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Leech
Art by Jim Muniz
Publisher Marvel Comics First appearance Uncanny X-Men #179 (Mar 1984) Created by Chris Claremont Paul Smith
Characteristics Alter ego unrevealed Species Human Mutant Team affiliations The 198, Generation X, New Mutants, X-Factor, Morlocks, The Daydreamers Abilities Power negation

Leech is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. He made his first appearance in Uncanny X-Men as a Morlock, a group of mutants whose deformities force them to live in the sewers under Manhattan. He is usually depicted as being around 12 years old (his exact age is unrevealed). He speaks in broken English and refers to himself in the third person.

Contents 1 Fictional character biography 1.1 Early Life 1.2 Mutant Massacre 1.3 Gene Nation 1.4 Massachusetts Academy 1.5 Weapon X 1.6 Post M-Day 1.7 The Extremists 2 Powers 3 Other versions 3.1 Days of Future Past 3.2 Ultimate Leech 4 In other media 4.1 Television 4.2 Film 5 References 6 External links

The green-skinned Leech was orphaned as a toddler. His parents left him to die when his mutations became apparent. He was found by the Morlock Caliban and taken to a woman named Annalee who raised him and several other young mutant orphans as her children. He made friends with X-Factor's ward named Artie Maddicks and had a few brief encounters with the X-Men.

During the Mutant Massacre story arc, Mr. Sinister rallied his henchmen, the Marauders, to infiltrate the sewers and massacre all the Morlocks living there in an effort to rid the world of "genetically impure" mutants. While many Morlocks were killed, Leech and Caliban survived, rescued by Power Pack and the X-Terminators (X-Factor in their role of mutant hunters). Leech joined Artie in the care of X-Factor until they could be enrolled in private school.

Soon after they began attending this school, Leech and Artie were captured by mutant-hunting demons. They were again rescued by X-Factor, this time with the help of the New Mutants. The two went back to attending school for several months before they were kidnapped a third time, this time by Gene Nation.

This group was composed of second-generation Morlocks, the descendants of those who survived the massacre in the tunnels. They were born and raised in an alternate dimension with a faster flow of time than this one, called The Hill. They sought revenge for those who wronged their forbears. The Gene Nation led a campaign to hunt down and kill as many humans as possible, since it was the humans' unwillingness to accept them that forced their parents into the tunnels in which they were massacred. Leech and Artie wanted no part of this, but were trapped until they were rescued by Generation X. They were thereafter made junior members and remained with the team until it disbanded.

Leech and Artie continued to live in the Massachusetts Academy under the care of Emma Frost. They meet Franklin Richards, who is suffering from the loss of his parents. Their friendship has unexpected benefits, as Leech is able to control Franklin's powers when they, aggravated by his grief, go out of control.

The three visit the farm belonging to Hank McCoy's parents. Back at the Academy, they encounter Howard the Duck and other allies and as a group, are attacked by Black Tom Cassidy. Howard risks his life to save them all, then they are taken away by the Man-Thing. Leech and the rest have several adventures as the team called the The Daydreamers. When Richard's family, who had previously been exiled to an alternate universe (see Heroes Reborn), return, the group was disbanded. Leech and Artie go back to the academy and take on more active roles.

For a time, the academy was shut down and, although it is never made clear, Leech may have transferred to another school. What is known is that he was eventually captured by the revived Weapon X program and forced into a machine that was designed to be attached to a mutant, take their powers, and then project them to any other mutant in the world. Sabretooth, then a part of Weapon X, used the machine, at one point, to strip Wolverine of his healing abilities in order to finish him once and for all. Leech survived, but continued to be used by the Weapon X program to keep imprisoned mutants under control.

After the events of M-Day, Leech reappeared unharmed from Neverland on the grounds of the Xavier Institute. He is one of the estimated 198 mutants who have retained their powers. How he was liberated from Neverland and came to be at the Xavier Institute has yet to be explained. In the 198 compound outside the mansion, the woman called Outlaw decided to look after him. Leech was last seen being mind controlled, via a puppet, by the mutant Johnny Dee in his attempt to kill Mr. M. Johnny Dee forced Leech to touch Mr. M thereby negating his powers so that he could then have Magma incinerate him. Instead of dying, Mr. M evolved into hundreds of butterflies. Leech was last seen in the company of Lorelei.

Leech has since appeared in Uncanny X-Men #487 alongside Caliban looking for a place to live in the Morlock Tunnels when suddenly a huge blast serousily hurts Caliban. Bliss comes along and bites Leech with her poison. Later, Masque begins to steal Leech's powers so he can find Magneto.

Leech can dampen or completely negate for an undetermined amount of time the powers of any mutants in close proximity to him. He also seems to be able to influence powers that are non-mutant in origin. During Marvel's Mutant Massacre crossover event, Leech negated the powers of the superhero team Power Pack whose abilities were bestowed on them by an extraterrestrial.^[1] His dampening ability in the beginning was involuntary and uncontrollable, but now his power appears to be under his conscious control. In addition to leaving his victims temporarily de-powered, his leeching can have physical effects. For example, at certain times when his power has been targeted at mutants with super strength, his victims have become temporarily thin and frail. Leech has also shown the ability to manifest a weakened version of a mutant power his power is directed towards.

• Leech appears in Days of Future Past older but still child-like. He is hiding in Los Angeles with Jubilee and Synch but is later captured by Baron Zemo and the Thunderbolts after their location is betrayed by Charlotte Jones.

• Leech was introduced to the Ultimate Marvel Universe in Ultimate X-Men #81 as a member of the Ultimate Morlocks. He has not used his powers yet so it is unclear as to whether or not they are the same. He looks almost the same, other than the fact that he now looks more like an old man rather than a child.

• Leech has appeared in a few episodes of the X-Men Animated Series. His most notable appearance was in the Christmas episode "Have Yourself a Morlock Little X-Mas" where he needed a blood transfusion from Wolverine, using his healing ability just long enough for Leech to fight off his disease. His voice was supplied by John Stocker.

• He had also appeared in the X-Men: Evolution episode titled "Uprising" where his mutant power disabled mutants and nullified all forms of energy, including Mutant powers, for a short period. He also appeared briefly in the last episode where Rogue uses his (Leech's) power to beat Apocalypse. In this series, his name was Dorian Leech, and he appeared fairly human, with pale, slightly greenish skin.

Leech appears in X-Men: The Last Stand, played by Cameron Bright. Leech (named Jimmy in the film, but code named Leech on a piece of paper handed to Beast) plays a pivotal role in the film as the source of a "cure" for the "mutant x-gene." He is still a child but has no outward physical mutations. His powers are involuntary, only activated in proximity and remove all effects of mutant genes, including physical mutations such as Hank McCoy's blue fur. When McCoy reaches out to shake Jimmy's hand his own hand loses its furry blue appearance; the mutation returns once he leaves Leech's presence.

Magneto plans to kill Jimmy, who is being kept at Alcatraz, thus destroying the mutant cure and preserving the mutant species. Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants attack the facility, which is defended by federal troops and the X-Men. Juggernaut is sent to find Jimmy and Kitty Pryde races to save him. When Pryde discovers that she is unable to phase through walls with Jimmy, she allows Juggernaut to charge at them but pulls Jimmy out of the way, allowing Juggernaut to slam into the wall. Instead of breaking through, he knock himself unconscious. Later, Jimmy is seen evacuating Alcatraz Island with Pryde and Bobby Drake.

At the end of the film, Jimmy is seen as a member of the Xavier's School and received by the new leader, Storm.

• Cerebro's Files: Leech
• Leech on the Marvel Universe Character Bio Wiki