Children of the Vault
The Children of the Vault are a species that features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
History
Origin
The Children of the Vault (Los niños de la cámara acorazada) were a species of superhumans that arose from mankind. Their existence was traced to a group of biologists that were largely researching global warming and global eco-catastrophe in the 1970s. One among them was Bella Pagan who was a temporal physicist with the team showcasing a temporal accelerator and produced a shared paper on parallel evolution. The scientific community believed the works of his group to be fraudulent and ignored their findings. However, the team was determined increasing the speed of evolution over a quick period of time through the accelerator. Thus, in 1972, they persuaded the government of Chile to lease them a UCLCC-type tanker with a Panamanian registry listing it as the Conquistador. It was refitted with scientific equipment and the scientists absconded with the vessel and in the 1973 coup attempt in the government all records of it were lost. During this time, the ship was enveloped in a sealed space of time where everything within moved at an accelerated rate by several hundred times. As such, over the course of three decades in the real world the people inside the ship went through six thousand years where the human crew went through divergent evolution. The result was the creation of a new breed of superhumans that were a separate species born from humanity. (X-Men v2 #191)
The Conquistador was meant to serve as a time capsule for their kind that was to only open when global catastrophe had erased humanity. It was then that the Children of the Vault intended to emerge and inherit the Earth. However, the energies released as the result of M-Day caused the Decimation of the Mutant population and thus caused the Children of the Vault to react early. As such, they decided to eliminate both mankind and Mutants as they believed that only they were strong with this entailing them in eliminating the weak from the world. (X-Men v2 #193)
One of the scientists formerly involved in the project, Doctor Casales, grew guilty over the group's unethical actions. He hired Sabretooth and his associate Pasco to assassinate those who had worked on the experiments. After killing Casales, the two mercenaries found the ship, the Conquistador, completely abandoned and sealed off at the open ocean. Coincidentally to their arrival, the effect caused by the M-Day event, that depowered most of the mutant population, was misinterpreted in the Vault as a global cataclysm. Thus, the Children of the Vault unexpectedly emerged. A depowered Pasco died in the resulting conflict, but Sabretooth escaped. (X-Men v2 #191)
Supernovas
In the aftermath, the Children of the Vault believed that the world was not worth being populated by their kind. Thus, they retreated to their other-dimensional city known as the Corridor. For a long time, the city resided in the void but lacked the means of being self-sufficient which necessitated them being anchored to Earth. They harvested trans-dimensional particles but the toxic waste had to be expunged to Earth with this causing electrical storms that left human beings in a coma. To overcome this, they decided to create a machine called the Angelfire that would turn energy manipulating members of their kind into living capacitators to power an engine. Thirty such individuals were needed for this task but the Children were only able to select 29 members of their kind for this task. This number was further reduced when Luz escaped the city to Earth where she emerged in Mumbai. After an initial attempt to capture her failed, the Children arrived on the scene where they battled the X-Men once again. In this time, they encountered Magneto whose powers were deemed strong enough to power the Angelfire. Thus, after acquiring him and Luz, they returned to the Corridor where they also abducted Rogue in order to punish her for her crimes against them. With 30 individuals gathered, the Angelfire was activated but it was revealed that 'Luz' was actually a human disguised to resemble her with this causing the engine to fail and the city to crash into Mumbai. (X-Men: v1 Legacy #240) Luz later decided to help the X-Men in getting their comrades and rescuing people from the Corridor which Magneto then powered to send it back into the void without an anchor where it was believed to had become lost between dimensions. (X-Men: v1 Legacy #241)
Into the Vault
Following the defeat of the Children, the Vault concluded that the first-generation were ill-equipped to combat their foe. Thus, it concluded that they needed to evolve with a second-generation being produced and let loose into the world. These Children though were captured, dissected and re-purposed by the Orchis organization for use as potential weapons against the newly formed Mutant nation-state of Krakoa. A single Child managed to escape with this being Serafina who fled and aimed to return to the City. (X-Men v5 #19) The lone Serafina remained on the run where she fled back to the Vault whilst being pursued by Wolverine who was unable to capture her in time. Once inside, she interfaced with the Vault's artificial intelligence that reconstituted fallen Children and began growing more as part of a new cycle of response towards threats in the world. To stop them, the X-Men staged an attack on the structure in order to distract the automated defences whilst they dispatched a tea consisting of X-23, Synch and Darwin to infiltrate the facility. (X-Men v5 #5) Meanwhile, the Vault analysed the data given to it by Serafina and determined that another evolutionary leap was needed for the Children thus producing the third-generation that were deemed to be the final iteration of these post-humans. During this time, the Children came to determine an intrusion by the trio of Krakoan Mutants. The trio managed to evade the Children for decades until Darwin was captured whereupon the Vault concluded that its third-generation were ill-equipped to accomplish the displacement protocol that would lead to these examples of post-humanity claiming the Earth. It was determined a new fourth-generation was needed but these were beyond the capabilities of the City. This was until Darwin was captured where atomization and biomass seeding allowed for the creation of newly evolved Children of the Vault. The Children chase and are able to prevent Wolverine and Synch from escaping the Vault. Before dying, however, Synch manages to make a telepathic contact with Professor Xavier and ensure everything he's learned about the Children of the Vault is passed onto his resurrected form. (X-Men v5 #19)
In response, Forge was tasked with finding a solution to handling the threat posed by the Children of the Vault. As part of Project Blackbox, he used Krakoan technology to encase the Vault in a virtual environment that would entrap any of the Children that emerged in the world. Later Forge and Cyclops travel to Ecuador where the home of the posthuman Children of the Vault is located. Once they reached the giant ruined Sentinel that contained the Vault, its revealed that Forge had built a weapon pointing into the entrance of the Vault that if the door opens will fire a little black hole that will collapse and take the Vault and the entire population inside into the unknown. However just as Cyclops and Forge are debating the ethics of what will happens, the door of the Vault opened and the Children emerged from it. Forge uses his secret weapon Project Blackbox to subdue them but because the Children of the Vault had become greatly evolved and extremely powerful, they quickly overwhelm the two mutants, with Forge losing a hand and Cyclops being killed by Fuego's flames after he absorbed and redirected Cyclops' optic blast. The Children of the Vault then travel to Krakoa which falls less than a day after the Vault opened. New York City is the next to fall, burned to the ground as the Avengers went down swinging with Ghost Rider killed by Fuego. The Children then kills the Fantastic Four. Sangre drowns Thing, Fuego kills Johnny, Reed is dead on the ground and Serafina snaps Sue's neck. Earth's mystics lasted the longest and Latveria was the last stand of mankind. Clea and Doom are eventually killed nevertheless. Insatiable, the Children of the Vault journeyed to Asgard, where they killed everyone and eat a feast on top of Thor's dead body. However it was soon revealed that all this was actually a simulated reality that contained not only the Children of the Vault but the entire Vault itself inside of a bio-dome. Forge then entered inside of the bio-dome in order to rescue Darwin from the Vault. (X-Men v6 #15)
During his travels into the Vault, he came to encounter the prior incarnation of Wolverine Laura Kinney who was shown to had not died. (X-Men v6 #16) They were quickly identified by Serafina. Forge mentioned that he wished to see the results of Blackbox. Being curious, Serafina allowed him leave the Vault with Wolverine. As he left, Forge interacted with the intelligence of the City and learnt that Darwin had merged with it during his death. (X-Men v6 #17)
Children of Tomorrow
Later on, Orchis staged a massive attack against the Mutant island nation of Krakoa. This caused the collapse of Krakoan society, the living island of Krakoa to go dormant and the mutant population vanishing. (X-Men: Hellfire Gala 2023 v1 #1) The disappearance of Krakoa caused the technology empowering Project: Blackout to go unresponsive which in turn resulted in the Children of the Vault reactivating once again. (X-Men v6 #25)
Overview
In appearance, the Children of the Vault had a vast variety of appearances with these being factored on their abilities. Though possessing powers, they were not Mutants but rather the result of centuries of genetic drift to the point that they were counted as a separate species. (X-Men v2 #191) Thus, their abilities were the result of their post-human physiology. (X-Men: v1 Legacy #240)
The Children were said to had not asked to be born but rather were made by human scientists to repopulate the Earth after a hypothetical disaster. (X-Men: v1 Legacy #240) They believed that only they were intended to inherit the Earth and that they intended to achieve this goal. (X-Men v2 #193) This was done based on projections of scenarios established by the Vault and sought to enact the displacement protocol. (X-Men v5 #19) The Children of the Vault were said to represent the single greatest threat to Mutantkind. (X-Men v5 #5)
Their society was noted possessing a strict set of rules with acts of defiance being forbidden. (X-Men: v1 Legacy #238) It was said that they had lived secluded from the Earth for centuries of compressed time. (X-Men: v1 Legacy #240) The Children of the Vault were said to typically operate in packs. (X-Men v5 #5) They claimed that it was a crime to kill one of their kind but they had no such compunctions about killing other races as they deemed this simple pest control. Trials could be experienced at the Sense Forum whereby individual Children could link either through remote terminals or via direct sensorium feed. It was used as a means for the Children to witness judgement of individuals for crimes against their people. During trials, various means of execution could be given such a gravity where it was increased on a person until they were crushed by the forces on them. (X-Men: v1 Legacy #240)
Central to their operations was a structure known as the Vault that contained a chamber where time operated differently with a temporal shear serving as a barrier into the space inside. It was said to be similar to the World in that time was accelerated within the structure. However, a key difference was that the Vault was based on human adaptation entirely on technological lines rather than evolutionary based as was the case in the World. Automated defensive systems were noted to protect the structure with this being guided by its artificial intelligence. (X-Men v5 #5) Within the Vault, reproduction was achieved through asexual means though certain members like to experience other means of begetting offspring. (X-Men v2 #191) Different generations of Children of the Vault were grown with improvements evolved into them so that they could enact the displacement protocol and claim the Earth. (X-Men v5 #19) One site within the Vault was the Creche which was where the bodies of reborn Children awaited rebirth and upgrades. (X-Men v5 #19)
Another facility that was operated by the Children was the Corridor. This was a magnificent city tethered like a balloon to the side of the parent universe. (X-Men: v1 Legacy #238) Its location within the void meant that it always suffered from an energy as there was no sun so they could not draw on any natural source of heat or light. The decay of trans-dimensional particles fuelled their generators though the processing of it was noted for being dangerous with the waste material being highly toxic. To deal with the waste, it was bled off into Earth which was the reason for an anchor to the parent universe with this manifesting as energy storms whose effects could leave human beings in a coma. A result of this was the Children of the Vault having a long desire to become self-sufficient. (X-Men: v1 Legacy #240)
It was said that they had developed technologies that were as formidable and dangerous as any superpower. (X-Men v2 #191) This meant that it was difficult to steal their powers as they were noted biological but rather rooted in their technology. (X-Men v2 #193)
They were known to had created machine viruses that were able to infect a person and kill them in 30 days. (Giant-Size X-Men: Jean Grey and Emma Frost v1 #1)
A device created by the Children was the Angelfire that was a machine designed to make their city self-sufficient. This was a large machine designed to channel the energy manipulation abilities of some of their number. Thirty such individuals were needed to balance the load for the task where they were strapped onto the machine. This combined and converted all the unique beings into being living capacitators for a single wondrous engine. A simultaneous bio-feedback was used to repair the cells of the volunteers to prevent all damage and aging allowing them to live forever barring accident. (X-Men: v1 Legacy #240)
The Children were known to make use of Sentinels with these being referred to as the Servidores. (X-Men: v1 Legacy #238) Work teams of the giant robots could be dispatched to bring back rogue Children that had escaped onto Earth. All data from the Servidores was transmitted sensory downloads to a Master Mold that was located at the Corridor. (X-Men: v1 Legacy #239) They also were able to create humanoid behemoths that were inorganic machines which lacked a magnetic field that served as guards. (X-Men: v1 Legacy #241)
Members
- Sangre : a grey skinned male who was apparently made of liquid and possessed advanced water manipulation abilities allowing him to produce bubbles that he used to suffocate his victims, among other things. As a result of his aquatic body, it was shown that he was not easily harmed. (X-Men v2 #188)
- Serafina : a dark haired woman who was a technopath able to mechanically interface with machinery and other people. With her powers, she could enhance and control their powers. Her human senses were masterfully enhanced as well to the point she could differentiate between psionic illusions and reality on sight. Serafina was also able to detect genetic and biochemical data down to the molecular level. This made her an extraordinary tracker, capable not only of tracing a target's path but also identifying any person or object they might have touched and recognizing subtle shifts in their body chemistry or metabolism, such as changes in adrenaline levels or pulse rate. She could also manipulate bio-molecular ingredients to some degree. (X-Men v2 #188)
- Perro : a massive, battle-hungry man who served as the muscle of the Children of the Vault with him always searching for a fight. It was shown that he possessed superhuman strength, durability, and control over gravity. Despite being a seeming brute, Perro was quite intelligent and expressed himself very well.(X-Men v2 #189)
- Fuego :
- Aguja :
- Cadena :
- Corregidora : (X-Men: v1 Legacy #238)
- Martillo : (X-Men: v1 Legacy #238)
- Luz : a blonde haired female with the power to manipulate who enjoyed art and conducted numerous acts of defiance such as making caricatures of their leaders which saw her being punished with her eventually escaping the Corridor to travel to Earth to escape her people. (X-Men: v1 Legacy #238)
- Horadar : a Child of the Vault with teleportation abilities. (X-Men v5 #19)
- Madre : a golden-skinned female Child of the Vault who was charged with watching over the Creche and whose existence was inverted from the rest of her kin where she was awake to watch over them when they were asleep and when they were awake she went into her sleep. (X-Men v5 #19)
- Diamante : a male Child of the Vault who had a photographic memory and contained the entire history of their kind. (X-Men v5 #19)
Notes
- The Children of the Vault were created by Mike Carey and Chris Bachalo where they made their first appearance in X-Men v2 #188 (September, 2006).
Appearances
- X-Men v2: (2006)
- X-Men: Legacy v1:
- X-Men v5: (2020)
- Giant-Size X-Men: Jean Grey and Emma Frost v1: (2020)
- X-Men v6: (2022)
- X-Men: Hellfire Gala 2023 v1:
- Children of the Vault v1:
External Link
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