Irene AdlerDestiny

Prophetic mutant Destiny records her visions and works closely with shapeshifter Raven Darkhölme, AKA Mystique, to prevent her most apocalyptic visions from coming true.

Visions of the Future

Born into a privileged 19th century family, Irene Adler was visually impaired from birth. At 13, her mutant power for precognition activated precipitously. Nearly overwhelmed, Irene coped by transcribing her visions, compiling one volume of her Libris Veritorium or Book of Truths per month for the next 13 months; when she finished, she was physically blind, having lost even the limited eyesight she had before. Slowly comprehending that she had recorded a comprehensive future record, with differing permutations representing different paths the future might follow, Irene became determined to identify both the likely and the most desirable future, then make them coincide; she even predicted that a girl due to be born and adopted by Irene decades later would be close to death more than 100 years afterwards, and how she could be saved. 

However, Irene’s books also contained pictograms, codes and languages unknown to her, and discussed places she had never heard of and people not yet born. To aid her quest, Irene hired consulting detective Raven Darkhölme, a mutant shapeshifter, with whom Irene fell instantly in love. Even with Raven’s aid they found large-scale shaping of the future difficult, their frustration growing with each failure. Either due to another aspect of her mutant abilities, or perhaps having used her skills to procure some other method for longevity, Irene aged slowly; Raven seemed not to age at all. 

Inner Sight

Destiny was precognitive, mentally scanning alternate futures and perceiving probable events. Normally she looked no more than 15 minutes ahead, though visions of highly probable events further away could come unbidden, and Destiny could also focus only on the most probable futures, or widen her view to scan myriad timelines. Though her accuracy lessened the further away geographically and chronologically she looked, she could perceive some events more than a century in advance, and her inner sight grew keener with age and experience. The more likely a given future became, the clearer it would appear to Destiny, and she became adept at nudging events to shift probabilities toward desired results; her prediction of events 10 seconds away was 97% accurate, allowing her to use her precognition to replace her lost sight. 

Using this ability, she was an exceptional markswoman, able to fire where her opponent would be before they got there; Destiny also provided tactical advice to her allies in combat. She used both crossbows and stun guns on occasion. 

Irene seemingly ages extremely slowly, looking around 60 when she’s actually over 100; whether this is another aspect of her mutant power, or due to some longevity method she had procured, remains unrevealed.

Eye Spy Enemies

Destiny joins Mystique’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to assassinate anti-mutant politician Senator Robert Kelly, and ends up battling the X-Men. 

Destiny also faces the Avengers and the Reavers. While battling the Reavers, David Haller, AKA Legion, murders her, though he was under the influence of the malevolent Amahl Farouk, AKA Shadow King.

Eye To Eye

Destiny works closely with Mystique to prevent her more unpleasant prophetic visions and foster more favorable timelines. Destiny’s visions even help Mystique work as a detective in the late 1800s. Their relationship evolves into a romance and eventually marriage. 

During a time when Mystique was married to Christian Wagner, she has an affair with Azazel, whom she claims is the real father to their son Kurt Wagner, AKA Nightcrawler, but it’s a ruse to hide Kurt’s true parentage, that of Mystique herself, who had shapeshifted into a man to have a family with Destiny. While Destiny became pregnant with Kurt, Mystique faked her pregnancy and tricked Azazel into believing he was the father, so he’d be preoccupied with heirs to avert a future Destiny had seen where he would destroy them all.  

Destiny and Mystique later take in a young Anna Marie, AKA Rogue, and raise her as their daughter in an isolated part of Mississippi. At this time, they asked Charles Xavier, AKA Professor X, to wipe their memories of Nightcrawler being their son.

Destiny joins Mystique’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, a group determined to fight anti-mutant sentiments and threats with any means necessary. The Brotherhood later works for the government as the rebranded Freedom Force and eventually receive a pardon for their work.

Seeing Is Believing

Though Irene predicted the horrors of World War II, she decided against assassinating Hitler before his rise to power, believing a worse evil would fill the vacuum this would cause. During the 1930s, the couple was friends with the Canadian adventurer Logan (James Howlett, later known as Wolverine), aware he was another long-lived mutant and occasionally providing him precognitive assistance; in one instance they also gave him and a temporally displaced Kitty Pryde, AKA Shadowcat, sanctuary in their Edinburgh home. 

In 1895, Irene and Raven investigated a string of murders that were possibly inspired by Jack the Ripper. Their investigation led them to meet Dr. Nathaniel Essex, who was previously found at the scene of one of the murders but had no memory of anything leading up to it. When Raven found the true attacker, Mister Sinister, she followed him to Essex’ house where he turned into Essex. They sent him to Bedlam for treatment but heard he had died in the night. Though Irene saw that his impact would stretch forward and didn’t believe he was dead. She investigated his home one more time, and found a recording of Essex who sought immortality and discovered four hidden cloning pods. Their time as investigators inspired author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to create the literary detective Sherlock Holmes.

After the war, Irene became an archivist for Black Womb, a secret United States government project gathering data on the mutant genome through experimentation on mutant infants; Irene informed Raven only that she was working there for the ultimate benefit of all mutants, but secretly recorded the project’s activities and findings, aware Raven would one day need to be fully informed. Despite their enduring love, both women enjoyed other relationships, and at some point Irene married an unidentified man and gave birth to a daughter, Justine. Widowed, Irene eventually returned to Raven, apparently after Justine reached adulthood, as Irene’s daughter seemed unaware of her mother’s relationship with Raven. The couple became freelance spies, codenamed Mystique (Raven) and Destiny (Adler). Raven went undercover as Mossad agent Amichai Benvenisti to investigate the mutant Parker Gifford, AKA Catalyst, believing he worked for the Israeli Mafia, and unaware that his true employer was Hydra. Catalyst captured Destiny, using her to lure “Amichai” and CIA Agent Victor Creed (later Sabretooth) into a trap; while imprisoned, Destiny saw a nightmarish potential future brought about by the Access computer program Catalyst was developing. Destiny manipulated events to electrocute Catalyst, aware he would survive, but that he would be set back years; she let her compatriots believe Catalyst was dead, but told Mystique about Access, making her promise to destroy it, and telling her where to locate Catalyst’s research when the time came.

Tiring of others using her talents for their own purposes, Irene worked for a time as the fortune teller Madame Destiny in the Tiboldt Carnival of Wonder, but quit after foreseeing the death of 11-year-old James Proudstar’s elder brother John, AKA Thunderbird. The couple adopted a runaway mutant girl, Anna Marie—who would later become known as Rogue—both coming to love her as if she were their own child, though Irene knew they would one day lose her. Now over 100, though looking around 60, Irene took a less active role in Mystique’s espionage activities, letting Rogue accompany her instead; they sometimes worked with the memory thief Blindspot, despite Irene’s disdain for her. 

When Destiny predicted that anti-mutant Senator Robert Kelly would bring about a dire future for mutantkind, Mystique assembled a “Brotherhood of Evil Mutants” to assassinate him; though aware Kelly’s death would trigger terrible events, Destiny believed worse would happen if he survived. Around the same time, Destiny warned Mystique that heroine Carol Danvers, AKA Ms. Marvel, was tied to a tragedy that might one day cost Rogue her soul; to protect Rogue, Mystique pursued a vendetta against Danvers. On Halloween, the Brotherhood, minus Rogue, attacked Kelly at a Senate hearing, but were countered by the X-Men, who had been alerted to the Brotherhood’s plans by time-traveler Kate Pryde (from Earth-811). Having telepathically swapped places with her younger counterpart, Sprite (Kitty Pryde), Kate’s anomalous presence rendered her invisible to Destiny; while the X-Men subdued the Brotherhood, Destiny cornered Kelly, but Kate saved him. Mystique escaped, but the rest of the Brotherhood were apprehended and imprisoned on Ryker’s Island. 

Aware that her mother hated Ms. Marvel, Rogue ambushed Danvers, ironically fulfilling Destiny’s prophecy; unable to control her absorption ability, Rogue stole Danvers’ powers and memories, an act that would haunt Rogue for years to come. Mystique and Rogue broke into Ryker’s, briefly freeing the Brotherhood, but the Avengers swiftly recaptured them. Destiny and the others were transferred to Windust Maximum Security Prison, West Virginia, only to be freed moments after arriving by Mystique and Rogue; however the untimely arrival of the spaceknight Rom saw the male Brotherhood members recaptured. Destiny, Rogue and Mystique fled; seeking refuge from a blizzard in an abandoned mansion, the trio met the monstrous Jimmy Marks, AKA Hybrid. He telepathically blocked Destiny’s powers, and the women reluctantly agreed to ally with Hybrid against Rom; however, during the subsequent battle, Hybrid’s mental blocking slipped. Learning that Hybrid intended to use them as disposable breeders, the trio aided Rom in defeating Hybrid. 

When a future Mystique possessed the current Mystique’s body, Irene sensed the time was right to provide her lover with the Black Womb disc, knowledge Mystique’s future self needed. Mystique, Destiny and Rogue next targeted the X-Men’s Warren Worthington III, AKA Angel, but Alison Blaire, AKA Dazzler, disrupted their attack. Increasingly troubled by Ms. Marvel’s memories, Rogue turned to X-Men leader Charles Xavier, AKA Professor X, for help; Destiny counseled Mystique to accept Rogue’s choice. Destiny foresaw that Rogue was in danger of being violently depowered, and that whoever aided her would suffer that fate in her stead; predicting that if Rogue’s teammate Ororo Munroe, AKA Storm, was depowered, this would trigger a chain of events providing a chance to defeat the impending threat of the Adversary, Destiny informed Mystique of the first two visions. As anticipated, Mystique asked Storm to help Rogue, ensuring Destiny’s desired outcome.

Mystique gained the Brotherhood federal pardons in return for their working as government agents, Freedom Force. They captured Max Eisenhardt, AKA Magneto, to stand trial, but failed to apprehend fugitive pyrokinetic Rusty Collins, who fled into the Morlocks’ tunnels; predicting their deaths if they stayed, Destiny convinced Freedom Force to retreat. They redeemed this failure by apprehending the Avengers, at that time falsely accused of treason. 

Sensing her approaching death, Irene dragged Raven on a cruise ship vacation, telling Raven that she wanted her ashes scattered from there; chiding her lover’s grim demeanor, Irene promised to make Raven laugh if it was the last thing she did. Enforcing the new Mutant Registration Act, Freedom Force confronted the X-Men in Dallas, but again sensing imminent death, Destiny ordered her team’s retreat; moments later the Adversary attacked the X-Men. To contain him, they gave their lives to power their ally Forge’s binding spell, their sacrifice broadcast live across the world. With Rogue amongst the dead, Mystique blamed the surviving Forge. Despite this, when Destiny predicted the New Mutant Illyana Rasputin, AKA Magik’s imminent revenge attack on Forge, Freedom Force defended him; however, foreseeing that Magik would soon trigger a demonic Inferno, and that the only salvation lay in Magik recognizing her own folly, Destiny advised Freedom Force to back down. After battling the Resistants, Destiny predicted that Freedom Force’s survival depended on them capturing Rusty Collins, but his new allies, the New Mutants, prevented this. 

Alongside Forge, Freedom Force defended Muir Island’s besieged inhabitants from the cyborg Reavers; Mystique placed Destiny under Forge’s protection, but aware her death was imminent, and hoping to prevent his dying too, Irene sent Forge to aid Freedom Force; moments later she was confronted by the mentally disturbed Legion. Under the influence of the psychic Shadow King, Legion telepathically attacked her, only to be assailed by telepathic visions of an apocalyptic alternate reality he would bring about; unable to cope, Legion slew Destiny with a telepathic blast before she could show him more, sadistically broadcasting her death to Mystique.

Destiny’s consciousness survived inside Legion’s mind. Interpreting her words as advice to go back in time and slay Magneto, he accidentally killed his own father, Charles Xavier, instead, diverging the alternate timeline Destiny had foreseen (Reality-295); he was slain by another time-traveler, Lucas Bishop, in order to restore the original timeline. Perhaps because of the anomalous manner of Legion’s demise, both Destiny and Legion’s spirits ended up in Otherplace, a timeless interdimensional limbo, where they were recruited by its then-ruler, the sorceress Margali Szardos, joining her Defenders, a secret last bastion of humanity against the forces of darkness. With Margali later deposed, their current fate is unrevealed. 

Destiny’s legacy survived beyond her physical death. While Raven scattered Irene’s ashes, the wind changed, blowing them back in Raven’s face; certain her lover had known this would happen, Raven laughed, confirming Irene’s prediction that she would make Raven do so. While the exact chain of events Rusty’s capture would have set off are unclear, Freedom Force soon disbanded, its membership decimated in battle. 

Learning of Libris Veritorium, a group of X-Men scoured the world to gather them, and prevent the “Destiny Diaries” from falling into the wrong hands. X-Man Emma Frost hid the diaries in Michigan, leaving fake ones at the Xavier Institute to fool potential thieves. After Rogue was left near death by the Strain 88 virus, Mystique used the diaries predictions to cure her. To prevent their misuse, Remy Lebeau, AKA Gambit, destroyed the diaries.

Destiny was later resurrected by Selene but kept imprisoned on Genosha and used for her foresight. She escaped by offering a guard his fortune for her freedom, and attempted to contact Rogue but instead reached Ruth Aldine, AKA Blindfold. She informed her that their collective enemies were on both Genosha and Muir Island and to pass it along to Rogue and the X-Men. Destiny arrived on Muir Island and found Blindfold separated from the X-Men. Blindfold had already been possessed by one of their enemies, the reality-warping mutant Kevin MacTaggert, AKA Proteus, and touching Destiny allowed Proteus to possess her too as well as Nightcrawler, Paige Guthrie, AKA Husk, and Betsy Braddock, AKA Psylocke. The remaining X-Men worked together to defeat Proteus/Blindfold. Rogue freed Destiny, Nightcrawler and Psylocke by absorbing Psylocke’s psychic knife power, cutting out the Proteus spirit from each of them, and Psylocke in turn freed Husk. Meanwhile, Magento ended up battling Proteus/Blindfold and defeating the entity, freeing Blindfold. Destiny shared a private moment with her daughter, Rogue, revealing that she had seen her future and knew she would make her proud. She also shared that Selene’s magic and a virus were the only things allowing her to stand but that she’d be dead before the day ended. Before her second death, Destiny revealed to Blindfold that she was her great-grandmother and that her mother died protecting Blindfold from her brother.

When Amatsu Mikaboshi, AKA the Chaos King, rips open the rift between the underworld and Earth, a handful of deceased X-Men return to fight against his war against life. Destiny’s soul is also brought back but in the body of mutant Moira MacTaggert, who had read from one of Destiny’s lost diaries, which had released her soul. Destiny as Moira joined the X-Men to defeat the Chaos King’s minion, the Carrion Crow.

Foreseeing the creation of Krakoa, a sovereign island nation-state and paradise for mutants, and Moira’s role in it, Destiny informed Mystique about it. She also revealed that there would be rulers against Destiny’s resurrection and that if it was prevented, Mystique would have to destroy Krakoa. When Krakoa finally came to be, Destiny wasn’t resurrected and Moira worked tirelessly to destroy Destiny’s DNA and backup consciousness, but Mystique stole it first and used the Five to resurrect her beloved. Destiny awoke to be overwhelmed and ill from her visions, but Mystique cared for her while gaining support from the Quiet Council of Krakoa so that Destiny could take one of the seats. Destiny, however, couldn’t see some of the future and with Mystique they attempted to uncover the truth, prompting a conflict with Xavier and Magneto who controlled the means of resurrection all to prevent the machine Nimrod from coming online. 

Telepathic mutant Emma Frost then revealed to Destiny and Mystique that Moira was in fact a resurrecting mutant who could destroy a timeline and create a new one. Therefore, Destiny offered Moira an ultimatum that when she would continually attempt to cure mutants in her future lives, that she would foresee it and her only options were to change or die. Destiny and Mystique then set a trap for Xavier and Magneto, with Moira as bait and let loose Nimrod onto them. While they were distracted, Destiny and Mystique secured Moira back to Krakoa where they depowered her. Just before they planned to kill her to keep their timeline safe, several mutants stopped them, threatening them with exposure to the Council and no further opportunities for resurrection, so they released Moira.