Lila Cheney
Encyclopedia
Lila Cheney is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe
. She is a mutant
with the ability to teleport, but only over vast intergalactic distances.
and first introduced in New Mutants
Annual #1 (1984).
The character next appears in The New Mutants #25 (March 1985) - which features a brief description of her powers in the "Private Journal of Professor Xavier." The character subsequently appears in
Secret Wars II #1 (July 1985),
The New Mutants #29 (July 1985; featuring Dazzler as Lila's backup singer), #42 (August 1986; visit to Kentucky),
The Uncanny X-Men #214 (February 1987),
The New Mutants #55 (September 1987), #67-70 (September–December 1988),
The Uncanny X-Men #269-270 (October–November 1990), #273-277 (February–June 1991),
X-Men #5 (February 1992),
X-Men #10-11 (July–August 1992),
The Uncanny X-Men #294 (November 1992),
X-Force #19-22 (February–May 1993),
X-Factor #93 (August 1993),
X-Men #30 (March 1994),
X-Men: The Wedding Album #1 (March 1994),
X-Factor #110-111 (January–February 1995),
Gambit & the X-ternals #1-4 (March–June 1995),
The Amazing X-Men #4 (June 1995),
Cable #42 (April 1997),
Strong Guy Reborn #1 (September 1997),
Excalibur #125 (October 1998),
X-Men Unlimited #21 (December 1998),
X-Treme X-Men #24 (June 2003), #31-36 (November 2003-February 2004), #40 (March 2004), #42 (April 2004), #46 (June 2004),
X-Men #165 (February 2005),
X-Men: The 198 Files #1 (March 2006), and
I (heart) Marvel: My Mutant Heart #1 (April 2006).
The character also appears in the X-Treme X-Men
, "Intifada," graphic novel.
Lila Cheney received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89
#2, and in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #2 (2006).
, Cheney is mostly known on Earth
as a musician
, often performing with the band Cats Laughing
. (Another singer with mutant abilities, Dazzler
, has performed with Lila in the past.) Previously, Lila also used her powers for personal gain as a thief.
The New Mutants first met Lila when Sunspot
took them to one of her concerts, where they subsequently foiled an assassination attempt made upon her by an alien race called the Vrakanin. At that time, Lila had attempted to "steal" the Earth
and sell its population on the intergalactic black market as slaves. It was here the New Mutants encountered Lila's home away from home, a Dyson sphere
.
The New Mutants would become fans of Lila's, which ended up with them invited to an Earth-based party she was involved with. A jealous admirer of Lila would drug and then attempt to kill Sam Guthrie, also known as Cannonball
, one of the New Mutants, in the skies outside.
Lila's blossoming romantic relationship with Sam included a proposal for a music video with the New Mutants and plans to visits Sam's home to meet his mother and siblings. Sam was worried as Lila's far-reaching, dramatic lifestyle was very different from his family's Kentucky farm-life. They meet beforehand and things are soured when Sam accuses her of stealing the gift she had planned to give to Sam's mother. An argument ensues and the gift, a crystal statue, slightly cracks due to the negative emotions. Sam flies off. Before the two can later reconcile, Lila's plane crashes in the mountains. Nobody is killed but Lila had been knocked out, making her unable to rescue anyone. Sam and his brother Josh work with Dazzler, who was touring with Lila, to free everyone. Dazzler berates Sam, revealing Lila had spent a month mining the crystal and even longer shaping it. The slightest mistake could have demolished it. Later, the two reconcile on the front porch of the farm, Lila with the still-flawed gift and dressed in a simple black dress and blue jacket, because she recognizes that this image was what Sam desired.
The alien crime lord Spyder
once desired to own Lila. He would finance a group of unidentified beings. They did succeed in capturing Lila, but Spyder assists Lila in escaping. The beings were ruined and Lila's contract is sold to Spyder himself.
During one of Lila's concerts, attended by the New Mutants, Spyder's forces, called 'accountants' were sent to Earth. They succeeded in kidnapping Cheney. A being called Gosamyr
had stowed away with the 'accountants' and had stolen a ship from them. The New Mutants use the ship to pursue Cheney.
Over the course of battling Spyder's forces, it is learned that several entities of Gosamyr's race are about to undergo a transformation into very powerful, very destructive beings. Lila teleports them to the nearest sun, apparently losing her life in the process. She, of course, survives in an unrevealed manner, as it would not have been possible for her to go to the sun if she had not been there before.
Lila would encounter the X-Men many times. When the Shi'ar are invaded by the Skrull empire, she comes to Earth to fetch as many X-Men as she can. Later, she would assist former X-Men Longshot and former bandmate Dazzler in their fight against the inter-dimensional madman Mojo
. Unfortunately Mojo proves able to intercept Lila's teleport beams.
After a long period away from X-Men stories, Lila is shown in a X-Treme X-Men
arc performing in a nightclub in Valle Soleada when a young woman named Marie D'Acanto attempted to detonate a bomb, to avenge the deaths of her parents at the hands of mutants. Cannonball and Rogue
foiled this murder attempt and took Marie D'Acanto into their custody.
The mutant Guido Carosella
, aka Strong Guy, sometimes works as her bodyguard
, although he spends most of his time on various adventures with other mutants, and he is most recently once more a member of X-Factor
. Lila has popped in on him from time to time, occasionally taking him away from his current responsibilities against his will, or once, without his clothing. During one of these times, Lila helped Guido defuse a territory war that two alien races were having over a lifeless, barren planet. This was solved by destroying the planet.
Lila is seen in the pages of X-Treme X-Men
where she renews her relationship with Sam. Much later, she was one of the mutants who had retained their mutant abilities after M-Day
.
galaxy. But she can't teleport across distances shorter than several light-years. Hence, when she teleports from one spot on Earth to another, she actually teleports herself to her Dyson sphere
from her starting point, and then teleports herself from the sphere to the other point on Earth. Apparently, she must specifically know any location to which she teleports herself in order to do so.
storyline. She is in a romantic relationship with Gambit. She and the Starjammers
assist the team in their attempt to gain part of the M'Kraan Crystal
.
's novel First Flight (ISBN 0-441-23584-0). The novel is set in the near future, and the main character, Nicole Shea, is a big fan of Lila, who is mentioned to be amused that an astronaut has her music aboard her vessel.
The novel has nothing to do with X-Men continuity and the character had no special powers.
.
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
. She is a mutant
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
with the ability to teleport, but only over vast intergalactic distances.
Publication history
Lila Cheney was created by Chris ClaremontChris Claremont
Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
and first introduced in New Mutants
New Mutants
The New Mutants are a group of teenaged mutant superheroes-in-training published by Marvel Comics. They have been the main characters of three successive comic book series, which were spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise....
Annual #1 (1984).
The character next appears in The New Mutants #25 (March 1985) - which features a brief description of her powers in the "Private Journal of Professor Xavier." The character subsequently appears in
Secret Wars II #1 (July 1985),
The New Mutants #29 (July 1985; featuring Dazzler as Lila's backup singer), #42 (August 1986; visit to Kentucky),
The Uncanny X-Men #214 (February 1987),
The New Mutants #55 (September 1987), #67-70 (September–December 1988),
The Uncanny X-Men #269-270 (October–November 1990), #273-277 (February–June 1991),
X-Men #5 (February 1992),
X-Men #10-11 (July–August 1992),
The Uncanny X-Men #294 (November 1992),
X-Force #19-22 (February–May 1993),
X-Factor #93 (August 1993),
X-Men #30 (March 1994),
X-Men: The Wedding Album #1 (March 1994),
X-Factor #110-111 (January–February 1995),
Gambit & the X-ternals #1-4 (March–June 1995),
The Amazing X-Men #4 (June 1995),
Cable #42 (April 1997),
Strong Guy Reborn #1 (September 1997),
Excalibur #125 (October 1998),
X-Men Unlimited #21 (December 1998),
X-Treme X-Men #24 (June 2003), #31-36 (November 2003-February 2004), #40 (March 2004), #42 (April 2004), #46 (June 2004),
X-Men #165 (February 2005),
X-Men: The 198 Files #1 (March 2006), and
I (heart) Marvel: My Mutant Heart #1 (April 2006).
The character also appears in the X-Treme X-Men
X-Treme X-Men
X-Treme X-Men was a comic book published by Marvel Comics from 2001 through 2004. All 46 issues of the series were written by Chris Claremont. The first 24 issues were drawn by Salvador Larroca, and the final 22 issues were drawn by Igor Kordey....
, "Intifada," graphic novel.
Lila Cheney received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is an encyclopedic guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications...
#2, and in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #2 (2006).
Fictional character biography
Born in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Cheney is mostly known on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
as a musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, often performing with the band Cats Laughing
Cats Laughing
Cats Laughing is a now-defunct folk rock band based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The group consisted of Steven Brust, Emma Bull, Bill Colsher, Lojo Russo, and Adam Stemple. Both Brust and Bull are better known as writers of fantasy and science fiction...
. (Another singer with mutant abilities, Dazzler
Dazzler
Dazzler is a Marvel Comics superheroine, associated with the X-Men. She first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #130 ....
, has performed with Lila in the past.) Previously, Lila also used her powers for personal gain as a thief.
The New Mutants first met Lila when Sunspot
Sunspot (comics)
Sunspot is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero most commonly associated with X-Men-related groups the New Mutants and X-Force....
took them to one of her concerts, where they subsequently foiled an assassination attempt made upon her by an alien race called the Vrakanin. At that time, Lila had attempted to "steal" the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and sell its population on the intergalactic black market as slaves. It was here the New Mutants encountered Lila's home away from home, a Dyson sphere
Dyson sphere
A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure originally described by Freeman Dyson. Such a "sphere" would be a system of orbiting solar power satellites meant to completely encompass a star and capture most or all of its energy output...
.
The New Mutants would become fans of Lila's, which ended up with them invited to an Earth-based party she was involved with. A jealous admirer of Lila would drug and then attempt to kill Sam Guthrie, also known as Cannonball
Cannonball (comics)
Cannonball is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero, associated with the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod, Cannonball first appeared in Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants ....
, one of the New Mutants, in the skies outside.
Lila's blossoming romantic relationship with Sam included a proposal for a music video with the New Mutants and plans to visits Sam's home to meet his mother and siblings. Sam was worried as Lila's far-reaching, dramatic lifestyle was very different from his family's Kentucky farm-life. They meet beforehand and things are soured when Sam accuses her of stealing the gift she had planned to give to Sam's mother. An argument ensues and the gift, a crystal statue, slightly cracks due to the negative emotions. Sam flies off. Before the two can later reconcile, Lila's plane crashes in the mountains. Nobody is killed but Lila had been knocked out, making her unable to rescue anyone. Sam and his brother Josh work with Dazzler, who was touring with Lila, to free everyone. Dazzler berates Sam, revealing Lila had spent a month mining the crystal and even longer shaping it. The slightest mistake could have demolished it. Later, the two reconcile on the front porch of the farm, Lila with the still-flawed gift and dressed in a simple black dress and blue jacket, because she recognizes that this image was what Sam desired.
The alien crime lord Spyder
Spyder (comics)
Spyder is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe.-Fictional character biography:Spyder is the alien head of the Webb, an intergalactic trading organization...
once desired to own Lila. He would finance a group of unidentified beings. They did succeed in capturing Lila, but Spyder assists Lila in escaping. The beings were ruined and Lila's contract is sold to Spyder himself.
During one of Lila's concerts, attended by the New Mutants, Spyder's forces, called 'accountants' were sent to Earth. They succeeded in kidnapping Cheney. A being called Gosamyr
Gosamyr
Gosamyr is a fictional character, a superhero from Marvel Comics.-Publication history:Gosamyr first appeared in New Mutants #66 , and was created by Louise Simonson and Bret Blevins....
had stowed away with the 'accountants' and had stolen a ship from them. The New Mutants use the ship to pursue Cheney.
Over the course of battling Spyder's forces, it is learned that several entities of Gosamyr's race are about to undergo a transformation into very powerful, very destructive beings. Lila teleports them to the nearest sun, apparently losing her life in the process. She, of course, survives in an unrevealed manner, as it would not have been possible for her to go to the sun if she had not been there before.
Lila would encounter the X-Men many times. When the Shi'ar are invaded by the Skrull empire, she comes to Earth to fetch as many X-Men as she can. Later, she would assist former X-Men Longshot and former bandmate Dazzler in their fight against the inter-dimensional madman Mojo
Mojo (comics)
Mojo is a Marvel Comics supervillain, primarily an enemy of the X-Men and one of its members, Longshot. Mojo is one of the "Spineless Ones," an alien race that is immobile without advanced technology. He is a slaver who rules the Mojoverse, a dimension where all beings are addicted to his...
. Unfortunately Mojo proves able to intercept Lila's teleport beams.
After a long period away from X-Men stories, Lila is shown in a X-Treme X-Men
X-Treme X-Men
X-Treme X-Men was a comic book published by Marvel Comics from 2001 through 2004. All 46 issues of the series were written by Chris Claremont. The first 24 issues were drawn by Salvador Larroca, and the final 22 issues were drawn by Igor Kordey....
arc performing in a nightclub in Valle Soleada when a young woman named Marie D'Acanto attempted to detonate a bomb, to avenge the deaths of her parents at the hands of mutants. Cannonball and Rogue
Rogue (comics)
Rogue was first slated to appear in Ms. Marvel #25 , but the book's abrupt cancellation left her original introduction story unpublished for over a decade, before seeing print in Marvel Super Heroes #11 in 1992. Rogue's first published appearance was in Avengers Annual #10...
foiled this murder attempt and took Marie D'Acanto into their custody.
The mutant Guido Carosella
Strong Guy
Strong Guy is the alias of Guido Carosella, a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz in New Mutants volume 1 #29 , and was reinvented as Strong Guy by Peter David and Larry Stroman in X-Factor #71 .-Early life:Born in Rhinebeck,...
, aka Strong Guy, sometimes works as her bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
, although he spends most of his time on various adventures with other mutants, and he is most recently once more a member of X-Factor
X-Factor (comics)
X-Factor is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is a spin-off of the popular X-Men franchise, featuring characters from X-Men stories. The series has been relaunched several times with different team rosters, most recently as X-Factor Investigations.X-Factor launched in...
. Lila has popped in on him from time to time, occasionally taking him away from his current responsibilities against his will, or once, without his clothing. During one of these times, Lila helped Guido defuse a territory war that two alien races were having over a lifeless, barren planet. This was solved by destroying the planet.
Lila is seen in the pages of X-Treme X-Men
X-Treme X-Men
X-Treme X-Men was a comic book published by Marvel Comics from 2001 through 2004. All 46 issues of the series were written by Chris Claremont. The first 24 issues were drawn by Salvador Larroca, and the final 22 issues were drawn by Igor Kordey....
where she renews her relationship with Sam. Much later, she was one of the mutants who had retained their mutant abilities after M-Day
Decimation (comics)
Decimation is the late 2005 Marvel Comics storyline spinning off from the House of M limited series. It focuses on the ramifications of the Scarlet Witch stripping nearly all of the mutant population of their powers, thereby reducing a society of millions to one of scant hundreds.This event, which...
.
Powers and abilities
She has the ability to generate a teleportational field about herself with which can transport herself and other people/objects across interstellar distances, even across the Milky WayMilky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
galaxy. But she can't teleport across distances shorter than several light-years. Hence, when she teleports from one spot on Earth to another, she actually teleports herself to her Dyson sphere
Dyson sphere
A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure originally described by Freeman Dyson. Such a "sphere" would be a system of orbiting solar power satellites meant to completely encompass a star and capture most or all of its energy output...
from her starting point, and then teleports herself from the sphere to the other point on Earth. Apparently, she must specifically know any location to which she teleports herself in order to do so.
Age of Apocalypse
Lila appeared in Gambit and the X-ternals during the Age of ApocalypseAge of Apocalypse
"Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 - 1996 comic book crossover storyline published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The Age of Apocalypse briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616, although it was later retconned as having occurred in the alternate universe of Earth-295, it had...
storyline. She is in a romantic relationship with Gambit. She and the Starjammers
Starjammers
The Starjammers are a fictional team of space pirates from the pages of the X-Men comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Starjammers first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #107 and were created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum...
assist the team in their attempt to gain part of the M'Kraan Crystal
M'Kraan Crystal
In the fictional Marvel Comics Universe, the M'Kraan Crystal is a gigantic crystalline artifact that lies at the nexus of all realities. The Crystal contains a negative galaxy, a source of near limitless power, which pulls and traps all matter inside. The Crystal plays a prominent role in several...
.
First Flight
An alternate version of Lila is mentioned in Chris ClaremontChris Claremont
Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
's novel First Flight (ISBN 0-441-23584-0). The novel is set in the near future, and the main character, Nicole Shea, is a big fan of Lila, who is mentioned to be amused that an astronaut has her music aboard her vessel.
The novel has nothing to do with X-Men continuity and the character had no special powers.
X-Men: The End
In this alternate future, Lila has multiple children with Cannonball. They stay together for decades and are allies of President Kitty PrydeKitty Pryde
Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129 and was created by writer-artist John Byrne....
.