Oswald Geraldo


 

Wiz

 

Real Name: Oswald Geraldo


Alias: Wiz, Ozzie, Senor Baldy


Identity: Public


Alignment: Good


Affiliation: X-Patriots, Fed-X, formerly Agency X; Senate select committee on Mutant Affairs


Relatives: Theresa Cordova (wife, deceased)


Base of Operation:  X-Lair, Boston, Massachusetts; formerly Twin Sister Peaks Missile Base, Colorado; New Bedford, Massachusetts

 

Characteristics


Gender: Male


Height: 5’3”


Weight: 148 lbs


Eyes: Hazel


Hair: Bald, formerly Sandy Blonde

 

Status


Citizenship: American


Martial Status: Widowed


Occupation: Team Manager


Education: MS, Middle Eastern Studies, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida

 

Origin


Origin: As a young man Oswald found he could read minds. A follower on Xavier’s coexistence philosophy Geraldo had been attempting to make a new team of superheroes to prove that Super humans and mutants were not a threat to mankind but could help protect it from the worse elements out there. After years of red tape he had finally gotten the go-ahead and created Fed-X.


Place of Birth: Miami, Florida

 

 

1. History

1.1  Growing Pains

1.2  Passing

1.3  A Dream

1.4  Expanding

1.5  Discovery

1.6  Civil War

2. Powers and Abilities

2.1 Powers

2.2 Abilities

2.3 Strength level

2.4  Weaknesses

3. Paraphernalia

4. Notes

 

 

History


Growing Pains

Oswald was a sensitive child growing up in Florida during the baby boom era. Frequent headaches would keep him indoors where he read for hours each day. It was during one of these attacks at school that he began to hear the thoughts of everyone close around him. Oswald thought he was going insane but quickly learned the limits of this new ability. He unfortunately couldn’t shut it off he knew what his teachers were thinking before they asked a question and large groups of people would end up causing him agony so he became even further withdrawn socially.

 

He hid his mutant powers well into college as he slowly learned how to screen out the mental noise of people around so he didn’t hear them all. While tempted to use his gift to further his academic career and personal life, Oswald knew his parents wouldn’t approve if they’d known. His already high natural intelligence earned him the nickname Wiz.

 

After finishing his undergraduate work he managed to be assigned to an Israeli program for his graduate work on Middle Eastern Studies. Working with the government he would analyze Palestinian behavior and media for any sign of potential hostilities. It was here he met Theresa Cordova, who relocated to Israel as a child after WWII. The shy Oswald would be coxed out of his isolation by her and he finally opened up to someone for the first time about his mental powers. Surprised but understanding she saw them as a gift from God and encouraged him to expand and strength the powers he’d been hiding for so long. Their friendship kindled into love and the two were married not long after.

 

Passing

Both returned to the States so he could finish his graduate studies. He found government work as an instructor to the CIA teaching them Arabic and the various customs of societies so as to blend in better. Theresa meanwhile had resuming nursing both as means to help the injured and to have something to focus on while her husband was away from home for weeks at a time. Finding out how unhappy she was with his constant traveling leaving her alone, Oswald invited her to spend time with him instead. She agreed and began the drive up the coast to him but was hit by a drunk driver just on the fringe of his telepathic range. Informing the police they did nothing as he had no idea where she was at the time of the crash. Using his powers it took him hours to find her and by then it was too late. After asking him not to hate god for doing this she died in his arms.

 

For a period of time his mental powers seemed to fade away as he was overcome by guilt and grief. They would be jump started again by a chance meeting with Prof. Charles Xavier to discuss the growing numbers of mutants in the US. With his powers suddenly working again in a large packed conference room he nearly shorted his brain out until Xavier helped him re-establish his control over his power. This would turn into long running friendship between the two psychics. He later turned down Charles’ offer to help him set up a school to teach young mutants feeling he had too much to learn himself still.

 

A Dream

Working inside the government, Oswald became a supporter of mutant rights and helped lobby to defeat or rescind the Mutant Registration Act each time it was brought to the senate floor. He kept his own mutant status a secret, feeling he could do more good for his kind that way. A feeling Xavier also shared. He’d also thought Xavier’s mutant team, the X-men, were too mysterious and aloof from authorities. This made them and mutants in general seem like a danger rather then allies to humans. He had an idea of making a mutant team that worked closer with the government and spread the message of peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans but political climate would be against such a team for years. Only after the failure of Freedom Force and X-Force did he see the opening he had longed for.

 

Using Valerie Cooper and his own extensive connections he got a meeting with the Select Committee on Mutant Affairs and sold them on the idea of such a team as necessary to show the US government didn’t have a mutant problem in their own ranks. Recent problems with the Avengers and their prolonged disappearance after Onslaught’s defeat left enough doubt to green light the project and have Agency X oversee the operations. Secretly following several mutants recently he quickly made the initial rooster and began to recruit his hand picked members. Agency X added Flare as team leader over his objections as they insisted some experience was required and he was the only one willing to sign off on an unseen and untried team of rookie superheroes.

 

He quickly hit a snag as the mutants not only had no experience as heroes but were largely untrained in their own powers. Feeling inadequate to train them himself and with all other options refusing to even consider it he called in a favor to his long time colleague Xavier and arranged for him to conduct their training. Appointed Team Supervisor and government liaison He kept tabs on their progress under Xavier and rescued the quasi-bestial Quabi Arêtes and helped him calm his feral rages with Xavier. After six months he gathered his team. Before he left Xavier told him to have more confidence in his abilities both as a telepath and a leader.

 

Expanding

During those first months he was their councilor, wet nurse and therapist as he continued their training while trying to ease the various emotional scars they each carried. None would be as dramatic as the work he did with Alora Gannon. Like her sister her abusive past had put blocks on her powers but he found a long buried second personality that was much more powerful. Fearing her lack of control he reinforced these blocks while he tried to release the rage and guilt that had formed this subconscious persona. Little to he realize he was paving the way for Inferno to appear later when Alora was kidnapped and altered by the Nihilist madman, Cataclysm. She scornfully flayed his own mind open and was repulsed by the memory of his wife’s death. After a second battle with her team mates she returned to him in a deep coma and the team seemed to see him in new eyes for withholding that information.

 

He worked with Alora for months to master her now growing abilities and found she had quickly outgrown him as a teacher. The team itself seemed to outgrown it need for him as most of the original members left on leaves of absence after Xerox suddenly switched sides to join with Magneto. The addition of new members helped him shake it off as the new Team Gold was left to handle new challenges in subterranean monsters and mystic sorcerers. The return of Xerox and the original team boosted his spirits as he now had two teams to look after. It also doubled his concern as they were becoming his family as well.

 

The events on Genosha made him resolve to do more to help mutant kind including letting people know he was a mutant as well. He took up lecturing on top of managing both teams in a attempt to make a difference his own way. The Government didn’t see it in the same light and when New regulations were passed down on the mutant members of Fed –X, they used his protest to dismiss him and put Rem Quesada who would later turn out to be the terrorist, Masquerade, in his place. Displaced he took up lecturing again and trying to get mutant rights recognized by the government. When Rem’s true identity was revealed months later He almost didn’t return to the team but Alora personally pleaded with him to return as Team Supervisor. Somewhat reluctantly he took his old job back and quickly decided he made the right decision after all.

 

While he had coordinated the teams flawlessly to defeat Cataclysm’s attempt at global genocide he was surprising easily to knock out when Cataclysm and former ally Jump appeared inside the X-lair. While the team had saved him and themselves the base was a total loss and for a second time he was relieved of his duties as the team was disbanded.

 

Discovery

Seemingly without a purpose Wiz drifted from assignment to assignment unable to make the government change it mind. He fell into a depression over his lack of progress and letting his dream get taken apart. Strange thoughts began to circulate in his head of revenge and violence. Confronting them he found Fed- X’s old enemy Trance had taken advantage of his turmoil and was trying to destroy his life. It seemed he was losing until he removed his own blocks he’d subconsciously put in years ago after the death of his wife and blasted the invader with a massive psionic burst. Trance faded his mind and Wiz found him on the floor in a catatonic trance.

 

Wiz began to practice his own powers using the lessons he taught Alora. He would later give the reformed Fed-X his approval but decided to stay with the government to give mutants a voice and his former teammates a conduit to federal databases. After M-day he led a push to have mutants protected although not in the way he planned when piloted Sentinel’s became guards to the de-powered mutants now staying at Xavier’s School for Higher Learning. Despite arguments against it, ONE would remain stationed around the mansion for months.

 

Feeling blocked off on that issue he changed gears and tried to help his former teammates who had lost their powers. He introduced Matrix to Forge and they worked out new battle suits and equipment to replace some of the mutants lost abilities. He then used his contacts to find the newly formed X-Patriots a home base in Britain to hopefully help the mutant situation there as well.

 

Civil War

Despite working with the government for most of his adult life, he had been vehemently against registration in any form as a basic breech in civil liberties. He lobbied hard against it and took Tony Stark changing sides very personal. He saw they were losing ground well before the final vote and warned his former team mates the storm was coming as the bill passed days later. It was with a heavy heart he found Xerox’s name on a captured list. Discreetly contacting the X-Patriots and Fed-X he set up his rescue before being discovered and arrested himself. Released during the amnesty period granted by Director of SHIELD, Tony Stark he rejoined the now reduced Fed-X as part of the Initiative program.

 

Powers and Abilities


Powers

Oswald is a Beta level mutant with several potent psionic powers.

 

Telepathy: Able to read thoughts and project his own for up to a range of 25 miles. With the Headband it extends itself to over 200 miles.

  • Mind Control: able to control the minds of others. The range and power is dependant on the number of people so he can totally control one person close by or partially influence a large group.
  • Psionic Shield: able to erect a mental barrier for the protection of his or others minds.
  • Mental Detection: can sense the presence of another superhuman mutant within a small but as yet undefined radius of himself by perceiving the distinctive mental radiations emitted by such a being.
  • Psionic Blasts: can project psionic force bolts which have no physical effects but which can affect a victim's mind so as to cause the victim pain or unconsciousness and can even kill an adversary.

 

Telekinesis: able to levitate and manipulate objects using his mind alone. Prolonged use of this power leaves him weakened.

 

Abilities

Oswald has a high intelligence and extensive knowledge of Middle-Eastern laws, customs, and society. He’s a polyglot reading, writing, and speaking Spanish, English, Arabic, and Hebrew.

 

Strength Level

Oswald possesses the strength of a man his age, height, and build, who engages in regular moderate exercise. Using his telekinetic powers he effectively doubles his strength lifting up to about 300lbs.

 

Weaknesses

Wiz is highly vulnerable to psychic shock and overload. Without his headband his power and range is somewhat diminished.

 

Paraphernalia


Equipment: Cybernetic headband that amplifies his telepathic and telekinetic powers.

Transportation: X-cruiser Mk III

Weapons: None Known

 

 

Notes

  • Oswald was once married but his wife died in a car accident.
  • Oswald once had several subconscious blocks limiting his actual powers stemming from the loss of his wife.
  • He worked for a time in Israel with Erik Lesherr and Charles Xavier.