The Marvel Universe is full of some unusual mutants with Excalibur’s Kylun, the human boombox!
First appearing in Excalibur #2, Kylun has a pretty bizarre origin. Originally a boy named Colin McKay, Kylun fled from some soldiers trying to capture him for a crime boss. While hiding, he came across a robot named Widget who played with the boy and later opened a portal to transport Colin to a parallel world named “Ee’rath.” There, Colin was taken in by the exiled royal household to be trained as a warrior and master swordsman. Colin thrived in this world, took on the name Kylun, and fell in love with the Princess Sat’neen.
As he aged, Kylun’s mutant genes caused him to take on a feline appearance with cat-like eyes, claws, sharp teeth, and fur. His unusual appearance, however, was not related to his powers – which gave him the ability to use his vocal cords to perfectly replicate any sound he heard. This meant Kylun could not only mimic anyone’s voice but also create the sounds of footsteps, smashing glass, running water, and various animal calls. Essentially, he was a living Foley machine, and while this initially seemed to have no real value on the battlefield, Kylun found creative ways to give himself an edge with his powers.
Once, while trapped in Earth’s Ice Age, Kylun found himself in battle against a time-displaced Iceman, whose mind had regressed to a primitive state. Although Iceman could use the frozen wasteland to hide from Kylun and attack him from a distance, Kylun got him to reveal himself by mimicking Iceman’s voice, confusing the young mutant enough for him to expose his position.
Aside from his powers, Kylun boasts years of experience with his enchanted swords and is skilled enough to battle entire armies. His talents made him Ee’rath’s greatest hero and he led the royal family’s army against their enemy Necrom, ultimately pursuing him back to his native dimension’s Earth where he discovered barely any time had ed. Sadly, his skills and talents could not save his beloved Sat’neen, who was killed by Necrom, although he eventually ed Excalibur to aid in their missions. Some of the poked fun at his unusual mutant gift, but they soon learned that Kylun’s greatest assets lay in his creativity and skill.
Like any good superhero, Kylun doesn’t rely solely on his powers to make himself effective, opting to use his body and mind as his main weapons in a fight. At the same time, he doesn’t completely discount his mutant gifts either and can often find unique ways of using them to distract or surprise his opponents on the battlefield. While "sound mimicry" might sound like a joke power, it’s a unique quirk that adds to (but does not define) Kylun’s character.
