SPIRIT
Real Name: Jacob Pace
Identity/Class: Human mutant
Occupation: Student
Group Membership: Xavier Institute student body
Affiliations: X-Men (Beast/Henry McCoy, Emma Frost, Shadowcat/Kitty Pryde)
Enemies: None
Known Relatives: None, Pace was an orphan
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Salem Center, New York
First Appearance: X-Men Unlimited II#7/2 (April, 2005)
Powers/Abilities: Spirit was a mutant whose body was slowly turning into air. The mutation process was irreversible and ultimately fatal. Before his death he was able to pass through all kinds of solid matter
Height: 4'2" (by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed, presumably none since he was intangible
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
History:
(X-Men Unlimited II#7/2 - BTS) - When Jacob Pace, a young orphan boy manifested his mutant abilities he enrolled at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. While at Xavier's Pace received the codename Spirit.
(X-Men Unlimited II#7/2 (fb) - BTS) - It was later determined Pace's mutant ability wasn't intangibility. His body was slowly, but irreversibly, turning into air. Many of the X-Men tried and failed at figuring out a way t stop the process. It was then decided Kitty Pryde would train with Pace to hold his form together in the hopes of saving his life.
(X-Men Unlimited II#7/2) - Pace was placed in a high pressure chamber for another session with Kitty Pryde. Although the pressure was high enough to prevent Pryde from phasing it didn't make a difference for Pace as he repeatedly tried to grab a can of soda only to see his ghostlike hands pass through it. Not sure if she was even helping, Pryde had a talk with Beast and Frost to see if they'd made any progress. Sadly, Beast had concluded they couldn't help Pace. Unwilling to accept the boy was dying Pryde returned to show him a different approach and had the Danger Room create four dummies of the X-Men's greatest adversaries. Pryde explained that sometimes the best thing to do was to get angry because it would help him to stay focused. Pryde then took a sprint and attacked and leveled two of the dummies, clearly showing the exercise was just to deal with her own anger. She then pushed Pace to try and hit the Sabretooth dummy but as he tried to do so he explained he knew in fact what was happening to him and he'd made peace with it. He continued he didn't want to be angry and was just thinking about the fact he would never go on a date, never go to college or watch the sun come up with some girl after which Pace left by phasing through the Danger Room's walls. Upset she was unable to help the little boy Pryde smashed the Sabretooth dummy with her bare fists. Later that night Pace was sitting near the lake watching the starry night when Pryde arrived, he explained he might as well wait for the sunrise knowing his time had come. Kitty Pryde decided to stay and sit with the young boy, when the morning came Pace had vanished into thin air.
Comments: Created by Mike Raicht (writer), Carlo Pagulayan (pencils), Sean Parsons (inks).
In trying to help Pace, the X-Men might have remembered their former student Dummy, whose mutation turned him into a sentient, gaseous form. He was placed inside a rubber suit to help contain his essence. A similar approach might have worked with Pace.
Jacob's last name and codename were revealed in the Xavier Student Body entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z HC#13.
Profile by MarvellousLuke
CLARIFICATIONS:
Spirit has no known connections to
images: (without ads)
X-Men Unlimited II#7, p19, pan3 (mainimage)
X-Men Unlimited II#7, p21, pan2&3 (saying goodbye to Kitty)
Appearances:
X-Men Unlimited II#7/2 (April, 2005) - Mike Raicht (writer), Carlo Pagulayan (pencils), Sean Parsons (inks)
First Posted: 03/20/18
Last Updated: 03/20/18
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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