The one of the X-Men’s heaviest hitters. But like many of his fellow heroes, his portrayal in the Ultimate universe is radically different than fans are used to.
With his organic steel skin and incredible strength, Colossus is the resident strongman of Marvel’s Merry Mutants. He's recently caught the general public's eye in the Deadpool movies, but comic fans have known the character for decades. And in the continuity of Earth-1610, Colossus’ strength comes at a terrible price, one that very nearly tore the Ultimate X-Men apart.
Ultimate X-Men #94 by Aron Coleite and Mark Brooks retcons what fans thought they knew about this version of Piotr Rasputin. After Alpha Flight kidnaps Colossus’ boyfriend Northstar and wipes the floor with the X-Men in the process, the team discovers that their foes were dosed with a power-enhancing narcotic called Banshee. When this discovery leaves Piotr noticeably shaken, Jean Grey covertly uses her telepathy to discover the truth – Colossus has been secretly addicted to Banshee for years. And when Piotr confronts Marvel Girl in front of the entire team for her invasion of privacy, his suggestion that they all enhance themselves with Banshee to save Northstar splits the group right down the middle.
While addiction is a serious departure from Colossus’ mainstream counterpart, this retcon fundamentally changes Rasputin’s powers in a way that makes his Banshee dependency all the more believable. In the Ultimate continuity, Colossus’ mutation simply provides him with steel skin and not the strength that fans expect to come with it. Without a boost from Banshee, Piotr becomes so heavy that he collapses under the weight of his own body when the drug begins to wear of in Ultimate X-Men #96 by Coleite, Brandon Peterson, and Clay Mann.
Although the X-Men eventually settle their differences, Piotr’s addiction and desperation to save the man he loved nearly destroyed everything the X-Men built up until that point. While this retcon was later retconned again to explain that his prolonged use of Banshee forced his body to naturally develop superstrength, the whole ordeal still drastically altered this Colossus from the one that readers – and his teammates – had come to know. Not only that, but it forced him to keep a secret for years even from the people who loved him the most. And even for a character as strong as him, that’s an incredible burden to bear.
While the Ultimate line of books made controversial changes to plenty of Marvel Comics characters, Piotr’s change nearly brought about the end of his family. Hopefully, the mainstream version of Colossus won’t put his X-Men through anything too similar.
