ALIAS: Skin
REAL NAME: Angelo Espinosa
NATIONALITY: U.S.A. South Central Los Angeles
TEAM AFFILIATION: Generation X
AGE: 15
POWER: Dermal Flexability Manipulation. Ability to manipulate 6 feet of extra skin
FIRST APPEARANCE: Uncanny X-men #317

Fifteen year old Angelo Espinosa, AKA Skin, of Generation X was first introduced to the X-world in Uncanny X-Men #317. Even in Skin's first appearance we see him as the paranoid streetwise teen with his first greetings with Paige after the gang is placed in the Harvest Pit. In his usual style he simply quips to the waking Paige, "Buenos Dias, Chica. Welcome to Hell." As one of the original teens captured by the Phanlanx, Skin is currently a member of Generation X, but for how long? Skin has always been the exception to the roster. Where some of the fellow mutants powers are common, Angelo's codename reflects his power which happens to be 6 feet of extra skin that carries a grey tone to it. Also unlike his fellow team mates, Skin did not want to join Generation X. With the intense past he had been through and then the Phanlanx, Angelo believed that nothing could ever be right and hated that the X-Men could take their pains so easily and continue to carry on. Angelo decided not to join Generation X and wandered looking to hitch hike a ride to the airport instead. As he was hitch hiking, Beast pulled up to try to convince Skin to reconsider, ultimately Skin and Beast argued over it resulting in Beast giving Skin the car keys so he could drive wherever he wanted so he could cower and ignore the world around him. As Skin drove off, he began to run things through his head. He knew he couldn't hide from the world, he knew he needed help to control his power, but he believed and still does believe, that he is no superhero like the others. With these thoughts he turned to Xavier and asked him if he could join the others at the Acadamy. To this day he is still with the Acadamy, but for how long is the question as every now and again we have seen him mentioning that once he masters his powers, he will leave.

To Skin, and the others around him, his extra 6 feet of skin would resemble something like a melted candle if he didn't keep a constant effort to keep it stretched tight. Unlike the others, this haunts him since everytime he uses his powers, it results in pain through an intense migraine. Currently Jubilee seems to be the only one to notice the pains he goes through with the use of his powers. Skin can utilise his skin in many ways which include wrapping an enemy to stop them, swinging over a distance with the extended Skin (somewhat like Spider-Man and his webbing), reaching over a long distance, and slightly altering his appearance as he tightens the skin to resemble a regular person. Again, Angelo's luck doesn't hold as he needs to constantly concentrate to hold a regular person's look and even when he can, his skin still will look grey instead of a regular flesh tone.

Skin has had many problems from living in South Central LA. Skin's past was pretty well hidden from the viewers, the only thing we knew about his past was his run ins with gangs, an "enemy" named Tores and when traveling with Chamber, that he had faked his own death and left LA. Skin's personality is shown as a "streetwise" guy who never lets anything get to him, but that is quite the opposite. Only recently with the Wizard #81 GenX 1/2 did we find out Skin's full past and the new problems that arised from it. Originally interested in Tores, Skin tried to convince her to leave her gang, that it was too dangerous. Even against his mother who hated her, he still tried to plead with her. A year later he had gotten a ride with Tores and gang members Lupo and Gordo. They drove into rival gang territory that night and Lupo started to shoot, Skin panicking and trying to take the gun, freaked out and this caused his power to kick in and he eventually blacked out. When he awoke, the car was on fire due to Tores power emerging also, two rival gang members were dead as well as Gordo. Skin escaped just before the car blew up, taking a wino who stole Skin's wallet along with it. To this day, Skin's mother thinks that he is dead and Skin couldn't go back or Tores would be blamed for their deaths. Finally in the 1/2 Skin confronted Tores only to find that it was Lupo who had murdered the 2 gang members. Upon a skirmish in the alley with Lupo (who had hid away also), Skin's mother appears after being told that someone saw her son in the alley with Tores. Skin is overjoyed now that everything is cleared, he can finally see his mother again and stop hiding....but Skin's bad luck won't forgive him. With his mother confronting Tores about what has happened and seeing her use her mutant power, she is outraged. Tores claims that she is no different than Angelo and his mother spits at her feet stating that if Angelo "had ever shown the sign of the Devil....I would have disowned him and never spoken his name again!" Angelo could not believe that all he had been through had betrayed him, his one wish to see his mother again was destroyed by her hurtful words and to this he finally broke down and wept.

With this insight perhaps Skin will now stay with the team, which whether he would admit or not, he needs. Skin's past shows the meaning of living in the world that hates and fears them. Even those who you'd least expect could turn against you. He had always wanted to belong somewhere, and whether GenX is now his family is for him to decide. He has always been welcome with GenX and perhaps from this experience he will realize just how much he belongs there. Among the other members he now is beginning to realize that the Acadamy is no longer just a safe house to him, now it is his home with Generation X.