Psynapse
| Psynapse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | X-Factor #65 (1991) |
| Created by | Chris Claremont, Jim Lee and Whilce Portacio |
| In-story information | |
| Team affiliations |
Dark Riders Inhumans |
Psynapse is a comic book villain in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Chris Claremont, he first appeared in X-Factor #65
Publication history
Psynapse made his first appearance in X-Factor #65
Fictional character biography
A member of the Inhumans royal family, Psynapse was a telepathic inhuman and cousin of Crystal and Medusa.[1] When the mutant Apocalypse attacked and conquered Attilan, home of the Inhumans, Psynapse was one of many Inhumans who were brainwashed into serving as Apocalypse's newest henchmen: the Dark Riders. During the fight, Psynapse brutally assaulted Crystal with his psychic powers, who remained emotionally scarred from the encounter.
When the Dark Riders attacked the alien spaceship home of X-Factor, Psynapse was assigned to kill Jean Grey. Dragging her into the astral plane, Psynapse made the mistake of toying with Jean (who's psychic powers had been repressed due to her being placed in suspended animation by the Phoenix Force) rather than killing her outright. The end result was that Psynapse accidentally triggered the restoration of Jean's telepathic powers, which allowed her to defeat the psychic Inhuman. However, Psynapse was able to escape along with the rest of the Dark Riders, who had succeeded in their primary task: kidnapping Nathan Christopher Summers (Cyclop's son) and infecting X-Factor's ship with a deadly computer virus designed to destroy it[2]
X-Factor eventually liberated Attilan and defeated Apocalypse and the Dark Riders. However, the Psynapse and Dark Riders escaped with Apocalypse, who entered into a "regeneration coma" to recover from his injuries from the battle. Psynapse and the Dark Riders switched sides though when Stryfe defeated Apocalypse in combat and was on the moon with him, when Stryfe set up shop in an abandoned moon base of Apocalypse.[3]
With Stryfe defeated, the Dark Riders returned to Earth with the goal of murdering mutants deemed "weak" by the group. However, at this time, Psynapse began to suffer ill health from exposure to Earth's pollution, which is fatal to inhumans. This made Psynapse "weak" in the eyes of the Dark Riders and as such, was killed by his fellow Inhumans.[4]
Psynapse makes a return with the Dark Riders in Uncanny X-Men Volume 4. He and his team are hunting mutants with healing powers. They succeed in killing Elixer, but are ambushed by Magneto and killed. [5]
Powers and abilities
Psynapse was a telepath whose powers were largely limited to the astral plane; dragging his victims to this realm in order to torture them. Though a skilled psychic, Psynapse was very arrogant in his abilities and often played with his victims, allowing Jean Grey to defeat him when the psychic trauma she suffered re-awakened her dormant psychic powers.
Because of his limited psychic abilities, Psynapse often "rode" on the shoulders of his larger, stronger teammate Tusk.