Trance (comics)
| Trance | |
|---|---|
 A close-up of Trance | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | New X-Men: Academy X #12 |
| Created by | Christina Weir Nunzio DeFilippis |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Hope Abbott |
| Species | Human Mutant |
| Team affiliations | Xavier Institute Paragons Training Squad |
| Abilities | Energetic Astral-Projective Form (Projects her astral self, and astral self can travel over far distances, avoid physical injury, and produce a disruptive energy surge) |
Trance (Hope Abbott) is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe. A mutant, Hope attends the Xavier Institute and retained her powers post-House of M.
Fictional character biography
Hope was raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. When Hope's powers manifested, it appeared as if a ghost had come out of her body, giving her father a heart attack. She was then sent to the Xavier Institute by her parents believing that she would be "cured."[1]
While at the Institute, Hope was put in the Paragons Squad under the watch of Wolfsbane. Hope then took on the codename Trance. When it was outted that Wolfsbane and a student (Elixir) had been in a relationship, Wolfsbane decided to leave. Magma then took over as the squad's advisor.
When the events of Decimation transpired, she was one of only 27 students to keep her powers. Greatly weakened by the losses, Emma Frost placed all of the remaining students into an all-out brawl to determine who would become the team of X-Men in-training. Hope did not make the team yet, like all of the other students who retained their powers, still resides at the Institute.
In response to M-Day, the government began gathering all information they had on the remaining mutants. Additionally, the Sentinel Squad O*N*E, a team of human-piloted Sentinels, was sent to "watch over" the X-Men and the handful of refugees symbolically known as The 198. According to said files, Hope was willing to work with other mutants in training sessions but had not yet received any combat experience.
Hope's interests include old films and classic music, and it appears she is rather culturally sophisticated. Her classmates voted her 'best-dressed' in the yearbook.
Quest for Magik
Trance is among the students who were captured by Belasco and transported to Limbo. As per X-23's request, Trance uses her astral projection to warn the students who weren't captured of Belasco's return. Thanks to Trance, the students were successfully saved and brought back by the X-Men.
Messiah Complex
Trance was present at the Institute when Predator X attacked the school. Trance barely got out of the way in time. Unfortunately the school was shut down and all the students were sent home.
Killing Made Simple
Blindfold had a vision and informed the X-Men that Trance was going to be in trouble. While having dinner with her family, Trance's home was attacked by Orphan-Maker on Nanny's orders, but Trance wasn't his target, her parents were. Luckily Wolverine had been sent by the X-Men to watch over her. Springing to action, Wolverine tries to fight off Orphan Maker but is overpowered. With a change of plans, Trance and Wolverine are kidnapped. Trance is later seen tied to a chair with Wolverine chained to the ground. Trance, believing that Wolverine will save them, refuses to use her powers. After realizing that Wolverine cannot help her, she astral projects outside her body and begins blasting Nanny and Orphan Maker. Nanny and Orphan Maker eventually eject in an escape pod, leaving the ship to crash. Using her energy blasts, Trance disables the self-destruct timer. The ship crashes in a lake, but Trance and Wolverine are safe.
Utopia
Trance later relocates to San Francisco along with all the other X-Men.[2]
Trance is seen with Dragoness and Toad, who are being pursued by H.A.M.M.E.R. agents. After Dragoness is taken out, Trance goes into her astral form only to have her power disrupted when her body is shot with tasers. Gambit shows up and knocks out the H.A.M.M.E.R. agents. Trance, in her astral form, lies on the ground asking for help when Ariel and Onyxx appear and take her body away to safety. Later, Mindee Cuckoo informs Rogue that Trance never made it back to base and that she is detecting Trance's thoughts somewhere downtown, prompting Rogue and her team to search for her.[3] Trance's power disrupted Ariel's attempt to teleport her to safety. Rogue finds Trance and her powers are flaring out of control creating powerful uncontrollable bio-electric blasts. Rogue tries to help calm Trance and help her gain control when Ms Marvel appears. After taking out Gambit and Danger, Rogue and Ms Marvel fight, unfortunately Rogue is losing until Trance regains control and jumps in to help Rogue. Trance learns that her astral form is able to punch Ms Marvel when they are both intangible. After Gambit stuns Ms Marvel, they teleport back to base where Trance receives medical attention.[4]
Powers and abilities
Hope has an astral projection power and as her code name suggests, she goes into some kind of altered state of consciousness or somehow otherwise nullifies her body in order to release her astral self. This observation was further affirmed when she asked Emma Frost if she could leave her body outside the danger room during an exercise. Her astral form is capable of flight and can pass through magic barriers as well as be able to hit Ms Marvel while in her phased form. It is unusual in that whilst most fiction depicts astral projection as harmless, Hope's astral form is additionally able to project destructive energy. When hit with tasers by H.A.M.M.E.R. agents during X-Men: Legacy #226 in the middle of entering her trance state, Hope's powers flare out of control. She disrupts an attempt to teleport her. She also creates arcing energy surges that stuns soldiers and even bends nearby metal and concrete. According to Danger and Rogue, this appears to be a new part of her power which she has not learned to control.[5]
She can also perceive auras and energy patterns that are invisible to the naked human eye such as the emotional state of others from their auras, heat signatures and energy patterns in the air. Doctor Nemesis further speculates that Trances powers seem to react to spatial warps and energy fields, however he doesn't know if this permanent or a temporary development.[6]
Bibliography
- New X-Men: Academy X / New X-Men: #12, 23, 28, 33, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, and 46
- New X-Men: Academy X: Yearbook Special: by Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir
- X-Men: The 198 Files: by Eric J. Moreels, Marc-Oliver Frisch, and Brian E. Wilkinson