Pulse (Augustus) is a fictional character appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
. Pulse is a
mutant
In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...
who retained his powers post-
M-Day. Pulse appeared in the first season of the TV series ''
The Gifted'' played by
Zach Roerig
Zachary George Roerig (born February 22, 1985) is an American actor, known for his roles as Casey Hughes on ''As the World Turns'', Hunter Atwood on '' One Life to Live'' and Matt Donovan on ''The Vampire Diaries''.
Early life
Roerig was born ...
.
Publication history
Pulse first appeared in ''X-Men vol. 2,'' #173 (September, 2005).
Fictional character biography
Sometime after having
Gambit
A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage.
The word ''gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe simi ...
was not right for her. Mystique's plan to rid Rogue of Gambit involved sowing discord in the couple's romance and, once the pair was soon to be no more, introduce Rogue to Augustus. Given the dialogue between Mystique and him, in which Mystique says she "wanted to see for
erselfthat
ugustusis the man she hopes he is," it can be assumed that the associates did not yet know each other well.
Augustus and Mystique were next seen, stealing paintings from a house. Mystique asks what he does with all of the money he gets from selling stolen goods on the
black market
A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...
, he replies that he invests the money into
stock
In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...
s he knows will soon crash, as he gets some kind of sick pleasure out of losing other peoples' money. Mystique replies, "Time you were safely married, Augustus." Augustus is worried about Gambit's reaction, and comically remarks upon the authenticity of how Cajun he really is. Mystique then reveals she is certain that of all the men she checked out to be Rogue's new romance, Augustus is the one who can "make my daughter happy."
Mystique and Augustus make their way back to the
Xavier Institute
The X-Mansion or Xavier Institute is the common name for a mansion and research institute appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The mansion is depicted as the Estate (land), private estate of Professor X, Charles Francis ...
and Mystique announces she is joining the X-Men after what happened last time—before making it very clear that she is going to set Augustus up with Rogue.
In a moment alone, Augustus and Rogue sit down in a tree to talk to one another. At first, Rogue is defensive and declares that no matter what her "crazy mother" told Augustus, she and Gambit are happy together. She explains that they, of course, have their problems, and Augustus replies that he doesn't have problems. Continuing on, Augustus states that Mystique wants Rogue to be happy, and no for
sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...
?" Rogue replies that she isn't, and explains her power to him. He tells her not to worry about it and his eyes begin to glow. Rogue looks down at his hand and notices that nothing has happened to him; she asks how long his hand has been there without anything happening. He replies, "Don't worry about that, either."
Outside of Apocalypse's temple, Mystique suggests that they use Pulse to neutralize
Apocalypse
Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...
; the X-Men argue over the idea. Rogue interrupts, stating that they should ask Augustus if he can do this to Apocalypse. He smiles coyly and replies that he "doesn't know." Later that issue, Gambit is revealed to be the new Horseman of Death.
In his time as a Horseman, Gambit twice attempted to kill Rogue so as to break his ties to his former life. Both times, Pulse was able to save Rogue by neutralizing Gambit's powers and physically overcoming him. Afterwards, Pulse attempted to woo Rogue; at first, Rogue seemed somewhat accepting of the idea, but once Pulse made a comment about Gambit, Rogue rejected him, stating that she "never
ants
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,00 ...
to worry about romance again."
As Rogue left, Mystique commented on his poor timing. Pulse told her to go away, and his current status is unclear. Since ''
Decimation
Decimation, Decimate, or variants may refer to:
* Decimation (punishment), punitive discipline
* Decimation (signal processing), reduction of digital signal's sampling rate
* Decimation (comics), 2006 Marvel crossover spinoff ''House of M''
* ''D ...
'' he was one of the few mutants to retain his powers and was forcibly relocated to the mutant camp for
the 198
''X-Men: The 198'' is a comic book limited series that was published by Marvel Comics and set in the Marvel Universe shortly after the ''House of M'' and '' Decimation'' events. The five-issue series began publication in January 2006.
The seri ...
.
Powers and abilities
Augustus produces a disruptive pulse from his eyes which can disable systems and people, including mutant and non-mutant powers, and scramble electronic systems. His power also creates a masking effect to disguise his brain wave patterns from psychics.
In other media
* Pulse is portrayed by
Zach Roerig
Zachary George Roerig (born February 22, 1985) is an American actor, known for his roles as Casey Hughes on ''As the World Turns'', Hunter Atwood on '' One Life to Live'' and Matt Donovan on ''The Vampire Diaries''.
Early life
Roerig was born ...
in his first live-action appearance in
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
's live-action TV series ''
The Gifted''.
Footnotes
{{reflist
Characters created by Salvador Larroca
Characters created by Peter Milligan
Comics characters introduced in 2005
Marvel Comics mutants
Marvel Comics superheroes
X-Men supporting characters