Contributed by Ronald Byrd
Robin Vega is a science major at Empire State University, alma mater of Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man. A mutant, Robin has dealt with persecution all her life, having been run out of towns and colleges several times. When the mutant-hating group known as the Friends of Humanity becomes active on campus, Robin finally grows tired of running and resolves to fight them, “not just for myself, but for everyone else who is different and just wants to be left alone.” Confronted by a group of the bigots, whose gunfire triggers an explosion, Robin brands them with the word “mutie” so that they too will experience distrust, rescues two people from the fire, and vanishes into the night, presumably to continue her war on the hate-mongers. Although Robin is never said to be a lesbian, her situation has so many parallels to that of a closeted gay woman (“I’ve spent most of my life trying to hide who I really am,” she tells Peter Parker. “You don’t know what it’s like…to spend your entire life hiding who and what you really are from the world.”) that she seemed worthy of mention.
Robin can convert her body into living molten metal, in which form she can alter her shape, i.e. stretching her arms to great length, changing her hand into a hammer, growing an armor of rock-like spikes, and so on. While in this form she also possesses superhuman strength and is impervious to bullets and fire. She can also melt herself into an amorphous form which allows her to crawl down walls.
Created by Howard Mackie and John Romita Jr. Robin Vega appeared in Spider-Man #82 (1997) and then in #83 and #84. Art by John Romita Jr and Gregory Wright from the cover of Spider-Man #82.
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