Fagin

Brief History

Not much is known about the past of the mutant known only Fagin. He first appeared in the Marvel Universe as a member of the mutant supremacist/terrorist group, The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Since there are many variations on the theme of the Brotherhood, it is necessary to include that his membership was among the ranks of Marvin Hoffman’s Brotherhood. This team had a brief stint with it’s own comic, but it still bares mention.
 
Fagin’s first assignment under Hoffman and his right-wing man, Orwell, was to make friends with a young mutant, Michael Asher and subsequently recruit him for the Brotherhood. Asher’s power was thought to be a great asset to the team, since should he get any size of wound, his blood became combustible and flammable by Asher himself. While Asher was attending high school, he wasbeat up by the school bully. Fagin secretly took care of the bully while Asher was distracted. After the short fight, Fagin rushed to Asher’s side and helped him up. Seeing that Fagin was good people, Asher was easily talked into playing hookey. 
 
As they walked the streets, they came upon yet another mutant being beaten by a mob of normal humans. Fagin had to act fast, revealing to Asher that he was a mutant, and jumping into the fray to defend the mutant. He kept the group busy for a while until he was hit over the head with a baseball bat, effectively taking him out of the battle. Fortunately, Hoffman showed up just in time to help them escape.
 

Hoffman charged Fagin with the continued task of watching over Asher. Fagin and Asher discussed his being recruited into their ranks, but for now, no agreement had been reached. Later that week, Asher was accosted by the bully once more, but the gothic clique came to his rescue this time. They then informed Asher of their plans to destroy the school. Asher came out to them as a mutant to show them that he had nothing to live for. As the group disbanded, Asher made his way to the boy’s bathroom where he planned to commit suicide. Fagin arrived on the scene just in time to talk him out of it, telling him he was a god among insects. 
 
As time went by; Fagin, and fellow team member, Marabeth, decided to bring Asher to a mutants only dance club. Asher had a blast and took any drug offered him, prompting a scolding from Marabeth and they soon left. Like clockwork, Asher was attacked by the bully, with Fagin running in to take the bully out. As the school day went on Asher attended classes and did not see Fagin until later, when Asher went looking for the gothic clique only to find them dead on the floor at Fagin’s feet. Asher wouldn’t beleive that Fagin had taken them out and was proven prescient, since Marabeth appeared and confessed to the murders. As Hoffman showed up to escort Fagin and Marabeth back to headquarters, Asher followed them, finally joining their ranks. 
 
The next few months brought another big change to Fagin and Asher’s lives. They were sent by Hoffman to join up with Bryson Bale‘s London chapter of the Brotherhood. Almost instantly, Fagin developed a disliking for Bale. He would complain to Asher about having to stand back watch this powerhouse have sex with fellow team member, Malon Reeves, and not getting any action (fighting or otherwise) themselves. Suddenly, their hideout was viciously attacked by a crack team of military men. Malon’s father, Malcolm Reeves, had sent the team to dispatch Bale and his cronies for “kidnapping,” his daughter. Narrowly escaping the attack, Bale gave Fagin (with Asher close behind) a massive wad of money and instructed him to start a new life.
 
The peaceful life that Fagin, Asher, and Malon had built would not last long, however. Marshal, a former fellow team member of Hoffman’s Brotherhood, kidnapped them and blackmailed them into aiding him in bringing down their former boss, Marvin Hoffman. Marshal had recently joined the government in order to have their power behind him, but it was not enough. Little did Marshal know that the trio was alternatively hired back by Hoffman, and thus they were eventually sent by Hoffman to wipe Marshal out.
 
Fagin, fed up with all of the backstabbing and taking orders, basically gave up on the whole thing and said he only joined the Brotherhood to improve his way of life. Before he could leave, Marshal brought a corpse to the hideout that the three lackeys were expected to use as a doppelganger for their intended target, Jane Smythe. They were ordered to capture Smythe for further questioning as she had anonymously “informed,” Marshal about Hoffman’s whereabouts. 
 
They arrived at her house, not prepared to defeat a fellow mutant. As they came up to the door, Smythe put 2 & 2 together and quickly shapeshifted into a massive green monster. As they fought, Fagin dispatched Smythe with one punch from his monstruous form. Unconcious, Smythe remained in her in her larger form, making it quite impossible for them to use the extra corpse as a replacement. With a slight (yet brilliant) change of plan, Asher used his power to blow the house up. 
 
After bringing the real body back to Marshal, Fagin (with Asher and Malon once again in tow) was informed of the team’s next target, Doop of X-Statix fame. Marshal left them to plan their capture and as they schemed, Asher suggested to the other two that they should attempt to talk it out with the X-Statix. Fagin and Asher began to bicker about his suggestion, Fagin accusing Asher of being a closeted X-Statix fan. The next day at the X-Statix parade, Fagin, Asher, and Malon got tied up in a battle between the Brotherhood and the X-Statix. Fagin told them that their only way to survive was to fight, but was quickly taken out by Doop’s fellow team member, Vivisector.  
 

  
Fagin has not been seen since, and is presumed (though not proven) to be either dead (killed by Vivisector) or depowered, along with 98% of the world’s mutant population, post-Decimation.