Madelyne Pryor
Madelyne Pryor is a female comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Madelyne Pryor was a female human who lived on Earth in the modern age. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #173) In reality, she was a clone of Jean Grey created by Mister Sinister after he had acquired a blood sample from her during her time with the X-Men. Upon her creation, she demonstrated no powers at birth with Essex initially being disappointed but one day she had a brief manifestation of the Phoenix Force after the Phoenix sacrificed herself on the Moon in order to save the universe from her dark nature. Thus, the instant that the original Jean Grey died was the first time that Madelyne Pryor came to life. Her genetic potential meant that her union with Scott Summers would produce a product that was quite exceptional. As a result, Mister Sinister provided her with an appropriate cover memory and placed her in the same airline as Scott Summer's grandparents in Alaska as he knew that her appearance would attract his attention. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #241)
A few months later, Corsair returned from outer space and took his sons, Scott and Alex, to their grandparents in Alaska for the first time. The old couple had sent Madelyne to pick them up and all three men did not believe their eyes, as their pilot looked exactly like the deceased Jean Grey. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #168) As expected, Scott and Madelyne fell in love with each other pretty soon and he admitted to have been together with a woman looking like her. Madelyne was surprised, but she agreed to continue their relationship and find out if it was only her face that Scott loved or the person behind it. When he filled her in on his secret, that he was a mutant, Madelyne thought that this trust proved his love. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #170) Soon, Scott started to notice little oddities, like Madelyne being able to guess his favorite breakfast or the plane crash having been on exactly the same day that Phoenix died on the moon, and he began to suspect that she was a reincarnation of Phoenix. Scott introduced his lover to the X-Men while attending Wolverine’s wedding in Japan and, of course, they too noticed the uncanny resemblance. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #173)
As the Starjammers were getting ready to depart to space again, Corsair offered Scott to tag along, but he was insecure as he felt happy with Madelyne. She told him not to hold back on her account but he, in turn, asked if she would be willing to accompany him if he left Earth. While still thinking about Corsair’s offer, Scott proposed to Maddie and she accepted. Without knowing it, the couple was being stalked by Mastermind, wanting revenge for his earlier defeat at the hands of Phoenix. Mastermind increased Scott’s doubts to the point that he actually asked Madelyne if she was Jean Grey reborn. Understandably, Madelyne became angry and slapped him in the face. As he ran after her, Scott was hit by a blast of cosmic energy; Dark Phoenix had resurfaced – though not really, as the couple was now fully trapped in Wyngarde’s illusion. Mastermind took his victims to the Xavier estate in New York, where he made it look as if Dark Phoenix were attacking both Xavier and Cyclops, and the rest of the team started to fight the non-existent foe, much to the villain‘s joy. Noticing some errors, Scott saw through the ploy and he made Rogue absorb the unconscious Xavier to use his telepathy and disrupt the illusion. Afterwards, Madelyne and Scott finally were married and held a big party at the Xavier estate. Among the wedding guests were Scott’s grandparents from Alaska, the Starjammers and, of course, the X-Men. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #175)
Inferno
Madelyne Pryor fully embraced her descent into darkness as the Goblin Queen during the opening stages of the Inferno. She remained in the hijacked X-Mansion, using her burgeoning demonic powers to manipulate the environment and torment her captive, Havok. She was confronted by Mister Sinister who defeated and captured her where he revealed Madelyne's true origins. Having already discovered her true nature as a clone of Jean Grey created by Mister Sinister, her psyche fractured completely, leading her to strike a bargain with the demons S'ym and N'astirh. She utilized her telepathic influence to seduce Havok, drawing him into her web of vengeance against the world that had abandoned her. Madelyne orchestrated the transformation of New York City into a hellscape, watching with cold satisfaction as the city's inanimate objects came to life to prey on the citizens. Her actions were driven by a burning hatred for Scott Summers, and she prepared to sacrifice her own son, Nathan Christopher, on a mystical altar to solidify her power and ensure the permanent merger of Earth and Limbo. Throughout the crisis, she shed the last remnants of her humanity, reveling in her role as a dark goddess and commanding the demonic hordes to hunt down the X-Men and X-Factor alike. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #241) Pryor continued her reign of terror over a demon-infested New York City, fully revelling in her transformation as the Goblin Queen. She stood atop the Empire State Building, using her corrupted telepathy and the power of the Inferno to mock and manipulate the X-Men, specifically targeting her brother-in-law, Havok, whom she kept firmly under her thrall as her 'Goblin Prince'. When the X-Men finally tracked her down, she displayed no remorse for the chaos she had unleashed, instead using her magical prowess to lash out at those who had once been her allies. She took sadistic pleasure in confronting Cyclops and the rest of X-Factor, relishing the moment she revealed the full extent of her demonic bargain and her intent to sacrifice young Nathan Christopher to bridge the gap between Earth and Limbo forever. Her actions throughout the day were defined by a vengeful desire to erase her past as a mere replacement for Jean Grey, opting instead to burn the world down to prove her own agency and power. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #242)
Red Queen
House of X
Her mind continued to wander until it inhabited a clone of herself within a hidden clone farm of Mr. Sinister. After taking it over, she came to control the clone copies of the Marauders and cursed them into being decaying canibals that followed her commands. At this time, all Mutants had flocked to a nation of their kind that gathered on the living island of Krakoa with Mr. Sinister being among its leading citizens. He informed the X-Men that he had lost contact with his clone farm and a team of unruly Mutants led by Psylocke and Havok were dispatched to investigate. Once there, they came under attack from Pryor and the clone Marauders who overwhelmed their team. (Hellions v1 #3) Upon taking over Sinister's clone farm, she sought to use her magic to summon demons to possess the dead clone bodies of the Marauders and wanted to sway Alex Summers to her cause. Before she could accomplish her goal, she was killed by Scalphunter where with tears in her eyes she told Havok that she simply wanted to be remembered as a real person before dying in his arms. In a rage, Havok then unleashed his powers that destroyed the Essex State Home of Foundlings with the team returning to Krakoa. Whilst there, Havok petitioned the Quiet Council to bring Madelyne back to life via the Resurrection Protocols but they refused with their reasoning being that she was simply a clone of Jean Grey rather than a true Mutant. (Hellions v1 #4)
From the Ashes
Overview
Personality and attributes
She was always noted as being a bit of a rebel and never believed what she was told with her instead wanting to learn everything herself regardless of the cost. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #241)
Mister Sinister considered her his pride and joy where he held himself as her father. In fact, he considered her to be his premiere success though was disappointed at first when her powers did not initially manifest. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #241)
Powers and abilities
Madelyne Pryor was a genetic clone of the Mutant Jean Grey where she possessed the original's genetic potential if not her powers and even a resonance with the Phoenix Force. As a replicant, she garnered memory-flashes from the template that was Jean Grey. Thus, she inherited some memories that were so primal that they were somehow encoded on her genetic matrix itself. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #241)
Notes
- Madelyne Pryor was created by Chris Claremont and Paul Smith where she made her first appearance in Uncanny X-Men v1 #168 (April, 1983).
Alternate Versions
- In Mutant X v1 #1 (1998), an alternate version of Madelyne Pryor appeared in the Mutant X reality that was designated as Earth-1298 in the Multiverse. Maddie first surfaced several years ago, 14 months before the Inferno event. Her resemblance to the deceased X-Man, Jean Grey (Ariel), has led to some speculation that she is Grey's twin sister. However, investigations have produced no evidence to confirm this. There has been some conjecture that Maddie is a clone of Jean Grey, but this too was believed to be nothing more than a theory. Until Xavier revealed to Havok that this was indeed true, and that she was created by himself and Sinister, in an attempt that she would breed with Alex creating the perfect mutant offspring. What was known was that Havok encountered Maddie on a trip to Alaska, where he was inspecting the house he had recently inherited from his deceased grandmother. Struck by the uncanny physical similarity between Pryor and his late girlfriend the two became friends, which grew into a romance when she returned with him to X-Factor. Although she had no powers at the time, Maddie was quickly accepted into their "family". She and Havok were soon married, and she gave birth to their son, Scotty. During the Inferno Event, Scott was abducted by the demons S'ym and N'astirh. X-Factor, now called the Six, fought alongside Magneto's X-Men to defeat the demons, but it appears that Madelyne was key to the mutants' success. There is evidence to indicate that she struck a deal with the demons that saved her son and the planet. Recently Maddie had gone through a change, into the person known as the Goblin Queen. She had turned into the opposite of Maddie, a pure evil being intent on ruling the world. She was under the power of an entity called the Goblin Force. She then fought against Havok and the remaining handful of super-heroes that were left after her attacks. She started fighting the evil influences of the entity. She, Havok, and Scotty were taken to the astral plane where the newly emerging powers of Scotty were able to contain the Goblin Force and unfortunately took Maddie with it. When it was revealed that the Beyonder was in fact the Goblin Queen, Havok managed to split Maddie and the Goblin Queen. Maddie has now been returned to her son.
In other media
Television
- In X-Men '97, Madelyne Pryor appeared in the setting of the animated television series sequel where she was voiced by actress Jennifer Hale.
Video games
- In Marvel: Future Fight, Madelyne Pryor as the Goblin Queen appeared as a playable character in the setting of the mobile video game.
- In Marvel Strike Force, Madelyne Pryor as the Goblin Queen appeared as a playable character in the setting of the mobile video game.
Appearances
- Uncanny X-Men v1: (1983)
- X-Men v4:
- Hellions v1: (2020)
External Links
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