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The character was created toward the end of Claremont's tenure writing the X-Men and was the last major character he introduced. He is rumored to have been named after writer Fabian Nicieza, who Claremont had tensions with at the time.[3]
Publication history
Fabian Cortez debuted in X-Men #1 (October 1991), created by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee.[4] He appeared in the 2020 S.W.O.R.D. series,[5] and the 2021 Way of X series.[6]
Fictional character biography
Acolytes
Thought to be royalty from Spain,[citation needed] Fabian Cortez organizes the original Acolytes, who pledge themselves to Magneto and his cause. Cortez then goads and manipulates Magneto into combat with humanity and the X-Men at every turn, leading to the destruction of Magneto's space-station, Asteroid M, and the deaths of the other Acolytes, including Cortez's own sister Anne Marie.[7]
Cortez recruits a group of Acolytes who, believing Magneto to be dead and martyred for his cause, now worship him as their god, to follow Cortez in Magneto's name.[8] They launch several strikes on humanity, ranging from attacks on a military base where new Sentinels are being built, to slaughtering helpless humans in a hospital.[9] Magneto eventually resurfaces, sending his chosen heir Exodus to inform the Acolytes of Cortez's betrayal. The Acolytes welcome Exodus as their new leader, and Cortez is left behind.[10]
Bloodties
Fearing Magneto's wrath, Cortez flees to Genosha. Still claiming to speak in Magneto's name, he incites the nation's mutant population into starting a civil war against the humans, the world's first instance of the long-threatened genetic war between man and mutant. With the aid of the mutates, Cortez kidnaps Magneto's granddaughter Luna, intending to use her as a shield to protect himself from Magneto, the X-Men, and the Avengers. Cortez is unaware that Magneto had recently been mindwiped by Charles Xavier; and Exodus comes to Genosha in his place, seemingly killing Cortez.[11]
Back with the Acolytes
Cortez reappears months later, claiming to have been badly injured, yet not actually killed, despite all appearances. He manipulates Joseph into posing as Magneto,[12] pitting him against Exodus in an attempt to regain control of the Acolytes. Despite his scheme's failure, he is allowed to return to the team. Months later, after Exodus was briefly imprisoned, the Acolytes split into two groups, each searching for Magneto. Cortez leads one group, but they abandon him during a battle with the X-Men, upon realising how he has been using them for his own purposes.[volume & issue needed]
Dark Seduction
Alone again, Cortez is surprised to be recruited by Magneto himself, to whom the United Nations has given control of Genosha. Seeing as how Cortez had betrayed him earlier, Magneto only lets Fabian Cortez serve him on Genosha because his own powers have been reduced and Cortez's mutant power is needed to heighten the abilities of the other mutants. After a further betrayal by Cortez, discovered by Magneto's UN advisor Alda Huxley to be the leader of the Genoshen cabinet assisting a rebellion in Carrion Cove, Magneto is restored to full power by one of the Genengineer's machines and, as he no longer needs Cortez, moves him from a prison in Hammer Bay, to over fifty miles away to Carrion Cove in less than 20 seconds. The impact kills Cortez instantly, as he is splattered on the ground at Magneto's feet. Just before his death, a connection between Cortez and the geneticist Mister Sinister was implied, which would explain how Cortez returned alive and well when everyone believed him dead at the hands of Exodus.[13]
Necrosha
After the X-Men form Utopia, Magneto joins them, saying he supports their efforts.[14]Selene especially wants Magneto captured for his collaboration with Emma Frost to overthrow her from her position as Black Queen of the Hellfire Club. She has three of her recently resurrected mind-controlled soldiers—Acolytes Cortez, Delgado, and Mellencamp—hunt down Magneto. They try to torture Loa to get the information out of her, but when she tries to hide in her room she finds Deadpool inside it. Deadpool battles the trio, but the techno-organic virus that is inside the Acolytes (which caused their resurrection) prevent him from killing them. At one point in the battle, Cortez grabs Loa by the throat and demands to know Magneto's location, saying that even though Selene wants Magneto alive he will fight the mind-control and kill him anyway. Loa begs Cortez not to make her hurt him, something Cortez does not believe possible. Deadpool knocks Loa out of Cortez's hands, but then is overpowered by the Acolytes. Loa uses her matter disruption powers to slide through Mellencamp, mutilating him. Deadpool, seeing that Loa's powers were able to slay Selene's minions, forces her to kill Cortez and Delgado by throwing her into them (to survive, she has to slide through them, which causes them to crumble). Deadpool then tells Cyclops that he should not be in trouble because Loa had done all the killing.[15]
The techno-organic virus however appears to reform Cortez, as he resurfaced later along with fellow Upstarts members Shinobi Shaw, Siena Blaze, and Trevor Fitzroy, and started the game that they created long ago. They kill members of the Nasty Boys to lure out Cyclops and his ragtag team of X-Men to Washington Heights. After a brief exchange of words, the two groups engage each other in battle. The X-Men gain the upper hand as the Upstarts retreat; but Shinobi is left behind, only to kill himself as he does not want to be captured or controlled by the Hellfire Club.[16]
Fabian Cortez is a mutant with the ability to augment the powers of other mutants, sometimes to their benefit, and sometimes to their detriment. He can increase a mutant's abilities, rejuvenating them after exhaustion, or seemingly enhancing their power. However, his manipulations often come with a price—Cortez can make mutants dependent on his "treatments," using this dependency to exert control over them. He can "supercharge" their powers to dangerous levels.[25] Cortez is also capable of nullifying the powers of other mutants.[26] Furthermore, he can heal others by temporarily enhancing their natural healing factor.[27]
Other versions
Marvel Zombies
In the Marvel Zombies reality, Magneto heads to earth to rescue anyone he can from the zombie plague. Cortez is entrusted with overseeing Asteroid M and preparing it to be the last outpost of humanoid life.[28] Cortez does this well; his group soon joins up with other survivors, including Forge and the Black Panther. Magneto perishes in battle against the zombies.[29] Decades later, in Marvel Zombies 2, Cortez's child regains control of the colony during a battle with cosmically powered zombies.[30]
In this reality, which takes place shortly after the X-Men escape the destruction of Asteroid M, Nick Fury enlists the X-Men in helping him find and capture Cortez. The X-Men successfully capture Cortez, although he nearly defeats them single-handedly.[31] Cortez is eventually turned over to S.H.I.E.L.D., but corrupt agents within then give him over the anti-mutant Consortium. Eager to exploit the "burnout" (that reality's phenomenon where mutant powers cause people to physically give out and die prematurely), the Consortium thought Cortez's powers were rife with the potential to weaponize the concept. Weeks later, Cortez is rescued by Nick Fury and the X-Men, but is on the verge of death due to the experimentation he was forced to endure. Cortez dies in the custody of the X-Men shortly thereafter.
X-Men '92
Cortez appears in X-Men '92, when he overcharges Lila Cheney's teleporting powers; and she takes the X-Men to a distant planet inhabited by the mutant Brood.[32]
What If
Cortez appears in a number of What If...? issues.[33]
In the reality seen where Tony Stark chooses not to begin a super-hero career as Iron Man after returning from captivity. Cortez and the Acolytes assemble under Magneto and battle both the X-Men and the StarkTech Sentinels that threaten mutant lives after Tony Stark's innovations to America's Sentinel program pushes the mutant race to the brink of extinction.[34]
In the reality where the space station Avalon was officially recognized as a mutant colony under the rule of Magneto, divisions between his Acolytes erupt, with Exodus leading the isolationists, who want to take Avalon to the stars and away from the taint of humanity on Earth, while Cortez's annihilationists wish to return to Earth, eliminate the humans, and reclaim their homeland. These concerns become secondary after the birth of Acolytes Skids and Rusty's first child, who registers as Homo Ultima, the next stage of humanity, beyond even that of mutant. Cortez and Exodus unite their factions for fear of being usurped, leading to the death of the child. In the aftermath, it is revealed that Magneto engineered fake genetic scan results for Homo Ultima, sacrificing the child to bring unity to his Acolytes.[35]
In other media
Television
Fabian Cortez appears in X-Men: The Animated Series,[36] voiced by Jeffrey Max Nicholls. Cortez is the leader of the Acolytes, a group of extremist mutants who championed Magneto's cause.[37] He elevates Magneto as the supposed savior of mutants, only to quickly betray him and frame the X-Men. His schemes revolve around provoking conflict to advance his own ambitions, though they ultimately collapse. Cortez forms a cult and attempts to transfer Apocalypse's essence into a new host, selecting Jubilee as the vessel. However, his plan backfires, and Apocalypse ends up taking over Cortez's body instead, concluding his storyline in the show.[38]
