ClanDestine
The ClanDestine is an appellation used to refer to the Destines, a fictional secret family of long-lived superhuman beings appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They were created in 1994 by British writer/artist Alan Davis, and appear in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics. They first appeared in Marvel Comics Presents #158 before going on to appear in their own self-titled monthly series, The ClanDestine, which lasted twelve issues before it was cancelled. The characters subsequently appeared in a number of miniseries and one-shots, all written and drawn by Davis. The name ClanDestine, which is a play on the word clandestine, is used primarily as the title of the series in which the family stars, and is not generally used by the characters within the stories.
A version of the ClanDestine, known as Clandestines, appeared as antagonists of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ series Ms. Marvel.
Publication history
Creator Alan Davis explained that he likes the superhero genre in general, and the group book dynamic in particular, and was drawn to the opportunity to create a group of new characters unencumbered by a long and complex continuity, though he set it in the Marvel Universe in order to use characters like the Silver Surfer and MODOK in cameo roles. Davis chose to make the group a family because the familial bond is not one of choice. Davis was also interested in superhumans who used their powers to enhance their lives, but did not necessarily feel either any heroic obligations or megalomaniacal greed. Although he made the Destines an extended family in order to make up new family members as he went along, the core of the group would be Rory, Pandora, Samantha, Walter, Kay and Dominic. Although the family's full membership remains unrevealed for this reason, Walter has stated that there are "many" that eleven-year-old twins Rory and Pandora have not met.After the end of the original series, Davis wrote and drew the 1996 miniseries X-Men and the ClanDestine, during which the events of the last four issues of the ongoing series were retconned as a dream. In 2008, he returned to the characters in a five-issue limited series. In 2012, he wrote and drew three linked annuals: Fantastic Four Annual #33, Daredevil Annual #1, and Wolverine Annual #1, each of which centered upon a different member of the Destine family interacting with the other heroes of the Marvel Universe.
Fictional history
Adam of Ravenscroft was born in the village of Ravenscroft in the heart of England in the summer of 1168 A.D., when Saxon England was ruled by Norman conquerors. Adam's youth was unremarkable, and he grew content without ambition. When he was sixteen, however, he was accidentally impaled on a scythe, but he miraculously recovered after a dream about a strange, inhuman woman. He was renamed Adam of Destine by the town, who felt the young man was destined for greatness. In 1189, Adam joined the Third Crusade. During the battles, Adam was never once injured and he believed that the "angel" he dreamt about protected him. By 1191 he was a seasoned veteran of battles at Acre, Arsuf and Jaffa. He became overconfident and reckless, and was captured by a warlord called Al Kadhdhaab. Kadhdhaab claimed that he needed Adam's help to defeat the wizard Sujanaa Min Raghbah. Centuries prior, Sujanaa captured a large gem with mystical powers that fulfilled his wishes. In a vision Sujanaa had seen that Adam was destined to kill him, and Kadhdhaab also knows this through a written prophecy. Adam traveled to Sujanaa's palace, but was captured by him. The wizard ranted that his gem loved Adam, and would not allow Sujanaa to hurt him. Adam managed to distract the wizard by telling him that Sujanaa had wasted his life, using all his power merely to protect his power. The wizard realized that he had become trapped by his own desire for power and during a moment of doubt, Adam was freed and killed the wizard. Adam then felt that there was something alive within the gem and tried to destroy its prison, but Kadhdhaab appeared and shot him in the back with a crossbow. Kadhdhaab tried to take the power of the gem for himself, but Adam managed to destroy the gem with his last strength. Elalyth, the female being within, called a Djinn, appeared and destroyed Kadhdhaab. She then restored Adam, making him immortal and invulnerable, and the two became lovers.Relative strangers
Over the next few centuries Adam and Elalyth had many children, all of whom inherited superhuman abilities and were extremely long-lived. As civilization advanced, and the advent of modern technology made it more difficult for members of the family to disappear or pass themselves off as their own descendants, one of Adam's children, Newton, set up the Relative Stranger Protocol. The protocol would create new identities for the long-lived family members whenever they required it and would protect the family should one of them be uncovered. In the late 20th century, after Adam's son Vincent destroyed the family manor, Adam killed him, because Adam felt he had become "evil". The family fell apart after that. Dominic, who saw Adam's actions as unforgivable, became a hermit, living in solitude on a small island. Elalyth returned to her mystical home of Yden, and Adam, who saw his slaying of Vincent as a betrayal of her love, left Earth, traveling through outer space in a vehicle created by Newton. The newly born twins, Rory and Pandora, were left with Walter Destine, who posed as their uncle and guardian, and Florence, who posed as their grandmother.Imp and the Crimson Crusader
Rory and Pandora's powers activated far earlier than those of their siblings, because they were twins. The children, believing they were mutants, decided to become superheroes. As the Crimson Crusader and Imp, they set out to battle crime. One evening they discover two groups, a creature named Lenz and his "children", and Dr. Hywel Griffin and his Omegans, fighting over a device called the Gryphon. Not knowing which side to help, the children grab the device and flee, intending to return it once they determine its rightful."Gryphon" is revealed to be an acronym for the device, its full name being Genetic Realignment Yield Polarity Harmonizing Orientation Net. It has the ability to genetically remodel a fully developed organism, irrespective of its age or genetic composition. Lenz, a former human scientist mutated into a monstrous new form by Advanced Idea Mechanics, hopes to use the Gryphon to stabilize his "children", who usually die within several days. Griffin is an albino who hopes to cure himself with the Gryphon. Both parties try to track down the Destine twins. During the twins' attempt to flee, Pandora loses lost her cape, which bears the name of their sister, Kay Cera, who designed it. Lenz sends his children to kill Kay, and they find the history of the ClanDestine in Kay's notebook. Kay herself survives by transferring her mind to a cat. Lenz's creatures attack the various members of the ClanDestine, killing Florence and Maurice. Most of the other family members unite and track down Griffin, whom they think are responsible for the deaths of Flo and Maurice. Lenz appears and kidnaps Rory, but they are all saved by Adam, who had felt the death of his children and returned to Earth. Adam defeats Lenz, but lets him go when he realizes that Lenz was not evil, but merely trying to ensure his species' survive.
When the Destines return home, Adam agrees to respect Walter's status as the twins' guardian, as Adam feels he relinquished that right when left Earth eleven years previously. Walter wants the children to return to school and live normal lives, even threatening to split them up after they get into trouble at school. The children flee to New York to become full-time superheroes, but Spider-Man convinces them to return home. Dominic and Adam convinced Walter to allow the twins to go out at night on "crime patrol" confronting only petty crime, with the adults taking turns chaperoning them.