Contributed by Michael McDermott
Ned Campbell was a quadriplegic mutant living in the “Mutant Town” ghetto in New York. His wife, Carol, believed that he was having an affair by way of his astral projection powers. During the night she would hear him call out the name “Kim” in his sleep. Carol hired the XXX Investigations team to find out for sure.
Rahne Sinclair, the mutant werewolf known as Wolfsbane, was assigned to track him and find out what was going on. One night, she saw his astral form leave his body, and she followed it across town to an apartment where Ned went for a romantic rendezvous with his lover, Kim. However, much to Rahne’s surprise, Kim turned out to be a man. Ned noticed Rahne watching them, and he attacked her in his astral form. During the struggle, Rahne slashed apart the astral projection and Ned died from the psychic feedback. As far as Carol knew, he simply passed away in his sleep.
The next day Carol met the XXX Investigators at a bar to discuss the case and toast Ned. Since Ned was dead and the affair would no longer be an issue, they decided to tell Carol that they found no evidence of an affair, in order to spare her the grief. Unfortunately, Kim was also at the bar and overhear them discussing Ned’s death. He came over and introduced himself, and when Carol recognized Kim’s name, she realized who he was and his relation to Ned. In her shock and rage she unleashed her mutant powers, which cause her to burst into flames like the Human Torch, only she isn’t flameproof. Kim’s hand was burned in the blaze, but Jamie Madrox grabbed a fire extinguisher and put Carol out before anyone got killed.
Ned had the power of astral projection. His astral form looked ghostly and insubstantial, but he had a certain amount of substance, since he was able to touch physical objects, and engage in sex. His astral form had the ability to fly through the air, and possessed superhuman strength, enabling him to rip through a street sign with a swipe of his hand.
Campbell first appeared in Madrox #3 and was confirmed gay in Madrox #4. Created by Peter David and Pablo Raimondi. Art by Raimondi, Andrew Hennessy, and Brian Reber.
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