Marlowe, Charles
Charles Marlowe -- Played by Anthony Lemke
Charles Marlowe.
Mutant Type: Molecular (Regenerative).
First Appearance: " The Meaning of Death."
Quote: Shalimar: "Back off or he's dead."
Charles: "Like I give a damn."
Details: Charles's parents brought him to Genomex for Adam Kane's experimental treatments when he was young. The treatments cured his illness, but dramatically increased his cellular regeneration rate, leaving him virtually indestructable. Years later, after surviving a car crash which killed his wife and daughter, Charles became obsessed with death. He was working as Mason Eckhart's second when a Cladosporium plague broke out. Adam discovered that elements in Charles's DNA could stop the spread of the infection, but once he extracted the strand to make the cure, Charles became mortal once more. Returning to Genomex, Charles refused to help Mason exploit the new cure, so Mason had him shot. Charles died in Shalimar Fox's arms, happy to be reunited with his wife and daughter.
From Adam's Mutant X Lives diary: CHARLES MARLOWE - The experience with Charles has taken an emotional toll on me. I knew him from my earliest days at Genomex when we were friends. He looked to me for help and I did my best, but in the end nothing could make him feel normal. He could not age, be injured or become ill. Many would consider this a blessing. Charlie knew different. His powers kept him from ever being close to anyone. The psychological damage of losing his wife and daughter after walking away from the plane crash that killed them forever tore apart his moral fiber. Eckhart must have known what a time bomb Charles was yet, took advantage of him anyway. Had the New Mutant virus not attacked, Charles Marlowe would have been an unstoppable force at Genomex. Fortunately, the good man I knew surfaced when he learned his DNA could stop the disease. His sacrifice will not leave me. I am forever haunted by that look in his dying eyes when he realized he was at last human.
From Genomex.net: GENOMEX SECURITY FILE: XX669MX Marlowe, Charles Priority Clearance Only UPDATED 4/4 Charles Marlowe was the result of an early experiment by Dr. Breedlove to influence the DNA of Molecular embryos. Of the three species attempted (see security files XS668X and XY0000 on Stealths and Morphs, respectively), Marlowe was the only infant of his classification (Untouchable) to be born alive. Thought originally to be impervious to injury, it has since been revealed that the New Mutant actually had regenerative abilities that instantly repaired all wounds and ailments. By the age of four, Marlowe's powers were evident enough to attract unwanted attention (he never got sick, could not be vaccinated and was completely unharmed following a minor auto accident). The decision was made to take the child from his family and raise him at Genomex. Training as an elite agency operative began at the same time. Before reaching adolescence, the young Molecular was considered a promising success. He was obedient, physically superior and extremely attuned with his invulnerability. At age thirteen, however, Dr. Breedlove noticed a rapid decline in Marlowe's psychological state. A manic strain of instability had manifested resulting in what was termed "tiger/lamb behavior". After a series of tests, it was determined that average growing pains and parental separation were not the primary cause of these fits, but that they stemmed from previously undetected defects in his manipulated genetic code. As medication would have had no effect on the Untouchable, he was put on a regimen of daily mental conditioning and returned to agent training, albeit under a reduced priority status. Both Security Chief Eckhart and then-Genomex science head Adam [word deleted] championed Marlowe's development and did much to secure his future and personal growth (a rare measure that Dr. Breedlove approved of at the time). Field tests and early missions in South America, Eastern Europe and the infamous "Blood Bay" were deemed extremely productive. With every success, however, the teenage Untouchable became more unpredictable in his temperament. The very abilities that made him so effective as an agent also made him more elusive to Genomex's control. He could not be effectively disciplined or terminated. By age twenty, Marlowe was deemed too dangerous an element to be kept "in house" and with Adam's recommendation was allowed to move out into public life under a highly monitored existence. He maintained a love/hate relationship with Mr. Eckhart for the next fifteen years, partaking in the occasional covert assignment (at both high risk and pay) between bouts of hostility and resentment. He refused Adam's offer to join the terrorist faction Mutant X but wanted no larger role at Genomex either. Instead, the Untouchable attempted to achieve a "normal" existence. Marlowe secured non-government employment, married at twenty-seven and fathered a non-mutant daughter two years later. As Mr. Eckhart predicted, such integration could not be sustained. After walking away from an airplane crash that killed both his wife and child, the Untouchable returned to the fold with a radically revised mindset to eradicate all new mutant independence. Quickly rising to second-in-command, Marlowe seemed to be finally fulfilling his potential as the ultimate Genomex soldier. Once again, the performance was misleading. The advent of the New Mutant Virus (see research file GRMXMX2) and renewed contact with the traitor Adam combined to unhinge the Molecular's mental state once and for all. By donating his restorative DNA as a cure for the disease, Marlowe proved he was a permanent liability, security-wise. Advantage was taken of the rare vulnerable state the genetic transfusion left him in and he was eliminated. Rather than a custom autopsy, Mr. Eckhart ordered the Untouchable's remains disintegrated, lest they regenerate again. He then ordered all experiments to duplicate and improve Marlowe's DNA sequence aborted. This mandate remains in place UFN.
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