Nationality:
Species:
Debut:
Celeste, Esme, Irma, Phoebe, and Sophie Cuckoo /The Stepford Cuckoos / Weapon XIV / The White Queen
Nationality: American, Krakoan
Species: Human mutant/Clone
First Appearance: New X-Men #118 (November, 2001)
The Stepford Cuckoos, also known as the Three-in-One or Five-in-One, depending on how many are alive at the time, are a set of Marvel Comics characters created by Grant Morrison and Ethan Van Sciver, first appearing in New X-Men #118 (dated November 2001).
Introduced as a mutant quintet comprised of Celeste, Esme, Irma, Phoebe, and Sophie, as The Cuckoos are genetically-engineered clones of Emma Frost. Conceived as "Weapon XIV", they were an attempt to create a mass-killing weapon against mutantkind, specifically through telepathic assault.
As the genetic daughters of Emma Frost, they're a devastatingly powerful telepath hive mind, and have shown themselves to be worthy of hosting the Phoenix Force. Although most of their peers have difficulty telling them apart, the sisters do have subtle differences in personality which sometimes causes conflict amongst them.
Outside of comics, the Cuckoos have appeared in other media. Most notably, they (specifically Esme, Sophie, and Phoebe) appear on FOX's X-Men drama The Gifted, portrayed there by Skyler Samuels. These versions of the characters are shown to be mutant extremists working with the Hellfire Club, eventually getting caught up with the efforts of the Mutant Underground.
In General
- Back from the Dead: Sophie and Esme died relatively early in their history, and have since returned from the dead on a number of occasions, only to die again at the conclusion of the plot. While they were meant to be Killed Off for Real in X-23 #5, it's since been revealed that Sophie and Esme have been resurrected again by Krakoa as part of House of X and Dawn of X.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The triplets: Celeste, Irma, and Phoebe, respectively, spent time as this under Brian Michael Bendis. They're all natural blondes, but later Irma and Phoebe dyed their hair. They eventually reverted back to their original appearances.
- Catholic Schoolgirls Rule: When not in X-Men uniforms, they tend to wear schoolgirl outfits, mostly a plaid skirt, a shirt or blouse with suspenders and boots or leather shoes.
- Cain and Abel: Esme and Sophie, respectively. Sophie was the most unambiguously heroic and powerful of the five, while Esme was the most overtly villainous and cunning. Phoebe, Mindee, and Celeste are more generally in the middle, though leaning towards "good."
- Clone Angst: Cloned from Emma Frost's ova cells while she lay in a coma after her Hellions were killed. They have often expressed extreme distaste of being cloned from her and have at times tried to establish their own identities through betrayal or just dying their hair different colors.
- Coordinated Clothes: They typically all dress the same, but there are some series, particularly Uncanny X-Men (2013), where they began to differentiate.
- Creepy Good: When they're fighting for good, they're firmly this trope. Despite their good intentions, other characters can't help but remark how disturbing and off-putting the Cuckoos can be, especially when they speak in unison.
- Creepy Twins: Or rather, quints, at least initially. There are five of them, they're all identical, and they're creepy enough to have been named for a bunch of famous fictional creepy children.
- Depending on the Writer: Specific personality traits get shifted between the sisters depending on who is writing them.
- Emotionless Girl: A part of their creepiness is their general emotional distance as a gestalt. Their diamond form also dampens their emotions until they're completely gone, although they were eventually restored. However, they are not as emotionless as the pretend to be, as several of their psychic conversations and arguments with each other have shown.
- Face–Heel Turn: The Three-In-One had a brief one in X-23 Vol. 4 by kidnapping Gabby Kinney as part of their plan to resurrect Esme. Only Irma expresses any real reluctance, and later turns on the others to help Laura save Gabby and manages to convince Celeste and Pheobe that they have been played.
- Fun with Acronyms: Their initials were intended to spell "spice", as an Easter Egg. Unfortunately, this was never made explicit, and one sister was left unnamed at the end of New X-Men. The next writer named her "Mindee". Her actual name was later revealed to be "Irma", restoring the acronym.
- Hidden Depths: For all their insistence that they are of one mind, the five of them have frequent arguments, don't all share the same interests, and have sometimes tried to express an individual identity outside of the hive mind.
- Hive Mind: Their whole thing is being an "[X]-in-One", bolstering their mental abilities by pooling their powers.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: It's revealed there's actually thousands of them. The majority of them end up destroyed however, leaving only the ones already introduced.
- Partial Transformation: Unlike their genetic donor, Emma, they're capable of only partially assuming their diamond form as they wish. They have since overcome this limitation and can fully assume a diamond form.
- Psychic Link: The Cuckoos form a psychic gestalt, linking all their minds together to magnify their powers.
- Psychic Powers: The Stepford Cuckoos are powerful telepaths, who can combine their telepathic abilities to create an even more powerful hive-mind. Their telepathic powers include broadcasting and receiving thoughts, mind control, planting illusions, blasts of pure psionic energy, seeing through another person's eyes, and also are so powerful that they are one of the few people able to operate Cerebra. Additionally they have some level of telekinesis though they seldom use it.
- School Uniforms are the New Black: The Cuckoos often wear various prep school inspired outfits despite the Academy having no official dress code.
- Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can: As a part of their purpose as weapons against the Phoenix they can turn their hearts into unfeeling diamond to seal slivers of it away within themselves.
- Secret-Keeper: During the Utopia era Celeste, Irma, and Phoebe agreed to keep the existence of X-Force a secret for Cyclops, partially because they knew Emma wouldn't approve of it.
- Shout-Out: Of course a group of creepily affectless, powerful psychic girls are named as The Stepford Wives + The Midwich Cuckoos.
- Status Quo Is God:
- For a time the Cuckoos were reduced from Five to Three-In-One, as Sophie and Esme were both killed as a result of Esme's machinations. Since then, the two sisters have been resurrected a number of times, only to die again as the plot concludes. Sophie and Esme are back again in Dawn of X, but this time it sticks thanks to the resurrection system of the Five.
- After a stretch as a Blonde, Brunette, Redhead, Celeste, Irma, and Phoebe reverted to their original blonde appearance.
- Tyke Bomb: Yeah, they're not exactly the most physically intimidating people around but they can still be considered Super-Soldier or Living Weapon. They're actually one of the last elements of the Weapon Plus program, the same one that made Captain America and Wolverine.
- Twin Telepathy: The Cuckoos are a telepathic Hive Mind, which amplifies their powers. They feel incomplete whenever one or more of their number is missing, to the point of taking extreme measures (including pulling a Grand Theft Me on X-23's sister) to get one of them back.
- Younger Than They Look: The Cuckoos were artificially aged to their current state.
Celeste Cuckoo
The strongest of the Three-In-One after Sophie and Esme's deaths, Celeste often spoke for the sisters.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: In X-23 Vol. 4, Celeste ends up impaled on the end of Gabby's claw while Esme is possessing Gabby, after Sophie reveals herself and exposes Esme's treachery, and Esme loses patience with her sisters. Fortunately, it wasn't fatal.
- Ship Tease: Has shown interest in Agent Jake Oh and Hellion in the past.
- Took a Level in Badass: Was originally described as the timidest of the Three-In-One, but after
Esme Cuckoo
The most ruthless of the Five-In-One who was jealous of Sophie's status and leadership of the hive mind. Her jealously drove her to murder Sophie and attempt to kill Emma Frost before fleeing the Xavier Institute and aligning herself with Xorn. Esme was eventually murdered by her lover and was returned to life a few times, including during a bid to steal the body of Gabby Kinney. She was truly resurrected by the Five on Krakoa, where she found herself entering into a relationship with Kid Cable.
- Becoming the Mask: She admits to Kid Cable that she and the other Cuckoos were told to date him by Scott and Jean under the precaution that he was too good to be true and might be a Stryfe plant. She fell in love with him long before they proved telepathically that he was who he claimed to be.
- Came Back Wrong: Esme wasn't exactly right to begin with, having always been the most overtly villainous Cuckoo. However, her multiple stints as a corpse pretty much sent her off the deep end during her brief resurrection in X-23 Vol. 4. Esme's subsequent resurrection on Krakoa seems to have alleviated much of that damage to her mind.
- The Corrupter: Her presence in the Hive Mind tended to drive them towards more ruthless and immoral actions, particularly when she was briefly revived in X-23 Vol. 4.
- Doesn't Like Guns: While using one to fight a demon army commanded by Stryfe, Esme eventually drops the gun out of disgust and dismisses it as "so human".
- Easily Forgiven: Despite her past villainous actions, including murdering Sophie twice and attempting to steal Gabby's body, Esme is treated as an equal in the Five-In-One on Krakoa and is trusted on the same level by Emma despite having tried to murder her in the past.
- Green-Eyed Monster: She was jealous of Sophie's power and skill and influenced her into taking the drug kick to help end Quentin Quire's riot, knowing it would kill Sophie.
- Heel–Face Turn: After being revived on Krakoa, Esme has become far more stable and less abrasive, even entering into a relationship with the younger version of Cable.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: She was killed as a result of her own machinations.
- It's All About Me: During her brief resurrection in X-23 Vol. 4, Esme makes it clear in her Motive Rant in issue 4 that her plan isn't so much about reuniting the Five-In-One as it is empowering herself.
- Manipulative Bitch: Esme was the most manipulative of the sisters and helped create the situation in which Sophia was killed. Emma herself even lampshades it when she notes that Esme was the Cuckoo who was most like her.
- Married in the Future: The end of Cable (2020) suggests that she and Kid Cable will reunite and become married at some point in the future.
- Sanity Slippage: Her usage of kick took a heavy toll on her mind, causing her and Xorn to become delusional.
- Token Evil Teammate: In her first life Esme was the cruelest of the sisters and actually turned fully evil by trying to murder Emma and joining Xorn's Brotherhood.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Her revival on Krakoa and relationship with Cable seem to have led Esme to become far more caring about others.
Irma Cuckoo
- The Cassandra: In issue 2 of X-23 Vol. 4, Irma appears to recognize something isn't right about the plan to save Esme's life by putting her mind in Gabby's body, worrying that they are being influenced by Esme, but Celeste and Phoebe shout her down in their determination to maintain the now Four-in-One.
- Heel Realization: A preemptive one by Irma in issue 1 of X-23 Vol. 4, as she warns her sisters if they proceed with their plan, they'll be the bad guys. Pulls a full Heel–Face Turn a couple issues later when she starts helping Laura try to stop Esme.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Which name Irma goes by tends to be rather inconsistent since her proper name was never given when the girls were originally introduced. As a result, sometimes Mindee is treated like a name she gave herself, other times she only ever goes by her proper name. Sometimes Mindee is used as if it were her real name.
- Ship Tease: She had a brief but aggressive flirtation with Jay Guthrie, which ended with his murder. In Uncanny X-Men (2013) she and Triage also had a flirtatious relationship.
Phoebe Cuckoo
- Battle Couple: She worked alongside Quentin on several missions for X-Force during their relationship, most notably while helping him track down and destroy all of his bodies that Xeno was utilizing as weapons.
- Love Cannot Overcome: She breaks up with Quentin after accidentally seeing him daydream of one day having a kid with her. Phoebe claims that he is "too much" in everything he does and that it is overwhelming to be with someone like that while noting that her most important commitment will always be to her sisters. However, this is partly an excuse for her sisters having pressured her into ending the relationship as they viewed it as a distraction to their work that they had "tolerated" for long enough.
- Secret Relationship: Began one with Quentin on Krakoa despite the rather lengthy history and bad blood between him and the sisters. Phoebe hid it from the other four because she knew they would disapprove and because she wanted something all to herself that she did not have to share with them.
Sophie Cuckoo
- "I was One in Five. The strongest. The first killed. The first betrayed."
The most powerful of the Five-In-One who always had the desire to be a hero, Sophie was the first of the sisters to die when she helped to quell Quentin Quire's riot. She was briefly revived a few times over the years before returning for good on Krakoa thanks to the resurrection powers of the Five.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Used kick to empower herself during Quentin Quire's riot to direct her sisters in stopping him through the use of Cerebra. The mental strain killed her, which was later revealed to be part of Esme's plan to eliminate her most powerful sister.
- Ship Tease: During the Chaos War event, she and several other dead mutants were briefly resurrected. During that time, Sophie and John Proudstar grew close and before returning to the afterlife once more hoped that they might be reunited if ever resurrected again. This has yet to be followed up on after both return on Krakoa.
- Token Good Teammate: Unlike the rest of her sisters, Sophie has always been portrayed positively and wanted to be a hero.
Xavier Institute Students
Maxwell Jordan / Quill
Nationality: American
Species: Human mutant
Debut: New X-Men Vol 2 #1 (July, 2004)
A new student at the institute who is assigned to Cyclops's Corsairs training squad. Despite his mentor's more serious attitude, Quill is well-known for being the class clown of the school.
- The Apprentice: After he was caught with a couple other students stealing test answers, Gambit, who was supposed to be teaching them not to steal, decided to take Quill and the other two under his wing as thieves-in-training.
- Boom, Headshot!: Shot in the head by a Purifier when they invaded the mansion.
- Mauve Shirt: He was a frequent supporting character in the series and made a few appearances outside of it before his death.
- Spike Shooter: He could shoot quills from his body.
Callie Betto / Dryad
Nationality: American
Species: Human mutant
Debut: New X-Men Vol 2 #1 (July, 2004)
Another member of the Corsairs. Dryad was friends with Mercury.
- Bus Crash: Was among the former students murdered by the Purifiers by blowing up the bus taking them away from the school.
- De-power: Lost her powers on M-Day.
- Green Thumb: She could control plant life and make it grow faster as well.
Dallas Gibson / Spector
Nationality: American
Species: Human mutant
Debut: New Mutants Vol 2 #3 (September, 2003)
Originally a student of Emma Frost's, Spector transferred first to the Paragons and then to the Corsairs.
- Casting a Shadow: He can merge with his shadow, which gives him numerous additional powers, including Super-Strength and Super-Speed.
- De-power: Lost his powers on M-Day.
Andrea Margulies / Rubbermaid
Nationality: American
Species: Human mutant
Debut: X-Treme X-Men #20 (March, 2003)
Sarah Vale / Network
Nationality: American
Species: Human mutant
Debut: New X-Men Vol 2 #5 (November, 2004)
Jessica Vale / Preview
Nationality: American
Species: Human mutant
Debut: New X-Men Vol 2 #5 (November, 2004)
- De-power: Lost her powers on M-Day.
Face
Nationality:
Species: Human mutant
Debut: X-Terminators #3 (December, 1988)
Other Mutants
Absolon Mercator / Mr. M
Nationality: Belgian
Species: Human mutant
Debut: District X #2 (August, 2004)
A Omega-level mutant who can manipulate subatomic particles. He resides in New York City's Mutant Town, where he tries to keep a low-profile but frequently ends up dealing with dangerous situations. Absolon retained his powers after M-Day and joined many of the 198 on the grounds of the Xavier school, but he was murdered due to the manipulations of Johnny Dee and General Lazer, who viewed him as one of the greatest remaining mutant threats.
Lorelei Travis
Nationality: American
Species: Human mutant
Debut: District X #1 (July, 2004)
A exotic dancer living in New York City's Mutant Town. Lorelei had prehensile hair and was one of the handful of mutants to retain her powers after M-Day. Like most surviving mutants she sought the protection of the X-Men and became a resident of Utopia.
Evangeline "Vange" Whedon
Nationality: American
Species: Human mutant
Debut: X-Treme X-Men Vol 1 21 (April, 2003)
A lawyer with the Mutant Rights League, Vange is herself a mutant who can transform into a giant dragon-like creature.
Tran Coy Manh
Nationality: Vietnamese
Species: Human mutant
Debut: Marvel Team-Up #100 (December, 1980)
The twin brother of New Mutant Karma, Tran shared the same power as his sister to possess the minds of others. He told his uncle Nguyen Ngoc Coy of his ability and went to work for him in a criminal empire based out of New York City.
Raksha
A group of vigilante mutants from the island nation of Madripoor who were influenced by Patch, aka Wolverine, during his time on the island. Due to the corrupt nature of the island, they take the law into their own hands to protect the citizens and mutants of the city from criminals, MGH dealers, and other threats. During the time-displaced original X-Men's stay in Madripoor, they met and befriended the Raksha.
- Aborted Arc: The last issue of X-Men: Blue'' ends with them being recruited by Polaris and Danger to become a new team of X-Men operating in Madripoor. They have not been seen or mentioned since then, and Polaris is currently residing on Krakoa.
- Anti-Hero: They don't have issues with killing criminals they fight, reasoning that they would just be released right back onto the street by the corrupt law enforcement of Madripoor. The time-displaced X-Men challenge them to change this attitude.
- Eye Scream: They tended to remove one eye from criminals they beat as punishment for their crimes.
- Hero-Worshipper: Of Patch, and are thus very reluctant to trust Magneto due to him being one of Wolverine's oldest foes.
- Vigilante Man
Norio
Nationality: Madripoorian
Species: Human mutant
Debut: X-Men: Blue #6 (August, 2017)
The leader of the Raksha. He is able to emit Darkforce energy from his left eye.
- Eyepatch of Power: Wears an eyepatch over his left eye to contain the Darkforce energy within.
- The Leader:
Gazing Nightshade
Whisper Doll
Nationality: Madripoorian
Species: Human mutant
Debut: X-Men: Blue #6 (August, 2017)
A member of the Raksha who is immune to telepathy.
Hexideciaml
Nationality: Madripoorian
Species: Human mutant
Debut: X-Men: Blue #6 (August, 2017)
A member of the Raksha who possess technokinesis.
