Black Tom
Real Name: Thomas Samuel Eamon Cassidy
Relatives: Theresa Rourke (Siryn, cousin / foster daughter), Sean Cassidy (Banshee, cousin)
Aliases: Barrington
Powers: Originally, energy manipulation, now control over wood, vines and other plant life. Tom used to fire energy blasts channeled through his shillelagh (staff). After being shot by Cable during a hostage crisis involving Gideon and Sunspot, Tom was taken to France, where doctors employed by Mr. Tolliver (Tyler Dayspring) grafted a wood-like substance onto his wounds, healing him and allowing him to channel his bio-blasts directly through his fists. Unfortunately, due to a genetic virus the substance spread over Tom's body, and only the mutated cells of the mercenary Deadpool were able to help Tom stop the spread of the plant growth at all. Later, though, the spreading began again, to the point where he is now completely composed of plant matter. As a result, his powers now include control and manipulation of all manner of plant life, to the point where he can make plant dopplegangers of himself, or anyone else. He is completely insane as a result. Tom used to work a lot with Juggernaut, and the two still share a close friendship.
History: Years ago, while his cousin Sean was away on a mission for Interpol, Tom saved Sean's daughter Theresa when her mother Maeve (whom Tom had always loved) was killed by Irish terrorists. Tom kept Terry's existence a secret from Sean, and raised Theresa as his own. Theresa helped Tom and his comrade Juggernaut, but she never liked being a criminal. Eventually, due to Tom's criminal activities, Theresa was taken from him. Tom even wrote a letter to Sean, explaining the whole story, and took all responsibility for Terry's actions.
Black Tom first appeared to challenge the X-Men while taking over Banshee's ancestral home of Cassidy Keep. Tom captured all the X-Men except Nightcrawler, who was saved by the local leprechuans. Eventually, Kurt freed Banshee, who knocked Tom into the ocean, where he was saved by Juggernaut. By this point, it was known that Banshee's and Tom's powers wouldn't work on the other.
Much later, after Juggernaut had been dimensionally displaced, Tom struck a deal with science company magnate Arianna Jankos: in return for locating Juggernaut and returning him to our dimension, Tom agreed to head off the hostile takeover that was being directed at her company. During the buyout meeting, Tom appeared and took the buyers hostage, among them industrialist Gideon (who was really one of the Externals) and his then-protege Sunspot. X-Force and Siryn appeared to stop the plan, and Tom detonated explosives in one of the towers. Cable confronted Tom and shot him many times, even when Tom was cligning for life to a cable in an elevator shaft. Tom fell down the shaft, but was saved by Deadpool, who was working for Tolliver at the time. This resulted in the afore-mentioned plant graft.
Months passed, and Black Tom's rage against his cousing had not abated. Using his plant powers, he created a clone of Mondo, a young mutant whom Tom captured in his "Barrington" identity. The clone became a student at the Massachussetts Academy, where Sean was now headmaster. "Mondo" betrayed the Generation X to Black Tom and tried to kill Jubilee, the only mutant who escaped from Tom - only to be caught by Bastion.
Tom was next seen helping Juggernaut recover his Crimson Gem, which had somehow been removed from his body (again). This time, however, Tom looked completely normal, with no plant mutations apparent. It is unknown whether that Tom was a doppelganger or the real thing, or if he has somehow managed to reverse the genetic experiment.
Recently, Tom revealed to Gen X that it was he, in the guise of "Barrington" who had abducted Mondo and replaced him with the plant doppelganger that had betrayed the school to Tom, and who was subsequently destroyed by Bastion. He had been raising Mondo as his own, and taught him to hate the Gen Xers. Fortunately, Tom, Mondo and Juggernaut were defeated in this attack as well.
When the X-Men were sucked into the Oktid dimension, they found Tom there as well, having himself summoned them to help stop Juggernaut, who was possessed by the god Cytorrak after the restoration of his powers. Tom was unable to help much, and disappeared with Cain when the X-Men completed the mission.
Months later, Tom and Juggernaut were hired by Ulysses to attack Cyclops during the ex-soldier's vengeance run against the leader of the X-Men. Cyclops fought them off and then tracked them back to Ulysses, helping the duo escape when their employer betrayed them. Then, only a few weeks later, Tom lost control of his mutation and took over Cassidy Keep with plant tendrils. He reverted completely to a plant form, and needed to drain life energy from people to stay alive. When the X-Men arrived in response to Juggernaut's distress signal, Tom quickly captured most of them, impaling Wolverine and Iceman on sharp, thick vines. He strung up the rest and began draining them, and Juggernaut, whom he turned on. Finally, Iceman froze Tom solid, freeing the X-Men and Juggernaut. Tom came after Cain and tossed him into the ocean, but the X-Men saved, Juggernaut and left Tom in a frenzy as he ravaged Cassidy Keep.