Art by Lee Bermejo and Marte Gracia
- Name: Piotr Rasputin
- Code Names: Colossus
- First Appearance:Giant Sized X-Men #1 (Oct ‘75)
- Powers: Massive metal form
- Teams Affiliation: X-Men, Acolytes, Excalibur, Defenders, X-Force
About
Piotr Rasputin never wanted to be an X-Man. He was going to be happy using his steel form and enhanced strength to help out on the family farm on the Ust-Ordynsky Collective in Siberia. He wanted to live a life free of violence or adventure and work on his art in the spare time he had. But the massive metal X-Man always had a drive to do what was right and he was unable and unwilling to sit on the sidelines when he knew he could help. That conviction has made Colossus one of Xavier’s biggest successes and turned him into one of the most popular X-Men of all time.
Portrayed by a computer in Deadpool and voiced by Stefan Kapičić
Created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum, Piotr was the beloved middle child of the Rasputin family. His older brother, Mikhail, was a cosmonaut who tragically died in on a mission. His younger sister, Illyana, always looked up to him (and if you want to know more about her we have a big post for your reading pleasure). His mutant powers first appeared when he was thirteen and after an initial rough reaction, his family welcomed them. He was content working on the Ust-Ordynsky Collective for the rest of his days, but at nineteen he was approached by Charles Xavier. His students, the X-Men, had gone missing and he was recruiting mutants like Piotr to rescue them. He was initially apprehensive about leaving but he couldn’t ignore doing what he thought was right and left with Xavier.
Art by Dave Cockrum and Glynis Wein
Taking the code name Colossus, he was a natural with the X-Men. His strength was a huge asset in fights and his convictions made him the soul of the new team. He developed deep friendships with his new teammates, especially with the swash buckling Nightcrawler and the dour Wolverine. He was first truly put to the test when the X-Men faced the reality warping Proteus in Scotland. Proteus had gone on a killing spree, burning out the bodies of innocent men in an attempt to get revenge on his mother, Moira MacTaggert, and his father. The laws of physics no longer applied when around the mutant and Edinburgh was in danger of being ripped in two. In his human form, Colossus was able to destroy the host body and expose Proteus’ true form. Piotr Rasputin, a boy who wanted the peace and quiet that can only be found in Siberia, smashed his organic steel fists into the heart of Proteus’ energy form. The threat was ended and Colossus was a hero, but the life he took would weigh heavy on the Soviet mutant.
Art by John Byrne, Terry Austin, and Glynis Wein
Soon the X-Men had a new member, Katherine Anne Pryde, and the universe readjusted forever to her slight presence. She was younger, much younger, than him but she was everything he wasn’t and everything he needed. They fell in love. At the same time his sister Illyana moved in with the X-Men and became Kitty’s roommate. They were a happy bunch and Piotr was always the gentleman, knowing Kitty was much younger than him and under the age of consent, he showed her advances and made sure she didn’t make decisions she would regret.
Art by Paul Smith, Bob Wiacek, and L. Varley
Colossus got pulled onto Battleworld during the events of Secret Wars (the Shooter one, not the Hickman one) and met an alien healer named Zsaji. She was a country girl and though she didn’t speak English, Colossus was infatuated with her. She died in his arms during the event. The guilt was enough for him to end things with Kitty. Wolverine and Nightcrawler were not happy with the turn of events and coerced Piotr into joining them at a local bar. Wolverine gave him a stern talking to, and made sure the boy was deep in his cups. When Colossus had had enough of being lectured he tried walking out but spilled his beer on one of the other patrons. The drenched patron turned violent, and caught Piotr off guard, throwing him into a wall. If it were anyone else, the fight would have been no contest but Piotr had spilled his beer on Cain Marko, the unstoppable Juggernaut. Logan and Kurt stood in the corner as the Juggernaut dropped the bar on Colossus, literally. With Piotr incapacitated, Marko tossed a wad of hundreds at Wolverine to give to the owner for damages and walked away. Colossus was upset that his friends didn’t stand with him to fight, what kind of teammates were they? But Logan told him something that stuck with the young Russian, Kitty was 14 and Piotr never once considered her feelings in the matter. He wasn’t a teammate to her so why should they be teammates to him?
Art by John Romita Jr, Dan Green, and Glynis Wein
Colossus was one of the first responders to the Mutant Massacre. There he fought the Mauraders Harpoon and Riptide in a brutal battle that ended with Piotr snapping Riptide’s neck. But the losses were not one sided as Colossus was seriously injured in the brawl. He was sent to Muir Island to recover but was unable to maintain his human form for long. When the X-Men faced Freedom Force during The Fall of the Mutants, Colossus was unwilling to sit on the sidelines and had his sister, Magik, teleport him to Dallas to join the fight. He joined the X-Men when the sacrificed their life to stop The Adversary and followed them to their new home in the Australian outback. When the team decided to give up and get new lives though the Siege Perilous, Piotr was reinvented as a New York artist and he was happy to be away from the superhero life. Life was not destined to be peaceful for Piotr Rasputin and he was eventually pulled back into the life of the X-Men after being possessed by the Shadow King.
Life on the X-Men was filled with joy and sorrow. After being sent into an alternate dimension, the X-Men met a group led by a mysterious man from Earth-616. Colossus was shocked to discover that this man was his long lost brother, Mikhail Rasputin. He was a mutant and the Russian government used him to experiment with interdimensional travel. His entire crew died during the mission but he became the messianic leader of the people in that dimension. He was happy and even took a wife there. However the crown of leadership was heavy and his actions brought the accidental death of many, including his wife. Colossus was able to convince his guilt stricken brother to come back with him and for a while, Mikhail lived at the mansion. His PSTD-like symptoms proved too much and Colossus was helpless to do anything but watch as his brother led what appeared to be a group suicide in the Morlock tunnels. The brother he had just found was once again lost to him.
Art by Rurik Tyler, Tom Raney, Joe Rubinstein, and Kevin Tinsley
Soon Piotr was called back to mother Russia to battle Omega Red and the Soul Skinner. The Russian government wanted to use a device to enhance the six year old Illyanna’s mutant ability and allow it to manifest early, trapping the Soul Skinner in Limbo but potentially killing the girl. Knowing that the Rasputins would never allow their daughter to go through that, the government had its agents storm the farm, kidnap Illyana, and kill her parents. The X-Men were able to stop the threat of the Soul Skinner before Illyana would need to be utilized, but the senseless murder sent Colossus into a rage. He brought his little snowflake back with him to America to stay at the Xavier Institute but she soon developed the Legacy Virus. She soon died from the virus and Piotr was broken.
Magneto crashed Illyana’s funeral and offered to provide a new path. Colossus had lost this entire family in a matter of weeks and was convinced that Xavier’s dream was flawed. He turned his back on the X-Men and became an Acolyte of Magneto. Even on Asteroid M, Colossus was the conscience of the group and he stood for a young mutant that was to be sentenced to death (which we covered in detail here). After Holocaust destroyed the base, Colossus left the team in search of the one person that understood him. Kitty Pryde had been a member of Excalibur for years and had moved on with her life. Piotr was devastated when he saw her in the arms of Pete Wisdom but eventually accepted their relationship and joined the team. Excalibur disbanded not long after and he, Kitty, and Nightcrawler rejoined the X-Men in New York.
Art by Roger Cruz, Green, Rubinstein, Larosa, Barta, Buccellato, Javins
When he rejoined the X-Men, the shadow of the Legacy Virus still loomed over the house on Greymalkin. Beast had finally had a breakthrough and discovered a cure, with dire consequences. For some reason the airborne cure only became effective if injected into a mutant, causing their death. Beast shelved the cure in favor of wating for a safer option but Colossus was unwilling to let another die like his beloved sister did. He injected the cure into his body and crumpled to the ground. Soon, those inflicted with the Legacy Virus reported no symptoms, but the metal mutant had given his life to make it so.
Art by Salvador Larocca, Townsend, Stucker, Vines, Hanna, Miki, Comiccraft, and Hi-Fi Design
Years later the pharmaceutical company Benetech announced a cure for mutation. This got the attention of the X-Men who stole a sample and had Beast examine it. In the recesses of the genetic code, Beast found something familiar, the DNA of Piotr Rasputin. Horrified that Benetech desecrated the corpse of their teammate, the X-Men stormed the facility to find the truth. The alien Ord of the Breakworld had stolen Piotr’s body and used its genetic material to help Benetech create a cure. The Breakworld prophesied that a mutant would destroy their planet and Ord would stop at nothing to see the mutant race wiped out. Kitty ventured deep into the Benetech complex and was drawn to a door, it unlocked as guards fired on her, and out ran Colossus, alive and made of rage.
Art by John Cassaday, and Laura Martin
He and Kitty reunited and helped the X-Men take down Ord and he began to readjust to life an as X-Man. Piotr and Kitty finally rekindled their relationship and things seemed happy. They were finally together. That changed when the X-Men were enlisted to go to the Breakworld and prevent them from destroying the Earth. The Breakworld fired a giant, plant killing bullet at Earth, with Kitty trapped inside. She was able to phase the bullet through the Earth but she was bound to it and unable to leave. Colossus again returned to the X-Men and found happiness, only to have it brutally ripped from him.
Art by John Cassaday, and Laura Martin
Colossus just existed for a while. He briefly joined the Defenders when they were a member of the Fifty State Initiative but couldn’t find a place there. He retained his mutant powers after M-Day and followed the X-Men to San Francisco and Utopia. Illyana was resurrected (in a very complicated story that we dig into here) and even Kitty was returned from space, if stuck in her intangible form. During the events of Fear Itself, the Juggernaut became one of the Serpents hammer-wielders and set his sights on San Francisco. The X-Men engaged in a gambit to stop him and Kitty, Piotr, and Magik visited the source of the Juggernaut’s power, the demon Cyttorak. They informed Cyttorak that his avatar was serving another and they offered to serve him to stop the Juggernaut. Piotr was unwilling to let Illyana or Kitty take this burden and offered himself. He became the Colossunaut and stopped Cain Marko’s rampage.
Art by Greg Land and Justin Ponsor
Kitty Pryde was not pleased with her boyfriend trying to sacrifice himself again. When the X-Men had their Schism she took a high level position at the Jean Grey School, but Piotr wasn’t willing to leave Utopia. Due to events in New Mutants, Illyana was imprisoned in the X-Brig and Piotr couldn’t leave her. He was also terrified of being near students when he didn’t feel in control of his immense power from Cyttorak. After years of dying for the people he loved, Kitty left him for not being willing to live for those same people.
The Juggernaut powered Colossus was a huge asset during the Avengers Vs X-Men event. His strength allowed him to beat Red Hulk within inches of his life, but Piotr could feel the madness of the Juggernaut flowing through him and allowed himself to be knocked out before he truly lost control. Both Rasputins became hosts of the Phoenix Force and eventually Magik brought part of Limbo to Earth as a prison. After losing their powers fighting with each other, the Rasputin siblings continue to battle until Illyana took Piotr into Limbo and ran him through with her Soulsword, removing Cytorakk’s enchantment. Colossus, realizing that she could have done that at any time asked why she waited, she told him that she was tired of him treating her like his perfect little snowflake. He needed to realize she was ruined, she was corrupt, and that “there are no snowflakes in hell”. Piotr vowed to kill his sister if he ever saw her again, and for a time lived in exile.
Art by Greg Land, Justin Ponsor, and Guru eFX
Cable recruited a new X-Force team to deal with the precognitive visions he was receiving and convinced Colossus to join. He had been struggling to control his powers and relished the opportunity to use them without having to be a hero. On that team he began a relationship with Domino that helped him move past Kitty and he eventually returned to the X-Men. There he was able to move out of his perpetual martyr mindset and even reconcile with Magik and Kitty.
When the M-Pox epidemic started, Colossus moved back to Ust-Ordynsky Collective to tend the family farm. More importantly he grew a fantastic metal beard. Magik had been working with Storm’s team of X-Men in Limbo to rescue mutants who were being hunted around the globe and recruited her brother to join them. In X-Haven, Colossus has become a teacher for the younger X-Men and he seems to be happy, but the looming Apocalypse War threatens to take all of that away.
Art by Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba, and Edgar Delgado
Must Read
So this section does one of two things depending on the character, it either highlights the best story they have been in, or uncovers a hidden gem that most people probably have forgotten about. For Colossus, I am looking at the latter. I think he was fabulous in Gillen’s Uncanny X-Men and his transformation into the Colossunaut was one of the best changes to the character in recent memory. I think the deepest anyone has gotten into Colossus’s head though has to be the early 90’s Uncanny X-Men running for #281 to #304 by various writers and artist. This is a fascinating story the essentially tells the story that leads to Colossus joining the Acolytes and is filled with more heart than you would believe. The run can be found on Marvel Unlimited, in various trades, starting with Bishop’s Crossing and ending with Fatal Attraction, or in just about every long box out there.
Art by Whilce Portacio
Ranking
Colossus is one of the best character in X-Men history so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that I am looking at the top of this list. He beats out Chamber and Warpath who have one or two great stories but that’s it. I also want to rank him above Cannonball who is a very similar character who may just lose out due to seniority. The Rasputin siblings fighting for number one, could it have ended any other way? Magik is darkness where Colossus is light. She is revenge where he is restraint. He is a better X-Man but when everything is said and done, his little snowflake is just a better character. Writers always know what to do with Magik but Colossus had one important role from 1994 to 2010, he was on the team because he had always been there. The best Colossus stories go neck and neck with the best Magik stories but there is far more bad Colossus stuff out there. The metal mutant ranks a very respectable #2 in the Xavier Files.
Colossus was requested by vivvav from tumblr. Thanks for the request! If YOU have a character you want me to do, leave a comment and I’ll get it added to the list.
Make sure to check out our interview with X-Men ’92 writers Chris Sims and Chad Bowers.
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Next week we get to one of the most powerful mutants alive. Strap in for X-Man!
Zachary Jenkins runs ComicsXF and is a co-host on the podcast “Battle of the Atom.” Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside of all this.
