Mondo (comics)
Encyclopedia
Mondo is the name of two fictional comic book
characters that have appeared in the Marvel Comics
series Generation X
. The first Mondo was a superhero
later revealed to be a clone
of the supervillain
Mondo, who appeared years later. The first Mondo's first appearance was in Generation X
#3.
mutant called Mondo. He was once friends with Cordelia Frost
, Emma Frost
's younger sister. In an attempt to make a bid for the position of White Queen of the Hellfire Club
, Cordelia had Mondo contained and handed him over to the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club. Cordelia's scheme backfired; the Hellfire Club kept Mondo but denied Cordelia membership. Cordelia went to Emma, headmistress of the Massachusetts Academy, for help and, soon after, Mondo was rescued by Generation X
and subsequently accepted an invitation to join the school.
However, Generation X later learned that the Mondo they had rescued wasn't the real Mondo but a clone, a plant-based simulacrum
created by Black Tom Cassidy
who had infiltrated the Hellfire Club and rescued Mondo. After taking Mondo under his wing, Black Tom created a clone
of the young mutant to infiltrate the Massachusetts Academy so that Black Tom could exact vengeance on his cousin, Banshee
, who was the headmaster of the Academy.
As Banshee and Emma Frost battled Black Tom, the Mondo clone began hunting down the members of Generation X. However, as the Mondo clone was about to attack Jubilee
, it was shot dead by the anti-mutant militant Bastion
, chief operative of Operation: Zero Tolerance
.
Later, the real Mondo appeared alongside Black Tom and Juggernaut
. Completely loyal to Black Tom, the real Mondo battled the members of Generation X. Generation X attempted to talk to Mondo into not fighting, but Mondo laughed at them, reminding them that he has never met them before. Generation X and their teachers were able to defeat their opponents, but the trio still managed to escape. Mondo's status and whereabouts are unknown. The Juggernaut has recently joined the X-Men and Mondo was not among the latest incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants of which Black Tom was a member. It is unclear whether or not Mondo kept his powers after M-day, but he has not been seen with Black Tom the last few times he has made contact with the X-Men.
Mondo can absorb matter into his body, gaining the mass, appearance, and other properties of the matter in question. This change will remain until Mondo's body "digests" the organic matter, which is then disintegrated.
Mondo is also able to use his power to travel through organic matter, such as dirt, and can appear instantaneously in the immediate vicinity of where he entered the earth.
Mondo was one of the members of Generation Next taught by Colossus
and his wife Shadowcat. Unlike his Earth 616 counterpart, Mondo was truly heroic and had no reservations whatsoever about helping the innocent. They were given the mission by Magneto
to infiltrate the Core--a prison facility watched over by the Sugar Man
--and rescue Colossus' sister Illyana
, who was crucial to Bishop's
plan to save all of reality. Mondo was given the task of sneaking in through the ground and finding Illyana. He let the little girl stay in his stomach while he was in this dirt form, but he had to be wary not to keep her in too long or else she would be digested. Despite his best efforts, Sugar Man found the pair and was able to kill Mondo with his razor-sharp tongue, even though Mondo was still in his dirt form. He constantly referred to himself in the third person
.
TV movie, Mondo was played by Bumper Robinson
. In the film, he is jokingly said to hate Jello
because he fears he may accidentally absorb its consistency, which may be a reference to Bumper Robinson's first acting roll: a Jell-O Pudding Pop commercial.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
characters that have appeared in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
series Generation X
Generation X (comics)
Generation X is a fictional comic book superhero team, a spin-off of the X-Men franchise published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Chris Bachalo, the team formed during the 1994 "Phalanx Covenant" storyline, and appeared in their own monthly series in September 1994...
. The first Mondo was a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
later revealed to be a clone
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
of the supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
Mondo, who appeared years later. The first Mondo's first appearance was in Generation X
Generation X (comics)
Generation X is a fictional comic book superhero team, a spin-off of the X-Men franchise published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Chris Bachalo, the team formed during the 1994 "Phalanx Covenant" storyline, and appeared in their own monthly series in September 1994...
#3.
Fictional character biography
Not much is known of the SamoanSamoans
The Samoan people are a Polynesian ethnic group of the Samoan Islands, sharing genetics, language, history and culture. Due to colonialism, the home islands are politically and geographically divided between the country of Samoa, official name Independent State of Samoa ; and American Samoa, an...
mutant called Mondo. He was once friends with Cordelia Frost
Cordelia Frost
Cordelia Frost is a fictional mutant character in the Marvel Comics Universe.-Fictional character biography:Cordelia Frost is the younger sister of Emma and Adrienne Frost, as well as being the youngest of the four Frost siblings...
, Emma Frost
Emma Frost
Emma Grace Frost is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129 , and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne....
's younger sister. In an attempt to make a bid for the position of White Queen of the Hellfire Club
Hellfire Club (comics)
The Hellfire Club is a fictional society within the Marvel Comics Universe that often comes into confrontation with the mutant superhero team, the X-Men...
, Cordelia had Mondo contained and handed him over to the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club. Cordelia's scheme backfired; the Hellfire Club kept Mondo but denied Cordelia membership. Cordelia went to Emma, headmistress of the Massachusetts Academy, for help and, soon after, Mondo was rescued by Generation X
Generation X (comics)
Generation X is a fictional comic book superhero team, a spin-off of the X-Men franchise published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Chris Bachalo, the team formed during the 1994 "Phalanx Covenant" storyline, and appeared in their own monthly series in September 1994...
and subsequently accepted an invitation to join the school.
However, Generation X later learned that the Mondo they had rescued wasn't the real Mondo but a clone, a plant-based simulacrum
Simulacrum
Simulacrum , from the Latin simulacrum which means "likeness, similarity", was first recorded in the English language in the late 16th century, used to describe a representation, such as a statue or a painting, especially of a god...
created by Black Tom Cassidy
Black Tom Cassidy
"Black Tom" Cassidy is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an enemy of the X-Men, and archenemy of Banshee. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum, he first fully appeared in Uncanny X-Men #101...
who had infiltrated the Hellfire Club and rescued Mondo. After taking Mondo under his wing, Black Tom created a clone
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
of the young mutant to infiltrate the Massachusetts Academy so that Black Tom could exact vengeance on his cousin, Banshee
Banshee (comics)
Banshee is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero who operates as a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Werner Roth, Banshee first appeared in X-Men #28 ....
, who was the headmaster of the Academy.
As Banshee and Emma Frost battled Black Tom, the Mondo clone began hunting down the members of Generation X. However, as the Mondo clone was about to attack Jubilee
Jubilee (comics)
Jubilation "Jubilee" Lee is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superheroine associated with the X-Men.A mutant, Jubilee had the superhuman power to generate "fireworks" of explosive plasma. A teenage "mall rat," she was the X-Men's youngest member in the early 1990s, often playing sidekick to...
, it was shot dead by the anti-mutant militant Bastion
Bastion (comics)
Bastion is a supervillain that appears in the fictional Marvel Universe. The character was created by Scott Lobdell and Pascual Ferry and first made a cameo appearance in X-Men #52 . His first full appearance was Uncanny X-Men #333...
, chief operative of Operation: Zero Tolerance
Operation: Zero Tolerance
"Operation: Zero Tolerance" was a crossover storyline that ran through Marvel Comics' X-Men related titles during 1997. The story followed from the "Onslaught Saga" and focused on individuals, including Bastion and Henry Peter Gyrich, within the United States government and their attempts to use...
.
Later, the real Mondo appeared alongside Black Tom and Juggernaut
Juggernaut (comics)
The Juggernaut is a fictional character that appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in X-Men #12 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby....
. Completely loyal to Black Tom, the real Mondo battled the members of Generation X. Generation X attempted to talk to Mondo into not fighting, but Mondo laughed at them, reminding them that he has never met them before. Generation X and their teachers were able to defeat their opponents, but the trio still managed to escape. Mondo's status and whereabouts are unknown. The Juggernaut has recently joined the X-Men and Mondo was not among the latest incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants of which Black Tom was a member. It is unclear whether or not Mondo kept his powers after M-day, but he has not been seen with Black Tom the last few times he has made contact with the X-Men.
Powers and abilities
Mondo is capable of taking on the properties of any organic or inorganic material he comes into contact. When using his power, Mondo is able to grow in mass with an assumed proportionate growth in strength to superhuman levels.Mondo can absorb matter into his body, gaining the mass, appearance, and other properties of the matter in question. This change will remain until Mondo's body "digests" the organic matter, which is then disintegrated.
Mondo is also able to use his power to travel through organic matter, such as dirt, and can appear instantaneously in the immediate vicinity of where he entered the earth.
Age of Apocalypse
In the Age of ApocalypseAge of Apocalypse
"Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 - 1996 comic book crossover storyline published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The Age of Apocalypse briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616, although it was later retconned as having occurred in the alternate universe of Earth-295, it had...
Mondo was one of the members of Generation Next taught by Colossus
Colossus (comics)
Colossus is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Len Wein and illustrator Dave Cockrum, he first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1...
and his wife Shadowcat. Unlike his Earth 616 counterpart, Mondo was truly heroic and had no reservations whatsoever about helping the innocent. They were given the mission by Magneto
Magneto (comics)
Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
to infiltrate the Core--a prison facility watched over by the Sugar Man
Sugar Man
Sugar Man is a fictional character, a mutant villain appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Chris Bachalo, he first appeared in Generation Next #2 ....
--and rescue Colossus' sister Illyana
Magik (comics)
Magik is a Marvel Comics character, associated with the X-Men. She is the younger sister of the Russian X-Man Colossus.-Publication history:...
, who was crucial to Bishop's
Bishop (comics)
Bishop is a fictional comic book superhero, appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular the X-Men family of books...
plan to save all of reality. Mondo was given the task of sneaking in through the ground and finding Illyana. He let the little girl stay in his stomach while he was in this dirt form, but he had to be wary not to keep her in too long or else she would be digested. Despite his best efforts, Sugar Man found the pair and was able to kill Mondo with his razor-sharp tongue, even though Mondo was still in his dirt form. He constantly referred to himself in the third person
Illeism
Illeism is the act of referring to oneself in the third person instead of the more appropriate first person.Illeism is sometimes used in literature as a stylistic device...
.
Film
In the Generation XGeneration X (film)
Generation X is a made-for-TV film which aired on FOX on February 20, 1996. It is based on the Marvel Comics series Generation X. It was produced by New World Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment.-Cast:-Plot:...
TV movie, Mondo was played by Bumper Robinson
Bumper Robinson
Bumper Robinson is an American actor and voice artist. Robinson got his nickname because he repeatedly bumped into things while running through his home as a young child.- Life and career :...
. In the film, he is jokingly said to hate Jello
Jello
Jello may refer to:* Jello Shoecompany, an Austrian shoe retailer* Jell-O, a brand name for gelatin desserts* A genericized brand for gelatin desserts in general* Sphyraena jello the pickhandle barracuda-People:...
because he fears he may accidentally absorb its consistency, which may be a reference to Bumper Robinson's first acting roll: a Jell-O Pudding Pop commercial.