Skullfire

Skullfire (Timothy Fitzgerald) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character appeared in the 2099 universe, a look at superheroes in the year 2099. He was one of the founding members of a future incarnation of the X-Men called X-Men 2099.

Skullfire
Cover to X-Men 2099 #29 showing Skullfire powered up Art by Ron Lim
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	X-Men 2099 #1 (October, 1993)
Created by	John Francis Moore Ron Lim
In-story information
Alter ego	Timothy Fitzgerald
Species	Human mutant
Place of origin	Marvel 2099 (Earth-928)
Team affiliations	X-Men 2099 Halo City Protectorate Undead
Abilities	Energy absorption and channeling Levitation

Fictional character biography

Timothy "Fitz" Fitzgerald was a wealthy, young urban professional until his mutant powers manifested. An uncontrollable burst of energy destroys his apartment and kills his girlfriend Reiko. After this, Timothy goes into hiding.^[1] He is approached by Cerebra, who tells him to go to the Nuevo Sol Arcology in the Nevada desert.^[2]

Upon his arrival, Tim is introduced to X-Men members Serpentina and Xi'an. However, Tim notices a sniper attempting to assassinate Xi'an. He foils the attempt, but Xi'an is injured. Tim helps the other X-Men save Xi'an and clear him of charges that he killed a Las Vegas casino mogul, Noah Synge. In the process, Serpentina is killed and Tim joins the X-Men.^[3]

Tim accompanies Krystalin and Meanstreak to New York to find Meanstreak's friend, Jordan Boone, who had disappeared. Along the way, they are captured by La Lunatica and Controller Thirteen of the Theatre of Pain. Luna's powers force him to relive the memory of when his powers manifested and his girlfriend was killed. This trauma triggers his powers, shorting out the equipment around him and helping them all escape. Tim gains full control of his powers and comes to terms with his past.^[1]

After returning to Xi'an, Fitz helps find Mama Hurricane, a member of the underground railroad during the Great Purge of mutants, and then Master Zhao, the leader of the last known team of X-Men.^[4] Tim accompanies Xi'an after the latter abandons the X-Men, a result of Zhao's psychic assault returning Xi'an to his base, amoral persona. While searching for the Driver, on information from Mama Hurricane, they encounter La Lunatica again and she and Tim enter a relationship.^[5] Tim agrees to help her escape the pursuit of the Theatre of Pain, though he is mostly ineffective against their leader, Brimstone Love, when Love attacks them at the Driver's garage. They are granted reprieve when Brimstone leaves instead with Xi'an, who joins the Theatre.^[6] Disillusioned by his mentor's defection, Tim returns to the other X-Men, with Luna, to reform the team and lead them against the Theatre of Pain. Together, they storm the Theatre's Floodgate facility in California, fighting to a stalemate and forcing Brimstone Love to retreat. As Floodgate empties, Doom, self-imposed U.S. President, arrives and hires the X-Men as the protectorate of Halo City, a new city-state in the southwest, built to be a safe-haven for mutants, degens and other victims of genetic oppression.^[7]

Halo City is almost immediately attacked by the Graverobber, a mutant with the ability to revive the dead as zombies. In order to find the man responsible for disfiguring him, the Graverobber sends the reanimated Serpentina to kill Tim. She succeeds and Tim is revived by Graverobber, who uses him to control the city's power. The Graverobber is subdued by the X-Men, which severs his neural connection to his zombies, killing them again. Inexplicably, Tim survives and continues as a member of the X-Men.^[8]

As the city begins to flood due to the encroaching Phalanx, a new villain, Vulcann, arrives to take possession of Joaquim, newborn child of Freakshow member Rosa and adopted son of Metalhead. Vulcann is a bloodsmith, with the power to alter body structure and control growth. With his power, he destroys Tim's body, apparently killing him once again. However, Tim survives as an energy being. He is approached by another energy being, taking the form of Reiko. It invites him to join with a community of similar beings, but he declines and returns to be with Luna, as well as aid the X-Men in escaping to higher ground.^[9]

Powers and abilities

Originally, Tim has the ability to absorb all ambient energy particles into his body, metabolizing them in a usable form, then dispersing it as destructive blasts. Skullfire initially had no control over his powers and was only capable of using them when under stress. After La Lunatica made him relive Reiko's death, he gained control of his powers. While helping to free the mutant Book, it is revealed that Skullfire is able to absorb mystical energy. When Skullfire's body was destroyed, he survived in a form made of energy, which allows him to fly.^[9]