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Rockslide (comics)
Encyclopedia
Rockslide is a fiction
al character
, a mutant
superhero
and member of the X-Men
in the . He is a student in the Xavier Institute
and a member of the former Hellions squad therein. After M-Day
, he was one of only 27 students to retain his powers. He is best friends with Julian Keller
and is extremely close to and protective of Mercury. Despite his earlier appearances as a stereotypical bully, he has evolved into a good-natured (though extremely boastful) and fiercely protective friend to most of the school's students.
where he befriended Julian and the would-be Hellions. He was originally advised by Iceman
, but was selected by Emma Frost
to be part of her prized Hellions squad. Santo and the rest of the Hellions went on to win the Field Tournament and were declared the best squad at the end of the school year. Santo dreams of being a super-human wrestling star and enjoys murder-mystery television programs (such as Medium
starring Patricia Arquette
and Murder, She Wrote
). He is also a fan of Dance Dance Revolution
.
During the summer vacation, Julian, from a well-to-do background, invited his friends to his home. The Hellions ran into trouble quickly, as his and Mercury appearances disturbed people at the airport. After a brief struggle, the group was allowed to board, and made their way to California
, where Julian originates. Soon, the team encountered the 'Kingmaker
', from whom they each received a trial wish. Santo's wish was to become a World-class Champion in superhuman wrestling
. However, when the Hellions eventually refused a permanent deal with the Kingmaker, the Kingmaker shattered Santo with a laser
blast. Julian used his telekinesis
to piece Rockslide back together, and together the Hellions defeated the Kingmaker.
, he was one of the few students who didn't lose their powers. The depowered students and staff were sent to their homes. One bus was bombed by anti-mutant religious zealot Reverend William Stryker
, and Santo's former teammate and friend Brian
was among those killed. The X-Men held a funeral
for those students whose parents would not accept them, and Santo reflected upon how he had "failed" by not being able to save those killed.
With the mutant population drastically decreased, the government sent the Sentinel O*N*E* Squad
to watch over the school, which began housing as many remaining mutants as would take refuge. All of the remaining students were placed by Emma Frost
into an all-out brawl, and the ones deemed to be the best were to be assigned to become a group of in-training X-Men
. Santo made the team and began training to become an X-Man.
William Stryker continued his terror attacks against the school. Santo's teammate Josh ended Stryker's plans by killing him. The New X-Men, with the help of David, then made the connection between Stryker and Nimrod
. The team leader, Nori, then decided that the team would find and destroy the robot. When the team confronted Nimrod, Rockslide revealed how much the death of his fellow schoolmates had affected him when he intercepted an attack by Nimrod meant for Hellion crying "Not again!" He was obliterated by the attack, fueling the rest of the team in their eventual defeat of Nimrod. Hellion and Mercury tried desperately to awaken and to piece him back together, but Rockslide's remains were initially unresponsive. Thankfully, even in his shattered form, he was able to survive, and was finally put back together, only to become larger and more rugged than his previous form. Rockslide is later seen talking to Match and Anole about their abilities and how useful or useless they would be if they joined the New X-Men team, indicating Match and Anole may be possible candidates for admission onto the team. He was at the memorial service for all the students lost in Stryker's attack on the Institute.
Rockslide sees the Young Avengers
on television, learning about them for the first time, to his fellow students' surprise. He decides that the New X-Men should beat them up, with himself fighting Hulkling
. Fellow students Loa
and Anole
tell him that Hulkling would win.
Rockslide accompanied the X-Men when they jumped from the Blackbird
to save Cessily from the Facility. He helped with great enthusiasm during the fight, and in the aftermath, made fun of Shadowcat
and her powers, saying that being an X-Man must be "really hard". Kitty then jokingly threatened to kill him.
. While hiding from Belasco
, along with Blindfold
, Match
, Loa, Anole, Wolf Cub
, Pixie, and Gentle, Santo was unsure what to do. As demons approached the group, Santo fought them off, but then seemingly exploded when he tried to shoot his fists at them. Santo then seems to reconstitute himself in a magma rock form that is also impervious to magic and beats the badness out of Illyana
who then helps them to rescue their fellow students and kill Belasco. Back home, Rockslide threatens to quit if Pixie and Anole aren't made part of the New X-Men.
when he attacks the Institute. He knocks over the Hulk so the other students can hold him down, but is knocked away when Hulk regains his strength. When Rockslide attacks him alone, it appears that Hulk knows who he is and what he can do. The Hulk rips off both of Rockslide's arms, steps on him, then tears off his legs. He then rids Rockslide of his limbs by throwing them a great distance, ridding Rockslide of his powers and the ability of ambulatory function. His limbs were eventually located after Hulk leaves.
On a side note, Santo has stated that as a kid he pretended he was the Hulk.
and Anole; he and X-23 try to convince Anole to let them cut his other arm off. After Santo calls Anole a sissy, Anole gets offended and pushes him out the window while Rockslide proclaims "I swear I didn't know! Don't be so sensitive!" After Rockslide refuses to blow himself up, Anole calls him a sissy to get him to do it. Anole then offers to try and blow up Santo himself.
Beast and Colossus supervise Santo's brief training on exploding and regenerating.
Santo later agrees to stay up with Indra because he is worried that he is going to die and while having an indoor campfire, Santo points out that it doesn't matter how old they are, they are mutants and someone is going to come gunning for them, and when they do he wants to go down fighting. Later, he outs Victor as gay to some of the other students, though Loa was already aware and says that everyone already knew of his orientation.
. After spying on the Purifiers, they are ambushed by the Reavers
; Rockslide and X-23 manage to damage Lady Deathstrike
’s armor. Pixie then manages to teleport the team out and are spread between Washington and the Institute. He was later seen aboard the X-Jet with Iceman and the New-X-Men during the Sentinel attack on the mansion.
Later, he is seen talking with Dust about honoring the dead. They are joined by Mercury and as they approach the cemetery they find Predator X feasting on the bodies of dead mutants much to their horror. He holds the creature back so the others can escape, knowing that he can't be killed by it, though it does make short work of him.
at a coffee shop and she tells him about her premonition of soon-to-be-formed Young X-Men squad, including the death of one of their future teammates, though he appears to take no heed. Just as predicted, Cyclops offers Santo the position, but claims that he was not planning on recruiting Ruth. Santo demands that she be added to the team, stating that Ruth's premonition included both him and her, and threatened to reject Cyclops' offer if she was not recruited as well.
It is later revealed that Cyclops is really Donald Pierce in disguise manipulating the Young X-Men to attack the original New Mutants. As Blindfold predicted, Wolf Cub
is killed in the final confrontation with Pierce, which impacts Santo greatly.
Rockslide takes on Illyana, thinking he is still resistant to magic, forgetting that it was only when he was composed of Limbo's terrain. Illyana shocks him by easily defeating him. After he reforms, the gathered X-Men hold a meeting and he along with Mercury are put on a team of X-Men being sent to Limbo due to their resistance to magic, but only if he reforms from Limbo rock.
In Limbo, Rockslide reforms out of Limbo's terrain as the team enters Belasco's castle to assist Pixie. Finding Illyana defeated by Witchfire and Pixie transformed into a demon, Rockslide and Mercury are forced to fight Colossus and Wolverine who become magically mind-controlled.
; with a look very similar to that of the Thing
. This granted him superhuman strength, endurance, durability and the ability to fire his hands as projectiles.
In the Hellions
mini-series, he was shattered by the Kingmaker and put back together by Julian, much like how a disembodied Emma Frost was reanimated by Jean Grey
in the first New X-Men
series. Santo's body was later obliterated by Nimrod. Again with Julian's assistance, he was eventually able to put himself back together. This time his appearance is larger and more rugged.
In the Quest for Magik arc, Santo attempts to fire his fists off in Limbo but Blindfold reveals that aspect of his powers doesn't work anymore. Although he is blown up again, Santo returns as a large lava type "golem". His molten rock form, being from Limbo, is also resistant to magic. This is shown when Darkchild tried to stop him from attacking her and when Belasco tries to zap him with magical energy, but they both have no effect.
Dr. McCoy's suspicion is that after Nimrod
shattered Santo, Nimrod must have atomized most of his original body and dissolved him in some sort of disembodied psychic state. Santo, in theory, is able to re-form himself as a "golem" from some kind of ambient earth matter and obtain that earth matter's properties. The first time his body was destroyed, he was able to reform from solid rocks and obtained a larger and rugged rock body. The second time, he reformed from Limbo's molten rocks and obtained the ability to generate and maintain heat from within, and also some magic resistance. The third time, he reformed from the school's grounds after exploding himself. Beast
, currently, is testing the extent of Rockslide's reformation abilities. As a result, Santo's original ability to fire off his limbs is seemingly lost in his new reformed bodies. Instead, the energy used to propel his limbs is now explosively released from his entire body, obliterating his form, from which he can recover.
as well as recognizing that he is not supposed to see her without her abaya
. He is very protective of his teammate Mercury. Santo also has a strong sense of honor, telling Anole and Pixie that he would quit the team if they were not included on the roster.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al character
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a mutant
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
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 —...
and member of the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
in the . He is a student in the Xavier Institute
X-Mansion
In the fictional Marvel Comics universe, the X-Mansion is the common name for Professor Xavier's mansion. It is the base of operations and training site of the X-Men and the location of a school for mutant teenagers, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, formerly Xavier's School for Gifted...
and a member of the former Hellions squad therein. After M-Day
House of M
House of M is an eight-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics in 2005. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Olivier Coipel, its first issue debuted in June 2005 as a follow-up to the events of the Planet X and Avengers Disassembled...
, he was one of only 27 students to retain his powers. He is best friends with Julian Keller
Hellion
Hellion is a fictional character, a mutant appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was a member of the student body of the Xavier Institute before its closing and is a member of the X-Men's training squad. He first appeared in New Mutants, vol. 2 #2.-New Mutants, vol...
and is extremely close to and protective of Mercury. Despite his earlier appearances as a stereotypical bully, he has evolved into a good-natured (though extremely boastful) and fiercely protective friend to most of the school's students.
Fictional character biography
An Italian-American mutant from Boston, Santo was sent to the Xavier InstituteX-Mansion
In the fictional Marvel Comics universe, the X-Mansion is the common name for Professor Xavier's mansion. It is the base of operations and training site of the X-Men and the location of a school for mutant teenagers, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, formerly Xavier's School for Gifted...
where he befriended Julian and the would-be Hellions. He was originally advised by Iceman
Iceman (comics)
Iceman is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero, a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men vol. 1 #1, ....
, but was selected by 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....
to be part of her prized Hellions squad. Santo and the rest of the Hellions went on to win the Field Tournament and were declared the best squad at the end of the school year. Santo dreams of being a super-human wrestling star and enjoys murder-mystery television programs (such as Medium
Medium (TV series)
Medium is an American television drama series that premiered on NBC on January 3, 2005, and ended on CBS on January 21, 2011. Themed on supernatural gifts, its lead character, Allison DuBois , is a medium employed as a consultant for the Phoenix, Arizona district attorney's office...
starring Patricia Arquette
Patricia Arquette
Patricia T. Arquette is an American actress and director. She played the lead character in the supernatural drama series Medium for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series....
and Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
). He is also a fan of Dance Dance Revolution
Dance Dance Revolution
Dance Dance Revolution, abbreviated DDR, and previously known as Dancing Stage in Europe and Australasia, is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, Dance Dance Revolution is the...
.
During the summer vacation, Julian, from a well-to-do background, invited his friends to his home. The Hellions ran into trouble quickly, as his and Mercury appearances disturbed people at the airport. After a brief struggle, the group was allowed to board, and made their way to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where Julian originates. Soon, the team encountered the 'Kingmaker
Kingmaker (comics)
The Kingmaker is a Marvel Comics supervillain, and an adversary of the X-Men.-Fictional character biography:The Kingmaker is a powerful, but largely unknown villain within the Marvel Universe...
', from whom they each received a trial wish. Santo's wish was to become a World-class Champion in superhuman wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
. However, when the Hellions eventually refused a permanent deal with the Kingmaker, the Kingmaker shattered Santo with a laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
blast. Julian used his telekinesis
Psychokinesis
The term psychokinesis , also referred to as telekinesis with respect to strictly describing movement of matter, sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term...
to piece Rockslide back together, and together the Hellions defeated the Kingmaker.
Decimation
After the effects of M-DayDecimation (comics)
Decimation is the late 2005 Marvel Comics storyline spinning off from the House of M limited series. It focuses on the ramifications of the Scarlet Witch stripping nearly all of the mutant population of their powers, thereby reducing a society of millions to one of scant hundreds.This event, which...
, he was one of the few students who didn't lose their powers. The depowered students and staff were sent to their homes. One bus was bombed by anti-mutant religious zealot Reverend William Stryker
William Stryker
Col. William "Bill" Stryker, M.D. is a fictional comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe, and enemy of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Brent Anderson, he first appeared in the 1982 graphic novel X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills.Rev...
, and Santo's former teammate and friend Brian
Tag (comics)
Tag is a fictional character, a Puerto Rican mutant appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in New Mutants, vol. 2 #7 and was a member of the student body of the Xavier Institute and the Hellions squad therein.-Fictional character biography:Brian Cruz came to Emma...
was among those killed. The X-Men held a funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
for those students whose parents would not accept them, and Santo reflected upon how he had "failed" by not being able to save those killed.
With the mutant population drastically decreased, the government sent the Sentinel O*N*E* Squad
Sentinel (comics)
Sentinels are a fictional variety of mutant-hunting robots, appearing in the Marvel Comics Universe. They are usually portrayed as antagonists to the X-Men. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, they first appeared in The X-Men #14 .According to Marvel canon, Sentinels are programmed to locate...
to watch over the school, which began housing as many remaining mutants as would take refuge. All of the remaining students were placed by 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....
into an all-out brawl, and the ones deemed to be the best were to be assigned to become a group of in-training X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
. Santo made the team and began training to become an X-Man.
William Stryker continued his terror attacks against the school. Santo's teammate Josh ended Stryker's plans by killing him. The New X-Men, with the help of David, then made the connection between Stryker and Nimrod
Nimrod (comics)
Nimrod is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #191 , and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Romita, Jr. Hailing from the "Days of Future Past" timeline, Nimrod is a powerful, virtually...
. The team leader, Nori, then decided that the team would find and destroy the robot. When the team confronted Nimrod, Rockslide revealed how much the death of his fellow schoolmates had affected him when he intercepted an attack by Nimrod meant for Hellion crying "Not again!" He was obliterated by the attack, fueling the rest of the team in their eventual defeat of Nimrod. Hellion and Mercury tried desperately to awaken and to piece him back together, but Rockslide's remains were initially unresponsive. Thankfully, even in his shattered form, he was able to survive, and was finally put back together, only to become larger and more rugged than his previous form. Rockslide is later seen talking to Match and Anole about their abilities and how useful or useless they would be if they joined the New X-Men team, indicating Match and Anole may be possible candidates for admission onto the team. He was at the memorial service for all the students lost in Stryker's attack on the Institute.
Rockslide sees the Young Avengers
Young Avengers
Young Avengers is an American comic book series written by Allan Heinberg and published by Marvel Comics. It follows a group of young superheroes, each of whom patterns themselves after a member of the long-established Marvel superhero team the Avengers....
on television, learning about them for the first time, to his fellow students' surprise. He decides that the New X-Men should beat them up, with himself fighting Hulkling
Hulkling
Hulkling is a fictional comic book superhero and a member of the Young Avengers, a team of superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. Hulkling's character is patterned on the Hulk...
. Fellow students Loa
Loa (comics)
Loa is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. A mutant, Loa is a student at the Xavier Institute. She made her debut in New X-Men: Academy X #5.-Before Xavier's:...
and Anole
Anole (comics)
Anole is a fictional mutant superhero in the Marvel Universe. He was created by Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis and first appeared in issue #2 of New Mutants vol. 2 . A student at the Xavier Institute and junior member of the X-Men, Anole is one of the few openly gay characters in the Marvel...
tell him that Hulkling would win.
Rockslide accompanied the X-Men when they jumped from the Blackbird
Blackbird (comics)
The Blackbird is the aircraft used by the fictional superhero team the X-Men. There have been several incarnations of this craft over the years, with Cyclops and Storm as the main pilots.-History:...
to save Cessily from the Facility. He helped with great enthusiasm during the fight, and in the aftermath, made fun of Shadowcat
Kitty Pryde
Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde 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-artist John Byrne....
and her powers, saying that being an X-Man must be "really hard". Kitty then jokingly threatened to kill him.
Quest for Magik
Santo and the other students were captured by Belasco, and taken to LimboOtherplace
Otherplace, is a fictional location in titles published by Marvel Comics. The concept debuted in Uncanny X-Men #160, and was created by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson.-History:...
. While hiding from Belasco
Belasco
Belasco is a fictional supervillain in the Marvel Comics Universe. The character's first appearance was in Ka-Zar the Savage #11; he was created by Bruce Jones and Brent Anderson.-Fictional character biography:...
, along with Blindfold
Blindfold (comics)
Blindfold is a fictional character, a mutant and a member of the student body of the Xavier Institute in Marvel Comics' X-Men-related comic books. She first appeared in Astonishing X-Men, vol. 3 #7 and was created by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday.-Fictional character biography:Blindfold is a...
, Match
Match (Marvel Comics)
Match is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. A mutant, Hammil attended the Xavier Institute before its closing. While at the Institute, Hammil was the field leader of the Paragons training squad....
, Loa, Anole, Wolf Cub
Wolf Cub (comics)
Wolf Cub is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. A mutant, Wolf Cub is an Xavier Institute student and X-Men trainee.-Early life:...
, Pixie, and Gentle, Santo was unsure what to do. As demons approached the group, Santo fought them off, but then seemingly exploded when he tried to shoot his fists at them. Santo then seems to reconstitute himself in a magma rock form that is also impervious to magic and beats the badness out of 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 then helps them to rescue their fellow students and kill Belasco. Back home, Rockslide threatens to quit if Pixie and Anole aren't made part of the New X-Men.
World War Hulk
Rockslide is one of the students that goes up against the HulkHulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
when he attacks the Institute. He knocks over the Hulk so the other students can hold him down, but is knocked away when Hulk regains his strength. When Rockslide attacks him alone, it appears that Hulk knows who he is and what he can do. The Hulk rips off both of Rockslide's arms, steps on him, then tears off his legs. He then rids Rockslide of his limbs by throwing them a great distance, ridding Rockslide of his powers and the ability of ambulatory function. His limbs were eventually located after Hulk leaves.
On a side note, Santo has stated that as a kid he pretended he was the Hulk.
Children of X-Men
Rockslide is seen playing pool with X-23X-23
X-23 is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular those featuring the X-Men. X-23 is a female clone of Wolverine.-Publication history:...
and Anole; he and X-23 try to convince Anole to let them cut his other arm off. After Santo calls Anole a sissy, Anole gets offended and pushes him out the window while Rockslide proclaims "I swear I didn't know! Don't be so sensitive!" After Rockslide refuses to blow himself up, Anole calls him a sissy to get him to do it. Anole then offers to try and blow up Santo himself.
Beast and Colossus supervise Santo's brief training on exploding and regenerating.
Santo later agrees to stay up with Indra because he is worried that he is going to die and while having an indoor campfire, Santo points out that it doesn't matter how old they are, they are mutants and someone is going to come gunning for them, and when they do he wants to go down fighting. Later, he outs Victor as gay to some of the other students, though Loa was already aware and says that everyone already knew of his orientation.
Messiah Complex
Some of the New-X-Men decide to launch a pre-emptive strike against the PurifiersPurifiers
The Purifiers, also known as the Stryker Crusade, are a fictional paramilitary/terrorist organization in the Marvel Comics universe and enemies of the X-Men...
. After spying on the Purifiers, they are ambushed by the Reavers
Reavers (comics)
In the fictional Marvel Comics universe the Reavers are a team of criminal cyborgs. The most significant team of Reavers were dedicated to the destruction of the mutant X-Men, and a number of them especially wanted to take revenge on one particular X-Man, Wolverine. The name was originally used by...
; Rockslide and X-23 manage to damage Lady Deathstrike
Lady Deathstrike
Lady Deathstrike , occasionally spelled "Deathstryke", is a Marvel Comics supervillain, a foe of the X-Men, especially Wolverine.Her father Lord Dark Wind created the adamantium-bonding process that was forced on Wolverine...
’s armor. Pixie then manages to teleport the team out and are spread between Washington and the Institute. He was later seen aboard the X-Jet with Iceman and the New-X-Men during the Sentinel attack on the mansion.
Later, he is seen talking with Dust about honoring the dead. They are joined by Mercury and as they approach the cemetery they find Predator X feasting on the bodies of dead mutants much to their horror. He holds the creature back so the others can escape, knowing that he can't be killed by it, though it does make short work of him.
Young X-Men
Santo meets up with BlindfoldBlindfold (comics)
Blindfold is a fictional character, a mutant and a member of the student body of the Xavier Institute in Marvel Comics' X-Men-related comic books. She first appeared in Astonishing X-Men, vol. 3 #7 and was created by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday.-Fictional character biography:Blindfold is a...
at a coffee shop and she tells him about her premonition of soon-to-be-formed Young X-Men squad, including the death of one of their future teammates, though he appears to take no heed. Just as predicted, Cyclops offers Santo the position, but claims that he was not planning on recruiting Ruth. Santo demands that she be added to the team, stating that Ruth's premonition included both him and her, and threatened to reject Cyclops' offer if she was not recruited as well.
It is later revealed that Cyclops is really Donald Pierce in disguise manipulating the Young X-Men to attack the original New Mutants. As Blindfold predicted, Wolf Cub
Wolf Cub (comics)
Wolf Cub is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. A mutant, Wolf Cub is an Xavier Institute student and X-Men trainee.-Early life:...
is killed in the final confrontation with Pierce, which impacts Santo greatly.
X-Infernus
Santo and Mercury are watching a training session between Pixie and Nightcrawler when Pixie stabs Kurt with her soul dagger. They run in and move Pixie away from Kurt's unconscious body, Beast enters and Pixie regains her senses. When she removes her dagger, Magik's soulsword emerges from his chest and Magik teleports in ready to reclaim her sword.Rockslide takes on Illyana, thinking he is still resistant to magic, forgetting that it was only when he was composed of Limbo's terrain. Illyana shocks him by easily defeating him. After he reforms, the gathered X-Men hold a meeting and he along with Mercury are put on a team of X-Men being sent to Limbo due to their resistance to magic, but only if he reforms from Limbo rock.
In Limbo, Rockslide reforms out of Limbo's terrain as the team enters Belasco's castle to assist Pixie. Finding Illyana defeated by Witchfire and Pixie transformed into a demon, Rockslide and Mercury are forced to fight Colossus and Wolverine who become magically mind-controlled.
Powers and abilities
In his initial appearance, Santo's body was composed completely of graniteGranite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
; with a look very similar to that of the Thing
Thing (comics)
The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
. This granted him superhuman strength, endurance, durability and the ability to fire his hands as projectiles.
In the Hellions
Hellions (comics)
There have been several groups of fictional characters in the Marvel Comics universe who have been known as the Hellions. These groups were rivals of various teams of younger mutant heroes in the X-Men franchise....
mini-series, he was shattered by the Kingmaker and put back together by Julian, much like how a disembodied Emma Frost was reanimated by Jean Grey
Jean Grey
Jean Grey-Summers is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix and is best known as one of five original members of the X-Men, for her relationship with Cyclops, and for her...
in the first New X-Men
New X-Men
New X-Men was a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics within the X-Men franchise. After the end of Grant Morrison's run on X-Men , titled New X-Men, the title was used for a new series, New X-Men: Academy X, serving as a continuation of the second volume of New Mutants...
series. Santo's body was later obliterated by Nimrod. Again with Julian's assistance, he was eventually able to put himself back together. This time his appearance is larger and more rugged.
In the Quest for Magik arc, Santo attempts to fire his fists off in Limbo but Blindfold reveals that aspect of his powers doesn't work anymore. Although he is blown up again, Santo returns as a large lava type "golem". His molten rock form, being from Limbo, is also resistant to magic. This is shown when Darkchild tried to stop him from attacking her and when Belasco tries to zap him with magical energy, but they both have no effect.
Dr. McCoy's suspicion is that after Nimrod
Nimrod (comics)
Nimrod is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #191 , and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Romita, Jr. Hailing from the "Days of Future Past" timeline, Nimrod is a powerful, virtually...
shattered Santo, Nimrod must have atomized most of his original body and dissolved him in some sort of disembodied psychic state. Santo, in theory, is able to re-form himself as a "golem" from some kind of ambient earth matter and obtain that earth matter's properties. The first time his body was destroyed, he was able to reform from solid rocks and obtained a larger and rugged rock body. The second time, he reformed from Limbo's molten rocks and obtained the ability to generate and maintain heat from within, and also some magic resistance. The third time, he reformed from the school's grounds after exploding himself. Beast
Beast (comics)
Beast , Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy, is a comic book character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the mutant team of superheroes known as the X-Men...
, currently, is testing the extent of Rockslide's reformation abilities. As a result, Santo's original ability to fire off his limbs is seemingly lost in his new reformed bodies. Instead, the energy used to propel his limbs is now explosively released from his entire body, obliterating his form, from which he can recover.
Personality
Santo is typically depicted as superficially brash, oblivious, and inconsiderate. Originally, he was introduced as a stereotypical bully. However, he cares deeply for his friends, recalling the deaths of the depowered students, especially Tag, which usually motivates him to perform feats of incredible strength or bravery. He also has a strong sensitivity for his teammates, such as when Sooraya continued to "beat herself up" over the death of IcarusIcarus (comics)
Icarus , is a fictional character, a mutant superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was a member of the student body at the Xavier Institute and a member of the New Mutants training squad....
as well as recognizing that he is not supposed to see her without her abaya
Abaya
The abaya "cloak" , sometimes also called an aba, is a simple, loose over-garment, essentially a robe-like dress, worn by some women in parts of the Islamic world including in Turkey, North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula....
. He is very protective of his teammate Mercury. Santo also has a strong sense of honor, telling Anole and Pixie that he would quit the team if they were not included on the roster.
House of M
In this reality, Santo was once again a champion superhuman wrestler.Television
Rockslide made a cameo in the Wolverine and the X-Men episode "Hindsight Part 1". He was among the mutants that were captured by the Mutant Response Division.External links
- Rockslide at Marvel.com