Contributed by Mike McDermott
Richard was a closeted man who worked on Capitol Hill writing speeches and position papers for a political candidate. He was injured in the collapse of a subway tunnel which was damaged during a superhuman conflict. Rogue and Magneto of the X-Men got the other passengers to safety, but Richard had been impaled with a large piece of shrapnel and they could not move him without worsening his injuries and likely killing him. Realizing how hopeless his situation was and not wanting to see them hurt trying to help him, Richard urged the X-Men to leave him but Rogue refused.
Richard spoke of how he has wasted his life, doing what others wanted him to do since it was easier than deciding for himself what he wanted. He pursued a career that his parents chose for him, and spent a decade hiding his relationship with a man named Dale. Dale finally ended their relationship because he was tired of waiting for Richard to decide what was really important to him. Richard’s story struck a chord for Rogue and Magneto, who at that time were struggling with commitment issues in their own relationship.
Richard had been on his way to Dale’s house when the subway tunnel collapsed–but he admitted to Rogue that he still wasn’t sure if if he would actually have rung the bell and talked to him. Magneto was finally forced to rip Richard free of the shrapnel in order to get them all out of the subway car before the roof caved in completely. Unfortunately Richard died soon after–but before he died Rogue used her powers to absorb Richard’s thoughts, feelings and memories, and then visited Dale in order to deliver Richard’s final message to him.
Richard appeared in X-Men Legacy #274 (2012) by Christos Gage and David Baldeon.
Created by Christos Gage and David Baldeon. Art by Baldeon, Jordi Tarragona, and Rachelle Rosenberg.
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