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Lila Cheney

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Lila Cheney
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceThe New Mutants Annual #1 (November 1984)
Created byChris Claremont (writer)
Bob McLeod (artist)
In-story information
SpeciesHuman mutant
Team affiliationsDazzler and the Resurrections
S.W.O.R.D
X-Terminators
Ally to X-Men, New Mutants, X-Force
Abilities
  • Tachyon field allows interstellar teleportation
    • Field extension to other people and objects
    • Teleportation to place where own voice has been

Lila Cheney is a fictional interstellar British rock star and mutant who makes appearances as a guest character in X-Men titles. Created by Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod, she made her debut in The New Mutants Annual #1 (November 1984).

Cheney possesses the power of teleportation, but only at interstellar distances. During one of her tryouts, she discovers an abandoned Dyson sphere, which she uses as a home base for her teleports. She is well known for her romantic connection to X-Man Cannonball, as well as her friendship with Strong Guy.

Publication history

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Lila Cheney was created by Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod, and introduced in The New Mutants Annual #1 (November 1984).[1]

In the 1980s and 1990s, Lila made frequent appearances in The New Mutants, X-Factor, X-Force, and X-Men titles, with an alternate version of herself appearing in Gambit and the X-Ternals.

She appeared in 8 issues of X-Treme X-Men, and in X-Men: Legacy (vol. 2) as an ally of Legion. She additionally appeared in Captain Marvel (vol. 8), Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace, the 2025 Dazzler limited series, and is set to appear in Concert of Champions.[2]

Fictional character biography

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Early Life

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Born in England, Lila used her mutant ability of teleportation to adventure across the universe at a young age.[3] During an adventure, she arrives on the alien planet Aladna, where she becomes engaged to Prince Yan.[4][5] At some point in Lila's life, she was, allegedly, sold by "Earth" to aliens as a slave, before escaping to tour the galaxy as a rockstar and thief, during which she found an abandoned Dyson sphere, which she would make her base.

Stealing Earth and Meeting Cannonball

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Lila made a deal to, in turn, sell Earth to an alien race called the Vrakanin. Just before she could execute her plan, she met the New Mutants at her New York concert. Cannonball (Sam Guthrie) saves Lila from a falling speaker, and Lila is instantly attracted to him. When the Vrakanin double-cross her and are defeated, she gives up her thieving career and enters into a romantic relationship with Cannonball.[1][6][7][8]

Dazzler and Strong Guy

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She later moved to Malibu, and hired Dazzler (Alison Blair) as a backup singer and Guido Carosella (Strong Guy) as a bodyguard. When Cannonball and Magik approached Lila for help, she used her connections to help rescue Sunspot and Magma. She also aided Magneto in battling the Beyonder.[9][7]

Sam and Lila's relationship faced some trouble, but after Sam saved her from her crashed plane, they got back together and Lila met Sam's mother.[6]

Adventures in Space and Apparent Death

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Lila is captured by an alien slaver known as Spyder during one of her concerts. The New Mutants attempt to rescue her, but Lila appears to sacrifice herself when she teleported large monsters released by Spyder into a nearby sun.[10]

Lila survived and was recruited by Deathbird to help her recruit the X-Men in saving Charles Xavier.[11][12]

Returning to Malibu she would find an amnesiac Dazzler being cared for by Guido. The appearance of Longshot and Spiral dragged Lila into the Mojoverse rebellion, in which she was later captured and pitted against Longshot before being freed.[13] Later, she gives Boom-Boom her blessing to date her former lover Cannonball.[14]

She assists X-Force with missions before running into trouble with aliens known as the K'Lanti. When she corrects her mistake, the race gives her an active explosive, which Strong Guy jumps on to save her. He survives, but the kinetic energy gives him a heart attack and puts him in a coma, to Lila's dismay.[15] After he recovers, he joins Lila in her touring once again.[16]

Relationship Issues

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Cannonball and Lila briefly rekindle their relationship, during which he saves her from an anti-mutant attack at her concert.[17][18] Shortly after they stop dating again.

She retained her powers after M-Day.[19] She joined Legion in spreading positive mutant campaigns in the UK.[20]

Eventually, she returned to Aladna to fulfill her marriage pledge, although Prince Yan ultimately chooses another woman as his wife.[5]

Krakoa and Fall of X

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Cheney later becomes a citizen of the mutant nation of Krakoa, and a member of S.W.O.R.D as a teleporter.[21] She also assisted Cable as a member of the X-Terminators. She was believed dead after the fall of Krakoa, but was revealed to have been blackmailed by Mojo, who held her fans hostage. She recruited Kamala Khan to help her save them.[22][23]

As a musician, she has a loyal fanbase known as the Li-natics, and has often performed with fellow mutant singer Dazzler. She performed at Jean Grey's and Scott Summer's wedding, as well as on Krakoa.[24][25]

Powers and abilities

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Cheney is a powerful teleporter, capable of transporting herself and others across vast distances of space in short periods of time. She is also able to teleport objects, making her an adept thief. However, she is unable to travel short distances due to the speed of her teleportation, instead using a Dyson sphere as a midpoint to travel shorter distances. She has also been shown to teleport to places where her voice is being played.[5] She is a capable fighter, and has been shown using alien weaponry.

She is also a talented musician, with a vast intergalactic following. She performs electric guitar as well as vocals.

Other versions

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In Days of Future Past, Cheney fights Warlock's father Magus, during which Magik accidentally ends up teleporting her whole team into two alternative future timelines. In one of them, where the Sentinels have destroyed most of Earth's mutants, Cannonball, Mirage, and Lila establish a guerilla operation to take mutants to temporary safety in Lila's Dyson sphere.[5]

In the Age of Apocalypse, Lila joined the X-Ternals in their mission for the M'Kraan crystal.

Alternative versions appear in X-Men: The End, Spider-Gwen's reality, the House of M, X-Men '92, and in the Adorable X-Babies.

In other media

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Reception

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ScreenRant ranked Lila 4th in "Gambit's 10 Greatest Love Interests That Marvel Fans Still Swoon Over".[30]

References

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  1. ^ a b Claremont, Chris (w), McLeod, Bob (p), McLeod, Bob, Palmer, Tom (i), Sharen, Bob (col), McLeod, Bob (let), Nocenti, Ann (ed). "The Cosmic Cannonball Caper" The New Mutants Annual, vol. 1, no. 1 (November 1984). Marvel Comics.
  2. ^ Miller, Chris (23 January 2025). "Marvel Reveals Concert of Champions, Bringing Together Dazzler and K-Pop". Screen Rant. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  3. ^ X-Factor #110 (November 1994)
  4. ^ Diaz, Eric (10 November 2023). "Who Is Prince Yan D'Aladna, Park Seo-joon's THE MARVELS' Character?". Nerdist. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d Captain Marvel (vol. 8) #9-12 (January - April 2015)
  6. ^ a b New Mutants #42 (April 1986)
  7. ^ a b New Mutants #55 (September 1987)
  8. ^ Folgia, Sofia (17 August 2022). "An X-Men Punk Icon Tried to Steal - Earth!?". CBR. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  9. ^ New Mutants #29 (July 1985)
  10. ^ New Mutants #67-70 (May-September 1988)
  11. ^ Uncanny X-Men #269 (October 1990)
  12. ^ Uncanny X-Men #273-277 (February - June 1991)
  13. ^ X-Men (vol. 2) #10-11 (July - August 1992)
  14. ^ X-Force #19 (December 1992)
  15. ^ X-Factor #111 (December 1994)
  16. ^ Strong Guy Reborn (July 1997)
  17. ^ X-Treme X-Men #24 (April 2003)
  18. ^ X-Treme X-Men #31 (September 2003)
  19. ^ X-Men: The 198 Files #1 (January 2006)
  20. ^ X-Men: Legacy (vol. 2) #13-14 (July 2013)
  21. ^ X-Force (vol. 6) #9 (May 2020)
  22. ^ Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace #1 (March 2024)
  23. ^ Uncanny Spider-Man #3 (November 2023)
  24. ^ X-Men (vol. 2) #30 (January 1994)
  25. ^ X-Force (vol. 6) #9 (March 2020)
  26. ^ Lento, Tiziano (October 26, 2021). "Easter Eggs - Guardians of the Galaxy: The Game Guide". IGN. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  27. ^ Craig, Richard (15 March 2024). "21 Years Ago, The Best X-Men Movie Teased 28 Mutants Who Never Appeared". Screenrant.com. Screen Rant. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  28. ^ Gilbert, Emily (21 May 2021). "Who Is Lila Cheney In MODOK Episode 1?". looper.com. Looper. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  29. ^ Schnabel, Keith (22 November 2020). "Spider-Man: Miles Morales' X-Men Easter Egg Explained". Screenrant.com. Screen Rant. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  30. ^ Jalali, Jessica (January 2, 2025). "Gambit's 10 Greatest Love Interests That Marvel Fans Still Swoon Over". Screen Rant. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
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