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TERI MARTIN

Real Name: Teri Martin

Identity/Class: Human, citizen of the United States

Occupation: Homemaker

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Beast (Hank McCoy), "Big Bot," Fred Duncan, Charles Xavier

Enemies: None

Known Relatives: Ashley Martin (daughter), unidentified husband (deceased)

Aliases: "Mom" (nickname used by Ashley Martin)

Base of Operations: Dunfee, Illinois, USA

First Appearance: X-Men: The Hidden Years I#10 (September, 2000)

Powers/Abilities: Teri Martin possessed no known superhuman abilities. A Sentinel's genetic scanner confirmed she had no mutant abnormalities (see comments).

Height: 5'9" (by approximation)
Weight: 130 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

History: (X-Men: The Hidden Years I#18 (fb) - BTS) - Teri Martin met, fell in love with and married a naval officer who worked on nuclear submarines. She was eight months pregnant with their first child when he was killed in action. Teri gave birth to her daughter Ashley and raised her by herself in a suburb of Dunfee, Illinois. Teri tried to be both mother and father to the young girl.

(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#12 (fb) -BTS) - Ashley's mutant psychokinetic bonding powers began to manifest shortly after her tenth birthday. She began to unconsciously manipulate her toys, which gave Teri the strangest feeling that her child's playthings were alive somehow.

(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#10) - Ashley woke up early in the morning to visit with "Big Bot" before school. Seeing her daughter all dressed and ready for school surprised Teri, who spotted that she'd been in the old barn since she'd left the door open. Teri wondered what her daughter was doing out there, somehow unaware of the giant killer robot Sentinel inside, which Ashley had animated using her mutant powers and named "Big Bot."

(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#10 - BTS) - With Teri away and Ashley at school, Professor Charles Xavier and Beast arrived at their empty house, having learned of Ashley when her mental domination of the Sentinel caused her to picked up by Cerebro. Beast looked around and discovered "Big Bot" in the barn. Encountering a mutant caused the robot to revert to its original programming and it attacked, destroying the barn as it chased McCoy. At the same time, Ashley arrived home and met Xavier, who realized she was the mutant they'd come to find.

(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#11) - Teri got the shock of her life when she drove back home and spotted the destruction to her house. She rushed to see if Ashley was okay, only to find her daughter using her mutant powers to control the Sentinel. Charles Xavier explained to Teri that her daughter was a mutant as Ashley lost control over "Big Bot" again. After the Sentinel tried to kill everyone, Ashley was fed up with her new friend and used her powers to force the Sentinel to rip itself apart. In the aftermath, her eyes still bright red with fury and power, Ashley told her concerned mother to stop whining before she really got mad.

(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#12) - Teri kept her distance while Charles and Hank tried to reason with the furious Ashley. Xavier explained to Teri that her daughter's powers were called psychokinetic bonding, the ability to project her lifeforce into unliving matter. Ashley refused to let Xavier come close and subconsciously forced the molecules of his wheelchair to move away from her at close to a hundred miles an hour. He was saved from a fatal collision with a tree by Beast as they contemplated their next move.

(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#13) - Teri Martin, overcome by both the news of her daughter's mutantcy and the current situation, broke down sobbing. Beast tried to comfort her while Xavier attempted to calm down Ashley. The girl was too upset, blaming everything that happened on the professor and Beast. She reanimated the torn apart Sentinel, manipulating it like a marionette and sending it against the visitors. This forced Xavier to take action while a horrified Teri Martin had to be restrained by Beast so she couldn't interrupt the process. He used his telepathy to perform a psychic operation of sorts, reaching into the girl's brain to sever all the connections her conscious mind had with the mutated part of her brain. The procedure was a delicate one, causing Xavier considerable strain as he likened it to trying to repair a Swiss watch with a sledgehammer. After he was finished, both Charles and Ashley fainted from exhaustion, leaving Beast and Teri to wonder if the professor had succeeded.

(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#14) - Teri took care of the barely conscious Ashley when the authorities arrived to check out the devastation caused by the Sentinel fight. Xavier used his powers of persuasion to convince the police that he and his colleague Hank McCoy were mutant experts, tracking a malfunctioning Sentinel that just happened to crash land in this yard, thereby keeping Ashley's involvement and status as a mutant a secret. Teri realized the best thing to do was confirm Xavier's story, fearing this would be only the first of many lies she'd be forced to tell in the coming years.

(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#14 -  BTS) - To make sure his telepathic surgery had no unexpected negative side effects, Xavier decided to stay with Ashley and Teri to observe the girl for a while. He sent Beast back to Westchester while he took up residence in the Martins' downstairs guest room.

(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#16) - Early the next morning, Teri went to Xavier's bedroom to talk with the professor. She apologized that the room wasn't better suited to someone with his needs but Charles assured her that he had no complaints getting around now that his chair had been repaired. The concerned Teri then went over yesterday's events, wondering if Charles' psychic surgery meant Ashley wasn't a mutant anymore. Xavier explained that she was still a mutant and that her powers would eventually manifest themselves when she was old enough to properly control them. They were then joined by Ashley, who had been outside watching the cops clear out the Sentinel wreckage. Teri got concerned when her daughter complained about a headache but Xavier telepathically assured her it was in no way an indication of any brain damage. Relieved but unnerved by the telepathic contact, Teri insisted Charles wouldn't use his telepathy to talk to her anymore, claiming she had enough to get used to as it is.

(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#17) - Teri welcomed FBI agent Fred Duncan and his team into her home. Duncan had come to meet with his associate Charles Xavier. Duncan and Xavier talked in private, hammering out an agreement that would allow the professor to keep studying Ashley without the FBI and other authorities getting involved. Teri interrupted their conversation to tell them that Duncan's men were having coffee and donuts in the kitchen, wondering if he and Charles cared for something. Both Fred and Charles assured "Mrs. Martin" they were fine, causing Teri to insist Charles call her by her first name as she seductively left the room. Duncan, well aware of the growing infatuation between her and Xavier, remarked that he never knew Charles had it in him.

(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#18 (fb) - BTS) - To make sure Ashley wouldn't suffer any latent traumas from being attacked by a Sentinel, Teri agreed to have Xavier place mental blocks inside the girl's mind. Not only would they prevent her from using her powers but the blocks would also blank out her memory of the last several days, including the Sentinel attack.

(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#18) - After Ashley had gone to bed, Teri and Charles enjoyed a quiet cup of coffee. Teri wondered why Xavier hadn't used his powers to completely erase all the memories of meeting him, her knowledge of the X-Men and the Sentinel attack from their minds. Charles calmly explained the purpose of his school and his X-Men but admitted that he sensed that Teri wished all the events had never happened and that he'd never come here. Teri admitted that most of that was true, though she'd be lying if she wished she'd never met him.

(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#19) - Late at night, Teri noticed the lights were still on in Charles' room. She went to check on him, only to find a very concerned Xavier. Briefly fearing another Sentinel was on the way, Teri slightly relaxed when the professor explained the reason for his distress. He had lost telepathic contact with the X-Men, which gave him the impression they might no longer be on Earth.

(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#20) - Teri went to bring Charles some refreshments as he once again failed to restore his telepathic bond with the X-Men. Xavier also admitted he'd sensed another matter that greatly distressed him. Hoping to lighten the mood, Teri joked that Charles sounded like Obi-Wan Kenobi when he talked about "sensing a great disturbance in the force." Charles didn't find it funny, telling her he felt the mind of his greatest foe was behind this current crisis and that the next few days might be among the darkest the world had ever seen. Charles desperately continued his search for the X-Men, asking Teri not to disturb him under any circumstance. However, when Teri caught the news that Atlantis might be attacking the US with waves of magnetic force, she figured this was something Xavier needed to see.

Teri interrupted Charles' search and turned on the TV in his room just as Reed Richards was being interviewed, explaining that the Fantastic Four had just been attacked by a mysterious magnetic wave coming from Atlantis, followed by an armada of Atlantean warships making their way toward Manhattan. Concerned the US might be headed for another war with Atlantis, Teri looked to Charles for assurance but was even more surprised when Xavier released his astral form from his body to check out the situation.

(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#21) - Teri remained with Charles' body, completely forgetting to wake her daughter up for school. When Ashley eventually woke up and got herself ready, she found her mother in Xavier's room. Not wanting to upset her child, Teri told her that the professor was "meditating" before deciding to drive her to school herself. On the way to school, Ashley wondered when the professor would be leaving. Teri replied that she didn't know but that she hoped it wouldn't be soon.

(X-Men: The Hidden Years I#22) - Teri was relieved when Charles returned to his body after helping the FF and the X-Men beat back Magneto and the Sub-Mariner. However, much to her chagrin, Xavier announced his work in Dunfee was done for now and that he'd be returning home the following day. Ashley briefly said goodbye to the professor, allowing Teri some final alone time with the man she'd grown to care for. Xavier sensed her feelings towards him and admitted they weren't unreciprocated. Though he felt deeply flattered, he told the heartbroken Teri there was no place in his life for romance, not until his dream of peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants had come true. He then drove off in his hand-controlled car, assuring Martin he'd be back in a few years to remove Ashley's mental blocks.

Comments: Created by John Byrne (writer, pencils) and Tom Palmer (inks).

Byrne's X-Men: The Hidden Years suffered from such decompressed storytelling, as it took over 6 months worth of issues before the budding romance Fred Duncan noticed between Teri and Xavier was even addressed again. Talk about a slow burn. To add insult to injury, the entire "Charles in love" subplot was unceremoniously aborted in #22, simply because the series was ending and John Byrne had to wrap things up, and to think he had Mrs. Martin in increasing states of undress as the issues and her interactions with Xavier progressed. Starting out in a business suit, briefcase in hand and her hair in a little knot, she soon switched to skimpy outfits, bare midriff showing, letting her hair down and taking off her glasses in the most shamelessly seductive way.

Having Charles Xavier then claim there was no room in his life for love was a little ludicrous, especially when you consider that, continuity-wise, he'd be hopelessly in love with an alien princess after his two next appearances. Poor Teri, dumped for a chick with feathers for hair.

Profile by Norvo.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Teri Martin should not be confused with

images: (without ads)
X-Men The Hidden Years I#22, p20, pans1&2 (main image)
X-Men The Hidden Years I#13, p15, pan4 (forced to watch Xavier operate on Ashley)
X-Men The Hidden Years I#17, p9, pan5 (flirting with Charles)
X-Men The Hidden Years I#18, p10, pan3 (doesn't regret meeting Charles Xavier)
X-Men The Hidden Years I#20, p20, pan3 (surprised by Charles' astral self)

Appearances:
X-Men: The Hidden Years I#10 (September, 2000) - John Byrne (writer, pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Jason Leibig (editor)
X-Men: The Hidden Years I#11 (October, 2000) - John Byrne (writer, pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Jason Leibig (editor)
X-Men: The Hidden Years I#12 (November, 2000) - John Byrne (writer, pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Jason Leibig (editor)
X-Men: The Hidden Years I#13 (December, 2000) - John Byrne (writer, pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Jason Leibig (editor)
X-Men: The Hidden Years I#14 (January, 2001) - John Byrne (writer, pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Jason Leibig (editor)
X-Men: The Hidden Years I#16 (March, 2001) - John Byrne (writer, pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Jason Leibig (editor)
X-Men: The Hidden Years I#17 (April, 2001) - John Byrne (writer, pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Jason Leibig (editor)
X-Men: The Hidden Years I#18 (May, 2001) - John Byrne (writer, pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Jason Leibig (editor)
X-Men: The Hidden Years I#19 (June, 2001) - John Byrne (writer, pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Jason Leibig (editor)
X-Men: The Hidden Years I#20 (July, 2001) - John Byrne (writer, pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Jason Leibig (editor)
X-Men: The Hidden Years I#21 (August, 2001) - John Byrne (writer, pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Jason Leibig (editor)
X-Men: The Hidden Years I#22 (September, 2001) - John Byrne (writer, pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Jason Leibig (editor)

Last updated: 07/20/15

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