Josh Foley joined the Reavers, an anti-mutant group led by Donald Pierce, at the behest of his then best friend, Duncan. When Cerebra detected a mutant in the area, Dani Moonstar and Karma were sent to investigate. Meanwhile, the Reavers engaged a group of students from Xavier's in a fight, and Josh discovered he was a healer by healing one of his fellow Reavers. By knocking him out, he was able to hide this for a short time until he felt compelled to heal the mortally-injured Laurie Collins. Laurie developed a crush on him as a result. When the Reavers discovered Josh was a mutant with healing powers, they rejected him and retreated. Angrily rejecting Moonstar's offer to go to the X-Mansion, he went home, to find his fellow Reavers waiting for him, where they delivered a severe beating, and when his parents discovering he was a mutant, they disowned him.[1]
With nowhere else to go, Josh reluctantly went to the Xavier Institute. He was paired with David Alleyne as a roommate; a situation that neither of them initially found appealing. Josh sent a letter home which only caused his parents to make their disowning of him formal, handing his legal guardianship to the school (or more specifically to Moonstar).[2] Initially, Josh became friends with Julian Keller, Santo Vaccarro, Cessily Kincaid and Victor Borkowski. However, after discovering Josh's history with the Reavers, they rejected him too, and the New Mutants intervened to save him.[3]
Shortly after this, a depowered Rahne Sinclair visited the X-Mansion. Having only heard about her timid early days, Josh was instantly smitten by the new "wild child" Rahne much to Laurie's dismay, just as she was plucking up the courage to ask him out.[4] After Rahne was rejected for a teaching post due to immaturity, Josh sneaked out of the X-Mansion at night to a bar where she was playing pool. Over the course of a conversation, he rationalized that her new attitude was a way of letting out instincts she had previously been able to blame on "the wolf." Eventually, as they were returning to the mansion, she realized that she did want "the wolf" back, contrary to her previous declarations. As they kissed, he healed away the effects of the weapon that had depowered her, but she lost control as this happened, slashing him open and howling to the moon. Laurie, looking for Josh, came across this scene and (for the first time) managed to control her power to scare Rahne away. But she couldn't return the favor from before to heal the mortally-wounded Josh.[5]
As he was rushed to the mansion's infirmary. They put him on an analgesic I.V. drip, but with Angel, the X-Men's other healer, not present, there was little hope. Prodigy, however, realized that he could heal himself if only he was awake, and Surge could wake him up with a small jolt. Reluctantly, Beast went along with this, disconnecting his drip. Surge woke him up, and Laurie kept him calm long enough to for him to heal his wounds. There was one side-effect though which shocked Elixir: golden skin. This is possibly due to Elixir activating a Secondary Mutation in himself. Dani theorized that Elixir had turned his skin because he wanted to be the "golden boy".[6]
Since the mansion's destruction and reconstruction, Cyclops and Emma Frost decided to organize the older students into six-member training squads. Josh was put on Dani's New Mutants Squad and was given the codename Elixir.[7]
When Sofia failed in her first Field Day as leader, Laurie found her crying in their room after some harsh criticism from Josh. Laurie offered to speak to Josh. Trying to pluck up the courage to talk to him, she came across him just after he'd been turned down by Rahne again, who felt a relationship with him was inappropriate now that she was on the faculty. After Laurie mentioned the "Sofia thing", he suggested they get some dinner in town together. This date made both Rahne and Kevin (who still had a crush on Laurie) very unhappy. Going to a video arcade, she confessed to Josh about what her father was like, and how she didn't want to be like him, and that that was why she "avoided everybody."[8]
Halfway through their date they were interrupted by Rahne, who brought them back to the Institute because Agent Pierce and the FBI had caught up with Kevin about his accidental killing of his father.[8]
Soon Icarus found the New Mutants Squad and told them the Hellions and Wind Dancer had gone to break Kevin out. The New Mutants and Icarus fought with the Hellions to try to stop them from taking on the FBI until the X-Men, alerted by Rahne, turned up and took them all back to the Institute. The charges against Kevin were dismissed, and Kevin swapped squads with Icarus.[9]
Elixir became renowned as the in-house healer. He was able to heal Wing's injuries from this fall that Ord left him too. However, he was unable to undo the effects of the "Hope Cure" at that time.[10]
Josh continued to pursue Rahne despite casually Laurie. Eventually Rahne decided to totally break things off with Josh permanently, but unbeknownst to either of them, Kevin overheard their entire conversation. Eventually, Kevin used the information to break Josh and Laurie up. Laurie was left embittered by the experience, going so far as to use her pheromones to manipulate Prodigy into kissing her at the dance in a successful attempt to make Josh jealous. This event might have gone unnoticed but for Sofia realizing what was happening, and the event added to the fast disintegration of the squad.[11]
One day, the Blob attacked the school. He busted open the front gate, which landed on Laurie's mother Gail, who was visiting her daughter. Gail was hurt and Laurie, in her terror, asked Josh to heal her mother as she attempted to make the Blob sleep.[12]
Thereafter, Wind Dancer pushed all the New Mutants into a camp out for one night on the Xavier Institute grounds. While the initial attempts by Sofia at forcing a resolution came to disaster when a fist-fight between Josh and David led Laurie to confess to Josh what had happened at the dance. Later that night, the New Mutants overheard Elixir pouring his heart out to Icarus, which led Laurie to forgive Josh, Josh to apologize to David for his behavior at the dance, and David to apologize to him for rejecting him.[13]
As the new school year began, The DangerRoom became sentient and killed off the senior members of the X-Men in "her" attempt to find and destroy her "father," Charles Xavier. The senior members were not dead for long, however, as Josh was able to bring them all back from the brink of death. He was visibly exhausted by his efforts.[14]
On M-Day the vast majority of the world's mutant population was depowered. Elixir was one of only twenty-seven students to retain their powers. Emma Frost, fearing their safety, ordered that the depowered students and staff leave the Institute. Josh's guardian Moonstar, now depowered, was among those forced to leave. For their safety, the depowered students were brought through the Morlock tunnels to an awaiting bus. Unfortunately, the bus of depowered students was bombed by anti-mutant zealot Reverend William Stryker, killing forty-two of the former students on board.[15]
The remaining students were placed by Emma Frost into an all-out brawl, and the ones deemed the best by Emma would become a group of New X-Men in-training. Josh made the team, and began training to become an X-Man.[16]
Meanwhile, Stryker consulted his "vision," and decided the "Omega threat" will be next, while holding a picture of Josh and Laurie.[15]
During one of their first training sessions, the New X-Men sparred with Colossus. Caught up in his emotions over the students killed as a result of Stryker's bus attack, Josh hit the powered-down Colossus over the head with a metal beam. Furious with his action, Emma kicked him off the team temporarily.
Laurie and Josh promptly had an argument about Josh's place on the New X-Men. Laurie explained that Emma was all wrong, that the team was merely about "violence and fighting," whereas Elixir should could do a "beautiful thing." However, Josh tells Laurie when he tried to heal DJ, "I could feel him dying...his life bleeding out of him," and that "when he died, he took a piece of me with him, a piece of me died, too." At that moment, Laurie was killed by a gunshot, fired by Matthew Risman, an agent of Stryker.[17]
Laurie's body and a distraught Josh were found by several of the X-Men and students. When Wolverine tried to restrain Josh from Laurie's body, his mutant power manifested and caused painful boils or blisters to appear on Wolverine's hands and wrists.[18]
Elixir's new black skin after the death of Stryker
When Stryker began his attack on the institute Josh sat unresponsively in the infirmary. However, Josh came to his senses, and enraged over the death of Laurie and the other students, killed Stryker by using his powers to cause massive swellings and organ failure. This action has the unforeseen result turned his golden skin black, and Josh went into a catatonic state.[19] Prodigy theorized the thing that Josh did with Stryker not only affected him physically (his black metallic skin) but also altered his brain chemistry.[20]
When X-23 was mortally wounded and unable to heal during the final battle with Nimrod, Hellion rushed her back to the Institute. Julian gave a motivational speech, and got Josh to get over the past, healing Laura and returning his skin to its gold color; although some black parts remained.[21]
Since waking from Laurie's death, Elixir took a more peaceful approach to life. He began to wear only white clothing, and, when not studying, was often lost in thought and introspective.[22] Following those events, Elixir was orange-flagged by the O*N*E.[23]
Shortly before the other students were teleported to Limbo, the Stepford Cuckoos helped Elixir learn advanced human anatomy, physiology and biology by telepathically copying information from Beast's mind into his own. This allowed him to use his power with exponentially greater precision, allowing him to regrow Prodigy's heart from nothing after it was torn out by Belasco. This proved a severe strain to Elixir however and he fell unconscious for a few moments. Later he regained consciousness and was able to use his "black abilities" to attack Belasco, however the demonic master of Limbo proved more resilient than humans and quickly recovered from the attack before being killed by Magik.
When Mercury asked Elixir about his age, he is sitting alone in the dark and told her instead about his cells and how he felt them aging and dying freaking her out. When Surge interviewed him about what happened to David in Limbo, he told her nothing happened. Still later when Kitty Pryde tried to have a student/teacher conference, he was still sitting alone in the dark. When she asked him what he is doing, he told her he was thinking about life and death and how he could give it and take it. “With everything my powers can do...Really Miss Pryde...What can’t I do?” This scared Kitty greatly who suggested to the other teachers that, without proper guidance, they may be raising the next Magneto in Josh.
Later, Loa sought out Elixir. She went to his room and flat out asked him if he wanted to make out. Elixir replied with "um, sure?".[25] Elixir and Loa have been dating since then.[26]
After the first mutant birthsince M-Day, some of the New X-Men decided to launch a preemptive strike against the Purifiers. Elixir sat out the fight for fear that he may loose control and massacre the Purifiers in retaliation for Laurie's murder. He did however offer his help as a healer if the students needed him. When the Sentinels attacked the mansion, Elixir and some of the students left behind were knocked unconscious.
After recovering from the Sentinel attack, Elixir was brought to Angel's Aerie to cure Wolfsbane after she was given a deliberate heroin overdose by the Purifiers. Upon healing Rahne, she attacked Josh, moving on to her real target, Angel, tearing out his wings and delivering them to Reverend Craig. Elixir healed Angel's wounds, but his attempts to regrow his wings are thwarted by the discovery that Warren's wings were never really organic and that he still carries the Apocalypse techno-organic strain.[27]
Due to Elixir being a "problem" to X-Force, X-23 contacted the Stepford Cuckoos to help Rahne and erase Elixir's memories of the team, by Josh's request. However, before his memories could be erased, X-Force was interrupted and sent on a mission. Elixir joined X-Force and received a dark-colored uniform.[26] He helped his new team capture Vanisher and reluctantly gave him an inoperable brain tumor.[28] While X-Force was trying to retrieve a vial of the Legacy Virus, Elixir didn't take part in the battle with the Marauders' clones, and instead hid with Vanisher, and told him that he should join the fight and help his teammates. Elixir later kept X-23 from killing herself after she became infected with the Legacy Virus and helped her get rid of it.[29]
Elixir, along with the rest of X-Force, was transported to the future by Cyclops in order to bring Cable and the Messiah child back to the present. Once they arrived there Elixir had become hysterical over being unable to save his friends from the Leper Queen.[30]
During their stay in the future, Elixir confronted Stryfe and along with the help of Wolverine and Warpath, managing to infect him with cancer. However, Stryfe telepathically forces Elixir to heal him, undoing most of the damage. After the battle with Stryfe, he and the rest of X-Force were pulled back to the present. He, Wolverine and Archangel hurried to the U.N. in order to save Surge and Hellion. Elixir was able to cured both of his friends, but as a result of healing them combine with the exertion of time travel, Elixir fell into a comatose state.[31]
Elixir was transferred to Utopia Sick Bay under the care of Dr. Nemesis. There he was revived by the Norse goddess of death Hela upon Hrimhari's request, so that he could save Wolfsbane and their unborn child. Elixir was able to save her by transferring some of her baby's power to strengthen Wolfsbane's body (to undefined limits) to endure the Asgardian embryo growing inside her.[32][33]
After being reunited with his team, X-Force headed to Genosha to take out Selene and her Inner Circle.[34] On Genosha, Elixir faced off against Wither in a fight to the death. Wither exclaimed he would kill Josh for failing to protect Laurie, that only Kevin himself could have saved her and he was the only one to love her. Elixir shifted to his black form, told Kevin he always loved Laurie, then reversed Wither's effects, turning Kevin to dust.
Elixir quit the team, citing difficulty in shifting out of his black form.[35] Elixir opted to stay on Genosha, healing and burying the corpses left by Selene and her Inner Circle, but find out he couldn't heal anymore.[36][37]
In the aftermath of the death of Wolverine, Elixir was captured by the same individuals that had captured X-23, Sabretooth, Daken, Lady Deathstrike and Mystique. As he was still stuck in his black form, he was unable to attempt to rouse Mystique after Sharp knocked her unconscious with the trigger words, however this proved to be unnecessary as Mystique had already recovered and was just feigning unconsciousness. When Siphon attacked the group shortly after, Elixir tried to use his killing powers to stop him, however these had no effect and Josh was quickly overwhelmed. Laura insisted that they needed to help, but Creed refused and demanded Sharp release them. Sharp, his team, and the captives then scattered to escape.[38]
Utopians
Some time later, Elixir formed part of the Utopians, a group of mutants that started inhabiting the ruins of the island.[39]
The X-Men were reached out by S.H.I.E.L.D. to investigate the island after a recon team went missing. The X-Men teleported to the island, and initially engaged the Utopias. After talking it out and discovering the Utopians wanted nothing but to be safe and undisturbed, the X-Men offered them a place at the New Charles Xavier School, which they gladly accepted.[40]
Elixir is an omega-class mutant,[6][41] and an Omega Level Healer,[13] with Omega-class healing ability.[42] He was stated to be a General Threat by the O*N*E, at the time of the M-Day,[41] but was orange-flagged and allegedly reclassified by the O*N*E after he used his powers offensively.[23]
Biokinesis: Elixir is capable of controlling the biological structure of his own and other people's bodies. He is theoretically capable of rewriting someone's genetic structure at will. He can produce biomolecular energy at will to affect organic matter he touches. This allows him to heal physical damage done to his body or the bodies of others, reactivate suppressed mutant abilities, repair cerebral functions, and alter the composition of his own molecules in certain ways. He hasn't reached his full healing potential yet. Currently he is capable of basic healing, having successfully healed broken bones, severe burns and even a mortal stab through the chest. His ability is by close proximity - he tends to touch his targets, but can heal through clothing. He may eventually develop enough control of his powers to manipulate the human genome, altering eye, hair and skin color, implanting physical characteristics or even reactivating dormant mutant or atavistic genes.
Elixir has demonstrated increased mastery of his powers: he is capable of sedating an enraged Wolfsbane and cleaning her body of drugs,[26] granting himself and Archangel a healing factor and curing people of the Legacy Virus.[29] His control over his abilities is now so refined that he was not only capable of giving the Vanisher a brain tumor, but even of shaping it into the X-Men logo.[28]
Because of his control over his own biology, Elixir has proven to be very difficult to treat medically. He usually passes out after pushing his powers too far and remains in a coma for some time. Dr. Nemesis guessed that during these times, his DNA reboots itself.[43]
Dichromatimorphic Skin: After Elixir used his mutant powers to heal himself, his skin turned a golden color. This is possibly due to Elixir activating a Secondary Mutation in himself.[6] Elixir's skin normally remains golden, but if he uses his powers to damage or kill his skin turns a deep metallic black.[19] This appears to be a completely involuntary reaction, and it has been stated that Elixir has a hard time converting from black to golden.[35]File:Black Elixr.png
Due to the psychic data transfer by the Stepford Cuckoos using the knowledge of Beast, Elixir now possesses genius-level understanding of human anatomy, physiology and biology.
Weaknesses
Using his powers for extreme feats of biological manipulation can wear out his body, causing him to collapse.
Loa and Elixir were dating,[25][26] until his disappearance.[35]
Elixir's first case of activating suppressed powers was when he reactivated Wolfsbane's wolf powers when they kissed, which caused his gold skin when he recovered.
It is currently unknown if Elixir's gold/black skin is the result of a Secondary Mutation, as diagnosed by Beast, a side effect of his powers or a subconscious desire to be the "golden child".[6]
However, other speculation may be the writers poking fun at his codename, as the Philosopher's Stone, which is required to make the Elixir of Life, is also capable of turning Lead (Death form) into Gold (Healing form).
According to the New X-Men Yearbook Special #1, Elixir enjoys basketball, baseball, Frisbee and video games. He was also voted "Most Athletic."
In response to fan reaction over Siphon's attack on Elixir, Peter Nguyen declined to confirm whether or not he was killed, but stated that he'd left notes to the colorist that Josh was supposed to revert to his golden form during the attack (in the story as published, Josh remains black throughout the attack).[45]
The Logan Legacy and Wolverines writer Charles Soule has also commented on his fate, and unlike Nguyen has more directly suggested Elixir survived the attack by stating he believes Josh's powers over life and death made him fully capable of surviving.[46]
Life. Death. Taking it, giving it. I give life. I take it.
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