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Quote1 I'm a Stepford Cuckoo. We're Three-In-One. I am never alone. Quote2
Phoebe[1]

History

Origin

While Emma Frost was laying in a comatose state, the Dr. John Sublime harvested eggs from her to begin experimentation. The Weapon Plus program began the cloning to develop a powerful weapon capable of killing every mutant on Earth by combining their telepathic abilities. The project was designated Weapon XIV, and gills were incubated and artificially aged inside the subterranean level of The World.[2] Thousands of girls were cloned from the ovum, but while the other remained dormant, five girls were sent to infiltrate the Xavier Institute as students sisters to hone their talents for Sublime's purposed.[3][4]

Xavier Institute

After the Xavier Institute went public,[5] Phoebe and her sisters were enrolled as orphan quintuplet sisters.[4] To protect their secret origins, the girls unconsciously place mental blocks in the minds of the faculty preventing them from investigating their background.[6]

File:Stepford Cuckoos 002.jpg

Phoebe and her sisters strutting in the halls of the Institute

The girls quickly gained the moniker "The Stepford Cuckoos", though their chosen codename was the Five-In-One. Emma Frost took a special interest in the girls, and the Cuckoos became her protégés.[7][8]

When Kid Omega led a rebellion of students at the X-Mansion, Sophie and encouraged Phoebe and the other Cuckoos to take action, and they covertly snuck into Cerebra. Using Kick to amp up her powers, Sophie and her sisters were able to stop Quire. Unfortunately, Sophie died in the process.[9]

With the death of Sophie, the Five-In-One became the Four-In-One. The girls were furious with Emma Frost, whom they blamed for Sophie's death.[10] This mourning and anger was multiplied when Esme attempted to murder Emma, fled the X-Mansion,[11] and joined Xorn's Brotherhood. With the departure of Esme, the Four-In-One now became the Three-In-One.[12]

Stepford Cuckoos (Earth-616) from New X-Men Vol 2 15 0001

The Three-In-One as students in the Corsairs Squad

Corsairs Squads

When the Institute was rebuilt under the leadership of co-headmasters Cyclops and Emma Frost. The students were organized into several training squads with an assigned mentor staff member.[13][14] The Phoebe and her sisters were assigned to the Corsairs Squad under the tutelage of Cyclops with girls serving equally as co-leaders of the squad.[15]

M-Day

On M-Day the vast majority of the world's mutant population was depowered. The Phoebe and her sisters retained their powers, but they were three of only twenty-seven students to retain their powers. Fearing for the students' safety, Emma Frost ordered that the depowered students and staff leave the Institute. 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 Rev. William Stryker, killing forty-two of the former students on board.[16]

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. This entire exercise was met with disgust by the Three-In-One, who promptly informed Cyclops of Emma's actions.[17]

File:Phoebe Cuckoo (Earth-616) 04.jpg

Phoebe trying to embrace the Phoenix Force

Warsong

When an unstable fraction of the Phoenix Force sparked inside the girls, their Weapon Plus nanotech dormant inside their bones was activated. This nanotech briefly reanimated Sophie and Esme, who directed their sisters back to The World to activate Sublime's plan for the destruction of the mutant race.[18]

The Phoenix and Sublime both wrestled for control of the Cuckoos when the X-Men arrived. While Mindee appeared consigned to her fate as part of Sublime's weapon, Phoebe fought to embrace the Phoenix. Soon Phoebe was captured and integrated into Sublime's machine, but the Phoenix was able to possess Celeste. When Celeste was finally emerged into the machine, the Phoenix was divided between all the Cuckoos and trapped in their newly emerged second mutation, organic diamond hearts. This event finally activated the Thousand-In-One.[18]

Celeste continued to resist the Phoenix and Sublime's machine long enough for the X-Men to forcibly discount them. However, in a rage, Phoebe triggered a power surge causing an explosion. However, Celeste was able take full control of the Phoenix, destroyed her sisters, and trapped the Phoenix fragments inside the Three-In-One's flawless diamond hearts rendering them emotionless.[19]

File:Phoebe Cuckoo (Earth-616) 02.jpg

Phoebe and her sisters operating Cerebra

After returning to the Institute, the girls adopted a rebellious/mischievous streak. They helped Elixir telepathically gain a PhD level knowledge of science and biology from Beast's brain.[20] Along with the other students, they were pulled into Limbo, where they were rescued by Prodigy.[21] To repay his kindness, the Cuckoos restored all of the knowledge he had previously gain with the use of his powers despite his powers being deactivated.[22] Phoebe and her sister were briefly considered as potential candidate recruits for the Initiative.[23]

After the birth of the Mutant Messiah, the Stepford sisters were stationed in Cerebra to search for the baby and act as central communication for the various X-squads.[24]

Utopia

The Stepford Cuckoos rejoined the X-Men and the last of mutantkind in San Francisco. During the Skrull Invasion, they assisted in the evacuation of a San Francisco Hospital, and later offered remote support to Emma while was bringing down the Skrulls' psychic blockade.[25]

File:Stepford Cuckoos (Earth-616) 012.jpg

The Phoenix fragments abandoning the Three-In-One

Once they relocated to Utopia, the Stepford Cuckoos frequently manned Cerebra.[26][1] When Lobe Scalphunter with a group of Predator Xs to attack Utopia, the X-Men were forced to battle the mutant eating creatures. The Cuckoos served as telepathic communication for the team, but during the battle the Phoenix fragments that were contained inside their diamond hearts escape, and mysteriously returned to space, leaving the girls unconscious.[27] With the loss of the Phoenix, the girls fell into a depressive funk.[28]

When Zero began laying the foundations of mental control for his rebellion against Hope Summers, Phoebe was one of the few mutants unaffected. Due to this mental manipulation, Phoebe was put at odds with her sisters by defending Hope.[29][30]

File:Stepford Cuckoos (Earth-616) 017.jpg

The Three-In-One moving to the New Xavier School

Schism

After Cyclops and Wolverine decided to part ways, Phoebe wanted to return to Westchester while Mindee wanted to remain on Utopia. With the deciding vote left to Celeste, she opted to stay on Utopia, partly because of Quentin Quire's presence at the school.[31][32]

When the Phoenix Force returned to Earth searching for a new host leading to the war between the Avengers and the X-Men, the Stepford Cuckoos were among the younger X-Men detained in the Avengers Compound with the Avengers Academy.[33] Afterword they were reluctantly recruited to the new Jean Grey School where the manned Cerebra and witnessed the death of Professor X and the reemergence of mutantkind.[34][35][36]

The girls were very displeased with the new school.[37] When Cyclops and his X-Men came to the school looking for recruits to their mutant rebellion, the Stepford sisters and Angel volunteered to go.[38]

Cyclops' Revolution

At the New Xavier School she participated in the trip to Limbo, the encounter with the Blockbuster Sentinel, and the training in Tabula Rasa alongside her sisters. Like Irma she changed her hair to be an individual, only choosing to go red.

File:Phoebe Cuckoo (Earth-616) 03.jpg

Attributes

Power Grid[40]
:Category:Power Grid/Fighting Skills/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Energy Projection/Single Type: Long Range:Category:Power Grid/Durability/Superhuman:Category:Power Grid/Durability/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Speed/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Strength/Superhuman (800 lbs-25 ton):Category:Power Grid/Strength/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Intelligence/Learned

Powers

Phoebe's powers are identical to that of her sisters.

Abilities

Those of her her sisters.

Notes

  • Phoebe has demonstrated some aggressive behavior especially when the Phoenix came to possess the Stepford sisters. Phoebe desired to embrace the Phoenix and all its destructive power.[39]

Trivia

  • Phoebe has often acted as a de facto leader since the death of Sophie.
  • Phoebe is the only Cuckoo not to have a crush, boyfriend, or stated attraction to any other character.
  • Phoebe is the third of the Cuckoos to change her hair.

See Also

Links and References

References

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