Colossus (Marvel)

"Then comrades, let us end this battle - once and for all!"

- Colossus

Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin, code named Colossus, and often going by the Americanized name Peter Rasputin, is a character from Marvel's X-Men comics. He is of Russian heritage and is the brother of the magic-based heroine Magik as well as the villainous Mikhael Rasputin. Despite his mutant abilities of superhuman strength and organic-steel skin he is actually a kind and gentle figure who is a talented artist.

Background
The Rasputin family lived in Russia and of a long line of farmers in. By tradition Piotr, his sister, Illyana and his brother, Mikhail, all worked on their family farm through-out their childhood. Piotr came into his mutant powers during his teenage years like most mutants and his brother and sister were quickly revealed to be mutants as well. Once they came to accept, though not necessarily understand their abilities the three siblings simply decided to ply their powers to their work for the family farm.

One day Piotr was visited by Charles Xavier, who had sensed him with her telepathic enhancement device called Cerebro. Xavier wished for Piotr to join him and the other X-Men in a mission they were undertaking on that side of the world to defeat the living island known as Krakoa. Piotr, once properly educated on the origin of his nature wished to help out and joined the X-Men. After the mission the X-Men offered Piotr a place to stay at the Xavier Institute, wishing to train in a safe and supportive environment Piotr agreed and took up the code name The Unstoppable Colossus on the team.

Piotr found it hard to adjust to live in the US at first, language, local costumes and bad feelings resulting from the cold-war all contributed to Colossus' feelings. Eventually Colossus became more Americanized and gained keen control over his powers until he could actively control his ability to shift his outer-skin into that of a living metal. As part of the X-Men's original team Colossus was essential for fights that required strength and durability, gladly taking -up the teams brute-force factor.

Proteus
When the X-Men were called into fight the mad mutant Proteus, Professor Xavier's illegitimate son, the X-Men were forced into serious battle, for the mad Proteus wished to mentally enslave everyone. Proteus's warped view of the world and tragic background and being Xavier's son only made the situation one of the X-Men's grimiest foes, but with fates of so many people on the line and Proteus unwilling to back-down the X-Men were forced to use their full powers for the first time in their careers as super-heroes. Proteus had a weakness to being struck by metal and so Colossus's metal-bound strikes were considered essential in the fight and ultimately it would be Colossus that landed the killing blow on Proteus.

After the ordeal Colossus had a serious identity crisis, he had always used his powers to help people, never harm them. Killing someone, even a villain, with his powers lingered psychologically with Colossus and he took an extended sabbatical from the X-Men after the experience. Though Colossus would eventually rejoin the X-Men he swore that from that point on he would only use his powers to protect his team mates or harm non-living/thinking threats and never use his powers to take a life ever again.