MAGGOTT

Real Name: Japheth (last name unrevealed)

Identity/Class: Human mutant, citizen of South Africa

Occupation: Adventurer 

Group Membership: Selene's undead army (Banshee/Sean Cassidy, Beef, Berzerker, Bevatron, Siena Blaze, Bolt/Chris Bradley, Caliban, Catseye, Fabian Cortez, Cypher/Doug Ramsey, Darkstar/Laynia Petrovna, Deadbolt, Marco Delgado, Destiny/Irene Adler, Feral/Maria Callasantos, Firefist/Rusty Collins, Hemingway, Hurricane, Jetstream/Haroum ibn Sallah al-Rashid, Katu Kath, Lifeforce, Leon Matheson, Seamus Mellencamp, Negasonic Teenage Warhead/Ellie Phimister, Proteus/Kevin MacTaggert, Pyro/St. John Allerdyce, Rem-Ram/Marcus Daniels, Risque/Gloria Munoz, Roulette/Jennifer Stavros, Scaleface, Shinobi Shaw, Skin/Angelo Espinosa, Spoor, Spyne, Static, Stonewall, Super Sabre, Synch/Everett Thomas, Tarot/Marie-Ange Colbert, Thunderbird/John Proudstar, Tower, Unus the Untouchable/Angelo Unuscione, the Camp Verde tribe, millions of others);

formerly X-Men (Angel/Warren Worthington III, Beast/Hank McCoy, Cannonball/Sam Guthrie, Cyclops/Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Joseph, Iceman/Bobby Drake, Marrow/Sarah, Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner, Psylocke/Betsy Braddock, Cecilia Reyes, Rogue/Anna Marie, Shadowcat/Kitty Pryde, Storm/Ororo Munroe, Wolverine/James Howlett)

Affiliations: Sister Maria de la Joya, Generation X (Banshee/Sean Cassidy, Chamber/Jonothon Starsmore, Gaia, Husk/Paige Guthrie, Jubilee/Jubilation Lee, M/Claudette & Nicole St. Croix, Penance/Monet St. Croix, Skin/Angelo Espinosa, Synch/Everett Thomas, White Queen/Emma Frost), Magneto (Max Eisenhardt), Neverland camp internees (Siena Blaze, Bulwark/Oswald Boeglin, Diamond Lil/Lilian Crawley, Random/Marshall Evan Stone III, Reaper/Pantu Hurageb, Dr. Cecilia Reyes, Mr. Taylor, Mrs. Taylor, Billy Taylor, Wendy Taylor, Wildside/Richard Gill, other unidentified mutants), Sabra (Ruth Bat-Seraph), Trish Tilby

Enemies: Afrikaner rebels, Hrimhari, Nanny's Ani-cyborg forces, Pilgrim, Ru'Tai, Sauron (Karl Lykos), Shadow King, Weapon X, X-Force (Archangel, Warpath, X-23)

Known Relatives: Unidentified mother and father, Daniel (brother), Lot (brother, deceased)

Aliases: 

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
                                  formerly Utopia Isle, San Francisco, California, USA;
                                  formerly Weapon X's Neverland camp, location unknown;
                                  formerly Massachusetts Academy, Massachusetts, USA;
                                  formerly Xavier Institute, New York, USA;
                                  formerly mobile across the world;
                                  formerly Ottoshoop, Northern Transvaal, South Africa

First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men I#345 (June, 1997)

Powers/Abilities: Maggott's mutation primarily centered around his digestive system. In his early teens, it transformed into two enormous, semi-sentient techno-organic slug-like creatures that nestled inside his stomach. Before Magneto helped Japheth's mutation along by allowing the slugs to emerge, the boy could no longer eat solid foods. As soon as the slugs emerged, Japheth nicknamed the voracious, highly intelligent creatures Eany and Meany. They were able to rapidly devour all forms of inorganic matter. As soon as they were satiated, the slugs would burrow back inside Maggott's abdomen to nourish their owner. Eany and Meanie would return by literally eating their way back inside. Though extremely painful, Japheth suffered no permanent damage from this ritual. The energy they imparted temporarily gave Maggott enhanced strength, stamina and a bulked up figure while also turning his skin blue. Maggott possessed limited psychometric abilities, as the slugs could reveal the history of everything they had eaten to him. If Maggott was separated from both Eany and Meanie for an extended period of time, he became severely malnourished and would eventually succumb to malnutrition. At first, Maggott was deeply embarrassed about his mutation, keeping how he ate a secret from his fellow X-Men.

Height: 6'8"
Weight: 350 lbs.
Eyes: Blue (red while using powers)
Hair: White

History: (X-Men II#76 (fb) ) - The boy who would become Maggott was born as Japheth in the small South African town of Ottoshoop. He had four siblings who all loved him even though he was a sickly child who barely ate and even at age 12 looked like a six year old. Misdiagnosed with stomach cancer, Japheth's alleged medical condition required special medication that was a severe drain on the family's already limited income. One night, Japheth overheard his mother praying to God that his suffering would end soon for all their sakes. A few hours later, he decided to help his mother's prayer get answered by taking the family jeep and driving deep into the desert to die. When the truck gave out in the middle of the Kalahari, he was stunned to find his younger brother Daniel asleep in the back. They would have died if not for the timely arrival of Magneto (Max Eisenhardt), who sensed Japheth's distress. Using his powers, Magneto managed to jumpstart the boy's mutation, forcing Eany & Meany out into the open. The next day, Magneto returned the boys to Ottoshoop, where the Apartheid regime had caused a violent uproar in which Japheth's oldest brother Lot had been killed. Japheth's father would have been next but the boy begged Magneto to intervene and save his dad. Magneto agreed to step in and massacred the racist government forces. Horrified, Japheth denounced Magneto's ways. The master of magnetism left the boy to fend for himself.

(Uncanny X-Men I#345 - BTS) - Years later, Maggott set out to find Magneto hoping he could be able to cure him. One of the leads he investigated was the Guatemalan nun Maria de la Joya, who had taken care of Magneto's clone Joseph. He wasn't the only one looking for her. The robot Nanny, acting on Magneto's orders, had sent out several of her robotic minions to discover the whereabouts of Joseph. They figured out Joseph had stayed at the Holy Sepulchre orphanage and went down there to get some answers. When the creature showed up, Sister Maria managed to lure it away from the children by getting it to chase her down into the jungle.

(Uncanny X-Men I#345) - Nanny's monsters eventually caught up with De La Joya when her car broke down in the middle of the jungle. She made one final, desperate attempt to defend herself by throwing a rock at the robotic beast, which only made it madder. She was saved by the timely arrival of Maggott, who managed to defeat their common enemy with the help of his snails.

(Uncanny X-Men I#345 - BTS) - Maggott was also looking for Joseph, thinking he was the real Magneto who had helped save his life years earlier. Sister Maria told Maggott that Joseph had gone to America to find the X-Men before she returned home to her orphanage.

(Uncanny X-Men I#347) - Making his way to the United States, Maggott stopped at random places to find out what he could about Joseph's whereabouts. While he was in the small South Carolina town of Pine Bluff, he came across a number of Operation: Zero Tolerance sympathizers who didn't take too kindly to odd looking strangers asking questions about "the fella that caused all that trouble a few months back." Eager for answers but not for a fight, Maggott ordered his ravenous slugs to demolish the good ol' boys' truck. Thoroughly intimidated, they ran off, leaving Maggott and his "pets" to consider their next move based on what they'd learned of Joseph.

(Uncanny X-Men I#349 - BTS) - Maggott used his slugs' psychometric properties to track Joseph's trail from Sister de la Joya's monastery via Pine Bluff to New York City.

(Uncanny X-Men I#349) - On top of the Empire State Building, Maggott had his slugs nibble on the binoculars of the observation deck until he relived a touching scene between Joseph and Rogue on Christmas Eve. Aware he had reached his goal, he allowed his girls to moved back inside him before setting out to find the X-Men. It didn't take long for the X-Men to find him, Psylocke picked up on the mutant's thoughts and was worried about the darkness she sensed in him. She decided to ambush and attack him, stunned to find Maggott became a blue-hued hulk with two cybernetic slugs that she didn't pick up on originally. As their fight continued near the World Trade Center, Psylocke felt forced to stab Maggott with her psychic knife. As soon as she struck, Japheth toppled over in pain and Betsy found herself overcome as well. However, his slugs went mad. Meany was ready to charge Betsy but her boyfriend Angel joined the fray in time to smack the slug away. Betsy commented that she sensed a great darkness within him (see comments).

(Uncanny X-Men I#350) - Using her Crimson Dawn-enhanced telepathy, Psylocke further investigated the emptiness that she sensed within her enemy. Melting with the shadows while Angel kept an eye on their opponent, Psylocke was surprised by Eany and Meany, who attacked just as her unpredictable shadow powers teleported all of them to Magneto's base in the Arctic (see comments). They were all quickly captured, separated and chained up. When Maggott came to, his slugs were already eating away at his bonds. Japheth then discovered he was locked up with Joseph, whom he mistook for Magneto. This angered the real Magneto, who was also in the room dressed as Erik the Red. Magneto knocked his clone out, forcing Japheth to realize that he was indeed the true Magneto. Magneto assured Maggott that if he cooperated by serving as a member of the jury during Gambit's trial, he would be allowed to go free. Maggott agreed and took his place in the box when Gambit's trial began, much to the surprise of the other X-Men and Beast's girlfriend Trish Tilby. Maggott kept quiet during the volatile trial which left the X-Men shocked to learn Gambit was responsible for helping Mr. Sinister recruit the Marauders. After the X-Men broke free and attacked "Erik the Red," forcing him to retreat, Maggott accompanied them back home.

(X-Men II#70) - Maggott and the other X-Men arrived at the Xavier Institute, only to find it stripped bare to the bones (courtesy of Bastion and Operation: Zero Tolerance). They also encountered the Juggernaut, who had brought a lawyer to lay claim to the entire estate because Xavier had seemingly vanished (although he was actually being held by OZT's forces). On top of that, Cyclops had been implanted with a techno-organic explosive that would infect all those around him should it explode. Maggott made himself useful, staring down Juggernaut and threatening to have his slugs attack him. Impressed by the young boy's chutzpah, Cain Marko decided to avoid a confrontation, commending the boy instead. Maggott proved invaluable a second time when Dr. Cecilia Reyes had surgically removed the nano-tech bomb, only for it to rush towards a premature detonation. With seconds to spare, one of Maggott's slugs consumed the explosive, digesting its payload without any ill effect. In the aftermath, Maggott happily accepted the offer to remain as one of the new X-Men and basked in the adulation. Later that night, the reality of his situation hit home when he was alone in one of the mansion's bathrooms and Eany and Meany slithered in to return inside him. He allowed the painful process to take its course, though he couldn't help but whimper a rhetorical "Oh god... help me."

(Alpha Flight II#9/Uncanny X-Men I#355) - Maggott and the other X-Men rushed out to help Wolverine when he was attacked by Alpha Flight on the way to driving the chained up Sauron to the nearest  police station. Maggott faced the mind-controlling Murmur and found that Eany and Meany no longer followed his commands as they went after the terrified girl. Seeing these strange metal slugs brought back long repressed childhood memories, causing her to collapse in fear. Before Maggott could turn his attention to the others, he was attacked by Sasquatch, who used the still chained up Sauron as an impromptu bat to knock him silly. Murmur recovered and was about to mind control Maggott when Cannonball and Flex broke up the fight, having managed to broker a truce between the teams. This led Alpha Flight to realize their bosses had been lying to them.

(X-Men II#73) - The Mossad operative Sabra, who had infiltrated the Xavier Institute to shadow Joseph in an effort to bring Magneto to justice, ambushed Joseph in the woods as he was having a conversation with Maggott, who wanted to discuss the past he shared with Magneto. Sabra shot Joseph in the back with her paralyzing quills and was ready to depart if not for Maggott. He was no match for the trained Israeli supersoldier and she easily kicked away Eany and Meany. However, he kept Sabra distracted long enough for her to reveal why she was after Joseph. The stunned Maggott explained that there was no way Joseph was Magneto. When Joseph came to, he decided it was time to find out the truth about his past. He asked to accompany Sabra if she could help him get some answers. She agreed but insisted they departed immediately. As the two mutants flew off together, a rather confused Maggott was left wondering how he was going to explain this one to his fellow mutants.

(Uncanny X-Men I#354) - Sauron grabbed Maggott with his hind claws and planned to fly off with him to feed. Maggott was rescued by Cannonball but was momentarily stunned while the fight continued. Eany & Meany pitched in, eating their way through Sauron's stash of advanced weapons. In the end, Maggott turned the tables by jumping on Sauron's back and holding on as Sauron flew high up in the air. Not impressed to hear that Ka-Zar had tried this trick as well, Maggott kept pounding Sauron until the villain finally managed to shake free. Maggott fell to the ground but ordered Eany & Meany to quickly dig a giant hole, causing him to fall into loose, soft earth. In the end, Sauron was defeated by Wolverine and Jubilee.

(X-Men II#76) - Afraid to come clear to the X-Men about Eany and Meany being his digestive system, Maggott tried his best to get out of the mandatory physical. Wolverine noticed his squirrelly behavior and confronted Japheth about it, reminding the boy that keeping secrets from people who barely knew him wasn't the best way to gain their trust. Maggott then recounted his origins and his encounter with Magneto. When he was done, he got emotional and said there were still so much more dark secrets to share. Wolverine assured him it could wait for another day. Moments later, Storm arrived at the mansion with a package from her home village in Kenya. They were stunned to find a talking stone statue of Ainet inside that begged for Storm's help.

(X-Men II#77) - Maggott, Cannonball, Wolverine and Cecilia Reyes accompanied Storm on a rescue mission to Kenya. They were teleported there thanks to Psylocke and her shadow shifting and joined at the last moment by the rebellious Marrow. After fighting off armed tribesmen, they discovered everyone in Storm's native village was under a paralyzing mind control spell. Moments later, Cannonball disappeared into the sand, and met the spider-covered Ainet, who told Storm that she had to marry the god Ananasi. As if on cue, "Ananasi" began to mentally manipulate Maggott, Cecilia and Marrow. He first showed them their heart's desire, in Maggott's case controlling his powers and becoming the well respected hero he dreamt of becoming. He offered to make it happen, if only Maggott and the others joined him. At the same time, "Ananasi" had mentally turned Wolverine into a dog while revealing himself to Storm and Psylocke as the Shadow King.

(X-Men II#78) - Shadow King continued to tempt Maggott and the neophyte X-Men members until Psylocke managed to break his hold over them. Maggott then watched as Betsy Braddock fought a vicious psi-war against the King, which ended with her trapping him on the Astral Plane without being able to influence anyone on Earth. Before returning home, Maggott and the others helped Storm's villagers recover from their ordeal. He discovered Wolverine sitting by himself in a corner of the village and checked to see if he was alright. Still suffering from the King turning him into a dog, Wolverine asked to be left alone which Japheth respected.

(X-Force I#83 - BTS) -  Cannonball eventually realized his discomfort with being an X-Man wasn't caused by Maggott or the others. It stemmed from a deep seated lack of finding fulfillment and purpose. He went home to Kentucky to discuss the matter with his mother Lucinda Guthrie.

(X-Men II#79) - Maggott got into quite a bit of trouble with Cecilia Reyes when Eany and Meany ate half her medical text books and part of her underwear. Beast witnessed the falling out, which made him realize how similar Japheth was to him at that age. Later, when Maggott was in his room berating his girls for not at least finishing Reyes' books to get rid of the evidence, Beast dropped by for a talk. McCoy wondered if perhaps Japheth wasn't interested in furthering his college education. He left him some information on the Massachusetts Academy and Generation X.

(Generation X I#48) - Taking Beast up on his offer, Maggott left the X-Men and decided to join the Massachusetts Academy. He showed up at the team's Massachusetts Academy, along with Eany and Meany.

(Generation X I#49 - BTS) - Learning of Maggott's cybernetic slugs, world renowned big game hunter Francis Slaughter IV was determined to add these exotic animals to his collection. He eventually located the slugs and their owner at the Massachusetts Academy and began a lengthy stake out.

(Generation X I#49) - Maggott was settling into his new life at the Academy, playing basketball and excelling at it while being especially charmed by his fellow classmate Paige Guthrie. After class, the male Gen X'ers took him out to their infamous sleigh riding spot. On the way there, they questioned about Maggott's time with the X-Men. He assured them all that the gushing Jubilee had done was true and that they were his idols. Before he could go on, both Japheth and Eany and Meany were struck by Slaughter's tranq-darts. He proceeded to fight Gen X, who held him off long enough for Maggott to recover. In the end, Slaughter incapacitated all of them with the same paralyzing black goo that assured him victory over an Asgardian steed. Tying his assailants up with polymer cables, he left through the snow with Eany and Meany hoisted over his shoulder in a duffle bag. Synch, determined to escape, used his powers to copy Maggott's genetic potential. As a result, he manifested his own replicas of Maggott's all consuming cybernetic slugs which tore through Slaughter's bonds, setting them free. The mutants gave chase. Slaughter spotted Maggott's approach and planned to shoot him but was unpleasantly surprised to find his slugs had revived. They chewed through the bag and nibbled at his weapons pack, leaving the hunter vulnerable to a smack to the face. Figuring he'd best retreat, Slaughter dropped a flash grenade but not before telling the worried Maggott there were still plenty of other rarities to collect, such as the Black Knight's winged horse, Lockheed or even mutants. Feeling responsible for his escape and concerned with Slaughter's proposed plans, Maggott vowed to chase the hunter around the world. He said goodbye to Generation X and left for parts unknown.

(Uncanny X-Men I#368) - Maggott briefly returned to the Xavier Institute to attend the funeral of Joseph. During the ceremony, he and all those who were close to Joseph got to experience the essence of the dearly departed, courtesy of Charles Xavier's telepathic eulogy.

(Weapon X II#5) - Maggott was eventually captured by the Weapon X Program and deported to their Neverland concentration camp along with the likes of Bulwark, Diamond Lil, Siena Blaze, Ape and several other low powered mutants. Maggott was processed, questioned and genetically tested. When it became clear he showed insufficient potential, his hand was marked with a red "M," while other, more promising prisoners, received a green M. Japheth was the only one who correctly guessed the unspoken repercussions of the red M: he was scheduled for termination. A little while before the end, he gave one of his slugs to fellow prisoner Billy Taylor for safe keeping.  Not too long after that, Maggott was seen getting herded into the Neverland gas chambers where he presumably perished.

(Weapon X II#13 - BTS) - Eventually, Mr. Sinister, posing as Neverland's head geneticist Dr. Windsor, gained a hold of the cybernetic slug Maggott gave to Billy. He added the creature to one of the tanks in his lab's bestiary.

(X-Necrosha I#1 - BTS) - Maggott was among the many deceased friends, foes, allies and X-Men acquaintances that were revived by Selene and pressed into service as part of her undead army through a combination of magic and the Transmode virus.

(X-Force III#21) - Maggott attacked Hrimhari and X-Force's Archangel, Warpath and Wolfsbane on Utopia alongside other resurrected mutants including Berzerker, Hemingway, Pyro and Scaleface. When Archangel killed him the T/O virus put him back together in mere moments.

(X-Men Legacy I#231) - Maggott was seen attacking the X-Men on Utopia, alongside the likes of other revived mutants such as Stone Wall and Banshee. However, Cyclops quickly and decisively took care of Maggott with one optical blast that sent him flying through a concrete pillar.

(Wolverine and the X-Men I#2 - BTS) - When Wolverine decided to rebuild Xavier's he brought Iceman to look at the ruins and discuss how to build the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. When Wolverine told Iceman he was the first person he asked to come with Iceman joked he was only picked after Maggott had turned him down.

(Wolverine and the X-Men I#3 - BTS) - When the newly opened Jean Grey School for Higher Learning was partly destroyed by a small army of Frankenstein Soldiers and an artificially grown Krakoa send by the new incarnation of the Hellfire Club, the lessons were continued on the school's grounds. During Husk's mutant literature class she discussed a text from Maggott called "Ode to Eany and Meany".

(Wolverine and the X-Men I#11 - BTS) - When the Phoenix Force was headed towards Earth, the X-Men and the Avengers tried to get it's possible future host, Hope Summers. As both teams fared off against each other in different parts of the world, Thing fought Sunspot in Tabula Rasa, an alien forest in Montana when he asked Sunspot if they still had the guy with the giant maggots around.

Comments: Created by Scott Lobdell (writer), Joe Madureira (pencils) and Tim Townsend (inks).