Threnody (comics)

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caption=Cover to "X-Man" #13 featuring X-Man and Threnody
comic_color=background:#ff8080
character_name=Threnody
real_name=Melody Jacobs
species=Human Mutant
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="X-Men" vol. 2, #27 (December, 1993)
creators= Fabian Nicieza (writer), Richard Bennett (artist)
alliance_color=background:#ffc0c0
alliances=Marauders
aliases=
powers=
*Ability to sense the dead or dying
*Ability to absorb energy
*Concussive blasts
*Zombie creation.|

Threnody is a fictional character created by Marvel Comics for the "X-Men" series. She was originally featured as a sort of "hound" for Mister Sinister, but this depth was fully explored in the series "X-Man" which came much later.

Fictional character biography

The woman known as Threnody is mostly a mystery. When the X-Men first encounter her she is wandering the streets of Los Angeles as a homeless person with her powers coming in uncontrollable, destructive bursts whenever she is overwhelmed by death energy. Because of the nature of her sensitivity to death, she became a sort of psychic medium and was being driven insane by the voices of the recently deceased. Beast, Rogue, and Iceman who are at a nearby hospital go in search of a local doctor who is trying to cure the Legacy Virus, an artificially created virus that attacked only mutants and during the process made their powers unstable. As a geneticist, Sinister was worried what a virus like this would do to the mutant gene pool and was trying to study it. They find the lab of the man, but instead find Mister Sinister inside with Threnody. He convinces the frightened young girl to join his cause and help him find a cure for the virus, recognizing her prodigious talent for finding death. Using her ability to sense those dead or dying, Sinister would use her as a sort of mutant bloodhound to track those specifically plagued with the virus. Rogue is infuriated by the prospect of Sinister using the girl that way, but in the end Beast convinces her that it would be in Threnody's best interest to go with Sinister, as a man with his enormous talent for science could better help her to stabilize her powers.

When next she appears, Threnody is the prisoner/aide of Sinister. He helped to inhibit her powers and somehow restore her sanity by placing small neuro-chips around her face, and she therefore owes him a debt of gratitude. He commissions Threnody to find out information of the newly arrived refugee from the Age of Apocalypse, Nate Grey. Unbeknownst to Sinister, Threnody had already been collecting data on him and hadn't reported his appearance in the Main Marvel Universe because she thought that a mutant as powerful as he could possibly help to free her.

Foolishly, Threnody tries to escape on her own to seek out Nate, and Sinister sends his Marauders after her in the sewers of Paris. Coincidentally also in Paris, Nate happens to hear the telepathic screams and goes to her rescue. Nate mercilessly slaughters all of the Marauders except Riptide, whom he places a false mental image of Threnody dying in his head to deter Sinister from pursuing her further. Having nowhere to go, Threnody decides to go with Nate to Switzerland. There he meets up with his counterpart Cable and also the ancient mutant Exodus. Exodus at one point tries to feed off the life essence of Threnody, whose death-essence feeding would complement his powers. However, Nate intervenes and defeats the villain, but burns himself out because of the over-extension of his powers. While he is unconscious, Nate has a dream of his former mentor Forge who warns him of others trying to use him for their own agendas. When he awakes he finds Threnody and they kiss, but he is unsure if she is still a pawn of Sinister or not. He tries to remove one of her neuro-chips, but this causes an explosion which destroys the lodge they were recouperating at and almost hurts the others there. After this incident, Threnody decides to take Nate to Greece to relax.

Unbeknownst to the couple, Nate's enemy from the Age of Apocalypse, Holocaust has been commissioned by the newly created villain Onslaught to hunt him down. The murderer finds the couple relaxing on a beach and begins to attack, injuring several innocents in the process. Threnody, sensing the pain, goes to see what can be done and finds a man mostly crushed under a boulder. He is very close to death, but still holds on, however his death energy is intoxicating to Threnody and she uses her powers to push him over into death. This catches the attention of Holocaust, who captures the girl to use her as a bargaining chip: in exchange for Threnody's life Nate must willingly serve Onslaught. Threnody begs him not to accept, but he does...seemingly. In reality, Nate telepathically tried to prod Threnody into attacking Holocaust, but she doesn't respond to his pleas. Catching wind of the scheme, Holocaust steps up his threat on Threnody's life, forcing Nate to enter Threnody's head and activate her mutant powers--super charged by the death of the man. It seems to work, blasting Holocaust into the ocean. As the couple goes about trying to get the innocents to safety, Holocaust re-emerges from the water, once more grabbing Threnody and this time giving "her" the option: surrender Nate to him or she will die and he will be broken. Nate sees this and flies to her rescue, throwing his body in front of Holocaust's blast meant for Threnody. The enemies decide to square off and Nate gets the upper hand by cracking Holocaust's armor, who promptly leaves, swearing revenge. Threnody worries about Nate over-extending himself again and suggests that they go back to Muir Island, however Nate is very distrusting of anyone affiliated with Professor X, so Threnody suggests going to the Avengers, which they do.

After some sort of disagreement Nate leaves Threnody behind and finds himself with X-Force. The Marauders show up to capture Threnody, but she is able to defeat them. Only when Sinster makes a personal appearance is she defeated and recaptured by the maniacal scientist. Sinster then goes to capture Nate for his purposes, easily defeating him. He reveals to the stunned teen that he had used Threnody to get close to him and then used the neuro-chips he had placed on her as a means to map Nate's brain. Nate proves him wrong and counteracts his affects, but is then ambushed in a trap laid by Onslaught.Below New York City in the sewers, Threnody is held in chains by the Marauders and drained powerless. She kills a rat that scampers by to give her enough power to break her chains. Scalphunter and Arclight come chasing after her but are beaten back by the Abomination who has a brief history with Threnody. He takes her back to his lair, where Nate finds her and attempts to rescue her. After a brief battle with Abomination, Nate tells Threnody that he is tired of running and wants to find a place to settle down.

The couple tours some of the sights of New York and Nate offers to try and remove Sinister's "psi-bafflers" from Threnody. However, she refuses his offer.

Later, Madelyne Pryor, a newly inducted member to the Hellfire Club and former aide of Nate, goes to confront the couple. In the course of battle she supposedly kills Threnody.

However, a Jane Doe that can be assumed to be Threnody got up and walked out of the morgue. Threnody was then seen in a subterranean tunnel on a throne surrounded by dead bodies. She was also pregnant. People believe that the father is Nate. However, in issue 61's X-POST FACTO (the letters section) a fan asked "Is it Nate's? Please say it is." To this, the editor replied "It doesn't look as if Nate is the father of Threnody's baby, but the mystery of who exactly is the father of the baby is still raging. Nate probably isn't quite ready for fatherhood." So Nate is most likely not the father. She soon afterwards ran into Nate again, appearing to be pursued by zombies, but in reality controlling them. Nate fought off the zombies, after the fight Thren left Nate, appearing later with a baby. Her current whereabouts are unknown.

Threnody has been confirmed still powered after M-Day according to Civil War: Battle Damage Report.

Powers and abilities

* Threnody has a unique link to death, as is hinted at with her name. She, as an energy vampire is capable of sensing the certain necroplasmic energies that surround a person when they are near death or dying. She then absorbs this energy and uses it to either generate concussive blasts of energy or create zombies. Much like a vampire, Threnody was depicted as being enraptured by the scent of death and the "taste" of the energy. She once let a man die simply to enjoy the feeling it gave her.

* These Zombies she creates have been shown to have some sort of super-strength, considering they have torn through steel like it was paper. The zombies also seem to be able to keep going unless decapitated. During Threnody's last few appearances, her zombies kept going after being shot at, and having their arms cut off; they simply healed or created new arms, and it was confirmed that healing the zombies took no energy from Threnody. Every time the zombies felt pain, or 'died', Threnody absorbed their energy.

* Threnody seemed able to not only absorb death energy and pain, but also natural energy, such as heat, electricity, lasers, and such. She was also shown absorbing the kinetic energy from bullets before they pierced her skin, so that they would just fall. She was also seen absorbing telekinetic energy, telepathic energy, and other sorts of psionic energy with great success. Her telepathic absorption is so great, that the combined efforts of Madelyne Pryor and Selene were not able to get past her defenses, and both failed to shut down her mind or control her.

* Towards her last few appearances, Threnody unlocked a new power that increased her potential, as well as helping her gain a greater understanding of her powers. She found that she is able to use the powers of any deceased superhuman. Apparently she is connected to and has access to a "portal" to the afterlife, and if someone with powers dies, she now has the ability to call upon them. Even if a person has died, and has been resurrected, part of them is apparently still in this portal/realm. So far she has used Storm's powers, Colossus' powers, and telepathic and telekinetic powers. She also seems to have an innate understanding of the power she calls upon.

Notes

*The word "threnody" means a song of mourning similar to a dirge.

*Threnody was named such by a kindly woman who was an expert at Scrabble, and noted her lamentful songs.

External links

* [http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/characters/showquestion.asp?fldAuto=1064 Uncannyxmen.net character bio on Threnody]
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