DAN STROM

Real Name: Dan Strom

Identity/Class: Human Mutant

Occupation: High School Student

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Beast (Henry McCoy), unidentified friends at school

Enemies: None

Known Relatives: Ken and Amy Strom (Parents)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: His parent's home

First Appearance: X-Men Unlimited I#36/3 (July, 2002)

Powers/Abilities: Dan Strom has large, bat-like wings sprouting from his shoulders, allowing him to fly. His  wings and back are covered in light brown fur. The long, finger-like bones which support his wings are apparently very fragile, and frequently one or more will break when he attempts to disguise his mutation using a corset. His wing-bones may be hollow, but that is merely speculation.

History: (X-Men Unlimited I#36/3 (fb) - BTS) - Dan Strom's mutation first manifested itself at the age of approximately thirteen. His parents wanted to enroll him in The Xavier School For Gifted Youngsters, but he refused, wanting to stay in school with his friends. To avoid persecution as a mutant, Dan began binding his wings against his body using a corset, which would frequently break his fragile wing bones. Unwilling to go to a regular hospital, the Strom's would contact the physician and X-Man Beast to treat their injured son.

(X-Men Unlimited I#36/3)- Eighteen months after his initial mutation, Dan, now fifteen, once again pulled his corset too tight, injuring his left wing, prompting a call to Doctor McCoy. It was 11:33 P.M., three hours after the call, when Beast arrived, rushing over from his reading of physicist Stephen Hawking's latest work, to treat Dan. Beast treated the boy's injured wing, using Dan's bedroom as an operating room. A short time later Dan was "flying high again",  and promised not to wear his corset so tight, but Beast felt put off by the boy's parents, who only seemed to contact him when there was a problem.

Comments: Created by Jeff Jensen, John Totleben, Jeremy Cox.

Beast may have been upset, but I can sympathize with the Strom's point of view, Ken's working a full-time job as a teacher, Amy's working as a part-time nurse, both tiring, under-appreciated and underpaying jobs, and both are faced with the challenges of raising a child who's both a teenager and a mutant. I don't fault them for forgetting to invite Hank over for dinner...

I wonder if Dan's friends know that he's a mutant, or is he trying to keep his secret from them as well. And nobody sees him when he's flying around?

Profile by Darc_Light

Clarifications:

This character, Dan Strom, has no known connections to

• Mendel Stromm, A.K.A. Gaunt and The Robot Master, A mechanical genius and former partner of Norman Osborn, @ Amazing Spider-Man I#37
• Malcolm Stromberg, Millionaire murdered by Maelstrom, who assumed his identity @ Quasar#21
• Batwing, Jimmy Santini, young boy mutated into a bat-like creature by chemicals, @ Untold Tales of Spider-Man#2
• Batwing, A sadistic lieutenant of Rancor and member of the Nine @ Guardians of the Galaxy #8
• The Man-Bats of Ur-Xannarh,  Race of bat-like humanoids encountered by Conan @ Conan the Barbarian#153
• The Man-Bat, Dr. Kurt Langstrom, Batman foe/ally, scientist mutated into a bat-like creature @ Detective Comics#400
• or any other Strom, bat-winged people or people with bat-like characteristics

Ken and Amy Strom- Dan's parents. Ken is a second grade school teacher, and Amy is a part-time nurse. They are ardent supporters of the mutant cause, and, despite their lower-middle class wages, have contributed thousands of dollars to the Xavier School. They wanted Dan to join the Xavier School, but he refused, reluctant to leave his friends and normal life. They can be seen standing in the doorway with Beast in the picture of Dan sitting in his room.

--X-Men Unlimited I#36/3

images:
Seated-X-Men Unlimited I#36/3, p29, pan2
In flight- X-Men Unlimited I#36/3, p30, pan1

Appearances:
X-Men Unlimited I#36 (July, 2002) - Jeff Tensen (writer), John Totleben (artist), David Bogart & Andrew List (editors)