Origin
Aiden used to be a chubby young man, interested in video games and eating fast food. He then got the body of an immortal Celtic warlord. His chosen codename, Anachronism, which means “someone or something that belongs to an earlier time”. His powers triggered when he accidentally walked in on Braddock Academy student Kid Briton cheating on his girlfriend, Apex, with Nara. Kid Briton threatened to beat him up if he told anyone. It would appear that this incident caused Aiden to become stuck in his new body permanently, as previously he had only been able to shift into it for several days a month. Nara took an immediate interest in his new body and began flirting with him, which made him even more of a target for Brian’s bullying.
Creation
Anachronism was created by writer Dennis Hopeless and artist Kevin Walker. He first appeared in the story “Worse Things” in Avengers Arena #1 (Nov. 2013).
Major Story Arcs
Avengers Arena
Aiden was one of the 16 superpowered teenagers kidnapped by Arcade and taken to Murder World. Once there, Arcade announced that they would be taking part in a 30-day long deathmatch with only one survivor. In order to get the game started, Arcade made the first kill: Avengers Academy student Mettle. After this, Aiden joined his fellow Braddock Academy students, Apex, Bloodstone, Kid Briton, and Nara, as they went into the forests and set up camp. When the lonely Death Locket stumbled into their camp, Aiden was one of three who disagreed with killing her, alongside Cullen and Katy, and she was allowed to join their group.
When Arcade grew bored with the teens’ inactivity, he created a series of environmental disasters that forced them to journey to safe zones he scattered across the island. At one of these zones, he left a supply crate full of food, medicine, and weaponry. Aiden and the others began making their way to safety but were separated when a land bridge he and Cullen were crossing collapsed. The two fell into a ravine but were uninjured. Nara soon joined them, having been blasted off by Death Locket.
Eventually, Arcade set it up so the Braddock Academy would reunite and Nara began to attack Apex. Apex manipulated Death Locket into attacking Nara and Anachronism but then Bloodstone blasted Death Locket out of the way, revealing the plot. Apex then swayed Brian into saving her, who then began to attack and dealt a grave wound to Nara. Before he could finish her off though, Anachronism intervened and decapitated his rival.
Afterward, Aiden was completely unresponsive, unable to accept that he had actually killed someone. Nara stepped in and pointed out that he had saved her and kissed him. While they kissed, Bloodstone approached fellow Arena contestants Cammi, Nico Minoru, and Chase Stein, who had glimpsed the scene from a distance, and offered to share their supplies with them if they helped to bury Kid Briton.
When Juston Seyfert and his Sentinel Mark IV attacked Apex, whose body was now being controlled by Katy’s twin brother Tim, and Death Locket, Aiden, and Nara were off alone together. Afterward, when the group was deciding whether or not to kill Apex, Aiden was one of the five contestants who voted to spare him, going against Nara who believed they had to kill Tim in order to protect themselves from Katy.
Katy eventually retook control of her shared body and killed Juston for his sentinel in addition to mind-controlling Death Locket. Using the two, she attacked the other teens. While Nico fended off Katy’s assault, Aiden grabbed an unconscious X-23, who had attempted to kill Katy previously but was stopped by the sentinel. Fleeing through Nico’s portal, Aiden was found himself in Safe Zone 3, where Avengers Academy students Hazmat and Reptil had been while other events unfolded. Aiden followed the rest of the group back to Murder World proper in order to find and help Nico.
Once they arrived, however, the group fell apart, with Reptil becoming lost in the air and Hazmat and X-23 running off into the woods after Hazmat thought she saw her deceased boyfriend Mettle. After realizing that they had wandered in a circle and arrived back where they had started, Bloodstone lashed out verbally at Cammi. Coming to her defense, Aiden found himself in a fight with Cullen after the latter had insulted Nara. Luckily, Nara intervened and took Aiden into the woods to work out his frustration by attacking trees instead of allies. While there, Nara revealed that Cullen had a crush on him, but the two were interrupted by Arcade who flooded the area with Trigger Scent which caused X-23 to savagely attack them.
Fleeing for their lives from her, Aiden and Nara ran to the beach where Cammi and Bloodstone were. Nara tripped on the sand and went down, but before Laura could make the kill, Aiden came to her defense. Seeing him in danger, Bloodstone removed his Bloodstone Ring, which kept a mystical parasite bonded to his soul, called a Glartrox, under control. While the monster attacked Laura, Cammi and Aiden tried to figure out how to stop it after the monster began to attack the other survivors. With only two options, Cammi, Nara, and Aiden searched for the ring which could be used to banish the monster back into Cullen. Swiftly finding and losing the ring, Cammi and Aiden went to distract the monster while Nara went to look for the ring, which had fallen into the nearby water.
With the Glartrox growing stronger and hope dimming, Aiden revealed the second way of stopping it: killing the host’s body. But before he could go through with it, Nara found the ring, which caused the Glartrox to charge her and throw Aiden clear. Nara touched the ring to the monster’s skin and banished it back into Cullen, but not before it cut her. Nara bleed out and died in Aiden’s arms.
The death of Nara sent Aiden into a frenzy, causing him to attack Cullen, swinging his axe into his chest. In an attempt to keep him from killing Cullen, Cammi tried to get Aiden to stop by threatening to shoot him. When that didn’t work, she opened fire and blasted him clear.
Hazmat, meanwhile, was being mauled by a crazed X-23 and was close to death. However, Aiden, blaming Laura for Nara’s death, intervened and hit her with his ax repeatedly. Reptil, now in triceratops form, charged Aiden and threw him away from Jenny and Laura, believing he might kill them in his rage. The two stopped fighting when Chase directed everyone’s attention to Jenny, whose radiation was building towards an explosion. Reptil broke off his fight with Aiden, changed into a prehistoric crocodile, and carried Jenny into the water where she detonated safely.
Aiden banded together with Nico, Cammi, and Chase to fight off some of Arcade’s unused death traps, which had been activated by Apex after Arcade fled Murder World. He was one of the survivors of the horrific ordeal and agreed to a pact of silence with the other kids. The adult heroes, including Braddock Academy headmaster, Captain Britain, showed up the next day to rescue the tortured kids and was last seen watching medics load a wounded Cullen into a helicopter.
One week after they were rescued from Murder World, Arcade, in an undisclosed safe house, uploaded the footage of what happened on the island to the internet. He opened a bottle of champagne as the video gained popularity and his reputation was reaffirmed.
Avengers Undercover
Three months after escaping Murderworld, the footage Arcade took of the traumatic experience is online and everyone knows exactly what happened. Aiden summons some of the other Murderworld survivors to Bloodstone Manor, home of the late Ulysses Bloodstone and home of Cullen Bloodstone. When everyone arrives, Aiden reveals that Cullen has filled a room of the manor with various Arcade related memorabilia, including lists of known associates and safe houses, which he has been videotaping as he systematically demolishes them. The last video shows Cullen taking off his Bloodstone Ring, thereby unleashing the Glartrox, and throwing himself down into Bagalia, home of Baron Helmut Zemo‘s Masters of Evil. Aiden, Nico Minoru, Chase Stein, Cammi, Hazmat, and Death Locket all agree to infiltrate Bagalia and rescue Cullen.
Once they arrive in the city, the group is attacked by a variety of teen villains, including members of the Young Masters and Excavator of the Wrecking Crew. Aiden is seen knocking out Mudbug while complaining about the grief he takes over his choice of a codename. After the fight the group track Cullen to Arcade’s bar, The Hole, where they believe he is being held hostage. Unwilling to wait, Aiden breaks through the glass window and burst into the bar, drawing the attention of the assembled villainous patrons.
Luckily, before another fight can break out, Cullen appears and smoothes things over. He then reveals that he is there voluntarily, which Aiden doesn’t understand. Cullen, angry over Aiden’s attack during the final days of Murderworld, leaves. While Nico chases after him, Hazmat pulls Aiden onto the dancefloor and tells him the group will stay to help get Cullen out, but that Aiden needs to be more careful before another villain decides to take potshots at them.
Four hours later, Cammi pulls the group out of the bar and tells them they’re leaving, at which point Cullen reappears. Joining him are senior Masters of Evil, Hellstorm, Madame Masque, and Constrictor. After some initial caution over a potential betrayal, Daimon teleports the group to a black-tie party, transforming their clothes on arrival. Uncertain of where they are and why they’re here, the group turns to Cullen for answers. However, the hostess finishes her toast and when she does Arcade, the man responsible for their suffering and the death of Aiden’s love, Nara, appears, prompting Cullen to answer that they’re here for revenge.
Powers & Abilities
Aiden has somehow inherited the body of an immortal Celtic warlord and wields a large ax. Aiden also possesses enhanced strength and is easily able to cleave his ax through trees. Unarmed, he is strong enough to pull trees out by their roots. He is said to be able to lift upwards of ten tons, and he also possesses fight skills, armed or unarmed.
After being stuck in his new body, Aiden’s personality has become more aggressive than it was previously.
Physical Characteristics
- Height: 6’2″ (pre-transformation 5’6″)
- Weight: 185 lbs (pre-transformation 200 lbs)
- Eyes: Blue
- Hair: Red