Cecilia Reyes

Origin

Cecilia was born into a poor family in a bad neighborhood. She has Puerto rican heritage. When she was just six years old, she witnessed her dad gunned down and killed. She held him in her arms as he died. Cecilia made a vow that one day she would do something. Reading her brother’s science textbooks that night, she knew that she wanted to become a doctor, so that she could help other people. Thanks to her stubbornness, Cecilia spent nineteen years studying and made her way out of her poor neighborhood and went to medical school, eventually becoming an intern doing her residency at Our Mother of Mercy Hospital in the Bronx – all the while keeping her mutant powers a secret. During her time trying to become a doctor, Cecelia hadn’t had a date for three years and hadn’t kissed someone in four and a half years.

She was approached by Professor Xavier, who invited her to come to his school, train her powers, and then go on to join the X-Men, but Cecilia could not accept herself as a mutant. She didn’t want to be involved in mutant affairs in any way; she wanted to save lives as a doctor. The Professor left, promising to keep her status as a mutant secret. For all her early life she was afraid people would discover she was a mutant.

Creation

Cecillia Reyes was created by Scott Lobdell and Carlos Pacheco and first appeared in a one-page cameo in X-Men #65 (1997) before she fully appeared in X-Men Issue #66 (1997).

Major Story Arcs

Operation: Zero Tolerance

During Operation: Zero Tolerance where many mutants were being captured, killed and being turned into Sentinels, Cecilia pretended to be a mutant hater, being careful not to expose herself. However, during the arrival of a gunshot victim Cecilia was unable to save the man’s life and declared him dead. The man, however, was not dead, and he transformed into a Prime Sentinel and began to assault Cecilia, revealing her mutant status to all her co-workers and friends. Thankfully, Cecilia’s powers saved her from the assault, with her psioplasmic bio-field protecting her from every attack, though she still would feel every gut-wrenching blast. The Sentinel found a way to negate her force-field, but Cecilia was saved by the timely arrival of Iceman. However, Cecilia was not pleased to see Iceman and hit him out of anger because Xavier did not keep his promise, and that the X-Men had dragged her into what she perceived to be their self-fulfilling war games. While he took

Cecilia to the Morlock Tunnels to hide from their pursuers, Iceman explained to her that this incident was beyond Xavier and the X-Men, and convinced her that the only way to survive was to follow him, and perhaps the X-Men could make a new tomorrow for her. Knowing that her lifelong goal of being a doctor was gone, Cecilia reluctantly agreed to accompany Iceman – on her own conditions. She demanded the absolute truth from Iceman, even making him reveal his secret identity of Bobby Drake to her.

During the action, Cecilia quickly proved to be a feisty character, with sarcastic comments and rude one-liners. Her and Iceman were then again attacked by a Prime Sentinel, but were saved by Detective Charlotte Jones. However she lead them into a trap set up by Bastion, who was holding Charlotte’s son hostage, with Marrow´s help the police station lost its power supply. Later, Charlotte saw the error in her deal and defended Cecilia and Iceman, resulting in her getting shot. Not only did Cecilia tend to Charlotte’s wound, but during the battle with the Sentinels, she also covered Iceman’s back by taking any attack aimed at him with her shield, despite the pain this caused her. At police station entrance they were cornered but finally saved by Sabra, who eventually joined them. Eventually Operation: Zero Tolerance was destroyed, but Cecilia was left with no direction.

Living at the Mansion

Iceman invited Marrow and Cecilia back to the mansion. There she used everyone abilities to save Cyclops life by removing a bomb from his abdomen. After the surgery Cyclops invited her into the X-Men. She declined, but still remained at the mansion until she could find somewhere else to live. During this time, she put up a tough and sarcastic attitude towards everyone, though actually Cecilia began to make some friends among the X-Men. A slip of the tongue even led to mild flirtations with the Beast, much to Cecilia’s embarrassment, though he took it with humor. They both were interested in medicine and physiology, as well as how Marrow’s bone-growth worked. Cecilia even placed a friendly wager as to when Beast would cure the Legacy Virus.

She then tried to get her job back at the Hospital. However because of her revelation of being a mutant, many families didn’t want her to operate on their loved ones. Cecilia was then found by the injured Daredevil, who was watching Cecilia and felt he could trust her to help with his gunshot wound. While treating Daredevil, the hero told Cecilia that she should use her gift. He reasoned that, as a doctor, she could only save one person at a time, whereas as a mutant she could save thousands in an instant. Later that day, the injured villain Pyro was brought in and Cecilia was put in charge of the case, Pyro hadn´t control over his powers with highly risk to burn the hospital and people around him, so Cecilia used her powers to treat Pyro. However, during recovery, Pyro tricked Cecilia into loosening his straps that the police put on him, she trusted him and he escaped, resulting in Cecilia losing her job. Fired after only one day, Cecilia returned to the X-Men for good it seemed.

Joining the X-Men

Cecilia had to deal with feelings of inadequacy as part of the X-Men. And these fears were shown to light one day when the X-Men were attacked by a dimensional race. Using an old costume once worn by the Wasp, Cecilia helped prove to herself that she was valued by defeating the attackers, even if it was accidentally. When the X-Men were attacked by the Shadow King, he tried to corrupt the newer X-Men tempting them with their secret desires. He offered Cecilia a new future with her own operating room and the knowledge the world’s best surgeons. Still, she was concerned about her fellow X-Men’s fate, and had not yet reached a decision when the Shadow King was eventually defeated by Storm and Psylocke. Afterward, Cecilia took charge of helping the injured people of Storm’s village, thus redeeming herself for letting herself be tempted.

Cecilia then went on a date with Beast, who, by co-incidence also met Reed Richards and Susan Storm, other wise known as Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman. During their date the were effected by a machine that manipulated their fear, hate and doubt. It made Cecilia beat Beast, blaming him for her hated life as a X-Man. It even prompted her to say she hated herself. After the villain was defeated Cecilia was consoled by Susan, who sympathized with her situation, a situation she’s found herself in before.

Time passed and, with Xavier missing and the school still barren, several X-Men began going their separate ways and leading their own lives. Cecilia was one of those X-Men. She opened up her own small practice in Salem Center, so she could pursue her own dream while still helping out the X-Men every now and then. For example, she would house sit at the mansion when the X-Men were away on a mission. On one occasion, she aided Wolverine in defending some Japanese agents from the mob. During this adventure, Cecilia even stood up to the Silver Samurai, and made him listen to reason rather than to resort to violence

The Neo and Drug Abuse

Cecilia continued her work as a medical work, but one day an injured Nightcrawler arrived at her work. He had been shot by the Neo. Nightcrawler apologized for bringing her back into the life of the X-Men. But they were attacked by Jaeger. As Nightcrawler was weakened by much blood loss, Cecilia had to confront Jaeger by herself. During the battle, Cecilia used her field in offensive ways that she never did before. Not thinking and only reacting, she was able to extend her force field out and knock Jaeger away. However, the skilled Jaeger was still too much for her and she was easily defeated, leaving the injured Nightcrawler alone against the Neo. Right as Jaeger was about to kill Nightcrawler, Cecilia lashed out with her powers and spikes extended from her field, impaling Jaeger. Cecilia was left heartbroken, for as a doctor she pledged to save lives, not take them.

On the run from the Neo, the two former X-Men found themselves hiding in an illegal infirmary, where Cecilia continued treating his wounds. All the while, Nightcrawler comforted Cecilia about her killing Jaeger, and suggested she start training in the use of her powers. Their solitude was cut short by a gunfight between Detective Charlotte Jones and the drug dealer Delgado. Protecting Charlotte from gunfire with her force-field, Cecilia noticed some vials of the performance enhancing drug after the combatants left, and picked them up, not wanting them to fall into the wrong hands.

After a brief rest, Nightcrawler and Cecilia returned to the church where Nightcrawler had been attacked in order to help some innocents trapped inside, but they were found by the Neo. With Nightcrawler too injured to fight, Cecilia needed an edge against the Neo, and decided to take one of the vials of Rave. The drug worked, and Cecilia ferociously fought, using her powers in ways she never believed possible, defending herself and Nightcrawler until the X-Men arrived. The two groups fought each other to a stalemate, and eventually one of the Neo began to seal up all entrances and exits of the building, forcing the X-Men to retreat. However, just as they were about to leave, Cecilia realized Detective Jones was still missing and still somewhat influenced by the drug, she volunteered to stay behind to find her.

Cecilia was trapped inside the Neo’s complex for a couple of weeks, during which she discovered that Detective Jones and Delgado had somehow been merged into a monstrous creature by one of the Neo, with Delgado as the dominant personality. Cecilia spent much time chasing the Delgado creature, so it wouldn’t kill anyone. All the while she searched, she was also avoiding the Neo, especially their leader Domina, who wanted Cecilia dead, as she was the widow of Jaeger. To do all this, Cecilia consumed more and more Rave, causing her to become addicted to the drug. By the time her supply had almost run out, Cecilia began to lose control of her powers, but fortunately at that point the X-Men performed a rescue mission, freeing both her and Charlotte Jones from the Neo’s hideout.

Rehabilitation

Cecilia stayed at the mansion to deal with her drug problem, but it was harder then expected. She began a detoxification program for her addiction to Rave. Unfortunately, this was easier said than done, as Cecilia had to go cold-turkey in order to beat her problem. Due to the physical addiction, Cecilia’s powers began to lash out wildly to cope with the pain and urge to use Rave. Nightcrawler locked himself in the Danger Room with Cecilia to help the out of control woman, in hope that the exertion and use of her powers would burn the toxins in her system. However, Cecilia became so wild that she

began to punch holes in the Danger Room and even destroyed the control booth with her force-field spikes. At that point, Xavier himself entered the Danger Room and risking his own life, he approached Cecilia to calm her down and remind her of her own courageous nature. Though Cecilia had a long journey to go till she would be totally normal, with Xavier’s help she made the first step to beat her addiction.

Eventually, Cecilia was well enough to walk around the mansion without any power troubles. It was during this time that the Beast finally came up with a cure for the Legacy Virus, making use of the research of the late Moira MacTaggert. However, for the cure to be released into the atmosphere, it required the life of the person who would inject the cure into him- or herself. While the X-Men rejoiced, Cecilia noticed that Colossus was somber. Cecilia confronted Colossus and she learned about Illyana Rasputin and how she had succumbed to the Legacy Virus. Ever since, Colossus had felt guilty for letting her die. Realizing that Colossus would inject the cure into himself instead of waiting for an alternative to be found, Cecilia tried to stop him, but Colossus knocked her out with narcotic gas. When Cecilia came around, she found Colossus dying on the lab floor. Although she did her best to save him, Colossus passed away.

Weapon X

After Colossus’ death, Cecilia left the X-Men, it was unknown where she did next but the next time Cecilia did resurface, she was as a prisoner in Neverland, the mutant concentration camp set up by the Weapon X program. There, she was reunited with her former teammate Maggott, who had also been captured. Whereas Maggot was branded for death and ultimately killed, Cecilia was among those prisoners who were kept alive to be experimented on. For weeks, Cecilia did her best to keep the other camp inmates alive, many of them being exhausted after interrogation and torture. It is unknown how she escaped after the Camp was shut down.

Nyx

Much later Cecilla turned up in Nyx. She was working as a doctor in Chinatown. She also works at a voluntarily at a homeless shelter . Kiden Nyxon and Bobby Soul take Tatiana to see her after they escape from the hospital. She treats to her injuries and offers her home as a temporary place for them to rest while she goes out for a bit. Unsure of her motives, Kiden follows her. She phones Beast for a favor. Over-hearing the conversation Kiden returns to the others and informs them. When Cecilia returns home, they have left. She still keeps a photo frame of her and Beast showing she may still have feelings for him, and later shows she still maintains contact with him by calling him.

Utopia

Later Cecilia has appeared in Utopia with the X-Men. When Magneto was revealed to be trying to bring back Kitty Pryde, Cecilia was called in by Cyclops to tend to Magneto to check he wasn’t going to die. After she is brought home, Magneto collapses and Cecilia rushes to his aid, but he had already fallen into a coma.

Five Lights

After Second Coming, Cecilia accompanies Psylocke to Mexico to help one of the new mutants that emerged due to Hope’s return. It is here that Cecilia is confirmed to still have her mutant powers and not have been affected by M-Day. The boy they find is in a state of panic. Cecilia tries to calm him by giving him a sedative. She speaks to the boys parents and tries to convince them to let her take him to the X-Men for further help. It is then that the boy vanishes, although Psylocke can still sense his presence in the room. Psylocke uses her psychic powers to forcefully tap into Cecilia Reyes force field abilities to seal of the room while Hope continues in to help him.

After this, Cecilia begins to act as the islands doctor. During the Quarantine crisis, where mutants were being poisoned, Cecilia treated the victims of the disease, in-particular Wolverine who was suffering the most due to his Adamantium bones. Later, she is also attacked by the Hellverine.

Fear Itself

Later, during Fear Itself, Cecelia is sanctioned to use her force fields to protect a mob from the possessed Juggernaut and the X-Men’s fight, she is instructed to contact Emma if her force field starts to slip and to back off.

Astonishing X-Men

Cecilia has left Utopia and has returned to New York where she is now working at a local hospital. It is also revealed that she has grown close to the X-Man, Gambit in recent months. While the two are relaxing at his apartment, they are visited by Wolverine and Northstar, and the group is subsequently attacked by a group of uknown assailants and the newest incarnation of the Marauders.

Powers

Cecilia can generate a psioplasmic bio-field force field. It can protect her from danger, but she does feel the impact of blows, Cecilia is also able to make her force-fields into powerful concussive blast’s but as she has not had much training on this aspect of her power it has only been shown once. During her training with the X-men, Cecilia has been able to shape the field to provide her with basic melee weapons like spikes, hammers, battering rams ect.

It appears that her emotions could manipulate her powers and provide her protection.

Characteristics

• Gender: Female
• Height: 5′ 7″
• Weight: 120 lbs.
• Eyes: Hazel
• Hair: Brown

Status

• Known Relatives: Alejandro and Maria Reyes (deceased); Colonel Miguel Reyes (brother)
• Citizenship: U.S.A. (Puerto rican heritage)
• Place of Birth: The Bronx, New York City, New York
• Marital Status: Single
• Occupation: Trauma Surgeon, former adventurer
• Education: Doctor of Medicine

Alternate Realities

X-Men: The End

In X-men: The End, Cecilia Reyes is married to Hank McCoy. They met during a time right after Operation Zero tolerance but it was only after the death of Colossus did they truly grow closer. They then had three children together, Ciaran, Francesca and Miguel. They helped the X-men when they were attacked by aliens.

Age of X

Cecilia was part of an underground railroad of trying to survive mutants in a building under attack of Graydon Creed’s forces trying to kill any mutants inside. She, and the other mutants inside, were saved by Magneto. It is unknown what happened to her afterwards.

Earth-5700

In a variation of the alternate future timeline known as Days of Future Past, Cecilia was revealed to have survived the horror of Neverland, and she was part of a survivors team called the Excelsior, she was a member of Excelsior alongside other Weapon X refugees, with Chamber being their leader. Another six years later, Cecilia accompanied Wolverine and his team to infiltrate the Sentinel HQ to free Rachel Summers, their only hope to change the past. While Wolverine’s mind was sent to the past by Rachel, Cecilia and Fantomex stayed behind to guard Rachel and Wolverine. She was murdered by Sublime who was disguised as Fantomex, in order to stop them from altering the past.

Other Media

Film

X2: X-Men United

Cecilia Reyes’ name is listed in William Stryker’s files on Lady Deathstrike’s computer.

Video Games

X-Men: Battle of the Atom

Cecilia is featured in the mobile card game “X-Men: Battle of the Atom” based on the comic book story with the same name. Her cards are:

• Cecilia Reyes