Mutant X Characters: Jesse Kilmartin
Jesse Kilmartin -- Played by Forbes March
Links: The Best of Jesse and Lexa Fan Fiction | The Best of Jesse Angst Fics | Cairdean Slash Fiction | Castle's Keep | Hard Current Brennan/Jesse Fanlist | Jesse/Emma Forever | Journey of the Heart Slash Fiction | Lexa & Jesse | Lexa & Jesse Vefblog | Mutant X Slash Archive | Sinergy Jesse | Soft Light Jesse/Lexa Fanlist | Smoke on Water | Stained Glass | Synergetic Dynamo | Till Death Do Us Part
First Mutant's bio of Jesse Kilmartin
Jesse Kilmartin is the son of manipulative covert government operative Noah Kilmartin. Both his wealthy father and his grandfather William had won medals for their military service, but Jesse rarely saw his grandfather because of animosity between the two men. Though Noah’s work habitually kept him far from home, Jesse remembered occasional family outings to the pizza parlor Giorgio's and yearly father-son martial arts competitions until his parent’s divorce. Jesse was a good student in school, though he often froze during exam time. He first discovered his molecular abilities in high school, while engaged to Alisha Keary, the favored daughter of the upscale industrialist family with whom he used to spend summers. Fleeing from a life in which he felt could not fit, Jesse joined Mutant X to discover a new family and sense of purpose. As an intangible/impervious molecular, Jesse can alter his body’s density to intangible enough to walk through walls (phasing) or dense enough to stop bullets and cars (massing). By the end of the third season, Jesse can also phase and mass other objects and people by touch. Jesse can only remain massed for as long as he can hold his breath, and if he remains phased for more than 30 seconds, he may dissipate into thin air.
Jesse-centric episodes: Russian Roulette (103), In the Presence of Mine Enemies (108), Blood Ties (113), Power Play (202), Sign from Above (208), Hard Time (214), Wasteland (308), No Exit (309), The Age of Innocence (316), In Between (318)
Jesse trivia: Jesse is a computer geek who actually hates video games. He's responsible for creating Genomex ID cards and comlink rings for his teammates, building new idenities for new mutants as they head into the underground, and restocking the safehouses' supplies. Jesse's favorite food is pizza, his drink of choice is gin and tonic, and he loves action flicks...though horror movies give him the creeps. He is fluent in Italian. Jesse's biggest fear is being buried alive.
* Jesse's age: Jesse's official site profile proclaims that "Jesse Kilmartin is a sweetly naive and good-natured guy in his early 20s." In "The Future Revealed," however, Jesse tells Adam that he's been waiting 28 years to trust someone, so he's at least 28 by the end of season two.
*Note about Jesse's origins: In the original casting breakdown, Jesse Kilmartin--whose code name was to be "Synergy"--was supposed to be able to split into three different personalities as well as change his physical appearance to resemble other people (similar to Mystique in X-Men). Actor Forbes March added in an interview that the three personalities had different defining characteristics: one was effeminate, one was macho, and one was logical. By the time Forbes returned for his callback, however, the character had already been simplified.
Also according to the early casting breakdown, Jesse's father was going to be a corrupt senator antagonistic to Mutant X, rather like Senator Kelly in X-Men. His father's identity was modified after the Fox Studios vs. Marvel lawsuit which accused Mutant X's creators of copying elements from the X-Men film.
*Note about Jesse's phasing: All of the Mutant X team members undergo a growth spurt in their abilities at the end of the first season. Of the four, it is Jesse's new ability which represents the least amount of change. At the new mutant safehouse in “I Scream the Body Electric,” Jesse phases as Brennan shoots through him, and then falls through the floor. Since Jesse does not instantly fall through the floor every time he phases, he must have been able to phase the floor beneath him at will. It's also clear that whenever Jesse phases, his clothes, shoes, and comlink ring phase with him, presumably because he is in close contact with them. Thus, the supposed growth spurt that occurs in “A Breed Apart,” allowing him to phase other objects by touching them, is really nothing new. Yet, when Jesse is holding the Rafflesia pricei plant at Tricorp Botanicals in "Dark Star Rising,” he must toss it through the window while he phases through the wall, and catch it on the other side. No idea why.
Quotes from Jesse:
~ Smile, loser!
~ I have no time for romance. Far too busy making the world a safer place to live.
~ Shalimar: Just don't want you getting into something that could hurt you down the road. Jesse: You know, coming from anyone else, I'd resent that. But coming from you? I love it.
~ Brennan's reading, Shalimar's cleaning up, and Emma...Emma's playing chess by herself and still getting her ass kicked.
~ Brennan: Do I look like the kind of guy who needs to be set up? Jesse: Do I?
~ When is Eckhart going to learn? No matter how many guys he sends after us, they're always outnumbered.
~ Berg: Hands up! Jesse: You know, that's not gonna help you. Kevlar--head to toe.
~ A lot of people are afraid of what they don't understand.
~ Oh, be quiet, you big pussy cat. Looks like a giant hickey.
~ I got news for ya. Split Emma? Heavy as the whole one.
~ You always have choices, Dad. You just made the wrong one.
~ Shalimar: You want to talk about it? Jesse: No. Shalimar: Do you want me to leave you alone? Jesse: No.
~ Shalimar: I want a rematch. Jesse: Well, you already kicked my ass. No chance you're getting a second shot.
~ I took a wrong turn--ended up on the other side of the building. C'mon I phase and mass. I don't have X-ray vision.
~ Jesse: I met this girl. Emma: Why do all your stories seem to start like that? Jesse: It’s not that kind of a story, Emma.
~ Adam: Hey, lover boy, how're you feeling? Brennan: Like an ass. Jesse: Good. That's how you acted.
~ You know, is it just me or are there a lot of spacy women among the children of Genomex, Adam?
~ Jesse: Adam, I finally figured out what Macklin Exporters is involved in. Adam: What? Jesse: Exporting.
~ Must be all that power, huh? The more you’ve got, the more you want and the further you get from human.
~ Brennan: What if you were laid up and we found another molecular that could mass and phase as good as you? Jesse: Are you kidding me? I’d take a week off. Go to Mexico, find myself a little senorita.
~ Jesse: You know, that woman does have a name. Shalimar: Yeah, well I’ve got my own special name for her. Jesse: Oh, meow.
~ Emma: You gonna try and stop me too? Jesse: Thought you might need these.
~ Jesse: You know, being a terrorist is one thing. But at least these guys could be neat.
~ Brennan: Any luck? Jesse: Yeah. Five, six numbers so far. Brennan: Don’t make me hurt you.
~ Brennan: What I’m saying is I would feel better knowing what the deal is before walking into something. Jesse: No, what you’re saying is that you can’t enjoy the ride unless you’re driving the bus.
~ He sounds so commanding when he says that, don’t you think? Oh, is the 'Fearless Leader' thing working for you, Sir?
~ Sir? Now might be a good time to say a little somethin’.
~ Brennan: So you beginning to get the picture or what? Jesse: Beware of boys with big sticks. That’s an easy rule to remember.
~ Brennan: I’m sorry, and I apologize for giving you all that attitude before. Jesse: Ah, no you’re not. Brennan: What? Jesse: You’re not sorry. You gotta give me a hard time. That’s your job.
~ It’s a good thing the tailor left enough room for the chip on your shoulder.
~ Shalimar: You hang in there, okay? Jesse: Yeah. There’s nowhere else to hang.
~ Shalimar: What was that you strapped to his chest? Jesse: Oh, hell if I know. Some adhesive tape and old computer parts.
~ I’ll consider that a great comfort when the turbines freeze and we plummet into the Atlantic.
~ It took me 28 years to find someone to believe in, Adam. I’m not just gonna throw that away.
~ Sometimes I am just freakin' good.
~ Girl: So what do you do? Jesse: I tend to...phase from one thing to the next.
~ Brennan: Where'd you learn to speak Italian? Jesse: There's a lot you don't know about me, Brennan.
Brennan: Ready for a little one on one? Jesse: Yeah, well it could have been two on two.
~ Brennan: I take back any bad thing I've ever said about you. Jesse: I'm gonna remember that.
~ When enough people tell you you're drunk, you lie down.
~ Jesse: There's something I want to tell you, man. Brennan: Yeah, I love you too, man. Jesse: No. You suck at basketball.
~ Don't you even THINK about giving me mouth-to-mouth.
~ Computers. I hate them.
~ Lexa: You think it's wrong what I'm doing? Chasing him like this? Jesse: I think that you love him. I think that nothing wrong can come of that.
~ Lexa: Jess, don’t. Jesse: Don’t what? Lexa, I care.
~ When I first joined Mutant X, the last thing I thought I wanted was to live with a bunch of freaks in a cave. But Lexa, once I was in, I found something I could never find on the outside. For the first time in my life, I fit in. You’re a part of that now.
~ Jesse: I still think I'd like to find a woman the old fashioned way. Brennan: What, pity and alcohol? Jesse: Works for me.
~ Brennan: I'm soaking wet! Jesse: Well, you'd better dry your ass off fast.
~ Is that your lame way of buttering me up?
~ That's a nice tattoo you have.
~ You can tell a lot about a person's romantic style by the way they play games. For some, it's just all about the finish. But for others, well, they take their time, enjoying the moves it takes to get you there.
~ Lexa: The meek may inherit the earth, Jesse, but they never get the girl. Jesse: Who’re you calling meek?
~ If there were a hundred little baby Lexas running around out there in the world that were all going to grow up to be just like you, I happen to think the world would be a better place. Yep. A frustrating....pigheaded.....beautiful place.
Official Site bio
Jesse Kilmartin is a sweetly naive and good-natured guy in his early 20s who can alter the density of his body at will - going from rock solid as a stone wall one moment-then walking through a stone wall the next. Jesse led a sheltered childhood, and still has a lot to learn about the harsh realities of the world, but he's more than proved himself an invaluable member of MUTANT X.
Season 1 DVD bio
Jesse Kilmartin is in his early 20s and one hell of a complex boy. Unlike many of the children who emerged from the Genomex project, his childhood was charmed and blessed; at least on a first and superficial glance. He's the son of Noah Kilmartin; a self-made multimillionaire who amassed a fortune larger than many countries by selling weapons to the third world; and used his connections in an attempt to buy himself the presidency, until his alcoholic wife, Elinor, went public with some of Noah's more antisocial behavior, and kyboshed that. Noah's loss of the big brass ring turned Jesse's boyhood into a complex emotional maze that had to be navigated daily. No wonder Jesse, from his earliest childhood, found his solace in solitary fantasy.
Jesse's mother was barren, his father was sterile. Noah Kilmartin needed a child in his life; to sell himself as the kind of family man the nation elects to its highest office. Noah's checkered but thoroughly white washed life as a munitions manufacturer has also made him one of the very few power brokers who knows the secret of the Genomex Project; and sees no contradiction between having a test tube baby who will be secretly genetically engineered with skills that might very well make the child an effective covert operative the perfect legacy for this sick man.
The biotechs caved and Jesse Kilmartin was born and within a few years, he knew he could become intangible and impermeable at will, with effort and knew instinctually that it wouldn't be healthy to tell anyone especially his parents. Instead, he did everything possible to convince his father that whatever had been done to his fetal DNA it hadn't worked.
His mother drank herself into a stupor on a daily basis, while his father, for whom Jesse was no more than an accessory, paid him no attention whatsoever until Noah's political career was ruined by his wife's blurting her story of his private indiscretions. Noah blamed his political crash and burn on his wife which soon spread out to include his eight year old son. And that's when Jesse began to earnestly work on learning to control his phasing and massing abilities anything to escape the life he lived in the big mansion on the hill.
Jesse can both throw off the density of his own molecular structure making him intangible and draw molecular density from the world around him making him impenetrable. From a hard science perspective, this is physically impossible. But his genetically enhanced DNA maintains a distinct corporeal memory which enables Jesse to revert back to his original molecular structure at will. If, however, he remains intangible for over thirty seconds, he will dissipate. It took a while for Jesse to master his abilities, and the process continues to require effort, training and finesse. Adam is convinced Jesse can master his newfound powers to ultimately control individual parts of his body phasing and massing out arms and legs at will. But that's for tomorrow. Right now, Jesse's having the time of his life having finally found a family that loves him just the way he is smiling, joking and laughing his way through some of the most hair raising adventures a New Mutant could ask for.
Note: From 2001-02 Tribune Entertainment created six Mutant X faux websites as part of the Mutant X official site, in order to supplement the information from the television series. These sites featured a great wealth of background information about the Mutant X characters and plot's storylines, but they disappeared in early 2005. I'm including faux website information here for completeness, but none of the following material is my own.
Adam's Interviews from Mutant X Lives
...Interviews - Jesse #1
Jesse still represents one of my greatest challenges. He is a very complex young man whose personality mirrors his powers: at times elated and ethereal, at others rigid and isolated. Of my core team, he is the most unpredictable. Being a Molecular, I have to keep an even closer watch on his condition. The instability factor of his body can easily have an effect on his mind as well. The following dialogue is from my fourth session with him, after he had been with MUTANT X for just under two months. He was quite forthcoming that day.
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JESSE: Is there something wrong with me?
A: Why do you ask that?
JESSE: It’s just we have all these talks and they always seem to be about the same things.
A: Well, you have a lot of issues for someone your age.
JESSE: Because I’m a mutant?
A: You tell me, Jesse. Are you happy here?
JESSE: You kidding? It’s been the best time of my life! With you and Shalimar. Vince and Allison too when they’re around. Helping build up Stormking Mountain and the Underground. Using my powers whenever I want. Have you seen me lately in workouts? The timing on my phasing these days…I’ve never had so much control.
(Excited, he makes himself intangible and passes his arm through the flower vase two or three times with obvious elation before turning solid again)
JESSE: Awesome, huh?!!
A: Yes. You’ve made remarkable progress there.
JESSE: You’re not thinking of sending me away are you?
A: No. This is your home for as long as you need it.
JESSE: It is home. (He is instantly silent. A minute passes.)
A: I notice you’ve made no attempt to contact your father or mother.
JESSE: That’s nothing new. Even when I lived with them there was no contact.
A: You had a substantially different upbringing from most New Mutants, Jesse.
JESSE: You mean money? Privilege? That’s a loaded word. Don’t think for a second it gave me security. Or confidence. It’s a joke that my power wasn’t invisibility, because as far as my parents were concerned, that’s what I was. Their wealth just made it easier to ignore me.
A: Ignore your powers?
JESSE: No. Ignore me. Their made-to-order baby boy with blonde hair, blue eyes and magic DNA! My powers didn’t matter. I think it was the one thing about me that interested my father. And my mother…she was around for photo ops and holiday dinners. Not much else. Once they were certain I could hide my abilities they either shipped me off to boarding school or kept me tucked away in the east wing of the house. (He starts to mass out in frustration, then stops himself)
A: You were lonely?
JESSE: Always.
A: Big fantasy life?
JESSE: Yeah. Lord of the Rings, Wizard of Oz, Robin Hood…I lived for stuff like that. Still do.
A: All tales of camaraderie.
JESSE: Adventures with real friends who were just as out of place as me.
A: Sort of like here at Mutant X.
JESSE: It is. (He smiles).
A: So perhaps your issues are not so much due to being a molecular mutant…
JESSE: They’re due to my being Jesse Kilmartin.
...Interviews - Jesse #2
Jesse’s reaction to his evolved powers has not been positive. I needed this session to help shake out his fears and move him forward. It would be tragic if I had to replace him with another Molecular.
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JESSE: I keep thinking about my dad.
A: What about him?
JESSE: How he had everything and it still wasn’t enough. Money, family, looks, health. I know now the only reason he got in touch with me was to use my powers. He used me to save his own selfish hide. I might be his only son, but I’m just a freak possession to him. He doesn’t care who I am as a person, just that I can walk through walls…or become one.
A: Why do you think he behaves that way?
JESSE: I used to think he was just addicted to thrills. Why else would he turn his back on my grandfather’s business and lead the life that he does?
A: What do you think now?
JESSE: I’m pretty sure it’s insecurity. He must hate himself. Dad was never strong enough for the Kilmartin standard. The things he accomplished were never good enough for them…at least in his own mind. That’s why he became a soldier-of-fortune. Why he was never faithful to my mother. Why he always lies.
A: He’s deceived himself into feeling like a man.
JESSE: Yeah! And he’s anything but!
A: Jesse. I’ve noticed how you’ve been spending less and less time working out your new abilities in the Dojo each day and more time hiding behind the computer screens.
JESSE: It’s just a better place for me, Adam. You know how long it took me to get use to my original Molecular powers. It was ages before you even let me out in the field. And now, with all this new stuff…I mean, check it out.
(He aims his powers on an empty chair. Instantly, it becomes transparent. As he tries to return it to a solid, his focus falters and the chair reintegrates in splinters.)
JESSE: See? Can you imagine if I messed up like this on a mission? Well, it’s not going to happen. Innocent people could get hurt. Or worse, Shalimar and Emma.
A: Or Brennan.
JESSE: Nothing throws him. He’s Mr. Perfect. And that’s what I’ve got to be, Adam. I’m no good to anyone unless I’m perfect.
A: Like your father?
JESSE: Like my…? Oh God.
A: Confidence and ego are two very different things, young man. The first you need to survive. The other you need to get past.
JESSE: Adam…
A: I think that’s all for today, Jesse. And I want you to know that I’m banning you from the computer bays for two weeks, unless Ashlocke strikes. You’re to spend at least four hours a day in the Dojo alone and another two with your teammates. When the time is up, we’ll see where you are…both inside and out…and then we’ll talk again.
JESSE: You know, a year ago, I’d say you were treating me like a child.
A: And now?
JESSE: I think I’ve been treating myself like one.
:: End of Transcription ::
From Genomex.net
GENOMEX SECURITY FILE: MX999MKJ Kilmartin, Jesse. Priority Clearance Only UPDATED 5/30
The subject profiled is a member of the outlaw faction Mutant X.
A Molecular in his early twenties, this New Mutant's case is unusual in that he comes from a high-profile east coast American family. He is the grandson of famed industrialist Noah Kilmartin. His father, Noah Jr., is a known soldier-of-fortune and corporate saboteur (see file EOG21HKN and the CODE ORANGE jacket on Nexxogen & Martez). Yet, despite a level of public visibility, the powerful Kilmartins have proved an inaccessible GSA route to apprehending their son. In light of many failed efforts, ALL PLANNED CONTACT OR NEGOITATIONS WITH THE FAMILY SHOULD BE ABORTED.
Jesse Kilmartin's mutated DNA enables his body to physically fluctuate between states of intangibility and imperviousness. GSAgents have yet to find weapons that can hold or pierce him, respectively. Mutant X will often incorporate the Molecular as a defensive guard or a spy in subversive maneuvers. Possessing an above average intellect, he serves them in a diagnostic capacity as well.
Known vulnerabilities are the limited amount of time Kilmartin can maintain each unnatural state of density (timed at 7-12 seconds). Overindulgence can be fatal. He also has a psych work-up that marks him as being overly sensitive, naïve and immature. These vulnerabilities and a romantic link to Psionic Telekinetic Toni Quintana (file EOG73PQT) have been effective in handicapping his advantages in past confrontations.
As with all members of Mutant X, Mr. Eckhart wishes Kilmartin be brought in alive, although he is to be handed over to the Research branch immediately after surface interrogation. SUBJECT IS A PRIORITY RED and DANGEROUS.
This mandate remains in place UFN.
Return to The Mutant X Warehouse
Links: The Best of Jesse and Lexa Fan Fiction | The Best of Jesse Angst Fics | Cairdean Slash Fiction | Castle's Keep | Hard Current Brennan/Jesse Fanlist | Jesse/Emma Forever | Journey of the Heart Slash Fiction | Lexa & Jesse | Lexa & Jesse Vefblog | Mutant X Slash Archive | Sinergy Jesse | Soft Light Jesse/Lexa Fanlist | Smoke on Water | Stained Glass | Synergetic Dynamo | Till Death Do Us Part
First Mutant's bio of Jesse Kilmartin
Jesse Kilmartin is the son of manipulative covert government operative Noah Kilmartin. Both his wealthy father and his grandfather William had won medals for their military service, but Jesse rarely saw his grandfather because of animosity between the two men. Though Noah’s work habitually kept him far from home, Jesse remembered occasional family outings to the pizza parlor Giorgio's and yearly father-son martial arts competitions until his parent’s divorce. Jesse was a good student in school, though he often froze during exam time. He first discovered his molecular abilities in high school, while engaged to Alisha Keary, the favored daughter of the upscale industrialist family with whom he used to spend summers. Fleeing from a life in which he felt could not fit, Jesse joined Mutant X to discover a new family and sense of purpose. As an intangible/impervious molecular, Jesse can alter his body’s density to intangible enough to walk through walls (phasing) or dense enough to stop bullets and cars (massing). By the end of the third season, Jesse can also phase and mass other objects and people by touch. Jesse can only remain massed for as long as he can hold his breath, and if he remains phased for more than 30 seconds, he may dissipate into thin air.
Jesse-centric episodes: Russian Roulette (103), In the Presence of Mine Enemies (108), Blood Ties (113), Power Play (202), Sign from Above (208), Hard Time (214), Wasteland (308), No Exit (309), The Age of Innocence (316), In Between (318)
Jesse trivia: Jesse is a computer geek who actually hates video games. He's responsible for creating Genomex ID cards and comlink rings for his teammates, building new idenities for new mutants as they head into the underground, and restocking the safehouses' supplies. Jesse's favorite food is pizza, his drink of choice is gin and tonic, and he loves action flicks...though horror movies give him the creeps. He is fluent in Italian. Jesse's biggest fear is being buried alive.
* Jesse's age: Jesse's official site profile proclaims that "Jesse Kilmartin is a sweetly naive and good-natured guy in his early 20s." In "The Future Revealed," however, Jesse tells Adam that he's been waiting 28 years to trust someone, so he's at least 28 by the end of season two.
*Note about Jesse's origins: In the original casting breakdown, Jesse Kilmartin--whose code name was to be "Synergy"--was supposed to be able to split into three different personalities as well as change his physical appearance to resemble other people (similar to Mystique in X-Men). Actor Forbes March added in an interview that the three personalities had different defining characteristics: one was effeminate, one was macho, and one was logical. By the time Forbes returned for his callback, however, the character had already been simplified.
Also according to the early casting breakdown, Jesse's father was going to be a corrupt senator antagonistic to Mutant X, rather like Senator Kelly in X-Men. His father's identity was modified after the Fox Studios vs. Marvel lawsuit which accused Mutant X's creators of copying elements from the X-Men film.
*Note about Jesse's phasing: All of the Mutant X team members undergo a growth spurt in their abilities at the end of the first season. Of the four, it is Jesse's new ability which represents the least amount of change. At the new mutant safehouse in “I Scream the Body Electric,” Jesse phases as Brennan shoots through him, and then falls through the floor. Since Jesse does not instantly fall through the floor every time he phases, he must have been able to phase the floor beneath him at will. It's also clear that whenever Jesse phases, his clothes, shoes, and comlink ring phase with him, presumably because he is in close contact with them. Thus, the supposed growth spurt that occurs in “A Breed Apart,” allowing him to phase other objects by touching them, is really nothing new. Yet, when Jesse is holding the Rafflesia pricei plant at Tricorp Botanicals in "Dark Star Rising,” he must toss it through the window while he phases through the wall, and catch it on the other side. No idea why.
Quotes from Jesse:
~ Smile, loser!
~ I have no time for romance. Far too busy making the world a safer place to live.
~ Shalimar: Just don't want you getting into something that could hurt you down the road. Jesse: You know, coming from anyone else, I'd resent that. But coming from you? I love it.
~ Brennan's reading, Shalimar's cleaning up, and Emma...Emma's playing chess by herself and still getting her ass kicked.
~ Brennan: Do I look like the kind of guy who needs to be set up? Jesse: Do I?
~ When is Eckhart going to learn? No matter how many guys he sends after us, they're always outnumbered.
~ Berg: Hands up! Jesse: You know, that's not gonna help you. Kevlar--head to toe.
~ A lot of people are afraid of what they don't understand.
~ Oh, be quiet, you big pussy cat. Looks like a giant hickey.
~ I got news for ya. Split Emma? Heavy as the whole one.
~ You always have choices, Dad. You just made the wrong one.
~ Shalimar: You want to talk about it? Jesse: No. Shalimar: Do you want me to leave you alone? Jesse: No.
~ Shalimar: I want a rematch. Jesse: Well, you already kicked my ass. No chance you're getting a second shot.
~ I took a wrong turn--ended up on the other side of the building. C'mon I phase and mass. I don't have X-ray vision.
~ Jesse: I met this girl. Emma: Why do all your stories seem to start like that? Jesse: It’s not that kind of a story, Emma.
~ Adam: Hey, lover boy, how're you feeling? Brennan: Like an ass. Jesse: Good. That's how you acted.
~ You know, is it just me or are there a lot of spacy women among the children of Genomex, Adam?
~ Jesse: Adam, I finally figured out what Macklin Exporters is involved in. Adam: What? Jesse: Exporting.
~ Must be all that power, huh? The more you’ve got, the more you want and the further you get from human.
~ Brennan: What if you were laid up and we found another molecular that could mass and phase as good as you? Jesse: Are you kidding me? I’d take a week off. Go to Mexico, find myself a little senorita.
~ Jesse: You know, that woman does have a name. Shalimar: Yeah, well I’ve got my own special name for her. Jesse: Oh, meow.
~ Emma: You gonna try and stop me too? Jesse: Thought you might need these.
~ Jesse: You know, being a terrorist is one thing. But at least these guys could be neat.
~ Brennan: Any luck? Jesse: Yeah. Five, six numbers so far. Brennan: Don’t make me hurt you.
~ Brennan: What I’m saying is I would feel better knowing what the deal is before walking into something. Jesse: No, what you’re saying is that you can’t enjoy the ride unless you’re driving the bus.
~ He sounds so commanding when he says that, don’t you think? Oh, is the 'Fearless Leader' thing working for you, Sir?
~ Sir? Now might be a good time to say a little somethin’.
~ Brennan: So you beginning to get the picture or what? Jesse: Beware of boys with big sticks. That’s an easy rule to remember.
~ Brennan: I’m sorry, and I apologize for giving you all that attitude before. Jesse: Ah, no you’re not. Brennan: What? Jesse: You’re not sorry. You gotta give me a hard time. That’s your job.
~ It’s a good thing the tailor left enough room for the chip on your shoulder.
~ Shalimar: You hang in there, okay? Jesse: Yeah. There’s nowhere else to hang.
~ Shalimar: What was that you strapped to his chest? Jesse: Oh, hell if I know. Some adhesive tape and old computer parts.
~ I’ll consider that a great comfort when the turbines freeze and we plummet into the Atlantic.
~ It took me 28 years to find someone to believe in, Adam. I’m not just gonna throw that away.
~ Sometimes I am just freakin' good.
~ Girl: So what do you do? Jesse: I tend to...phase from one thing to the next.
~ Brennan: Where'd you learn to speak Italian? Jesse: There's a lot you don't know about me, Brennan.
Brennan: Ready for a little one on one? Jesse: Yeah, well it could have been two on two.
~ Brennan: I take back any bad thing I've ever said about you. Jesse: I'm gonna remember that.
~ When enough people tell you you're drunk, you lie down.
~ Jesse: There's something I want to tell you, man. Brennan: Yeah, I love you too, man. Jesse: No. You suck at basketball.
~ Don't you even THINK about giving me mouth-to-mouth.
~ Computers. I hate them.
~ Lexa: You think it's wrong what I'm doing? Chasing him like this? Jesse: I think that you love him. I think that nothing wrong can come of that.
~ Lexa: Jess, don’t. Jesse: Don’t what? Lexa, I care.
~ When I first joined Mutant X, the last thing I thought I wanted was to live with a bunch of freaks in a cave. But Lexa, once I was in, I found something I could never find on the outside. For the first time in my life, I fit in. You’re a part of that now.
~ Jesse: I still think I'd like to find a woman the old fashioned way. Brennan: What, pity and alcohol? Jesse: Works for me.
~ Brennan: I'm soaking wet! Jesse: Well, you'd better dry your ass off fast.
~ Is that your lame way of buttering me up?
~ That's a nice tattoo you have.
~ You can tell a lot about a person's romantic style by the way they play games. For some, it's just all about the finish. But for others, well, they take their time, enjoying the moves it takes to get you there.
~ Lexa: The meek may inherit the earth, Jesse, but they never get the girl. Jesse: Who’re you calling meek?
~ If there were a hundred little baby Lexas running around out there in the world that were all going to grow up to be just like you, I happen to think the world would be a better place. Yep. A frustrating....pigheaded.....beautiful place.
Official Site bio
Jesse Kilmartin is a sweetly naive and good-natured guy in his early 20s who can alter the density of his body at will - going from rock solid as a stone wall one moment-then walking through a stone wall the next. Jesse led a sheltered childhood, and still has a lot to learn about the harsh realities of the world, but he's more than proved himself an invaluable member of MUTANT X.
Season 1 DVD bio
Jesse Kilmartin is in his early 20s and one hell of a complex boy. Unlike many of the children who emerged from the Genomex project, his childhood was charmed and blessed; at least on a first and superficial glance. He's the son of Noah Kilmartin; a self-made multimillionaire who amassed a fortune larger than many countries by selling weapons to the third world; and used his connections in an attempt to buy himself the presidency, until his alcoholic wife, Elinor, went public with some of Noah's more antisocial behavior, and kyboshed that. Noah's loss of the big brass ring turned Jesse's boyhood into a complex emotional maze that had to be navigated daily. No wonder Jesse, from his earliest childhood, found his solace in solitary fantasy.
Jesse's mother was barren, his father was sterile. Noah Kilmartin needed a child in his life; to sell himself as the kind of family man the nation elects to its highest office. Noah's checkered but thoroughly white washed life as a munitions manufacturer has also made him one of the very few power brokers who knows the secret of the Genomex Project; and sees no contradiction between having a test tube baby who will be secretly genetically engineered with skills that might very well make the child an effective covert operative the perfect legacy for this sick man.
The biotechs caved and Jesse Kilmartin was born and within a few years, he knew he could become intangible and impermeable at will, with effort and knew instinctually that it wouldn't be healthy to tell anyone especially his parents. Instead, he did everything possible to convince his father that whatever had been done to his fetal DNA it hadn't worked.
His mother drank herself into a stupor on a daily basis, while his father, for whom Jesse was no more than an accessory, paid him no attention whatsoever until Noah's political career was ruined by his wife's blurting her story of his private indiscretions. Noah blamed his political crash and burn on his wife which soon spread out to include his eight year old son. And that's when Jesse began to earnestly work on learning to control his phasing and massing abilities anything to escape the life he lived in the big mansion on the hill.
Jesse can both throw off the density of his own molecular structure making him intangible and draw molecular density from the world around him making him impenetrable. From a hard science perspective, this is physically impossible. But his genetically enhanced DNA maintains a distinct corporeal memory which enables Jesse to revert back to his original molecular structure at will. If, however, he remains intangible for over thirty seconds, he will dissipate. It took a while for Jesse to master his abilities, and the process continues to require effort, training and finesse. Adam is convinced Jesse can master his newfound powers to ultimately control individual parts of his body phasing and massing out arms and legs at will. But that's for tomorrow. Right now, Jesse's having the time of his life having finally found a family that loves him just the way he is smiling, joking and laughing his way through some of the most hair raising adventures a New Mutant could ask for.
Note: From 2001-02 Tribune Entertainment created six Mutant X faux websites as part of the Mutant X official site, in order to supplement the information from the television series. These sites featured a great wealth of background information about the Mutant X characters and plot's storylines, but they disappeared in early 2005. I'm including faux website information here for completeness, but none of the following material is my own.
Adam's Interviews from Mutant X Lives
...Interviews - Jesse #1
Jesse still represents one of my greatest challenges. He is a very complex young man whose personality mirrors his powers: at times elated and ethereal, at others rigid and isolated. Of my core team, he is the most unpredictable. Being a Molecular, I have to keep an even closer watch on his condition. The instability factor of his body can easily have an effect on his mind as well. The following dialogue is from my fourth session with him, after he had been with MUTANT X for just under two months. He was quite forthcoming that day.
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JESSE: Is there something wrong with me?
A: Why do you ask that?
JESSE: It’s just we have all these talks and they always seem to be about the same things.
A: Well, you have a lot of issues for someone your age.
JESSE: Because I’m a mutant?
A: You tell me, Jesse. Are you happy here?
JESSE: You kidding? It’s been the best time of my life! With you and Shalimar. Vince and Allison too when they’re around. Helping build up Stormking Mountain and the Underground. Using my powers whenever I want. Have you seen me lately in workouts? The timing on my phasing these days…I’ve never had so much control.
(Excited, he makes himself intangible and passes his arm through the flower vase two or three times with obvious elation before turning solid again)
JESSE: Awesome, huh?!!
A: Yes. You’ve made remarkable progress there.
JESSE: You’re not thinking of sending me away are you?
A: No. This is your home for as long as you need it.
JESSE: It is home. (He is instantly silent. A minute passes.)
A: I notice you’ve made no attempt to contact your father or mother.
JESSE: That’s nothing new. Even when I lived with them there was no contact.
A: You had a substantially different upbringing from most New Mutants, Jesse.
JESSE: You mean money? Privilege? That’s a loaded word. Don’t think for a second it gave me security. Or confidence. It’s a joke that my power wasn’t invisibility, because as far as my parents were concerned, that’s what I was. Their wealth just made it easier to ignore me.
A: Ignore your powers?
JESSE: No. Ignore me. Their made-to-order baby boy with blonde hair, blue eyes and magic DNA! My powers didn’t matter. I think it was the one thing about me that interested my father. And my mother…she was around for photo ops and holiday dinners. Not much else. Once they were certain I could hide my abilities they either shipped me off to boarding school or kept me tucked away in the east wing of the house. (He starts to mass out in frustration, then stops himself)
A: You were lonely?
JESSE: Always.
A: Big fantasy life?
JESSE: Yeah. Lord of the Rings, Wizard of Oz, Robin Hood…I lived for stuff like that. Still do.
A: All tales of camaraderie.
JESSE: Adventures with real friends who were just as out of place as me.
A: Sort of like here at Mutant X.
JESSE: It is. (He smiles).
A: So perhaps your issues are not so much due to being a molecular mutant…
JESSE: They’re due to my being Jesse Kilmartin.
...Interviews - Jesse #2
Jesse’s reaction to his evolved powers has not been positive. I needed this session to help shake out his fears and move him forward. It would be tragic if I had to replace him with another Molecular.
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JESSE: I keep thinking about my dad.
A: What about him?
JESSE: How he had everything and it still wasn’t enough. Money, family, looks, health. I know now the only reason he got in touch with me was to use my powers. He used me to save his own selfish hide. I might be his only son, but I’m just a freak possession to him. He doesn’t care who I am as a person, just that I can walk through walls…or become one.
A: Why do you think he behaves that way?
JESSE: I used to think he was just addicted to thrills. Why else would he turn his back on my grandfather’s business and lead the life that he does?
A: What do you think now?
JESSE: I’m pretty sure it’s insecurity. He must hate himself. Dad was never strong enough for the Kilmartin standard. The things he accomplished were never good enough for them…at least in his own mind. That’s why he became a soldier-of-fortune. Why he was never faithful to my mother. Why he always lies.
A: He’s deceived himself into feeling like a man.
JESSE: Yeah! And he’s anything but!
A: Jesse. I’ve noticed how you’ve been spending less and less time working out your new abilities in the Dojo each day and more time hiding behind the computer screens.
JESSE: It’s just a better place for me, Adam. You know how long it took me to get use to my original Molecular powers. It was ages before you even let me out in the field. And now, with all this new stuff…I mean, check it out.
(He aims his powers on an empty chair. Instantly, it becomes transparent. As he tries to return it to a solid, his focus falters and the chair reintegrates in splinters.)
JESSE: See? Can you imagine if I messed up like this on a mission? Well, it’s not going to happen. Innocent people could get hurt. Or worse, Shalimar and Emma.
A: Or Brennan.
JESSE: Nothing throws him. He’s Mr. Perfect. And that’s what I’ve got to be, Adam. I’m no good to anyone unless I’m perfect.
A: Like your father?
JESSE: Like my…? Oh God.
A: Confidence and ego are two very different things, young man. The first you need to survive. The other you need to get past.
JESSE: Adam…
A: I think that’s all for today, Jesse. And I want you to know that I’m banning you from the computer bays for two weeks, unless Ashlocke strikes. You’re to spend at least four hours a day in the Dojo alone and another two with your teammates. When the time is up, we’ll see where you are…both inside and out…and then we’ll talk again.
JESSE: You know, a year ago, I’d say you were treating me like a child.
A: And now?
JESSE: I think I’ve been treating myself like one.
:: End of Transcription ::
From Genomex.net
GENOMEX SECURITY FILE: MX999MKJ Kilmartin, Jesse. Priority Clearance Only UPDATED 5/30
The subject profiled is a member of the outlaw faction Mutant X.
A Molecular in his early twenties, this New Mutant's case is unusual in that he comes from a high-profile east coast American family. He is the grandson of famed industrialist Noah Kilmartin. His father, Noah Jr., is a known soldier-of-fortune and corporate saboteur (see file EOG21HKN and the CODE ORANGE jacket on Nexxogen & Martez). Yet, despite a level of public visibility, the powerful Kilmartins have proved an inaccessible GSA route to apprehending their son. In light of many failed efforts, ALL PLANNED CONTACT OR NEGOITATIONS WITH THE FAMILY SHOULD BE ABORTED.
Jesse Kilmartin's mutated DNA enables his body to physically fluctuate between states of intangibility and imperviousness. GSAgents have yet to find weapons that can hold or pierce him, respectively. Mutant X will often incorporate the Molecular as a defensive guard or a spy in subversive maneuvers. Possessing an above average intellect, he serves them in a diagnostic capacity as well.
Known vulnerabilities are the limited amount of time Kilmartin can maintain each unnatural state of density (timed at 7-12 seconds). Overindulgence can be fatal. He also has a psych work-up that marks him as being overly sensitive, naïve and immature. These vulnerabilities and a romantic link to Psionic Telekinetic Toni Quintana (file EOG73PQT) have been effective in handicapping his advantages in past confrontations.
As with all members of Mutant X, Mr. Eckhart wishes Kilmartin be brought in alive, although he is to be handed over to the Research branch immediately after surface interrogation. SUBJECT IS A PRIORITY RED and DANGEROUS.
This mandate remains in place UFN.
Return to The Mutant X Warehouse