Roulette (Marvel Comics)

Roulette (real name: Jennifer Stavros) is a fictional character, a mutant appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Roulette
Roulette from New Mutants #16.
Art by Sal Buscema.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceNew Mutants #16 (Jun 1984)
Created byChris Claremont
Sal Buscema
In-story information
Alter egoJennifer Stavros
SpeciesHuman Mutant
Team affiliationsHellions
AbilitiesRoulette can create discs of psionic energy which alter the probability field around the victim at whom she throws the disc. Her black energy discs create "bad luck" while her red energy discs bestow "good luck."

Publication history

Roulette was created by Chris Claremont and Sal Buscema in New Mutants #16-17 (June–July 1984) for the antithesis to the New Mutants: the Hellions.

The character subsequently appears in The Uncanny X-Men #193 (May 1985), Firestar #2-4 (April–June 1986), The New Mutants #39 (May 1986), #43 (September 1986), #53-54 (July–August 1987), #56 (October 1987), #62 (April 1988), The New Warriors #9-10 (March–April 1991), and died in The Uncanny X-Men #281 (October 1991). The character made a posthumous appearance in The New Warriors Annual #2 (1992).

Roulette appeared as part of the "Hellions" entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #5.

Fictional character biography

Jennifer Stavros was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. As a teenager, Jennifer was recruited into the Hellions and enrolled at Emma's Frost's Massachusetts Academy where she was covertly trained in combat as one of the Hellions, the teenage enforcement squad of the HellFire Club. One of the team's first missions was to confront the New Mutants, who were attacking the Massachusetts Academy in an attempt to retrieve their kidnapped schoolmate, X-man Kitty Pryde. The Hellions met with mixed success against the New Mutants in their first conflict. Roulette was able to neutralize New Mutants Sunspot and Wolfsbane in this initial meeting by making Sunspot's back muscles go into spasm and a bookshelf to crash on to Wolfsbane.[1]

Roulette begins a guarded flirtation with one of her teammates, Empath, with whom she shares an enthusiasm for making others suffer.[2] As such, both she and Empath, along with Firestar, a recent addition to the Massachusetts Academy, follow their teammate James Proudstar (using his then codename Thunderbird) as he confronts the X-Men over this brother John's death. During this conflict, Roulette is able to use her probability altering powers to cause the X-Men's cloaking mechanisms to malfunction, and also to generate an electrical feedback loop in the Blackbird's portable Cerebro unit.[3]

At a party thrown by the Hellfire Club, Roulette turned her charms on New Mutant Cypher. She surreptitiously used her luck altering powers to cause Cypher to win several hands of poker. However, after getting drunk, Cypher hits her in a paranoid fit.[4]

Roulette is present when the New Mutants briefly join the Massachusetts Academy following the events of Secrets Wars.[5] She is likewise present when the Hellions confront the New Mutants as both teams attempt to capture a runaway mutate creature known as Bird-Brain. During this mission, she is able to use her good luck discs to save herself and teammate Catseye from a high altitude fall, causing their landings to occur on a cushioned canopy[6]

Roulette was part of the force of Hellions that attacked the New Warriors over the fate of Firestar, a former member. At first, her powers were deflected back on her teammates but when the battles degenerated to one on one, she easily took down Speedball. Eventually the Hellions left, having lost due to the competition deal between the White Queen and Tai, the unofficial force behind the Warriors.[7]

Soon after, at another Hell Fire Club engagement (attended by both the Hellions and the X-Men Gold Team) Roulette, along with most of her teammates is killed, either by Sentinels or by Trevor Fitzroy in order to fuel his time traveling teleportation portals.[8]

Necrosha

Roulette appears in the Necrosha event in New Mutants (vol. 3), along with the other deceased Hellions, having been resurrected by Selene's magic and the transmode virus.[9] She again appears infected with the transmode virus in the "Fight the Future" arc of New Mutants (vol. 3).[10] Her interest in Cypher was apparently more than just indulgence of her love of mischief; during the Necrosha storyline, when Roulette - resurrected by Selene - is temporarily possessed by Karma, interrupting Selene's psychic control, she reflects over Cypher's prone form that she used to 'think (she) loved' him.

Powers and abilities

Roulette has the mutant power to alter probability. She can generate discs of psychic energy that alter the laws of chance, resulting in either good or bad luck for their targets. Her black energy discs create "bad luck" while her red energy discs create "good luck."

gollark: Being in the UK, I mostly look at the BBC and the Guardian, which are probably *okay*.
gollark: yes.
gollark: I really should learn about how it actually works more.
gollark: Which maths, hyperbolic geometry?
gollark: hyperbolic geometry

References
  1. New Mutants, volume 1 #16-17 (June, July 1984)
  2. Uncanny X-Men #193 (May 1985)
  3. Uncanny X-Men #193 (May, 1985)
  4. New Mutants #53
  5. New Mutants, volume 1 #39 (May 1986)
  6. New Mutants, volume 1 #56 (October 1987)
  7. New Warriors #9-10 (March–April 1991)
  8. off-panel in Uncanny X-Men #282 (1991)
  9. New Mutants volume 3 #7-8 (2010)
  10. New Mutants volume 3 #48-49 (2012)
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