Rusty Collins

Mutant with psionic fire control and a troubled past.

Russell 'Rusty' Collins, also known as Firefist, is a mutant superhero from Marvel Comics. His pyrokinesis first manifested violently, leading to a series of conflicts and alliances within the mutant community. He has also appeared in animated and live-action media.

Quick Facts

Character name

Russell "Rusty" Collins; Firefist

Real name

Russell "Rusty" Collins

Species

Human mutant

Publisher

Marvel Comics

Debut

X-Factor #1 (February 1986)

Creators

Bob Layton; Jackson Guice

Alliances

Acolytes
Mutant Liberation Front
New Mutants
X-Terminators
X-Factor
United States Navy

Also known as

Firefist

Facts from the source article.

Did You Know?

Rusty Collins is immune to the effects fire would normally have on his body.
He can turn some or all of his body into flames.

Fictional character biography

Rusty Collins was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and raised by his uncle. He joined the US Navy at sixteen, but his mutant power of pyrokinesis manifested violently, burning a woman. Arrested, he escaped when a prison guard threatened him with deadly harm. X-Factor came to his aid, helping him control his powers, and he lived with them as part of a group of mutant wards.

He formed a relationship with Skids, a former Morlock. They lived on Ship, a sentient spacecraft, and Rusty and the X-Terminators helped X-Factor when an old booby-trap threatened Ship's brain with a bomb, which ultimately exploded harmlessly above Manhattan. During the Inferno storyline, Skids and other wards formed the X-Terminators and teamed with the New Mutants to rescue mutant babies from N'astirh. Rusty had returned to Navy custody but joined the group when he learned his younger friends Leech and Artie Maddicks were captured.

After the children were rescued, Rusty joined the New Mutants with Skids, Rictor, and Boom Boom. He and Skids helped when Danielle Moonstar lost control of her mystical powers, and were separated from the group. Mystique's Freedom Force attacked them at Liberty Island over the custody of the rescued children. After a fight with Nitro and Vulture, Rusty was severely injured by Blob while trying to escape.

Recovering in the hospital, he and Skids were contacted by the Mutant Liberation Front and, with soldiers opening fire, joined them. They were later brainwashed by Stryfe. Rusty was part of an MLF strike team sent to steal an artifact; Cable attacked the group, killing MLF member Sumo and injuring Rusty in the arm. The MLF were turned over to authorities.

In other media

In the X-Men animated series episode "No Mutant is an Island," Rusty Collins is a Nebraska orphan with pyrokinetic abilities. Voiced by Amos Crawley, he struggles to control his powers until the telepathic mutant Killgrave offers help. Killgrave adopts Rusty and tries to use him and other mutants to become governor, but Cyclops breaks Killgrave's hypnotic control and frees them. In Deadpool 2, Russell Collins, also called Firefist, is a 14-year-old New Zealander played by Julian Dennison as a teen and Sala Baker as an adult. After being tortured at the Essex School, he kills the headmaster and later murders Cable's family in a post-apocalyptic future. Cable time-travels to kill young Russell, but Deadpool is tasked with protecting him.