MARK & JILL
Real Name: Mark and Jill (last name unrevealed)
Identity/Class: Human mutants
Occupation: Students
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Purifiers (Anne, Rocco, William
Stryker)
Known Relatives: Mark (brother), Jill (sister),
mother and father (unnamed, presumably deceased)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Westport, Connecticut, United
States
First Appearance: Marvel Graphic Novel#5 (November,
1982)
Powers/Abilities: Both Mark and Jill were shown to
be X-gene positive, with Mark already showing some kind of energy based
mutant abilities emanating from his eyes. Whether or not Jill had any
powers or if she was merely a latent mutant has not been revealed.
Height: 5'6" (Mark), 5'2" (Jill) (by
approximation)
Weight: 110 lbs. (Mark), 80 lbs. (Jill) (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
History:
(Marvel Graphic Novel#5 (fb) - BTS) - Young X-gene positive
African-American siblings Mark (11) and Jill (9) were living with their
parents in Westport, Connecticut. Their status as mutants was eventually
discovered by reverend William Stryker's Purifiers. One night, a squad
of Purifiers led by Anne were sent to Westport to exterminate them.
First, they dealt with the parents who apparently proved enough
of a distraction to allow the kids to make a run for it, still dressed
in their pajamas.
(Marvel Graphic Novel#5) - Mark and Jill, tired, scared
and unsure what was going on, made it to Westport Elementary School with
the Purifiers hot on their trail. Before they could cross the
playground, Mark was shot from behind by one of the Purifiers. He begged
his sister to run, but she refused to go without him. Anne and the
others ganged up on the girl and her injured older brother. She formally
introduced herself and the others as Purifiers, telling the two children
their parents were dead before reaching for her gun to finish them.
Hearing of his parents' murder caused Mark's mutant powers to activate,
his eyes briefly brimming with energy. Before he could fire a blast,
Mark was killed with a single shot fired by Anne. The stunned Jill
reached for her brother's bleeding, smoldering form only to realize she
was next. Her hand still stained with her sibling's blood, the last thing
Jill ever asked was "why?". After planting a bullet in the young girl's
body, the cold hearted Anne simply answered "because you have no right
to live."
(Marvel Graphic Novel#5 - BTS) - Anne ordered the Purifiers to hoist
the childrens' bodies up on the school's playground swings, the word
"mutie" written on the swing's boards in blood to signify the reason for
their murder. Several hours after the Purifiers had left, Magneto
arrived to find the corpses of the innocent mutant children.
Effortlessly using his powers to remove their corpses from the swing,
shifting the metal to form a table he laid the lifeless children to rest
on, swearing he would use his vaunted powers to hunt down those
responsible and make them pay.
Comments: Created by Chris Claremont (writer), Brent Eric Anderson (pencils & inks).
"Mark and Jill went up a hill, ran into some Purifiers and now they're 'real' chill..." All corny, inappropriate rhymes aside, Claremont wasted no time establishing the stakes of the X-Men first ever graphic novel in 1982. The Purifiers were out for mutant blood, and Mark and Jill were among their victims. At 11, Mark was already gene-active or the shock of losing his parents and getting chased by the Purifiers in his PJ's catalyzed his powers... but he was shot even before using his abilities.
Profile by Norvo.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Mark and Jill should not be confused with
images: (without ads)
Marvel Graphic Novel#5, p7, pan5 (main image)
Marvel Graphic Novel#5, p8 pans 1-6 (killed by Anne)
Marvel Graphic Novel#5, p9, pans 4-5 (discovered by Magneto)
Appearances:
Marvel Graphic Novel#5 (November, 1982) - Chris
Claremont (writer), Brent Eric Anderson (pencils & inks), Louise Jones
(editor)
Last updated: 07/08/15
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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