This (Former) Mutant Is One of X-Men’s Most Underrated Characters

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There are several unique and iconic mutants in the X-Men franchise, with some of these being spinoff characters of other, more well-known heroes and villains. When it comes to the many times mercenary worlds of both Wolverine and Deadpool, this includes assassins and shadowy characters from their pasts. In the case of Wolverine, one of his more prominent allies/enemies is an anti-villain who’s no longer even a mutant.

Having gone by several names over the years, the former mutant known mostly as Maverick has had a life almost as tragic as Wolverine’s. Having undergone numerous heartaches and experiments, he’s one of the deadliest operatives in the Marvel Universe. This has come at the expense of both his powers and his personal relationships, and he’s simply begging to be used more.

Maverick Has One of the Saddest Stories Among Marvel’s Mutants

Wolverine’s Sometimes-Ally Is Almost as Tragic as He Is

Created by John Byrne and Jim Lee following writer Chris Claremont’s departure from the franchise, the character now known as Maverick debuted in X-Men #5. Born in East Germany as Christopher Nord, he used his mutant powers (based around absorbing kinetic energy) to fight against the country’s regime, during which time he fell in love with a nurse. This woman turned out to be a spy, and when he was forced to kill her, his deep sense of cynicism toward the world was born.

He changed his name to David North and joined the CIA-directed Team X, where he fought alongside both Wolverine and Sabretooth, as well as fellow mutant John Wraith/Kestrel. During this time, he developed a strong respect for Wolverine, as well as an enmity for both Sabretooth and the Russian serial killer mutant Omega Red.

After Team X was disbanded, they were later captured by the Weapon X program for experimentation. While Wolverine’s rampage that saw him escape the Weapon X compound helped free the others, Maverick lost his powers around the time that Logan gained his adamantium skeleton. Nevertheless, he honed his mercenary skills to become one of the most notable hired guns in the business, namely due to the fancy gadgets at his disposal. He ran across Wolverine several times during this period, and while he once tried to hunt down and kill Sabretooth, his help was instrumental in Professor Xavier trying (and failing) to mentally rehabilitate him.

Unfortunately, he was one of the many victims of the Legacy Virus, and though this somewhat brought back his powers, it also meant that he had a biological expiration date. He and Deadpool, the Merc with a Mouth, were targeted to try and derive a cure from their bodies, but this plan also failed. This sickness saw him befriend a young teenage mutant named Chris Bradley, who also had the virus. Thankfully, Maverick was ironically cured by death, and after a mutant named Elena Ivanova used her powers to resuscitate him from a seeming fatality, the virus went into remission.

This was sadly one of many unfortunate turns in the life of David North, and one incident after had Chris Bradley believing that the lad had died due to Maverick’s machinations. An attempted revenge mission for a fallen friend didn’t go as planned, with Maverick even losing an eye. A near-death experience saw Maverick modified by Weapon X to specifically kill Wolverine. Now called Agent Zero, he regretted his decision not to die and constantly considered taking his own life.

A run-in with a new Maverick ended in the legacy character’s death at Agent Zero’s hands, but, unfortunately for North, he soon discovered that his now-dead doppelgänger was none other than Chris Bradley. Since then, he’s been de-powered again by a wave of de-mutations caused by the Scarlet Witch, rejected from the citizenship of Krakoa and turned into a vampire. It’s all gone from bad to worse for him, and the character has even less stability than Logan himself.

What are Maverick’s Powers?

The X-Men Character Has Gone Through Periods With and Without Powers

When he first had his X-gene triggered, Maverick’s mutant ability was to absorb kinetic energy generated by impacts. Thus, blows from incredibly powerful opponents and grievous falls were soaked up like a sponge, allowing him to take hits from individuals far stronger than himself. The Weapon X program upgraded him by giving him a healing factor, though this was far weaker than the one possessed by Wolverine and his children.

Marverick’s healing factor was overtaxed from fighting off the infection and the many scars and skin lesions it created. After being revived by Elena Ivanona, the Legacy Virus went away, while Maverick gained a new power. In addition to having his energy absorption be stronger than ever, he could also release it in energy blasts, similar to the mutant from the future, Bishop. This also made him physically stronger if he channeled this energy into his blows. Weapon X mutated Maverick further when he was turned into Agent Zero, though he retained his other abilities.

Maverick’s new mutant powers included a corrosive enzyme on his fingertips. This was specifically meant to help him take down Wolverine, as the enzyme counteracts the effects of a superhuman healing factor in others. As a result, it would make someone’s body fight against itself whenever it tries to repair itself, turning a healing factor into a killing factor. He no longer even carries a scent, with Wolverine being unable to track or sense him because of this.

Sadly, Maverick/Agent Zero lost all of his mutant powers after M-Day, with the Scarlet Witch taking away the abilities of almost all mutants at that time. These weren’t restored during the X-Men’s Krakoa era, and he still lacks any superhuman powers. Nevertheless, he has years of mercenary training and experience, along with incredible gadgets and tools of the trade. This includes special tactical armor that sometimes combines Kevlar with vibranium, not to mention making him both silent and invisible when needed. Other tools include various blades and firearms tipped and coated with adamantium, making even Wolverine endangered by his presence.

Why Isn’t Maverick Used More?

Chris Nord Continues to Be One of the Most Overlooked X-Men Characters

Despite his connection to a character as prevalent and prominent as Marvel’s Wolverine, Maverick has rarely been particularly important in the X-Men franchise. This is despite his having all the right ingredients to be a major player, especially given his connection to Logan. His powers are similar to those of Bishop, and when combined with his black-ops connection, he’s arguably comparable to both Bishop and Cable, who were huge in the 1990s. He even has a tragic background like that of Logan’s, making him another roguish berserker with a heart of gold.

Sadly, he just keeps appearing sporadically whenever writers suddenly remember that he exists. At this point, his many traumatic experiences feel more like a running gag than anything else, and they’ve done little to truly ground him. He lacks the family structure that the X-Men give Wolverine, and so, instead of being a secondary character who can become a primary solo hero (like Logan), he’s a tertiary-at-best character who mostly exists as a sort of “orbiter” around more popular mutants.

At most, Maverick comes off as a lesser version of already played-out Marvel Comics concepts within the X-Men brand. He’s essentially a “lite” version of concepts seen through Wolverine, Cable and Bishop, not to mention the comedic mercenary Deadpool. He’s not as cool or prominent as the former or as funny and unique as the latter, so he kind of just fades into the background. Likewise, newer characters such as Fantomex are fresher takes on this idea, and they’re far more accessible than Chris Nord. Maverick/Agent Zero has all the convoluted backstory of Wolverine but none of the other elements that make him successful.

On top of all this, his frequently changing mutant powers make him even harder to use in a story, as he’s now just another generic mercenary who’s not even a mutant anymore. The best solution would be to give him back his powers and firmly make him an antihero, letting him occupy a more militarized/street-level scope. This could make him the X-Men’s equivalent of an antihero vigilante like the Punisher and give him a separate space from most mutants. It would go a long way to make him popular and see him used more, and it could even get Maverick out of Wolverine’s shadow.

“}]] Maverick is a former mutant who’s usually fighting alongside or against Wolverine, but this hasn’t made him a prominent member of the X-Men.  Read More