Nate Grey: X-Man appreciation 2023

[Arachne]

Okay, so over on the Moonstar thread we're discussing Dani's height. I was comparing her to Nate because I remembered so shots of them standing next to each other. The thing is Nate's height has the same problem as Dani's. It's listed as 5'10" on marvel.fandom.com, but that's probably from when he first came to the 616 as a teen. So how tall is he supposed to be now? Cable is listed as 6'8", but that'd be a hell of a growth spurt for Nate even though they should be the same height.

I know height in comics is really meaningless, but it's bugging me now.

[Agent Z]

Okay, so over on the Moonstar thread we're discussing Dani's height. I was comparing her to Nate because I remembered so shots of them standing next to each other. The thing is Nate's height has the same problem as Dani's. It's listed as 5'10" on marvel.fandom.com, but that's probably from when he first came to the 616 as a teen. So how tall is he supposed to be now? Cable is listed as 6'8", but that'd be a hell of a growth spurt for Nate even though they should be the same height.

I know height in comics is really meaningless, but it's bugging me now.

I'd chalk it up to Cable and Nate being from different universe and thus having some differences. It's kind of like how Supergirl and Power Girl are technically supposed to be the same person but look very different.

[Arachne]

Yeah, that could be it. They're supposed to be identical genetically, but, unless I misunderstood something, Sinister put some kind of time bomb in Nate's genes to kill him at 21, so how can he and Cable be identical?

Comic science, you gotta love it.

[The Myth]

There are quite a few chases where a character's 'official' height needs to be updated. Nate's height was set when he was physically 15/16 and he's now in his early 20s, personally I think he should be around the same height as Cyclops and Havok. Franklin Richards has it even worse though, he's about 15 now but his official height is still 4'08".

[The Myth]

As for the whole Nate and Cable thing, there is a future shown during The Twelve/Ages of Apocalypse storyline where Nate survives to old age despite the genetic failsafe. And he is completely identical to present day Cable minus the TO virus.
20230129_193802.jpg
Getting ripped like Schwarzenegger must add quite a few inches in the Marvel universe.

Also, if you told me the Nate that was shown on the cover of Curse of the Mutants was 6'04"+ I'd believe it.
1064975.jpg

[Arachne]

There are quite a few chases where a character's 'official' height needs to be updated. Nate's height was set when he was physically 15/16 and he's now in his early 20s, personally I think he should be around the same height as Cyclops and Havok. Franklin Richards has it even worse though, he's about 15 now but his official height is still 4'08".

Poor Franklin. At least he hasn't been deaged for awhile.

As for the whole Nate and Cable thing, there is a future shown during The Twelve/Ages of Apocalypse storyline where Nate survives to old age despite the genetic failsafe. And he is completely identical to present day Cable minus the TO virus.
20230129_193802.jpg
Getting ripped like Schwarzenegger must add quite a few inches in the Marvel universe.

Also, if you told me the Nate that was shown on the cover of Curse of the Mutants was 6'04"+ I'd believe it.
1064975.jpg

Yeah, he should probably be 6'+ at this point. It's all up to the artist, of course. In New Mutants vol.3 Lopez drew him 2 or 3 inches taller than Dani, but he was at least 6 inches taller than her when Fernandez drew him.

[The Myth]

If/when Nate returns which non-current X-Men characters would you like to see him interact with?

Personally I'd like to see him reunite with Spider-Man, I have a lot of nostalgia for the two. The first comic I ever bought myself was Amazing Spider-Man #425, where Spidey and Nate team up to fight Electro.

Other characters I like to see Nate meet again would be Franklin Richards and Gaia (from Gen X).

[Arachne]

I'll have to look that Spider-man issue up.

I don't really follow characters outside of the X-Men that much. That said, Loki might be fun, depending on the writer. He might drive poor Nate nuts again, though.

[Drexelhand]

I'll have to look that Spider-man issue up.

I don't really follow characters outside of the X-Men that much. That said, Loki might be fun, depending on the writer. He might drive poor Nate nuts again, though.

Honestly? Thor might be a very good option too, just because he's somebody with incredible power and might be able to help teach Nate what it really means to live among the world with it so he never goes Age of X-Man again.

[Arachne]

That's a good point. I could see how it could make a good story, although Nate was probably driven insane by the life seed. If it was gone, he should stay as sane as he ever was.

[Drexelhand]

That's a good point. I could see how it could make a good story, although Nate was probably driven insane by the life seed. If it was gone, he should stay as sane as he ever was.

Definitely. But as a plot device to explore his psyche, his place of not belonging, how he looks back at Madelyne/Queen Jean wanting to use him, how he assumes a shaman must be separate from the tribe, it could be useful to get introspection but not to make him a threat. So, something in flashbacks, maybe? Jean would probably be the best to guide him through that given all that she's faced but since Thor lives with power at a level at which Nate is at, I think it might be neat.

[Arachne]

Out of curiosity, when could a flashback like that take place? I don't know how much time there was between Mad Queen Jean and Nate's sacrificing himself at the end of the series.

Side note: I wish they'd complete the X-man collection on Marvel Unlimited, so I wouldn't have to ask these questions.

[The Myth]

Out of curiosity, when could a flashback like that take place? I don't know how much time there was between Mad Queen Jean and Nate's sacrificing himself at the end of the series.

Side note: I wish they'd complete the X-man collection on Marvel Unlimited, so I wouldn't have to ask these questions.

There could be a few options for flashbacks in that time period. There was the 6 month timeskip when Counter X first launched. Nate also apparently had several 'forgotten' adventures with Sentry which have never been shown.

[The Myth]

Rating Nate's Rogues Gallery #5.

Holocaust/Nemesis.
20230112_234033.jpg
First conflict: X-Men Omega vol 1 #1.

The son of Apocalypse.

Nate and Holocaust first clashed in the conclusive battle of the Age of Apocalypse. While Nate had arrived at the citadel intending to face the tyrannical Apocalypse himself, Nate instead spent the majority of the fight engaged in fending off Holocaust. Any time Nate would confront Apocalypse, Holocaust would quickly arrive to interfere.
And at the curtain fall of AoA, as reality was correcting itself and the world was shifting, Nate stabbed a shard of the M'kraan crystal into the chest plate of Holocaust's armor. The result of this would see them both being flung into the 616 reality.

The two would meet again during the Onslaught saga. Holocaust has a twisted form of respect for Nate, and sees potential in his power. He offers Nate the opportunity to join forces, to which Nate declines. In the following skirmish Holocaust would actually force Nate to surrender by taking Threnody hostage. Nate would free Threnody and fight Holocaust again.
Holocaust would prove resistant to Nate's psionics, so Nate resorted to damaging his armor.

Holocaust would go on to also battle X-Force and the Avengers.

When they next met they would temporarily form an alliance, alongside Dark Beast and Sugar Man, when the 4 were taken prisoner by the Shi'ar. Nate would eventually swap allegiance when he learned that the Shi'ar only wanted to destroy the M'kraan crystal shard that was still in Holocaust's armor. As they felt it's existence was an affront to their religion. Nate would personally destroy the shard, and in turn this would leave Holocaust weakened.

The two would part ways, and with Nate sacrificing himself as a shaman and Holocaust being absorbed by King Hyperion there have been obstacles in the way of them crossing paths again.

Summary:
Smart and dangerous, with a cool design and power set.
In all of their encounters Holocaust has consistantly proven a challenge and is someone Nate genuinely considers a threat. Their shared history stemming from the climax of AoA frames Holocaust worthy of being Nate's arch-enemy.
Spider-Man has Green Goblin, Wolverine has Sabretooth, and X-Man has Holocaust.

Rating: 10/10.

[The Myth]

Rating Nate's Rogues Gallery #6.

Rex/Magistrate.
20230212_210131.jpg
First conflict: X-Man vol 1 #6.

A mercenary employed by Sugar Man.

The first foe Nate would 'knowingly' face when he landed in 616. Rex was tasked with tracking down and capturing Nate for Sugar Man, using some very crude drawings as the only means to identify the target.

Rex does eventually find Nate and 'Maddie', and tries taking them on using a single pistol. The encounter doesn't end favorably for Rex, as Nate gets away.

Rex follows Nate to Paris and eventually caught up with him on a yacht, where Nate had gotten a job as a deckhand. Rex kills several other crew members before confronting Nate for the second time. Their brief melee is ended when Rex is killed via lethal injection by Dark Beast.

Summary:
Highly unmemorable and gets taken out like a punk. His design is only ok. He is a semi-descent hand-to-hand combatant, but nothing is really known about his powers or history.

Rating: 3/10.