Upstarts (comics)
| Upstarts | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Uncanny X-Men #281 (1991) |
| Created by |
Jim Lee Whilce Portacio |
| In-story information | |
| Member(s) |
Gamesmaster (arbiter) Fabian Cortez Shinobi Shaw Trevor Fitzroy Siena Blaze Tribune (Graydon Creed) Fenris (probational members) Selene (non-member founder) |
The Upstarts were a group of fictional supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters have strong ties to the Hellfire Club. They first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #281 and were created by Jim Lee and Whilce Portacio.
The Upstarts were part of a secret competition founded by Selene, the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club, who wanted to test potential members for her own Inner Circle. Overseen by the Gamesmaster, the Upstarts would each try to kill as many mutants as possible and the Gamesmaster would award points based on the mutant's power, skills and general importance in the world. At times he would raise the value of certain mutants so that the Upstarts would all try to assassinate them. At other times Gamesmaster would also reward the death of non-mutants. To gain entry to the Upstarts competition the requirement was to kill a member of the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club, but later members were not required to do so; usually the Gamesmaster claimed that their participation would make the game more interesting. The member with the most points at the end of the competition would win "the prize". It was never explicitly stated what the prize was (though a statement by Andrea Strucker in X-Men #4 and a notation on the back of the Upstarts' X-Men Series I trading card state that the prize was immortality), but it was inferred that the winner would gain control over the other contestants as well as gain a lot of power and influence.
Shinobi Shaw took the early lead by killing his father Sebastian Shaw. He celebrated with a group of contestants who were never seen again afterwards. The time-traveller Trevor Fitzroy gained membership with the deaths of Donald Pierce and the Reavers. He demanded the ring that signified leadership of the Upstarts from Shaw, but Shaw refused, claiming that he still had more points. Fitzroy would go on to kill the Hellions, but Fabian Cortez applied for membership and immediately took first place in the competition for the death of Magneto.
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