THE HELLIONS

Led by The Hellfire Club's own White Queen, Emma Frost, The Hellions were the rival team of the New Mutants. Though most were not truly evil, they were misguided youths, convinced by The White Queen to do the bidding of The Hellfire Club. They tangled more than once with The New Mutants, usually resulting in some of the most entertaining issues of the series.

The two teams even exchanged members, as Magma joined the Hellions, and Thunderbird (later called Warpath) would join the New Mutants just before their transformation to X-Force. During one occasion, the New Mutants even left the X-Mansion and merged with the Hellions. Eventually, the team was destroyed by the mutant Fitzroy, who killed the majority of The Hellions, causing The White Queen to renounce her evil ways and take up leadership of Generation X. The key members of The Hellions are profiled below:

James is an Apache indian, and served as the field leader of The Hellions. James' older brother, John Proudstar, was recruited by Professor Xavier for his second team of X-Men. However, the elder Proudstar was killed in battle against Count Nefaria. Blaming Xavier for brother's death, James joined the Hellions.

Though he once tried to kill Professor Xavier in an act of revenge for John's death, James was an honorable character, who could not go through with the murder when given the chance. He was often disgusted by the actions of The White Queen and his teammates, specifically Empath. James also developed a bit of a rivalry with the New Mutants Amerind leader, Dani Moonstar. Despite the rivalry, the two seemed to share feelings for each other, though they never developed into anything more than friends.
POWERS: James shared the same powers as his brother, enhanced strength and endurance. He is also a skilled hunter & tracker.
CURRENT WHEREABOUTS: After coming to terms with his brother's death, James quit the Hellions. However, after his reservation was destroyed, he blamed the White Queen and joined the New Mutants under Cable. James took the codename WARPATH and stayed on when the team transitioned to X-Force. He has been a member of that team ever since, and now goes simply by his last name, PROUDSTAR.

CodeName: EMPATH
Real Name: Manuel Alfonso Rodrigo de la Rocha

Manuel was the worst of Hellions. Probably the only one that was truly evil, Empath delighted in using his mutant power to manipulate people's emotions. Born the son of a spanish nobleman, Empath already had a high opinion of himself, but his ability to get people to love or hate at will did nothing but intensify his feelings of superiority.

Empath often was a source of trouble even for the Hellions. He often antagonized the shy Tarot and drew the ire of team leader Thunderbird. His main accomplice was Roulette, and Manuel firmly believed he would be future member of The Hellfire Club. This all came to an end when Manuel developed actual feelings for the New Mutant Magma. He left the Hellions to travel with her to her home in Nova Roma, and subsequently escaped the death that met most of his teammates.
POWERS: Manuel could psionically manipulate the actual emotions of other people. He often made his enemies fall madly in love with him, or hate their best friends. When using this power, Empath's eyes glowed a deep purple.
CURRENT WHEREABOUTS: After leaving the Hellions, Manuel spent some time with Magma in what she thought was her home of Nova Roma, hidden deep in the jungles of Brazil. However, when Magma found out that the whole city of Nova Roma was a lie, and that Empath played a part in keeping that secret from her, she was furious, and left, vowing never to associate with him again. Without Magma to keep his anger in check, Manuel seemed to revert back to his evil self, though he has not been heard from since.

CodeName: TAROT
Real Name: Marie-Ange Colbert

Tarot was a shy French girl who never seemed to fit in with the Hellions. She was far from evil, and usually came off more sensitive than challenging. Her powers are definitely attached to the occult and Marie-Ange was always very dependant on those powers. However, she was otherwise a normal girl.

The big mystery that surrounded Tarot was who her "mystery crush" was. It was alluded to several times throughout the New Mutants series that Tarot had a crush on a member of the New Mutants. There is no hard evidience to support which member this was, though the most compelling evidence occurs in New Mutants # 53 when she askes Doug to dance during a Hellfire Club ball, and proceeds to get upset when he refuses. Now that Tarot is back among the living, it is possible we will actually see the answer to this dangling plot thread. It does remain unlikely, however, as she is obviously romantically involved with King Bedlam now, and if Doug was the object of her affection, he has long since passed away himself.

Tarot's personality changed most noticably when Louise Simonson took over. She went from being the shy, quiet member of the Hellions, to taunting Amara after Magma left the New Mutants to join the Hellions. Some of this can be attributed to Marie-Ange growing up and feeling more comfortable with the Hellions, though the change is drastic. Tarot was killed (apparently) along with the other Hellions in their battle with Fitzroy.
POWERS: Tarot could bring bring the images on the tarot card she carried to life. These images became Tarot's servants. Whether Tarot could bring any images to life, or if their was some connection to the Tarot cards she carried was never known. She also demonstrated some sort of ability to see the future using her cards.
CURRENT WHEREABOUTS: Tarot was believed deceased, but showed up alive in recent issues of X-Force. She had joined the New Hellions, led by King Bedlam, and seemed to owe him some sort of major debt. Whether this is related to Tarot's rebirth remains to be seen. Tarot did show her true colors by helping X-Force in the end, though she did disappear with King Bedlam after he was defeated. Her current whereabouts are unknown.

CodeName: ROULETTE
Real Name: Jennifer Stavros

Roulette was born in Atlantic City, the youngest daughter of a blackjack dealer. She was involved in some of Atlantic City's toughest gangs before her mutant powers manifested and she joined the Hellions. Next to Empath, Roulette was the meanest of the Hellions. She was often Empath's "partner in crime" when the two Hellions would get up to no good. One example of this was when the James Proudstar attempted to gain revenge on the X-Men for his brother's death. Both Manuel and Jennifer were along for the ride, causing mischief as they went.

Roulette was not given much time for on-camera solo character development, but she was portrayed as a bit of a bully. She loved to torment young Angelica Jones (Firestar) during her stay at The Academy, and found many of Empath's cruel jokes humerous. Roulette also liked to stir up trouble herself, like the time she flirted with Doug Ramsey, and coerced him into getting drunk and gambling, just so she could watch him fail.

Like most of The Hellions, Roulette met an untimely end at the hands of Trevor Fitzroy.
POWERS: Roulette could create discs of psionic energy that altered the probability fields around their targets. White discs would cause good luck, and black discs would cause bad. Roulette could hurl these discs with excellent accuracy at opponents, or use them subtlely in back of a victim. These luck discs usually worked swiftly, as the the recipient would notice the effects of her power within a matter of seconds.
CURRENT WHEREABOUTS: Roulette, unfortunately, remains deceased at this time.

CodeName: JETSTREAM
Real Name: Haroun Ibn Sallah al-Rashid

Jetstream was a proud Moor whose body was not equipped to handle his mutant power. The energy that allowed Jetstream to fly also consumed his flesh. It was the Hellfire Club that used cybernetics to restore his body and allow his natural mutant power to work. Due to his sense of honor, Haroun felt obligated to stay with the Hellions.

Despite his sense of honor, Haroun is always pictured as a bit of a headstrong cocky youngster. His first comic appearance sees him take on Cannonball one on one (in New Mutants #17). Despite being defeated in that battle, Haroun refuses to yield, even if it meant his life. That defeat ate at Haroun, and it isn't until much later (New Mutants #39-40) that we see him show the New Mutants any kindness at all.

Like most of The Hellions, Jetstream met an untimely end at the hands of Trevor Fitzroy.
POWERS: Jetstream can generate thermo-chemical energy that propels him through the air. It allows him to fly at great speed. His bionic system installed by the Hellfire Club allows him to control this energy. It includes a mechanical backpack that can fold into his body, but appears when he is using his power.
CURRENT WHEREABOUTS: Jetstream, unfortunately, remains deceased at this time.

CodeName: CATSEYE
Real Name: Sharon Smith (name given to her by The White Queen)

Catseye is one of Marvel's most interesting characters. Unlike the traditional shapeshifter, Catseye's power manifested at birth and she grew up mostly in feline form. Consequently, she beleives herself not a human who can transform into a cat, but a cat who can metamorph into a human.

Catseye was an innocent, and was far from evil. She was confortable at The Massachusetts Academy and remained mostly ignorant to their evil ways. Because of this, she often refused Xavier's invitations to join The New Mutants ("Catseye stay Happyplace.") She did develop an especially close bond with Rahne, her "Furfriend." as they seemed to have a lot in common.

Like most of The Hellions, Catseye met an untimely end at the hands of Trevor Fitzroy.
POWERS: Catseye can transform herself into a cat-like being while retaining her human intelligence. In feline form, she can walk up walls and her tail is prehensile. She has both a full, and transitional cat-form, similar to Wolfsbane.
CURRENT WHEREABOUTS: Catseye, unfortunately, remains deceased at this time.

CodeName: FIRESTAR
Real Name: Angelica Jones

Angelica was a young mutant who was terrified when her powers first developed. She was taken in to the Massachusetts Academy by The White Queen, who she viewed as a mother-figure. Though Angelica never officially joined the Hellions, Firestar did associate with them, and was definitely an outsider. Frost kept her seperate from her other students, and they in turn, thought of Firestar as a snob.

Eventually, Firestar learned the truth about the White Queen and left the Academy. She was offered a place in the New Mutants by Professor Xavier, but turned it down, despite having a small crush on the New Mutant, Cannonball. (Angelica's first kiss was with Sam.) Later, she joined the New Warriors, and didn't see The White Queen again until after the Hellions' death.
POWERS: Angelica can control microwaves, using them to heat the air around her. She can heat the air to the point that allows her flight, and can also use her powers to heat or melt objects. she can also focus her microwaves into an offensive "blast."
CURRENT WHEREABOUTS: Since joining the New Warriors, Firestar has put her feud with the White Queen to rest. She met Vanch Astro, a.k.a. Marvel Boy, and later Justice in the New Warriors and the two began a relationship. The two remain together to this day, and have even discussed marriage. Firestar and Justice joined the Avengers together, and served as active members until just recently.