Scanner

Origin

Not much is known about the history of the woman known as Sarah Ryall except that she was a mutant with great anger toward humanity. She became one of the Acolytes who joined Magneto‘s Acolytes after his supposed death. She took on the name of Screener when she joined their ranks.

Creation

Scanner was created by Bob Harras and Steve Epting and first appeared (as Screener) in The Avengers issue 357 (1992). She was later re-used by Scott Lobdell and John Romita Jr when she appeared as Scanner in Uncanny X-Men issue 300.

Major Story Arcs

Following Cortez

Thanks to her powers, she was a valuable member. She also was one of the few Acolytes who always stayed loyal to Magneto when other Acolytes preferred to follow Fabian Cortez. She was most significantly involved in the “Fall of Avalon” storyline where she, along with Frenzy, Unuscione, the Kleinstocks, and Cyclops, were stranded in a desert in Australia following the destruction of Magneto’s space fortress, Avalon. There the Acolytes had to team-up with Cyclops to survive in exchange for turning themselves in when they contacted civilization. Scanner and the other Acolytes did not turn themselves in.

During Scanner’s next confrontation with the X-Men, the usually passive and naive member of the Acolytes has become bitter and angry that the X-Men did not extend an offer for Scanner to join the X-Men or a reprieve to help rehabilitate her, presumably much like the X-Men had done for former young and misguided villains like Rogue. Scanner never received the help from the X-Men she needed and was defeated.

M-Day

Scanner, like 98% of the mutant population, was de-powered by M-Day.

Powers

Scanner was originally presented as having the ability to sense the presence and location of other mutants (but not their thoughts). This ability was psychic in nature.

She was later shown to have the ability to indefinitely project her astral form. She could appear instantly in any location she chose, or move at very fast speeds, communicate telepathically, and disrupt the astral forms of others while in this state. Her astral form was shown as being either visible or invisible depending on whether she wished her presence to be known.

While astral projecting, Scanner’s body remained unconscious.

Later writers mistakenly presented her power as being able to transform her her body into an ‘electro-transitional’ form. Essentially she became a living hologram, able to travel at the speed of light.

Alternate Realities

Earth-2149

In the Marvel Zombies reality Scanner was one of the few people on Earth not turned into a zombie.

Status

Citizenship: American Marital Status: Single Occupation: Terrorist

Characteristics

Gender: Female

Height: 6’1″

Weight: 159 lbs

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Blonde

Scanner possesses two red stripes on each of her cheeks. Whether these are part of her mutation, tattoos, or simply painted on is unknown.

Other Media

Television

Wolverine And The X-Men

Scanner appears in several episodes of Wolverine And The X-Men. She is shown to be a loyal Acolyte of Magneto, residing on Genosha. She is not shown astral projecting, but rather remotely projecting images of others.

Games

X-men: Battle of the Atom

Scanner 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:

• [Acolytes] Scanner