Anole (character)
| Anole | |
|---|---|
| File:Anolepowers.jpg Anole, partially camouflaged. Art by Michael Ryan. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | New Mutants (2nd series) #2 |
| Created by | Nunzio DeFilippis Christina Weir Carlo Barberi |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Victor Borkowski |
| Team affiliations | Xavier Institute, Alpha Squadron |
| Abilities | reptilian mutation gives him green skin, a spiked carapace instead of hair, a prehensile and elastic tongue, enhanced agility, so-called wallcrawling, and the ability to camouflage himself, blending into his surroundings |
Anole (real name Victor Borkowski) is a fictional character, a mutant in the Marvel Universe, one of the student body in the Xavier Institute, and a former member of the Alpha Squadron.
History
Anole is a 16 year old mutant, born and raised in small-town America, he lived a normal life despite his reptilian features. The close-knit community accepted the boy for who he was until anti-mutant sentiment began to spread. For his own safety, his parents sent him to the Xavier Institute where he quickly excelled academically.
When the advisor system was set up at the Xavier Institute, Victor chose Karma as his advisor. However, during the formation of training squads throughout the school, he was reassigned to Northstar and Alpha Squadron. At first, he was quite friendly with Julian Keller and the other Hellions but now seems closer to his teammates. He was especially close to Northstar and was deeply affected by his death (He, like most of the X-Men, is unaware of Northstar's resurrection). Victor is gay, and Northstar helped him to come to terms with this. He has not yet come out to the rest of the school, and it is uncertain whether even his teammates know. Victor's chosen foreign language is French.
In The X-Men: 198 Files, Anole was revealed to be one of only 27 students at the Institute who didn't lose his mutant powers in the aftermath of House of M. The squad system was dissolved, and the remaining students were merged into one group.
Despite only rare appearances, Anole seems to have developed quite a fan following and has been the student outside of the New Mutants and Hellions squads to be featured regularly. It is unclear what direction Anole's character will take under the new creative staff, but he appeared in New X-Men #21 alongside the regular cast members.
Powers
Reptilian mutation gives him green skin, a spiked carapace instead of hair, a prehensile and elastic tongue, the ability to stick to solid surfaces, enhanced agility and the ability to camouflage himself, blending into his surroundings. Anole seemingly has trouble controlling his powers when emotionally unstable.
Trivia
- Victor's codename 'Anole' is a type of lizard also known as American chameleon although the two aren't closely related at all. In fact, they only share the ability to change color. That aside the anole looks like an average lizard and nothing like a chameleon with its typical eyes, feet and tail.
- One reason why he may not have taken the name "Chameleon" is because there is a Spiderman villain of the same name.
- Anole was supposed to commit suicide in a jettisoned New Mutants storyline. Writers have been trying to figure out what to do with him next, despite him having become one of their (and many fans') favorites.
- In the New X-Men: Yearbook Special #1 it's listed he likes theatre, frisbee and basketball and dislikes traditions and bad action movies. He was voted Best Actor by the student body.
Bibliography
New Mutants (2nd series) #2, 7-8, 10, 13
X-Men (2nd series) #165
New X-Men: Academy X #1, 4-5, 7, 10, 13-14, 16
New X-Men: Academy X: Yearbook Special
New X-Men (2nd series) #20-21
X-Men: The 198 Files