Strong Guy

Strong Guy
Strong Guy on the cover of his own one-shot comic book
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	New Mutants #29 (July 1985)
Created by	Chris Claremont Bill Sienkiewicz
In-story information
Alter ego	Guido Carosella
Species	Human Mutant
Team affiliations	X-Factor Investigations Singularity Investigations X-Factor The Arena
Abilities	Ability to rechannel kinetic energy into physical strength

Strong Guy is the alias of Guido Carosella, a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz and first appeared in New Mutants #29 (July 1985).

Strong Guy first appears in New Mutants #29 (July 1985) as Lila Cheney's bodyguard known only as Guido. The character joins X-Factor in issue #71 in the series of the same name, and is first called Strong Guy in X-Factor #72. Guido's struggles with picking a codename are used for comic effect in the story, and X-Factor writer Peter David admitted that in real life he had difficulty coming up with a decent codename for the character.

Born in Rhinebeck, New York to working class Italian parents, Guido Carosella gained a fortune in a settlement when his parents were killed by falling space debris. Skinny and shy, Guido's mutant powers were triggered in childhood when an incident with schoolyard bullies and being hit by a bus ended in his body becoming disproportionately large and over-muscled, separating the already withdrawn boy even further from his peers. He had the love and support of his aunt and uncle, who took him in after his parents' deaths. Guido coped with his emotional and physical pain caused by his mutation, by developing an outgoing "public face", rarely letting even those close to him see him in any discomfort.

During the incident with the bus, another boy, Charlie Ronalds, was hurt by Guido's flailing. Due to luck, Charlie survived with only a slight limp. He would later become the villainous Charon.

After losing much of his fortune, Guido begins to take on jobs that allow him to maintain his luxurious lifestyle. This leads to Guido becoming the long-time roadie and bouncer for the mutant musician Lila Cheney. He later finds Dazzler near Lila Cheney's Malibu house, and helps rescue her from drowning. He then finds the injured Lila Cheney when she teleported back to Malibu, and accompanies Cheney to seek help from the X-Men. Guido is later among the mutants living on Muir Island who are mentally controlled by the telepath Shadow King. In order to satiate his bloodlust, the Shadow King encourages arena fighting amongst the Muir Island personnel. Guido receives a serious beating at the hands of Rogue. After the Shadow King is defeated, several of the Muir Island mutants, with the help of Val Cooper, are recruited to form a new X-Factor, a team of government operatives.