Who the Clix? is a series of articles featuring information on comic book characters that have been made into figures for the popular tabletop game Heroclix. These articles are meant to help Heroclix players learn more about the characters behind their favorite pieces.
Gah, origin stories. BORING! All you need to know is I’m: Mojo
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Appearances in Heroclix: X of Swords OP, X-Men the Animated Series: The Dark Phoenix Saga, Wolverine and the X-Men (They made me too thin in that one), Clobberin’ Time (EW, FLIGHT STAND?!)
First Appearance: Longshot #3 (Nov. 1985)
Team Affiliations: I put the I in team! Everyone works for me!
Powers/Abilities: Superhuman physical attributes, especially my meaty curves; Mystical Powers; I’m also a ratings wizard
Created by: Ann Nocenti – Art Adams – Mojo, I CREATED MYSELF
Centuries before the rise of Mojo, the inhabitants of his universe are slowly driven mad by television signals from the 616 universe. Somehow, these creatures were sensitive enough to receive and partially decode the transmissions with their minds. These beings evolve slowly, lacking the spines necessary to stand upright until a scientist name Arize develops exoskeletons for them. Many of the creatures adopt them, leading to an industrial revolution, while the powerful refuse to. These Spineless Ones form the upper crust of society and enslave everyone else to do their bidding, using mechanical platforms to move from place to place.
Arize is also forced to genetically engineer a race of slave beings which he bases on the demons of the Spineless Ones nightmares, human characters from the television shows the Spineless Ones have been drip fed for centuries. Arize also finds a way to plan a desire for rebellion into these slaves before being banished for refusing to create more powerful weapons for the Spineless Ones.
Mojo (ooooo, finally the good part!) comes along and is able to take over the slave trade as well as every other part of the governing body. Once he is firmly in control, he renames their home planet Mojoworld and their universe the Mojoverse (everyone likes those names, that’s why they’ve stuck). Mojo is able to rule over his kingdom with the use of Warwolves, his Major Domo and Minor Domo.
Longshot is one of Mojo’s greatest stunt performers and star of the Mojoverse. Longshot, however, is driven to rebel by the death of a friend (ungrateful snot) and almost succeeds before being brainwashed. He is able to escape to the 616 Earth and encounters Dr. Strange before Mojo’s forces come after them. Longshot is able to defeat Mojo with Dr. Strange’s help (more like a tactical retreat) and returns to Mojoworld with his new friend, the human stuntwoman Rita. Longshot is again defeated (told ya) and has his memories wiped before Rita is strapped to the bow of Mojo’s ship. In one future, Rita is eventually transformed into the bounty hunter Spiral and then sent back into the present to hunt Longshot (oooo, PLOT TWIST! Conflict! RATINGS!).
Mojo eventually becomes obsessed with Earth and captures Betsy Braddock, renaming her the Psylocke and giving her robotic eyes that broadcast everything she sees back to the Mojoverse. She is rescued by the New Mutants and fights alongside both them and the X-Men before joining the mutant team. Intrigued by this turn of events, Mojo eventually sends Longshot to Earth to join the X-Men. Mojo then arrives and turns them all into chi…X-BABIES! RATINGS BONANZA! The New Mutants return the X-Men to their appropriate ages (booooooo) and drive Mojo back to the Mojoverse.
The resulting ratings, and political power, leads Mojo to become more obsessed with the X-Men. Rachel Summers is temporarily pressed into his service though she soon escapes. Tragedy then strikes when the X-Men are seemingly killed and no more broadcasts arrives from Psylocke’s eyes. In desperation, clone X-Babies are formed which attract even more ratings and secure Mojo’s influence. They almost immediately rebel and escape with the present day version of human Rita with them.
Continuing in his search for greater ratings, Mojo kidnaps Jubilee and takes her to the end of the time and threatens to stop it. Jubilee agrees to serve him if he allows the universe to collapse in on itself and is brought to the present as an older version of herself named Abcissa. Abcissa then kidnaps her younger self and attempts the same offer. The younger Jubilee refuses, however, and Wolverine defeats Mojo with a missile, nullifying the existence of Abcissa.
Longshot eventually returns to Mojo World and overthrows Mojo (I don’t remember that) with the help of Mojo’s clone, Mojo II: The Sequel. The Sequel is as bad as the original and Longshot has to overthrow him as well, after which Mojo returns to power (oh yeah, that’s why I don’t remember it. It SUCKED).
Mojo then makes more X-Babies that immediately rebel (but they’re so CUTE) and flee to an area beyond his reach. He then creates the Mitey ‘Vengers to defeat the X-Babies, but instead the Mitey ‘Vengers rebel. Mojo then tries to create Age of Apocalypse X-Babies but they also rebel and go on a rampage through Mojoworld before beating defeated and brought back under control.
Mojo eventually makes a deal with the Exiles, he allows Longshot to help them on their missions and in return, Mojoverse gets the exclusive broadcast rights to all of the Exiles’ adventures. Not satisfied, Mojo appears on Earth with Nocturne and Juggernaut before transforming the X-Men into babies (X-BABIES!). Mojo is defeated and the X-Men are returned to their rightful ages while Mojo is turned over to the Government for detention (DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY).
Beast approaches Mojo for help in reversing the effects of M-Day but such a thing is beyond Mojo’s abilities. Which is murder on his ratings. Mojo ends up sending Wolverine and Spider-Man through “time shifts,” which are actually just virtual simulations made by Mojo to try and garner ever greater ratings.
After a particularly abysmal ratings period, Mojo is demoted to educational broadcasting (ewwwwww) and creates an agency named The Yellow Eye to spy on every mutant alive. This brings him into conflict with X-Force that end up defeating him and demoralizing him even more.
But you can’t keep a good Mojo down. Mojo forever!
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