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Acolytes
The newest incarnation of the Acolytes. Art by Humberto Ramos
Publisher Marvel Comics First appearance X-Men v2, #1 (1991) Created by Chris Claremont Jim Lee Base(s) of operations Genosha Avalon Mount Saint Francis, France Asteroid M
Roster Exodus Carmella Unuscione Joanna Cargill Tempo Senyaka Random

The Acolytes is a team of comic book mutant supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe. The Acolytes followed the principles of the mutant Magneto, particularly the mutant right of superiority over normal humans. Some members of the Acolytes even worshipped him with a religious fervor and regarded him as the “mutant messiah.” The Acolytes first appeared in X-Men Vol. 2 #1 (October 1991) and were created by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee.

Contents 1 Fictional history 1.1 Fall of Avalon 1.2 Genosha 1.3 After M-Day 1.4 Messiah Complex 2 Members 2.1 First intake 2.2 Second intake 2.3 Third intake 2.4 Fourth intake 2.5 Fifth Intake 2.6 Ex-Acolytes 2.7 Associate membership 3 Bibliography 4 Alternate versions 4.1 Marvel Zombies 4.2 Ultimate X-Men 5 Other Media 6 Trivia 7 External links

The Acolytes were first a group of desperate mutants on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers, led originally by Fabian Cortez. Magneto housed them on his space station, Asteroid M, giving the mutants refuge. Due to events arranged and manipulated by Fabian Cortez, the first group of Acolytes perished. Cortez characterized their deaths and the assumed death of Magneto as martyrdom to further his cause against normal humanity.

Cortez formed and led a second group of Acolytes whose first mission was to attack a school for the handicapped, Our Mother of the Sacred Heart, to find a child who would one day become a powerful mutant. The X-Men interfered with their attack and the Acolytes retreated. Afterwards, the Acolytes kidnapped Moira MacTaggert. Fabian Cortez’s reason was to ascertain whether Magneto was alive. Moira was rescued by the X-Men. The Acolytes’ next attack was on a hospital. Four members of the Acolytes were involved in killing several dying, hospitalized humans. Next, the team attempted an aborted attack on a military base. They were opposed by X-Factor and their mercenary ally Random. The attack on the base actually proved beneficial because it was a way for Fabian to attempt to coerce Quicksilver, the son of Magneto, to join his cause. Meanwhile, Magneto returned to hatch his plan of revenge. Magneto recruited Exodus, in order to reclaim the Acolytes in his name.

After the events of Fatal Attractions and the Age of Apocalypse, the Acolytes found a cocoon drifting in space. They brought it aboard and awoke Holocaust. Holocaust went on a rampage, killing several members of the Acolytes; Javitz, Rusty Collins and Milan. In his duel with Exodus, the Acolytes’ new space station, Avalon, was destroyed. Jean Grey and Cyclops were teleported there by Voght to helpcame to help the remaining Acolytes. Skids was rescued by Jean Grey, while former X-Man Colossus put a comatised Magneto into a lifepod and sent him to Earth. Meanwhile Cyclops crash-landed with some of the 'hardcore' Acolytes and ended up in the Australian Outback, it was his ingenuity and knowledge and the assistance of Scanner that kept them alive.

Some time passed before the Acolytes reformed. When Magneto was granted control of Genosha, he reconstituted the Acolytes, with new and old, surviving members. He used the Acolytes as a force to help him gain control over the war-torn island. After the civil war, the Acolytes and Genosha prospered, but the prosperity did not last. After the Eve of Destruction storyline, the Acolytes were not prepared for the worst. Genosha was attacked by a “wild Sentinel” programmed by Cassandra Nova. Genosha was destroyed along with millions of its mutant population. Most of the Acolytes remained unaccounted for, with only Exodus, Voght, Senyaka, Cargill and Unuscione known to be alive at the time. Later more Acolytes showed up to be alive as well.

Later it was revealed Scanner is still alive but de-powered after the events of M-Day

The Acolytes resurfaced after the events of Decimation, consisting of returning members Exodus and Cargill, Random who aided them in a mission before, and former Mutant Liberation Front member Tempo. They planned to use S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Helicarrier to find the locations of latent mutants, but discovered the mutant gene had been completely wiped out. After a battle with the X-Men, the Acolytes fled and sought out a way to replenish the mutant population. As of X-Men #201, Exodus, Cargill, Tempo, Unuscione, and Random were confirmed to be members of the newest incarnation of the team, as well as Senyaka, still in his Acolytes uniform, who took on Deadpool on the island of Providence while the Marauders Gambit and Sunfire attacked Cable. It has been revealed that the Acolytes were being used by Sinister to obtain Destiny's Diaries and kill Blindfold in X-Men #202.

As the Marauders, the X-Men and the Purifiers race to find the first mutant baby born since M-Day, the X-Men seek out former Acolytes Projector, Neophyte, Gargouille and Vindaloo to try and interrogate information to Exodus' whereabouts as they believe that he and Sinister reached the child first.^[1] Afterwards, they track down Amelia Voght for the same purpose where they finally receive the information they were looking for.^[2]

This group of Acolytes debuted in X-Men Vol. 2 #1 and resided on Magneto’s space fortress Asteroid M.

Character	Real Name	Joined in	Notes
Magneto	Magnus Alias: Erik Magnus Lehnsherr	X-Men Vol. 2 #1	Team founder and leader; currently depowered as a result of Decimation. Father of Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch and Polaris
Anne-Marie Cortez	Anne-Marie Cortez	X-Men Vol. 2 #1	Possessed undefined psionic powers (apparently including some form of mind control). Sister of Fabian Cortez; born into unknown royal family; died in crash-landing of Asteroid M in X-Men Vol. 2 #3
Fabian Cortez	Fabian Cortez	X-Men vol. 2 #1	Could amplify the powers of other mutants to uncontrollable levels. Killed by Exodus in Avengers Vol. 1 #369 but got better in Magneto #1; killed by Magneto in Magneto: Dark Seduction #4; born into royalty; formerly a member of the Upstarts.
Chrome	Allen Marc Yuricic	X-Men Vol. 2 #1	Possessed powers of flight and molecular transmutation. Died in crash-landing of Asteroid M in X-Men Vol. 2 #3
Delgado	Marco Delgado	X-Men Vol. 2 #1	Could increase in size and strength Died in crash-landing of Asteroid M in X-Men Vol. 2 #3
Winters	Nance Winters	X-Men Vol. 2 #1	Powers (if any) unrevealed. Former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent under the mind control of Anne-Marie Cortez. Status unknown.

This group of Acolytes debuted in Uncanny X-Men #298 first gathered together by Fabian Cortez.

Character	Real Name	Joined in	Notes
Scanner formerly Screener	Sarah Ryall	Avengers Vol. 1 #357	Electro-transitional state granted invisibility and intangibility. Served in several incarnations of the team; depowered on M-Day.
Cargill formerly Frenzy	Joanna Cargill	Uncanny X-Men #298	Superhuman physical attributes; massive physical durability. Has served in several incarnations of the team; formerly member of the Alliance of Evil and the X-Men (under the telepathic control of Jean Grey); currently working with the Acolytes and Marauders..
Unuscione	Carmella Unuscione	Uncanny X-Men #298	Psionoplasmic “exoskeleton.” Possible daughter or sister of Unus the Untouchable; served in several incarnations of the team; was assumed killed during Cassandra Nova’s assault on Genosha, but was revealed to be alive and a member of the new incarnation of the Acolytes in X-Men #201.
Kleinstocks	Sven Kleinstock	Uncanny X-Men #298	Brother of Harlen and Eric who could all merge together to form one gestalt being; served on several incarnations of the team; possibly killed during Cassandra Nova’s assault on Genosha.
Kleinstocks	Harlan Kleinstock	Uncanny X-Men #298	Brother of Sven and Eric who could all merge together to form one gestalt being; served on several incarnations of the team; possibly killed during Cassandra Nova’s assault on Genosha.
Eric Kleinstock	Eric Kleinstock	Uncanny X-Men #298	Brother of Sven and Harlen; served on several incarnations of the team; shot by Tom Corsi in Uncanny X-Men #298.
Javitz	Isaac Javitz	Uncanny X-Men #298	Giant with super size, strength, sturdiness, stamina. Killed by Holocaust in X-Men Vol. 2 #43.
Neophyte	Simon Hall	Uncanny X-Men #300	Molecular-level transporter. Served on several incarnations of the team; one of the few mutants to survive Cassandra Nova's Sentinel attack on Genosha. Neophyte retained his mutant powers during the M-Day.
Milan	Francisco Milan	Uncanny X-Men #300	Electropathy (conversion of thought waves into electromagnetic pulses and vice-versa). Killed by Holocaust in X-Men Vol. 2 #42.
Voght	Amelia Voght	Uncanny X-Men #300	Transubstantiation VIA mist form, Served on several incarnations of the team; possibly killed during Cassandra Nova’s assault on Genosha; revealed to have been an ex-lover of Professor Xavier but left him shortly before the arrival of the original X-Men; revealed to be one of the 198.
Senyaka formerly Sanyaka	Suvik Senyaka	Uncanny X-Men #300	Crushed by Magneto with his own coils in Uncanny X-Men #304 but was recuperated in Cable vol. 2 #17; One of the few mutants to retain his powers following M-Day.
Spoor	Andrew Hamish Graves	Uncanny X-Men #300	Possibly killed during Cassandra Nova’s assault on Genosha.
Katu	Katu	Uncanny X-Men #300	Sacrificed himself against Omega Red in Cable #11 but was revealed alive in Uncanny X-Men #366; possibly killed during Cassandra Nova’s assault on Genosha.
Seamus Mellencamp	Seamus Mellencamp	Uncanny X-Men #300	Killed by Multiple Man in X-Factor Vol. 1 #92 but was revealed alive in Heroes for Hire #16; possibly killed during Cassandra Nova’s assault on Genosha.
Exodus	Bennet du Paris formerly Paris Bennett (bastardized version)	X-Fact Vol. 1 #92	Former leader of the team while Magneto was in a vegetative state; former leader of the latest incarnation of the Brotherhood of Mutants.
Rusty Collins	Russell Collins	X-Force vol. 1 #25	Former ward of X-Factor; killed by Holocaust in X-Men Vol. 2 #42.
Skids	Sally Blevins	X-Force Vol. 1 #25	Former ward of X-Factor; Left the team after the death of Rusty in X-Men Vol. 2 #42; a former member of X-Corporation Los Angeles; currently a member of S.H.I.E.L.D.; One of the 198.
Colossus	Piotr Nicoleivitch Rasputin	Uncanny X-Men #304	Joined after the death of his sister, Illyana, to the Legacy Virus; left after Magneto’s space-station, Avalon was destroyed; sacrificed himself to cure the Legacy Virus in Uncanny X-Men #390; revealed alive in Astonishing X-Men Vol. 3 #; currently a member of the X-Men.
Rakkus	David Anthony Rice	Avengers vol. 1 #380	Probably depowered on M-Day.

Alongside most of the Acolytes above, more recruits were taken in by Exodus in the Magneto Limited Series and Quicksilver #9.

Character	Real Name	Joined in	Notes
Orator	Victor Ludwig	Magneto #1	Has only been seen twice. Probably depowered on M-Day.
Kamal	Kamal el Alaqui	Magneto #2	Survived Cassandra Nova’s assault on Genosha. Probably Depowered.
Decay	Jacob Lashinski	Quicksilver #9	Died when his powers backfired draining the High Evolutionary in Heroes for Hire/Quicksilver (1998)
Gargouille	Lavinia LeBlanc	Quicksilver #9	Retained her mutant powers during the M-Day.
Joseph	Joseph	Quicksilver #9	Lost physical cohesion while communing with the electromagnetic spectrum in X-Men V2, #87.
Projector	Zachary Williams	'Quicksilver #9	One of the few that survived the assault on Genosha. And retained his mutant powers during the M-Day.

More new Acolytes were shown during the Magneto War in X-Men: The Magneto War; most of them later accompanied Magneto to Genosha.

Character	Real Name	Joined in	Notes
Rem-Ram	Marcus Andrews	X-Men: The Magneto War	Died during Cassandra Nova’s assault on Genosha
Static (II)	Gianna Carina Esperanza	X-Men: The Magneto War	Possibly died during Cassandra Nova’s assault on Genosha
Barnacle	Mortimer Everett	X-Men: The Magneto War	Possibly died during Cassandra Nova’s assault on Genosha
Vindaloo	Venkat Katregadda	Uncanny X-Men #366	One of the few that survived the assault on Genosha. And of the few mutants to retain his powers following M-Day.

In the wake of the mutant Decimation, Exodus reforms the Acolytes in order to save mutantkind from extinction. The Acolytes ally themselves with Sinister and the current incarnation of the Marauders.

Character	Real Name	Joined in	Notes
Frenzy	Joanna Cargill	X-Men Annual 2007	Longtime member of the Acolytes.
Random	Marshall Evan Stone III	X-Men Annual 2007	Once a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants under the leadership of the Dark Beast and Havok.
Tempo	Heather Tucker	X-Men Annual 2007	Former member of the Mutant Liberation Front.
Unuscione	Carmella Unuscione	X-Men #201	Longtime member of the Acolytes.
Senyaka	Suvik Senyaka	Cable & Deadpool #42	Longtime Acolyte. Recently showed up during the alliance with the Marauders on the island of Providence before it was destroyed, unknown if he made it out alive.

These Acolytes survived the Genoshan genocide and retained their powers after M-Day. However, they haven't joined Exodus and remain hidden.

Character	Real Name	Joined in	Notes
Neophyte	Simon Hall	Uncanny X-Men #492	Molecular-level transporter. Served on several incarnations of the team; one of the few mutants to survive Cassandra Nova's Sentinel attack on Genosha. Neophyte retained his mutant powers during the M-Day.
Gargouille	Lavinia LeBlanc	Uncanny X-Men #492	Retained her mutant powers during the M-Day.
Projector	Zachary Williams	Uncanny X-Men #492	One of the few that survived the assault on Genosha. And retained his mutant powers during the M-Day.
Vindaloo	Venkat Katregadda	Uncanny X-Men #492	One of the few that survived the assault on Genosha. And of the few mutants to retain his powers following M-Day.

Many people have aided Magneto alongside the Acolytes but have either been betrayed by or never fully accepted membership as an Acolyte.

Character	Real Name	Joined in	Notes
Polaris	Lorna Dane	X-Men Vol. 2 #98	Associate member; declined Magneto’s offer to become a fully-fledged member; aided Magneto in his ruling over Genosha once she discovered that he was her father; survived the assault on Genosha by Cassandra Nova but became mentally unstable; current member of the Starjammers.
Quicksilver	Pietro Maximoff formerly Pietro Frank		Associate member; aided Magneto in his ruling over Genosha just to keep an eye on him; currently depowered as a result of Decimation
Pyro	St. John Allerdyce	Quicksilver #6	Associate member under Exodus when he attacked Wundagore Mountain; died of the Legacy Virus in Cable Vol. 2 #87
Feral	Lucia Callasantos	Quicksilver #6	Associate member under Exodus when he attacked Wundagore Mountain; currently depowered as a result of Decimation. Killed by Sabretooth in Wolverine #54 (Vol.3)
Avalanche	Dominic Szilard Petros	Quicksilver #6	Associate member under Exodus when he attacked Wundagore Mountain.
Omega Red	Arkady Russovich	Quicksilver #6	Associate member under Exodus when he attacked Wundagore Mountain
Fenris	Andrea von Strucker	Quicksilver #8	Associate member under Exodus when he attacked Wundagore Mountain; killed by Baron Zemo
Swordsman (IV) formerly Fenris	Andreas von Strucker	Quicksilver #8	Associate member under Exodus when he attacked Wundagore Mountain
Random	Marshall Evan Stone III	Quicksilver #8	Associate member under Exodus when he attacked Wundagore Mountain
Wolverine	James Howlett aka Logan	X-Men Vol. 2 #3	Brainwashed into joining the team, fought the remaining X-Men until he regained his senses/
Cyclops	Scott Summers	X-Men Vol. 2 #3	Brainwashed into joining the team. Fought with them against the X-Men until he regained his senses and rejoined the X-Men
Gambit	Remy LeBeau	X-Men Vol. 2 #3	Brainwashed into joining the team. Fought with them against the X-Men until he regained his senses and rejoined the X-Men.
Rogue	Marie	X-Men Vol. 2 #3	Brainwashed into joining the team. Fought with them against the X-Men until she regained her senses and rejoined the X-Men.
Beast	Henry “Hank” McCoy	X-Men Vol. 2 #3	Brainwashed into joining the team. Fought with them against the X-Men until he regained his senses
Psylocke	Elizabeth “Betsy” Braddock	X-Men Vol. 2 #3	Brainwashed into joining the team. Fought with them against the X-Men until she regained her senses and rejoined the X-Men.

• Avengers Vol. 1 #357, 368–369, 380–382
• Avengers West Coast #101
• Cable #9–11
• Excalibur Vol. 1 #71, 106
• Heroes for Hire #8–9, 15–17
• Magneto #1–4
• Magneto: Dark Seduction #1–4
• Magneto Rex #1–3
• Quicksilver #1, 4–9, 11–12
• Uncanny X-Men #298–300, 304, 315, 366–367, 379–380, 392–393
• X-Factor Vol. 1 #92
• X-Force Vol. 1 #25, 94–95
• X-Men vol. 2, #1–3, 25–26, 42–44, 86–87, 96, 98–99, 111–113; 200-202
• X-Men: Magneto War
• X-Men: Prime
• X-Men Unlimited Vol. 1 #2, 27
• X-Men Annual Vol. 2 #1 (2007)

In Marvel Zombies, where this universe Marvel superheroes (The Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Hulk, Daredevil, and the others superheroes) have been infected by an unknown virus and turned into flesh eating zombies and killed most of the humans population for their food. The Acolytes (The Acolytes shown are Fabian Cortez, Joanna Cargill, Scanner, Lisa Hendricks, Reynolds, Burns and several unnamed members) and a surviving X-Men member Forge seems to be some of the few survivors hiding in the third Asteroid M. After Magneto (who appears to be the only mutant left uninfected on Earth) helped Reed Richards from the Ultimate Universe and the other three survivors escape using Reed’s machine, he destroyed the machine, so the zombies could not use the machine to go to Reed's Ultimate Universe. He was then contacted by the Acolytes, who offered to send him a shuttle. Magneto, however, told them to wait until he was out of New York City, but was shortly thereafter killed by the zombies. Upon returning to Earth the Acolytes couldn’t find Magneto, but discover a still-living Black Panther and zombie Wasp “head,” Cortez recognized that the Black Panther is a human and alive. But the other Acolytes think it’s a trick because Panther was also carrying the zombie Wasp head. Cortez warns his teammates to stand down, because they don’t know anything about the Panther, so they can’t do anything yet.

Burns disagrees and moves to kill Panther. In self-defense, Black Panther flings the Wasp head at Burns, and it kills him with a bite to the jugular. The other Acolytes start fighting Panther, but Cortez orders everyone to stop fighting immediately. Cortez stated that Burns has disobeyed his direct order and paid for it with his life. Cortez informs that Panther only defended himself because the Acolytes attacked him, so he can’t be punished for that.

Panther expresses that he wants to go with the Acolytes to Asteroid M, if that means the zombies or the virus can’t reach him there. Cortez promises they’ll do that, because he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he left another human being behind. The other Acolytes protest against it, but Cortez is confident, as he wants to ensure the survival of his species, and therefore can use all the help they can get. The others realize they don’t have much choice and agree with it, but they want to kill the Wasp first. Black Panther refuses, because he wants her to come to Asteroid M with them. Even Cortez isn’t so sure about it, but agrees to take the Wasp with them.

After the Acolytes and Black Panther arrive on Asteroid M, Reynolds decided to study and learn more about the zombies by using the Wasp as a specimen. Reynolds said that he could maybe even find a cure. Later, Forge arrives and introduces himself to Panther. Cortez said they should wait until Magneto contacts them. However, Cortez also realized that Magneto was probably already killed because they didn’t find him on Earth, and Magneto never makes any contact again with the Acolytes. One of the Acolytes, Lisa Hendricks, takes an immediate romantic interest in the Black Panther.

The story skips five years later when the Acolytes, Forge, Black Panther and the Wasp (still a zombie, but now with a robotic body) land back on earth. They look around and see nothing left. Cortez stated that the zombies could still be around and they have to stay alert. Black Panther has married Hendricks and they have a baby, K’Shamba. Hendricks tells Panther and Cortez that they are surely alone, there is no life left on the planet and no death, either. Reynolds and the Wasp also state that all the zombies have vanished after Reynolds completes his sensor sweep. Reynolds, using the thermal reading, indicates there are no living humans left. By using the motion reading, he indicates there is no living human or zombie left on earth. The zombies are nowhere to be found; they either died or left the planet. Reynolds said that he doesn’t know where the remaining zombies went, but Cortez and Panther are interested in finding out. This makes the Acolytes, Forge, and Black Panther the last survivors of the human species.

In the prequel, it is revealed that Magneto and Fabian Cortez made a deal with an unknown entity to bring the virus to earth.

In Ultimate X-Men, the Acolytes are a fanatical paramilitary offshoot of the Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy, which branched off following Magneto’s first defeat in opposition to the relatively pacifist leadership of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch.

In the X-Men Animated Series, the Acolytes appear in the “Sanctuary” storyline, in which Magneto builds Asteroid M as a safe haven for all mutants to live away from the hatred of baseline humans. The Acolytes, led by Fabian Cortez, aid Magneto in the liberation of the Genoshan mutant slaves from the hands of the Genoshan Magistrates. After Magneto is betrayed by Cortez and believed to have been killed by the X-Men, the Acolytes pledge their loyalty to Cortez, though they turn on him after he’s exposed. The Acolytes shown are Fabian Cortez, Amelia Voght, Marco Delgado, Chrome, Carmella Unuscione, Joanna Cargill and Byron Calley (a member of the obscure second Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in the comics). Francisco Millan is shown in a video screen as one of the scientists that helped Magneto build Asteroid M. Suvik Senyaka makes a cameo appearance in the episode “Secrets No Longer Buried,” as one of the residents of the mutant-dominated community of Skull Mesa.

In the X-Men: Evolution animated series, the Acolytes are the second team of Magneto, after he left The Brotherhood. The other members of the team are Gambit, Pyro, Colossus, Sabretooth, and Mastermind.

The Acolytes appear in the video game X-Men Legends. Acolyte Warrior Elites and Acolyte Adept Elites serve at the foot soldiers of the Brotherhood of Mutants.

• In Magneto’s ending in X-Men vs. Street Fighter, he has killed M. Bison, the leader of Shadaloo. After seeing the demise of their leader, Sagat, Vega, and Balrog volunteered to become new members of the Acolytes. Magneto allows them to join, despite the fact they aren’t mutants (even though they are superhuman in their own right). This ending (along with the Marvel vs. Capcom series in its entirety) is non-canon.

• Acolytes Official Marvel Bio
• ACOLYTES—An in-depth profile of the team and various incarnations, at UXN.