One of the Marvel Universe’s coolest superhero headquarters is the X-Men’s X-Mansion. Publicly known as Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, the school actually trains both new and seasoned mutants in the uses of their powers and prepares them to protect a world that fears and hates them. While originally limited to mutants, the school has opened its doors to a more diverse population, and even the non-mutant Spider-Man has guest lectured at some of the X-Men’s schools.
What is not so commonly known is that another version of Spider-Man, Miguel O’Hara, actually attended Xavier’s Westchester School as a child. The story took place in Marvel’s alternate 2099 future and revealed that the X-Mansion went through some major changes in one timeline.
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Readers were first introduced to Miguel O’Hara as an adult in the original Spider-Man 2099 comic book. A geneticist for the powerful Alchemax corporation, Miguel was groomed from childhood to be one of his company’s best and brightest employees. When he was forced to perform unethical and lethal genetic experiments on humans, however, Miguel tried to quit Alchemax and was tricked into consuming a highly addictive drug that would force him to keep working for the company (as it was the drug’s only legal supplier).
To shake his addiction, Miguel performed a genetic experiment on himself – and accidentally developed spider-powers that turned him into the new Spider-Man of the year 2099. At first, horrified by his condition, Miguel later decided to use his abilities to secretly fight against the many social injustices perpetuated by Alchemax. Ironically, Miguel continued to work for Alchemax and tried to reform the company from the inside.
Miguel’s twisted relationship with Alchemax was explored further in a series of back-up features entitled “Young Miguel O’Hara.” Taking place during Miguel’s early teens, the storyline began with Miguel learning that his high IQ tests had earned him placement in Alchemax’s special program for the gifted. This also granted Miguel’s family a wealthier lifestyle (funded by Alchemax) which made his abusive father George O’Hara very happy. Miguel’s mother Conchata, on the other hand, was convinced Alchemax would turn her son into a monster.
Miguel (and readers) got a surprise when they learned that his new school was Charles Xavier’s old mansion. According to Tyler Stone, the head of Alchemax, Xavier’s school had been destroyed multiple times during the last century, “but it kept rising up, like a phoenix.” Now another one of Alchemax’s many properties, the school was renamed “The Alchemax School for Gifted Youngsters” and used to train young geniuses to be future Alchemax employees.
Although the school appeared to have been rebuilt from the ground up, it turned out that Alchemax had managed to discover and salvage some of the X-Men’s old technology — including the solid light holograms of their Danger Room. Miguel discovered this when he sarcastically asked for a pony, knowing that horses were all but extinct in 2099 following an epidemic. However, the headmistress Angela Daskalakis later programmed a holographic simulation of a horse for Miguel to ride in the refurbished Danger Room. (Miguel promptly informed her that he was scared of horses and ran out of the room).
Whether or not Alchemax’s version of the Danger Room could create the kind of high-tech threats the X-Men faced remained unknown, and Miguel himself never learned about the school’s original occupants. Indeed, aside from its advanced holographic technology (which was also used by the instructors to teach remotely) the school seemed devoid of any mention of the X-Men. At one point, Miguel humorously wore a Star Trek-style uniform in the dormitories as if he was a cadet at Starfleet Academy, showing how completely clueless he was about what school he was really attending.
But while the school was apparently finally free of Sentinel attacks and annual explosions, Miguel soon found the it still offered plenty of dangers. On his first day, he became the target of Kron Stone, a sadistic bully (and the son of Tyler Stone). Kron harassed Miguel mercilessly, dumping water on his head and beating up his little brother on visiting day. At one point, he actually tried to drown Miguel in the school swimming pool.
Not all of Miguel’s experiences were negative. He met his first girlfriend (and future wife) Xina Kwan at the school. He also gained some genuine respect for Headmistress Daskalakis, who was one of the few people not afraid of Kron’s powerful connections (she even went so far as to break Kron’s nose after she learned he had been bullying Miguel). And he received a first-rate education in genetics and science, although this was all done just to make him a more valuable future employee for Alchemax.
Miguel’s greatest lesson, however, was one he learned outside of his classes. After mercilessly picking on Miguel for weeks, Kron Stone turned his attention to Xina and assaulted her in the girls’ showers. Miguel heard her screams and came to her defense — only for Kron to nearly stab him to death. The experience terrified Miguel so much that he almost refused to testify against Kron during his hearing, but he eventually discovered the courage to stand up to his bully and trick Kron into confessing to his crimes in front of the school board, resulting in Kron’s expulsion. While difficult, the experience helped develop Miguel’s innate heroism, which he would later express as Spider-Man.
Notably, while mutants did still exist in 2099, Miguel never encountered any at the Alchemax School for Gifted Youngsters (or was unaware of any mutants he met). The 2099 version of the X-Men turned out to be a ragtag team of underground dissidents who moved secretly from place to place and wouldn’t have much use for the old X-Mansion. Ironically, then, Spider-Man may have been the former mutant school’s only superhero graduate!
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