Who the Clix? is a series of articles featuring information on comic book characters that have been made into figures for the popular tabletop game Heroclix. These articles are meant to help Heroclix players learn more about the characters behind their favorite pieces.

Today we look at champion of anti-mutant legislation : Robert Kelly

Appearances in Heroclix: Days of Future Past

First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #135

Team Affiliations: United States Senate, Project: Wideawake, United States Republican Party



Senator Robert Kelly was always a passion believer in the potential mutant threat, a belief that was only reinforced while at a Hellfire Club function. While there, Mastermind made the Senator believe that he saw Cyclops firing randomly into a crowd of innocent bystanders. Kelly was the primary backer of the Mutant Control Act and Project: Wideawake, a government program aimed at creating new and more powerful Sentinels to track down and incapacitate mutants.

In the Days of Future Past alternate future, it was Senator Kelly’s assassination by Mystique and her Brotherhood of Mutants that pushed the government to step up their Sentinel program. This resulted in the enslavement or death of most mutants and enslavement of humankind by the self-aware Sentinel, Master Mold. When the time traveling Kitty Pryde saved Kelly from Destiny’s crossbow, this future was averted.

On a trip to South America, Kelly was captured and sentenced to death by a local crime lord. He was rescued by the US government sponsored Freed Force, which largely consisted of the Brotherhood members that had tried to kill him. Though Kelly was saved by mutants twice, his hatred of mutantkind did not stop. It even increased when his wife Sharon was killed by Master Mold, while the Sentinel battled Rogue.

Later, Kelly took part in a televised debate between himself, Professor Charles Xavier, anti-mutant crusader Graydon Creed, and Hank McCoy aka the Beast. Kelly was surprised to find himself agreeing with many of Xavier’s positions. This did not stop him, however, from supporting Operation: Zero Tolerance, yet another government sponsored anti-mutant initiative involving Sentinels. Kelly eventually discovered that US citizens were being transformed into the new cyborg type mutant hunters known as Prime Sentinels against their will. It was at this time that he withdrew his support and again had an attempt made on his life. Once Cyclops saved him, Kelly convinced the President to ask for SHIELD’s help in shutting down the operation.

Kelly did not seem to soften on his anti-mutant stance, even running for President with it as part of his platform. It was only at a campaign rally where he had yet another attempt on his life thwarted by a mutant, former Brotherhood member Pyro who was at the time infected by the Legacy Virus, that Kelly finally saw the error of his ways. He swore to try and bring mutants and humans together. As a result, anti-mutant activist Alan Lewis killed Kelly at a college rally right in front of Cable. Cable had been too occupied with a meeting on the astral plane to stop the assassin.