Who Are Psiots:
Superhero communities are a dime a dozen in the comic books. DC has the Meta Humans and the New Gods. Marvel has even more – the Mutates, the Mutants, the Inhumans, the Eternals. The most popular and well-known superhero community in the comic book world are the mutants represented by the Superhero group – the X-Men. After a long war of attrition with rival Fox Studios, the Disney Fox Merger will finally bring the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There is still a lot of time before that happens. And another similar superhero community from rival comic book publisher – Valiant Entertainment called Psiots, is already threatening to steal the mutant heroes’ first-mover advantage and put the X-Men out of business.
Who are the Psiots? Are they just a cheap knockoff of the Mutant Kind from Marvel? Well, no. The original idea and the concept might be the same but Psiots are a completely different breed of heroes than the Mutants. The Mutants are born from the X-Gene. Due to exposure to radiation, a certain sect of humanity evolved to the point that they developed abilities far beyond human comprehension. Psiots, on the other hand, represent the true next stage of evolution in the human race. The mutation within them is not because of exposure to radiation or an outside force. It is biological and completely innate. Psiots are otherwise known as Harbingers and most of their abilities are a result of mind based or psychic powers. Any ability that a Psiot possesses is because of his mind. That is what makes them unique and dangerous.
The Psiot spectrum can be classified into three types based on the level of psionic abilities a person has the potential to possess. Norms can never become a Psiot. Latent has the ability to become a psiot but needs an external stimulus like extreme stress or pain, or maybe another Harbinger unlocking his or her powers. Actives are psiot that are born with their powers or activate them at their own will, without any external stimulus. The activation process for a Psiot is painful and excruciating with every one out of four times leading to a sure-fire death. A Psiot’s abilities reflect an individual’s personality and most of the times make them feel alone, isolated, and out-cast. Like we said, similar but dissimilar premises.
Like in the Mutants there are several levels of power Psiots too have leagues within their rank. Iceman, Elixir, Magneto, Professor Xavier – they are all Omega Level Mutants. Similarly, Peter Stanchek and Toyo Harada are Omega Harbingers. Their powers are so great the governments the world over consider them as Walking Weapons of Mass Destruction. Toyo and Peter frequently clash due to opposing ideologies on how to move forward with the future of the Harbinger and the Human race. When compared to the X-Men, Toyo Harada is like an Evil Charles Xavier while Peter Stanchek is like the rogue but benevolent Magneto.
Peter Stanchek – Omega Harbinger and Saviour of the Human & Psiot Race
Valiant Comics completely rewrote the story of Peter Stanchek after they rebooted their universe a while ago. In this new updated and more relatable storyline, Peter Stanchek is still a teenager. Although he knows he has Psionic powers, he is still learning. He is no longer the totally goody two shoes superhero. He is a flawed character with several issues. One of his more deplorable acts was telepathically implanting thoughts into his friend named Kris, and psychically manipulating her into becoming his girlfriend. Stanchek is no more the Knight in shining armor.
When Toyo Harada comes knocking, Stanchek does not know what to do. Toyo Harada has already created a shady non-profit organization called the Harbinger Foundation. On the outside, the organization claims that it is trying to uplift the Psiots that society has shunned because they are different. But what they are actually doing under Harada’s guidance is collecting Psiots into their ranks and turning them into soldiers. Toyo Harada believes that the Harbingers represent the next stage in Human Evolution and are the rightful rulers of Earth. He intends to use Stanchek and the rest of the Psiot’s powers to take over the planet and reshape it in his own image.
Stanchek finally has a purpose in life. He is no longer that careless and reckless teenager. He recruits several other young Harbingers into his team and together, they decide to fight the machinations of Toyo Harada, who will stop at nothing to eliminate Peter Stanchek. Stanchek adopts the superhero alias of Sting. The name resonates well with his powers. Most of Peter Stanchek’s powers are psychic based. Every time he uses his mind manipulation powers, it leaves a painful after taste in the victims’ minds. Hence the name! Peter Stanchek is untrained and has zero experience as a Harbinger and yet his powers are still reckoned to be enough to bring Harada down on his knees.
The Future ahead – How could a Psiot movie look like?
There are several major events that could each potentially spark a movie plotline on its own. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima would activate Toyo Harada’s Psiot abilities. He would then go on to study the powers a Psiot could have and start the Harada International. Harada International would soon come in conflict with Rising Spirit Securities, one of the predecessor organizations that gave birth to the Bloodshot program. The conflict between the two organizations led to Harbinger War One.
Harada’s exploits could form the antagonistic element of the story. When the entire world realized that Harada is a true menace, Toyo Harada would gather a team of around 50 psiots, hijack a nuclear-capable carrier, and invade the Coastal Region of Somalia, where he would declare the first-ever sovereign nation controlled solely by Harbingers. This bears some unique resemblance to the X-Men’s recent venture into creating the mutant nation of Krakoa.
We can only speculate as to how a Psiot/Harbinger movie under the Valiant Universe would look like. Valiant has already given us Bloodshot. And it was more or less an entertainer. They are not going to stop now. The Harbingers would be a good and easy way to expand the Valiant Cinematic Universe.
Will, they put the X-Men out of business? They certainly have the potential to. Harbingers are pretty much the same as mutants but with a fresher premise and none of the vestigial baggage that brings them down. The audience has seen enough of the mutants and the X-Men in action. They need something new. The Psiots could be that ‘something new’. If given a chance, the Valiant Superhero Universe could blow Psiots so sky-high that they become to the VCU what the X-Men intends to be for the MCU.
The Last Solo Marvel movie to be released under the Disney banner is Spider-Man: Far From Home. The movie was released on the 2nd of November, 2018. The official film synopsis for the movie reads:
Peter Parker’s relaxing European vacation takes an unexpected turn when Nick Fury shows up in his hotel room to recruit him for a mission. The world is in danger as four massive elemental creatures — each representing Earth, air, water and fire — emerge from a hole torn in the universe. Parker soon finds himself donning the Spider-Man suit to help Fury and fellow superhero Mysterio stop the evil entities from wreaking havoc across the continent.
Avengers: Endgame released on the 26th of April, 2019. The official film synopsis of the movie has been released and it states:
“After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos’ actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.”
