Alternative versions of Colossus

This is a list of alternative versions of Colossus.

Age of Apocalypse

In the Age of Apocalypse timeline, Colossus was a very haunted man, wearing a red mask to cover acid scars on his face. His sister, Illyana, was thought to have died years prior, and his brother, Mikhail was captured by Apocalypse. Colossus became leader of the Super Soldiers and faced his brainwashed brother in combat. Now a Horseman of Apocalypse, Mikhail destroyed all of Russia's super heroes except his brother, and from that day the severely beaten Colossus chose to dedicate his life to stopping Apocalypse and Mikhail. He left Russia to find the X-Men. Colossus was one of Magneto's original recruits for his X-Men.

During his first mission as an X-Man Colossus battled Sabretooth for the life of a young mutant named Shadowcat. Colossus fell in love with her and the two would eventually marry. After years of fighting for Magneto's cause, Colossus lost the will to fight on a battlefield in Africa. He decided to retire from the X-Men. As a final favor to Magneto, he agreed to teach the next generation of mutants with his wife.

Colossus came out of retirement two times. The first time he was injured so severely only Magneto's metal powers kept him alive. Colossus could not transform back to his human self without risking death. The second time Magneto offered Colossus and Kitty an important mission. It was discovered that Illyana was indeed still alive and being held prisoner in a slave camp and they needed to save her so they could restore the true timeline.

Colossus and Shadowcat sent their team into the Seattle Core to rescue Illyana. After they found her, Colossus demanded Shadowcat evacuate Illyana immediately, leaving their students behind. Shadowcat disagreed, but followed his orders after he told her that he would go back for their students. Colossus reached the front gate and peered back into the Core. Only one student, Husk, remained standing. Colossus allowed the gate to close without attempting to help. He returned to his wife and sister and claimed he had done all he could.

Colossus and Shadowcat delivered Illyana to Magneto but after learning the reality Magneto was trying to save was a place where his sister was dead, Colossus went mad. He tried to follow his sister into the M'Kraan Crystal injuring Iceman in the process and when Shadowcat stepped in front of him, assuming he would calm down. He didn't. Colossus crushed his wife and killed her. Insane with grief, he was finally taken down by Gambit.

Mortally injured, he reverts to his human form and dies after his sister returns from the M'kraan Crystal.^[1]

Years later when Weapon X had been transformed into Weapon Omega, the Heir of Apocalypse, Colossus was brought back to life through the combined efforts of Sugarman and Dark Beast, who had taken great pains to find and preserve his body. Along with many other "alphas", his mind was altered, turning him into a servant of Weapon Omega.

He was sent together with Azazel and Cyclops to confront another resurrected "alpha", Penance. Penance used her telepathic powers to restore Colossus' true memories and he swore to help her in her quest to rebuild the world and lead mutants to a brighter future. A fight broke out between him and Cyclops but Azazel teleported Cyclops and himself away.

Earth X

In Earth X, Colossus has become Tsar Piotr of Russia. His country provides one of the greatest food sources for the world because of the intelligence of all animals. Occasionally, he is attacked by Life Model Decoys of Nick Fury, who seem to think that Piotr is a stereotypical Communist. It is mentioned in passing that at some point in the future, he will travel back in time and become Mister Sinister.^[2]

Exiles

Several versions of Colossus have been seen in the Exiles series.

• One was killed after betraying his Heroes for Hire teammates to save the alternative version of his sister, Magik.^[3]
• One dies protecting an alternative version of Shadowcat.^[4]

Marvel Zombies

A version of Colossus is seen in Dead Days when the zombifed Alpha Flight attack the mansion. Later, he is seen among the survivors and fighting the other zombie heroes. Colossus, Nightcrawler, Storm, Dr. Strange, Nick Fury and Thor fight a holding action to protect a teleporter from the zombie forces. The group realizes that their plan to evacuate survivors might lead to another innocent world being infected so they destroy the machine and willingly give themselves up to the zombies.^[5] In Marvel Zombies: Halloween, Kitty Pryde and her son with Colossus, Peter Rasputin Pryde are two of the few surviving humans, years later.^[6]

Ultimate Marvel

Ultimate Colossus, art by Ray & Ben Lai.

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Peter Rasputin reluctantly works as an arms smuggler for the Russian mob. Peter was saved from a firing squad as a young child by a boss in the Russian Mafia called Big Boris, who smuggles Peter from Siberia to the United States. Ultimate Colossus' powers are similar to those of his Earth-616 counterpart. With the use of a deadly drug called Banshee he has gained super strength to rival other powerhouses such as Thor. He is not immune to Rogue's touch as shown in the "Return to Weapon X" storyline. He is also highly resistant to physical injury. He has withstood being slashed by Ultimate Wolverine's adamantium claws. He has also survived a localized nuclear explosion. A few deviations from the Earth-616 version include the fact that Ultimate Colossus's height remains the same when he changes. Unlike the mainstream version, his eyes remain vulnerable to pressure even in steel form, as shown when fighting Sam Wilson during Ultimate Nightmare.^[7]

Colossus is revealed as a mutant during an illegal arms transaction gone wrong. Everyone is killed by gunfire except for Peter, whose mutant ability saves him. Jean Grey finds him soon after and offers him a place among the X-Men.^[8]

When the X-Men embark on a world tour to promote Xavier's book, Colossus inexplicably disappears to Russia. Cyclops and Jean Grey track him and find Peter working in a factory. Colossus tells them he left due to unhappiness with his place on the team and with life as a mutant, but Jean suggests that his true reason is unrequited feelings he has for a fellow team member. Peter later comes to terms with his "gift," and becomes a Russian national hero when he rescues the crew of an incapacitated submarine. He leaves Russia to rejoin the X-Men.

Later, Colossus and the X-Men are forced out of the mansion with the U.S. Government on their tails. In a climactic battle between the X-Men and The Ultimates, Colossus is able to defeat Iron Man and Thor, but is finally temporarily incapacitated by Hawkeye who fires a compact nuclear warhead arrow (with a blast radius of about 20 feet) near him. With the surprise assistance from Iceman, the X-Men (without Professor Xavier) manage to regroup and escape.

The X-Men locate Magneto's flying citadel using a signal sent by a captured Cyclops. Upon their arrival, Magneto subdues them. Despite being composed of metal, Colossus' great strength and willpower allow him to overcome Magneto's control and beat Magneto mercilessly for the harm inflicted on Wolverine.

Unlike his mainstream counterpart, Ultimate Colossus is gay. This is implied during the Mark Millar's run on the title, through his interactions with fellow X-Man Wolverine (this is implied during the "Return of the King" story arc, in which Colossus almost beats Magneto to a pulp when he threatens Wolverine). It is implied (through stereotype) when Jean Grey reveals to the readers that Peter's favorite TV show is Will & Grace, but stated more directly in that the main reason Colossus left the X-Men might have been that he was unable to make the X-Man he'd fallen in love with love him, even in the slightest. Storm also suggests Peter is gay when Angel arrives at the school and Storm explains to him that the reason that all the girls "and maybe Colossus" stare at him is because he is good looking. It is more openly addressed later during a series of mutant murders by Sinister, Colossus tends to the wounds of Northstar, the only survivor. He is shocked when the openly gay Northstar asks if Colossus is single, which triggers a transformation into his metal state.^[9]

Colossus and Northstar amicably part ways and keep in touch even after Northstar's team, the Academy of Tomorrow, come to blows with the X-Men. Colossus later agrees to accompany Northstar to his homecoming dance. This disturbs Nightcrawler, Peter's friend, who begins to avoid and resent him. Their relationship becomes very strained after this and never really recovers, Nightcrawler believing that Colossus deliberately misled and "betrayed" him. This also marks a significant change in Nightcrawler's character: much of his relationship with Colossus in the mainstream versions of them also involves Kitty Pryde (Colossus' recurring love interest throughout most of the various X-Men chronicles)'s close relationship with Nightcrawler. In this version, there is no romantic relations between Pryde and Rasputin and all three characters are affected. In other versions, Nightcrawler is routinely seen as an outsider trying desperately to fit in, more so than the other X-Men, but in this one his blatant homophobia and disgust towards Colossus is a strong theme. Comments have been made with a double meaning toward Peter's sexuality, such as Bobby Drake saying "Too bad he's playing for the other team" during a baseball game against the Academy of Tomorrow.^[10]

Following Xavier's death, Northstar asks Colossus to come stay with him at the Academy of Tomorrow. Colossus finds a job as a construction worker and refuses to join Bishop's X-Men team.^[11]

It has been revealed that Colossus is dependent on the mutant enhancement drug Banshee for his super-human strength; without it, he cannot so much as lift his arms in his organic steel mode. It was also revealed that Peter came to work for the Russian mob after being banished from his home by his father, who had accidentally discovered him in bed with another man. Colossus briefly formed a Banshee-enhanced splinter group of X-Men, but they have since rejoined the main group drug-free.^[12]

After rejoining the main X-Men team, a tsunami hits New York and kills numerous people and superheroes including some of his team mates (Beast, Dazzler, and Nightcrawler). He fights against Magneto and his Brotherhood in their attack on the world.^[13] He, alongside Jean Grey, Storm, Iceman, and Rogue, is one of the few X-Men to survive the Ultimatum.^[14]

At the end of Ultimate X #5, Colossus is shown being held in a government facility: "Camp Angel" along with Storm and Spiral. It can be inferred from the narration of Karen Grant that the government is using them for testing on how to remove the mutant gene. At the start of Ultimate Comics: X-Men as a series, Colossus is seen in this camp. Despite the government's claims that mutants are being well-treated, Colossus is being maliciously tortured with electrical sticks.^[15] When the prison is overruled, and arguments started between Storm and Stacy X over the treatment of Warden Lake and Major Walker, until Colossus kills Lake, summoning a fleet of Nimrod Model Sentinels.^[16]

X-Men Forever

In X-Men Forever, Colossus returns to Russia after the events of X-Men #1-3, where he becomes a government agent, handled by Natalia Romanova, the Black Widow, with whom he has struck up a romance. Although overjoyed to see his old team-mates again, he is intent on staying and serving his country.^[17]

References