Rictor

Origin

Rictor (Julio Esteban Richter) grew up the son of a Mexican arms dealer. As a young boy, Rictor witnessed his father’s murder at the hands of a mysterious white-haired man. His murder would continue to plague him for many years after his father’s death.When Rictor’s ability to produce seismic waves manifested, he unwittingly destroyed several blocks in his local area. He was later kidnapped by the criminal organization known as The Right, headed by Cameron Hodge, who wanted to use his earthquake generating powers to cause massive devastation by destroying San Francisco.

Rictor was rescued by the group X-Factor, then posing as mutant hunters, and was given safe haven on their sentient command center, appropriately called ‘ Ship‘. There, Rictor met fellow X-Factor wards Tabitha ” Boom Boom” Smith, Takashi ” Wiz Kid ” Matsuya , Rusty Collins, Sally “Skids” Blevins, and the Morlock Leech. The six of them struck up an early friendship and together they were trained to use their powers under the original X-Factor lineup.

Rictor spent a lot of time with the team, despite the horrors they faced. Rictor found himself captured by the Right once again. Desperate to escape, he nearly committed to suicide so he would no longer be the group’s pawn, but Boom Boom convinced him to not give up. After escaping The Right again, he went back with the others to their seemingly chaotic days until X-Factor decided to enroll them in boarding school. After a brief time spent at the boarding school, the group, now calling themselves the X-Terminators after X-Factor’s initial mutant hunting guise, continued their adventures, including a mission where they rescued Artie Maddicks and Leech from the demon N’astirh.

Creation

Rictor was created by Louise Simonson and Walter Simonson and first appeared in X-Factor Volume 1 issue 17 (1987).

Major Story Arcs

New Mutants

Tired of feeling ostracized at the boarding school, where the other students were all children of the rich and powerful, the older members of the X-Terminators joined the New Mutants. While a member of the team, Julio found an unlikely romantic bond with Wolfsbane, a lycrothapic shapeshifter. After the leadership of the New Mutants changed hands, Rictor found himself being taught by Cable, a man who reminded Julio of the man who murdered his father all those years ago. During one of Cable’s vigorous training sessions, Rictor bailed on the team and fled into the Morlock Tunnels. There he encountered Sabretooth, who nearly gutted Rictor before he caused the tunnels to collapse on the villain. However, Rictor found himself trapped in the rubble and had to be saved by Cable. Cable began to earn Rictor’s respect, but hostility between the two continued.

Shortly thereafter, the New Mutants were attacked by Genoshan Magistrates. During the attack, Rictor was kidnapped along with Wolfsbane, Boom Boom, Warlock, and the X-Man Storm. Rictor and Boom Boom managed to escape their captors and met up with X-Man Jubilee, an apparent rescuer who had nearly gotten captured as well. After the combined effort of nearly every currently operating X-Team, the X-Men managed to overthrow the Genoshan government and set Wolfsbane and the other captured mutants free. Wolfsbane, however, chose to remain on Genosha with Havok who she’d been recently bonded to. Heartbroken, Rictor left the New Mutants.

X-Force

The New Mutants disbanded shortly thereafter. With several remaining members of the team, Cable reformed the group under the name X-Force, who would operate in a more proactive manner than the X-Men. Still convinced that Cable was indeed the man who murdered his father, Rictor joined the Canadian group known as Weapon P.R.I.M.E. to help capture him.

A while later, after Cable had created his new team from the remains of the New Mutants, Rictor was convinced Cable was indeed the man who murdered his father. He joined the Canadian group known as Alpha Flight on a mission to kill Cable. The team was unsuccessful. Rictor begrudgingly joined X-Force shortly before Cable was accused of yet another crime; the attempted assassination of Professor X. The X-Men and X-Factor combined forces to apprehend him and his team, and Rictor was reunited with Wolfsbane for the first time since leaving her on Genosha. The two shared a kiss, but Rahne’s feral nature got the better of her, and she bit him in the heat of it. Later, it was revealed that Cable had a clone named Stryfe who was responsible for Xavier’s attack, and Cable’s name was cleared. Rictor realized that it was also Stryfe who killed his father, but before he and Cable could reconcile, Cable was seemingly killed.

Rictor remained with X-Force and Cable returned alive and well. His friendship with Tabitha dwindled, but he began to get close to Shatterstar instead. Rictor and Cable worked alongside each other with little problems until X-Force was integrated into the Xavier Mansion. Julio’s inability to deal with Cable’s new telepathic command style, along with the deaths of two more of his family members–an uncle and a cousin–prompted Rictor to leave X-Force and return to Mexico.

Return to Cable and X-Corperation

He did return, however, at the behest of Cable when his close friend Shatterstar was questioning his identity. He helped him through his crisis, and the pair later traveled back to Mexico as Shatterstar decided to return the favor by helping Rictor with his family problems. Rictor stayed under the radar for a long time, only showing up again as a member of X-Corporation. His initial mission was a complete disaster, however, and it resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians and fellow teammate Darkstar. He quit X-Corporation soon after.

Decimation

When the Scarlet Witch depowered 90-98% of the mutant population during M-Day, Rictor was one of the thousands to lose their powers.

X-Factor

Deeply depressed over being powerless and losing his connection to the earth, Rictor contemplated committing suicide by jumping off a building. Wolfsbane yelled at him from below screaming for him to get off of the ledge. He was talked out of jumping by a Jamie Madrox clone, but the same dupe pushed him off the building (he was apparently Jamie’s “X-Factor”, and was unpredictable. “The fly in the ointment. The spanner in the works). He was caught by M, and was taken to his motorcycle, and he and M went back to headquarters. He was offered a position on the new X-Factor team but refused because they were all mutants and he wasn’t. He jumped on his motorcycle, and after being given a coupon for gas by Layla Miller, and left.

In a gas station, a young couple left the building with the man shouting at the woman about how she shouldn’t be thankful that they weren’t mutants anymore. He went to attack the woman, but Rictor sprayed him with gas, and when he prepared to fire a gun at the two, he caught on fire, and Rictor rode off with the woman. Rictor then joined the new X-Factor team. When Siryn is attacked and abducted, Rictor is the one who saves her from a crazy, depowered mutant named Dr. Leery. Rictor also begins to hate newcomer Layla Miller, thinking that she’s creepy and was responsible for not telling them about Siryn getting attacked. During this time, Rictor also starts off on the wrong foot with Monet, whom he walks in on naked trying to get her attention about an important mission. When X-Factor invaded Singularity Investigations, he and Siryn impersonate members of a clean-up crew in hazmat suits, and Rictor sends Layla all the files from Singularity.

Rictor then begins to visit Quicksilver‘s clinic in a nearby location, and within a conversation with Madrox, hints jokingly that he was bisexual and may have had a past romance with his X-Force teammate Shatterstar. When X-Cell attacked, Rictor is taken to Quicksilver. Quicksilver makes Rictor an offer: for him to siphon Quicksilver’s powers so Quicksilver can repower all the X-Cell mutants and Rictor himself. He falls unconscious during the process, but when he wakes up, Quicksilver is about to kill Layla Miller, but Rictor fights him and destroys the Terrigen Mists that gave Quicksilver his abilities.

Rictor locks himself in his room. Rahne comes to visit him with food, but he knocks it out of her hands. He begins to cry about his power loss, and as Rahne is about to leave, she turns around and the two sleep together. Later, when Rahne jumps on him and rips the back of his shirt, we can see some remains of the Terrigen Crystals protruding from his skin. When the Isolationist is convincing the others with mind control about the million mutant march, Rictor is immune to his telepathy and isn’t convinced. When the Isolationist then attacks, Rictor is immune to all of his powers. When the Isolationist leaves then, Rictor figures out how to use the Isolationist’s teleporting device, and brings Rahne, Guido and Jamie back from an Artic prison the Isolationist had forced them into.

Messiah Complex

When the X-Men learned of the first mutant born since M-Day, Emma Frost mentally commanded Rictor and Multiple Man to have a meeting with the team. While Multiple Man would send out his duplicates into an experimental time-traveling machine created by Forge, Rictor was instructed to infiltrate the Purifiers, who the X-Men believe have kidnapped the mutant baby. Rictor was specifically chosen for this assignment because the Purifiers’ advanced technology would not detect a mutant gene in his DNA. When Wolfsbane attacked a group of Purifiers on the street, Rictor–under the guise of Joaquin Murrietta–staged a merciless attack on his teammate by shooting her with fake bullets. Proving his loyalty and worth, Rictor was quickly accepted into the group. Rictor is able to secretly access the Purifiers computer systems. Shortly after he learned the Purifiers did not have the mutant baby, Rictor runs into Anole and several other young students who had went behind the X-Men’s backs to attack the Purifiers. Because of the students’ interference, Rictor’s cover is blown and he leaves the hideout after the young mutants teleport away.

Divided We Stand

Cyclops left the details of Multiple Man’s mission during Messiah Complex intentionally vague. When a duplicate was sent into the future, they would be irretrievable and detonated when they gathered the information required. However, with these facts withheld, X-Factor’s young member Layla Miller took it upon herself to join one of the duplicates into the future. Lost in Bishop’s timeline, it appeared as though she was lost forever. After a short time had passed since her disappearance, Rictor believed he saw Layla on the street. Startled, he ran after his thought long gone friend. The look alike turned out to be a prostitute/hooker named Caitlin and the encounter gets him beat up by her entourage. Rictor is saved by Strong Guy, who takes him to the hospital. When he returns to X-Factor HQ, he finds a letter from Rahne saying she’s left the team.

He burns the letter and then flushes it down the toilet. He then tells the team he’s leaving, but when he goes outside, he’s in space. He goes back in, and when he looks back outside, it’s plain old mutant town. He walks down to the pavement/sidewalk of Mutant Town and falls down a trap door. We then see him strapped to a table, about to be castrated by a gigantic swinging blade, while two voices talk over him. The two men who have trapped him are Silver Age X-Men villain Arcade and the member of the Purifiers who recruited Rictor into their group.

The ex-Purifier has wanted to enact revenge on Rictor for fooling him, causing him to be outed from the group himself. Rictor calls for Monet and with her superhuman hearing she finds him. Unfortunately, Arcade is well prepared for her arrival and blasts her with an intense bolt of electricity thrusting her to the ground unconscious. Siryn and Madrox finally find him before it is too late and the trio escape only to learn that a bomb has been implanted in Mutant Town and a force-field over the city has prevented anyone from getting out. The team finds Taylor, the ex-Purifier, dying in Arcade’s control room. He reveals that when his heart stops beating the town will explode. With one last sip of his poison, Taylor falls to the ground dead.

Cortex

Recently Rictor and Strong Guy embarked on a road trip that lead to a reunion with Rictor’s former X-Force teammate Shatterstar. It was revealed that Shatterstar was in fact mind controlled by an entity called Cortex, which had been targeting depowered mutants for currently unspecified reasons. When the mental link Cortex had on Shatterstar abruptly wore off, Shatterstar was pleasantly surprised to see Rictor. As Rictor walked over to attend to his friend, Shatterstar grabbed him and the two shared a passionate kiss. Rictor and Guido later had a conversation about Ric’s sexuality and his relationship with Rahne in which Rictor revealed that he and Shatterstar had been involved long before he and Rahne, confirming their relationship in their days together in X-Force. After Cortex was defeated, Madrox and Guido returned to New York and Rictor stayed in Detroit with the others. However, a month later Siryn would close the Detroit office and the others would all return to New York as well.

Rictor’s current relationship has seemed to put a strain on his friendship with Guido, who felt betrayed that Rictor never told him he was bisexual and had started a relationship with Rahne. Shatterstar also seems to have picked up a healthy flirtatious habit which has annoyed Rictor to no end. Recently Rahne returned to X-Factor Investigations. She returned and walked in on Rictor and Shatterstar during a private moment between the two. Rahne instantly started yelling and than shifted into her wolf form and attacked Shatterstar, throwing the two of them out the window, and to the streets. She accused Shatterstar of using mind control on Rictor. Longshot used a fire hydrant to get her off of him. By this time Rictor appeared and asked Rahne who the father was. She told him she had been with anyone but him, so he must be the father. When Rahne said this Layla was watching, with a look that seemed to show that she knew Rahne was lying to Rictor.

While the rest of the team was busy tracking down Hela in Las Vegas, Rictor accompanied Rahne to the Obstetrician. On the way to the doctor’s office, they try to talk things out. The conversation quickly centers around Rictor’s sexuality. Still Incredulous at the idea of his homosexuality, Rahne, confused and evidently self-conscious, wants to know whether she turned him gay. Rictor proceeds to ease her concerns, explaining that it had nothing to do with her or any other external factor- he was always homosexual and was himself unaware of it.

At the doctor’s office, Rahne is given an ultrasound. Much to the disbelief of the doctor, although she can hear the child’s heartbeat, no image appears on the monitor. Apparently, Rahne’s body has developed some type of protective shell that can’t be permeated by any external stimuli, including sound waves. This only makes it more likely that Rictor will eventually see through Rahne’s deception and realize that the child is not his.

Avengers: The Children’s Crusade

Seeking to undo the effects of M-Day, The Scarlet Witch and several of the Avengers request a meeting with X-Factor, who have been in contact with many depowered mutants who volunteered to be subjected to the unpredictable nature of the Scarlet Witch’s recently returned abilities. Although his teammates in X-Factor have deep misgivings about this proposition, Rictor readily accepts Wanda’s offer to return his abilities, stating how worthless he felt without his powers. Wanda is successfully able to restore his powers, much to his delight.

Powers and abilities

Seismic Energy Manipulation: Rictor is a mutant who possessed the ability to generate and release tremendously powerful seismic vibrations. He was capable of channeling these both through direct contact with the object or through the air. His abilities were powerful enough to bring down cities and he expressed concern that, if placed too close to a fault line, he would set off major earthquakes. However, his powers are not limited to earth materials. Rictor also revealed that he has an empathetic connection to the earth, that he is able to feel life all around him and sense local energy patterns. His powers further grew in magnitude after his repowerment by the Scarlet Witch, resulting in them growing out of his control. This issue came into conflict in joining the mutant nation of Krakoa, as he feared his powers would destroy the island.

Although with the help and inspiration of Apocalypse, Rictor was able to gain control over his powers and their destructive nature, as well as extending his powers to not just vibrations and seismic activity, but also earthly materials.

• Geokinesis: After his time on Krakoa, His powers started to evolve, resulting in them manifesting more as geokinesis. This new aspect of his mutant abilities enable him to mentally manipulate earthly materials, including rocks, plants, and lava to a certain extent.

Due to his time with the X-Men, Rictor possesses adequate hand-to-hand combat skills. He has also displayed an affinity for computers and has been assigned to hack into various high-security systems. He picked up various other skills thanks to his childhood with his gun-running parents, including knowledge of explosives. Lately, Rictor has taken an interest in firearms knowledge and has an enthusiasm for learning how to use them.

In Other Media

Television

• Rictor makes a cameo appearance in the X-Men: The Animated Series episode “Slave Island,” where he is seen as one of the mutants being held prisoner on Genosha.

Film

Logan

Rictor appears in Logan, portrayed by Jayson Genao. In the bleak future depicted in the film, he is one of the artificial mutant children created by Dr. Zander Rice for the Alkali-Transigen corporation, with his genetic donor having been Dominic Petros, a.k.a. Avalanche (explaining their similar earthquake powers). Alongside Laura and Wolverine, he battles against the Reavers and helps the other surviving mutant children escape to Canada.

Merchandise

• Rictor was featured in the X-Men: X-Force action figure line from ToyBiz.
• Rictor was featured in Diamond Select’s Minimates line as part of a two-pack with Boom-Boom.
• Rictor was featured in the HeroClix figure game.
• Rictor was featured in Hasbro’s Marvel Legends line as part of a boxed set with Domino and Cannonball.