The X-Men
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Antagonists
Rogues Gallery A To I | Rogues Gallery J To R | Rogues Gallery S to Z | Villainous Organizations | Acolytes | Arakko | Brotherhood of Mutants | Clan Akkaba | Children of The Vault | Externals | Hellfire Club | The Hellions | Marauders | Mojoverse | Morlocks | MLF | Orchis | Sentinels
Other Characters
Supporting Characters | Mutants | Xavier Institute | Krakoans | The Savage Land | Shi'ar | The Starjammers | NYX | Cable's supporting cast | Deadpool's supporting cast | Wolverine's supporting cast
First Appearance: X-Men Vol 2 #188 (2006)
A race of post-humans, created by a group of ambitious scientists using time dilation to speed up human evolution. Originally intending to wait out mankind's extinction, they were woken early by M-Day, and decided to speed up the process a little.
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In General
- And Then What?: In the Krakoa era, this is the awkward question hovering over the lot of them, which some of them are more concerned about than others. In short - once they've taken over the world, then what?
- Armour-Piercing Question: Their new approach during Fall of X is driven by the question of 'why, if we are so superior, do we always lose?'
- Body Back Up Drive: Their artificial evolution is streamlined by using infant clones engineered with whatever modifications they need in their new life, in a place called the Crèche, to be released whenever the active ones die.
- The Bus Came Back: After being absent for some time, one of their number reappears in Jonathan Hickman's X-Men (2019), having been experimented on by Orchis.
- Butt-Monkey: They're a deadly threat, but they repeatedly get humiliated by the X-Men, to the point where they start asking themselves why this keeps happening. And then it's revealed that their very existence is just to serve as Doctor Stasis' bootstrap to Dominionhood, while they get casually switched off. And to add insult to injury, even he is an Unwitting Pawn to Enigma, who thwarts him and harvests the power he claimed.
- Composite Character: Hickman's X-Men run merges them with his own creations, the Children of Tomorrow, from the Ultimate Universe.
- Characterization Marches On: Because of the nature of their evolution, the latest versions may be completely different from previous ones.
- Fatal Flaw: Because they are so much more powerful than Earth's heroes, they allow arrogance to blind them. Cable and Bishop make things hard for them by working around them rather than just going through them.
- Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke: Hickman's run established them to be this, as they are based on humans, but were constantly improved and strengthened through genetic engineering. If the X-Men do not stop them, they will take this trope to its natural conclusion and wipe out both human and mutantkind by churning out one genetic powerhouse after another. The Children of the Vault miniseries makes it clear that they are far more powerful than Orchis. Cable and Bishop send thousands of Orchis Sentinels after them and the Children destroy them quicker than Orchis can replenish them. As a matter of fact they quickly destroy the new Mother Mold with ease. It's later revealed that they were created for this very purpose by Doctor Stasis. Well, that and to bootstrap him to Dominion status.
- Gratuitous Spanish: They have a tendency to pepper their speech with Spanish.
- Hidden Depths: Not all of them support their genocidal purpose and have repressed desires for a mundane life of frivolous indulgence.
- Hidden Elf Village: The Vault from which they get their name is a time-dilated pocket dimension where thousands of generations can evolve in days.
- Lack of Empathy: One of the first things they're seen doing is obliterating a large city block just to clear out any evidence Sabretooth was there, long after he'd fled the scene. Given who their creator turns out to be, it would seem that this is something they came by honestly.
- My Suit Is Also Super: Their powers apparently derive from their clothing, and energy stored within it.
- A Nazi by Any Other Name: They're focused on eradicating any life that is not of their species. They are what William Stryker and Bolivar Trask believe mutants to be, namely, superpowered beings set out to replace them.
- Opening a Can of Clones: Hickman's X-Men hints that the various children are clones grown as the need arises, with each one serving a specific function.
- The Reveal: It explains so much about them - their nature, their threat level, and their personalities - when it's revealed that they were created by Doctor Stasis, the Sinister clone who focused on post-humanity.
- Stripperiffic: Rana only wears red leather straps to cover her bits.
- Those Were Only Their Scouts: In their first appearance, Sangre points out to Rogue that the handful she and her team fight are obviously not going to be their entire race. The others were hiding in the jungles of Ecuador, in case their first plan failed.
- Transhuman: Thanks to several subjective generations of evolution and genetic drift, they're no longer homo sapiens sapiens.
- Transhuman Treachery: Their original plan was to just sit at home and wait for mankind to die off on its own, but when they woke up early, they decided mankind would have to go so they could take over the Earth.
- Two Girls to a Team: When they were introduced during Mike Carey's run (X-Men vol. 2 #188-193), despite numbering in the thousands of them, the main antagonists were a team of Aguja and Serafina (the girls), Sangre, Perro and Fuego (males).
- Unwitting Pawn: 2024's Rise of the Powers of X reveals that their very existence was engineered as part of Doctor Stasis' long game, solely to take out Orchis, cripple and wipe clean the Dominion, so Stasis can upload himself into it. After that... You Have Outlived Your Usefulness. And the worst part? Even their creator is an Unwitting Pawn.
- Villain with Good Publicity: In the 2023 series, thanks to social engineering and idea viruses, and a lot of PR. Cable and Bishop manage to puncture this and put them on collision course with Orchis.
- Year Inside, Hour Outside: How they were created. The scientists who began the project put them in a tanker they'd acquired, and used time dilation to speed the whole thing up. The Children were in there for three decades, and might've stayed there even longer had M-Day not occurred. According to X-Men (2019) #5, an hour in our time is more than 3 months in theirs.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Their ultimate creator, Doctor Stasis, is entirely willing to eradicate all of them once they've stopped being useful to him as he does in Rise of the Powers of X.
Serafina
Serafina
Species: Post Human
First Appearance: X-Men (Vol. 2) #188 (July, 2006)
- Amazing Technicolor Population: Her 2020s redesign gives her blue skin.
- Goth: Her aesthetic in her initial design is very gothic.
- Hates Being Touched: By any non-Child, at least. She admits to Sam that sticking him in a simulation was the only way to experience her curiosity without... *shudder* touching him.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Once it's clear that Cable and Bishop have the means to destroy the Children and the city and the willingness to use it, Serafina accepts their terms of surrender and transports the City back to the Vault.
- Lotus-Eater Machine: Serafina uses her powers to live out a domestic fantasy with Cannonball. It doesn't work because Sam starts noticing things aren't right, especially as Serafina gets impatient and her "editing" gets clumsier.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: She tried using a Brainwashed and Crazy Northstar and Aurora as catspaws to eliminate the X-Men. In doing so, she helped undo Northstar's Hand-induced brainwashing, gave the twins a power boost, and allowed the X-Men a chance to cure Aurora's long-standing mental health issues (also, sending Northstar to recruit his sister also caused a case of Interrupted Suicide).
- Technopath: She can control any and all machines.
Capitán
Capitán
Species: Post Human
First Appearance: Children of the Vault #1 (August, 2023)
- Blood Knight: He leads the faction that supports a violent takeover of humanity and in battle against Orchis is elated at the prospect of sending stronger and stronger opponents to overcome.
- Meaningful Name: His name is Spanish for "captain" and he leads the pro-violence wing of the Children.
- Moral Myopia: Like most bigots he thinks that the people he considers himself superior to are too primitive and savage to be reasoned with while he himself loves the idea of violence being the answer to every problem.
- Super Supremacist: He leads the Traditionalist faction of the Children and wants to eradicate all of humankind.
Fuego
Fuego
Species: Post Human
First Appearance: X-Men (Vol. 2) #188 (July, 2006)
- Meaningful Name: His name is Spanish for 'fire' and has fire manipulation powers.
- Playing with Fire: Fuego’s power. Unlike most pyromantic characters, he has to draw energy from other sources to fuel it, rather than just generating it himself.
Aguja
Aguja
Species: Post Human
First Appearance: X-Men (Vol. 2) #188 (July, 2006)
- Barrier Warrior: She has energy-manipulating powers that she can use to make forcefields
Martillo
Martillo
Species: Post Human
First Appearance: X-Men: Legacy #238 (July, 2010)
- Hidden Depths: He is entranced by the prospect of dancing, as the Children don't indulge in that at all. When Cable destroys his mind to plunder his secrets, his innermost self is represented by a female ballerina.
- Meaningful Name: His name is Spanish for 'hammer' and he wields a large hammer-like weapon.
- Powerful Pick: He wields a massive pick axe.
Sangre
Sangre
Species: Post Human
First Appearance: X-Men (Vol. 2) #188 (July, 2006)
- The Leader: Acts as the spokesperson for the initial wave of the Children.
- Logical Weakness: A body made of water might mean he's immune to some tactics, but things that have bad chemical responses to water will do a number on him, as Mystique proves to him.
- Making a Splash: He is made of water and can manipulate all water.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: His wardrobe has pants, but no shirt.
Cadena
Cadena
Species: Post Human
First Appearance: X-Men (Vol. 2) #193 (November, 2006)
- Shock and Awe: She can absorb and redirect electricity.
Perro
Perro
Species: Post Human
First Appearance: X-Men (Vol. 2) #189 (July, 2006)
- Gravity Master: He can manipulate gravity. This includes messing with other people's, or using it to enhance his punches.
Prisa
Prisa
Species: Post Human
First Appearance: Children of the Vault #1 (August, 2023)
- Meaningful Name: Her name translates to 'hurry, rush', and she has superspeed powers.
- Super-Speed: She can move and fly at superhuman speeds.
Luz
Luz
Species: Post Human
First Appearance: X-Men: Legacy #238 (July, 2010)
- Heart Is an Awesome Power: She's much more powerful than she initially lets on. Her light manipulation powers mostly seem to just relate to illusions and temporary constructs. Then, Magneto points out that he's not fooled, because being a Genius Bruiser, he knows exactly what kind of energy levels are required to power her abilities - namely, that she could make a profitable career in "conquering small countries." She doesn't directly respond, but after that, she stops playing harmless.
- Light 'em Up: Luz can manipulate light, and become it. This gives her a whole range of abilities (flight, super speed, flawless holograms, among other things), and immense raw power, as Magneto points out.
- Meaningful Name: Her name is Spanish for 'light' and she has light manipulation powers.
- Villainesses Want Heroes: During X-Men: Legacy #238-241, she develops something of a crush on X-student Indra. She even replaces Indra's bride during the latter's marriage ceremony, and, at the very end of the arc, she creates a holographic image of the boy in her room, hinting that he left quite an impression on her.
Átomo
Átomo
Species: Post Human
First Appearance: Children of the Vault #1 (August, 2023)
- Right Hand of Doom: His left arm is massive.
- Shout-Out: To Tetsuo from Akira.
Ferro
Ferro
Species: Post Human
First Appearance: Children of the Vault #1 (August, 2023)
- Fusion Dance: Is apparently one of Perro and Fuego
Piedra Dura
Piedra Dura
Species: Post Human
First Appearance: X-Men: Legacy #241 (October, 2010)
- Meaningful Name: His name translated to 'hard stone' and his body is made of a rock solid material.
- Rock Monster: He’s made of stone and is a Child of the Vault.
Diamante
Diamante
Species: Post Human
First Appearance: X-Men (Vol. 5) #19 (March, 2021)
- Photographic Memory: He remembers everything he sees and he's the only one of the Children with full knowledge of their entire history and different motivations.
Olvido
Olvido
Species: Post Human
First Appearance: X-Men: Legacy #239 (August, 2010)
- Alternate Company Equivalent: One way he absorbs energy is by eating it, similar to Matter-Eater Lad.
- Black-Hole Belly: He's described as having a pocket universe in his lower intestine. He absorbs two actual mini-black holes into it.
- Energy Absorption: He can absorb and redirect energy
