Havok

Havok's History

Alex Summers is first shown to be in solitary confinement in a government prison, preferring it due to the uncontrollable nature of his powers. In 1962 his release was arranged by Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr in order for him to join their team of mutant peacekeepers they were forming for the CIA. The warden cautioned them about putting him with others in a group, as Alex was the only prisoner he'd known to actually prefer solitary confinement. Alex reluctantly joins them.

While bonding with Xavier's other recruits (except for Hank McCoy as they initially had a more atagonistic relationship), the secret CIA facility where they were staying was attacked by the Hellfire Club. Their leader, Sebastian Shaw, encouraged them to join him in overthrowing humanity, saying that they should be with their fellow mutants, not guarding the humans. Angel Salvadore accepted the offer, and when Alex attempted to hit Shaw with his energy waves, Shaw absorbed the blast and used the energy to murder the mutant Darwin, who was trying to rescue Angel.

Afterwards, Alex and the others relocated to Xavier's Mansion where they began training to defeat Shaw. Xavier had turned an underground bomb shelter into a training room for Alex, setting up mannequins for him to use as targets. Alex on his own is unable to focus and control his energy beams. Hank McCoy constructed a containment unit for him, allowing Alex to focus his energy blasts. After a successful test, he had one built into his X-Men uniform. However, some tension still existed between him and Hank as he mocked McCoy's large mutant feet, comparing them to clown shoes.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the team assembled to finally confront the Hellfire Club. Shaw was attempting to get America and Russia to engage in a nuclear war. Despite their initial friction, Summers was impressed with Hank McCoy's ferocity, accompanying his beastial transformation and dubbed him "Beast". He and Hank fought the mutant Azazel and he also faced Angel alongside Banshee. Although his containment unit was damaged in battle, he was able to focus his ability enough to project a beam that sliced off one of Angels wings, causing her to crash.

After the battle, Alex stayed with Xavier at his new school for a short period, until he was drafted into the Vietnam War.