Rusty Collins

Russell 'Rusty' Collins was a U.S. Navy recruit whose mutant power to generate and control fire first manifested uncontrollably, injuring a woman and forcing him to go on the run. X-Factor eventually took him in, helping him learn to manage his dangerous pyrokinetic abilities.

Rusty Collins burst onto the Marvel scene in the very first issue of X-Factor back in 1986, a Copper Age debut as auspicious as they come — created by Bob Layton and Jackson Guice right at the dawn of one of Marvel's most beloved mutant franchises. Over nearly four decades he's woven through the fabric of the X-universe, turning up across X-Factor, The New Mutants, and X-Terminators, sharing pages with heavy-hitters like Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Scott Summers alongside fellow young mutants Skids and Tabitha Smith. With 12 collector-recognized key issues to his name, Rusty is far more than a footnote — he's a genuine piece of Marvel's mutant tapestry, the kind of character that rewards the dedicated fan who digs deeper than the headliners.