HotoruDeathdream

Deathdream switches between being alive and dead and can summon souls to do his bidding. With such a connection to the spirit world, he struggles to understand the living world and sometimes resorts to solitary graveyard hangouts.

One Foot in the Spirit World

From Kyoto and stillborn at birth, Hotoru is revived by the doctors but dies three more times that night. He can eventually revive himself. While dead, he dreams of being alive and while alive, he only thinks of death. He is never alone as he’s always surrounded by spirits in the spirit world. 

As a teenager, he meets three other mutant teens, all of whom are being hunted by a mysterious monster. They are brought together and guided by a mysterious voice, telling them the X-Men could save them. They travel to Louisiana where the X-Men are located. There, they find Anna Marie LeBeau, AKA Rogue, and her X-Men, a splinter group from the rest of the X-Men, arguing and without their leader Charles Xavier, AKA Professor X, who was imprisoned after the fall of Krakoa. The young mutants desperately ask for help, but James Howlett/Logan, AKA Wolverine, can smell death on them and goes on the offensive. Hotoru, calling himself Deathdream, and the teens fight to protect themselves until Jubilation Lee, AKA Jubilee’s sudden arrival, who calms everyone down. Luckily, this group of X-Men decides to take them into their protection, and Hotoru and the others follow them to the St. Juniors’ family home in Haven, LA, dubbed Haven House, where they train with the X-Men.

Life and Death

Hotoru can choose a state of life or death at will, and has a deep connection to the spirit world, allowing him to summon souls and power of the unliving. He can also show people what they’re most afraid of. He is fluent in Japanese and English. 

Fearsome Foes

Some of Hotoru’s first foes while with The Outliers include the Hag and stealth Sentinels, deadly drones shaped like dogs. The latter of whom kill Hotoru until one of the Outliers revives him. He also goes up against fearful and angry ghosts.

Outlier Allies

Harvey X is Hotoru’s first ally though he may not be aware of it. Before he dies, Harvey X psychically guides Hotoru and his fellow Outlier mutant brethren to Rogue’s team of X-Men, who become staunch allies while they’re being hunted by the monstrous woman known as the Hag. The Outliers include Sofia Yong, AKA Jitter, from Singapore and cares about everyone’s well-being; Valentin Correa, AKA Ransom, from Buenos Aires, who’s a great fighter; and Becca Constance Simon-Pinette, AKA Calico, from Virginia, who shares a special connection with her horse, Ember. 

Together, they train and learn about their powers from Rogue’s X-Men, who are their teachers and protectors as are their allies, the St. Juniors, who offer them room and board at Haven House.

Dying Half the Time

While under Rogue’s charge, Hotoru and the others found out that the monster hunting them is Sarah Gaunt, AKA the Hag, who sought to kill them all and sent a small army to do so. When the army confronted the X-Men, Hotoru and the other teens joined in the fight without hesitation and repelled their attackers. Meanwhile, Rogue battled with the Hag, and in defeating her, Rogue delivered  her to Graymalkin Prison, formerly Xavier’s Institute, to be incarcerated.

With this foe hopefully behind them, they could look ahead. Part of staying at Haven House meant going to school where Hotoru and the others had to behave and keep a low profile. But when bullies made fun of Jitter’s stutter, Hotoru said something sarcastic and Valentin called him out for only thinking of himself. Later, he saw the same bullies and used his powers to scare them. Valentin came to his aid and fought the bullies, who ultimately ran off.

Hotoru soon joined his fellow Outliers and the X-Men to liberate Jubilee and Calico from Graymalkin Prison. When they freed their friends, Calico hugged both Hotoru and Valentin, the latter of whom didn’t understand the gesture.

While Hotoru hung out in a nearby cemetery to Haven House, Jubilee joined him. When she asked about his parents, he said that he talks to them sometimes but they don’t remember him and they’re unpleasant to look at. He then said that her company was making him sad, so she created a ball of light for him and he found it warm and wanted to keep it. He later went to the mall with the other Outliers, but they were attacked by stealth Sentinels, drones in the form of dogs. He summoned the dead against them but since the Sentinels were inorganic, the dead couldn’t see them nor help Hotoru. Calico swooped him out of danger and told him to get somewhere safe. As the others fought off the deadly drones, another set of them maimed Hotoru.  Jitter used her powers to channel a combat medic’s experience and revived him. When he came to, he and Jitter ran towards the others and the X-Men joined them in the fight. Hotoru then realized that the dogs were created with biological material from stray dogs, and using his powers to set them free, stopped the drones in their place. Onlookers saw them as heroes. 

Hotoru trained with the other Outliers and as Jubilee sent her fireworks flying, Hotoru yelled at her to stop, not understanding the rules of the game. When Jitter was thrown back, Jubilee ended training for the day and thought Rogue and Remy LeBeau, AKA Gambit’s tactics were too rough.

Wanting to learn how to defend himself, Hotoru asked Valentin if he could teach him how to box, and Valentin agreed. Later, Hotoru woke up the Outliers in the middle of the night and led them to the Dark Artery, a mysterious graveyard near Haven House that’s tied to a mutant from the distant past. Deathdream kept reminding them not to fear and when questioned, he revealed the presence of the monstrous Ted Sallis, AKA Man-Thing, who burns those who fear. He was also the protector of the Penumbra, a city of the dead, which had a mutant guardian of its own, Lady Henrietta. She revealed that she and those that dwell in this place had lured them there to take her place under the city’s eternal overlord Shuvahrak, and that Hotoru was her obvious replacement. Hotoru saw a chance to take her place as no one cared about him, but he was wrong as the Outliers came to his defense. When the city of the dead attacked, Hotoru and the others defended themselves. Things looked dire, so Hotoru told Calico to get to safety but she returned the command and told him she loved him, catching him off guard. When they were all caught by the dead, Man-Thing and the X-Men arrived to back them up.