Cypher (Marvel Comics)
Cypher | |
---|---|
Quiet Council of Krakoa | |
Abilities | Semi-telepathic and semi-clairvoyant omnilingualism (intuitively translates any languages he comes into contact with, including written, spoken, computer, or body language). |
Cypher (Douglas "Doug" Aaron Ramsey) is a fictional
The character is not related to the female cyborg of the same name who first appeared in Sabretooth and Mystique #1 and is a member of A.I.M.
Publication history
Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Sal Buscema, the character first appeared in New Mutants #13 (March 1984).[2] Initially used as a supporting cast member, he was assimilated into the titular superteam in The New Mutants #21 (1984). During his run as a member of the team, Cypher was the least popular of the New Mutants, as series writer Louise Simonson recounted: "He wasn't fun to draw. He just stood around and hid behind a tree during a fight... Every artist who ever did him said 'Can't we kill this guy?' We would get letters from fans about how much they hated him. We never got any letters from people saying they liked him until he was dead."[3]
Cypher was killed in The New Mutants #60 (1988). The story was acclaimed as one of the most touching moments in the series, and sparked a surge in popularity for the character.[3] Following his death, Cypher was frequently referenced, and even had a solo story in The New Mutants Annual #6 (1990), appearing as a ghost. His tombstone appears as one of Magneto's most traumatic memories when psychically assaulted by Professor X and Jean Grey.[4] After the events of the Phalanx Covenant, a techno-organic being known as "Douglock" takes Cypher's form in Excalibur #78 (1994), but this being turns out to be Warlock infused with some of Cypher's memories.[5]
The character was brought back to life during the 2009-2010 "Necrosha" storyline, and appeared regularly between New Mutants vol. 3 #5 (2009) through New mutants vol. 3 #50 (2012) and again in All-New X-Factor (2014-2015).
Fictional character biography
Doug Ramsey was born to Philip and Sheila Ramsey. Doug became friends with
Doug became a member of the
Doug's mutant power is the ability to intuitively understand and translate any form of communication, be it written, spoken or non-verbal, and regardless of whether the origin of the language is human, computer or even completely alien. His power is not related to his intellect, but it often allows him to make leaps of comprehension that he cannot explain to anyone else, but which are invariably accurate. He was, for instance, able to translate the language of a long-dead species, without any common terms of reference, within a matter of hours.[10] An established hacker, he becomes the team's computer expert and researcher, writing programs for the X-Men's Danger Room.[11]
Doug is the only one of the original New Mutants who never tells his parents he is a mutant, as he fears rejection.[12]
Despite being instrumental in many of his team's successful missions, including those involving saving lives, Doug suffers from occasional feelings of inadequacy. These feelings are driven by his lack of offensive power capabilities and the way Warlock often encapsulates him to provide defence in times of danger. This is illustrated during a journey to Asgard, where he was defeated in combat by a serving maid.[13]
Later, Warlock explains to Doug that they can perform a "self-merge" in which they merge the substance of their bodies to create a being with Doug's form but Warlock's techno-organic surface texture. This allows them full access to both their powers, but runs a severe risk of irreversibly infecting Doug with the Transmode virus and turning him into a techno-organic being like Warlock.[12][14]
Cypher used his abilities to discover a means of saving
Romances and death
When introduced, Doug was already close friends with Kitty Pryde. Kitty was having issues both with the divorce of her parents and with her uncertain relationship with Piotr Rasputin, and Doug was there for her. He was interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with her as evidenced by the illusion Emma Frost created to distract him,[15] but Kitty was uncertain and eventually they decided to remain friends.[16]
Cypher helped rescue
Alongside the other New Mutants, Doug temporarily joined the
After the team rescues a humanoid bird creature named
Magneto, leader of the New Mutants at the time, explains Doug's death to his parents as a 'hunting accident'. A grief-stricken Warlock tries to steal Doug's body in a confused attempt to reanimate it, but his teammates convince him to return the body. Doug's ghost later appears to Wolfsbane when she visits his grave in the cemetery.[22] He later appears in a fantasy staged by Captain Britain's patron Merlyn to aid Excalibur in exposing and battling the vengeful spirit of the late X-Man Changeling.[23]
Douglock
Warlock is subsequently murdered by
After Excalibur disbanded, Warlock's personality resurfaces, but now exhibits more human speech patterns and appearance. Warlock manifests Doug's translation powers and maintains a copy of Doug's memory, but his personality is not active.[volume & issue needed]
Necrosha and resurrection
Cypher is resurrected via the
The transmode virus which rebuilt his body is still present, but Cypher has reprogrammed it to be in permanent remission.[34]
"Second Coming"
In the 2010 "Second Coming" storyline, Doug analyzes a fight between the New Mutants and Cameron Hodge and concludes the New Mutants would be killed. He therefore convinces Warlock to kill and absorb Hodge and several of his men.[35] Later, Doug joins X-Force on a time-travelling mission to stop an invasion of advanced Sentinels from the future.[36] Cable and Cypher infiltrate a Master Mold installation and attempt to hack into the grid, but the Master Mold discovers Cypher and tries to assimilate him to add his linguistic skills to its own. However, in doing so, it allows Cypher access to its programming. He subsequently overrides the Master Mold and deactivates all the Nimrods invading Utopia.[37]
Regenesis and the True/Friend
Following the Schism of the X-Men, Cypher, with most of the New Mutants, decide to move to San Francisco. While maintaining a sense of independence from both Cyclops and Wolverine's sides of the X-Men, they still report to Cyclops cleaning up "unfinished business."[38] While trying to track down Blink, the New Mutants uncover a rock band that has some connection to natural disasters occurring nearby. Cypher is able to track down the source, an alien device that has crashed to earth, brainwashing the band and giving them the power to cause the disasters to power itself up.[39] The alien device manages to affects Cypher as well before the band is defeated and the device is hurled into space.[40]
The team is warned by Doctor Strange and the Silver Surfer that an event is occurring that has implications across time and space and seems to be focused on the New Mutants.[41] This is seen when several temporal anomalies occur and Karma and Cannonball, both having left the team for Winchester, disappear. Following this, Karma and Cannonball, aged 10 years and outfitted in Warlock-like Technovirus suits, arrive from the future. Their mission was to stop the alien-empowered rock band, needing to change places with the present Karma and Cannonball to do it. Having been detained by the present-New Mutants, they explain they were trying to prevent Doug from being exposed to the alien device. In the future, having been corrupted by the device the "True/Friend" has spliced Warlock's tech into everyone in the guise of protecting them, but also becoming a dictator.[42] Controlling Cannonball and Karma's suits from the future, the True/Friend is defeated when Cypher is able to merge with the True/Friend's Warlock tech and shut down his control. Afterwards Cannonball and Karma switch places with the present counterparts, preventing True/Friend from interfering with Cypher anymore. Both present-Cannonball and Dani agree that they need to watch Doug more carefully.[42]
The True/Friend soon attacks again, managing to over-write reality from the future, creating small changes that are soon noticed by the team. In attempt to prevent his future-self from harming his friends, Doug attempts suicide only to be prevented by the undead, still techo-organic Hellions. The True/Friend manages to override the present-Doug, transforming him into a creature resembling the alien-device that altered his brain.[43] The rest of the team is soon taken over by True/Friend while Dani is immune thanks to her Valkyrie powers. Brought to the future, Dani is able to defeat True/Friend with the help of Cypher who had gained some influence over the True/Friend. This defeat in the future causes reality to be corrected, with everyone back to normal in the present. Doctor Strange then excises the alien-devices influence on Cypher preventing the seen future from coming to pass.[44]
All-New X-Factor
Cypher appeared as a regular member of All-New X-Factor, along with Gambit, Polaris, Danger, Quicksilver, and Warlock.[45] He nearly died after having contact with a girl whose power is to drain life from living organisms. [volume & issue needed] He also had sex with Danger, supposedly in an attempt to help the sentient female robot understand human behavior.[46]
Hunt for Wolverine
During the "
Working with Daredevil
Having worked together in the 'Hunt for Wolverine: Weapon Lost' storyline, Daredevil works alongside Cypher to bring down his longtime enemy, Kingpin, who has taken over from Murdock as Mayor of New York.[51]
Dawn of X
Cypher is the only mutant who can communicate with the island Krakoa and interpret the island's sentiments to the leaders of mutantdom.
Powers and abilities
Cypher is a mutant who possesses a superhuman intuitive facility for translating languages, spoken or written, human or alien in origin. His superhuman skill is extended to his great facility in deciphering codes and computer languages, and he is also able to read inflection and body language which allows him to understand the vast subtext of a conversation. Rather than working the problem out step by step in his conscious mind, he instead subconsciously solves the problem. Hence, he can reach the correct solution by means that appear to be leaps of logic, and he himself may not be consciously aware of the entire process by which he reaches the right answer.[volume & issue needed]
Since his resurrection by Selene's use of a modified techno-organic virus, Cypher's powers have evolved to the point where he can read all aspects of "language." He is able to read his opponents' body language and the patterns of their combat moves to counter the attacks of several opponents attacking him at once. By considering the exercise of combat skills to be a form of language, he proved a match for the entire New Mutant team.[31] He is able to "read" architectural structure and integrity to ascertain a building's weaknesses.[30] He also appears capable of "speaking" binary; giving verbal commands in machine code that can reprogram the machine.[61][62]
Cypher is an expert in translating and designing
Cypher has been infected by techno-organic viruses on multiple occasions.[volume & issue needed] The presence of the virus has allowed him at times to cheat death and to demonstrate techno-organic shapeshifting, transmode infection, and life-absorption abilities.[volume & issue needed]
Cypher was taught by an imprisoned Magik how to cast a mystical teleportation spell which allows him to transport himself and others to either Hell.[volume & issue needed]
Reception
- In 2014, Entertainment Weekly ranked Cypher/Doug Ramsay/Douglock/Warlock 48th in their "Let's rank every X-Man ever" list.[63]
Other versions
Age of Apocalypse
In the alternate world of the Age of Apocalypse crossover, Doug Ramsey is the adopted son of Destiny and lives in Avalon. His "translation field" allows everyone in Avalon to understand each other, no matter what language they speak (This is a much broader power than he had ever displayed in the main timeline at this time). He is killed when he jumps in front of Destiny to protect her from the Shadow King's last desperate attack, a course of action that convinces his adoptive mother to become involved in defeating Apocalypse.[64]
Age of X
In the "
Haloke was not with Ramsey in the Finger Lakes area of New York State a year later when he was at ground zero for a meteor strike. First forces arriving on the scene found Ramsey apparently infected by some sort of carbon/silicon alien matter. This alien matter was able to replicate in a quasi-viral manner, and it spread through Ramsey's whole system in the space of minutes.[65]
The units on site were waiting for the arrival of Hazmat teams so that they could apprehend Ramsey without risk of infection, but they suffered simultaneous failure of all electronic systems. Survivors of the incident reported seeing Ramsey "speaking in tongues". Moments after Ramsey began speaking in an indecipherable, the Exonim units turned on each other, discharging all their weapons in a three-second exchange of fire which caused a forty-meter wide crater.[volume & issue needed]
Ramsey survived the ordeal seemingly unharmed. He later joined Magneto's forces in Fortress X.[66]
Days of Future Present
In the "
Exiles
The reality-hopping Exiles once visited a world where Doug Ramsey was infected by the Legacy Virus. Trying to save Ramsey's life, Warlock bonded with him, combining their life forces into one. Once the virus was introduced to Warlock's unique physiology, it mutated and became even more contagious. With over half the world infected by this new technological virus (called Vi-Locks), Doug Ramsey was kept in stasis. He was killed by one of the infected, once it found out the Exiles were trying to create a cure based on Ramsey's original strain of the virus.[67]
Geshem
In
In the sequel one-shot graphic novel, "Knight of Terra", Rahne pays a return visit to Geshem, and discovers that in that world, Doug and Rain are now married and expecting their first child. However, after an attack by a sorcerer who used animated suits of armor, Doug was injured and had been healed by replacing at least one of his arms with some of the magically animated armor, a reference to
House of M
Ramsey appears alive and well and older in the
Marvel Zombies
Cypher appears as a non-combatant zombie in Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth issue #9. He is lured by zombie Deadpool into a lab to be tested on for a cure of the Zombie virus.
Shattershot
During the Shattershot Annual crossover, an alternate future is shown, where Warlock renamed himself Cyberlock. He retained all his memories but had a very serious, emotionless personality. He was part of an X-Force team that helped
Ultimate Marvel
In the
Douglas is instrumental in helping free
He, along with the rest of the Academy of Tomorrow, is killed by
What If?
In an issue that asks "What If the X-Men Had Stayed in Asgard," Cypher devoted himself to studying long-forgotten texts and lore, written in languages forgotten to the Asgardians, gaining respect as a scholar amongst the population for doing so. He later became Storm's vizier after she is crowned Queen of Asgard, helping bring a new renaissance to Asgard by using the forgotten wisdom of Asgard's past that he had translated to shape its future.[77]
References
- Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z, vol. 13 (2010) Marvel Comics
- ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
- ^ a b Grant, Paul J. (August 1993). "Poor Dead Doug, and Other Mutant Memories". Wizard: X-Men Turn Thirty. pp. 66–69.
- ^ X-Men #25 (1993).
- ^ Warlock vol. 5 #1 (1999).
- The New Mutants#13. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Claremont, Chris (w). The New Mutants #16; The Uncanny X-Men #180. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Claremont, Chris (w). The New Mutants #17. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Claremont, Chris (w). The New Mutants #21. Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b Claremont, Chris (w), McLeod, Bob (a), Palmer, Tom (i). "The Cosmic Cannonball Caper". The New Mutants Annual #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Claremont, Chris (w), Davis, Alan (p), Neary, Paul (i). "Anything You Can Do--!". The New Mutants Annual #3. 1987. Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b c Claremont, Chris (w), Davis, Alan (a), "Why Do We Do These Things We Do?" The New Mutants Annual #2. (Oct. 1986). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Claremont, Chris (w), Adams, Arthur (a). The New Mutants Special Edition #1. 1985. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Claremont, Chris (w), Adams, Arthur (p), Austin, Terry (i). The Uncanny X-Men Annual #10. (Jan. 1987). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Claremont, Chris (w). The New Mutants #15. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Claremont, Chris (w). The New Mutants #45. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Simonson, Louise (w), Blevins, Bret (p), Austin, Terry (i). "Flying Wild!" The New Mutants #55. (Sept. 1987) Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b Simonson, Louise (w), Blevins, Bret (p), Austin, Terry (i) "Suspended Animation!". The New Mutants #60. (Feb. 1988). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Claremont, Chris (w). The New Mutants #49-50. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Simonson, Louise (w), Blevins, Bret (p), Austin Terry (i). "Birds of a Feather". The New Mutants #57. (Nov. 1987). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Simonson, Louise (w), Blevins, Bret (p), Austin Terry (i). "A Bird in the Hand". The New Mutants #58. (Dec. 1987). Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b The New Mutants Annual #6. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Excalibur: The Possession (July 1991) and Excalibur #50
- ^ Simonson, Louise (w), Liefeld, Rob (p). Rubinstein, Joe (i). "Shell Game". The New Mutants #95. (Nov. 1995). Marvel Comics.
- The X-Tinction Agenda Part 9: Capital Punishment". X-Factor#62. (Jan. 1991). Marvel Comics.
- ^ The Uncanny X-Men #313
- ^ The Uncanny X-Men #82
- ^ Excalibur #101
- ^ X-Force vol. 3 #18. Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b X-Necrosha #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b New Mutants vol. 3 #6. Marvel Comics.
- ^ New Mutants #7. Marvel Comics.
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- ^ New Mutants #9
- ^ X-Men: Legacy #234. Marvel Comics.
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- ^ X-Men: Legacy #237. Marvel Comics.
- ^ New Mutants vol. 3 #33
- ^ New Mutants Vol.3 #35
- ^ New Mutants vol. 3 #34
- ^ New Mutants vol. 3 #44
- ^ a b New Mutants vol. 3 #45
- ^ New Mutants vol. 3 #48
- ^ New Mutants vol. 3 #49
- ^ All-New X-Factor #6-20 (2014-15).
- ^ All-New X-Factor #18.
- ^ Hunt for Wolverine: Weapon Lost #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Hunt for Wolverine: Weapon Lost #2. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Hunt for Wolverine: Wepaon Lost #3. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Hunt for Wolverine: Weapon Lost #4. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Daredevil #606
- ^ Powers of X #4
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- ^ New Mutants vol. 4 #1-7
- ^ Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler
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- ^ New Mutants vol. 4 #13
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- ^ All New X-Factor (2015) #16
- ^ June 09, Darren Franich Updated; EDT, 2022 at 12:31 PM. "Let's rank every X-Man ever". EW.com. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ X-Calibur #4. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Carey, Mike. AGE OF X COMMUNIQUÉS. CBR, January 26, 2011, http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=30528 Archived 2011-03-02 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ X-Men: Legacy #245. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Exiles #31-22. May–April 2003. Marvel Comics.
- ^ David, Peter (w) Kubert, Andy (a). Wolverine: Rahne of Terra. 1991. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Excalibur #78. Marvel Comics.
- ^ New X-Men: Academy X #16. Marvel Comics.
- ^ New X-Men #16. Marvel Comics.
- ^ X-Force Annual 1992. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Ultimate X-Men #54. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Ultimate X-Men #61. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Ultimate X-Men #64. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Loeb, Jeph (w), Finch, David (p). Miki, Danny (i). "Heaven on Earth". Ultimatum #3. May 2009. Marvel Comics.
- ^ What If? vol. 2 #12 April 1990. Marvel Comics.
External links
- Cypher at Marvel.com
- Cypher at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- UncannyXmen.net Spotlight On Cypher