic long enough to possess him. Mutant X taunted the Exiles, then disappeared, jumping to another reality.

Landing in the "New Universe" (Earth 2301), Proteus tried to find Star Brand to use him as a host, but was confronted by Justice, a being of considerable power. Justice blasted Mimic's body into a withered husk, but Proteus managed to possess his attacker and left...
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