Feral (comics)

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caption=Feral from "Wolverine" (vol. 3) #53. Art by Simone Bianchi.
comic_color=background:#ff8080
character_name=Feral
real_name=Maria Callasantos
species=Human (Empowered); formerly human mutant
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="New Mutants" (vol. 1) #99 (March, 1991)
creators=Rob Liefeld
Fabian Nicieza
alliance_color=background:#ffc0c0
alliances=X-Corporation New Hellions Mutant Liberation Front New Mutants X-Force Morlocks
aliases=
powers=Feline appearance; enhanced senses and agility; healing factor; sharp claws, fangs and prehensile tail.|

Feral (Maria Callasantos) is a fictional character that appears in the Marvel Universe. She has been both a superhero and a supervillain and most recognizably associated as a member of X-Force. In many ways, she was X-Force's counterpart to X-Factor's Wolfsbane or the X-Men's Wolverine.

Fictional character biography

The cat-like mutant Feral attempted to escape from the tyrannical rule of the Morlock, Masque. She was saved from Masque by Cable, and agreed to join Cable's paramilitary group X-Force in return for protection. ["New Mutants" #100 (the final issue of the comic book series)]

Alongside X-Force, she first battled the Mutant Liberation Front, and she broke Wildside's jaw. ["X-Force" #1] She then severely injured Cannonball during combat training. ["X-Force" #2] She fought her sister Thornn, when Thornn and Masque invaded X-Force Base. ["X-Force" #7] She next battled Sauron. ["X-Force" #9] Alongside X-Force, she battled Weapon P.R.I.M.E. ["X-Force" #7, 9 ] She was later compelled by the Druid to go to Starkesboro, Massachusetts. ["Captain America" #407]

During the X-Cutioner's Song saga, she was attacked by the X-Men and X-Factor alongside X-Force. She was captured by Wolverine, and was taken prisoner with X-Force by the X-Men and X-Factor. ["Uncanny X-Men" #295; "X-Factor" #84; "X-Force" #16-17] Feral later received a new costume, and left Xavier's mansion with the rest of X-Force. ["X-Force" #19] With X-Force, she then fought Nick Fury and War Machine. ["X-Force" #21]

Feral was always the ticking time bomb of X-Force especially when it came to fellow teammate Siryn, barely capable of controlling her deadly temper. Prior to joining the group, it was later revealed that Maria and her sister Lucia (who later became known as Thornn) had to leave home and lived with the Morlocks. It was later discovered that both girls had been molested by their cocaine addict stepfather; in retaliation, Feral killed the man and shoved his body into the wall. Her mother, who was also addicted to cocaine, found out and sought vengeance on the girl by killing all of her pet pigeons. This infuriated Feral to the point where she also killed her mother in a fit of rage. It was also hinted at that she had purposely pushed their younger sister down the stairs, leading to her death, as well as allowed their younger brother to fall to his death from their roof. Ultimately, Feral betrayed X-Force and became the enemy of her former teammates when she was convinced to join the terrorist group known as the Mutant Liberation Front, ["X-Force" #28] although her alliances would continue to shift.

After a brief stint with the MLF, Feral emerged from hiding when the New York City police captured Thornn. Thornn revealed that she had seen Feral kill Harry Bellinger, their mother's boyfriend. Cannonball provoked Feral into admitting that she had murdered her mother. Cannonball overpowered Feral, and an old friend of Lucia's, police detective Jose Hidalgo, arrested her for killing three members of her family and Bellinger. During her jail time, Feral discovered she was infected with the Legacy Virus. She was either unable to be convicted or escaped, as she was next seen trying to obtain Isotope E (along with other virus sufferers) as a possible cure from the High Evolutionary.Feral, now mentally distraught from her illness later resurfaced with a new incarnation of the Hellions led by King Bedlam. Although the team's criminal activities were limited to stealing the Armaggedon Man to use him as a weapon, Feral left her mark. All of the rage that she had felt for Siryn in the past boiled over in an argument where Feral sliced through Siryn's vocal cords, incapacitating her powers.

After being cured from the virus, Feral apparently had a change of heart. She, as well as her sister Thornn, were recruited to be members of Mumbai branch of the X-Corporation along with her former teammate Warpath and Sunfire. The team helped save Professor X from an assassination attempt by a crazed Lilandra Neramani, who still believed that Charles Xavier was Cassandra Nova.

She stayed with X-Corps for quite some time, but she returned to New York after the M-Day, where the Scarlet Witch caused the mutant gene to disappear from 90-95% of the mutant population worldwide, making them "baseline humans". Both Feral and her sister were shown to be depowered and in Mutant Town, looking for answers.

Next time we see Feral, she is alongside her sister, Sasquatch and Wolfsbane in Wakanda, offering their assistance to Wolverine against Sabretooth. Both Feral and Thornn had been kidnapped by a mysterious man named Romulus. Romulus concerns himself with wolf-based entities, despite Feral and Thornn's cat-like exteriors.

They both suffered from amnesia. Their feline looks were restored, but not their powers. Feral helps Wolverine search for answers in a Weapon X facility while effectively still powerless. During a fight with Sabretooth (who is in a mindless beast-like state) Wolverine is separated from Feral. He later finds Sabretooth, after he had just killed her.

With Feral dead, Wolfsbane speculates that the sisters had never regained their powers, rather, they had simply been returned to their animalistic forms. Wolverine took this as fact, as it explained how Feral was defeated by Sabretooth so easily. The enigmatic Romulus had the genetic skills to revert the sisters to their mutant forms.

Powers and abilities

Formerly had a feline mutation that endowed her with a thin layer of light orange fur covering her body, sharp claws and fangs, pointed ears, superhumanly acute senses including night vision and sense of smell, enhanced strength, speed, agility, reflexes, coordination, balance, and endurance, and healing ability as well as a prehensile tail. In appearance Feral resembles a werewolf, but with feline rather than lupine features.

Feral is a fierce hand-to-hand combatant, trained in unarmed combat by Cable. She is also an excellent hunter and tracker.

Feral was depowered during M-Day.

Other versions

House of M

Feral appears as a member of the strike-force known as the Brotherhood. ["House of M: Avengers" #2]

In other media

Television

* Feral made cameos in the "X-Men" episodes "Slave Island" and "Graduation."

Films

* In the film "X2", her name appears on a list of names Mystique scrolls through on Stryker's computer while looking for Magneto's file.

Bibliography

*"Captain America" (vol. 1) #406-407
*"New Mutants" (vol. 1) #99; 100; Annual #7
*"New Warriors" (vol.1 ) Annual #1
*"Quicksilver" #6; 8-9
*"Spider-Man" #16
*"Uncanny X-Men" #295; Annual #15
*"Wolverine" (vol. 3) #53-54
*"X-Factor" (vol. 1) #84; Annual #6
*"X-Force" (vol. 1) #1-17; 19-28; 40-41; 87-90; Annuals #1; 2; 4
*"X-Men" (vol. 2) #133
*"Wolverine" (vol. 3) #53-54

References

External links

* [http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/characters/showquestion.asp?fldAuto=454 Uncannyxmen.net bio on Feral]
*http://marvel.com/universe/Feral_%28Maria_Callasantos%29