Unuscione

Origin

Unuscione (born Carmella Unuscione) is a mutant and former member of the fanatical group The Acolytes, a team devoted to the mutant supremacist ideas of Magneto. Little is known about the mutant known as Unuscione. She is presumed to be a close relative–either the daughter or younger sister–of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants member Unus the Untouchable.

Creation

Unuscione was created by Scott Lobdell and Brandon Peterson in 1993 and first appeared in Uncanny X-Men issue 298 (1993).

Major Story Arcs

The Acolytes Return

Carmella Unuscione first appears as a member of the second group of Acolytes, who believe they are the “chosen” ones to carry on Magneto’s legacy following his presumed death on Asteroid M. Unuscione acted as field leader in an attempt to find and recruit a young latent mutant attending a local school. During the search, she and her fellow Acolytes killed nurse Sharon Friedlander. However, when the Acolytes found the young boy, they deemed him worthless and flawed because he was suffering from Down Syndrome. She later joined her fellow Acolytes on Avalon under Magneto.

Fall of Avalon

When Avalon was attacked by Holocaust, she was one of the few Acolytes who landed on Earth in the desert and for a change had to follow the lead of Cyclops, one of the leaders of the X-Men. Unuscione begrudgingly followed his orders and was protective of younger Acolyte Scanner, whom Cyclops sent on several intense scouting trips to search for resources. Cyclops eventually led the team to civilization in the Australian Outback. The Acolytes turned themselves in to the authorities following their crusade, but were not given amnesty among the X-Men, much to their surprise.

Later, when Fabian Cortez staged a coup of the Acolytes, Unuscione stayed loyal to Magneto, remaining with him until the destruction of Genosha.

Messiah Complex

Unuscione survived the attack and was one of the few remaining mutants following M-Day. She the rejoined fellow Acolytes Joanna Cargill and Exodus under the employ of the villainous Mr. Sinister. As part of this new incarnation of the team, she attempted to retrieve Destiny’s Diaries from the X-Men’s Kitty Pryde in order to find a way to reverse the mutant Decimation. Their quest led them into a battle to acquire the first baby born since M-Day, but once again the team left empty-handed.

Unuscione remained with the Acolytes until Exodus disbanded the team, finally realizing the divisions within mutantkind were causing more harm than good. While vehemently opposed to the dismantling of the team, she and her fellow Acolytes joined their fellow mutants in Utopia, which coincidentally was formed out of the Acolytes’ former base Asteroid M.

Powers and abilities

Unuscione is a mutant who can generate a solid psionic energy field that protects her from physical and energy attacks. This “exoskeleton”, as she calls it, can be mentally reshaped, usually into a large hand that she can use to strike or grip with superhuman force. She can shield others as well, even from the intense heat caused by re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere (though at great strain to herself). Unuscione can also channel bioelectric energy charges through her exoskeleton that temporarily disrupt the synaptic responses of other living beings, leaving them incapacitated.

The exoskeleton is an extention of Unuscione’s mind; the psionic feedback from destroying it usually renders her unconscious.

Statistics

• Known Relatives: Angelo Unuscione aka Unus the Untouchable (presumed to be father or brother), Jared Corbo aka Radius (half-brother or nephew).

• Citizenship: Italian.

• Place of Birth: Italy.

• Marital Status: Single.

• Occupation: Former terrorist.

• Education: Unknown.

• Height: 5’7″

• Weight: 135 lbs (61 kg)

Alternate Realities

Age of X

Under the codename Stand-Off, Unuscioneis a member of the superstar mutant team the Force Warriors. Her psionic forcefield is combined with the powers of other psionic mutants to create a Force Wall to protect Fortress X, the last remaining haven for mutants in this grim reality. Due to the importance of their duties, they are never called into battle until “X” calls them to apprehend Magneto and a group of rebellious mutants who discover the truth about Fortress X. She and the other Force Warriors call a truce when the Age of X is revealed to be a distorted reality generated by one of the Legion‘s personalities.

Her identity was debated for months before the story arc began, as many readers were undecided whether she was Unuscione or the young X-Man Wind Dancer.

Other Media

Television

X-men: The Animated Serie

Unuscione appeared in the two-part episode ‘Sanctuary’ of X-Men: The Animated Series, as a prominent member of the Acolytes.

Games

X-men: Battle of the Atom

Unuscione 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] Unuscione

Unuscione appears as an enchman in the Fatal Attraction mision.