Origin
Tyler Dayspring was born two thousand years in the future as the son of Nathan Dayspring and his wife Aliya. He was raised by the Daysprings as part of the Askani Clan Chosen. He grew up in the terrible future in which the mutant Apocalypse ruled. Tyler and his parents where trained to fight the evil mutant.
Creation
Created by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza in 1991. He was first mentioned (as Tolliver) in New Mutants issue 98, first mentioned as Tyler in X-Force issue 1 (1991) and first seen in X-Force Volume 1 issue 5 (1991).
Character Evolution
Beginning as a boy in the future, Tyler would escape the New Canaanite regime to the present day and become an arms dealer. After his supposed death, Tyler became a mutant terrorist.
Major Story Arcs
As a Freedom Fighter
As a teenager, Tyler is a freedom fighter in Cable’s Clan Chosen in the fight against the New Canaanites and Stryfe. During one fight in which we tries to protect his mother at the base camp, he is abducted by the villain Stryfe and mentally corrupted by the mutant Frisco. He reappears as one of Stryfe’s soldiers and takes Dawnsilk, a friend of Nathan’s, hostage and creates a neural link. Seeing no other solution, Nathan shoots Tyler, freeing Dawnsilk while mentally damaging her. Tyler is thought to be dead, but he survives and escapes from Stryfe’s service. He grows bitter against his father for shooting him.
As Tolliver
Coming to the present, Tyler assumes the name of Tolliver and becomes a weapons dealer. Staying behind the scenes, Tolliver wants to punish everybody who has ever hurt him, first and foremost his father, who is now calling himself Cable. Wearing a mask to conceal his identity, he hires the Six Pack, his father’s group of mercenaries, and sends them on a missions while paying them handsomely in order to gain their trust. One mission, however, is carefully constructed in order to bring them into conflict with Stryfe, who had also traveled back in time. This mission would result in the Six Pack disbanding and most of the members hating Cable afterwards.
After the Six Pack disbands, Cable becomes part of the New Mutants, turning them into X-Force. (During this time, Cable tells Cannonball about Tyler, but says he was just a friend, who was like a son, who had joined Stryfe’s rebellion in the future and was killed on a mission.) Not content with the damage already inflicted upon his father, Tolliver hires the mercenary Deadpool and his girlfriend Copycat to kidnap Domino, a former member of the Six Pack. Tolliver’s aim is to have Copycat impersonate Domino, infiltrate X-Force, and ultimately blow up the team, Cable and all. To Tolliver’s chagrin, Copycat fails in her mission, as she begins to care for Cable’s team, and she leads Cable right to Tolliver. Cable frees Domino and, as Tolliver tries to escape, his helicopter is destroyed by Cable and everyone assumes Tolliver dies (with no one knowing his true identity).
The Will
At Tolliver’s “death,” a will is left in the form of a scavenger hunt – the hunt being to scavenge all known associates and the last one standing gets the prize. The prize ends up being a cache of weapons, found by Copycat, Deadpool, Kane, and Slayback, the ultimate prize being the futuristic android Zero. The joke is that Zero is a weapons inhibitor. Zero leaves the finders of the weapons and ultimately reconnects with Tolliver.
Fathers and Sons
In the Fathers and Sons arc, a very undead Tyler Dayspring decides that it is time to take the fight to those he feels has wronged him. His primary target is his father Cable. He also intends to eliminate Cyclops and Jean Grey with his plan.
As Genesis and Death
Later, Tyler changes his name to Genesis and considers himself the new heir of Apocalypse and chooses Wolverine as a Horseman of Apocalypse. He attempts to erase Wolverine’s mind and re-bond adamantium to Wolverine’s skeleton. On both accounts he fails; Wolverine’s mutation is sent into overdrive and he reverts into a feral state. Wolverine kills Genesis.
During a near-death experience, Cable meets the spirit of his son, who tells him that he has found peace in the afterlife, but this may have been a hallucination on Cable’s part. It is revealed that the Sports Arena on Cable’s Providence Island is named “The Tyler Dayspring Stadium.”
Powers and Abilities
Tyler Dayspring was a mutant with ability to form a psionic link with another consciousness and visually project those memories as solid holograms. As Genesis, he absorbed the energy of many mutants to increase his power, but he never displayed any increased mutant powers afterwards; instead, somewhat like his father, he relied on power armor and advanced weaponry.
Physical Characteristics
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 191 lbs
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue
Other Media
X-Men: The Animated Series
Tyler was in one episode of the animated series. Time Fugitives, Part 2 (Episode 21)