Power inhibitors
Item: Power Inhibitor | |
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First Seen: | May 2003 |
Power inhibitors are technological devices designed to restrict the use of mutant powers. These devices are usually fragile, short-range, and extremely expensive.
Contents
Inhibitor technology
As far as any rare technology can be considered "basic", a basic power inhibitor works by transmitting a specific frequency of energy that affects enzyme transmission in human cells containing the x-gene. The reason for the prohibitive cost of power inhibitors lies in both the extremely sensitive scanning technology and energy emitters involved in their construction.
To suppress a mutant's power, the inhibitor first does a cellular scan to determine the presence of the x-gene. From there, a series of common templates is used to provide an initial baseline for the energy frequency needed to prevent the x-gene from expressing itself through the specific biological process used to activate mutant powers. This initial baseline scan is often accompanied by a brief power surge, and is often compared to an electric shock by mutants who have had an inhibitor used on them.
Most inhibitors have a short battery life, unless specifically designed for long-term use. Due to the nature of the power inhibition, there are also assorted side effects that are noted below.
Most inhibitors are designed to be worn, either as a bulky bracelet or a large collar. There are also designs for power inhibitors that are larger and intended for stationary use in hospital facilities and holding cells.
Use of inhibitors
Up until 2006, no government had authorized production or official use of power inhibitors, as their long-term effects are still being studied. Private organizations have been the only groups known to produce this technology for uses varying from medical purposes to illegal acts such as kidnapping and hostage-taking.
Eventually, however, the practicalites outweighed the costs and now power inhibitors on the open market, but like the scanners, they're huge, expensive machines that are primarily licenced to hospitals and prisons. Much of this technology was funded by Arcade, who has much better inhibitors and cheaper for his own purposes, but has no intention of putting them out to market.
Because of the energy fields used and the effect on the genetics of the inhibited mutant, long-term use of inhibitors has been known to cause serious side effects. Nausea is the most common, followed by symptoms such as headache, loss of energy, loss of appetite, and loss of mental acuity leading up to and including a semi-comatose state. Short-term physical effects can include irritation of the tissue around the inhibitor site, while the long-term effects of inhibitor use can lead to development of cancerous tumors.
Following M-Day, however, research into cheap and effective inhibitors has skyrocketed.
The Xavier Institute has used inhibitors, but sparingly, short term and only with no other option.
Similar technologies
"Natural" Inhibitors
There are also some mutants whose powers are such that they can remove the powers of others, deliberately or otherwise. For the most part there are no ill-effects of this type of powers supression, however it is not always used in a beneficial way.
There are also those whose power-supression abilities extend only to a certain type of power, such as the Exemplars, who proved to be able to prevent probability manipulators from using their abilities and who took it upon themselves to attempt to remove those powers permanently.
Power-supressing mutants
Phase 1
Phase 2
Plots
Phase 1
Something Wicked (psionic dampener placed on Manuel)
Remy's Eleven (psionic dampener in the casino)
With Malice Aforethought (powers-blocking technology in the Malice collar)
Lost In The Woods (psionic dampener worn by Sebastian Shaw)
Wendy (full powers blocker, worn on the wrist by Remy and Ororo)
Ahab (plot) (powers removed by Wipeout)
Voodoo Child (full powers blocker, worn on the wrist by Crystal Amaquelin and Angelo Espinosa)
The Magnificent Seven (psionic dampener used by John Lense)
X-Men Mission: Fifth Column (powers inhibitors used by Hungarian police taking members of the Preservers into custody)
Face The Blood (inhibitor used to help Yvette Petrovic undergo and recover from transplant surgery)
X-Men Mission: Jailbreak (it was established inhibitors were used for the transport of extremely dangerous prisoners)
Butterflies and Hurricanes (powers removed by Haven and transferred to Derek Barnes)
X-Men Mission: Who You Gonna Call? (the bulky 'home-made' inhibitor created by M-Squad)
The Trial of Jean Grey (the psionic inhibitor/suppressor jointly created by Paige Guthrie, Susan Storm - Phase 1 and Dr. Ira Wainsborough)