Art and colours by Mel.

Written by Mel, August 2002.
Updated, December 2006.


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Code Name: Dante
Real Name: Caleb Miguel Rodriguez
Nicknames: Cale, Wheels.
Occupations: Despite Caleb's blatant physical handicap, he outright refuses to live what one would consider a 'handicap' lifestyle. His years spent working as a weight trainer and child care supervisor at the Westchester branch of the YMCA is evidence of this - both jobs require physical and mental aptitude, as well as a keen knack for dealing with every sort of people imaginable, both requirements of which Dante surpasses with a determined ease.
Legal Status: It can easily be said that Dante is the most morally apt member of Nexus. Outside his association with the team, he has no criminal record, outside of a few traffic violations. He is often the first member of the team to try to dissuade the group from any action he sees as going 'too far' and has no problem leaving the lot of them to their deviant fun while he stays home to pitch bail hours later, as jail is often times the end point of his team's more extreme romps. The few criminal charges that have been brought upon Rodriguez have occurred during his team actions, a couple of which have come very close to getting him fired from his family-oriented career.
Identity: Dante's identity is known by the authorities and, to a minor degree, by the media and general public, due to his affiliation with Nexus.
Aliases: None.
Place of birth: Guayama, Puerto Rico.
Age: 28
Marital Status: Caleb is currently involved with his long-term girlfriend, Shayla Ki. He and Shay are currently the team's only functional couple that shows any true hope of withstanding the test of time, as both lovers are fiercely loyal.
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Known Relatives: Sarah Raquel Rodriguez (kid sister), Mia Rodriguez (Aunt), his grandparents (Names yet to be revealed), Miguel and Annaleise Rodriguez (Parents - deceased).
Group Affiliation: Nexus.
Base of Operations: The WolfsBaren Tavern, New York City. Xavier's School for Higher Learning, Westchester, New York. (Temporary).
First Appearance: Nexus issue 6, "Suicide Kings and an Innocence Lost".
Origin: Dante is a mutant and was born with his powers allthough they didn't manifest until he reached puberty.
Height: 5 foot 9 inches
Weight: 317lbs (22 stones and 2 pounds)
Eyes: Brown.
Hair: Black with bonde bangs, long and straight.
Distinguishing Marks: Both of Dante's arms, from finger to shoulder, are composed of adamantium-laced flesh and bone that remain cold, hard metal, regardless of whether or not his powers are active. Dante is also often wheelchair bound, as he has no legs from mid-femur down.
Dante was bound entirely to a wheelchair for three years after his legs were forcefully ‘amputated’ via hacksaw during his stay in Coercion, alive today after having the mutilated remains of his legs healed by Shay. He now is able to move freely outside the wheelchair via prosthetics manifested by Inferno, but chooses to use them only for missions, or when absolutely needed because of the strains they put his body through. Running on his own energy, the prosthetics often leave him physically drained and his powers less then up to par after strenuous activity.
Strength Level: Dante possesses the heightened strength of someone four times his height and weight.
Known Superhuman Powers: Like every member of Nexus, Dante has many physical mutation attributes to contend with in day-to-day life, and his physical appearance is often a large hurdle in his drive for social acceptance. Both of his arms, from finger to shoulder are composed of adamantium-laced flesh and bone that remain cold, hard metal, regardless of whether or not his powers are active.
Dante has the ability to control the magnetic forces of any form of metals that lie within the earth’s surface with his arms. He can elevate, lower, shift, mold, fix or destroy any part of the ground within a fifteen foot radius of himself, often causing minor earthquakes in the process.

Abilities/Special Skills: Dante is probably the only member of his team who could pull off being the head of a major corporation, or a successful, comparably non-corrupt politician (The first ever) or simply the head of an average, successful, run-of-the-mill family. His intelligence, social aptitude, drive to make something of himself and love for people lend him the ability to pretty much soar in any task he undertakes. When he is unsuccessful, he has a continence strong enough to simply pick himself up and try again. Due to his studies, Dante is fluent in Spanish and English alike. He is also the most business and mainstream-politically oriented member of Nexus. (And the only registered voter. An Independent, if you're curious).
Weapons Used: The earth and ground beneath him is Dante's only weapon of choice. The power he has in its control makes any other weapon obsolete.
Personality: Dante is and outgoing and extremely friendly man. This, coupled with a rather witty sense of humor, a handsome facade and an innate love for people, and one could easily surmise the people that magnet Dante is. The man's charm, however, as well as his self esteem and sense of being as a whole was quite literally as crippled as he is for years after the injury that nearly took his life in Coercion. The taking of his mobility took a part of Dante's soul, it seemed - a part of him that was lost for years, even after Nexus's escape from the Government facility. Initially, Caleb was horribly introverted, self-loathing, bitter and silent. Through the mentoring of his team mates and various members of the XMen during his initial stay at Xavier's School for Higher Learning, however, Caleb managed to rediscover himself, and slowly rebuild his sense of self worth. Today, the man is the soul owner of a vibrant spirit and an unstoppable love for life.
Personal Interests: Although he's not, by any stretch of the word, a vein individual, Caleb is mildly obsessed with sculpting his body into a well-muscled machine, and one look at the man says it all. He is indeed built to the hilt - his finely tuned physical appearance often noticed by spectators even before they register that the man is wheelchair bound. He has a passion for weight training, sports, and any other physically demanding activity and takes part in all of the like. Dante also loves war novels, poetry, in-depth study of all of the great American wars and is, oddly enough, a B-movie junkie.
History:
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