Ariel is a fictional character, an extraterrestrial mutant in the Marvel Comics Universe. Her first appearance was in Fallen Angels (1st series) #1.
Publication history
Ariel first appeared in Fallen Angels (1st series) #1 (April 1987), and was created by Mary Jo Duffy (writer), and Kerry Gammill (artist).
The character subsequently appears in Fallen Angels #2-8 (Mayâ€"November 1987) and again much later in X-Men: Legacy #226 and 235. She appeared to have been killed in X-Men Legacy #235, but writer Mike Carey later stated that he deliberately wrote that scene the way he did so that it would be possible that she could have survived. She returned to publication in X-Men: Legacy #259.
Ariel received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89 #1.
Fictional character biography
Ariel is an extraterrestrial native to the world known as the Coconut Grove, home of a culture devoted to the pursuit of pleasure.
On Earth, Ariel encountered the mutant criminal known as the Vanisher and joined his group of adolescents who worked for him as thieves. Eventually this group became the team of young superhumans known as the Fallen Angels. Though Ariel made no secret of her alien origins, she withheld the true nature of her mission from most of her teammates, except for the apparently powerless Chance, whom Ariel promised an undisclosed payment in exchange for Chance's assistance. Using her ability to bend space, Ariel transported the Fallen Angels to a distant world where they encountered Devil Dinosaur and Moon-Boy. Again through the use of Ariel's powers, the Fallen Angels returned to Earth, joined by Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy as new recruits to the team.
Finally, Ariel transported the Fallen Angels to her home planet under the pretense of a "vacation", but after a period of being treated as honored guests, the Angels were captured for use in the Grove natives' experiments in mutation. Ariel was shocked to discover that Chance, who had become her friend as well as co-conspirator, was among the prisoners, having been found to be an emerging mutant with the power to enhance or nullify other mutants' abilities. When pushed to choose between her friendship and loyalty to her people, Ariel left Chance to her fate, only to be rewarded for her racial loyalty with imprisonment; Ariel had also been identified as a mutant, the first one of her race, and thus doubly valuable as a test subject. She was determined to have the power to subtly influence minds and compel others to obey her commands. After the Fallen Angels escaped captivity, Ariel used her power (bolstered by a show of force from Devil Dinosaur) to compel Unipar, the leader of the Coconut Grove, to let them return to Earth. Wanting nothing more to do with her own people after her mistreatment at their hands, Ariel accompanied the Fallen Angels to Earth.
Ariel resurfaced during the Utopia crossover between the X-Men line and the Dark Avengers. She appears during X-Men: Legacy #226 as an ally of the X-Men, volunteering her help during the riots to transport injured mutants back to Graymalkin Industries. During the events of Second Coming Cyclops assigns Ariel as teleporter for the X-Men's Alpha team, following the disappearance of Magik during battle. While traveling with Wolverine and X-23 in search for Hope, their car was shot by a missile. Wolverine and X-23 survived due to their enhanced healing factors, but Ariel was believed to have been killed.
During the fallout of Schism, Rogue discovers that Ariel's power had allowed her to jump from the vehicle before it was destroyed. However, the destruction of the entry door had left her trapped in an interdimensional limbo. She was rescued from this limbo by the X-Men and has been restored to health on Utopia.
Powers and abilities
Like all members of her extraterrestrial race, Ariel can bend space so that she can create a space warp connecting two points that may otherwise lie great distances apart. There are no known limits on the range that Ariel's space warps may cover; she has created warps that enabled her to travel over interstellar distance from one planet to another in distant solar system. However, Ariel needs an actual doorway that can be opened and closed to serve as a focal point for her power. In addition, there must be another doorway at the receiving end of the warp. By stepping through the doorway, one journeys through the space warp that she has created.
In addition, Ariel is the sole mutant member of her race, possessing the mutant ability to cause others through psionic means to believe what she says or to do what she tells them, whether they would otherwise voluntarily wish to do so or not.
References
External links
- UncannyXmen.net Character Profile on Ariel
