Young Japheth was diagnosed with stomach cancer after he became unable to retain solid food. Not wanting to burden his family, Japheth set out into the desert to die. His jeep ran out of gas, and Japheth discovered his younger brother Daniel in the back. Japheth sought to return home to save Daniel; the harsh desert proved too much for them, but they were saved by Magneto.
Magneto discovered that Japheth was a mutant possessing a sentient digestive system. Magneto returned Japheth and his brother to their village, which was assaulted by Apartheid soldiers. His eldest brother Lot dead and his father under attack, Japheth asked Magneto to rescue his father. Magneto mercilessly slew the soldiers, outraging Japheth who subsequently refused Magneto’s offer to join him.
Years later, as Maggott, he sought Magneto to “cure” him. Maggott’s quest took him from Guatemala to New York where the mutant Psylocke detected his presence and believed him to be evil. She and Archangel defeated Maggott, but the darkness Psylocke had felt within Maggott compelled her, and she transported the three of them to Magneto’s Antarctic citadel where they became involved in Magneto’s trial of the X-Man Gambit.
Maggott joined the X-Men during an attack by the android Bastion and his army of cyborg Prime Sentinels. Eventually seeking an education, Maggott briefly considered joining the mutants-in-training Generation X. After helping them fend off the man named Slaughter, Maggott chose to follow the villain to protect other mutants.
Maggott was later captured by the subversive organization Weapon X and imprisoned in the mutant concentration camp “Neverland.” He was apparently executed after he was deemed of no value to the Project, though the two slugs Eany and Meany, that made up his digestive system were given to two mutant children, Billy and Wendy. One slug was later seen in the possession of Mister Sinister.
Recently, Maggott was revived with an alien techno organic virus and Selene's mystical powers.
