Tuesday, May 24, 2011

X-Men First Class character study: Havok

Alex Summers, code-named Havok, is a mutant who has the ability to absorb cosmic energy and discharge destructive blasts from the energy. He has had difficulty controlling this power at first, and has to wear a special containment suit equipped with special sensors for measuring and controlling his power output. In the comic timeline, Havok is the younger brother of Scott Summers aka Cyclops and older brother to Gabriel Summers aka Vulcan. Actor Lucas Till has been cast as Havok in X-Men: First Class. According to executive producer Bryan Singer, Havok will not be portrayed as Cyclops' brother in the film but somehow be related to him 'in a way that works for the film'.

Powers and Abilities
Havok
is a mutant possessing the power to absorb ambient cosmic energy, process it and emanate it from his body as waves of energy that heat the air in the path, turning it into plasma in the form of a blast or discharge, with a tell-tale concentric circle pattern. These waves will emanate from his body in all directions unless he purposefully tries to channel them in a single direction, usually along the length of his arms. This results in control over an extremely powerful sort of destructive force. Havok is immune to the adverse effects of most forms of radiation and heat. In the past, he was not entirely able to control this ability, which made him a danger to those around him unless he wore a special containment suit equipped with special sensors for measuring and controlling his power output. Havok is immune to his own powers and to those of his brother Scott. He is resistant but not immune to Vulcan's powers.

Despite past accounts, the energy that Havok releases is not truly a concussive force. When Havok strikes an object with hot plasma, the sudden temperature jump often causes objects to shatter or disintegrate. Should Havok direct his energy at the lowest level, he can project it towards a human being and his target will suffer a severe headache, but will not burn up. He can absorb cosmic energy from his environment (such as starlight, x-rays, and gamma radiation) and store them in his cells, metabolizing the energy to generate plasma wave discharges that super-heat and disintegrate objects. His absorption is normally passive, but he has shown that he can actively drain and absorb energy as well.

Havok's body is constantly absorbing cosmic radiation. When his body reaches its capacity, excess energy is then immediately re-emitted in negligible quantities. The circle on his chest is an indicator as how much energy he has left. Upon the expenditure of all his available energy, it takes Havok about 16 to 17 hours to recharge to peak level. The concentration involved in releasing his energy in focused beams is exhausting for Havok, especially if he does it over an extended period.

Havok has the normal human strength, height, and build of a man who engages in intensive regular exercise. Havok is well-educated in the field of geophysical science where he has earned a masters degree and completed some doctoral work. He is an instinctive tactician and strategist.