X-Men: Colossus

This marks the fourth X-Men related article and it will focus on the likes of Piotr Rasputin, also known as Colossus. He is a popular character that is frequently overshadowed by the likes of the leads of the X-Men. His personal stories may not be as strong as the other characters, but by himself he is a fan favorite. Hell if he wasn't, then why would he be in almost every X-Men video game? Colossus' powers are that of a metaphorical tank, but more tank like, if possible. He has the ability to turn his skin into an organic steel-like substance that grants him superhuman strength and the ability to lift or push objects that exceed 75 tons. His steel like skin allows him to be impervious to almost any injury and withstand cold temperatures. In his transformed skin, he remains to be the only X-Man that Rogue can touch without draining their powers.

Piotr is a tragic character, at least in his upbringing. He and his brother, Mikael lived peacefully on their parent's farm in Russia and helped in whatever way possible. Piotr mutation helped speed up the process in keeping the farm tidy and in pristine condition. Everything changed when Mikael became a Cosmonaut. The government sought out to fake Mikael's death to conceal the mutation that he had developed. Mikael could warp energy. Piotr stayed around, but concealed his mutation while he helped his fellow neighbors with farming duties. His mutation was then made public when he transformed his skin into the steel-like substance when his younger sister Illyana was in the path of a runaway tractor. It scared some, but ultimately it drew the attention of Professor Xavier. Xavier was on the hunt for more mutants as he needed them to rescue his original group of X-Men. Piotr, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Thunderbird and Banshee were the new recruits that went into the sentient island of Krakoa to save the original group of X-Men. Xavier dubbed him Colossus, and ever since that moment he and the others referred to him as Colossus. Colossus reluctantly joined the team, but after the successful mission he decided it was in his best interest to stay despite how much of an outsider he felt he was.

Colossus struggled as he felt out of place but he knew that this is where he was meant to be. He and the new recruits were all adults, thus Xavier simply trained them in how to use their power through battle exercises in the Danger Room. As a part of the X-Men, were on a mission to save captive mutants in the Savage Lands but they in turn were captured by the villain Arcade. Arcade then brainwashed Colossus into believing he was the Proletarian, the workers hero of communist Russia effectively turning him against his comrades. Eventually his teammates were able to break through his indoctrination and bring Colossus back. At the time he had begin to think that he did fit in, but still struggled mostly because of the differences from he and everyone else. After regaining control, the others freed the other mutants, and one turned out to be Colossus' sister Illyana. She had developed an ability of her own, and due to her young age she came back to the mansion with the X-Men to learn how to control it. She would later in her life go on to become the hero named Magik.

Colossus had other moments where he had lost himself. One in particular time was when the X-Men were fighting the evil mutant Proteus, who had a weakness to metal. Colossus taking advantage of this weakness, punched straight through Proteus' heart killing him instantly. Proteus was simply trying to possess someone, and failed to do so thanks to Colossus. In a last ditch effort he tried to possess Colossus but couldn't do due his metallic skin acting as a barrier of sorts. However, his battle with Proteus did have a impact on Colossus as he temporarily forgot who he was. He was able to eventually piece himself back together again and became a crucial part to the X-Men. Although he was still a bit of an outcast, he did have a solid friendship with Nightcrawler and Wolverine. Even more so, one of his biggest contributions came in a fight against the Dark Phoenix were he was surprisingly able to land a punch on her. That punch had enough force on it to stagger her, allowing Cyclops to line up a shot that they believed killed her. (Shocker, it didn't.)

After some time and later in Colossus' time as an X-Men, a new member was recruited among his rank by the name of Kitty Pryde. Kitty, like Colossus, often felt like an outcast. The two were also both shy and despite that the two did eventually begin to romance one another. Kitty even became close friends with his sister Illyana. The pair had a beautiful romance, and it was even more evident when Colossus died in honor of all mutants. Colossus sacrificed himself to test whether or not the Legacy Virus cure. When he injected himself with the serum, it took his life but spread the cure into the atmosphere in the process. Kitty Pryde took his dead body, cremated it and scattered his ashes across his Russian farmland home. Of course, in typical comic book fashion it was the end of his story as he did come back to life in a somewhat confusing manner.