Malice

Origin

Malice is a psionic entity that was recruited by Mister Sinister to join the gang of villains known as the Marauders whom presence is shown by the trademark choker that appears on her victims. Malice has possessed both male and female hosts, but is typically gendered as female by writers and fans, perhaps because Malice seems to prefer female hosts. While the other Marauders participated in the extermination of the Morlocks beneath the streets of New York City, Malice possessed the mutant musician and sometimes-adventurer known as Dazzler while she toured with Lila Cheney’s rock band. However, the X-Men interceded and Malice was defeated by Storm in a battle of wills when Malice tried to jump from Dazzler to Storm and Storm ripped the choker from her own neck.

Mayor Story Arcs

Possessing Polaris

Shortly after the Mutant Massacre ended, members of the Marauder attacked the home shared by Lorna Dane (Polaris) and Alex Summers, a.k.a. Havok. However, Havok was in New York City, leaving Lorna Dane alone to defend against the assassins. Malice possessed Polaris, and soon learned that she was trapped within this host, unable to escape Dane’s body. It was later insinuated that Malice’s power was connected to the earth’s electromagnetic field. After possessing Polaris, Malice became the field leader of the Marauders, leading the team during the all-out demonic invasion on New York City known as Inferno. The team was defeated by the combined efforts of the X-teams, and Mister Sinister was apparently killed by Havok’s brother, Cyclops.

Soon after, Zaladane sent her allies, the Savage Land Mutates, to abduct Polaris and bring her to the Savage Land. Zaladane claimed to be Lorna’s long-lost sister, and stripped Polaris of her mutant magnetic powers and inadvertently replacing them with a different power set. This process resulted in Malice being expelled from Lorna Dane’s psyche.

Apparent Death

Sometime later, Malice resurfaced under orders from Mister Sinister to possess Polaris again, but instead tried to possess Havok to kill Polaris in retaliation against Sinister for her confinement in Lorna Dane’s body. In the end, Malice got stuck between the two heroes, both of whom tried to contain Malice to save the other. Sinister took Malice and apparently destroyed her for her betrayal.

A New Malice?

An entity calling itself Malice recently emerged, and demonstrated similar abilities to the Marauder. Instead of possessing purely organic beings, this “new” Malice possessed the Omega Sentinel via an e-mail virus. During the Messiah Complex, the New X-man Pixie stabbed Karima with her SoulDagger which seemed to expunge the Malice entity from her systems. Malice’s whereabouts since then are unknown.

Powers

Malice could ‘bodyhop’ from one person to another, possessing them and controlling all of their actions and thoughts. She was able to dominate both male and female hosts. While her non-corporeal state made her immune to physical and energy attacks, Malice was vulnerable to mental and magick, as well as to powerful magnetic disruptions. Malice could also connect her mind to another beings. The more recent iteration of Malice is a technological virus, capable of infecting the Omega Sentinel (Karima Shapandar). It is unknown if she can still bodyhop to organic beings or to other complex electronics in a fashion similar to the Machinesmith.

Other Media

Games

X-men: Battle of the Atom

Malice 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:

• Malice
• [Omega Sentinel] Malice