Current Events
After staying at the Jean Grey Institute, the Stepford Cuckoos left and joined Cyclops’ school and his team of mutant revolutionaries.
Major Story Arcs
Open Day
During the events of Riot at Xavier’s, Sophie convinces Mindee and the others to take Kick and use Cerebra to stop Quentin. Sophie leads by entering the machine and taking Kick while the others help her. after they destroy Quentin, Emma reveals that Sophie had died in the machine.
The four living sisters get revenge against Emma who they blame for Sophie’s death, by alerting Jean to Scotts affair. Esme later shoots Emma in the imperfection in her diamond form and shatters. When it is revealed that Esme is the attempted murderer, it is to late and the institute is destroyed and she is with Xorneto. This back fired when Esme is killed by Xorneto leaving the Cuckoos the Three-in-One.
Celeste is more the teacher’s pet than any of the others. We only start to see emotions in Phoenix: Warsong. In Phoenix: Warsong, Celeste didn’t think it was time for them to demonstrate their power at first. When they went flying she didn’t feel like they should. She is the one who told Emma that it wasn’t her fault. She goes to Beast to see what’s happening to her and her sisters.
New X-Men
The girls later decided to help both Elixir and David. They gave Elixir all the medical knowledge of Beast and gave back everything David had ever had learned using his powers. When Belasco came to the school looking for Magik, the three were put into special helmets to prevent the use of their telepathy. When the helmets were removed the three were crucial in the defeat of Belasco.
The girls helped find Hope, before Cerebra was destroyed.
San Francisco
The girls helped with coordinating during Secret invasion, but when the thought wall was implemented, they were all but useless. Emma died when she tried to break the wall, and the girls were given the job of keeping her alive until she returned.
Quentin once again came back and was going to destroy the X-Men, but was stopped when the Cuckoos were alerted to his presence by Martha. They told him that they had become much more powerful now that their was only the three of them and the easily beat the omega mutant. Irma was used to infiltrate the mutant prison that Norman created to combat the mutant presence in San Fransisco. she was captured which allowed the X-Men to infiltrate the base and save Xavier and Beast among others. During the Predator-x battle on the island, they linked every X-men with their telepathy but the girls lost the Pheonix force that inhabited their hearts leaving them unconscious.
New Charles Xavier School for Mutants
Celeste was first seen when Scott Summers and his team of mutants (Emma frost, Magneto & Magik) showed up in the Jean grey institute to recruit new students.
While Scott and the others talks to the Staffs of the Jean Grey Institute Celeste and her sisters (Mindee & Phoebe) telepathically confronts there “Mom” Emma Frost on why she left them, Celeste felt that there is something different from Emma and realizes that her powers are gone and can’t read their minds. Upon learning this Celeste & her sisters pulls Emma in there psychic hive mind and by doing so they have learned what happened between scoot summers & Emma frost, Celeste apologizes and Emma understands why she did that because they are her “Little Mes” and ask the girls to come to the new Xavier school.
After that Celeste & her sisters have a psychic conversation with Emma regarding the Original X-men, Celeste asked Emma what kind of students the Xavier school have before Emma and the others leave giving the students to think.
Upon the return of Scott’s team, Celeste and her sisters accepted the offer to stay at the New Xavier School for mutants not surprising the Jean Grey Institute staffs since they where only there in the first place because of Emma.
When Angel of the Original X-Men decided to accept the offer young Jean Uses her new found telepathic powers to mind control Angel to go back inside. Upon jean’s actions Emma frost asks Celeste and her sister’s assistance to teach her a lesson on once privacy, with the actions made it started a commotion amongst staffs of both schools but stops when Scott summers tells Emma frost that it’s enough which Emma response by saying “Aaaand Scene” where Celeste and the others stops. Once it all stopped Celeste and the others teleports to the New Xavier School For Mutants.
Powers and Abilities
Telepathy
Celeste shares a telepathic hive-mind with her sisters to amplify there powers into an even greater mind. Individually she is a powerful and skilled telepath.
Her telepathic powers allow her to do things like Mind Link, Mind Reading, Memory Reading, Mind Control, Hypnosis, Telepathic Illusion, Astral Projection, Psionic Inundation, Crowd Control, Sense Manipulation, Knowledge Projection, Knowledge Replication, Mental Inducement, Telepathic Communication and Telepathic Perception.
Diamond Form
During Warsong it was revealed that Celeste and her sisters possesses the ability to transform into a organic diamond that grants her superhuman durability, super strength and invulnerability also In this form, Celeste does not need food and water for a undetermined amount of time.
Unlike their mother Emma frost, her Diamond form is flawless Nothing can enter or escape from her core. Another notable feature of her diamond form is that she can select a certain part of her body to transform; she demonstrated this ability by sealing a fragment of the phoenix force inside her heart However, maintaining this form reduces her emotions.
Former Powers
Phoenix Force
Celeste previously had a Fraction of the Phoenix Force, She gained the ability to create and manipulate cosmic fire at will such as creating a blast of fire that is strong enough to burn her sisters (Sophie & Esme) to ashes and break a wall of rock and a ceiling made of metal. She also gained a certain degree of super strength, shown when she saved a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent named Jake Oh by smashing a robot using her feet and not showing any sign of pain. Celeste also had displayed the ability to fly upon receiving the Phoenix Force and creating “Flesh” for her sisters out of nothing.
But Possibly the most impressive feat Celeste had is that she has shown to be immortal, when wolverine sliced through her face using his claws Celeste didn’t die nor felt pain she simply healed.
Other Media
Television
- In Wolverine and the X-Men, the Stepford Cuckoos are members of the Hellfire Club and were used by Emma Frost to release the Phoenix from Jean Grey to prevent the destruction that will be caused by the aforementioned entity. The Cuckoos had difficulty releasing the Phoenix and were consumed by the entity. They went on to cause trouble in the city and Emma, Scott, and Jean had to join forces to fight them. Scott blasted them with his optic blast to capture their attention, then Emma and Jean used their combined powers to trap the Phoenix Force in Emma’s diamond form, freeing the Cuckoos. As confessed by Selene to Scott, the mysterious explosion in the Institute that caused the X-Men’s temporary disbandment was caused by Emma with the help of the Cuckoos. Wolverine also sensed a vision of Emma and the Cuckoos taking Jean. The Cuckoos were all voiced by Tara Strong.
- Celeste briefly appears in The Gifted episode “iMprint,” played by Saree Mcintosh (who portrayed the other four sisters as well). It is revealed that as children, Celeste and Mindee were killed when Esme, Sophie and Phoebe attempted to escape from the lab where the sisters were created.
Games
- The Stepford Cuckoos appear as boss battles in the game X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. They were voiced by Jennifer Hale. The player encounters the Cuckoos in the Madri Temple as they fight alongside Holocaust.
- The Cuckoos are 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: “[3-in-1] Stepford Cuckoos,” “New Xavier School] Stepford Cuckoos,” “[New X-Men] Stepford Cuckoos,” “[Utopia Defender] Cuckoos,” “[Phoenix] Celeste Cuckoo,” “[Weapon X Renegades] Stepford Cuckoos,” and “[Phoenix] Stepford Cuckoos.”
- Celeste appears in several cards in the mobile card game Marvel: War of Heroes.
Merchandise
- Celeste Cuckoo was featured in the HeroClix figure game as part of the X-Men: Xavier’s School series.
- Celeste Cuckoo was featured in Hasbro’s Marvel Legends line as a Walgreens exclusive. As a bonus, the figure also came with alternate heads depicting her sisters Phoebe and Mindee.