Introduction

Formidable Force is a super team which exists as a Super Group within Champions Online, but it also exists within its own fictional sub-universe (the CO:MIX universe), and it is the subject of a projected series of individual webcomics ultimately forming a graphic novel with a unifying story arc. The team concept is inspired by both of Marvel's Bronze Age Fantastic Four and X-Men, but with a style and scope influenced by DC's Dark/Iron Age Watchmen.

Within that fictional narrative the group initially started out as Formidable Five, a team consisting obviously of five members, originating from all over the world. The team began to attract more superheroes as allies and eventually integrated them into their roster, changing their name in the process to Formidable Force in order to accommodate the expanded membership. The group also developed a training and mentoring program called Formidable Future for superpowered teenagers, the next generation of superheroes.

CO:MIX

"Champions Online: Mutated Intrinsic Xenophysiology" shortened to the acronym "CO:MIX" (also styled "CO-MIX" and "MIXICO" as well; see below in the Lingo section) was my attempt to create a sort of Unified Field Theory of true superpowers, a sort of "Meta Origin" designed to avoid the "Fantasy Kitchen Sink" trope, which I personally find somewhat disconcerting and a little abhorrent.

Whilst sufficiently advanced technology can emulate or reproduce superpowers, they aren't exactly so and therefore shouldn't be labeled as such. For instance, both of my superheroines Frozen Vixen and Ice Storm can generate and project ice, but perhaps another hero--let's call him Captain Cryonics--can achieve similar results (he would have the same in-game powers after all) with wrist-mounted hypothermal blasters for example or with a helmet that generates the same psionic brainwaves as a true cryokinetic would, but Captain Cryonics would be totally dependent on those technological gadgets, without them he'd be 100% normal and as such not truly "super" after all.

Mutation, from either natural evolution (X-Men), accidents or experiments (Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, The Hulk, Captain America) or alien genetic tampering (Inhumans) is Marvel Comics' main answer to superpowers. But as far as I can tell, no amount of genetic mutation could directly allow someone to fly and control the weather! Genetic mutation will affect the body, the physiology. Unless the superpowers are body-based, such as superstrength from a massively increased muscular mass, or super agility from increased flexibility and muscle elasticity, or some such, there is no way changing the genes of a human would allow him or her to fly without appropriately sized wings, or shoot icicles from the palm of his or her hands. Even if the genes affected for instance the body temperature of a person, even as close to 0° Kelvin as physically possible and still be able to move, that would not result in the spontaneous generation of rather large amounts of solid dihydrogen monoxide (i.e. ice) nor the projection thereof. No, that would require something which transcends the laws of physics as we understand them.

But what if genetic mutation affected something specific in the human physiology, namely the central nervous system, more specifically the brain, and what if that changed something in the brain chemistry and/or synaptic activity, brain architecture, how one sees and interacts with the world? What if the mutation basically expanded the brain's power over objective reality, in other words, mind over matter? We are entering the fringe science of Psionics and parapsychology/paraphysics, where brainwaves, for lack of a better word, may have the ability to affect reality at the quantum level, thereby allowing said mutated individuals to control certain aspects of it, like the aforementioned spontaneous generation of ice and its high-velocity projection.

This is where the concept of a "Mutated Intrinsic Xenophysiology" comes into play. What it means is that a human's physiology is altered, changed, in other words mutated, to become intrinsically (i.e. essentially, fundamentallly, at its very core) strange, foreign, alien (here not in the extra-terrestrial or exobiological sense, although it could be that as well). Because after all, it's isn't exactly normal for human beings to have such unusual abilities, and that makes them strange (in every sense of the word). Therefore what Marvel calls mutants and mutates and what DC calls metahumans are called MIXers in the CO:MIX world (see below for a list of related terms).

There are at least two distinct types of superpowers that result from mutation, those that are body-based, and those that are mind-based. The former are the easiest to understand, as they exist well within the laws of physics and derive from a physical alteration of the human body into something else, something perhaps not quite as human anymore (think Fantastic Four's the Thing, X-Men's Beast, Avengers' the Hulk). The latter are more subtle and not as obvious, and in this particular explanatory model they include not only Psionic powers in the usual sense of telepathy and telekinesis but also more specific instances such as pyrokinesis, cryokinesis, anemokinesis and petrakinesis to name but a few. Mind-based powers also include all manner of magical and mystical abilities. Those may rely upon contact with energies or even sentient beings from other dimensions or levels of reality (i.e. the Supernatural), but again, the abilities are clearly mind-based as opposed to body-based, and rely upon some type of psionic activity to operate. The fact that Magic is often clothed in obscure religious or occult beliefs and esoteric ritual practices doesn't alter the fact that it is operated primarily from the mind itself.

The CO:MIX Lingo

CO-MIX: Alternate form of "CO:MIX" it's basically the same acronym: Champions Online - Mutated Intrinsic Xenophysiology. The phonetic pronounciation of the acronym is quite clear, it refers to comics. As such it also means: to co-mix, i.e. to mix together, as in pictures and words (comics), time and space (the sequential pictorial narrative of comic books), fantasy and reality, the normal and the paranormal, science and magic, heroes and villains, etc, in other words the subject matter of comics.

MIXICO: Mutated Intrinsic Xenophysiology In Champions Online. This simple reversal of CO:MIX creates another phonetic semblance, that of Mexico, and ties in with the themes of intolerance of differences explored in the story of Formidable Force.

MIX: Mutated Intrinsic Xenophysiology. The explanatory model of true superpowers within the CO:MIX fictional sub-universe (see the above section).

MIXer: Someone who has a Mutated Intrinsic Xenophysiology, either inherited genetically, or acquired through accident, experimentation, ritual initiation, etc.

MIXology: The science and scientific study and classification of Mutated Intrinsic Xenophysiologies as well as the psychology of MIXers and their sociological impact.

MIXologist: The scientist who specializes in the study of Mixology, or in any particular area of the discipline.

MIXism: Prejudice and discrimination against MIXers.

MIXist: Can be used as a noun or adjective to refer to people who are prejudicial and/or who discriminate against MIXers. The term can also be applied to official policies, attitudes, comments, slurs, etc.

MIXican: A pejorative, ostracizing term used to refer to a MIXer, considered to be a MIXist slur. The term was coined to imply MIXers aren't true Americans, they are "MIXicans" and as such should be excluded.

MIXophobia: Fear of MIXers, and/or of developing a MIX, of what the future holds for normal humanity in a world where more and more MIXers appear every year. It is to be considered different than the very legitimate fear of supervillains, which to say of MIXers who have already demonstrated a clear and unambiguous penchant for lawlessness, violence and destruction of property and/or even human life.

M.A. (MIXers Anonymous): A support group for people who haved developed a MIX. It mostly includes Types 1 and 2 MIXers, but can be attended as well by Type 3s and somewhat rarely by Type 4s and 5s. See MIXological Scale below.

TAX: Temporarily Altered Xenophysiology. A condition somewhat akin to a MIX, but one which is temporary and thus reversible.

TAXer: Someone who doesn't have a true MIX (which is to say whose Xenophysiology isn't truly Intrinsic) but has acquired a temporary one through artificial means such as drugs, serums, magical rituals, etc. This is why the Xenophysiology is said to be Altered and not Mutated.

MIXological Scale

MIXologists have devised a scale to categorize MIXers according to their powers by basic qualitative and quantitative types:

Type 1: Type 1 MIXers have a mutated xenophysiology that has only affected their body, and not given them superpowers as such, or very limited ones (such as a barely above average strength). These level of mutations can be very apparent or more subtle. Examples include individuals who grow prehensile tails or extra limbs, or may have the ability to regrow severed limbs over time (though not super fast), some may develop--or have from birth--unusual skin colors (blue, green, red, violet, etc.) or for instance any number of physiological irregularities. More examples documented in MIXological literature include: glowing pink irises, naturally green hair (or any other unusal color), extra-thick fingernails, scaly skin, third eyes, abnormal heights (very tall or very short individuals falling outside dwarfism and gigantism), internal organs in completely different locations, and the list goes on and on. This type of MIX is far from uncommon, with many individuals affected by the more subtle forms simply covering their perceived defects (coloring hair a more normal color, or letting people assume it is simply dyed that strange color, wearing colored contacts, etc.) to pass off as normal.

Type 2: Type 2 MIXers may or may not exhibit Type 1 physiological abnormalities, but they definitely have mind-based abilities, albeit very limited ones. This includes people with psychic sensitivities, some minimal control over elemental forces (such as being able to make a candle flame dance around on the wick or grow slightly bigger). Again these types of MIX are not that uncommon, in fact it should be kept in mind that both Types 1 and 2 are far more common than the following higher ranked types.

Type 2 generally also includes MIXers who have abilities that can actually be considered superpowers, albeit lesser ones than those associated with most superheroes and supervillains. Henchmen who are given abilities by the supervillain they serve or work for are generally considered Type 2 MIXers. They possess real super abilities, but are clearly not operating at the same power level as superheroes and supervillains. This transfer of power is something well documented but not fully understood. Xenophysiologies are not generally thought to be contagious but it seems that Type 4 (and higher Types) MIXers may have the ability to psionically affect non-MIXers to mutate them at least partially, but never at a higher observed level than Type 2. And this practice seems highly unethical, as it tends to leave the mutated subjects in a servile frame of mind, easily mentally controlled by the Type 4 or 5 MIXer that mutated them. Which is why it is only supervillains who do this, and also explains why there are so many henchmen around who have lesser superpowers. Sometimes this transference process is permanent, in which case we are talking about these Type 2 MIXers, but sometimes it is only temporary and requires the process to be repeated periodically, in which case we are no longer talking about MIXers but rather TAXers.

Type 3: Here we find MIXers who have body-based superpowers. Whilst some of these individuals can retain a normal human appearance it would seem that most show some noticeable signs of physiological transformation that are the source of their powers. Most of these affect the level of physical strength, but not always as some will affect for instance dexterity, or body elasticity (sometimes to astonishing levels). Amongst Type 3 MIXers it is not uncommon to find greatly enlarged bodies, altered body composition (mineral and metal compositions have been documented, as well as vegetable bio-structures), and some may even emanate dangerous-to-lethal levels of various kinds of radiation (especially in cases where the mutation was triggered in part or totally by radio-active materials). Metamorphics usually belong to this category, obviously those that actually do physically change (those that psionically project a different appareance do not, they would be Type 4 illusionists). It should be added that only natural kinds of metamorphics are Type 3, by natural is meant alteration of body size and/or density, changing into a different human shape or modifying facial features. Supernatural kinds of metamorphics (such as Werewolves and Vampires) would fall in Type 4 as the changes require a certain level of psionic activity and are usually accompanied by other Type 4 abilities.

Type 4: Type 4 MIXers are what most people think of when they think of superheroes. They have mind-based abilities that truly seem to transcend the laws of physics as we understand them. They can often fly, move at impossible speeds, generate, manipulate and project various energies (elemental, electro-magnetic, transdimensional, etc.), open rifts in the fabric of space, move objects with their mind or probe and control other people's minds.

The basic Type 4's powers seem to be relatively contained within one general area of parapsychology or paraphysics, and even though they could in theory grow their mind-based powers to other areas, they rarely ever do (and if they do, they are then moved up to the next category). For instance an energy projector MIXer will most likely have a connection to a specific type of energy, let's say fire (which would make that person pyrokinetic) and that MIXer will not be able to mentally manipulate other forms of elemental energies despite the fact that the psionic processes involved are all rather similar at their core.

The pure Psionics (i.e. telepathy and telekinesis, or "mind over mind" and direct "mind over matter") as well as MIXers with mystical, magical, supernatural, dimensional and all manner of otherwordly powers, generally belong to the Type 4 category, although some of the more powerful psionics and mystics rightfully belong more in the next category.

It is to be noted that whilst most Type 4 MIXers don't exhibit outwardly noticeable physiological abnormalities like Type 3s usually do, they can do so as well. Some will exhibit abnormalities when using their powers, such as a pyrokinetic bursting into flame, a cryokinetic turning partially or totally into ice, an astrapekinetic crackling with lightning or electricity all over their body, etc.

Type 5: These exceedingly rare individuals who qualify as Type 5 can be frighteningly powerful. They generally have Type 4 abilities, but have more of them and are often stronger as well, though not always. For instance If a Type 4 can be either pyrokinetic or cryokinetic, a Type 5 might be both at the same time, and possibly be stronger than either Type 4s.

Type 6: The Type 6 MIXer is still purely theoretical, as not one example has been found and scientifically documented, but some have been reported in legends, both traditional and urban. There is anecdotal evidence to support their existence and most MIXologists think it's only a matter of time before a case that can be documented emerges. Nothing else can be said about them other than if Type 3s can be compared to demi-gods, Type 4s and 5s to lesser and major gods, then a Type 6 would be God. True Protopaths would be placed in this category (the mysterious case of Adina Monroe is the closest to a documented one we have at the present).

Note:It is to be noted that an increased metabolic rate that favors a higher speed of healing has been found in almost all Type 3 and above MIXers (perhaps not always in-combat, but always out-of-combat healing speed is accelerated), and even the lower Types (1 & 2) seem to heal minor wounds slightly faster than normal people. The augmented metabolism often results in the ability to move at superspeeds, so that many MIXers are also speedsters (of varying maximum velocities, of course), regardless of their main superpowers.