Colossus (Marvel)
Colossus is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Piotr Rasputin
The young Piotr was shown to had been a gentle boy who was watched over by his older brother Mikhail who took care of him. One day, Mikhail was set to join the Soviet space program with this upsetting Piotr. However, Mikhail said he was a patriot doing it for their home country of Russia but he promised that he would still be watching over his younger brother. (X-Men Origins: Colossus v1 #1)
Later on, the Rasputin family received news that Mikhail had died in service to the country. The news greatly upset Piotr who believed the world had taken his brother from him and that no one would watch over him afterwards. Whilst out in the barn, Piotr screamed leading to his mutation manifesting with his skin turning into organic steel where he would pass out and return to normal. The incident was seen by Mikhail's friend Alexander who took Piotr back to the family home but kept the entire incident a secret. (X-Men Origins: Colossus v1 #1)
When his father first learnt of his mutation, he treated Piotr cruelly and used to force his son to live in the barn like an animal. (Extraordinary X-Men v1 #1) During these years, his family's farm was visited by a criminal called the Tattooed Man who was a Mutant blackmailer. He threatened the Rasputin family and extorting them for money in order to keep their secret from the authorities. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #405)
The F.S.S. received agent Dubenko’s report on Piotr Rasputin’s condition, and the entire agency was alerted. This resulted in a black ops team being sent to retrieve Piotr for government conditioning. At the Rasputin farm, the family slept peacefully in their beds whilst the covert operations team that descended upon their home in helicopters. Several masked agents approach the house kick in the front door, and proceed to Piotr’s bedroom. They enter and fire several tranquilizer rounds directly at his bed only to discover that no one was sleeping in this particular bed. In the meantime, Piotr was checking on his younger sister where he told her to go back to sleep and switched off the lights. He then switched to his metallic form whilst the soldiers were moving from room to room. They came to hold Piotr's mother at gunpoint and went to opening Illyana's room. It was then that Piotr's metallic arm burst through the door and punched the man in the face. Walking through the debris, he stood before the soldiers who after a moment of shock opened fire. The rounds from their guns are useless and merely bounced off of Piotr’s armored body. He in turn reacted by hurling the enemy soldiers downed teammate right at them, knocking several of them down. The soldiers try to call for backup, but it did them no good. Piotr makes quick work of the squad end hurled their leader out of a second-story window. He then leaps out the same window to finish the job only to be confronted by an armored stealth helicopter. Springing into action, he leapt at the helicopter and demolished it with a blow from his double-handed fist. With the threat neutralised, he walked over to the squad leader and hoisted him off the ground where he began questioning him. He stated that he had no intention of killing the soldiers where instead he demanded them to leave his home and to never return. The agent said that this was impossible and revealed himself to be the farmhand Ivan. Piotr was stunned at this betrayal whilst Ivan stated that they would never stop until he was captured and go to any lengths to achieve their goal. Ivan knew that Piotr was not a killer and attempted to make him lose him by saying he had already lost. At that moment, Ivan was struck with a tranquilizer dart and rendered unconscious. It was then that Alexander Vahzin arrived where he confirmed everything Ivan had said but said that after tonight the Russian government would have no interest in the Rasputin family. Vahzin had been promoted to Director of Intelligence and with him was having the memories of all the soldiers involved erased before departing. (X-Men Origins: Colossus v1 #1)
X-Men
One day, he was working as a simple laborer on the Ust-Ordynsky Collective farm near Lake Baikal in Siberia, Soviet Union, when he witnessed a runaway tractor hurtling directly toward his younger sister, Illyana Rasputin. He instantly rushed to intervene, deliberately positioning himself in front of the vehicle and transforming his entire physical body into a metallic state to absorb the impact, completely halting the heavy farm machinery and saving his sister without sustaining any personal injury. Shortly after this incident, he was approached at the farm by Professor Charles Xavier, who explained that he was putting together a new international team of specialized combatants to locate and rescue his original students, who had vanished during a mission. He was recruiting Mutants and looked to assemble a new team of X-Men to help rescue the originals from a sentient living island called Krakoa. Piotr Rasputin agreed to leave his homeland to assist, accepting the code name Colossus as he traveled to the United States where he came to stay at the Charles Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters to join fellow recruits Nightcrawler, Storm, Wolverine, Thunderbird, Banshee, and Sunfire. Whilst there, he joined the new team of X-Men where he was given the code name of Colossus where the recruits went to battle Krakoa. Under the tactical leadership of Cyclops, Colossus and the newly formed unit boarded a specialized jet and traveled to the mysterious South Pacific location known as Krakoa. Upon landing on the terrain, the team quickly discovered that the entire island was actually a singular, living mutant entity that actively fed on mutant life force. Colossus and his teammates navigated the hostile environment and located the captured original X-Men trapped inside a central temple structure. Using his immense physical strength, Colossus tore through the surrounding hazards to help free the weakened captives. Once the entire thirteen-member group was reunited, they combined their elemental and physical powers to feed Krakoa's mass directly into the planet's magnetic field via Polaris, successfully launching the living landmass out of Earth's atmosphere and into outer space. With the threat neutralized, Colossus returned safely to the surface world alongside his new allies, remaining with the organization to face the future of the expanded team. (Giant-Size X-Men v1 #1)
Piotr Rasputin gathered with his newly recruited teammate Nightcrawler in the dense wood surrounding the Xavier Institute, where he utilized his massive physical strength to easily uproot a giant tree to clear a walking path. The peace was instantly disrupted when Cyclops formally assembled the team inside the mansion to announce that all of the original X-Men students, except for himself, had permanently resigned from active duty following the traumatic ordeal on Krakoa. Piotr Rasputin stood quietly alongside Storm, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Banshee, and Thunderbird as they accepted their permanent responsibilities as the primary defensive line of the team. This structural transition faced its first tactical trial when the base was suddenly breached by Sunfire, who loudly declared his immediate resignation before flying away from the estate. The remaining unit immediately mobilized to answer an emergency alert from the Valhalla Aerospace Research Center near Colorado Springs, boarding a specialized jet to intercept Count Nefaria and his international syndicate of Ani-Men mercenaries who had forcefully seized control of the nuclear command infrastructure. Upon infiltrating the heavily fortified military complex, Piotr Rasputin transformed his entire biological structure into his organic steel configuration, charging directly into the firing path of automated laser defense batteries to provide a moving physical shield for his teammates to press their counter-offensive. (X-Men v1 #94)
Colossus went deep into the upper levels of the seized Colorado aerospace facility alongside his companions, actively tracking Count Nefaria as the villain threatened to detonate a global nuclear payload unless a massive financial ransom was securely paid by the United States government. As the confrontation escalated into a chaotic physical melee across the command decks, Piotr Rasputin engaged the enhanced mercenary known as Gort, utilizing his dense metallic limbs to absorb a sequence of heavy blunt force impacts before completely overpowering the brute in close-quarters brawling. While his teammates successfully dismantled the remaining Ani-Men operatives and manually overrode the nuclear countdown sequences, Count Nefaria managed to break away toward a localized external hangar bay to board a high-speed getaway aircraft to escape justice. Piotr Rasputin rushed out onto the concrete tarmac just as the jet initiated its vertical takeoff sequence, witnessing Thunderbird aggressively leap directly onto the fuselage of the ascending aircraft to tear through the external shielding with his bare hands. Despite the frantic, radioed warnings from Professor Charles Xavier instructing the warrior to leap clear before the damaged engines failed, the plane suffered a catastrophic, mid-air fuel explosion that instantly killed Thunderbird and heavily rained burning debris down across the landscape, leaving Piotr Rasputin to stand in total shock and mourning alongside the survivors on the wreckage-strewn airfield. (X-Men v1 #95)
He later responded to an emergency briefing inside the Xavier Institute's sub-surface command chamber, where Cyclops detailed a sudden global threat emerging from a localized disruption in the Shi'ar Imperial galaxy. Before the team could finalize an interplanetary transit strategy, the mansion's automated perimeter alerts detected an incoming physical breach, forcing Piotr Rasputin to rapidly deploy to the external grounds alongside Wolverine, Storm, and Nightcrawler. The group confronted a mysterious, high-velocity extra-terrestrial scout vessel that crash-landed directly onto the estate, revealing a heavily wounded spacefarer who carried an ominous psychic warning regarding a cosmic entity known as Eric the Red. Piotr Rasputin transformed his entire biological anatomy into his organic steel configuration to clear the radioactive vessel's smoking wreckage, remaining on absolute high alert while Professor Charles Xavier utilized his telepathic faculties to extract the visitor's memories and uncover a premeditated galactic conspiracy targeting the stargate networks of Earth. (X-Men v1 #97) He traveled alongside the X-Men to a secluded, high-security terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport, tasked by Professor Charles Xavier with establishing a secure physical guard perimeter to welcome his close associate, Dr. Moira MacTaggert, back to the United States. The peaceful security detail suffered a catastrophic tactical reversal when the terminal building was violently breached by a sudden, massive kinetic bombardment engineered by a newly upgraded operational cell of Sentinels. Piotr Rasputin instantly engaged the towering, mutant-hunting mechanical automatons in close-quarters physical combat, utilizing his dense metallic limbs to intercept their concussive energy beams and provide a rigid blast shield to safeguard gathering human civilians from collapsing concrete wreckage. Despite executing a highly coordinated brawling defensive matrix alongside Wolverine and Banshee to systematically dismantle the primary mechanical vanguard, the remaining Sentinel units successfully overran their coordinates, forcefully abducting Wolverine, Storm, Jean Grey, and Banshee aboard a high-velocity extraction craft while leaving Piotr Rasputin and Cyclops stranded on the devastated airfield. While celebrating their first Christmas with the X-Men, Piotr met an attractive flight-attendant named Betsy Wilford and they often double-dated with Nightcrawler and Betsy’s friend, Amanda Sefton. However, while Kurt and Amanda started a full relationship, Betsy and Piotr were nothing more than close friends. (X-Men v1 #98)
His family always remained in his thoughts, however, with him often remarking that he was the only X-Man that still had a real family. Back in the US, the X-Men were kidnapped by Arcade and trapped in his Murderworld where they had to fight for their lives. Colossus found himself in an interrogation room, where he was brainwashed by an imposter Colonel Vazhin into becoming the Proletarian. In this new role, Piotr attacked his teammates, as he considered them enemies to his native Russia. Only after he nearly strangled Storm and Cyclops did Colossus snap out of the conditioning. (X-Men v1 #124)
Betsy and Amanda, who were out on a date with Piotr and Kurt when they were captured, ended up in Arcade’s captivity too but were rescued by the X-Men. Shortly afterwards, Betsy and Piotr stopped seeing each other, though it is unknown whether it was because of the danger she had been exposed to or other reasons. Piotr experienced numerous doubts about his life as an X-Man and, at one point, decided to visit his family, unsure whether he would return to the team. Back in Russia, Illyana was pleased to see her brother again, who apologized for not writing as much as he had intended. It was not because of him not wanting to, but he could not find the right words to describe his experiences as an X-Man. Instead, he had drawn sketches of the many strange things he had seen, like aliens, spaceships and super-powered beings. When he wanted to see his childhood friends again, Piotr learned that things had changed in the Ust-Ordynski Collective. Many of the young men had served in the war in Afghanistan and some were injured or killed in the line of duty. Even worse, they accused Piotr of being a traitor, who was not there when they needed him most. Colossus was arrested by Colonel Vazhin, who later explained that super-beings aren’t allowed to serve in the army anyway, a fact kept from the general population. He gave Piotr two options: join a Russian covert operation or leave the country and go back to the X-Men. Of course, he chose the later. (Classic X-Men v1 #29)
Later, the 6 year old Illyana was kidnapped by Belasco and the X-Men followed to Limbo where they rescued her. Due to the odd temporal nature of Limbo, Illyana would spend years there in captivity while only days would pass for the X-Men. As a result, Illyana was 13 when they finally managed to rescue her. As a side-effect, an alternate timeline version of Colossus dies in Limbo. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #160)
Excalibur
Utopia
House of X
From the Ashes
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Colossus was an exceptionally tall, heavily built human teenager who stood at an imposing height of six feet and seven inches in his normal state, featuring a robust, athletic frame developed from intensive farm labor. He possessed fair skin, short, neatly trimmed black hair, and deep blue eyes that sat beneath a strong, defined brow ridge. Upon activating his unique transformation, his physical dimensions shifted dramatically, gaining an additional foot of height to stand at seven feet and five inches, while his body weight completely doubled to five hundred pounds. In this transformed state, his entire skin, muscular structure, and hair took on a smooth, gleaming, silvery-grey organic steel composition marked by distinct, symmetrical horizontal ridges and banded lines that broke up the metallic surface across his limbs and torso. His eyes transformed into solid, pupilless silver orbs that reflected a bright metallic sheen. His newly assigned operational uniform consisted of a sleeveless, form-fitting red and yellow tunic featuring a deep V-neckline that exposed his upper chest, held together at the waist by a wide gold belt adorned with a circular X-Men emblem buckle. He wore matching yellow wristlets on his forearms, tightly fitted dark blue briefs, and heavy thigh-high red leather boots featuring stylized yellow cuffs and thick, reinforced soles designed to handle his massive converted weight. After joining the X-Men, he came to be given a code name with his being Colossus. (Giant-Size X-Men v1 #1) He once came to be brainwashed by Arcade where he went by the name of the Proletarian. (X-Men v1 #124) A prophecy by the people of Breakworld came to call him the Destroyer of Worlds. (Astonishing X-Men v3 #14) After making a pact with Cyttorak, he came to be the demon's avatar and for a time became his champion known as the Juggernaut. (Uncanny X-Men #542) On Omega World, he came to be brainwashed into joining that reality's version of the Horsemen of Apocalypse where he was given the mantle of War. (Extraordinary X-Men v1 #8)
When he was young, Piotr felt he was always watched over and protected by his older brother. As such, he did not want Mikhail to leave the family home to join the Soviet space program. When Mikhail was reported to had died, Piotr was left so distraught that he screamed until he passed out. At the time, he was angry at the world for taking his brother. (X-Men Origins: Colossus v1 #1)
He had an uncle named Anatoly Rasputin who had joined the Bratva leading to his estrangement from the family. (X-Men: Gold v2 #10)
He once met an attractive flight attendant named Betsy Wilford where they dated for a time. Despite that, no larger relationship formed between the two as they were instead close friends. (X-Men v1 #98)
When he was young, he was afraid of the Mutant known as the Tattooed Man who extorted his family with Piotr considering the man the Devil. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #404)
Powers and abilities
Colossus was born a member of the human race where he was a member of the Mutant species, possessing a unique genetic structure that naturally granted him the extraordinary ability to convert his entire biological makeup into a sentient, organic metallic substance. As such, his ability allowed him to cover his entire body in a metallic skin that increased his strength and durability. This complete cellular transformation instantly elevated his physical capabilities, granting him phenomenal superhuman strength that allowed him to effortlessly halt moving machinery, break through reinforced structural barriers, and shatter heavy stone with his bare hands. His armored state provided total superhuman durability, making his skin nearly indestructible and entirely immune to massive concussive blunt-force impacts, high-velocity collisions, crushing physical weights, and extreme physical trauma without his skeletal system fracturing or fracturing a single internal organ. His metallic physiology drastically enhanced his physical stamina, allowing him to operate at absolute peak physical capacity and endure prolonged combat scenarios without his body building up standard human fatigue or lactic acid. While in this transformed state, his internal organs converted into the same dense, organic steel compound, meaning he required no external armor to safeguard his vitals. Additionally, his baseline human form possessed a high degree of natural physical stamina and coordination derived from years of rigorous manual agricultural labor, providing a durable foundation for his high-stakes field operations. (Giant-Size X-Men v1 #1)
He proved able to momentarily surprise and hold back the Unstoppable Juggernaut with a few potent blows. (X-Men v1 #102) Colossus has stalemated the Thing in a contest of arm wrestling before being distracted, and even generated equal force to the Thing to separate two firing elements. (X-Men Annual v1 #5) Colossus was also able to temporarily restrain the Savage Hulk with a sequence of blows combining strength and skill. (X-Men vs. Hulk v1 #1)
If he is rendered unconscious, however, he spontaneously reverts to his normal form. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #157)
To save his sister, Piotr volunteered to become the avatar of Cyttorak and become the new Juggernaut. (Uncanny X-Men v1 542) As the Juggernaut, Colossus possessed vastly increased superhuman strength and limitless superhuman stamina in all physical activities. He was not deterred by physical pain and did not tire whilst exerting himself. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #543)
When in states of heightened emotion Colossus will further mutate into a form more resembling Cyttorak. This includes spikes, scales, claws and red eyes. In this form Colossus appears to be stronger and more aggressive. (Uncanny X-Men v2 #8)
At one point, Rasputin came to be captured by an alternate version of Apocalypse who transformed him into a member of his Horsemen. This saw Piotr taking the mantle of War where he stood amongst the ranks of the Horsemen of Apocalypse. (Extraordinary X-Men v1 #8) The changes made to his body were also done to his mind that was now immune to telepathic attacks. (Extraordinary X-Men v1 #12) As War, he also gained the ability to morph his metallic body into a shifting metallic steel, enabling him to alter his body into a host of different shapes, size, and volumes at will. Able to reach out and extend long prehensile tentacles to use as flails or whipping people around and to enlarge his limbs making his attacks hit even harder. (Extraordinary X-Men v1 #11)
He once came to be brainwashed and served as a member of an alternate reality version of the Horsemen of Apocalypse. (Extraordinary X-Men v1 #8)
Notes
- Colossus was created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum where he made his first appearance in Giant-Size X-Men v1 #1 (May, 1975).
Alternate Versions
- In X-Men: Millennial Visions v1 #2000 (2000), an alternate version of Colossus appeared in a reality designated as Earth-1005 in the Multiverse. This version was shown to have had a four year old daughter named Metallique who had similar metallic skin as him with her personal guardian being Lockheed where she was part of a team of X-Men led by Kitty Pryde and Wolverine who were battling the Morlocks.
In other media
Television
- In Pryde of the X-Men, Colossus appeared in the setting of the 1989 animated special pilot episode where he was voiced by actor Dan Gilvezan.
- In X-Men, Colossus made guest appearances in the 1990s animated television series where he was voiced by actor Rick Bennett.
- In X-Men: Evolution, Colossus appeared as an antagonist in the 2000 animated television series where he was voiced by actor Michael Adamthwaite.
- In Wolverine and the X-Men, Colossus appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Nolan North.
Films
- In X-Men, Colossus made a cameo appearance in the setting of the 2000 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Donald Mackinnon.
- In Deadpool, Colossus appeared in the live-action film where he was voiced by actor Stefan Kapičić.
- In Deadpool 2, Colossus appeared in the live-action film sequel where he was voiced once again by actor Stefan Kapičić.
- In Deadpool & Wolverine, Colossus appeared in the live-action film where he was voiced once more by actor Stefan Kapičić.
Video games
- In X-Men: Children of the Atom, Colossus appeared as a playable character in the setting of the fighting video arcade game.
- In X-Men: Destiny, Colossus appeared in the video game where he was voiced by actor Andre Sogliuzzo.
Novels
Appearances
- Giant-Size X-Men v1: (1975)
- X-Men v1:
- Uncanny X-Men v1:
- Astonishing X-Men v3:
- Uncanny X-Men v1:
- X-Men Origins: Colossus v1:
- Cable and X-Force v1:
- Extraordinary X-Men v1:
- X-Men: Gold v2:
- Astonishing X-Men:
- Immortal X-Men v1:
External Links
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
