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Quote1 My pureblood union notwithstanding, it's extremely rare to encounter more than one mutant with the exact same power. These lowlifes probably just stumbled onto a cursed artifact or...or radioactive meteorite. You know, the usual. Quote2
Gene Hayes[src]

Dr. Gene Hayes was a artificial mutant criminal, the father of Molly Hayes, husband of Alice Hayes, and a founding member of The Pride.

History

Runaways (Earth-616) from Runaways Vol 5 4 001

Molly explaining her parents' upbringing

Origins[]

At a very young age, Gene ran away from his home and was taken in by Dr. Hayes, who raised him alongside her daughter, Alice.[7]

Although both Gene and Alice were born as baseline humans, they developed X-Genes and identical telepathic abilities through repeated genetic experimentation by Dr. Hayes.[8]

Alice and Gene were eventually married and tried to live a normal life, but were still persecuted by their neighbors.[1][4][7]

Alice Hayes (Earth-616) and Gene Hayes (Earth-616) from Runaways Vol 1 12 002

Alice and Gene being summoned by the Gibborim

The Pride[]

Eventually, Gene and Alice were summoned by the Gibborim to be the "The Outcasts" in the Pride with promises of power, wealth, and eternal life.[4] The Hayes continued to work with the Pride despite the strong objections of Dr. Hayes disdain.[8] At some point, Gene gain working as a doctor and Alice began working as a speech therapist.[1]

Three years after the formation of the Pride, Janet Stein became pregnant and the other Pride members decided to conceive children and pass the Gibborim's reward of eternal life to their children. Alice initially objected because it was unclear if they could conceive. Although it longer than any of the other Pride couples to conceive (nearly six years), Gene and Alice eventually gave birth to Molly Hayes.[4] Shortly after her birth, the couple tested her for the presence of an X-Gene and the results came back (erroneously) negative.[9]

As members of the Pride, the Hayes assisted in ruling the Los Angeles underworld, sacrificing to the Gibborim, protecting their turf, and disposing of threats to their power for a quarter of a century.[1][4][10][5][11]

Alice Hayes (Earth-616), Gene Hayes (Earth-616), Frank Dean (Earth-616), and Leslie Dean (Earth-616) from Runaways Vol 1 14 001

The Hayes' and Deans conspiring together

Eighteen months before their deaths, Gene and Alice began to conspire with Frank and Leslie Dean to betray and murder the other Pride members. As mutants and aliens, they had a shared disdain for humans.[12][13] It was the discovery of this plot that led Alex Wilder to begin scheming to save his parents and the Minoru family that eventually led to his death and the deaths of the Pride.[14]

After their children ran away, Alice and Gene with the rest of the Pride continued to search for them and run their criminal empire including interrogating vampires,[15] mind-wiping Cloak and Dagger,[16] and plotting to rewrite their children's memories.[2]

Gene and Alice died in the Marine Vivarium with the other members of the Pride during the failed Rite of Thunder.[17]

Attributes

Powers

Alice Hayes (Earth-616) and Gene Hayes (Earth-616) from Runaways Vol 1 12 001

Alice and Gene using their telepathic powers

Alice Hayes (Earth-616) and Gene Hayes (Earth-616) battling Charles Xavier (Earth-616) from Iron Man- Legacy Vol 1 11 001

Alice and Gene telepathically battling Professor X

Gene possessed mutant powers identical to those of his wife due to the genetic engineering of Dr. Hayes. These powers included:

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Transportation

Notes

  • Their identical powers and comments about being their "pureblood union"[25] and having difficulties conceiving[4] led some fans to speculate that the union between Alice and Gene was incestuous. This theory was disproved in Runaways (Vol. 5) #4.

Trivia

  • Together, Gene and Alice were able to psychically battle Professor X for a brief time.[20]

See Also

Links and References

References

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