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Character Information
Name: Angelo Espinosa
Superhero Alias: Skin
Fandom: Generation X (Marvel comics)
Chronology: Just before the end of issue #66
Power: Angelo is a mutant, but he’s one of the ones that got the short end of the stick. He’s been “gifted” with six extra feet (approximately) of grey skin that sags down from his body so he looks like a cross between a melting candle, an elephant and ET when he’s not controlling it, depending on your artist. He can stretch, wrap, expand, compress, reform and all around manipulate his extra skin at will.
History:
Angelo Espinosa grew up in the barrio of Los Angeles, where the important things in life had their ranking: God first, family second, and your colours third. Despite being Catholic, and despite being a mama’s boy, Angelo still found himself falling overwhelmingly into the third category, and from his early teenage years he was part of a rough street gang with his girlfriend, Torres. His inclusion in this group wasn't due to any want on his part to commit crime, or even a need to fit in; instead, he was driven by his love for Torres, as well as the security that the gang offered to his mother. As Angelo's father was killed in a drive-by shooting when he was just a boy, his connection with a gang gave what remaining family he had left some protection when she braved the streets.
During what Angelo had initially assumed to simply be a joyride but swiftly turned dark when Torres's cousin Lupo drove them into a rival gang's territory and opened fire, a member of Angelo’s gang was killed, and in the stress of the situation his mutation manifested. Upon regaining consciousness and finding himself in a flaming car with a dead body beside him, Angelo feigned his own death, leaving behind his family at just fifteen years old. He was unable to bear the inevitable disowning he would receive if he were to reveal himself to his mother as a mutant.
His rude introduction into the world of the X-Men came when he was kidnapped along with several other young mutants by the Phalanx. After their rescue, he joined those that remained at Massachusetts Academy where he intended on learning how to use his abilities under the tutelage of Banshee and Emma Frost. As he made friends with his classmates and fellow mutants - the group becoming known as Generation X, consisting of himself, Chamber, Jubilee, Husk, Synch, M and Penance - his bitterness that he’d gained after becoming a mutant eventually lessened (though it never disappeared), and he became a laid-back young man that had, for the most part, accepted his lot in life.
Unfortunately, regardless of Angelo’s own acceptance of himself, the rest of the world continued to disagree. While he learned to control his six extra feet of skin and portray as much of a “normal” appearance as he'd ever get, he couldn’t change the fact that he was blatantly grey, and therefore blatantly mutant. When Adrienne Frost became the headmistress of Massachusetts Academy, the school was open to students of the elite - all human, and as such, Angelo and his team were forced to hide what they really were as best they could. Their new headmistress, however, had other plans, and with the influence of her mutant power she caused the students and their parents to riot at the school; she also rigged several bombs to go off, all for the purpose of hurting Emma, whom she was eventually killed by. Gen-X lost a member of their team that day, and Angelo lost a friend, as Synch had died while attempting to dismantle the last of the bombs.
Despite the tragic loss, life went on. Paige later came across a series of cases in which youths were arrested for misdemeanours but then never returned; feeling that they could make a difference, Gen-X looked into the situation, and in doing so discovered an establishment called the “House of Correction.” Funded by the American government and considered a penitentiary for children, it was best described as a torture chamber. Gen-X discovered this first-hand when they went to rescue its occupants, some of which had been turned into part-cyborg weapons, the human parts that remained of them being in advanced stages of deterioration.
With his powers being of no use in the situation, Angelo instead went to go fight the head of the facility, Warden Coffin. He was ported out just as the warden was beating the crap out of him.
Personality
Angelo is a down-to-earth kind of guy who has been well aware of the harshness of reality since he was very young. There is little that he takes for granted, and he accepts life the way it is and the trials that it brings, deals with it, and moves onward; angst is most certainly not his thing, and he’ll leave the brooding to emo teens and certain Brits. He’s neither an optimist nor a pessimist, though he might seem to lean towards the latter; really, he’d prefer the term “realist”. It is his opinion that his realism gives him license to be a smartass.
Rarely does he hold a grudge, and he is an excellent judge of character. Intuitive and much more perceptive than one might initially think, Angelo is surprisingly good at reading others and being able to read between the lines. He's proven himself to be able to tell things about others that they weren't fully able to admit to themselves, though granted he had known them for quite some time.
He doesn't take life more seriously than he needs to, which is definitely one of his better traits, particularly when one takes into account that he’s also quite a cynic. He knows the line between tension that needs to be broken and a truly serious atmosphere, and how to toe and when to cross that line. He portrays a fairly devil-may-care attitude, distinctly enjoys teasing his friends and those that he knows can take it, and is both a good winner and loser. If this is the only life that he has to live, he’s going to enjoy it as much as he can.
A man of secrets, Angelo doesn't easily open up to others; even if he may trust someone with his life, he may not do the same with the knowledge of his past. Those who know him well will rarely actually be told about what he's seen or done, but have to figure out what they can for themselves by the rather enigmatic comments he drops here and there. It’s not that he can’t trust others; it’s more that what is past is past, and people really don’t need to know.
Angelo is extremely loyal towards his friends and those that he considers family. He's willing to put his own health at risk to help others if he's capable of doing so, and doesn't back down in the face of danger; instead, he usually talks back to it, possibly laughs at it, and proceeds to inform it of just how thorough of a thrashing it's going to get in the next five minutes. Whether he's actually capable of doing this isn't always entirely sure, but he always puts on a confident face and voice and refuses to be intimidated. Despite this, Angelo is often not the first to go into battle. He’ll more than happily - or unhappily, rather - point out the flaws in a bad plan where others would simply go along with what they’re told; he’s nothing if not realistic. But when things actually do go down, he’ll do his damndest to make sure nobody gets hurt, whether he knows them or not.
Also? He's good with kids. And don't trust him when he says he doesn't like them, because he'll act all grouchy for a few minutes but then end up using his spare time to build them a tree house. Awwww.
Name: Angelo Espinosa
Superhero Alias: Skin
Fandom: Generation X (Marvel comics)
Chronology: Just before the end of issue #66
Power: Angelo is a mutant, but he’s one of the ones that got the short end of the stick. He’s been “gifted” with six extra feet (approximately) of grey skin that sags down from his body so he looks like a cross between a melting candle, an elephant and ET when he’s not controlling it, depending on your artist. He can stretch, wrap, expand, compress, reform and all around manipulate his extra skin at will.
History:
Angelo Espinosa grew up in the barrio of Los Angeles, where the important things in life had their ranking: God first, family second, and your colours third. Despite being Catholic, and despite being a mama’s boy, Angelo still found himself falling overwhelmingly into the third category, and from his early teenage years he was part of a rough street gang with his girlfriend, Torres. His inclusion in this group wasn't due to any want on his part to commit crime, or even a need to fit in; instead, he was driven by his love for Torres, as well as the security that the gang offered to his mother. As Angelo's father was killed in a drive-by shooting when he was just a boy, his connection with a gang gave what remaining family he had left some protection when she braved the streets.
During what Angelo had initially assumed to simply be a joyride but swiftly turned dark when Torres's cousin Lupo drove them into a rival gang's territory and opened fire, a member of Angelo’s gang was killed, and in the stress of the situation his mutation manifested. Upon regaining consciousness and finding himself in a flaming car with a dead body beside him, Angelo feigned his own death, leaving behind his family at just fifteen years old. He was unable to bear the inevitable disowning he would receive if he were to reveal himself to his mother as a mutant.
His rude introduction into the world of the X-Men came when he was kidnapped along with several other young mutants by the Phalanx. After their rescue, he joined those that remained at Massachusetts Academy where he intended on learning how to use his abilities under the tutelage of Banshee and Emma Frost. As he made friends with his classmates and fellow mutants - the group becoming known as Generation X, consisting of himself, Chamber, Jubilee, Husk, Synch, M and Penance - his bitterness that he’d gained after becoming a mutant eventually lessened (though it never disappeared), and he became a laid-back young man that had, for the most part, accepted his lot in life.
Unfortunately, regardless of Angelo’s own acceptance of himself, the rest of the world continued to disagree. While he learned to control his six extra feet of skin and portray as much of a “normal” appearance as he'd ever get, he couldn’t change the fact that he was blatantly grey, and therefore blatantly mutant. When Adrienne Frost became the headmistress of Massachusetts Academy, the school was open to students of the elite - all human, and as such, Angelo and his team were forced to hide what they really were as best they could. Their new headmistress, however, had other plans, and with the influence of her mutant power she caused the students and their parents to riot at the school; she also rigged several bombs to go off, all for the purpose of hurting Emma, whom she was eventually killed by. Gen-X lost a member of their team that day, and Angelo lost a friend, as Synch had died while attempting to dismantle the last of the bombs.
Despite the tragic loss, life went on. Paige later came across a series of cases in which youths were arrested for misdemeanours but then never returned; feeling that they could make a difference, Gen-X looked into the situation, and in doing so discovered an establishment called the “House of Correction.” Funded by the American government and considered a penitentiary for children, it was best described as a torture chamber. Gen-X discovered this first-hand when they went to rescue its occupants, some of which had been turned into part-cyborg weapons, the human parts that remained of them being in advanced stages of deterioration.
With his powers being of no use in the situation, Angelo instead went to go fight the head of the facility, Warden Coffin. He was ported out just as the warden was beating the crap out of him.
Personality
Angelo is a down-to-earth kind of guy who has been well aware of the harshness of reality since he was very young. There is little that he takes for granted, and he accepts life the way it is and the trials that it brings, deals with it, and moves onward; angst is most certainly not his thing, and he’ll leave the brooding to emo teens and certain Brits. He’s neither an optimist nor a pessimist, though he might seem to lean towards the latter; really, he’d prefer the term “realist”. It is his opinion that his realism gives him license to be a smartass.
Rarely does he hold a grudge, and he is an excellent judge of character. Intuitive and much more perceptive than one might initially think, Angelo is surprisingly good at reading others and being able to read between the lines. He's proven himself to be able to tell things about others that they weren't fully able to admit to themselves, though granted he had known them for quite some time.
He doesn't take life more seriously than he needs to, which is definitely one of his better traits, particularly when one takes into account that he’s also quite a cynic. He knows the line between tension that needs to be broken and a truly serious atmosphere, and how to toe and when to cross that line. He portrays a fairly devil-may-care attitude, distinctly enjoys teasing his friends and those that he knows can take it, and is both a good winner and loser. If this is the only life that he has to live, he’s going to enjoy it as much as he can.
A man of secrets, Angelo doesn't easily open up to others; even if he may trust someone with his life, he may not do the same with the knowledge of his past. Those who know him well will rarely actually be told about what he's seen or done, but have to figure out what they can for themselves by the rather enigmatic comments he drops here and there. It’s not that he can’t trust others; it’s more that what is past is past, and people really don’t need to know.
Angelo is extremely loyal towards his friends and those that he considers family. He's willing to put his own health at risk to help others if he's capable of doing so, and doesn't back down in the face of danger; instead, he usually talks back to it, possibly laughs at it, and proceeds to inform it of just how thorough of a thrashing it's going to get in the next five minutes. Whether he's actually capable of doing this isn't always entirely sure, but he always puts on a confident face and voice and refuses to be intimidated. Despite this, Angelo is often not the first to go into battle. He’ll more than happily - or unhappily, rather - point out the flaws in a bad plan where others would simply go along with what they’re told; he’s nothing if not realistic. But when things actually do go down, he’ll do his damndest to make sure nobody gets hurt, whether he knows them or not.
Also? He's good with kids. And don't trust him when he says he doesn't like them, because he'll act all grouchy for a few minutes but then end up using his spare time to build them a tree house. Awwww.