Nezhno Abidemi

## Background

### 1995 - 2008: Nezhno Abidemi

Nezhno Abidemi is the son of Karota Abidemi, a Wakandan native & Peter Anokhin, a Russian man who was visiting Wakanda. The two had an affair but Karota did not discover she was pregnant until after his departure.

After his birth, his mother rejected Nezhno because she viewed him as not being a true Wakandan due to his father's heritage or even a human because he inherited the X-gene from his father. Nezhno's mother soon married a Wakandan man, M'Jumbak Abidemi, who physically abused her. In turn, she was physically & emotionally abusive to Nezhno. As a consequence of the abuse he endured, he developed a psychological trauma, which caused him to suffer great pain & seizures. To ease his condition, Nezhno's entire body was covered with Vibranium tattoos to prevent him from over-exerting himself with his power.

All his life Nezhno was persecuted & rejected by others, including his own family. When his mutant powers manifested, Ororo Munroe, the newly elected queen of Wakanda, advised her husband King T'Challa to send Nezhno to the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning to learn how to control his powers. Nezhno's parents could not say no to their king & were eager to get rid of him so they obliged.

### 2008 - 2010: Gentle

Nezhno found the atmosphere at the Xavier Institute to be very distracting & tried to distance himself from other students by rarely talking with them, considering them too unfocused & chaotic. Trying to subdue his emotions & powers, he spent all his free time meditating. Because of this & the fact that he was a pacifist, the codename Gentle was suggested. Taking on the name, he was placed on Iceman's Excelsiors Squad though Storm still took a hands on role in his development.

While trying to meditate one night at the school, Gentle was constantly distracted by loud chatter of other students & walked over to find them listening to a horror story told by Blindfold. It soon became clear that this wasn't just a tale but rather Blindfold's visions of past, present, and future events about Illyana Rasputina & the Demon Lord Belasco. As soon as the tale ended, Gentle & the other students were teleported to Limbo & immediately attacked by demons. Nezhno was able to stay calm but was reluctant to use his powers. Only when Darkchylde arrived did Gentle follow the advice of Blindfold & used his powers. He tried to protect Pixie from a demon but the pain & spasms quickly brought him out of action. After the students returned to the school, Pixie thanked him for his help. She was delighted with his powers & surprised that Nezhno used them in battle. In response to that, Nezhno told her that every time he uses his powers he approaches his own death.

During the following school break, Nezhno returned to Wakanda alongside Queen Ororo. Doctors examined his body & found that his condition worsened during his time in the United States & he now needed more tattoos. All he ever wanted was to be accepted by his own people & had hoped that during his absence the Wakandans changed their opinion of him. Unfortunately, Nezhno quickly ascertained that everything remained the same & even his mother berated him for returning to Wakanda. Once again rejected by his country, Gentle finally realized that the only people who ever accepted him were the X-Men & regretted returning to Wakanda. Ororo had Nezhno move into the Royal Palace of Wakanda for the remainder of the month before allowing him to return to America.

## Powers & Abilities

* **Mutant Physiology:** Nezhno has the ability to increase the muscle-mass of his body, allowing him to drastically increase in size & strength almost instantly.
	+ ***Enhanced Strength*:** The upper limit of Nezhno's strength has not been categorized, and he has shown himself strong enough to hold his own in battle against a Sentinel & Predator X. Storm stated that his physical strength rivals that of Colossus. His resting strength gradually increases every time he uses his powers.
	+ ***Superhuman Durability*:** Nezhno's body is very tough, allowing him to withstand high atmospheric pressure, point-blank shot, Cyclops' optic blast & a Sentinel laser blast.
* **Vibranium Tattoos:** Nezhno has tattoos all over his body, which were adapted from molten raw vibranium, using an ancient Wakandan technique developed to alleviate seizures and tremors. Usually tattoos were temporary, however Gentle's mutation caused vibranium to bond with his flesh down into the muscle. According to Nezhno, these tattoos keep his powers in check. When he uses his powers, the tattoos glow with blue light.

### Weaknesses

* **Psychological Scars:** As a result of the emotional scars Nezhno developed from the abuse he endured from his mother, he subconsciously created a mechanism for self-restraint.Using his powers put massive strain on Nezhno's body, causing pain relative to the degree of superhuman strength& most instances of using his powers result in him passing out. He is currently working with Jean Grey to move past these obtsacles.

### Ratings

* **Acumen:** Unknown
* **Might:** Unknown
* **Quickness:** Unknown
* **Mysticism:** Unknown
* **Gadgetry:** Unknown
* **Projection:** Unknown
* **Tactics:** Unknown
* **Battle:** Unknown
* **TOTAL:** Unknown

## Trivia

* His name "Nezhno" is Russian for "tenderly" or "gently." His surname "Abidemi" is a Yoruba word meaning "born during father's absence."
* He is a member of the Excelsiors Squad, mentored by Iceman.

## Notes

* The original character of Gentle belongs to the Marvel Universe.
* In the comics, only the name of his brother was revealed. Karota & M'Jumbak are a Wakandan couple. Peter Anokhin was a Russian native that was killed by Black Widow.