Scanner (comics)

Scanner first appeared as Screener in Avengers #357 and then as Scanner in Uncanny X-Men #300, and was created by Scott Lobdell and John Romita Jr..

As a member of the Acolytes, Scanner served as a scout that would survey the area before the others arrived, using her mutant ability to project an astral form to travel great distances. She was often seen as weak by the other Acolytes, and she lacked the confidence that the others had. During the Fall of Avalon,[2] the Acolytes' space station, Scanner survived with teammates Unuscione, Cargill and the Kleinstocks by the help of Cyclops. After crash-landing in the Australian Outback, the group found the X-Men's former base thanks to Scanner's scouting.[3] Scanner requested to stay at the Xavier Institute but was declined and the usually passive and naive member of the Acolytes became bitter and angry that the X-Men did not extend an offer for her to join the X-Men or receive a reprieve to help rehabilitate her, much like the X-Men had done for former young and misguided villains like Rogue.[4]

Scanner was one of the very few mutants to survive Cassandra Nova's Sentinel attack on Genosha as she was revealed to have been depowered along with 90% of the Earth's mutants thanks to none other than her leader's daughter, the Scarlet Witch.[5]

In her first appearance Scanner was presented as having the ability to psychically detect mutants within an unspecified range (it is not clear if she could only detect mutants, or could detect all humans in her range and distinguish between powered and non-powered individuals).

Subsequent appearances established her with the power to indefinitely project her astral form. She could manifest her astral form at a remote location, or travel vast distances very quickly. While in her astral state she could communicate with others telepathically and make her astral form visible to others as a ghost-like transparent copy of her actual body. While projecting, Scanner's real body remained unconscious. Additionally, Scanner could use her astral form to disrupt the astral forms of others upon contact, forcing them to return to their body.

Later writers mistakenly wrote Scanner as transforming her body and clothing into an 'electro-transitional' state, similar to a living hologram, that was intangible and able to travel great distances at very fast speeds. While in this state she could communicate telepathically and was intangible to most forms of physical harm.

• UncannyXmen.net Character Profile on Scanner