Knowledge is power, and especially so for David Alleyne whose genius intelligence is only amplified by his mutant ability: to absorb the knowledge and skills from those around him. He joins the New X-Men, reluctantly at first, but eventually finds a place among his fellow mutants.
A Child Prodigy
Born in Chicago, Illinois to parents Christopher and Dorothy Alleyne, and brother to Kim, David grows up to be a highly intelligent person eager to learn as much as possible. David’s mutant powers manifest at puberty, allowing him to absorb the skills and knowledge of anyone around him for as long as they are nearby. However, this ability drives Alleyne to study harder, to avoid “cheating” through his power. He takes college-level courses while in high school, concealing his ability until the hate group Purity reveals his mutant status publicly. Mutants Xi’an Coy Manh, AKA Karma, and Danielle Moonstar, AKA Dani Moonstar, rescue Alleyne and recruit him to study at Charles Xavier’s Institute for Higher Learning, a school for mutants and home to the X-Men.
Wanting only a normal life, Alleyne initially resents training as a junior X-Man but reluctantly agrees to share leadership duties of his training squad when he realizes there are valuable things to be learned, and takes the codename Prodigy.
Absorption of Knowledge
Prodigy possesses the telepathic power to subconsciously absorb the skills and knowledge of anyone around him, for as long as the person was in his presence; he loses access to the knowledge once the person moves out of range, but subconsciously retains all skills. His abilities also allow him to “read” other people well enough to avoid any attack directed toward him. When not distracted, he can be nearly untouchable to anyone without heightened speed.
However, he loses his mutant powers on “M-Day”, his mental connection to all skills and knowledge previously absorbed has been restored thanks to the telepathic hive mind and sisters, the Stepford Cuckoos. The breadth of his skills and knowledge is unrevealed, but is limited only by whomever he encountered before “M-Day.”
Prodigy has genius-level intellect, mastery of multiple fighting systems, and extensive knowledge in the medical and technology fields.
His protective eyewear projects a data stream directly into his line of sight upon command, and serves as a communication device.
Mutant Classmates and Vile Villains
David joins the New Mutants Training Squad with Josh Foley, AKA Elixir, Sofia Mantega, AKA Wind Dancer (now Renascence), Laurie Collins, AKA Wallflower, Kevin Ford, AKA Wither, and Noriko Ashida, AKA Surge. He dates Surge, and develops a tumultuous friendship with his roommate, Elixir. At first, Moonstar appoints Prodigy as the Training Squad’s leader, but later Prodigy and Wind Dancer decide to co-lead the team. Later, Veteran X-Men Scott Summers, AKA Cyclops, selects him as a substitute teacher and trainer when senior staff are unavailable.
After the events of M-Day when mutants lose their powers, Prodigy included, the telepathic Three-In-One, the Stepford Cuckoos, helps him regain his knowledge and skills that he lost. He then joins the New X-Men, and with them he faces and defeats the robot Nimrod, and the demon sorcerer-priest Belasco, who tears out his heart. David survives to fight another day thanks to his fellow classmate and healer, Elixir.
When his friend Tommy Shepherd, AKA Speed is taken by an entity mimicking Patriot, David joins the Young Avengers alongside Kate Bishop, AKA Hawkeye, Noh-Varr, AKA Marvel Boy, Billy Kaplan, AKA Wiccan, America Chavez, AKA Miss America, and Teddy Altman, AKA Hulkling, and Loki Laufeyson, AKA Loki. Together, they attempt to rescue Speed as well as battle Mother and Loki’s guilty conscience, known as Leah.
Prodigy’s Whole Picture
Learning that only a mental block prevented him from retaining the knowledge he gained from others, Prodigy briefly contemplated having his telepathic mentor Emma Frost remove it. Through a vision granted by Emma using Moonstar’s illusion powers, he saw himself becoming the smartest man on Earth, but being horribly corrupted by it; he opted to leave the block in place. Shortly thereafter, when the insane mutant Wanda Maximoff, AKA Scarlet Witch, stripped most mutants of their abilities on “M-Day,” Prodigy was among those depowered. The X-Men elected to send the depowered students home, believing they would be safer away from the Institute, but after the mutant-hating Purifiers murdered 42 depowered students in a rocket attack launched against the bus taking them from the school, Prodigy was allowed to remain at the Institute, subsequently helping with technology maintenance, medical care, protection of younger students and other tasks.
Prodigy also helped his friends battle the mutant-hunting Reality-811 (“Days of Future Past”) robot Nimrod, was present when would-be conqueror En Sabah Nur, AKA Apocalypse, and a vengeful Bruce Banner, AKA Hulk, attacked the Institute, and was taken to limbo, AKA Otherplace, by the demon sorcerer-priest Belasco; Belasco tore Prodigy’s heart from his chest in front of his teammates, but Elixir, pushing his healing powers to their limit, rapidly grew Prodigy a new heart, saving his life.
Upon returning to Earth, Surge tried to drive Prodigy away for his own safety by kissing another classmate, Julian Keller, AKA Hellion; however, as David prepared to leave the Institute, the telepathic Stepford Cuckoos restored the mental connections to all the knowledge and skills he had previously absorbed. Deciding to stay at the Institute, Prodigy broke up with Surge, and Scott Summers, AKA Cyclops, named him a substitute instructor for team and individual student training when the senior staff was absent.
When the first mutant since “M-Day” was born, the resulting war over the infant’s fate between the Purifiers, X-Men, and the villainous Marauders left the Institute destroyed and Xavier seemingly dead. Cyclops disbanded the X-Men and sent all the students home. When the team was reinstated in San Francisco, Prodigy moved there, to serve as support staff. He battled the Skrulls during their invasion, and also helped move the X-Men to Utopia where he created a clean water system and defended the island from the Evolutionaries. Prodigy’s loyalty to Utopia extended to when James Howlett/Logan, AKA Wolverine, and Cyclops split, and he made it known that he wanted to stay on Utopia with Cyclops. He then led the younger X-Men there. During the Avengers vs. X-Men war over the Phoenix Force, he and the students were detained at the Avengers Compound.
After the war, Prodigy was labeled a terrorist and worked in Super Hero support, answering phones to help people. There he met Tommy Shepherd, AKA Speed, but they had a strange encounter with the entity mimicking Patriot, who seemingly disappears Speed. He then sought out the Young Avengers to help him find and rescue Speed, and while they searched for him, he found a place on the team. During this time, he also revealed his romantic feelings for Hulkling, helped the team defeat the evil reality-sucking parasite Mother and Leah, and rescued Speed from the Patriot, who the Young Avengers had been following across the Multiverse.
