Seamus Mellencamp

Publication history

Seamus Mellencamp first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #300 where he was originally called Seamus Melloncamp and was created by Scott Lobdell and John Romita, Jr..

Fictional character biography

Little is known about Mellencamp's past, save that he was severely and inhumanly abused and mistreated as a child due to his developing mutation. He is loyally devoted to Magneto and his teachings that mutants are superior to humans, so much so that he has been referred to as the "Noble Knight of the Acolytes." During his first battle with the X-Men, he is defeated by Jean Grey, who uses her telekinetic powers to throw him many miles away. He survives this attack. In his second conflict with the X-Men-allied group X-Factor, he tries to kill Multiple Man, who, in self-defense, creates a duplicate of himself within Mellencamp's body, supposedly killing him.

Mellencamp returns without explanation in the pages of Heroes for Hire #16 (1997). (In the pages of Quicksilver a possible explanation was given: the Acolytes leader Exodus claims to have the ability to resurrect the dead Acolytes.) Mellencamp remains an Acolyte over the next few months and follows Magneto when he takes over the island state of Genosha. Genosha and its inhabitants were nearly all exterminated by Sentinels.

It is revealed that he was killed during the Sentinel assault on Genosha, as he has been revived by Selene during the Necrosha event. However, he was killed again during a fight with X-Force.

Powers and abilities

All of Mellencamp's physical abilities are greatly beyond a human in peak physical condition. His strength allows him to lift up an object from a pick-up truck to a building and can even cause harm to those who have superhuman durability. He can almost never become tired because of his immense stamina, which allows him to do strenuous activities for days on end.

He has senses far beyond that of any human and many animals. He is able to see in total darkness, blinding light, and under water. His hearing is so great that he can use selective hearing to listen for sound that he only wants/needs to hear. His sense of smell is strong enough to track targets by scent, even if the scent has been eroded over time naturally. He is even able to identify people by scent alone. His sense of taste though seems to be over sensitive, as he has become obsessed with fruits as his favorite foods, especially apples, just by their sweet taste.

In the X-Men: Chaos Engine trilogy, Mellencamp was shown to be immune to most, if not all, forms of life energy-draining, as seen when he was biting into the shoulder of Rogue as she was trying to drain him to free herself. This shows that even when two points of his body--his teeth and hand--were in contact with Rogue, he could not be drained. The armored plates covering his body are highly resistant to damage, although his internal organs proved vulnerable to Multiple Man's attack.

Personality and appearance

Mellencamp has a body that is reptilian in physical appearance with slitted eyes, emerald scales, black hair coming out from under the scales on his head, a powerful prehensile tail, razor sharp teeth and claws, and a large physical build. His height and weight are 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m) and 422 lb (191 kg). His animalistic mutation burned off all forms of fat on his body so that he is purely muscle. Mellencamp has heterochromia; his left eye is red, and his right eye is silver or white.

Mellencamp has gained the nickname of "Noble Knight of the Acolytes" because he has served Magneto as a knight serves its king. He has a strict personal code, stating that he will defend his allies and friends completely, and treat his enemy with respect. He hates torture, having been abused physically and mentally as a child by his parents. He befriended Scarlet Witch, who respected him and considered him to be one of the few people following Magneto who she could have intelligent company with when compared to others like Toad and Blob.

Mellencamp keeps himself calm, reserved, and polite at all times, even going so far as to warn his enemies to think over their decision of choosing to fight him. When entering battle, his personality changes. He becomes a vicious animal of a man, while retaining his intelligence- this makes him a very deadly foe combining raw animal savagery, and a human's thinking.

Television