Mojo: Bio, Origin & History

Real Name: Mojo

First Appearance: Longshot #3 (November, 1985)

Powers: Mojo possesses a superhuman level of strength. In addition, he’s a capable user of many mystical powers. Of these, the most notable is his ability to project energy blasts, inter-dimensionally teleport, and control the minds of his opponents. Mojo’s power set has a direct correlation with how he is perceived by his followers. That is, the more liked and worshipped he is, the more powerful he becomes.

Affiliation: Spineless Ones, Exile Legal Eagles, and Wildways

Did You Know? Mojo is responsible for giving Betsy Braddock the code name Psylocke and is one of the greatest X-Men enemies ever created.

A Little History

The origin of Mojo is pretty straightforward. 

First appearing in Longshot #3, Mojo is the creation of Anne Nocenti and Art Adams. 

Mojo belongs to a race of aliens known as the Spineless Ones. The species, while physically imposing, is unable to move without the aid of technology.  Mojo is what’s known as a slaver. As a slaver, he presides over his own universe known as the Mojoverse. The Mojoverse is a dimension within Marvel Comics that hosts gladiator-type events which are aired on live television. 

Many of the citizens and species of the Mojoverse were driven insane through exposure to energy waves. For reference, the waves didn’t originate from the Mojoverse. Instead, they came from a different space-time continuum. 

Unlike most other species, Mojo’s species didn’t evolve over time. This was primarily due to their inability to stand up. However, after multiple generations of the species, a scientist named Arize changed this with his development of a fitted exoskeleton. Once mobile, they began to evolve at an extremely rapid rate. As a result of evolution, the species grew and developed some of the greatest technologies their world had ever seen. 

In saying all of this, there were a few members of the species who opted to not used Arize’s technology. These members went on to call themselves the Spineless Ones. The Spineless Ones became the rulers of the dimension and forcefully made other species created by Arize their slaves. These slaves were tasked with doing anything the Spineless Ones could not do or refused to do. Unbeknownst to the Spineless Ones, Arize planted instructions inside the genetic makeup of the slaves. Once activated, the slaves would turn on the Slavers and assume the rule of Mojoverse.

The world is powered by the television industry. At its center stands Mojo, who, after assuming control of the television and slave trade, became its sole ruler. Once under his control, he named the world Mojoworld and the universe, Mojoverse. Over the course of time, Mojo gained many followers. The most loyal to his cause were 1) The Warewolves (dog-like beings with the ability to take over the remains of any they kill) and 2) a Chamberlain named Major Domo. Major Domo is responsible for keeping the financial records for Mojo and relaying his commands to those who serve him.

And that’s it. The origin of Mojo. 

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