In one of X-Men ’97 season two‘s best episodes, “Strange Land, Savage Heart,” we find that Colossus, wracked with grief after his sister Magik’s death on Genosha, has joined the militant mutant group, the Acolytes. You may remember this group—albeit a with a different roster of characters—from season four of the original X-Men: The Animated Series. This group, one of the most ’90s of the ’90s, transcend merely following a leader to devoting themselves to a messianic figure.
Their history in X-Men comics begins with one of the most pivotal moments in all of Marvel Comics.
The First Acolytes
The Acolytes first appear in the seminal X-Men Vol 2 #1 from 1991. This is the legendary issue which relaunched the conflict between the formerly rehabilitated Magneto and Charles Xavier’s X-Men teams. As Magneto reemerges as the villain he had been for the balance of the ’60s and ’70s, he has a new team of mutant followers. No longer the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, but instead the Acolytes, those who fervently believe in Magneto’s mutant supremacy.
Of these Acolytes, the most important figure is Fabian Cortez, seemingly the most fawning of the group. Cortez’s mutant abilities are generally in a support role. He can augment the abilities of other mutants, revive them when they’re exhausted, and supercharge them when needed. However, this augmentation becomes like a drug to the augmented, making them dependent on Cortez’s “treatments,” and thus giving him control over them. He can also completely nullify the abilities of mutants, which is obviously a boon to him.
The reader and Magneto eventually learn that Cortez is a double agent, actually a member of the Upstarts, working to destroy the Master of Magnetism for the enjoyment of another mutant villain, the Gamesmaster. Cortez crashes Asteroid M, killing all the other Acolytes, though Magneto survives.
The Second Acolytes
Believing he’d successfully killed Magneto, Cortez assembled a second group of Acolytes, all of whom true believers who exalt Magneto as a martyr. After several violent raids on mutant holding facilities, and run-ins with both the X-Men and X-Factor, a new mutant, Exodus, appears on the scene.
Exodus was a 12th century French nobleman who became one of Apocalypse’s champions in history. Exodus is an Omega-level telekinetic who also possesses a very fitting power, that of enhancement through faith. He can bolster the powers of other mutants or his own if he or others around him believe in that mutant strongly enough. Thus, as a man of faith himself, his powers grow exponentially and is essentially one of the best hype men in X-Men.
Exodus knows the truth of Cortez’s treachery and exposes it to his fellow Acolytes. This causes a rift in the group, with most now following Exodus and some remaining to follow Cortez. Upon Magneto’s return, Exodus bent the knee and became one of Magneto’s most staunch supporters. During this in-fighting, Cortez is killed.
During the Fatal Attractions event, Illyana Rasputin, aka Magik, died, the first victim of the Legacy Virus. When the Acolytes arrived to pay their respects at her funeral, her older brother Colossus became enraged with Xavier and his starry-eyed dream for peace. He then joins with Magneto and the Acolytes. Despite Kitty Pryde trying to persuade Colossus to return to the X-Men, he chooses to stay.
In the aftermath of the Age of Apocalypse, one of Apocalypse’s Horsemen, his son Holocaust, jumps into the 616 universe. Exodus is thrilled and brings him into the Acolyte fold. However, Holocaust, go figure, is a living nightmare, absorbing mutants into himself and generally causing mayhem. The Acolytes all agree to turn themselves in to the X-Men if they will help, but Exodus remains with Holocaust. Magneto seemingly dies again during this, and Colossus likewise escapes.
The Third Acolytes
Exodus and another small band of Acolytes appear when Joseph, the “reborn” Magneto, arrives on the scene. This group lasts all of four issues, in the Magneto miniseries.
The Fourth Acolytes
A group of Acolytes are among those slaughtered by Wild Sentinels on Genosha during Cassandra Nova’s destruction of the island. This takes place in the first issue of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s New X-Men.
The Fifth Acolytes
Exodus assembles a group of Acolytes yet again following the mass-depowering event, M-Day. During this period, in Decimation and forward, the Acolytes become major figures in the search for the first newborn mutant since M-Day. Eventually, Xavier convinces Exodus to disband the Acolytes once Hope Summers, the selfsame Mutant Messiah, arrives on the scene.
The Acolytes Return on Krakoa
After Xavier and Magneto announce their new mutant haven on Krakoa, and the new ability to resurrect dead mutants, Exodus, Cortez, and several other former Acolytes choose to move to the island. Cortez would join the space-based S.W.O.R.D. team under Abigail Brand, while Exodus became a member of the Krakoan Quiet Council and a major figure in saving the mutants during the Fall of X.
The Acolytes in X-Men: The Animated Series
Fabian Cortez and the Acolytes appeared in the two-part fourth season story, “Sanctuary.” It dramatizes the Asteroid M incident from the comics. Magneto seemingly dies and Cortez assumes control of the base, sending missiles to Earth and leading to the X-Men saving the day.
Cortez would appear once more in X-Men: TAS. In the season five episode “The Fifth Horseman,” Cortez kidnaps Jubilee and attempts to revive Apocalypse through using her body as a vessel. Instead, Apocalypse possesses Cortez’s body. Serves him right, the weasel.
The Acolytes in X-Men ’97
Exodus appeared briefly in a non-speaking role in season one’s standout middle episode, “Remember It.” He reappears in “Strange Land, Savage Heart,” as the new leader of the Acolytes. This version, which includes Colossus and several other “Oh hey, yeah, that guy” mutants, fulfills the remit of the Magneto as martyr group.
The episode also reinterprets a scene from the comics in which Exodus oversees a trial with Colossus as one of the de-facto lawyers. However, while in the comics, Colossus is defending a mutant accused of betraying the Acolytes, here he’s the judge, Exodus the prosecutor trying the case of anti-mutant leader Graydon Creed, and the man’s half-brother Nightcrawler for the defense.
Before Colossus can render his verdict, Exodus believes him a traitor and attacks, leading to a brawl between X-Men and Acolytes. In the skirmish, Creed shoots Exodus in the back, seemingly killing him. (Exodus is too cool to stay dead for long.) Colossus then rejoins the X-Men.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.
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