Piotr Rasputin

**Piotr Rasputin,** also known as *Colossus,* is a Russian mutant with the ability to shift into an organic steel form, granting heightened strength and durability.

He is a student at the **Xavier School for the Gifted** and is a founding member of the revived **X-Men.**

## Description

### Appearance

Piotr is tall and well-built, and is usually seen as handsome by his schoolmates. He has dark blonde/light brown hair, with dark eyes. He dresses simply, preferring clothes that are comfortable to stylish. He is especially fond of sleeveless shirts.

### Personality

Kind, warm, and generous, Piotr is the textbook example of a gentle giant. He is a loving and gentle man, even a timid man, who harbors a deep distaste for violence. He has a dorky sense of humor, and a surprisingly keen mind for artistic pursuits, especially painting.

Both back in Russia and in America, Piotr is a sucker for comic books, especially Superman. He has dreamed of using his great strength like Superman does, helping others and making the world a better place. Piotr is passionate about helping others, and is often the first person to run into trouble and the last person to leave.

He has the natural instinct to protect others, often using himself as a shield to protect others. He seems to take great pride in both his strength and near-invulnerability, and can often be found laughing heartily during feats of strength or when fighting particularly powerful foes.

## Biography

### Background

Piotr was born to farmers in northern Siberia. He lived a simple life on the farm, valuing hard work and the simple pleasures. He was always close to his brother and sister, and is particularly protective of Illyana. Some of his most treasured memories are working the harvest with Mikhail, and traveling into the forests and foothills near the family farm with his siblings to camp and explore.

He developed a love for comic books when he was young, though his father never approved and would often throw them away when he caught Piotr with them. Mikhail often bought them for Piotr in secret.

#### While he was always strong for his size, his strength grew with time. At the age of 13, he was strong enough to lift a truck over his head. In the autumn of 2016, he changed into his organic steel form to save Illyana from a thresher.

As being a mutant was illegal in Russia, Piotr ran away from home, borrowing money from the Russian mob to escape from America.

To pay them back, Piotr was forced to become an eforcer for the Russian mob in New York City. He did this violent work for seven months before he was found by **Professor Xavier** and **Beast.** They managed to get him out of the mob and not only offered him a place at the Xavier School, but offered to find a way to bring Illyana to America as well, should she develop any abilities of her own. He happily accepted.

### Major Appearances

#### Volume 1

* **Chapter 2 -** *"The Xavier School for the Gifted"*
* **Chapter 3 -** *"Bad Weather"*
* **Chapter 4 -** *"Night of the Wolverine"*
* **Chapter 5 -** *"Where Walks the Juggernaut"*
* **Chapter 6 -** *"With Friends Like These..."*
* **Chapter 7 -** *"The Con Man"*
* **Chapter 8 -** *"Prime Time"*

## Relationships

### Bobby Drake

Piotr and Bobby are best friends, and have been since Piotr first came to the school. The pair get along famously and, along with Sam and Jubilee, are notorious troublemakers. Bobby and Piotr seem to feed each others' crazy ideas.

### Charles Xavier

The Professor is the person that Piotr respects more than any other faculty member. He admires the Professor's generosity and kindness, and he truly believes in the Professor's ultimate dream of mutant/human peace.

### Jean Grey

Piotr took a shine to Jean pretty much right away. She is a gentle soul and feels like a kindred spirit to him. He thinks she is angelically beautiful and with an otherworldly grace. She's mysterious and kind and warm, and they have a surprising amount in common, especially their shared love of painting. He has developed a crush on her, though he's far too shy to say anything about it to her.

### Jubilee

Another of his best friends, Piotr and Jubilee have been friends as long as Piotr has attended the Xavier School. He thinks she is cool, funny, and amazingly fun. There's never a dull moment when Jubilee is around, and he finds himself particularly protective of her.

### Loa

It is known among his close friends that Piotr carried a torch for Loa for quite some time, and that he tended to make a fool of himself around her. Sam expressed the opinion that Loa was out of his league.

### Sam Guthrie

The other member of the troublemakers, Piotr and Sam have a deep, brotherly connection. They tend to playfully antagonize each other, though there is nothing but love and respect between them. Piotr is grateful for Sam's ability to ground him and Bobby--though Sam often thinks up equally outlandish ideas.

### Scott Summers

Piotr has always respected Scott as someone kind and just. Since becoming X-Men together, Piotr is seeing a different side of Scott; he sees him as a leader, a warrior, and a hero. Colossus is among the only members of the X-Men team that have listened to Scott without question from the start.

## Character Information

### Abilities

* **Driving:** Piotr is one of the few students at the Xavier School who has an actual drivers' license.
* **Outdoor Survival Skills**
* **Painting**
* **Singing**

### Mutant Powers

#### **Enhanced Physiology**

Piotr is naturally incredibly strong; he is capable of lifting more than a ton and withstanding a great deal of physical pain and damage, much more than a normal human. His muscle mass is incredibly dense, making him weigh more than his height and build may otherwise suggest. Additionally, he seems to be incredibly resistant to disease and sickness; he has not been sick since he was seven years old by his own testament.

#### **Organic Steel Form**

With a small amount of concentration, Piotr is able to convert the tissue of his entire body into a substance resembling steel, though it is actually of an unknown composition. He can transform into this armored state at-will (the process is virtually instant) and he is able to remain in this form indeterminately; he only reverts if he chooses to do so, or if he is knocked unconscious.

Changing into this form causes Piotr to grow nearly eight inches and bulk up considerably; his shirts almost always rip to shreds when he transforms. His X-Men uniform can change size with him, however.

While in this state, Piotr possess the same degree of mobility that he does in his normal form, though he is considerably heavier (he weighs more than 800 pounds in this state). He cannot be selective when turning into his armored form; either he is entirely covered or he is not.

In this state, he is nearly invulnerable to harm; bullets bounce off of him, high speed vehicles crunch around him, knives and swords are useless, fire and electricity barely seem to slow him down. Even **Wolverine's** adamantium claws barely left a scratch. Additionally, in this form, his muscles produce considerably less fatigue toxins than those of a normal human. At his peak, he can physically exert himself at peak capacity for several days before he needs to rest. He also does not seem to need to breathe, but it is believed by Beast that he could not survive long in a vacuum.

His strength increases exponentially in his armored form, allowing him to lift weight that is nearly beyond the comprehension of most people; his maximum weight seems to be near 25 tons, though the Professor does not believe he has reached his ceiling yet.

## Trivia

* Piotr's mutant name, *Colossus,* was inspired by the fact that he's a large metal man, much like the ancient colossus of Greek mythology.
* He was the one who inspired Jean's codename of "Marvel Girl".