Maggott (Japheth) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was briefly a member of the X-Men.
| Maggott | |
|---|---|
 Maggott as depicted in Generation X #48 (December 1998). Art by Terry Dodson | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Uncanny X-Men #345 (1997) |
| Created by | Scott Lobdell (Writer) Joe Madureira (Artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Japheth |
| Species | Human Mutant |
| Team affiliations | X-Men Generation X Dark X-Men |
| Abilities |
|
A flamboyant South African mutant who spoke in exaggerated Afrikaans slang, Maggott was advertised as one of the strangest X-Men. His digestive system took the form of two slugs which could eat through practically any substance. After feeding, the slugs reentered Maggott's abdomen and passed nourishment into him, giving him incredible power.[1]
Publication history
editMaggott was created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Joe Madureira, and first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #345 (June 1997).[2]
Fictional character biography
editMaggott was first seen as a mysterious mutant who is searching out the X-Men’s adversary Magneto for an unknown reason.[3][4] His search led to Antarctica where Magneto was holding the X-Men captive. Maggott then joined up with the team and returned with them to their Westchester, New York headquarters.[5]
For a short period of time, Maggott believed his companions were going off on their own and killing innocent people. He even tried to turn himself over to the police before being stopped by the X-Men. His companions turned out to be innocent, as the people had been slain by a faction of N'Garai, though they hated to be called so. These entities are a demonic-type race that the X-Men had faced many times, mainly because a regenerating magical portal lies deep in the woods on the mansion's grounds.[6] A matter which was never resolved was why Maggott's slugs were seemingly related to the N'Garai.
Maggott later was tempted by the entity Shadow King with promises of a better life in exchange for his loyalty and abandonment of the X-Men. He managed to resist the villain. Marrow and Cecilia Reyes were also propositioned by the King, but also resisted. Psylocke then rescues the X-Men after keeping Shadow King in a psionic prison, which forced her in retirement as she could not use her mind powers for anything or else the Shadow King would be released from the prison within Psylocke's mind.[7]
At first, he kept his past to himself, but Maggott eventually revealed his origin to Wolverine.[8] Maggott had been born a sickly child in Apartheid-era South Africa and was named Japheth. He was always very ill and could not digest solid food. Feeling himself to be a burden on his family, he ran away from home with his younger brother. Having left home, hoping to die, he was found by Magneto, who uncovered the mutant slugs living in his digestive system. Compassionate at heart, Japheth immediately rejected Magneto's philosophy and his offer to join him after witnessing him massacre white soldiers who were engaged in racist atrocities against black South African civilians. In spite of this, he later sought out Magneto when he got older, for help in easing the pain caused by his unique mutation. After the then-current roster of the team parted ways, the X-Man Beast suggested Maggott transfer to the junior team Generation X, but his tenure there lasted only one issue and afterwards he fell out of sight. [9]
Maggott reappeared as an inmate at "Neverland," a concentration camp run by the covert government program Weapon X. Along with a number of other mutants, he was exterminated there.[10]
One of his slugs, which he gave away to two children at the camp after foreseeing his death (thanks to his psychometric powers) at the camp, was last seen in a container in Mister Sinister's laboratory.[11]
Maggott is later resurrected by means of the Transmode Virus to serve as part of Selene's army of deceased mutants. Under the control of Selene and Eli Bard, he takes part in the assault on the mutant nation of Utopia.[12] Maggott's fate is uncertain as it is unknown if he was among the mutants teleported to Genosha by Blink to serve as a sacrifice to the newly-deitious Selene or if he was among the mutants that managed to escape Utopia.
Maggott was confirmed to still be alive and powered (though with only one of his slugs) as he was a guest at a superheroes and supervillains-themed costume party of New York branch of the Hellfire Club and was later apparently passed out drunk with other party guests (such as Rocket Raccoon) around an outdoor swimming pool. [13]
Maggott appeared (along with both of his slugs) along with the other X-Men as part of Cyclops' Million Mutant March in Washington D.C.[14]
Maggott briefly appears during the X-Men Disassembled storyline battling Nate Grey.[15] He later becomes a citizen of Krakoa, and is among the mutants hunted by Kraven the Hunter during the A.X.E.: Judgment Day storyline.[16][17][18]
Powers and abilities
editMaggott's digestive system consists of a hollow cavity that houses two slugs called Eany and Meany. They share a telepathic link with him and can temporarily emerge from his body to digest solid matter, giving him superhuman strength and durability. He additionally possesses a form of psychometry that enables him to view the recent past and future by reading psychic imprints from the environment.
Reception
editIn 2014, Entertainment Weekly ranked Maggott 100th in their "Let's rank every X-Man ever" list.[19]
Other versions
editAge of X
editAn alternate universe variant of Maggott from Earth-11326 appears in Age of X: Universe #1. This version is a prisoner of Camp Gorge before being killed by Iron Man.[20]
Ultimate Marvel
editAn alternate universe variant of Maggott from Earth-1610 makes a cameo appearance in Ultimate X-Men #47 as one of several mutants killed by Mister Sinister.[21]
Battleworld X-Tinction Agenda
editAn alternate universe variant of Maggott from Earth-24201 appears in X-Tinction Agenda.[22]
Age of X-Man
editAn alternate universe variant of Maggott who became a disciple of Apocalypse appears in Age of X-Man.[23][24]
In other media
editMaggott makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the X-Men '97 episode "To Me, My X-Men".[25][26][27]
References
edit- ^ Morris, Jon (2015). The League of Regrettable Superheroes: Half Baked Heroes from Comic Book History. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Quirk Books. pp. 216–217. ISBN 978-1-59474-763-2.
- ^ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 225. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #345 (June 1997). Marvel Comics.
- ^ "Uncanny X-Men #345 Review". World of Black Heroes.
- ^ X-Men #70. Marvel Comics.
- ^ X-Men #75. Marvel Comics.
- ^ X-Men #77-78. Marvel Comics.
- ^ X-Men #76 (June 1998). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Generation X #49 (March 1999). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Weapon X vol. 2 #5. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Weapon X vol. 2 #14. Marvel Comics.
- ^ X-Men: Legacy #231 (January 2010). Marvel Comics.
- ^ Wolverine and the X-Men vol. 2 #10-11. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Uncanny X-Men #600. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Uncanny X-Men vol. 5 #9-10. Marvel Comics.
- ^ House of X #5. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Excalibur vol. 4 #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ X-Force Vol. 6 #32. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Franich, Darren (June 9, 2022). "Let's rank every X-Man ever". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
- ^ Age of X: Universe #1
- ^ Ultimate X-Men #47
- ^ X-Tinction Agenda #2-3
- ^ Age of X-Man: Nextgen v5 #2
- ^ Age of X-Man: Nextgen v5 #4
- ^ Marston, George (May 15, 2024). "X-Men '97: All the Easter eggs, cameos, and references". gamesradar. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
- ^ Baggett, Christopher (March 27, 2024). "X-Men '97 Easter eggs: All Marvel Comics & movie references explained". Dexerto. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
- ^ White, Brett (March 20, 2024). "X-Men '97 Episodes 1-2 Easter Eggs". Decider. Retrieved September 1, 2024.