NameCalvin Rankin
AliasMimic
Age30
Place of BirthPassaic, New Jersey, USA
PowersPower Mimicry: Calvin has the ability to copy up to five superpowers at a time. By being within fifteen feet of someone for about a minute, Calvin’s body can duplicate their superpower. However, this superpower will be at a much more weakened level than the original. Also, while possible, it’s harder for Calvin to copy the powers of non-mutants, requiring him to focus more on the person he is copying. Calvin is limited to five powers at a time, but through training he has learned how to consciously replace one specific power with another.
HistoryBorn the son of Dr. Ronald Rankin, Calvin never knew his mother. Raised by a single father, Calvin had a rough childhood. While his father provided for him, he was distant and focused on his research. Formerly employed by both the American and Canadian government, Dr. Rankin was an expert on the X-Gene and how it manifested. But young Calvin knew nothing of this research, just knowing that his father was constantly locked away in his study.
This lack of contact with his father caused Mimic to run wild. He made some friends who were a bad influence on him, getting him into all kinds of trouble. Once Dr. Rankin began hearing about these incidents from the school, he got very angry with Calvin. The two would get into a heated argument, Calvin eventually walking away. But that didn’t finish it for Calvin, as he broke into his father’s study. He then proceeded to begin smashing everything in the study. This included a beaker filled with a mysterious liquid. When it hit the ground it released a red mist, which Calvin then breathed in, causing him to faint.
Calvin would wake up to the face of his father, who revealed that the mist was a chemical compound meant to activate the X-Gene. Following this incident, Calvin would become something of a test subject for Dr. Rankin, who kept running tests on him to see what the chemicals had done to his physiology. Eventually Calvin had enough and ran away from home.
Calvin would couch surf from friend to friend, never staying one place too long. He knew that his father couldn’t report him missing without Calvin revealing his experiments. To also keep the authorities out of the situation, Calvin kept attending school. It was there that he met Vera Cantor, a girl in his English class. Calvin began to pursue her romantically, only for Vera to reveal she had a boyfriend.
After this rejection, Calvin began repeatedly contacting Vera, still trying to start up a relationship. This prompted her boyfriend Hank McCoy, better known as Beast of the X-Men, to confront him. The argument turned violent, only for Calvin’s mutant ability to activate. He copied Hank’s mutant power and was able to fight him off. Later that day Calvin would be approached by the original five X-Men, who tried to reason with him. But then Calvin managed to copy the abilities of all five of them.
Using these new powers, Calvin escaped the X-Men. After this Calvin dropped out of school, and began a criminal career, taking the name Mimic. During this period, Calvin would occasionally fight the X-Men and copy other mutant abilities. This all came to a head when Calvin was fighting mutant. In the chaos of the battle, Calvin accidentally killed several onlookers.
Though it was an accident, Calvin felt terrible, falling into a deep depression. This was not helped by the news of the death of his father to a heart attack. It was in this lowest point that Calvin was approached by Charles Xavier, who offered him a place at his institute. Calvin decided to accept this opportunity, moving to the Xavier Institute.
It was there that Calvin finished his high school studies, before attending Metro College. He would also join the ranks of the X-Men. Initially Calvin would feel like an outsider as he used to be a villain, but he would soon find his place on the team. But this new found balance wouldn’t last long.
Calvin’s mind would be taken over by the psychic monster Onslaught’s mind. He and several other mutants would fight the X-Men, X-Force, and Avengers, being labeled terrorists. After the Onslaught crisis finished, Calvin and the other mutants that had been controlled were captured by the American government and placed in a secret prison.
After several months of beatings, Calvin managed to escape the prison, fleeing to the UK. While in exile in the foreign country, Calvin would meet Dr. Moira MacTaggert, starting up a long friendship. Moira would also diagnose Calvin with bipolar disorder, helping explain some of his actions in the past.
Calvin would briefly be a member of Excalibur, before deciding to return to America. There he would try and free all the mutants that had been imprisoned because of Onslaught’s actions, including Charles Xavier. To that end he would team up with Mystique’s Brotherhood of Mutants.
However, due to the lobbying of the Avengers, the mutants involved with Onslaught were pardoned, Calvin included. Still feeling bad about his other crimes, Calvin turned himself into the hands of the law. But he was not sent to prison, instead being made a member of the Thunderbolts, a team made of former villains.
Calvin would become a mainstay of the Thunderbolts, even when they were taken over by Norman Osborn, director of HAMMER. Calvin would be moved by Director Osborn into his own X-Men team, one loyal to HAMMER. While Calvin would befriend his teammate Weapon Omega, this would not be a good era for him as his mental health rapidly deteriorated.
After the disbanding of HAMMER, Calvin was pardoned of all of his crimes on the condition that he sought treatment. Upon completing said treatment, Calvin would return to the ranks of the X-Men. This would be around the period that they fought the Avengers over the Phoenix Force.
After that crisis, Calvin would be a revolving member of the X-Men, coming and going. He would also briefly be a member of the Avengers Unity Squad, a team meant to bring together mutants and other heroes. And Calvin would seek out his former teammate Weapon Omega, helping to get back to normalcy after the craziness of working for Osborn.
Now in a good place, things only got better for Calvin with the opening of the borders of Krakoa. Finally finding a place to belong, Calvin immediately moved to the island nation. Currently he is just a regular citizen as he feels that he has had enough craziness with teams for now. He has also found a mutant therapist on the island to help keep him on the right path.
Story ArcsAm I a Mutant or a Mutate?: While Calvin is getting into living in Krakoa, he questions if he really is a mutant. Was he born with his powers? Or did he get them from the chemicals in his father’s study?
Burned a lot of bridges: While Calvin is currently stable with his mental health, what would happen if he were confronted by the people he’s hurt or abandoned in the past?
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