ALIAS: Artie
REAL NAME: Arthur Maddicks
NATIONALITY: USA
TEAM AFFILIATION: Generation X. Former member of X-Factor, X-Terminators
AGE: Around 12 years old
POWER: Skin color has changed to a pink color, mutation has left Artie mute. Ability to produce holographic images in order to "speak".
FIRST APPEARANCE: X-Factor #2

ALIAS: Leech
REAL NAME: Unknown
NATIONALITY: USA
TEAM AFFILIATION: Generation X. Former member of Morlocks, X-Factor, X-Terminators
AGE: Around 12 years old
POWER: Skin color has changed to a green color. Ability to dampen, turn off or "leech" a mutant's power.
FIRST APPEARANCE: X-Men #179

Generation X was meant to help the next generation of mutants learn how to deal with their powers and how to cope in the real world. That doesn't mean that Generation X only deals with teenage mutants, all mutants in need are welcome. If there were any mutants that have had experience with tough times and need a place to fit in, it's none other than Artie and Leech. Artie and Leech have been inseparable since their introductions. Both mutants have been bounced from home to home (and comic to comic) in search of a place to call their own, and it seems now that Generation X is where they will stay.

Leech first appeared in X-Men # 179. Not as much detail on Leech's past has been revealed, all we can assume is that he was abandoned at an early age due to his premature mutant powers. Unlike most mutants who develop their powers at puberty, Artie and Leech's powers were revealed at a much earlier age. Leech was abandoned but soon discovered by Caliban, a mutant who was a member of the Morlocks. The Morlocks are mutants who cannot pass for human and therefore they live underground in abandoned sewers and tunnels. In the "upworld" Leech would be hard-pressed to survive as his early mutancy gave his skin a green appearance and a smooth look to his face, making his nose practically non-existent. In earlier books however, Leech had bumps covering his head. Leech had a hard time dealing in the "Alley", the series of tunnels underground. It was Annalee who then cared for him and adopted him after her own children were shot dead by the Marauder assassin called Scalphunter. His happiness was temporary as Mr. Sinister sent a group known as the Marauders into the Morlock tunnels. This mission, which has been dubbed as the "Mutant Massacre", resulted in a huge clash of heroes and villains where many mutants fought and were slain. Annalee was one among the slain, leaving Leech under the care of Caliban. Fortunately Leech met up with Artie and they both were saved by members of the Power Pack and by members of X-Factor. X-Factor had entered the tunnels to help Artie who was under their care.

In the rescue, Leech came back with X-Factor and became good friends with Artie who was around his age. X-Factor began to train Leech and Artie of their powers, it even came to the point where Leech could keep his power leeching aura tightly around him. If Leech was around a mutant, he could turn off their powers if they were close enough to him. He was learning how to control his power, but X-Factor were on many missions and the two friends needed more help, not just in their powers but in general skills and schooling. X-Factor decided they should receive schooling, and with problems such as theirs, they were enrolled at St. Simons Boarding School. There they met Takeshi Matsuya, who with Leech's help, found out he was a mutant who could manipulate machinery. If being with X-Factor was challenging, this school had it's shares as well for Leech. You could be guaranteed that if Leech was there, then Artie wouldn't be far behind.

Arthur "Artie" Maddicks had as tough a time as Leech did with his early mutancy. When Artie first appeared in X-Factor #2, his powers seemed similar to Leech's. When Artie was 11 years old his skin turned to a smooth pink, his eyes changed to a rounder, completely white eye and he soon lost his voice. While his power did leave him mute, Artie gained the ability to "speak" with telepathic images. Whatever he thought or wished to say, he could project images to get his point across. He father, Carl Maddicks, couldn't believe what had happened to his son and was determined to reverse the mutation. Having previously worked with Hank McCoy (the Beast) and knowing that he had isolated the chemical source of mutation, he captured Beast with the help of a mutant named "Tower". He forced Beast to look at his files and had Artie mind-link with Beast to see the corrections he was making to the papers. Now with the corrections made to his mutation reversing experiment, he needed a test subject before he would use the experiment on his son. Hank McCoy became that test subject. Artie was obedient to his father and followed his orders to keep an eye on the members of X-Factor as they tried to penetrate the building to get Hank back. Listening to the agony that Beast was going through was too much for him and he finally stopped his mind-links as X-Factor tore through the building. Now that X-Factor was in the building, everyone's lives were in jeopardy as Carl Maddicks was working on this project without permissions and everyone who looked like a mutant were in danger, including Artie. X-Factor grabbed the unconscious Beast while Carl begged them to take Artie with them to save him. Carl showed them a way to an escape pod and tried to delay the troops that were about to storm the lab. As they escaped, Artie projected his images and watched helplessly as he saw the troops kill his father.

He spent his time back at X-Factor's complex learning to deal with his father's death, his mutancy and the other mutant's around him. Eventually Artie struck up a friendship with Rusty Collins, a mutant who could control fire. He was hunted for accidentally hurting a woman with his fire power and was staying at X-Factor. In X-Factor #9, upon being hunted down by a team of mutants known as "Freedom Force", he was chased into the Alley where the Morlocks lived. Artie kept his mind-link with Rusty and tried to tell the others what had happened but he was turned away by Cameron Hodge, one of the ones holding X-Factor together. Artie decided to find Rusty and went into the Alley with his mind-link guiding him, that was until his mind-link suddenly vanished. He looked up to find Leech standing by him, wondering what he is doing down there. Leech took Artie back with him but they immediately ran into trouble as the Maurauders invaded the Alley and the Mutant Massacre began.

Amazingly, Artie and Leech survived the Mutant Massacre and they stayed at the X-Factor complex to learn. Shortly after their stay at X-Factor, they were dropped off at St. Simon's Boarding school. There they met a boy named Takeshi Matsuya who could manipulate machinery. They eventually became friends but once again, the two small mutants ran into trouble once again. They were taken away by a demon named N'Astirh as a sacrifice to brings demons down to earth. "Taki" tried to alert X-Factor, but he couldn't get a hold of them. He then tried to stop the goblins from taking the two young mutants, at this point he found out he was a mutant when his wheelchair grew a gun in attempts to stop the intruders. He failed but soon alerted Artie and Leech's friends who had stayed with X-Factor. Artie and Leech did managed to escape with the help of their friends and they then dubbed their group as the "X-Terminators" (after X-Factor's alter-egos) as X-Terminators of Goblins. The X-Terminator comic series did not last as long and Leech and Artie where left looking for a home once again. This eventually brought them back to the boarding school and there they managed to be captured by a mutant group called Gene Nation. This now brings us back to Generation X. Gene Nation attacked a group of humans and captured Emma Frost. When Generation X burst in to save their teacher, Gene Nation tried to use Artie and Leech against Generation X to slow them down. Fortunately for Generation X and both Artie and Leech, Gene Nation were defeated and Generation X took Artie and Leech into their care. Professor Xavier was pleased to have Artie back under their care and allowed the two to stay at the Academy with the other students.

Artie and Leech stayed with the Acadamy up until Generation X #25. In this issue, after escaping Black Tom Cassidy's attack, they were wisked away to the Nexus (alternate realities) by the Man-thing along with Howard the Duck, Tana Nile and Franklin Richards who was also a member at the Academy. This started a 3 issue mini-series for the kids called "Daydreamers". After the Daydreamers series (and seeing how Generation X never seemed to notice they were gone) they reappeared in Generation X and now it looks as if they now have a permanent home. Emma has given them a new home, other than the old tree-house in the now disappeared Bio-sphere. She has given them image-inducers to help them blend in among the human students, much to their delight, and Generation X seems to really want to help them out. Artie and Leech couldn't be happier, they have a home, they have new friends and they have each other. How long they are going to stay with Generation X is a question, but so far it looks like they've finally found a place that they can call home.

**Keep in note that the image found at the top of the page with both Artie and Leech is incorrect. This image was taken from Incredible Hulk '97 annual. Artie's eyes are meant to be full and white while Leech's are full and yellow, there are no iris in their eyes. This however was the only image I could find that had them both together and being a full body shot.