Strong Guy

“	No, Wise Guy's my genius brother. I'm Strong Guy.	„
	~ Strong Guy

Strong Guy is the alias of Guido Carosella, Born in Rhinebeck, New York to working-class Italian parents, Guido Carosella gained a fortune in a settlement when his parents were killed by falling space debris. Skinny and shy, Guido's mutant powers were triggered in childhood when an incident with schoolyard bullies and being hit by a bus ended in his body becoming disproportionately large and over-muscled, separating the already withdrawn boy even further from his peers. He had the love and support of his aunt and uncle, who took him in after his parents' deaths. Guido coped with his emotional and physical pain caused by his mutation, by developing an outgoing "public face", rarely letting even those close to him see him in any discomfort.

History

According to his own admission, Guido was a nerdy-looking kid in his early life, bullied by other children. He discovered his mutant ability at a young age when he was struck by a school bus, and no one bullied him again.

Guido's parents were frugal, saving all their money for the future and insulting their child because of his size and his spendthrift and hedonistic attitude. A falling satellite crushed them, however, Guido settled out of court with the owners of the satellite for a vast amount of money. For some time, he lived a life of luxury until his finances were wiped out by bad investments. To make ends meet, he took a job as a bodyguard for the intergalactic thief and rock star, Lila Cheney.

When Lila vanished into outer space for some time, Guido was minding her house when the Dazzler, a member of the X-Men, washed up on shore nearby, a victim of the mystical portal known as the Siege Perilous. Guido helped Dazzler regain her health and memories as well as her singing and movie career. However, Dazzler's career soon crashed due to the public’s growing anti-mutant sentiment, and both Guido and Dazzler were contacted by allies of the X-Men, since the team was at the time thought to be disbanded, its members dead. In reality, however, the X-Men's allies were being held in thrall by the Shadow King on Muir Island, and Guido became one of the Shadow King's unwitting slaves. The X-Men eventually returned to defeat the Shadow King and rescue his subjects, including Guido.

Guido was invited to join a new government-sponsored mutant team which took the name X-Factor He dubbed himself "Strong Guy" during a press conference and soon became a media darling. As Strong Guy, Guido served in X-Factor for many months, until one battle against aliens who were after Lila Cheney. He threw his body on a bomb, absorbing the blast at the cost of overexerting his mutant powers. His body grew to such a point that he suffered a massive heart attack. Rendered comatose, Strong Guy spent several months in recuperation. Eventually, he recovered, but X-Factor at that time had dissolved its government ties, and Guido retired from full-time crime-fighting.

Recovering, Carosella returned to Cheney's employ for a time before becoming involved with the underground mutant fighting league the Arena. Liberated by Storm of the X-Men, Carosella subsequently joined the X-Factor Investigations agency in Mutant Town run by his former X-Factor teammate and best friend Jamie Madrox.

The ever-jovial Guido Carosella uses humor to cover up the constant pain he's suffered from the moment his mutant nature manifested and deformed his body. Despite his less-than-serious nature, Carosella is a formidable fighter, having held his own against the likes of the Blob and the Hulk.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Kinetic Energy Absorption: Strong Guy has the ability to absorb kinetic energy and use it to enhance his physical strength to above normal limits. However, he cannot store the energy he absorbs for very long; as a rule, he must expend it within 90 seconds to prevent the enormous amounts of energy from permanently distorting his body. He is in constant pain from the existing distortion, although he hides it well, traditionally playing the role of team comedian to distract himself. An unusual percentage of his body mass is stored in the upper half of his body, causing him to appear top-heavy, imposing, and somewhat comical.

• Superhuman Strength: Guido possesses superhuman strength that varies depending upon the amount of kinetic energy his body absorbs. He possesses a base level of strength sufficient to lift approximately 50 tons. However, he can channel kinetic energy he absorbs to increase his strength. While the maximum amount of weight he can lift after absorbing as much energy as he can safely isn't known, it doesn't greatly exceed 100 tons.
• Superhuman Stamina: Strong Guy's musculature produces considerably fewer fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human. He can exert himself physically at peak capacity for about 24 hours before fatigue begins to impair him.
• Superhuman Durability: The tissues of Strong Guy's body are considerably harder and more resistant to physical injury than those of an ordinary human. Strong Guy is capable of withstanding tremendous impact forces, exposure to temperature and pressure extremes falls from great heights, high caliber bullets, and powerful energy blasts without sustaining injury. Under most circumstances, he could harmlessly absorb the energy produced by these attacks and increase his physical strength. However, he can still be injured as there is only so much energy he can safely absorb and he can be hurt if the force is powerful enough.