Jackson Luther Marlette, the youngest of four, was declared dead at birth. His parents (Moretta and Ellington Marlette)were heartbroken. They couldn't bear the news. It seemed like hours dragged on as they wept in their hospital room. It was a surprise when a group of nurses rushed in, talking of a miracle. The Marlette's couldn't quite believe them until their doctor walked in, holding their crying, breathing, living baby in his hands. Ellington was elated, Moretta, scared. Was this an omen of troubles to come? Within a month of returning home, Moretta turned to drinking.
Jackson's childhood was rough. His father worked hard to keep the family afloat running the most successful inner city martial arts dojo Detroit had ever seen. His two older brothers and sister worked constantly, splitting their income with the family. His mother played the housewife until her alcoholism turned for the worse. She became violent towards Jackie. "He isn't right! He should be dead" she'd yell repeatedly as she threw bottles at him from across the house. Falling into a deep depression, Moretta took her life, claiming that she'd given birth to evil. In her note, she spoke of how she tried to be a good mother, but noticed that he hadn't been sick a single day of his young life. She described how she'd poisoned his food, fed him undercooked meat, gave him alcohol-- anything to make him ill, yet he showed no signs. She started to suspect that he was the devil and once she was heavy with guilt, she couldn't take it any more.
School was equally as rough as Jackson's home life. Always a tad bit shorter than everyone else, he got picked on constantly. He'd come home with black eyes, busted lips, and ripped clothes too often for the son of martial arts master. Once Ellington thought Jackie had hit that "right fightin' age", he started conditioning him, teaching him Shotokan, and then Taekwondo, Goju Ryu, Kobudo and Kyokushin. El was so happy to see that his boy was a natural fighter just like him. One late night, after closing up the shop, El and Jackie were stopped by a group of gang bangers looking for a quick buck. Jackson, overly confident after achieving his fifth belt earlier in the week, gave his father a cocky grin and charged the three men, leapt up in the air to deliver a kick and was met with a bullet to the head. The gang members were green. They'd barely even know how to operate that gun. The three ran off scared, leaving Ellington with alone with his son. Again, Ellington was met with a tragic death, first with his wife, and now with his son. He dropped to his knees and wept as he cried for help. Minutes dragged by with El cradling his son in that dark alleyway, unable to let go of his youngest son. Once again, Jackson had pulled a miracle and came back to life, grabbing his father's hand and letting him know that he's all right.
Of course, Ellington freaked out. Who wouldn't? All that grieving and pain, and his son just woke right back up. No bullet wound, no blood..good as new. He couldn't rationalize quite how it happened, or why, but he couldn't help but replay his deceased wife's words. Was Jackson a being of evil?
Around this time, Ellington caught wind of an experiment that bestowed four explorers with extraordinary powers and thought "could this be something else"? After some research, El grabbed Jackie and told him he was to go to a special school. A school for people like him- different people, people with abilities. They'd be able to help him and keep him safe from the change in social climate. Jackson packed a bag, hugged his family goodbye and left to The Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters.
